"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." —Acts 2:41
What a beautiful thing! The apostle Peter preached the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and 3,000 souls were saved
and then water baptized, joining the Church in a single
day! This is the Biblical pattern for every church to
follow, that is, easy-believism and immediate water
baptism by immersion. Notice that only those who “gladly
received his word” (the Gospel) were water baptized.
Baptism is only for believers who are already saved. Water
baptism is one's public profession of faith in Christ.
Although there is debate over whether this is water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I firmly believe that it was water baptism. I've written a separate article just on this subject. Also, here is my explanation of Acts 2:38, which I believe refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I'm so sick of envious Baptists shamefully criticizing Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001) and First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana (FBCH) for having 10,000 converts baptized each year. How many churches do you know that have had 10,000 water baptisms in a single year? During the last 5-years of Dr. Jack Hyles' pastorate at FBCH, before his graduation to Heaven in 2001, over 10,000 people were saved and baptized each year!!! This ought to be done all across the nation and world. If 3,000 souls were saved and baptized in ONE DAY in Acts 2:41, then why should it be surprising that a faithful Baptist church in modern times has 10,000 people saved and baptized in ONE YEAR? Amen!
Notice carefully that in order to water baptize 3,000 converts in one day, as Acts 2:41 teaches, there was no time to personally interview each person. They were all baptized IMMEDIATELY. It is ridiculous how many churches interrogate people in order to be baptized. You'd think they were applying to work for the secret service. God meant for salvation to be extremely simple. So simple in fact that even a young child can understand that he is a sinner, and believe that the risen Christ died on the cross for his sins.
It is sickening to think about all the churches today that corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel. Due to the Roman Catholic influence of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, which was translated by Westcott and Hort (both pro-Catholic); and due to the horrific ecumenical apostasy of minister Billy Graham, who has done more to unite Christian evangelicals with unsaved Roman Catholics than anyone else; and due to the false Roman Catholic understanding of repentance which has crept into just about every theological institution—most churches, including Independent Baptist Churches, have adopted a false meaning of repentance.
This heresy is
commonly called “Lordship Salvation.” This false
doctrine errantly defines repentance as “a change of
life,” rather than the accurate Biblical meaning of “a
change of mind” (metanoia) in Scriptures such as
Mark 1:15, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
This verse literally tells us to change our mind and
believe the Gospel. Repentance is a change of mind from
what you think you must do to get to Heaven, to what God
says you must do to get to Heaven.
The Great Commission Includes Baptizing New Converts
Nearly all of the critics of soul-winning churches are deadbeat believers who haven't led anyone to the Lord in their entire life. Most Christian leaders are dropping the ball. I hear pastors talking about historical points of interest, professional sports and business principles; but they never warn anybody that there is a literal place called Hell that burns with literal fire, where all Christ-rejecters will spend eternity in horrific torment without end. Effectively there is no difference between a demonic Seventh-Day Adventist minister who denies the existence of eternal torment, verses the lackadaisical Baptist pastor who never preaches about Hell. It is apostasy!
It's sinful human nature to chop 6 inches off another person, to make ourselves look 6 inches taller. In reality, we're both lower as a result. Criticizing faithful Christians who are getting the job done doesn't increase our riches in Heaven. You ought to join the effort of churches who are getting the job done, promoting and supporting them, praying for them and helping them in the Lord. That's why this website is here. This website is a lighthouse on the internet. Someone has got to be on the firing line for God! The enemy is rushing in like a flood into our churches!
Instead of complaining and always looking for the faults of churches and pastors, we ought to be busy doing our own work for the Lord. I don't have time to read what my critics say about me, or you, I'm too busy labouring for Jesus Christ to help others. I leave my critics in God's hands, as the Bible tells us to do (Romans 12:19; Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 14:10-12; James 4:12; Romans 2:1). The fields are ripe unto harvest, but the labourers are few. What are you doing for God?
And by the way, I'm not scolding anyone for not winning thousands of people to Christ. The 10,000 souls saved and baptized each year at First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana (FBCH) during the last 5-years of Pastor Jack Hyles' ministry were all invited one at a time. The Bus Ministry, Truck Stop Ministry, Sailor Ministry, College Ministry, Rescue Mission, Fishermen's Club, Phoster Club, Deaf Ministry, Blind Ministry, The Lighthouse Ministry, Nursing Home Ministry and over a hundred ministries total, all contributed their individual part to getting 10,000 people saved and baptized each year.
The church is a lighthouse! Our part is to share the Gospel with whom we can. Every believer ought to have a ministry. Colossians 4:17, “Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.”
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is four-fold:
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GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD
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TEACH ALL NATIONS THE GOSPEL TO GET THEM SAVED
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BAPTIZE THEM WITH WATER BY IMMERSION AS A PUBLIC PROFESSION OF FAITH
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INDOCTRINATE THEM WITH CHRIST'S TEACHINGS
The intention of God through The Great Commission is to perpetuate the Gospel. That is, I get you saved and then I disciple you to go get others saved. And then you disciple them to go get others saved, and so forth. This is God's plan. Our duty is not to just go out and preach the Gospel. We are also commanded to mentor new converts where possible and teach them to go do likewise. Most churches these days have all sorts of family activities, church trips to the Holy Land, fun games for the kids... a big fun house! This is not a Christ-honoring, Biblical, New Testament Church! In so-called “FUNDAMENTAL” churches these days we see far too much FUN and not enough of DA MENTAL. Sinful compromise is everywhere!
Most churches
spend their resources on music, education and social
functions; while neglecting teaching Bible doctrine,
contending for the faith, preaching against sin, warning
folks about eternal punishment in Hell, and promoting
confrontational soul-winning (that is, you bring the
Gospel to lost souls instead of waiting for them to come
to you). Jesus confronted the Samaritan woman at the well
about her salvation in John chapter four. Philip
confronted the Ethiopian Eunuch about his salvation in
Acts chapter 8. Paul went publicly with the Gospel,
house-to-house, and door-to-door in Acts 20:20. It's a
matter of caring. How much do we care? Most religious
celebrities who profess to be Christian distance
themselves from the Gospel as much as possible. God hates
lukewarmness (Revelation 3:15-16).
Most Pastors Don't Preach On Hell As They Ought
The problem is not that big soul-winning churches are winning too many souls to Christ, so that something must be wrong with their message and method; but rather, the problem is that most churches have woefully dropped the ball, failing to obey The Great Commission, letting the world go to Hell. Most churches aren't getting the job done, because most pastors aren't leading as they should, because they've got their priorities mixed up.
Every pastor should be consumed with the reality and imminent threat of Hell, and preach accordingly as if people's lives depend upon it (because it does). I'll never understand the casual attitude by which most pastors approach the matter of Hell. Do we really believe that there is a literal burning Hell where most of humanity will spend eternity? Jesus warned in Matthew 7:13-14 that the highway to Hell is broad and wide, and many people are going there! So why don't we hear more preachers crying aloud and warning others?
A pastor who
doesn't preach about Hell is not walking with God as he
should. I hear pastors talking about blogs they've read
online. How about reading the Bible and preaching about
the Lake of Fire, because life is short and Hell is real.
The fear of the Lord means literally being afraid
of God's judgment when we disobey Him as His children (2nd
Corinthians 5:11; Psalms 6:1).
Churches With Spiritual Gout in Their Feet
Romans 10:15, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Notice in Romans 10:15 that God calls the feet “beautiful” of the believer who preaches the Gospel. Why did God call the feet beautiful? Why not the lips, tongue or mouth? It's because the most eloquent speech and greatest words of wisdom are absolutely worthless if one's feet are to lazy to take the Gospel to the lost people who need to hear it. Romans 10:17 says that faith cometh by hearing and hearing “BY THE WORD OF GOD.” If preachers would once again return to PREACHING THE WORD, then people would get saved, from hearing the Word.
Do you have
spiritual gout in your feet, keeping you from obeying The
Great Commission. The first and hardest part of The Great
Commission is “GO YE.” Every Christian believer
shares the responsibility of warning the wicked and
sharing the Gospel (good news) of Christ's death on the
cross for their sins, His burial and resurrection from the
dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
Keeping it Simple
There's too much psychology, motivational speaking and deeper-life garbage in our church pulpits today. I'm so sick of hearing so-called church and religious radio stations broadcast the type of stuff-shirt, deeper-life, ecclesiastically-snob type of sermons that they think will impress the theological world. I mean junk like Paris Reidhead. Bless God, I want to hear some plain preaching by a common preacher, who tells it like it is, putting the cookies on the bottom shelf where everyone can reach them. Let 'er rip brother! I am a firm believer that a preacher's message should be so simple that any child can understand what he is say. When you preach that Hell has fire, a child understands that.
The most
effective preaching is simple, straight-forward, tell it
like it is, good old-fashioned, undiluted Bible truth. I
love a pastor who makes bold and direct statements. I
detest ministers who ramble for an hour and never really
say anything that you can grab onto. They lack substance.
I like to preach in such a way that no one has to wonder
where I stand or what I am trying to say. Honestly, 95% of
preachers should find another profession, not because they
can't preach, but because they are pansies who WON'T
preach! I like what General George Patton said, “Lead me,
follow me, or get out of the way!”
Children Can Be Saved At An Early Age
I was reading an interesting book last night that I bought decades ago titled, “BUILDER OF BRIDGES,” by R.K. Johnson, which is a biography about the mighty man of God, Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968). Here's a quote from the book from page 20...
Story of His Conversion
“...Early in life Bobby saw his need for the Saviour. At the tender age of six, he felt a certain pull, a certain calling. However, people of that day thought that a child should be at least twelve years old before he could accept Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Bobby knew that within himself he was not good and that if he died, he would go to Hell. People were not afraid to speak of Hell to their children in those days. ...”
SOURCE: BUILDER OF BRIDGES, by R.K. Johnson, a biography of Dr. Bob Jones Sr.; page 20, original copyright 1969 by The Sword Of The Lord; copyright 1982 by Bob Jones University Press, Inc.
The book goes on to explain that Dr. Jones Bob Sr. was saved when he was 11-years-old in a country church. Thank God that he didn't die earlier, or he would have gone to Hell because of dumb people who keep children from coming to the Lord. Jesus became MUCH DISPLEASED when the disciples hindered children from coming to Him. Mark 10:13-14, “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Praise God, children can and ought to be saved at any early age.
The satanic lie of Lordship Salvation has crept into many of our Independent Baptist Churches, teaching sinners that God won't save them unless they commit to giving up a life of sinfulness. That is human effort and a demonic trap. In sharp contrast the Bible simply tells us to believe on the Lord to be saved. But don't you have to repent? Yes, but repentance simply means to change your mind about whatever was previously hindering you from coming to Jesus to be saved. If you want to be saved, you can right now by receiving Christ as your personal Savior. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving him by faith (John 1:12).
Dr. John MacArthur errantly teaches that children are not old enough to be saved...
“There is no such thing as a childhood conversion.” —John MacArthur
As you just read
in Mark 10:13-14, Jesus Himself stated that He wants
little children to come unto Him, and that to be saved
every adult must become as a little humble child. Amen!
John MacArthur falsely teaches that salvation is hard and
children must become as adults before they can be saved;
but God says the exact opposite, telling us that adults
must become like little children in order to enter into
the Kingdom of God.
Soul-Winning is a Command, Not a Method
May I say, soul-winning is not a method, it is a command from God to every believer! There are 10,080 minutes in each week. Did we witness to anyone last week? Churches don't just grow. Someone's got to deliberately make an effort to pray for God's power, go door-to-door soul-winning and the pastor must preach the Word of God faithfully. Many churches have ecumenical pastors who are so dry and boring in the pulpit that it wouldn't benefit anyone if you incited them and they came.
Visit most churches today and you won't find real Bible-preaching. I recently heard a pastor deliver a sermon on World Religions. He used big impressive words, apologetics galore, but most people listening to him had no idea what he was talking about. The young people certainly didn't benefit. I barely understood what he was saying. Preachers seem to forget that most people don't have a degree in theology. He mentioned “stoicism” and “Zoroastrianism” and “gospelizing.” My friend, that is not the kind of fancy preaching that the Holy Spirit uses to convict men's hearts about sin, righteousness ad judgment. Preachers have got to preach about judgment, eternal punishment and the fires of Hell if you want people to come to Christ.
I heard a ding-a-ling minister, named Paris Reidhead (1919-1992) say in a radio sermon that men who only come to Christ to escape the fires of Hell didn't really get saved. According to Reidhead, men must only come on the basis that they have seen the living holy God and are convicted about their sins, willing to depart from all wickedness and walk a new way in life. That's pretty much the essence of what he was errantly teaching. It's 100% the heresy of Lordship Salvation.
May I say, IT DOESN'T MATTER why you come to Christ to be saved, just so long as you know that you are a sinner and believe that Christ died on the cross in your place, to pay for your sins, believing that He is bodily risen from the dead. It's very easy to be saved. All this nonsense in our churches today about cleaning up your life, turning away from a lifestyle of sin, and walking a new path to be saved is Roman Catholic heresy! I know Baptists who are unsaved, adhering to a false Gospel that requires the human effort of living a Christian life. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. Independent Baptists are falling for this deception hook, line and sinker!
Water Baptism is Not
Required to Be Saved
There is much controversy concerning Acts 2:38, “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.” Many false prophets attempt to use this Scripture to justify the heresy of Baptismal Regeneration (that is, the false teaching that a person must be water baptized to be saved). Acts 2:41 sheds some light on the passage, saying, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized.” Only those who received the Word of God got baptized. John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” When a person walks down an isle in response to a church invitation at the end of a sermon, they are saved before they leave the pew because that's when they received the Gospel and believed. They just went down front to find out what happened.
1st Peter
3:20, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the
ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls
were saved by water.” Notice that Noah and his
family weren't saved by getting into the water; but
rather, by not getting into the water. The Ark is a
picture of God's salvation. They were saved by obeying
God, by entering the Ark. God closed and sealed the door
of the Ark. Salvation is of the Lord. God does the
saving... ALL OF IT!
The Bible Teaches Easy-Believism And Immediate Baptism
It is simple to be saved, so simple that even a little child can be saved. It is a sin to teach that children cannot come to Christ for salvation. John MacArthur doesn't think children can be saved because in his flawed understanding he thinks that a person must make a conscious lifetime commitment to serve and obey Christ to be saved. This is a false plan of salvation!
The Bible teaches that it is easy and simple to be saved. The thief on the cross repented and turned by faith to Jesus, asking for the Lord to remember him in paradise. Jesus assured him that he was saved. The repentant thief was saved by trusting Christ, period. The man didn't have to first make a commitment to live for Jesus, nor did he have the wherewithal to be water baptized. It was his faith in the Lord that brought salvation. Christ died, that's history; Christ died for me, that's salvation!
It is unbiblical to require new converts to go through a waiting period before getting water baptized. Most converts never get water baptized because of foolish pastors who refuse to Baptize them at the time of salvation. In the Bible converts were water baptized immediately, not later. When 3,000 people gladly received the Word of God and were saved, they all got baptized right away. Certainly most of them didn't understand completely (or even vaguely) the theological meaning of what they were doing. All they needed to know was that they were sinners, and Jesus had died on the cross for their sins and was resurrected from the dead. That's it!
There's nothing in the Bible that requires a person to gain an understanding of water baptism before getting baptized. Converts should be baptized immediately. Besides, there's not much to explain. Baptism pictures the Gospel, showing that we have trusted Christ to save us. That takes 15 seconds to explain. The bottom line is that God commands us to baptize converts right away after they are saved! No one in the Bible ever got baptized until AFTER they were saved.
There is nothing in the Bible which requires indoctrinating a new convert before they are baptized. Dr. Jack Hyles and the First Baptist Church of Hammond have often been harshly, unfairly and unbiblically criticized for immediately baptizing their converts, especially the thousands of children each year. That's how it was done in the Bible! I wonder if there were any shallow or false professions in those 3,000 souls in Acts 2:41? That's not for us to decide. How many of your two converts last year really got saved? Stop criticizing God's work. Stop throwing rocks at soul-winners who are getting the job done!
In Acts, the church prayed for the Holy Spirit to give them revival, and they worked hard to make it happen, and God made it happen! Sixteen different nations are mentioned in Acts chapter 2 that were present for Pentecost. As Evangelist John R. Rice says, Pentecost was “a specimen revival,” showing us what can and ought to happen regularly through our churches.
Some critics claim that children are too young to understand what they are doing. That's not true. Why doesn't anyone complain about the satanic public school system that teaches children the lies of evolution? If a child can understand the government's indoctrination of evolution which blasphemes God, then a child can understand in Sunday School at church that God loves them and sent Jesus to die on the cross for their sins. The truth is that Satan doesn't want anyone getting saved, particularly children, lest they serve God with their life and go to Heaven.
The Bible teaches easy-believism and immediate water baptism by complete immersion. Baptism by sprinkling and infant baptism are unscriptural and invalid. Furthermore, baptism is only for born-again believers. Everyone who was baptized in the Bible was already saved. Acts 2:41 says that 3,000 people gladly received the word and were baptized. Who were baptized? They that gladly received the preaching of the Gospel.
Anytime you hear someone criticizing faithful fundamentalist preachers for making salvation easy and simple, tell them that's the Bible way! The Bible speaks of “the simplicity that is in Christ,” and then warns us about ANOTHER JESUS, ANOTHER GOSPEL and ANOTHER SPIRIT (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). Anyone who makes salvation difficult and says that children are not old enough to be saved is teaching ANOTHER GOSPEL. If you believe that the risen Christ died on the cross for your sins, and that's your hope for Heaven, you are saved. It's that simple to be saved. John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
