A Bible Study That May Shock You!

 

LOST FOUNDATIONS

OF THE GOSPEL

 

 -Is the “Sinner’s Prayer” even Biblical at all?

-Why did the apostles baptize people right away?

-How do we get people converted the Bible way?

-Why are the “6 Foundations” not preached properly at all in today’s church?

 

 

(1) Welcome to a Bible Study that may surprise and even shock you! (As it does with a lot of people). If you want to get the most out of it, please write your answers to each question below.

(2) As you read each of the Bible passages, please answer each question-

(a) Please READ Heb 6:1-2. Then write out the "six foundations" below (numbering them)-

ANSWER -

How important do you think these six things are?

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What words does verse 1 use to describe these six things?

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Before we continue, let us talk briefly about Repentance and Faith, since these are such crucial things in any true conversion. What is Repentance? It is a "turning away" from sin involving 'Godly sorrow', confession to God and a real heart-change. What is genuine Faith? It is a simple childlike belief and trust in Christ's righteousness - not our own - to justify us before God and save us. Both of these things are clearly totally essential to salvation. But what about the other Foundations?

(b) One major thing that we are looking at in this section is whether or not the early church used the "sinner's prayer" to lead people to the Lord - or whether they used the FOUNDATIONS instead. What exactly did the apostles tell people to do to become truly converted? Did they ever use the "sinner's prayer"? If not, what did they use instead?

The book of Acts is probably the best place to start in answering these questions, as it is the only book where we actually see thousands upon thousands of people becoming converted.

READ Acts 2:37-38. What were the 3 things that Peter told the people to DO in response to the gospel? (Please number them)-

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Please read on through verse 41. Do we see any signs of the people saying a "sinner's prayer" or giving their "heart to the Lord" like we do today?

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How soon did they baptize them?

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(c) READ Acts 8:12-17. Again, in this passage, do we see people "asking Jesus into their heart" or "praying a little prayer" like we do today?

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Again, there seemed to be 3 important elements in their response to the gospel. What were these 3 things?

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How soon did they baptize them?

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What was the “laying on of hands” used for?

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(d) READ Acts 10:44-48. Is the pattern here similar to what we have just seen in the other passages? In what way?

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Do you think these people may have already been godly, holiness-seeking people - even before Peter preached to them? Give reasons for your answer.

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How did the onlookers know that these people were filled with the Holy Spirit?

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Was it "optional" for them to be baptized?

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(e) READ Acts 11:15-18 and compare it with Acts 10:44-48 and also Acts 2:4. Does it seem that being "filled with", 'baptized with', or "receiving" the Holy Spirit may all refer to the same experience? Quote Scripture to back up your answer.

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Also, in light of these passages, do you think that the Spirit "coming upon" or "falling upon" someone is generally referring to this same type of experience?

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(f) READ Acts 19:1-6. Do we see any signs of people saying a "sinner's prayer" or giving their "heart to the Lord" in this passage?

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Do you think these people had already repented - even before Paul preached to them? Give reasons for your answer.

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Write out the "pattern" of what happened to these people when they responded to the gospel preached by Paul.

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Is it basically the same pattern that we have been seeing in the other passages?

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How could Paul tell that they had been filled with the Holy Spirit?

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(g) The conversion of Saul (who later became Paul) is recounted in Acts 9 and also Acts 22. Please READ Acts 9:1-18. Do we see (1) Repentance, (2) Baptism and (3) Receiving the Holy Spirit in this passage?

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In this and other passages, did it seem to matter too much what ORDER baptism or the infilling of the Spirit occurred? Give more than one scriptural example as proof of your answer.

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(h) Let us look again at how soon people were baptized in the Bible. Did they have to wait 6 weeks, 6 months - or was it immediate? Please READ Acts 16:25-33. At roughly what time of day were the Jailer and his family baptized?

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Does the above passage give the impression that baptism is very important? In what way?

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Please READ Acts 8:35-38. Do you think Philip spoke about baptism when he was preaching the gospel to the Eunuch? How can you tell?

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Based on these passages, and all that we have seen, how soon do you think we should baptize people?

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We have now looked at virtually EVERY conversion that is detailed in the entire book of Acts. At any time did we see anyone "asking Jesus into their heart" or repeating a "sinner's prayer" in order to become a Christian?

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After all that we have seen, do you think that when people ask "What should we do?", then our best answer might be the same as Peter's on the Day of Pentecost? Please WRITE OUT Acts 2:38 below-

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(i) Let us now seek to answer this question: Is water baptism mostly just an outward "SYMBOL" - or is there something powerful happening SPIRITUALLY in baptism?

Please READ Rom 6:3-8. According to this passage, what happens to our "old life" through baptism?

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Please READ Col 2:11-12. According to this passage, what is happening inside of us when we are baptized?

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Please describe what the term "circumcision of the heart" means to you-

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Regarding the practice of 'sprinkling' little infants, the Greek word "baptizo" means to "dip or immerse" - not sprinkle - and the two passages we have just read describe baptism as a "burial". Therefore baptism surely has to be by "full immersion" under the water. Do you agree?

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And anyway, little infants are not old enough to "believe" the gospel first. Please READ Mark 16:15-16. Can a little baby "believe"? And therefore, according to this passage, should they be baptized?

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OBJECTIONS TO THE TEACHINGS ABOVE

There are several objections that people often raise when they hear this teaching. Often they are trying to defend the idea that all we need to do is "pray a little prayer" to become a true 'Bible Christian'. They do not want to admit that the scriptural pattern is (1) Repentance, (2) Baptism, and (3) Receiving the Holy Spirit. Below are some of the main objections that people seem to raise-

(a) "What about the Thief on the cross?" - OUR ANSWER: We believe in "death-bed" repentance, and this is certainly an example of that. But it should also be noted that this took place BEFORE the New Covenant truly began - before Jesus died and rose again - and before the Spirit was given at Pentecost. Therefore it is not a very good example for us to copy if we want to experience a full New Testament conversion.

(b) What about Romans 10 - which is so often quoted as a kind-of "formula" for becoming a Christian? - OUR ANSWER: Please READ Rom 10:9-13. The first question we must ask is- Is this passage meant to be an actual 'formula' for salvation? Is that the actual purpose of it? Please give your opinion.

ANSWER -

Secondly, it is a wonderful passage about FAITH - a very important topic. But who is it written to - believers or unbelievers? Who is likely to be reading the book of Romans? Might Rom 10 perhaps be written differently if it really was a "salvation formula" being written to unbelievers?

ANSWER -

Thirdly, when we look at the OVERWHELMING evidence on the side of "Repentance, Baptism & Receiving the Spirit" - and we look at the fact that we cannot find anyone in the whole Book of Acts simply "praying a prayer" for salvation - shouldn't we go with the overwhelming Bible way? Surely we have to look at what the "weight" of Scripture teaches - and go with that? Isn't this what we should always do in these situations - go with the overwhelming "weight" of Scripture? Please give your opinion.

ANSWER -

Fourthly, Rom 10 says that "Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved". But perhaps we should ask ourselves- "When did Paul himself first 'call on the name of the Lord'?" When did this moment occur for him? Please READ Acts 22:16 and write below the actual words that Ananias spoke to him-

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As we can see from the above passage, the moment when Paul first "called on the name of the Lord" was actually IN BAPTISM. Do you find this significant?

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Ultimately, I do not find Rom 10 to be conclusive proof against our teachings - or for the idea of a "sinner's prayer". It does not make sense to take that meaning from it when the whole rest of the New Testament teaches something different.

(c) Many people ask, "What about the old Revivalists and Reformers from past centuries? The Christianity of their time did not involve Baptism by Immersion or being filled with the Holy Spirit. What about these heroes of old?"

OUR ANSWER:  I actually believe that God has slowly been restoring His truths to the church bit by bit over the centuries, since the Great Reformation. If you look at history you will see that it started with "Justification by Faith" in the 1500's, then the "New Birth" and Sanctification, then Baptism by Immersion, then healing, then Baptism of the Spirit with 'tongues', etc, until today we have the opportunity to fully enter into virtually everything that the early church entered into - and powerful Spirit-filled Revivals are happening around the globe. The church has come full circle in many ways, but still I feel we need one last Great Reformation to fully restore all that was lost. It has taken a very long time for the church to emerge out of the dark ages, and there have been many "heroes" along the way. To me, men like Luther, Wesley, Whitefield, Finney, etc, are a great inspiration - and I write about them and preach about them all the time. But yes - they lived in an era when Christianity seemingly had less light than she does today. Thus I believe all the people of those times will be judged by the light that they walked in. It is as simple as that. I do not condemn them at all - in fact I admire many of those old preachers and learn as much from them as I can.

(d) "Do you believe in Baptismal Regeneration?" - OUR ANSWER: No! We certainly do NOT believe in Baptismal Regeneration - which is basically an old Catholic doctrine. All we are saying is simply that the Bible way of becoming converted seems to be through Faith, Repentance, Baptism and Receiving the Holy Spirit. It is quite different from what we have been taught to preach today, and I believe we are short-changing a lot of people. Don't you think this has to be one of the most important topics that Christians today could possibly discuss? Please comment.

ANSWER -

(e) "Couldn't this be seen as a kind-of Salvation by works?" - OUR ANSWER: Absolutely not! Where are the "works"? Is Faith a work? Is Repentance a 'work'? Is water-baptism a work? (It is quick, it happens only once, and the person does not even do it to themselves - so how can they be "working"?) Is baptism with the Holy Spirit a 'work'? In my opinion, none of these things are remotely like 'works' at all. Where is the "working" going on? Please give your opinion.

ANSWER -

 

(3) Please listen to this Audio - "We Must Preach the Foundations!" by Andrew Strom –

AUDIO

(You can download Audio onto your hard-drive
by RIGHT-clicking it and choosing "Save Target As").

 

(a) Were you able to listen to the full Audio?

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(b) Have you ever heard the verse Rev 3:20 "Behold I stand at the door and knock..." being used out of context to get people to 'ask Jesus into their heart'? Does it surprise you how utterly out-of-context it is?

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(c) When Andrew Strom commented that he now baptizes "In the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit - in the name of Jesus Christ" - what was his reason for adding "In the name of Jesus Christ" onto the end?

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(4) Please look up the following Bible passages and answer the questions-

(a) READ 1 Cor 10:1-2. This Scripture is using a "type and shadow" from the Old Testament to make a point about the New. If the Israelites were "baptized into Moses" in the 'cloud and in the sea' then what do you believe would be the New Testament equivalent?

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(b) Please READ Gal 3:27. Do you think there is a connection between this verse and the passage that we just read (1 Cor 10:1-2)? If so, what?

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(b) Please READ 1 Peter 3:20-21. Again, there is a type and shadow from the Old Testament being used here - this time Noah and the Ark. Peter says that Noah's family was "saved through water". What does he say is the New Testament equivalent of this?

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(c) Please READ Titus 3:5-6 and compare it with John 3:5. There may or may not be a connection between these two passages. Do you think so, and if so, what is it?

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(d) Please READ Matt 28:19. In light of this verse, do you think it is possible to "make disciples" without baptizing them? Quote the Scripture to back up your answer.

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(e) We ourselves tend to hold to the classic Pentecostal position regarding "tongues" - that generally they are the 'initial evidence' of getting filled with the Holy Spirit that we expect to see. Please WRITE OUT the following verses-

Acts 2:4

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Acts 10:45-46

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Acts 19:6

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Acts 8:17-18

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Mark 16:17

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1 Cor 14:18

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Of course, this baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of Holiness and Power and Love and Victory over sin - which are the big important things that we expect to see in a person's life after this experience. But we regard tongues as an important "initial evidence" of receiving the Holy Spirit. -And vital for ongoing prayer also. Paul said "I speak in tongues more than you all." So he obviously prayed in tongues a lot. Shouldn't we do likewise?

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(f) OBJECTIONS TO 'TONGUES'

Some people believe that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today at all. This seems rather a ridiculous argument to us, but we cannot go into it here. The objection that we find most common is that many believe tongues is only for "some" believers - and yet we believe that God desires ALL His children to have such a 'prayer-language'. The passage that seems to confuse people most is found in 1 Corinthians. Please READ 1 Cor 12:29-30. Because this passage asks "Are all apostles, are all prophets... Do all speak in tongues?" (to which the obvious answer is "No"), people are left thinking that tongues is only for 'some'. But what they fail to notice is that this passage is speaking about "ministry gifts" in the church. The whole passage is listing 'ministry-offices' that some are called to. And one of these is to "speak out publicly" in tongues during a church meeting - which must always have interpretation. Only certain people are called to do this. That is the point Paul is making. They have a special anointing to use tongues as a public ministry - which is not for everyone. But certainly he is not talking about the private "prayer language" that we believe Scripture shows is available to every believer. If you read the entire chapters 1 Cor 12 - 14 with this in mind, we believe it will clear up a lot of confusion. There are two different types of tongues. One is for public ministry (which must be interpreted) and the other is for private use in personal prayer (-available to everyone). Does this explanation make sense to you?

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(5) Having studied this topic so thoroughly, do you now have the desire to go out and see people Repent, be Baptized, and be Filled with the Holy Spirit? Is that the type of conversion you want to see happening from now on?

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(6) HOMEWORK:  Please go to at least 3 of your friends and acquaintances. Gently and lovingly share these Scriptures with them and make sure that they have been baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. (Please be gentle!)

 

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