Reader,
There are some who teach that the "Gospel" is : Acts 2:38.
The gospel is found in most all stories by the writers documenting good news between God and His people. Examples are Hannah learning she was being granted favor for her prayer to bear a child. This was good news for her. Abraham being given a covenant of favor, blessing, and salvation along with these things extended to his descendants. This was good news for him and his descendants. Another is of Mary being chosen "among women" to bear the Promised One. This was good news to her in that all knowledgeable women desired to be the one to fulfill prophecy and bring the LORD'S Anointed into this world. Elizabeth, who was baren, was told she would have a child of an extraordinary future. Having children was seen by the Hebrews as God's favor and blessing. Good news from God to His people, individually and corporately, can be found in many, many stories in the biblical narrative.
Now, if you are familiar with Christianity, then you know that everyone is invited to become a Christian......Jews, Gentiles,.........
>"The World"... = John 3:16.
Not true. Christ's coming was the fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant. Under the Mosaic Covenant especially the Ceremonial Law sacrificing animals was instructed by God for the temporary and yearly atonement for the sins of the children of Israel, and being that Scripture cannot be broken (changed, added to, subtracted from), Christ's coming as the prophesied lamb of God (Isaiah 53) was in keeping with the purpose of God towards His covenant people to atone for their sins finally and eternally. To claim God is adding or changing the Mosaic Law to accommodate uncircumcised, non-covenant, non-Hebrew Gentiles is violation of God's established word towards His covenant people and any interpretation that says anyone other than God's covenant people are atoned for under God's economy of salvation is to be rejected. Words like "world" and "all" and "everyone" is now included in any of the three salvation Hebrew covenants is not rightly interpreting God's Word. There is no covenant between God and non-Hebrew Gentiles anywhere in the pages of the bible. In the case of John 3:16 where "world" is found the word is in context to whom Jesus is speaking of and to and they are "His people" the Jews, exactly the people He came to save, hence the giving of His name for His parents to name which means "the Lord is salvation."
The Scripture (Genesis to Malachi (39 "books") documents God's dealing directly with the Hebrew people born from Abraham the father of the Hebrew people and documents their history, their covenants, their blessings, their curses for disobedience, their victories and defeats, their culture, their religion, important people in their history, and other things particular to the Hebrew people and it would violate God's Word that interpretation of New Covenant writings from Matthew to Revelation is any difference. The gospels, the letters, the prophecy of Revelation only continues God's involvement into Hebrew life and brings conclusion to His eternal counsel concerning saving a people to Himself, a people brought together and eternally through each covenant, individually (Davidic) or corporately, between Him and the Hebrew/Jewish people.
So, one of the things we find out about the NT, is... = if an Apostle does not know something then they can't teach it until they know it.
Everything we have in found scrolls that became the New Testament is only discussion, explanation, and revelation of the New Covenant era the Jews found themselves in with the Advent of Israel's Messiah, Savior, and King as well as the acts of the Holy Spirit towards and upon the Hebrew people since their arrival on the "world" scene. If anything in the New Covenant writings cannot be found or supported by the Hebrew Scriptures, then those things are false. God has covenant with Abraham specifically, and with His descendants (seed) in general, throughout human history and His revelation towards the Hebrew people is found in those writings.
And Peter, who was the Act 2:38 preacher, did not understand the Gospel of the Grace of God, until Acts 15. = Not until He was taught it by Paul.
Peter did indeed understand the "gospel" as Acts clearly shows. It wasn't necessary for Peter to learn from Saul. Peter himself along with John and James were pillars of the Jewish Church and had excellent grasp of Jesus' teachings and from the Hebrew writings on the prophecies of Messiah and King of Israel without Saul's input. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit (Comforter) would bring to remembrance His teachings at the appropriate time and Peter had the support of the other two apostles to the Jews James and John whose teachings were in compliance to the Law of Moses and was more than enough to forward God's plan and purpose to and for the Jews.
Now, How is all that relevant to Paul? and Acts 2:38
Its like this reader, ... Many people and denominations consider Acts 2:38 as the Gospel... and these people are very strong proponents for "Water baptism"..
In Fact they are so into the water aspect that they read that "Noah was saved by water" and can't understand that Had NOAH and Family gotten out of that ARK, then Noah and Family, would have DIED in that FLOOD WATER JUDGEMENT.
Acts doesn't mention Noah, or the flood and the baptism Peter was speaking of was Spirit baptism. The Advent of the Holy Spirit was gospel enough for his hearers as they were "pricked" at their "hearts" and responded favorably to Peter's admonition to "save themselves from this untoward generation." Peter, speaking to the twelve tribes represented in the crowd presented accurately God's message through the prophets and from Jesus so efficiently that 3000 Jews were born again and delivered from their sinful lives in Holy Spirit fashion. The next day of the feast thousands more came to know their Savior through the acts of the Holy Spirit.
See, it was the ARK that kept them OUT of the WATER, is why they LIVED.., as that wooden ARK is not just their Salvation from that water, but its symbolic of the Cross of Christ that was WOOD, (A TREE) , and Christ on it, is our ARK .
How?
Christ on that WOOD, takes the Judgement for our sin, just as Noah's Ark saved Noah and Family from the WATER that was God's Judgment.
To the Jews their Messiah and King dying on a wooden tree was a stumbling stone they had to reconcile correctly before being born again and it's a sure bet the Holy Spirit Himself helped them see its correlation of Moses' serpent on a wooden pole and Jesus on His cross, even though it says nothing about that in Peter's sermon.
Now let me show you a few things..
First, Peter was not water baptized in Acts 2:38. and you can read it for yourself.
So, we could stop right there, as that proves that WATER is not going to save anything, when the very person who is telling those JEWS to get in the water, was not himself water baptized that day.
But lets continue, as some of you, are waking up, and some of you are learning something you need to know.
Peter's water baptism is found in John 13 in Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet.
= NONE in the "upper room" were water baptized in Acts 2:38, and you can read it for yourself.
And Peter and those same were speaking with tongues, yet none were water baptized., in Acts 2:38
10 Jesus saith to him,
He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean,
Jn 13:10.
Water Baptism, began before Jesus showed up, Reader.
Its a big part of the Jewish OT Situation, and you've read that John The Baptist.. (John the Water Baptizer) was baptizing Jews long before Jesus showed up, and this saved NONE of them.. It washed NONE of their sin away.
So, when The JEW = PETER........ was preaching in Acts 2:38, He preached all he knew, and that was for that day, but it is not for now, regarding water being necessary as a part of the process of God's Redemption.
it wasn't a part of it on that day... or Peter would have gotten water baptized and those in the upper room also..
See that?
10 Jesus saith to him,
He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean,
Jn 13:9–10.
Jesus washed the disciples' feet and in this washing were made clean. In Jesus' Presence this washing was preparation for the Holy Spirit who would wash their conscience and in doing so would baptize them into the body of Christ.
So why did Peter Preach it? = Its because its ALL HE KNEW at that time., as at that time if you were a Jew, you repented and John the water Baptizer dunked you... it was a part of the law, and Jesus did it because as He said.>>"Let us fulfill all things".. all things related to the law, as Jesus was born under the Law.
Not only that, but He was born of a woman to redeem those under the Law, meaning the children of Israel the Jews.
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5
To redeem them that were under the law, that
we [Jews] might receive the adoption of sons. Gal. 4:4–5.
ENTER... Paul the Apostle, who was sent to preach .. ""The preaching of the Cross is the power of God unto salvation, for everyone who Believes"".
And notice this verse.. ."Its pleased GOD by the foolishness of PREACHING.. to SAVE THOSE... who BELIEVE"... (not get in the water).
And "Save those who believe what"?
A.) Paul's gospel...>"The Gospel of the GRACE OF GOD" that is the "preaching of the Cross of Christ".
Now how do you know that Peter didnt know anything about the "Gospel of the Grace of God in Acts 2"?
Not true. The whole basis of Peter's sermon to the Jews was in keeping with prophecy and the grace of God. Peter mentions Joel and David and expounds upon their prophecies given to the children of Israel. The good news (gospel) of the grace of God is clearly revealed in Peter's words.
38 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. Acts 2:38.
The gift of the Holy Spirit Promised to Israel is an unmerited favor (gift/grace) from God, not only to them but also to their children.
Its because Peter didnt know that Gentiles could be saved, until 10 yrs after Jesus is back in Heaven.
So, if you dont KNOW that Jews and Gentiles can both be saved, then you dont understand God's Salvation, according to how PAUL was sent to teach it, by Revelation from JESUS Himself.
The revelation Saul received was by studying the Hebrew Scriptures which foretold the things which he writes about. Reading and studying the Hebrew writings under the anointing was enough for the Holy Spirit to bring him to understand those things he was later to write about in his letters to the Jews and to his Jewish Christian brethren. We receive the same understanding when we do the same thing in our reading and studying of both Testaments. Jesus the Person did not leave the right hand of God and return to earth to personally teach Saul. Jesus did all that through the Holy Spirit. The only Gentiles that could be saved and were saved were even those who were of mixed birth like the Samaritans were of mixed heritage having at least one Hebrew parent in their ancestry which still left them - no matter the DNA dilution - the seed of Abraham. God has covenant with Abraham and his seed and as long as a person had Gentile (non-Hebrew) ancestry in their family line they were still Abraham's seed and "heirs according to the Promise" (Gal. 3:29.) No non-Hebrew Gentiles were saved because God never made a salvation covenant with them as He did with the Hebrews through Abram the Hebrew (Gen. 14:13) on down to Noah. There have always been two groups of people on the planet. The seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Obedient (Sethian family aka "the sons of God") and the disobedient (the seed of the serpent - those that remained with Nimrod and his clan.
Read Acts of the Apostles... Chapter 10, written a decade after Jesus is back in Heaven., and discover that Peter didnt know that Gentiles could be saved... YET.. SO....= God had to give Peter a vision, to cause Him to UNDERSTAND this about Gentiles.
So, You can't preach the true Gospel, that includes GENTILES being saved.... if you dont yet know it.
And that is why Acts 2:38, is NOT The Gospel.
Acts 2:38 is gospel (good news) especially when the people being reminded of the Promise of the Holy Spirit upon the people of God, the children of Israel. Being given without merit (grace) the Holy Spirit fulfills several prophecies of His coming. Ezekial is one who prophesied the Holy Spirit being given to God's Chosen people.
And here is one more.
Paul said...>"Christ sent me NOT to water baptize"........and that does not mean that we are not to be water baptized.
I was water baptized 11 yrs after i was born again. I was water baptized, about 5 yrs after i was called into the Ministry by the Holy Spirit.
Anyone truly called to minister to the Lord will most definitely recognize Acts, especially Acts 2:38, is gospel of the grace of God to and for the children of Israel. Why you reject this truth is astounding.
See reader to understand the TRUE Gospel..... in "the time of the Gentiles".. and we are in it....
It means that the correct understanding of the process of Redemption, is not about water....its about the BLOOD OF JESUS and the CROSS of Christ and Faith that is counted by God as "righteousness", and water has no part in that, at all.
Water has very important meaning in God's plan for His Chosen people. One of those important matters is that we are washed by the water by the Word. Water in the bible holds great meaning to God and to the Jews. The Hebrews being led through the Red sea is a mention by Saul in his Corinthian letter that speaks of washing and sanctification, whether by actual water, symbolized water, or the Holy Spirit Himself cleansing our conscience.
It was in Acts 15, that Peter learned what Paul knew, that Paul learned from Jesus, and from that point, all the Apostles understood "Paul's Gospel of the Grace of God" that is not related to water baptism.
Again, what Saul learned was learned through reading and studying the Hebrew Scriptures Genesis to Malachi under the anointing, the same method we use today, and the same method God uses to instruct His Chosen people. All of Saul's letters to Jews and Jewish Christians was knowledge he gained through this method. Jesus did not leave His Father to personally teach Saul. It was through His Spirit under the anointing that Saul understood what he read. And what he read was shared through his letters in order for his fellow brethren who read those letters to understand the New Covenant era the Hebrew people found themselves in. God, indeed, was doing a new thing in the earth and the New Covenant was only the Mosaic Covenant fulfilled by Christ and sealed with His blood on the last Passover He observed and one in which the New Covenant is built upon and founded.
