Believers in Acts The book of Acts reveals

Believers in Acts

ü The book of Acts reveals what we must do to be saved. ü Hear – Acts 2: 37 -38, 16: 14 -15, 18: 8 ü Believe – Acts 8: 12 -13, 16: 31 -32 ü Repent – Acts 2: 38, 17: 30 -31 ü Confess Jesus – Acts 8: 37 ü Baptism – Acts 2: 38, 8: 12 -13, 36 -38, 22: 16, 16: 33, 18: 8 2

Examples of baptism in Acts Text - Acts Hear Pentecost 2: 38 Samaritans 8: 12 -13 The Eunuch 8: 36 -38 Paul 9: 18, 22: 16 Cornelius 10: 47 -48 Believe Repent Confess Baptized 3

Examples of baptism in Acts Text - Acts Hear Lydia, Philippi 16: 13 Philippian Jailer 16: 31 -33 Corinth 18: 8 Ephesus 19: 1 -5 Believe Repent Confess Baptized 4

Examples with baptism ü Concerning the chart: ü We have complete pattern of obedience to salvation! ü Notice, every example heard the word! Every example (in this chart) was baptized ü What about blanks – implied 5

Other accounts ü Are there accounts that don’t mention baptism? ü There are many accounts and passages that only mention belief or something similar. ü Sometimes these passages are used to deny the importance of baptism ü Consider the following: 6

Other accounts ü Acts 4: 4 “many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. ” 7

Other accounts ü Acts 5: 14 “believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, …” 8

Other accounts ü Acts 6: 7 “Then the word of God spread, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. ” 9

Other accounts ü Acts 9: 35 “So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” 10

Other accounts ü Acts 9: 42 “And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. ” 11

Other accounts ü Acts 11: 21 “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. ” 12

Other accounts ü Acts 13: 12 “Then the proconsul (Sergius Paulus) believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. ” 13

Other accounts ü Acts 13: 48 -49 “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. ” 14

Other accounts ü Acts 14: 1 “Now it happened at Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. ” 15

Other accounts ü Acts 17: 34 “However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. ” 16

Other accounts ü Acts 19: 18 -19 “And many who believed, came confessing and telling their deeds. ” 17

Other accounts ü More could be added to these! ü Let us be careful how we describe these examples ü But do these passages nullify anything beyond what is specifically stated? ü Do these passages imply that they were NOT baptized? 18

Does “belief” nullify baptism? ü Believe can be used in different ways: ü Accepting information 1 Corinthians 11: 18, Matthew 9: 28 Acts 26: 27, James 2: 19 ü The implication of “faith only” 19

Does “belief” nullify baptism? ü Believe can mean: ü Belief that responds Heb. 11 (faith) Acts 8: 12, 13, 36 -37 Most actually believe this, though they reject certain actions (such as baptism) 20

Does “belief” nullify baptism? ü Believe can mean: ü An inclusive statement for everything associated with one’s belief ü Synecdoche – “Those are nice wheels” Luke 7: 6, “roof” means house Psalm 24: 4, “clean hands and pure heart” not just the hands or heart ü Belief often used this way in Acts! 21

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 2: 44, “Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. ” ü Who were those who believed? The 3000+ who repented and were baptized! ü They had obeyed and continued to obey God’s instructions! 22

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 10: 43, “To him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will have remission of sins. ” ü The context – first Gentile convert! (note “whoever”) ü Followed by outpouring of H. S. 23

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 10: 43, “whoever believes in Him will have remission of sins. ” ü “Can anyone forbid water? ” (10: 47 -48) ü Peter relates back to their conversion – Acts 2: 38 ü Acts 11: 17, “when we believed on the Lord…” 24

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 16: 34, Of the jailer we read, “and he rejoiced having believed in God with all his household” ü The question asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ” (30) ü Paul’s response, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, …” (31) 25

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 16: 31, often used as the all inclusive steps of obedience ü Some stop with that verse. ü NOTICE: 32, “THEN they spoke the word of the Lord to him…” ü The same hour of the night they were baptized, (33) ü Consider these thoughts with vs. 34 26

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 18: 8, “Then Crispus, the ruler of the Synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. ” ü Some contend that is all he did ü Consider 1 Cor. 1: 14 -15, “I thank God I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, …” ü This verifies that “believe” sometimes is inclusive. 27

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 19: 2, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? ” ü They had not heard of H. S. ü Consider Acts 19: 3 “Into what then were you baptized? ” ü Tie these two statements together and you see “believe” was inclusive of their baptism. 28

The “system” of belief: ü Acts 19: 2, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? ” ü Following this, we find there was a need for them to be properly baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus. ” 29

The “system” of belief: ü Other examples, “turned to the Lord”; “obedient to the faith”, etc. Same premise! ü Being multiplied – Ac. 5: 14, 6: 1, 9: 31, 11: 24; 12: 24, etc. 30

Final thoughts: How many times does something have to be mentioned to be true? ü We must address all passages dealing with a particular subject (i. e. salvation) ü We must respect context as well! This is how we reconcile alleged discrepancies. 31

Final thoughts: Imagine how the Bible would read if every passage had to contain every detail? ü Do we recognize this rule in our everyday conversations and correspondence? 32

Final thoughts: If the previous is true, how do those who teach “faith only” reconcile passages that don’t call for “the sinner’s prayer” ü Rules of interpretation are not applied consistently! 33

Does your belief include obedience? 34