Do the spiritually dead glorify God?

So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Acts 16:31-33

Last time we said everyone is responsible to believe (trust in) Jesus and repent of (turn away from) sin, but that apart from being born again by the Holy Spirit, no one ever would. Why is that, and why is this important?

The Bible clearly teaches that lost people are “dead in sin” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Dead people know nothing and are able to do nothing about their dead condition. Why? Because they are dead! The good news of the gospel is that by the grace of God, Christ “makes us alive together with Christ” (v.5). Salvation is about being forgiven, but it is also about being “made alive in Christ.” When we are born again by the Holy Spirit, and made alive together with Christ, we are given new hearts—hearts that believe in and desire to follow Christ. Those who dead have neither saving faith nor repentant hearts. That is why Jesus said, “You must be born again,” because unless one is, one will never believe and repent.

God does not violate the wills of the lost who have no desire for Christ by forcing them to believe. Rather, He graciously changes their stone cold hearts into hearts that trust in and desire to follow and love Jesus. Neither does God exclude anyone from Heaven who wants to trust in Christ. Rather, He leaves them to their own sinful desires for which He bears no responsibility.

Why is this important? So that all glory for saving anyone goes to God rather than to those who are saved. He saves us—we cannot save ourselves! So He gets all the glory! Those God makes alive with Christ glorify Him because we know we can take no credit for our salvation and deserve God’s just wrath no less than those who perish in their sins.

Bonus Truth: Most evangelical Christians give the incorrect answer to this question: Are we born again because we believe, or do we believe because we are born again? Correct answer: Unless we are born again, we have no capacity or desire to believe. We believe because by God’s grace we have been born again!

Not all faith saves

So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Acts 16:31-33

What does the Bible mean when it says we are to “believe” to be saved? It might be wise to state first what it does not mean. It does not mean to merely believe a set of historical facts Jesus. Believing the facts about Christ and the gospel is essential, but as James writes, “the demons believe” (James 2:19) and they certainly are not saved.

Once a person believes the facts about Christ and the gospel, he must believe the truth claims about Jesus are also true. Speaking from experience, I believed the historical facts about Christ and the gospel, I even believed they were true. I believed that Jesus really did die on the cross and rise from the dead to provide forgiveness of sins. I would have even defended that belief. But it is not saving faith if a person doesn’t have any heart to trust in and follow Jesus as the Savior to whom he owes everything, and the Lord whom he must follow.

Some are afraid to attach the need for repentance to faith for fear that it makes salvation by works—which it is not. Salvation is by faith alone, but saving faith cannot be devoid of works of repentance, or that faith is “dead” (James 2:26). And dead faith saves no one!

The Bible further explains how the repentance that is inseparably a part of saving faith is not something that unsaved people do in the strength of their sinful flesh (John 1:11-13). Rather, a person must be born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-ff). Those who are born again are given two gifts: the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the gift of repentance (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). Each person is responsible to believe and repent (God does neither for us) but He gives those who are born again the ability and the desire to trust in and follow Christ. Because lost people are dead in sin, without the gifts of faith and repentance no one would ever believe and follow Christ savingly.

Why is this important? Tomorrow…

Salvation from what?

So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Acts 16:31-33

What must a person do to be saved? First, saved from what? Saved from Sin. Isn’t that what Jesus came to save His people from, according to the angel in Matthew 1:21? What does it mean to be saved from sin? Consider three facets of salvation:

We are saved from sin’s penalty. The saved are saved from the penalty of the second death (Revelation 20:11-15), which is the Lake of Fire, whereas those who are not saved will experience God’s just, eternal, and unmitigated wrath. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

We are being saved from sin’s power. From the time we are saved, we are being progressively sanctified, or made more holy. This progress is only accomplished by God’s grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, but we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit—not in order to be saved, but because we have received salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

We will be saved even from sin’s presence. When we are glorified, either at the moment we die physically, or when Christ returns (whichever happens first), we will pass from life in this fallen world into the gloriously sinless presence of our Holy God. Heaven is Heaven because God is there, and sin will not be!

That is a simple overview of salvation. Next time, the role of belief in receiving salvation…

“What must I do to be saved?"

Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:29-30

It is infrequent, if ever, that we will be asked point blank, “What must I do to be saved?” But isn’t the lost world around us asking this question all the time? Are they not seeking “salvation” in all their pursuits (though apart from Christ there is no salvation)? Are not education, career, family, entertainment, health, government, man-centered religion, etc., etc., etc., what the world is calling to for “salvation” from the emptiness, anger, and yes, the guilt in their lives? Which of these pursuits can produce complete or lasting deliverance from our woes—even in this life, much less in the life to come?

Acts 4:12 clearly states, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Jesus not only delivers sinners from the penalty of sin when we die and are judged, but He gives us grace, peace, and joy even in this life while troubles yet surround us.

May we have ears to hear the cry of the lost for all their hopeless pursuits as a cry for salvation. And let us be reminded by the Holy Spirit that we are Christ’s representatives tasked with pointing people to Him. They will answer to Him for their response. We will answer to Him for whether or not we tell people about Christ.

The reality is, we are frequently asked, “What must I do to be saved?” if only we had ears to hear it!

“Do yourself no harm!”

And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." Acts 16:27-28

Why did the jailer decide to kill himself? Because just as sleeping while on guard duty is a serious offense, if one charged with guarding prisoners allows his prisoners to escape, he would likely be executed. I guess it seemed better to the guard to take his own life than to be shamed and executed for failing in his duty.

He was interrupted by Paul who loudly urged the desperate man to do himself “no harm,” declaring, “we are still here.” I once heard a sermon on this passage in which the preacher encouraged Christians to do the same with the hurting people around us. Granted, our circumstances are different. But isn’t it true that so many in our world are living lives of self-destruction in sin? (Doesn’t the current rash of young people dying from drug overdoses fit this description!?)

Our message to them ought to be, “Stop destroying your lives with sin”—not merely because we are here, but because Christ the Savior who is our only hope is here! He is only a prayer away! As His representatives and as those tasked with proclaiming the good news of the gospel, ours is a message of hope to the hopeless.

Let us ask the Lord to give us eyes to see the lost around us in this light. Let us ask Him to give us compassionate hearts to alert them of their only hope: Jesus Christ. “Do yourself no harm” (or “stop killing yourself with sin”), because “Christ is here to forgive” is a compassionate way of calling people to faith and repentance.

The Holy Spirit's favorite topic

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. John 15:26

He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:14

Taking a one day break from Acts to recap a point from the message in last night’s worship service…

The Upper Room discourse contains a great deal of instruction about the Holy Spirit. One thing in particular about the Holy Spirit that has struck me while going through this section this time is that the Holy Spirit’s favorite subject is Jesus. The Holy Spirit doesn’t talk about or glorify Himself (though He is every bit as much God as is the Father and the Son!). The Holy Spirit talks about and glorifies Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is our Savior and Lord!

Something else that struck me while going through these chapters is the thought that since the Holy Spirit’s favorite subject is Jesus, and since the Holy Spirit is in us, shouldn’t our favorite topic also be Jesus? Shouldn’t we love to talk about and glorify Jesus?

Oh Lord, as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, may we be energized by Him to love to talk about and glorify our beautiful Savior!

Doing the right thing never hurts!

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.
Acts 16:25-26

Doing the right thing is no guarantee that we will be supernaturally delivered from trouble. Life is often tough, and there is no magic wand or incantation that will axiomatically change undesirable circumstances.

Consider Paul who later prayed three times to be delivered from his “thorn in the flesh”. Was he delivered? Nope! Instead, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Consider the Lord Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just hours before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed that He not have to drink the cup of God’s wrath. He prayed three times! But each time He concluded His prayer for deliverance, with the words, “Not my will but Yours (His Father’s) will be done.”

No, there is no special prayer that will change our circumstances, but as we pray, trusting the Lord, we can experience a spiritual deliverance, even if the desired physical deliverance is not forthcoming. As we pray in faith, God loosens our chains and opens the doors of our spiritual imprisonments, giving us joy to sing—even if our circumstances remain the unchained.

Doing the right thing is no guarantee that we will be supernaturally delivered from trouble. But doing the right thing is still the right thing. And doing the right thing never hurts!

Singing when in the pits!

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.
Acts 16:25-26

Paul and Silas were in stocks (v.24) in a prison cell for no other reason than that through them God delivered a demon-possessed girl from her demonic tormentors. What would you or I be thinking and feeling if we were in that situation? Would singing praise songs be on the front burner of our minds? It was for them. Why?

• Because they trusted God. Not just with a hope of Heaven when they died, but for everything, including life here and now!

• Because they were people who were given to worship and praise the Lord—and not just when they were in the midst of favorable circumstances or in church.

• Because they had, no doubt, already prayed to God as Paul later instructed the Philippians to do when troubled (Philippians 4:6-8). As a result, they were experiencing the peace of God that defies human understanding!

• Because they, no doubt, encouraged each other in the moment.

Here is the deal: The time to prepare one’s heart and life to praise God when in the midst of persecution is not after persecution has already begun. The time to train oneself is before the fact.

• Meditate on how God is worthy to be trusted.

• Make worship and praise a way of life, not merely a religious activity.

• Develop a prayer life so that when troubles come, you automatically go to prayer.

• Practice being an encourager, so that when the chips are really down, you can lift others up!

We must be ministers of God’s grace

And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe." Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Acts 16:20-23

As a brief follow-up to a previous post, don’t miss how those who made merchandise of a demon-possessed girl, vilified Paul for doing a good thing to liberate her.

Don’t miss how the abortionists lie about everything to protect their murderous business. They not only call us names, they insist that we are against “healthcare for women.” A person has to be completely ignorant, or equally evil to call abortion “a women’s health” issue. But Satan twists words to call good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20).

The handlers of the demon-possessed girl sought to use their legal system to punish Paul for disrupting their nefarious marketing of the girl. Likewise, the abortionists use (abuse?) our legal system to silence the voices of those who want the killing of human babies to stop.

Pray that God would turn our nation away from the oceans of innocent blood that have been spilled murdering babies that cry out for justice! (Genesis 4:10)

ONE LAST THING: We must be compassionate towards the millions of women who have aborted their babies, not knowing what they were doing. There is forgiveness, and we must be ministers of God’s grace—even in the midst of this hideous battle. If you have been down this road, confess your sin and receive God’s forgiveness purchased for you with the blood of Jesus. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! (Romans 8:1)

Special Labor Day Post

And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
Matthew 25:15

As I was growing up, in the days of the Cold War, we all seemed to know that Capitalism was good and Communism (socialism or collectivism) was bad. But why did we know that? Was it because Capitalism is what we are (and we’re good)? Was it because Communism was what they are (and they are bad)?

Those are never the right reasons to determine what is right or wrong. Our standard must be higher. It must be transcendent. Like, say, the Bible! What does the Bible say about this socio-political question?

The Proverbs are filled with lessons about the diligent being blessed and the lazy doing without. The diligent are those who work hard and are rewarded for their labor. Those who feel they deserve a guaranteed income, regardless of whether they work are not, are the lazy and slothful who will do without! Paul summed it up beautifully in 2 Thessalonians 3: 8 & 10: “we [do not] eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you… If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

And then there is Jesus’ parable of the talents that begins by teaching us that we are not all guaranteed equal wealth with these words (Matthew 25:14-15) "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.” The master who distributed the wealth in the story represents God, who does not owe His servants (us) anything, and who does not give everyone the same amount.

As the story unfolds (read it in Matthew 25), those who were diligent were rewarded. Those who were not diligent were not rewarded. What does that sound more like? Capitalism or Socialism?

Granted, without the knowledge that (a) everything we have (including the disposition to be diligent) comes from God; and (b) if we are not guided by our Master’s worldview, godless Capitalism rapidly devolves into a crass “survival of the fittest.” Capitalism without God, or at least a conscience, is easily corrupted.

In summary, today is Labor Day. It is not a patriotic holiday. It was promoted by labor unions that are basically socialistic in ideology. As Christians, let us enjoy a day off from our labors, reminding ourselves that all that we are and have comes from God, and it is to Him that we will answer for how we managed what He entrusted to us.

Opposing the barbaric big business murder industry

But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
Acts 16:19

Speaking of being annoyed…

Paul was annoyed by a demon-possessed girl. After he cast a demon out of her, she was in her right mind. But she was no longer a novelty, making money for people who were using her. They were then annoyed with Paul!

When Christians do what is right, people in the world don’t like it. Think of how much money the abortion industry rakes in to the pockets of those who make merchandise out of women who are afraid, and therefore vulnerable. The prolife movement is vilified by the abortion industry. Ever wonder why?

There are no doubt idealistic people who truly think they are helping these women—without any thought of the human babies whose lives they are exterminating. These people are foolish, deceived and blind. We need to pray for them, that God would deliver them from their deadly delusion.

But there are others. Others who are enriching themselves to the tune of over a billion dollars each year in the US alone. (Google: “annual income US abortion industry.” Numbers vary but it is the billions!) While the foolishly idealistic may be delusional, the industry and those who run it are EVIL!

No wonder they spend so much money vilifying those who oppose their barbarically big business murder industry.

BUT WE MUST STAND AGAINST THEM, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY HATE US!

Does anyone ever annoy you?

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment. Acts 16:16-18

Paul was greatly annoyed by the demon-possessed girl. It is rather unlikely that we will encounter many possessed by demons, but we can be annoyed with people. Paul gives a good example regarding how to deal with [cope with?] people who may get under our skin.

Paul was patient. We do not know how long the girl was vexing Paul, but I think it is safe to assume the Apostle tried first to be “longsuffering.” Let us seek to be patient. Let us remember that we have probably annoyed others, and how would we want them to bear with us?

Paul prayed for the girl. Again, since we are not likely encountering demon-possessed people, it isn’t likely that we would need to pray for a person to be rid of demons. But instead of praying, Lord, please deliver me from this person, we ought to pray for the person who tries our patience. Who knows what issues he/she has been through, or is dealing with, that causes him/her to be the way he/she is. Pray for the person, for the his/her peace of mind.

Lastly, remember how longsuffering the Lord is with each of us. If we would be like Him, we must bear with others who might try our patience. In so doing we are growing into the image and likeness of Christ.

Not sure where to start? How about when we are driving our cars!

"But what about all the good I've done?"

"But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die. Ezekiel 18:24

A commonly believed error among many is that we will go to Heaven if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds. I have often argued, from the standpoint of a criminal trial, that if a person never robbed a bank for the first sixty years of his life, but then robbed a bank at age sixty-one, he could not plead that sixty years of not robbing banks erases the guilt of having robbed a bank at sixty-one.

That is, of course true.

But what does scripture say? That is even more important! God, speaking through Ezekiel (18:24) clearly says that a righteous man who turns and does wickedness, will be held guilty because of his wicked act, regardless of how many years he acted righteously.

This is why we need a Savior. No matter how much good we may claim to have done, it only takes one sin to be a guilty sinner in God’s eyes (James 2:10). Praise God there is forgiveness in Christ Jesus—but only for those who confess their guilt.

COVID Stuff: Special Edition

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

I’m sure we have all noticed that there is no shortage of confusing and conflicting information bombarding us regarding COVID, masks, vaccines, etc. What are we do make of all of this? Here are four suggestions:

1. We do not know facts--only opinions coming from vastly differing voices that not only contradict each other, but routinely flip-flop on the issues being discussed. Therefore, we simply do not know anything for sure. All we can do is believe those we tend to agree with—knowing that they, and we, could well be wrong.

2. We must beware of those who are overly passionate [or angry, or who vilify those who say something different]. The angrier and/or political one's argument is, the less I tend to trust them or take them seriously.

3. We must do what our consciences dictate.
   We must do so humbly (because we do not know anything for sure and our opinions are subject to change.)
   We must do so graciously (giving others the same freedom that we want others to afford us, to follow their consciences, even if wrong.)
   We must do so quietly (saying less and resisting the urge to correct everyone we may disagree with, because we probably do not know as much as we may think we do.)

4. As Christians, we are told to pray asking God for wisdom (James 1:5)—which includes admitting we need it!

Demon possession: fact or fiction?

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment. Acts 16:16-18

Does demon possession happen in our day?  Some folks dismiss demon possession altogether, while others blame demons for far more than we should.  Demon possession is real.  Why was it so much more prevalent in Jesus’ day, and in the first century?  Because demonic powers were doing everything they could to thwart Christ, the gospel, and the establishment of the young Church.  But as their diabolical efforts were intensified, Christ, the gospel and the church prevailed, fulfilling Jesus’ words: “I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!” (Mathew 16:18b)  Hallelujah!

Why is it so much less prevalent on our day?  It is still quite prevalent in other parts of the world where false (satanic) religion is widespread.  There are also far more cases of demon possession around us than we might recognize.  There is no way to know just how many, but it is probable that some people who are diagnosed with mental illness may actually be demon possessed.  This may be especially true when mental illness is the result of drug or alcohol abuse.

There are some Christians who blame all sorts of sins of the flesh on demons.  This is a mistake.  While the tempter does tempt us to indulge ourselves in sins of the flesh, we cannot blame the “demon of this-or-that sin” for our failures.  This error gives too much credit to demonic powers, and attempts to relieve us of our responsibilities to resist temptation.

Baptism in light of circumcision

And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. Acts 16:15

One last thought on infant baptism for now. Though we who believe in believer’s baptism differ with the proponents of infant baptism (paedo baptism), we are not enemies! We are brothers and sisters who see the matter differently. One of the arguments set forth by the infant baptism side of the aisle is based on continuity of the Old and New Testaments (OT & NT). We also believe in the continuity of the Testaments, but there are exceptions. While there is a measure of correspondence between OT circumcision and NT baptism, there are differences as well.

For instance, only males were circumcised. That is certainly not true regarding baptism as there is no male nor female when it comes to salvation, including baptism (Galatians 3:28). In addition there are numerous times in both Testaments where we are warned about the importance of having circumcised hearts rather than merely being circumcised physically (Deuteronomy 30:3, Romans 2:29). The flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). From this we are encouraged not to perform spiritual rituals—including biblical ones such as baptism—unless the heart is right. While the parents of baptized children may be right with God, infants who have no profession of faith should not be baptized.

Who said anything about infants?

And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. Acts 16:15

Today we continue with the question of who should be baptized. (If you haven’t yet, please read the previous two posts for context.)

Acts 8:36-37 is also often cited as proof that a person must believe before being baptized. As much as I agree with the conclusion, I am unconvinced that this passage is biblical proof of the position. First because that passage is also a narrative (read the previous post) so though it is accurately recorded, it is not a didactic (teaching) passage. Second, there is credible scholarship that says that v.38 was not in the original manuscript, but was added later. So be careful citing this passage in Acts 8 as a prooftext.

But what about the original question regarding baptizing infants because Lydia’s “household” was baptized? The passage says nothing about the makeup of Lydia’s household. So the argument that everyone in her household was of an age to believe the gospel is no less credible than the argument in favor of baptizing infants based in this passage.

One last post on this matter tomorrow…

What it is and who should do it?

And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us. Acts 16:15

We are considering what baptism is, and who should be baptized. (If you didn’t read the previous post, doing so might help you continue with this post.)

What is baptism? Baptism is a sacrament commanded by Jesus. It is an outward visible symbol of an inward spiritual reality. The symbol without the reality doesn’t make sense. When we had children we assumed that one day they would marry. We did not put wedding rings (the symbols of marriage vows) on their little hands because they would one day marry. No, they would don wedding rings when they married. Why? Because the symbol without the reality is meaningless. The same is true for baptism.

Who should be baptized? Believers. Besides the argument that the symbol without the reality makes no sense, Jesus commanded believers to “make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Clearly disciples are to be baptized. Those are Jesus’ words on the matter.

And let me add, that while only believers are to be baptized—ALL believers are to be baptized!

We’ll continue next time with this passage and the question about who should be baptized…

What happened is not always what is taught

And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us. Acts 16:15

This verse, along with Acts 16:40 in which the household of the Philippian jailer was baptized, are cited as biblical support for baptizing children and infants because their parents are believers. But do these passages say anything about children and infants? They do not. Before getting into that, let’s start with a first order of business regarding the formulation of doctrine.

Rule #1: Do not base doctrine on narratives. The Bible recounts events accurately, but that does not mean that everything that was done and recorded was right. It is accurately recorded that Peter denied Jesus, but that is not biblical proof that we too should deny Jesus. The only way we dare cite narratives to support doctrine is if the action in the narrative is taught in a “didactic” (that is, teaching) portion of scripture. In such cases, the narratives that agree with the didactic serve as illustrations of what the Bible teaches.

This is an important rule of interpretation to remember. In the case of child or infant baptism, what is more important than what is recorded about whole households being baptized is, what does the Bible teach about what baptism means and who should be baptized?

More on that next time…

Getting the gospel right

Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
Acts 16:14

The Holy Spirit must open people’s hearts to the gospel, or no one would ever be saved. He only does this, as we who have already been saved speak about Christ and the gospel.

We have already considered that we must be willing to speak about Christ, rather than remain silent because we are afraid we do not know enough or that we haven’t got a polished presentation. We just need to tell what we know and trust the Holy Spirit to do the saving.

We have also considered the value of using our testimony, so long as we give the gospel in our testimony—because the gospel, not our testimony, is “the power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16).

Let us now consider the simplicity of the gospel. An easy way to remember the gospel and to stay on topic is “The Three R’s.”

Ruined. We are all ruined by sin. Why? Because God is Holy and we are not, we deserve His just judgment and condemnation. This is a serious problem for every person.

Remedy. Jesus is the only remedy for our greatest of all problems, which is sin. He died to pay the penalty for our sins so that we may be forgiven instead of condemned.

Receive. Each person must receive Jesus and what He has done to save His people. Receiving Jesus and forgiveness is more than believing the facts. It means trusting in Him alone for forgiveness, and having a sincere desire to turn from our sin because of what He has done for us.

Remembering and sharing these Three R’s is a simple way to tell the gospel. The Holy Spirit cannot open people hearts to believe what they have not heard. So while our presentation of the Three R’s does not need not be slick, it does need to be accurate. And while our testimonies are a great way to share the gospel, the gospel must be shared.

We all have family and friends who need to know Christ. Let us pray for them, that we would have opportunity to share Christ and the gospel, and that the Holy Spirit will “open their hearts” to trust the Lord.