Doctrine and Error

Doctrine and Error!

The Water Baptism Controversy!

When I first became a Christian and went to Bible College there was a controversy about water baptism, whether to baptize in the name of Jesus or in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. There was division in the Church world over which name to baptize in and there probably still is; both camps had scriptures to back up their doctrine. I have even heard people baptize in the name of The Father, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit.

I haven’t thought about this in a long time because I didn’t really care, I have baptized people in the name of Jesus and in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. But recently it came to mind along with the thought that there is only One GOD, The Father; One Son, Jesus Christ and One Spirit of GOD, Holy Spirit!

Sometimes we refer to them individually and sometimes in group and sometimes we refer to all three as GOD. And all three ways are correct. That is the awesomeness of GOD He is One GOD; yet we know Him and interact with Him in three different capacities.

This sometimes causes us controversies because people want to make Him into three persons but He is One GOD. Sometimes in my prayers I find myself speaking to GOD, Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit; and often I mix their attributes in the fervency of my prayer; getting tongue tied around names and attributes. But, then I think well they are the same. The One True GOD is every Old Testament name of GOD and the attributes they imply and He is every name of Jesus Christ and all the attributes they imply and He is every name of The Spirit of GOD and all the attributes they imply.

What we call GOD does not change who He is or what He does or how we should respond to Him! But, we let it! How we serve Him, what we write about Him and what we call Him tells others what we believe and if our GOD is the One True GOD or a false god.

It is sad that some people strive to be so theologically intelligent, so Biblically correct that they lose the Wisdom of GOD! The desire of some to be on the cutting edge of spiritual knowledge, striving to find hidden secrets in the Scriptures causes them to become teachers of false doctrines. The secrets of the Scriptures are not hidden to the student of the Bible if they study it as the Word of GOD. Many today understand the process of finding the secrets of the Bible that have been hidden in plain sight of the reader. When we study the history of the Scriptures, when we study the original languages in comparison to our modern languages, when we study the context that they were written in (to who and why) we will be able to see what GOD has not hidden from us but what religion has covered up in its attempts to control the Church.

Every Christian denomination has error in their doctrine, some are flagrant, some are subtle. The reason this is so is because every denomination has doctrine that separates it from all other denominations. This is error! There is no division in the Word of GOD except between Light and dark, obedience and lawlessness! Every other division is error! And error is sin!

This is why GOD commands every believer to read, study, meditate and learn His Word, The Bible. He holds each of us who claim to be a Christian, who say we are serving GOD to know and proclaim the truth and revelation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to the world where we live. He has commanded us to love one another and be in unity as He loves us and the GODhead is in unity.

Forget all of your preconceived or learned ideas about the Bible and study it for what it says about itself, because it is the Divinely inspired Word of GOD written by men under the direction of Holy Spirit.

So coming full circle this is why I started this paper about water baptism. It is one of the dividing errors because both ways are given and used in the New Testament so both ways are correct.  GOD by any of His names in the Bible is GOD!

Scriptures:

to baptize; to consecrate (by pouring out on or putting into). Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:25-26, 33, 3:22, 26, 4:1-2; Acts 1:5, 8:38, 11:16, 19:4; 1 Corinthians 1:14-17

baptizing; to baptize. Matthew 28:19; John 1:28, 31, 3:23

baptism (as a state). to be baptized, to baptize. Matthew 3:6, 13-14, 16, 20:22-23; Mark 1:4-5, 9, 10:38-39, 16:16; Luke 3:3, 7, 12, 21, 7:29-30, 12:50; John 3:23; Acts 1:5, 22, 2:38, 41, 8:12-13, 16, 36, 9:18, 47-48, 10:37, 11:16, 13:24, 16:15, 33, 18:8, 18:25-19:5, 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 1:13, 10:2, 12:13, 15:29; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:5; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21

Controversy and mystery – 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Titus 1:10-16

Study and teach – Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15; Joshua 1:7-9; 1 Timothy 3:14-16; 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5; Titus 2; Revelation 1:1-3

Obey and Unity – John 15:9-17; 17