Part 2, 'If Baptism Is So Important...'

If you think about it for a moment, any one of the other terms used here could be used in place of baptism. In other words I could say, "If Believing is so important...' or 'If repentance is so important...'

I write this because baptism, a very biblical word, is so often misused or misunderstood altogether. The masses are not willing to put any study into it. They rather follow blindly the teachings of those who make them feel O.K.

So let's pick up where we left off last time. Our third point begins;

3.) In Acts 3:19-20 we read;

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. (NIV)

I find it interesting, the phrase, "and turn to God" in several versions (KJV, NKJV, Darby's, KJ21, Webster's, etc) render this as, "be converted". If a person wants to stick with the NIV, then look at Acts 15:3:
"The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad." (NIV)

The Greek text that the NIV is taken from uses the same root word in both of these passages, only the tense is different (epistrepho/epistrophe). 

So now the question must be asked, what did Peter mean by saying, "Be converted?"

He told them to ''repent and be converted''. 

So it is highly unlikely 'be converted' means only to repent. Otherwise, Peter would then be saying, 'Repent and repent.' No, he must have been saying to repent and something else in addition to repentance. 

To a Jew in the first century, to 'convert' meant something they all understood. A Jew was born into their religion so there was no need to convert. 

Conversion was for those outside of Israel, that is, the Gentiles. And in order for Gentiles to convert or become a Jew, they had to adopt the Jewish set of beliefs (i.e. repent) and then, to complete this conversion and have their status changed, they were to undergo tevilah, which is where they immerse themselves in a water bath called a mikveh. 

'Mikveh' or 'mikvah' is defined as follows:
'Mikvah'- (f., pl. "Mikvaot"); a ritual pool of water, used for the purpose of attaining ritual purity. Immersion in a Mikvah is performed for the following main purposes: 
It is used in connection with Repentance, to remove the impurity of sin. 

It is also used in connection with Conversion, because the convert has taken upon himself or herself to adopt the lifestyle of the Jew, that is based on the recognition of God as King of the Universe and on the obligation to perform the commandments of the Torah.
Regarding the practice of baptizing proselytes, Lightfoot, in Horae Hebraicae explains:

"As soon as he grows whole of the wound of circumcision, they bring him to Baptism, and being placed in the water they again instruct him in some weightier and in some lighter commands of the Law. Which being heard, he plunges himself and comes up, and, behold, he is an Israelite in all things.''

In Acts 2:38 Peter says, ''Repent and be baptized…'' A short while later, he says, ''Repent and be converted…''

Did Peter change his story so soon? 

Or is he saying the same thing?

Jews understood that the conversion process involved this tevilah—which is the Jewish term for what Christians call baptism. Jesus speaks of the same thing in John 3 with Nicodemus.
So although Peter did not use the word "baptism" in Acts 3:19 he was speaking of it!
The phrase, ''Repent and be baptized…'' is synonymous with ''Repent and be converted…''

4.) Now we come to John 3:16;
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

This is probably the most often quoted verse in the New Testament. It is isolated from other portions of God's Word and set apart from the rest of the dialogue in which it took place. 

To 'believe in Jesus' means to believe the gospel message, and baptism is always a part of that gospel message when looked at properly and honestly.

We must also remember that this particular verse is only one small part of a much larger conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus. Verse 16 of chapter 3 deals with faith in the Son.

Repentance is talked about in regards to the snake that was lifted up and then again in verses 19-21. 

John 3 verses 3 and 5 deal with baptism. This shows the importance of looking at the overall picture and not focusing in on any single verse or passage. 

With that in mind, the NIV is the only translation that uses the word 'shall' in John 3:16. 

All other translations render this verse, 
'…whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.'
Even "might not perish" is used by those who know Greek best.

The NIV incorrectly takes a 'maybe' and turns it into a 'will be'.

God gave us His Son so that we should not have to perish.

According to James, faith alone, by itself, will not save us:

James 2:19-20
"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?"

God's Holy Word tells us that 'Faith' must have actions with which to back it up.

I encourage you to read and re-read God's Word and come to His conclusion in all matters. 
God bless until our next time...