A CHILD REQUIRES BOTH A FATHER AND A MOTHER
MF Blume
May 28, 2000 am
TEXT: Acts 10:1-18, 24, 28, 34, 44-48
A gentile named Cornelius, an Italian, was a man whom most would consider
was to surely go to Heaven due to his goodness.
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We read that he prayed to God always.
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He feared God.
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Gave much alms to the people --- very charitable.
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But we discover he was not ready to go to Heaven.
The shocking thing that many people will realize one day is that God is
not looking for our good deeds so that He might take us into Heaven.
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The angel came to him and told him that he must send for a man named Peter
who was at that time in the house of a man named Simon, who was a tanner.
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Peter would tell Cornelius what to do.
So we see that Cornelius was to do something.
Acts 10:5-6 And now send men to
Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth
with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall
tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
The next day, Peter was at Simon's house and went to pray in the housetop.
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He became very hungry and thought about eating, when God took him into
a "trance."
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He saw a vision in the trance and the vision displayed a great sheet of
cloth with ropes tied to the four corners.
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In the sheet-type basket were all manner of animals.
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A voice told him to kill and eat the animals.
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But these animals were considered "unclean" according to the Law books
of Deuteronomy 14 and Leviticus 11.
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Peter replied he never ate unclean animals and neither would he eat them
in the future.
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But the voice replied saying, "What God hath cleansed, that call
not thou common."
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And this was repeated three times.
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And the vision was over.
We read that Peter wondered what the vision meant.
Acts 10:17 Now while Peter doubted
in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean,
This tells us something about visions.
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Visions are always symbolic.
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Some people read Revelation 13 and read about a mark in the right hand
or forehead of people, and are looking for computer chips on the right
hand as the mark of the beast.
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But we need to notice that John saw a vision when he saw that picture.
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And we need to find out what the vision MEANS.
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It represents something.
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Visions are not to be taken literal.
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So the eating of unclean animals meant something and symbolized something
that Peter did not first understand.
A knock came on the door below.
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It was the men sent for Peter.
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The Holy Ghost told Peter to go down to the men waiting for him at the
door and doubt nothing they say.
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Peter came to them and heard them tell of Cornelius visitation by an angel.
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He obeyed the Spirit and did not doubt it.
Eventually Peter came to the house of Cornelius and said these words:
Acts 10:28 And he said unto them,
Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep
company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed
me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Peter then understood the first part of the vision.
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It was not animals that Peter was to deal with as obedience to the vision.
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The unclean animals that were cleansed by God represented PEOPLE Peter
considered unclean.
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Why did Peter consider some people unclean?
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It was because HEBREW LAW commanded Hebrew people to not keep company or
eat with gentile peoples.
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However, God showed Peter that He cleansed the gentiles.
Now, this is a very important point.
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Peter realized the gentiles could be saved because he realized they were
no longer unclean.
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Peter went into the gentile's house.
Acts 10:27 And as he talked with him,
he
went in, and found many that were come together.
God had cleansed the gentiles so that a Hebrew could enter their houses
and keep company with them.
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This was a monumental event!
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What cleansed the Gentiles?
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Did Water Baptism cleanse them?
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No. Peter went in before they were baptized.
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Did Spirit baptism cleanse them?
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No.
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Peter went in before they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
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So what cleansed them?
Ephesians 2:11-19 Wherefore remember, that
ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision
by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes
were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace,
who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between
us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law
of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself
of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile
both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the
enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off,
and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one
Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
The cross destroyed the dividing force of the Law.
Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
The law was nailed to the cross.
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The work of the cross removed the dividing line between clean Hebrews and
unclean Gentiles.
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In effect it cleansed the Gentiles.
But CLEANSING WAS NOT ENOUGH.
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The Gentiles were still unsaved.
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For after God showed the unclean animals in the vision to Peter we read
God commanded Peter to do two things.
Acts 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise,
Peter; kill, and eat.
KILL AND EAT.
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God did not simply cleanse the animals and leave it at that.
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He cleansed them for Peter to be able to do something with them.
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And that act of Peter was to "kill and eat."
So Peter knew they were cleansed.
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But what next?
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What did the rest of the vision means?
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"Kill and eat?"
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Peter explains that he understands Gentiles are not unclean, but he inquired
about the purpose.
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What did the angel want him there for?
Acts 10:29 Therefore came I unto you
without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for
what intent ye have sent for me?
Then Cornelius explained what the angel said.
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And the final words of Cornelius were:
Acts 10:32 Send therefore to Joppa,
and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house
of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh,
shall speak unto thee.
So Peter knew he was to preach to Cornelius.
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The actual account in verse 6 says that the "speaking unto thee" of verse
32 was "he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do."
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Peter would tell them what to do in his speaking.
So Peter begins to preach and speaks of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.
Suddenly...
Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake
these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Up until this point, Peter said NOTHING about what Cornelius ought to do.
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And the Gentiles received the Holy Ghost.
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How did the Hebrews with Peter know?
Acts 10:45-46a And they of the circumcision
which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that
on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For
they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
This is precisely what happened to the Hebrews in Acts 2 on the Day of
Pentecost.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance.
In fact, afterwards, Peter reported on two occasions
how the gentiles received the Spirit in the same manner the Jews did.
Acts 11:15-17
And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized
with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then
as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us,
who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand
God?
Acts 15:8 And
God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the
Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Peter insisted that the speaking in tongues was the
evidence that the Gentiles received the Holy Ghost.
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Speaking in tongues is not evidence that a person
PRESENTLY has the Holy Ghost but evidence of HAVING one time RECEIVED the
Holy Ghost.
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A lot of people today feel tongues is not part of
the Holy GHost experience.
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They would not get past the council that Peter
confronted in Acts 11.
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When the council heard Gentiles spoke with tongues,
they were settled.
Acts 11:17-18 Forasmuch
then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When
they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God,
saying,
Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
What settled the council was the fact that the Gentiles
spoke in tongues.
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When Peter said God gave them the Holy Ghost "as
he did unto us," Peter meant that the same experience of speaking in tongues
occurred with the Gentiles.
Still, nothing was said to Cornelius as to what to
do.
But finally, for the first time, Peter directly
tells Cornelius what to do.
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Finally, the entire POINT of the vision to Cornelius
and the vision to Peter comes together.
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FInally Peter understands what the last part of the
vision meant, "Kill and eat."
Acts 10:47-48 Can
any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received
the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized
in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain
days.
A command is not an option, like some people would
try to make you think.
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Baptism is not an option.
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Baptism was what the angel referred to when he told
Cornelius that Peter would tell them what to do.
God said, "Kill and eat."
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What does kill refer to?
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What has baptism got to do with "KILL"?
Romans 6:3-4a Know
ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him
by baptism into death:
Peter's act of baptizing the gentiles was in effect
the "killing" that God referred to.
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And this killing is not a negative thing.
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It is a baptism into DEATH,
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It is the killing of the old man and all the sins
that went with him.
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It is an end of our lives in sin.
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And it is a burial of those lives.
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Thank God He will not hold our former sins against
us after we are baptized into Jesus' death, making His death our deaths!
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We left Adam's race by death since we came into by
birth.
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We had to be BORN AGAIN.
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But you cannot have your old life around and also
live a new life.
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New Birth requires OLD DEATH.
For someone to be born again they must first die
to the old life.
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Its not the water that does this.
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Its the power of God that does a work of uniting
us to Jesus' death when we by faith understand the meaning behind DEATH
with Christ, and are baptized into that death.
Someone said this does not refer to WATER baptism.
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They are wrong.
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If they were right, why did Jesus get baptized?
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Why did Peter command WATER BAPTISM?
So the KILLING refers to baptism.
What about the EATING?
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Kill and EAT.
1Corinthians 12:13 For
by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews
or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made
to drink into one Spirit.
Eating puts something INTO THE BODY.
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If the animals represented PEOPLE, then something
about putting PEOPLE into the body was being signified by the vision to
eat animals.
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Baptism is a PUTTING INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST by the
Spirit of God.
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The water does not do it.
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The Spirit does it.
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But the Spirit requires our obedience to DO something.
So baptism is both KILLING AND EATING the gentile
nations.
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In fact 1 Cor. 12:13 mentions the aspect of being
either Jew or Gentile, and a putting into the ONE BODY.
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That is what the issue of Acts 10 was all about!
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And it focused on the water baptism in verse 48.
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It was why the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter.
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Peter would tell him what to do.
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And the only thing Peter told them to do was to be
baptized.
I entitled this message "A Child Requires Both a
Father and a Mother."
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My message is that the CHURCH IS THE MOTHER.
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GOD IS OUR FATHER.
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And every child is born because of the influence
of a FATHER AND A MOTHER.
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Not a FATHER only.
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Not a MOTHER only.
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BOTH.
Hebrews 12:22-23
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn,
which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits
of just men made perfect,
Among the many titles of the CHURCH is the "Heavenly
Jerusalem."
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We are NOT GOING to the heavenly Jerusalem.
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WE ARE COME.
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Past tense.
Galatians 4:26 But
Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
JERUSALEM ABOVE is our mother.
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And the CHURCH is HEAVENLY JERUSALEM.
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So the CHURCH IS THE MOTHER.
There cannot be a child of God without a MOTHER,
the CHURCH.
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The reason God cleansed the unclean animals was so
that Peter would KILL AND EAT them.
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God did not just cleanse them and leave them at that.
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Peter had to kill and eat them.
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PETER WAS THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE CHURCH.
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He represented one of many believers comprising the
BODY OF THE CHURCH.
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The BODY OF CHRIST.
The MOTHER'S role is to receive the SEED of the FATHER
and BIRTH the children into the world..
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The LIFE is not from the mother in the EGG.
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The LIFE is from the FATHER IN THE SEED.
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The EGG fertilizes the SEED OF LIFE.
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So the MOTHER is not the source of Life, but the
Father is.
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The mother's womb is the BAPTISMAL WATERS.
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She receives the SEED of the FATHER which is the
WORD OF GOD.
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And when a soul believes that Word and obeys it,
and is baptized, the SEED, for that soul's new birth, is fertilized.
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And the Holy Ghost Baptism is the BREATH OF LIFE
that a child breathes in, and is born.
There are two camps in this world that are both
false doctrine.
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BIRTH OF A CHILD NEEDS ONLY THE FATHER.
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BIRTH OF A CHILD NEEDS ONLY THE MOTHER.
The first group actually believes that no Mother
is necessary for a birth.
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These are the folks who teach that water baptism
is not necessary.
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They believe that all we must do is believe, and
we are saved.
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EASY BELIEVISM.
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They ignore Peter's command to be baptized.
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They say that Acts 2:38 is not necessary for salvation.
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They believe that we do NOTHING, although the angel
told Cornelius that Peter would tell him what to do.
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They do not teach anything regarding the need for
obedience.
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They tell you that baptism is a work, and we are
not saved by works, so therefore baptism is not a part of salvation.
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But the truth is that the MOTHER'S WOMB is necessary
for the birth of a child.
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The mother's womb is not the SOURCE of life, though.
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It carries GOD'S LIFE, the SEED.
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The WORD IS LIFE.
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And our obedience to be baptized does not put the
LIFE SOURCE on our side as though we SAVED OURSELVES.
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I can no more save myself than I chose to be physically
born almost 40 years ago.
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YOU CANNOT HAVE A CHILD WITHOUT BOTH A FATHER AND
MOTHER.
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And the mother's aspect, the CHURCH, is the preaching
of the Word and the Baptism.
Then you have those who teach there is no FATHER
necessary for child birth.
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They say that you can be baptized and not even exert
faith to BELIEVE God for salvation.
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These people baptize infants because they do not
believe a FATHER is necessary.
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Only the mother and her womb of water baptism.
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They see no need to HEAR THE WORD AND BELIEVE IT
for salvation.
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Infants cannot believe nor understand the Word preached,
but they are baptized anyhow in such circles.
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But the Bible says that baptism is only valid when
a person believes....
Acts 8:36 And
as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the
eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be
baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine
heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still:
and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and
he baptized him.
THE MAN HAD TO BELIEVE WITH ALL HIS HEART.
Faith is the aspect that proves the FATHER is necessary
for New Birth to occur.
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What we must believe is the WORD.
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And the WORD is the SEED OF THE FATHER.
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But to say that a person does not need to believe,
but only be baptized, is to promote BAPTISMAL REGENERATION,
and that is FALSE DOCTRINE.
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The UPCI has been accused of preaching BAPTISMAL
REGENERATION. THAT IS INCORRECT.
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Baptismal regeneration is FALSE DOCTRINE.
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It teaches that one need not believe to be saved.
Mark 16:16 He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be damned.
HE THAT BELIEVETH -- This brings the FATHER into
the picture.
AND IS BAPTIZED - This brings the Mother into
the picture.
SHALL BE SAVED.
Someone said that Jesus' death on the cross saves
all by default.
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They think there is no need for any obedience.
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But God cleansed the world by the cross, by removing
the law that distinguished Hebrews alone as heirs of the Kingdom.
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Yet after being cleansed, the gentiles had to yet
DIE AND BE INCLUDED into the Body.
KILL AND EAT.
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The old man is dealt with in the slaying.
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The new man is pictured in the eating.
And I like the last phrase of Acts 10.
"Then prayed they him to tarry certain
days. "
Peter said, "Sure!"
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"You're cleansed now, and I can keep company with
you."
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"Not only that, you are now my very own brothers
and sisters."
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"You were born of the same FATHER and MOTHER that
I was born of!"
A child's birth requires both a Father and a Mother.