Various Quotes

Various quotes on the necessity of baptism by faith. Christians have always interpreted the Bible literally when it declares, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" in 1 Peter 3:21 also read the following scriptures. Acts 2:38, 22:16, Rom. 6:3–4, Col. 2:11–12. Philip Schaff (Presbyterian/Reformed) -"This ordinance [Baptism] was regarded in the ancient church as the sacrament of the new birth or regeneration, and as the solemn rite of initiation into the Christian Church, admitting to all her benefits and committing to all her obligations....Its effect consists in the forgiveness of sins and the communication of the Holy Spirit. "Justin [Martyr] calls baptism 'the water-bath for the forgiveness of sins and regeneration,' and 'the bath of conversion and the knowledge of God.' "It is often called also illumination, spiritual circumcision, anointing, sealing, gift of grace, symbol of redemption, death of sins, etc. Tertullian describes its effect thus: 'When the soul comes to faith, and becomes transformed through regeneration by water and power from above, it discovers, after the veil of the old corruption is taken away, its whole light. It is received into the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; and the soul, which unites itself to the Holy Spirit, is followed by the body.' ...."From John 3:5 and Mark 16:16, Tertullian and other fathers argued the necessity of baptism to salvation....The effect of baptism...was thought to extend only to sins committed before receiving it. Hence the frequent postponement of the sacrament [Procrastinatio baptismi], which Tertullian very earnestly recommends...." (History of the Christian Church, volume 2, page 253ff) "The views of the ante-Nicene fathers concerning baptism and baptismal regeneration were in this period more copiously embellished in rhetorical style by Basil the Great and the two Gregories, who wrote special treatises on this sacrament, and were more clearly and logically developed by Augustine. The patristic and Roman Catholic view on regeneration, however, differs considerably from the one which now prevails among most Protestant denominations, especially those of the more Puritanic type, in that it signifies not so such a subjective change of heart, which is more properly called conversion, but a change in the objective condition and relation of the sinner, namely, his translation from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of Christ....Some modern divines make a distinction between baptismal regeneration and moral regeneration, in order to reconcile the doctrine of the fathers with the fact that the evidences of a new life are wholly wanting in so many who are baptized. But we cannot enter here into a discussion of the difficulties of this doctrine, and must confine ourselves to a historical statement." [patristic quotes follow] "In the doctrine of baptism also we have a much better right to speak of a -consensus patrum-, than in the doctrine of the Holy Supper." (History of the Christian Church, volume 3, page 481ff, 492) Paul Enns (Dispensational/Baptist, Th.D. Dallas Theological Seminary) -"Justin Martyr suggests Isaiah 1:16-20 refers to Christian baptism, apparently suggesting that this rite produces the new birth (1 Apol 61).....Very early in the Christian church, prominence was given to the rite of baptism so that many, in effect, taught baptismal regeneration. Justin Martyr taught that, to obtain the remission of sins, the name of the Father should be invoked over the one being baptized (1 Apol 61)...Although this concept was not as emphatic among the apostolic Fathers, it became increasingly so in the following centuries. Augustine, for instance, taught that original sin and sins committed before baptism were washed away through baptism. For that reason he advocated baptism for infants." (The Moody Handbook of Theology [1989], page 415, 427)

J.N.D. Kelly (Anglican patristic scholar) -"From the beginning baptism was the universally accepted rite of admission to the Church; only 'those who have been baptized in the Lord's name' may partake of the eucharist [Didache 9:5]....As regards its significance, it was always held to convey the remission of sins....the theory that it mediated the Holy Spirit was fairly general....The Spirit is God Himself dwelling in the believer, and the resulting life is a re-creation...." "Speculation about baptism in the third century revolves around its function, universally admitted hitherto, as the medium of the bestowal of the Spirit. Infant baptism was now common, and this fact, together with the rapid expansion of the Church's numbers, caused the administration of the sacrament to be increasingly delegated by bishops to presbyters....We observe a tendency to limit the effect of baptism itself to the remission of sins and regeneration, and to link the gift of the Spirit with these other rites [Chrismation, Confirmation, and the laying on of hands -- detailed analysis from the ante-Nicene Fathers on Baptism follows]..... "From these general considerations we turn to the particular sacraments. Cyril of Jerusalem provides a full, if not always coherent, account of the conception of baptism which commended itself to a fourth-century theologian in Palestine. The name he applies to the rite is 'baptism' or 'bath' [Greek provided along with references]. It is 'the bath of regeneration' in which we are washed both with water and with the Holy Spirit. Its effects can be summarized under three main heads. First, the baptized person receives the remission of sins, i.e. all sins committed prior to baptism. He passes from sin to righteousness, from filth to cleanliness; his restoration is total....Secondly, baptism conveys the positive blessing of sanctification, which Cyril describes as the illumination and deification of the believer's soul, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the putting on of the new man, spiritual rebirth and salvation, adoption as God's son by grace, union with Christ in His resurrection as in His suffering and death, the right to a heavenly inheritance....Thirdly, and closely connected with this, baptism impresses a seal [Greek provided] on the believer's soul. Just as the water cleanses the body, the Holy Spirit seals [Greek] the soul. This sealing takes place at the very moment of baptism....and as a result of it the baptized person enjoys the presence of the Holy Spirit....These ideas are fairly representative of Greek and Latin teaching about baptism in the fourth and fifth centuries." [detailed analysis from the post-Nicene Fathers on Baptism follows] (Early Christian Doctrines, page 193ff, 207ff, 428ff) Jaroslav Pelikan (Lutheran patristic scholar) -"Although references to the doctrine of baptism are scattered throughout the Christian literature of the second and third centuries, only one extant treatise from the period is devoted exclusively to the subject, that of Tertullian. And the most succinct statement by Tertullian on the doctrine of baptism actually came, not in his treatise on baptism, but in his polemic against Marcion....Tertullian argued that none of the four basic gifts of baptism could be granted if that dualism [of Marcion] were maintained. The four gifts were: the remission of sins, deliverance from death, regeneration, and bestowal of the Holy Spirit...It is noteworthy that Tertullian, regardless of how much a Montanist he may have been at this point, was summarizing what the doctrine of the church was at his time -- as well as probably before his time and certainly since his time. Tertullian's enumeration of the gifts of baptism would be difficult to duplicate in so summary a form from other Christian writers, but those who did speak of baptism also spoke of one or more of these gifts. Baptism brought the remission of sins; the doctrine of baptism was in fact the occasion for many of the references to forgiveness of sins in the literature of these centuries [references to Cyprian, Hippolytus,

Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Hermas]." "With deliverance from death came a new life and regeneration. The phrase 'washing of regeneration' in Titus 3:5 was synonymous with 'the baptism of regeneration.' [references to Methodius of Olympus, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen]." "Tertullian's summary of these four gifts makes it clear 'that by the end of the second century, if not fifty years earlier, the doctrine of baptism (even without the aid of controversy to give it precision) was so fully developed that subsequent ages down to our own have found nothing significant to add to it' [citing Evans]." (The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition 100-600, pages 163ff) THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS (c. A.D. 70) Now let us see if the Lord has been at any pains to give us a foreshadowing of the waters of Baptism and of the cross. Regarding the former, we have the evidence of Scripture that Israel would refuse to accept the washing which confers the remission of sins and would set up a substitution of their own instead [Jer 22:13; Isa 16:1-2; 33:16-18; Psalm 1:3-6]. Observe there how he describes both the water and the cross in the same figure. His meaning is, "Blessed are those who go down into the water with their hopes set on the cross." Here he is saying that after we have stepped down into the water, burdened with sin and defilement, we come up out of it bearing fruit, with reverence in our hearts and the hope of Jesus in our souls. (11:1-10) Ignatius of Antioch (AD 35-107) The writings of another Apostolic Father from the East, Ignatius of Antioch, are further testimony of how truly far back this teaching reaches. Ignatius tells us that along with baptism, faith and charity, our works will be our deposits to receive what is our due: Let your baptism be ever your shield, your faith a helmet, your charity a spear, your patience a panoply. Let your works be deposits, so that you may receive the sum that is due you" (Letter to St. Polycarp, 6). THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS (c. A.D. 140) "I have heard, sir," said I, "from some teachers, that there is no other repentance except that which took place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of our former sins." He said to me, "You have heard rightly, for so it is." (The Shepherd 4:3:1-2) They had need [the Shepherd said] to come up through the water, so that they might be made alive; for they could not otherwise enter into the kingdom of God, except by putting away the mortality of their former life. These also, then, who had fallen asleep, received the seal of the Son of God, and entered into the kingdom of God. For, [he said,] before a man bears the name of the Son of God, he is dead. But when he receives the seal, he puts mortality aside and again receives life. The seal, therefore, is the water. They go down into the water dead [in sin], and come out of it alive. (ibid 9:16:2-4) ST. JUSTIN MARTYR (inter A.D. 148-155) Whoever is convinced and believes that what they are taught and told by us is the truth, and professes to be able to live accordingly, is instructed to pray and to

beseech God in fasting for the remission of their former sins, while we pray and fast with them. Then they are led by us to a place where there is water; and there they are reborn in the same kind of rebirth in which we ourselves were reborn: In the name of God, the Lord and Father of all, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they receive the washing with water. For Christ said, "Unless you be reborn, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." ...The reason for doing this, we have learned from the Apostles. (The First Apology 61) ST. THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH (c. A.D. 181) Moreover, those things which were created from the waters were blessed by God, so that this might also be a sign that men would at a future time receive repentance and remission of sins through water and the bath of regeneration -- all who proceed to the truth and are born again and receive a blessing from God. (To Autolycus 2:16) ST. IRENAEUS (c. A.D. 190) "And [Naaman] dipped himself...seven times in the Jordan" [2 Kings 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: "Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Fragment 34) TERTULLIAN (inter A.D. 200-206) A treatise on our sacrament of water, by which the sins of our earlier blindness are washed away and we are released for eternal life will not be superfluous.....taking away death by the washing away of sins. The guilt being removed, the penalty, of course, is also removed.....Baptism is itself a corporal act by which we are plunged in water, while its effect is spiritual, in that we are freed from sins. (On Baptism 1:1; 5:6; 7:2) ...no one can attain salvation without Baptism, especially in view of the declaration of the Lord, who says: "Unless a man shall be born of water, he shall not have life." (On Baptism 12:1) ST. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (ante A.D. 202) When we are baptized, we are enlightened. Being enlightened, we are adopted as sons. Adopted as sons, we are made perfect. Made perfect, we become immortal...."and sons all of the Most High" [Psalm 82:6]. This work is variously called grace, illumination, perfection, and washing. It is a washing by which we are cleansed of sins; a gift of grace by which the punishments due our sins are remitted; an illumination by which we behold that holy light of salvation -- that is, by which we see God clearly; and we call that perfection which leaves nothing lacking. Indeed, if a man know God, what more does he need? Certainly it were out of place to call that which is not complete a true gift of God's grace. Because God is perfect, the gifts He bestows are perfect. (The Instructor of Children 1:6:26:1)

RECOGNITIONS OF CLEMENT (c. A.D. 221) But you will perhaps say, "What does the baptism of water contribute toward the worship of God?" In the first place, because that which has pleased God is fulfilled. In the second place, because when you are regenerated and born again of water and of God, the frailty of your former birth, which you have through men, is cut off, and so ...you shall be able to attain salvation; but otherwise it is impossible. For thus has the true Prophet [Jesus] testified to us with an oath: "Verily, I say to you, that unless a man is born again of water....he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Recognitions 6:9) In the year 252, Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, said that when those becoming Christians "receive also the baptism of the Church . . . then finally can they be fully sanctified and be the sons of God . . . since it is written, ‘Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God’ [John 3:5]" (Letters 71[72]:1). It is through Baptism that we become Christians, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13). Baptism also takes away sin: "Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16) And in Acts 2:38 Peter says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. The Holy Spirit is the dispenser of grace. At Baptism there is an infusion of grace. Via S.R. Fama William Webster, a former Catholic turned Evangelical, in his 1995 book The Church of Rome at the Bar of History, freely admits the unanimous position of the Church Fathers as to what is called "baptismal regeneration" : "The doctrine of baptism is one of the few teachings within Roman Catholicism for which it can be said that there is a universal consent of the Fathers....From the early days of the Church, baptism was universally perceived as the means of receiving four basic gifts: the remission of sins, deliverance from death, regeneration, and the bestowal of the Holy Spirit." (Webster, page 95-96) The Greek word rendered "baptize" is baptizo. Baptizo defined as: The cognate verb bapto, “dip, immerse,” and the noun baptisma, “baptism." To dip, immerse, middle voice dip oneself, wash (in non-Christian literature also plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm). "Everywhere in the oldest sources, it states that Baptism took place in the Name of Jesus Christ" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 3. p. 82). "The triune and trinity formula was not uniformly used from the beginning, and up until the third Century, baptism in the Name of Christ only was so widespread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to St. Cyprian, said that baptism in the Name of Christ was valid. But Catholic missionaries, by omitting one or more persons of the Trinity when they were baptized, were anathematized by the Roman Church. Now the formula of Rome is "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition., Vol. 3, p. 365366). "It must be acknowledged that the formula of the threefold name does not appear to have been employed by the primitive Church, which, so far as our information goes, baptized 'in' or 'into' the name of Jesus, or Jesus Christ (or the Lord Jesus), without reference to the Father or the Spirit" (Canney Encyclopedia of Religions, p. 53). "Catholics acknowledged that Baptism was changed by the Catholic Church" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 263).

The New Catholic Encyclopaedia on page 59 states that until the 11th Century, baptism throughout Christendom was by immersion according to Acts 2:38 and elsewhere in the Bible, and that it was not until after AD325 that sprinkling in three Titles was practiced. "The original form of words were into the Name of Jesus Christ, or Lord Jesus. Baptism into the Trinity was a later development" (Dictionary of the Bible by Scripture, Vol, 1, p. 241). "Christian Baptism was administered using the words "in the Name of Jesus." The use of a Trinity formula of any sort was not suggested in the early Church history. Baptism was always in the Name of the Lord Jesus until the time of Justin Martyr when Triune Formula was used" (Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 2, p. 377-378, 389). Small wonder Trinitarianism leads to Confusion. "The chief and fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity is that the former is committed to pure and uncompromising monotheism and the latter subscribes to the belief in the trinitarian nature of the divine Being - to the unconditional monotheism of Judaism the doctrine of the Trinity is profoundly objectionable, because it is a concession to polytheism or, at any rate, an adulteration of the idea of the one, unique, indefinable, and indivisible God." "The revolutionary feat of early Mosaism was the complete break with the cults of the many deities and the unconditional and unreserved espousal of the only God. God is one as a unity of oneness that cannot be divided" (Jonathon David Publishers, 1943, p. 15). "The word Elohim is one of the more general words for God and is plural in form. This is what is usually known as the plural of 'majesty or eminence', or the plural of 'fullness or greatness'." It is not uncommon in the East to use the plural to express the idea of the singular in an intensified form. The singular of Elohim means strength, power, or might, and the plural is simply an intensifying of the singular meaning. There is no idea of making God more than one by the use of the plural form Elohim" (Ralph E. Knudsen, Christian Beliefs, 1947, p. 26). "By far the most frequent form used by Old Testament writers is the plural Elohim, but they use it regularly with singular verbs and adjectives to denote a singular idea" (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 1254). "The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it referred to the Trinity of persons in the Godhead hardly finds now a supporter among scholars. It is either what grammarians call the plural of majesty, or it denotes the 'fullness of divine strength, the sum of the powers displayed by God." Colossians 2:9-10 states, "For in Him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power" (Dr. William Smith, Dictionary of the Bible, p. 216). "In this very ancient (Syriac Peschito) Version which is believed by good authorities (Gwilliam, Boners, and others) to represent a text much older than that of the Greek manuscript from which our English New Testament was largely derived, 'the Name of the Lord Jesus Messiah or Christ' appears in all four readings given." Acts 2:38; 8:16, 10:48, 19:5. This would indicate that there was a uniform mode of baptism in the early church, namely the Lord Jesus Christ (William Phillips Hall, A Remarkable Discovery, p. 70). AD 66-90 Catholics begin. THEY WENT OUT FROM US, because they were not of us. (1 John 2:19; Jude 1-3). Most were apostate Greeks who had been seethed in Platonism,

polytheism, mythology and philosophy. Some could never understand monotheism. The CATHOLIC CHURCH starts. TRINITARIANISM invented. (L. Paine, pp.86,287). It was derived from Plato's celestial arithmetic. (L. Hogben, p.266). Tertullian twisted Plato's TIMAEUS into his "TRINITAS." Here started the Trinity. AD 1233 the Catholic Inquisition, a system of Catholic Tribunal Courts, was officially founded by Pope Gregory IX. It lasted until July 15, 1834. It's purpose was to punish theheretics and all persons guilty of any offence against Catholic orthodoxy. These Heretics should be deprived of the liberty of speech and that assemblies organized by heretics should be dissolved was the law. ("Ency. Britannica" 1950 Ed. Vol. 12, p. 377). The later part of the10th century until the beginning of the 12th there were numerous executions of heretics,either by burning or strangling, in France, Italy, and the Empire of England. Remember thatthe heretics are the one God Apostolic organizations who would not accept the church of Rome. C.S. Lovett, "Voice In The Wilderness" p. 9 said, "68,000,000, persons perished in the INQUISITION!" Most do not know that Adolf Hitler was a Catholic, and 6,000,000 Jews also perished under him and that canon law was again used. Canon law or body of laws islaws established by a church. It is a basis for judgment. This is consider to be the mostimportant part of the mass. AD 1420 Apostolic religion swept the land in spite of the Inquisition. It was estimated thatthere were 4,000,000 One God Christians during that period. Blunt wrote of them as"Streams of Heretics." (Blunt, p. 16). Bainton screamed, "They covered the land." (Bainton,p. 279). There were more than 40 Jesus Name Organizations during this period. The Roman Catholic Inquisition turned Europe into a holocaust. During this century billions of dollars and millions of acres of land were seized from Jews, Moors and Anabaptist. Papal permission for SLAVERY was given to Prince Henry the navigator. (Bernstien & Green, p. 302; Wm. Lnager, pp. 486-504). Henry's captains began the slave trade by taking African Blacks to Portugal. Columbus introduced Black and Indian slavery into the Americas, not American Southerners. Blame the Vatican for slavery. ("The Detroit News, Aug.24,1970, Sec. A) AD 1553 MICHAEL SERVETUS, a Spaniard, was the greatest influence of the Acts two message during the sixteenth and seventeenth century for all of Europe and Asia. He was put to death in Geneva for denying Rome's Trinity theory. Servetus died in Jesus Name, and Calvin murdered him in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. (R. Bainton, p. 298). SERVETUS studied law. He later became medical doctor. He was also a preacher. He found problems with the Trinity theory. In fact he wrote a book, "On The Errors of The Trinity" that was published in Hagenow, near Strasbough in 1531. His book was wide spread before it could be censored. He had to change his name after writing his book. Under cover he had an assumed name and he practiced medicine in Lyons. He corresponded with John Calvin. Calvins views were the same as Luthers. Calvin told the Catholics the location of Servetus and they had him arrested. Calvin encouraged the court to find him guilty of capitol crime. Servetus was sentenced to be burned at the stake. The charges were that he did not believe in the Trinity, nor infant baptism. 1501 Catholics started slavery in the Americas. 1521 Luther rejected Biblical Pentecostalism! (Knox, "Enthusiasm", pp.134,135) Luther agreed to the death penalty in order to annihilate Anabaptist bodies and Jews. (Bainton, p. 279; p. Lapide, "Three Popes and the Jews, p. 25) It appears that Luther was not as sincere about Bible truth as historians and some Christian groups indicate. For instance Mr. Luther fully discused the Acts 2 message with the Apostolics all around him. He rejected it. (See: "Martin Luther," by J. Dillengerger, p. 279; Knox , pp. 134-135). In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together...The word trias (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180...Afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian ("De pud." c. xxi) (The Blessed Trinity. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight).

First of all, it should be understood, that claims of Catholic scholars to the contrary, that Theophilus of Antioch did not teach the trinity or that the Holy Spirit was a person (though Tertullian, who became a Montanist sort of did--the leaders of the churches in Asia Minor and Antioch opposed the Montanists-Montanists taught a type of trinity before the Romans ever did). It was not after until Tertullian (over 100 years since the Book of Revelation was written) that professing Christian writers suggested the concept of the trinity close to how it is now understood. The claim about Theophilus is based on a misunderstood and mistranslated passage in his writings. Here is a mistranslated version of what Theophilus wrote: In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book 2, Chapter XV. Translated by Marcus Dods, A.M. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight). It is mistranslated because trinity is NOT a Greek word. Thus, the proper translation would be: In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the three of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man. Now the trinitarian may argue that this is just a semantics issue and that Theophilus is actually still talking about the trinity. Lest anyone suggest that I am reading something into Theophilus that he does not mean, he verifies what I concluded when he wrote: If I call Him Wisdom, I speak of His offspring (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book 1, Chapter III. Translated by Marcus Dods, A.M. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight). We are to be God's offspring! We are to be God in the family of God. Paul verified that when he wrote: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). Like other doctrines that became central to the faith, however, belief in the Trinity was a historical development, not a "given" from the early years of the faith. It cannot be found explicitly stated in the earliest Christian writings. The only passage of the New Testament that declares the doctrine (1 John 5:7-8) was not originally part of the text but was added by doctrinally astute scribes at a later date (it is not found in any Greek manuscripts until the 11th century) (Ehrman B. From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity, Part 2. The Teaching Company, Chantilly (VA), 2004, p. 43). The terms trinity, threeness, or trinitarian are not found in the Bible.