First I want to give honor to the Lord Jesus Christ who enlightened my eyes to see the truth of His Word. This is a revelation that I received from the Lord years ago and it has kept me through the years.
Before I was became a Christian I was a devout atheist. I didn’t believe that God existed and didn’t have a lot of respect for religion. One day that all changed.
It began on a day when a friend and I went for a drive around the city of Dallas Texas. I used to drink alcohol, take drugs and smoke marijuana and drive on the highway. It was just something that I did. This day we were going about 75 MPH in a Volkswagen bug on I-35 in Dallas and when going up an overpass a car sped past us and almost ran into my car. I turned the steering wheel to the left to avoid being hit and when I tried to turn the wheel back to balance the car out it started going from right to left and was losing control. At that time I blacked out. The next thing I know I came out of it and grabbed the wheel and turned it to the right and the car did a 360 degree turn and stopped straight in the lane. The thing about it the car was in neutral. Also I didn’t do it myself. A strong power caused me to turn the car and it was so perfect I never could have done it. And I remember seeing a heavenly being causing me to do this. At that time I remembered my grandmother who said she had been praying for me and thinking there is a God.
I can’t remember the exact order of everything that happened to me but I do remember that after that I had wanted to purchase a book about how to live a better life. I saw books in the bookstores but never did purchase one. Finally I was flying back to Dallas, Texas from Springfield, VA and I looked at the bookstore in Dulles International Airport and they had two books on the subject of how to live a better life. I looked at the description of the books and they were both about Jesus. I knew I had a decision to make. And I knew if I chose to go with it I couldn’t turn my back on it. So I thought about it and I decided to buy the book. The only thing I remember reading about was that Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7. But from that point on I wanted to believe in God.
It took a while but after I read the book all these Christians started coming into my life. I was at work and a lady asked me if I knew Jesus and I said no, and she said you better before it is too late. So I said my first prayer. It wasn’t to ask to know Jesus, I was having difficulty with a soda machine at the time and I couldn’t get it to take my money. So I asked the Lord if he was real to cause the machine to take my money and it did.
My understanding was very limited and I was so ignorant of how life was supposed to be that I ended up going delusional and believed that my delusions were the way it was it was life as I had never seen it.
I was completely ignorant of how the plan of salvation was supposed to be followed. I didn't know how to repent. I ended up going to the altar to repent but did not know what to do. I stood at the altar for a long period of time and didn't say anything. Finally a man said in my hearing I repent of my sins in the Name of Jesus Christ. And I repeated his words but didn't know enough to say it with my heart and know what I was saying. Afterword I thought I had lied to God and didn't have any hope. I ended up telling the Pastor about it, even though I had tried to make it right, I ended up going on a long trail of learning. God had his hand on me the whole way. I was baptized in this church in the Name of Jesus Christ, but again I didn't have understanding of why and what it meant.
I later learned that repentance is making a conscious decision to turn from our own way and any sins that are in our life and commit to living a life following the Lord Jesus Christ in holiness, submission and obedience to his word. At this point you can ask the Lord to forgive you for any past wrongs, but your sins will be washed away in baptism as you will read later. As it is written, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but an answer of a good conscience toward God. (1Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16)
I went through a few churches and from it I began a quest to find out how baptism was supposed to be. I knew in Matthew 28:19 it says: Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
I also learned that in the Book of Acts 2:38 it states then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
I was aware of a rift in churches because of how they baptized and I was going to find the truth about it.
So I began when I had moved to northern Virginia I started to go to different churches and I kept in touch with one of the churches in Texas for guidance. At the churches that I went to in Texas, if you owned a TV you were backslid. So in my limited knowledge I went looking for a church to find the truth. I went to one church and they watched TV and I didn’t want to be a part of that. Nothing against them personally, I didn’t want to go against what I had learned in Texas. The next church I went to, baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost so I thought I would stay to see why they believed what they did.
After a while I finally came to the conclusion that what they taught was not scripturaly based because of Colossians 2:8-10. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. I knew at that point that God could not be three persons but that Jesus Christ was the Lord God Almighty. I even went to the pastor of the church I went to and asked him referencing Colossians 2:8 and 9 saying if the Holy Ghost is not Jesus and all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ, then how can this be? He told me he didn’t know, he just accepted it by faith.
Reference John 14:7-9 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? He was saying why don't you know who I am? When Jesus asks a question like this, he is saying it is impossible to be any other way.
Also reference John 14: 15-18. If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
You will ask why did Jesus speak of His Father?
John 16: 25-28 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
He did not say he was going to be with his Father, but go to the Father. You can't add to the Word of God. You also have to let the Word interpret the Word.
At this point I knew I couldn’t continue and told him I was going to go to another church.
I ended up back at a Pentecostal church and this is where I found the truth. I was rebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ, but afterwards I realized I still had questions about it. I didn’t know enough to ask questions beforehand. I was given a two day Bible study that I started reading. I came to a place where it spoke of where Jesus asked the disciples who men said that he was. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The point of all this is that Peter had a revelation of who Jesus was. And Jesus said he would give him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now notice it does not say keys to, but keys of the Kingdom. The Greek word for keys used here means authority. Jesus had given authority to open the door for His Church that would allow a person to enter into the Kingdom. And Jesus said whatever he bound in earth would be bound in heaven and whatever he would loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. And Peter opened the door on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost was poured out. When I read this, I saw an abstract vision of Jesus speaking to Peter and I knew in my heart that I had found it. I knew that you had to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and that there was no other way.
When the LORD spoke prophetically to the Messiah that he would be after the priesthood of Melchesidec, God had handed down the authority. Jesus gave authority to Peter to open the door for every one. And it is bound in heaven.
I have heard it said that when people baptize they would follow Jesus rather than Peter or that Peter didn’t need to repeat the message that Jesus had said on the Mount that it was implied. But Peter had a full revelation of who Jesus was, and when Jesus spoke to the Apostles on the mount, Peter understood exactly what Jesus was saying. If you go into the book of Acts, you will not find one instance where they baptized in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost. The titles Father Son and Holy Ghost will never save you. It is only through the name of Jesus Christ.
The key to it all is that you can’t follow the Go ye therefore in Matthew 28:19 without following the verse behind it. Jesus came and spoke to them saying, All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. There is not a contradiction of terms but an agreement of who Jesus was. For if Jesus was not the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost he could not have all power, and the command was to baptize in the name of, not the titles. Also this verse was a command to the Apostles to go and baptize. Acts 2:38 tells us how to be baptized.
Second he said he would give the keys of the Kingdom to Peter, not Paul. For on the Day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the twelve and delivered the first message to the church.
And when they asked him what they should do, Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
Churches today say you find Salvation in the book of Romans in versed 10:9 and 10. but Peter had the keys. And the book of Romans was written to a church of people that had already been saved. The scripture says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Note that it doesn’t say you are saved, but points to a future experience.
Why then did Paul say to the Philippian jailer believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and this was not said on the day of Pentecost? To understand this you have to look at the context of where each message was given. On the day of Pentecost it was given in Jerusalem where they knew about Jesus. The Philippian jailer probably had not heard of Jesus. But if you read on in the scripture they heard the word of the Lord and were baptized. It all has to work together. Believing is essential, but it is not the whole experience.
Therefore Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Take part in his death, burial and resurrection. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of His of the resurrection.
God loved us so much that he made a way of escape from the wrath to come. But unless we go through the door and the way it was laid out in the beginning we will not make it.
The Bible is written exactly as the LORD would have it and you don’t need to take the scripture in Matthew and put it in the book of Acts to be correct. You can’t alter it in any way. Just follow as it is written and you will make it.
