Matthew 28:19 (Misinterpreted Scriptures)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…
Misinterpretation: The UPC points out that this Scripture says to baptize in the Name (singular). They go on to say that the Name is Jesus, and they quote Acts 2:38 as proof (because Peter instructed people to be baptized in the Name of Jesus). Unfortunately, the UPC believes that if a person was baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, then their baptism was invalid and they are not truly saved.
Facts: I will not open up a debate on Oneness vs. the Trinity here, or a debate on whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation. Instead, I will say that I really do not think that Jesus is going to send the majority of His followers to hell for obeying Him. Think about that for a moment. Is Jesus really going to take a person who love Him and faithfully served Him, but was baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and send them to hell—especially when He was the one who told them to be baptized that way? Is that really the kind of God that we serve?
Furthermore, if the UPC view is true then the majority of so-called Christians for the last 2,000 years have gone to hell. I find it hard to believe that Jesus came to Earth, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again, just so that He could trick almost all of His followers into going to hell.
Finally, the UPC often claims that Christians baptized in the Name of Jesus until the Roman Catholic church came on the scene. They believe that the Roman Catholic church corrupted Christianity with the doctrine of the Trinity (which the UPC equates with polytheism) and a false baptism. However, recent historical discoveries make it clear that the early Church was baptizing people in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost at a very early date. The Didache–written between c50-250 A.D.–instructs people to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost1. This means that it is very possible that the early Church was already baptizing people in the Titles when the Apostle John was still alive!
References:
- Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson’s illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index ("Didache"). Nashville: T. Nelson. [↩]
May 19th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Josh,
During the days of Noah, there undoubtedly were other boats, yet, God chose only one boat to save Noah and his family. God chose to make only one plan for their salvation.
Was God unrighteous to those who would seek salvation by some other means? No. In each dispensation, God mercifully has provided mankind a way to escape impending judgment.
It is man’s responsibility to follow the plan of God.
I know some churches that batize in titles and in Jesus’ name as they are unsure of mode of baptism or are following the wishes of the “baptisee”.
Not to rush to the basics of scripture, but, we find in Ephesians 4:5 “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”. One baptism means that there is only one baptism as there was only one ark.
Another interesting scripture is found in Romans 6:3
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” How were these believers baptized into Jesus and into his death and not baptized in his name?
The believers were not baptized into the death of the Father or Holy Ghost, only into Jesus’ death. Galatians 3:27 goes further on this subject and states, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Not to use a “candy-stick” of the UPCI, but we do see evidence of baptism in Jesus’ name in Acts 19:5 “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
I trust that this information is received well.
Sincerely,
Leonard Rafferty
June 1st, 2008 at 10:53 am
Hi, Leonard. I don’t normally respond to comments on this Web site for two reasons: First, I want to avoid starting a thread of debates; Second, my desire is that people would formulate their opinions. Because I desire people to formulate their own opinions I am delighted when people write comments on things that I have written, even when they are disagreeing with me :). I would like to think that I am humble enough to admit when I am wrong, so I welcome responses.
With that said, I noticed today that you wrote three very good comments on three different articles. I am going to break with my own tradition and respond to them–not because I disagree with all or part of what you wrote, but because you took the courtesy to write three comments that were very well-thought, and I think that deserves the courtesy of a response!
In reference to your comments on this post, I would like to reiterate my original point. Is Jesus going to send His followers to hell for obeying Him? In other words, did He tell us to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, just to trick us? Was His goal to convolute the plan of salvation by telling us one thing when He really meant another?
If anyone thinks the answer to that question is “Yes,” then I think they serve a very different God than me.
So, why did the apostles baptize in the Name of Jesus and not in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Who knows. There have been many different theories advanced for that. The one that I hold to is that the phrase “In the Name of” meant “In the authority of.” If that is true then the apostles probably did not say anything over people when they baptized them. They may have even had people immerse themselves after a profession of faith, which is how the earliest post-New Testament writings describe baptism (I.e. the Didache and the writings of Hippolytus).
In short, the New Testament says *that* baptism was done, but it does not say *how* baptism was done. To find out exactly how baptism was done we have to turn to the earliest church writings, and, interestingly, those writings describe baptism being done by immersion, in the presence of two or more witnesses, after a person answered a series of questions professing their faith.
Be that as it may, my original point is still the same. Even if I am wrong about how the early church performed baptism, one thing is clear: I don’t think Jesus is going to send people to hell for obeying Him.
To reverse that point, think of it this way: Did Jesus know the future? He obviously did. So did He know that for 2,000 years people would baptize in the Titles? Obviously. Did He realize that He could have stopped that by just saying “be baptized in the Name of Jesus” instead of “be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”? I am sure that He did.
So if being baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is going to send you to hell, then why did He tell people to do it?
I’ll leave that question up to the reader to answer.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Thank you,
My husband were just discussing this yesterday and came to the same basic conclusion. God LOVES us! We left UPC in the spring, and are So glad. God has been blessing us with truth and love. I feel blessed to believe that millions of believers are Not going to hell for being baptized in the titles, I might even see my beloved Grandmother in Heaven!
What a deliverance from such a condemning belief system. Thanks again for your site.
August 9th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Ephesians 4:5- One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism. What a popular verse among apostolic ministers. I use to misquote this verse also. That is true this verse. There is One Lord. One Faith and One Baptism and the same write of the letter to the Ephesians wrote also that among the many teachings of the church there were 6 foundational doctrines of the church as found in Hebrews 6:1-3 and in that He Paul mentions the doctrine of baptisms (Plural).
John the baptist came baptizing in water unto repentance for the remission of sins but Jesus Christ came to baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire( Luke 3:16).
Jesus made and baptized more disciples then John, though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples(John 4:1-2). Does this verse mean he baptized his disciples or they baptized believers for the Lord? The way the verse reads is stating Jesus didnt baptize with water but His discisple did. Why? he would baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire.
The same writer Paul who wrote by inspiration Eph 4:5 also wrote by inspiration in ( 1 Cor 12:13) For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been made all to drink into one Spirit.
So the verse found in Eph 4:5-One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism is correct in that we are baptized into one (1) body by one (1) Spirit.
I hope this has edified and been a help.
In His Grip,
Rev. Josh Sparks.
September 16th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
We should also relize that the first church did not have the Gosspels of Mattew, Mark, Luke, and John in written form for almost 100 years after the Acts 2:38 message.
How did this first church get baptized?
We should be careful brethren, just because the UPCI uses baptism as a “Sugar Stick” doesn’t make it wrong.
We should also relize that the Word we use to prove and disprove our salvation is very adament about Jesus name baptism.
Lets not judge people by sending them to hell, but also not sending them to heaven either. God is the judge of the quick and the dead so we should building and dismanteling the apostles doctrine just on the fact that a majority of peoples have gone so long in disagreeing with it.
Were some of us bound by the laws and traditions of men? Didn’t we think we were saved while were justified by the law. We found the revelations of so many errors in the UPC by rightly dividing the Word of truth.
Now we need to ask the hard question, the Apostles were fervent for Jesus name baptism, shouldn’t we be also?
These men walked hand and hand with Christ, Matt 28:19 was directed at them then at us. What did the do with this commandment? Acts 2:38 is still the answer to this question
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I say yes Baptism in Jesus name was the formula used in Water Baptism in every instance in the book of Acts. I personally do baptism in Jesus name and believe it is important. I wanted to clarify this. I have never left the Apostolic Teachings or Apostles Doctrine just the approach of the UPCI. I dont have to preach it in any way other then preaching it as absolute truth as found on the pages of God’s Word.
Good Post Brother.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Your original 3 posts were not removed. The last two that were posted under a different name were deleted.
~ Josh
September 14th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Does someone here believe that baptism is what saves us? If a person has not had the opportunity to be baptized, but has Faith do you believe they go to hell? I think about the thief on the cross beside Jesus…
October 6th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Josh,
Praise the Lord dear brother! I share a very similar experience to your own. I have also came to the same conclusions about baptismal formulas. I would be appreciative if you would share the historical references. While I do not rely upon historical references to establish my theology, they are useful to help reinforce the conclusions we have came to.
About Baptism … I think that the missed point is simply this -there is no scriptural example of anyone using a baptismal invocation or formula. Now I know Acts 2, 8 10 and 19 reference being baptized in Jesus Name. Yet, it is an assumption that this means that a minister said “I now baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ.” We only have an actual description of only two baptisms in scripture; that of Jesus Himself and that of the Ethiopian eunuch. On neither of these occasions was a baptismal formula used. In the case of the eunuch, he was only asked for a confession of faith.
Acts 8:36-38 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said,”If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said,”I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
The Apostle Paul was instructed to be baptized “calling on the name of the Lord.” This phrase is taken directly from the very same OT scripture that Peter preached from in Acts 2.
Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ NIV
The calling on the name of the Lord is on the part of the one being baptized and not the one baptizing. Consider:
Rom 10:8-13 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” NIV
Baptism was the mode of confession. It was the time when the believer “called on the name of the Lord.” This does not mean that a person has to confess Jesus at baptism in order for his baptism to be valid, but he must have believed with his heart and confessed with his mouth prior to baptism. In this matter anyone who believes in Jesus, calls on him for salvation and is then baptized because of their faith is being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ no matter what is said at baptism.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Leonard, Ephesians 4:5, Romans 6:3, & Galatians 3:27 all do say, “baptized into Christ”….but just by reading the context you can see that he wasn’t talking about a water baptism.
The bible lists several baptisms.
The baptism in the verses you’ve quoted are only referring to a person getting born-again. It has nothing to do with an actual water baptism.
However, there are several baptisms mentioned:
1) The new birth (John 3:3-7; ICorinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5)
2) Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33)
3) Water baptism (Matthew 28:19)
Water baptism is separate from a person’s salvation.
April 11th, 2010 at 1:08 am
Hello my friend, You say the upc believes that if a person was baptized in the name of the Father,Son,and Holy Ghost then their baptism was invalid……………………. Do what ? That totally not true. I was baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. When my pastor said Tony Phy I now baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, thus obeying Jesus in Matt. 28-19. My friend Josh Spiers I’m not throwing stones at you or argueing with you but I am concerned. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,than,after they have known it,to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. To have this site whyileft.org formerly apostolic…………….Do you know the Lord is coming back after a church that has continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine. You say you spent your whole life in the movement.Why so much wasted time?At this time I don’t think its wasted,I think God is calling you back to his truth to a good apostolic Holy Ghost filled church(body of believers) God bless. your unknown friend Tony Phy
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:04 pm
The problem with Matthew 28:19 is it leaves the reader a few questions to consider. Lets just recap the scripture as we have seen it several times:
Matthew 28:19 (King James Version)
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
1st question: Why baptize?
2nd question: What’s the name?
3rd question: What’s the end result?
All 3 questions are simply answered by the salvation plan as it has been coined to be known by because it really is:
Acts 2:38 (King James Version)
38Then 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.
This scripture answers what baptism is for: the remission of sins
This scripture answers what name it done in: Jesus Christ
This scripture answers what’s the end result? Receive the gift of the holy spirit (his spirit)
God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) so at some point in the Bible, that scripture was going to be further clarified.
Now looking at both texts, 28:19 fails to mention the first step in this process. But 2:38 shows that step which is you must first repent, or turn away/think differently which also requires faith that God is just to forgive you of your sins. baptism is of none effect unless you have repented.
Baptism is more than a “mode” or just “confession”. Its apart of your salvation. Mark 16:16 qualifies that by saying:
Mark 16:16 (King James Version)
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Translated: he that obeys my word and is baptized shall be saved; but he that obeys not my word and is not baptized shall be damned.
So the next question you must ask yourself is what is the revelation of the name Jesus Christ. We can use Genesis right on down to Revelation to show that, but it can be summed up in this text:
Isaiah 9:6 (King James Version)
6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
in that one verse we see the “Son (child)/Prince of Peace”, “Father (God)”, “holy spirit (Everlasting Father) which is God”. Both the God/Everlasting Father is in reference to the same spirit. All 3 seem to agree as one which lines up with (1 John 5:7,8): Father, Word (Son), Spirit agree as ONE, the Blood, Water, Spirit also agree as One in both Heaven and Earth.
And if you take a look at Isaiah 7:14, it reads:
Isaiah 7:14 (King James Version)
14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
we only know of one virgin. But just like Jesus, Mary’s name was not revealed until the time appointed which we see in the gospels.
So 7:14 in conjunction with 9:6 is a fulfillment of 28:19. 28:19 is accomplished by Acts 2:38. See? Not confusing at all.
I agree with Tony. Jesus Christ is calling you back to him. He’s coming and very very soon, said it 3 times in Rev 22. The walk with Christ is not about the UPC. The organization is not the way to heaven, for Jesus Christ said he is the way, truth and life, not UPC (John 14:6). Just come on back home Brother, just come back home. Remember, it is God who hardens hearts. You spent time in this movement. He’s coming. Praying for you.
July 2nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Josh,
I hope you don’t mind me using a quote from your previous statement.
(June 1st, 2008 at 10:53 am)
“Be that as it may, my original point is still the same. Even if I am wrong about how the early church performed baptism, one thing is clear: I don’t think Jesus is going to send people to hell for obeying Him.”
By stating the above, you have pitted the Acts (how things are done) of the Apostles -vs- what Jesus said. That is absolutely conflicting in any book.
If you are like me, I believe the word of God does not contradicts itself or is meant to confuse us (1 Cor 14:33). For this reason we need to read the whole bible and put the pieces together. That is why we are to “Seek” and not just read for the sake of reading something interesting.
Josh I will pray for you and I too love souls but we all make mistakes and you may want to “Pray” deeply on your stance. Remember there is …One Lord (Eph 4:5) …and his Name One (Zec 14:9).
It’s all about the “NAME” and I know you are fully aware of that fact.
Psalms 106:8, Jeremiah 23:6, Jeremiah 33:16, Matthew 10:22, Mark 13:13, Acts 2:21, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:13
Acts 4:7 – And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? [there is Power in His Name to Save!]
If a “Title” or “Formula” doesn’t matter then try to ask in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for God to “heal” or “cast out devils” and see if it works.
Remember “Trust in His Name” – with Jesus and you can never go wrong when it comes to Salvation. I do believe God when He says …baptism doth also now save us (1 Pet 3:21).
1 Tim 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;
Peace & Love,
Mark — Houston, TX
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Mark, I appreciate your comments. It’s obvious that you put thought into your words and approached the subject with a humble attitude.
I don’t normally reply to comments, but I do want to clarify one thing: I have never pitted the apostles’ actions against Jesus’ words. Doing that would imply that the apostles were wrong, and I obviously don’t think they were. I take a very high view of Scripture–I believe that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is the infallible, inerrant word of God.
My point was only that Jesus did command that people be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Every manuscript of Matthew says the same thing. There can be no debate on that point. So if a person is baptized according to the literal words of Christ then they are not acting disobediently.
Did the apostles baptize in the Name of Jesus? Possibly. It’s also possible that Luke was using “the Name of” in the sense of “in the authority of.” That’s a very possible scenario, but it’s not the only possible scenario.
Either way. I am not the one pitting the words of Christ against the apostles. Anyone who believes that being baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is insufficient for salvation is standing at odds with Scripture. They are, in effect, claiming that obeying Christ is not sufficient.
Please note that I will not debate in the comments. I very rarely stepped in. I felt the need to reply to your comment though because I felt that I was grossly misunderstood.
I hope I have clarified my view. I hope that it makes more sense now, even if you continue to disagree with it =)
In Christ,
- Josh S.
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Hello Josh,
Thank you for your kind reply, I hope you accept my apology if I offended you in any way.
I have a sincere question for you regarding the following verse. The Lord put this in my heart awhile ago and how it applies to baptism and especially the words “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (question after verse)
Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
When a person baptizes another person and speaks out the words “I baptize you……” and the deed of the other person being baptized, does Col 3:17 apply?
Your comment is well appreciated.
Blessings to you,
Mark
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Mark, you didn’t offend me. I’ve developed pretty thick skin after 4 years of running this Web site. You wouldn’t believe some of the comments I get from people who claim to be Christian. I was actually accused of being the anti-christ just a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway, you might want to re-post your last comment in the “Colossians 3:17 (Misinterpreted Scriptures)” article (http://www.whyileft.org/frequently-misinterpreted-scriptures/colossians-317-misinterpreted-scriptures/). I address the point you just made in that article.
One thing to keep in mind is that I find both baptismal formulas Scriptural. I definitely don’t have a problem with people using a “in the Name of Jesus” formula. However, I do have a problem with people saying that you can’t be saved unless you’re baptized with those words said over you. I do not find that idea scriptural.
God bless,
- Josh S.