>>continue....G
What happened in Acts 2 is that after they had accepted Peter's message about
the Messiah, they  wanted to know what they could do since they have
crucified Him, realizing they couldn't turn back the hands of time.  They
didn't ask, "Men and brethren, what shall we do TO BE SAVED?"  NO!  They
said, "...what shall we do?"   Yes, we can go back there and find Salvation
in Acts 2 NOW, but we wouldn't have known that unless we had read the rest of
the Book!
So in Acts 10, Peter did not preach the same message he preached to Israel in
Acts 2.  In Acts 15, this "same" Peter said not a word about Gentiles getting
baptized in any water to get saved.  He says Jews and Gentiles could get
saved the same way, "But we believe that THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST we shall be saved, even as they." (Acts 15:11)
So what we get before we get out of the book of Acts 8, is that a man is
"saved by grace through faith alone" (See the Ethiopian with Philip),
and Peter eventually learned this lesson as well. What happened in Acts 10 to
the Gentiles was to "prove" to the Jewish disciples that these people didn't
have the need to get in water first to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,
and their proof was that these Gentiles spoke with tongues.  And I might
add, Peter understood them.
Now you might say, "Okay, it doesn't say anything in there about Peter
understanding what those Gentiles were saying when they spoke in tongues."
He did.  If  you read Acts chapter 11, you will find Peter in Jerusalem
telling those Jews what happened in Acts 10.  In verse 15 we read, "And as I
began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as ON US AT THE BEGINNING. Well,
when was this "beginning?"  The beginning is found in Acts chapter 2, where
the Holy Ghost fell on the apostles and they began to speak with other
tongues (Acts 2:4), which were KNOWN LANGUAGES! (Acts 2:6).
Now, let's go over in Acts 19:1-8, where we find Apollos' disciples who
knew nothing about the Holy Ghost.  These people were disciples of John the
Baptist.  John did not preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.  John's baptism was to make "Christ manifest to Israel" (John 1:31).
For that matter, if one wants to speak about baptisms, it would be worthy to
note the Bible speaks about seven of them!  Though this leads to another
whole topic, suffice it to say that there is the BAPTISM OF MOSES (1 Cor.
10:1-5), the BAPTISM OF JOHN (John 1:31), the BAPTISM OF SUFFERING
(Matt.20:22), the BAPTISM FOR THE NATION OF ISRAEL, Jews (Acts 2), THE
GENTILES (Acts 10), the BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Eph. 4:4,5), and the
BAPTISM OF FIRE (Matt. 3:11-12). That baptism by fire has nothing to do with
the Holy Spirit, it has to do with the FIRES OF HELL.  It's an "immersion"
in fire,  what the Bible calls the Lake of Fire.
So Paul approaches Apollos and his disciples, and says:
"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?"
Answer:
"We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost."
Oops.  Paul now knows of their deficiency.  It is obvious Apollos and his
disciples haven't been up-to-date concerning the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus, and this whole conversation is a testimony to that
fact.  But Paul is a man who likes to get the facts straight, so he wants to
know:
"Unto what then were ye baptized?"
They answered,
"Unto John's baptism."
Paul got what he wanted.  He responds:
"John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people,
that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on
Christ Jesus."
These people reacted to Paul's message by believing. Paul lays his hands on
these Gentiles and they begin to speak in tongues.  Why?  Well, isn't Paul a
Jew? And don't the Jews require a sign?  However, you might say, "Yes, but
Paul was not one of them who didn't believe (1 Cor. 14:22)." And you would be
absolutely correct.  However, notice where all this is taking place (Acts
18:26; 19:6-8).  All this is taking place by a "SYNAGOGUE" where there are
"NON-BELIEVING JEWS."  What took place caused such a commotion that Paul went
right in the synagogue and spoke for at least three months, "disputing and
persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."
It would also be worthy to note, as you read the Bible, that the Gentiles who
received the gift of tongues, etc., were only the converts who believed under
the direct personal ministry of the Apostles. Nowhere do I find these gifts
are given to their converts, and their converts to their convents, and to
their converts, etc.
continue....
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 þ OLX 2.2 TD þ   My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter...
--- GEcho/32 1.20/Pro
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