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Sermons Preached in Harrisonburg, VA
Receiving Forgiveness (4) by Larry Rouse
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PowerPoint
Audio
What is God's
Forgiveness Like? (2)
by Larry Rouse
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PowerPoint
Audio
Instrumental
Music and the Cross of Christ
by Larry
Rouse
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Audio
Where Are the Dead
by Larry Rouse
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The Foundation
of Forgiveness (1)
by Larry Rouse
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Sermons Preached in Williamsburg, VA
In Search of the Servant of God (Part 1) by Larry Rouse
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The
highest reward
for man's toil is not what he gets for it,
but what he
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Restudying the Issues of the 50's and 60's
Bill
Hall Series
Introduction
Church Sponsored Orphan
Homes
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The Sponsoring Church Arrangement
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Kitchens and Fellowship Halls
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Charlottesville, VA 22901
Baptized In The Name Of...
By William J. Stewart
What is correct? Is it baptism in the name of...
"the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19);
"Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38);
"the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:16; 19:5; or
"the Lord" (Acts 10:48)?
Who is right? Are you willing to say that Jesus was in error? Or are you comfortable in stating that the apostles, who were guided by the Spirit were wrong? There are various arguments which have been made for one phrase or the other, but I believe such debate has complete missed the point of the command. If there were a special God-ordained phrase or formula which must be stated verbatim when one is baptized, then surely God would have told us so.
“The key is to understand what "in the name of" means.”
Though some will tell us that Matthew 28:19 IS a formulated statement which must be used for baptism to be valid, Jesus did not present it in that fashion. Furthermore, that we see several examples of and references to baptism through the rest of the New Testament, but never again the words of Matthew 28:19, would also indicate that these were not required words for baptism. There is no magic formula to be pronounced at baptism.
The key is to understand what "in the name of" means. Note a few examples of this phrase to understand the usage of it:
"...Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And he came out that very hour." (Acts 16:18)
"In the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my
spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
(1 Corinthians 5:4)
"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17)
The phrase is used to convey authority. When Paul commanded the evil spirit to come out of the girl, he did so by the authority of (i.e.. in the name of) Christ. Likewise, when he commanded the Corinthians to deal with a discipline issue, it was "in the name of or by the authority of Christ. When it comes to our language and conduct, we are to do all "in the name of" or by the authority of Christ. The phrase identifies the source of our authority.
When it comes to baptism, it is not whether we say "the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit", "Jesus Christ", "the Lord Jesus", or "the Lord", but it is the acknowledgement of the authority of God. Baptism is an act of obedience to the commandment of God. We cannot be baptized appropriately if we do not recognize God's authority.