Comments on: Importance of Spiritual Baptism (Part 1)

By: Tom Lessing (Discerning the World)

Tom Lessing (Discerning the World) — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 06:31:25 +0000

In reply to MV. Dear MV, Would you mind telling me how you were saved?

By: MV

MV — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 03:06:20 +0000

I have this problem.. I accepted Jesus last year but I got swayed by false teachings. I started experiencing things in my body I thought I needed deliverance ministry not thinking right cause I was panicking. That deliverance ministry made me renounce my church and even baptized me. Found out they’re not Christians. I read the post about false Holy Spirit of fire.. I am experiencing some of those symptoms. I don’t feel the fruits of the Spirit anymore. I miss the joy of my salvation. Now I don’t think I’m still saved.. What’s your opinion on this. Thank you

By: Saretta Herholdt

Saretta Herholdt — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 10:37:54 +0000

thank You!

By: Tom Lessing (Discerning the World)

Tom Lessing (Discerning the World) — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 20:21:56 +0000

In reply to colin.

Colin,

Once again, your inference is wrong. My soteriology would be completely wrong if I should believe that “belongs to him” means to be in heaven with Him. Why do you think I quoted Ezekiel 18:4?

Knowing about David and Absalom isn’t what made John Calvin daft. He was daft because his soteriology was daft. I believe that Calvin is in hell and my reason for saying this is the following,

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9)

Anyone who believes he is going to heaven because he is one of the so-called elect is deceived and needs to repent.

Hannah’s dedication of her son was something completely different to today’s dedication of babies. Hannah’s dedication involved the giving of her son as an offering in the service of the Lord in the temple.

By: colin

colin — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 14:16:49 +0000

Thomas,
Thank you for your reply.
You are correct to say that “all souls are mine” Ezekiel 18.4. Like you, I certainly believe that “all souls” do indeed belong to God, be they forever in heaven or hell.
But, reading again your reply to Rista, it seems that you are implying very strongly that when you say “belongs to Him”, I would suggest that you were very strongly inferring that would be with Him above, and not down below? I think to say otherwise, would be just a tad disingenuous on your part? Indeed why even bother, on this reasoning, as in your words to “dedicate your child to Him, the child belongs to Him…”, if you know he or she belongs to Him anyway? Surely the child would NOT “belong” to God, in the true sense, if he or she ended up in hell? He or she would be a child of Satan?
I would think that 1 Samuel 1.11, for example, would be used by some to teach child dedication to God.
Whatever you may think of Calvin as a man, one thing is sure, he wasn’t daft? He would have known about David and Absalom, and a host of others?
When I have more time I will read his “institutes” on this topic.

By: Tom Lessing (Discerning the World)

Tom Lessing (Discerning the World) — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 11:34:05 +0000

In reply to colin. Colin, I think you misunderstood me. There is a vast difference between what I said and what Calvin believed. I sincerely hope you don't see the dedication/baptism of your children as salvation. In fact, God says that all souls belong to Him. Are all souls saved because they BELONG TO HIM?

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)

It does not mean that one is saved. The above verse clearly teaches this. Therefore your assumption that I made a boo-boo is wrong.

By: colin

colin — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 21:53:47 +0000

Thomas,
How do you reconcile what you say in your reply above to Rista, where you said;
“Remember, when you make a promise to the Lord and dedicate your child to Him, the child BELONGS TO HIM and he or she may not indulge in any worldly activities such as partying, smoking, drinking, etc when they become of age”
(emphasis mine). With your reply to Andy on 5th-6th February 2014 in the article “Jacob Prasch twisting Scripture the midrash way”:
Andy asked in regard to the statement, in the article on that page, “If you are Elect, your children will be Elect”; where this was attributed to Calvin? To which you duly replied that Calvin taught this from his institutes iv 15. 2,20.
It would seem that what you assert is indeed not too disimilar to what Calvin teaches?

By: Tom Lessing (Discerning the World)

Tom Lessing (Discerning the World) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 13:28:07 +0000

In reply to Rista.

Rista,

The reason I mentioned the usual run of the mill expression “I gave my heart to Jesus” is because it can, and indeed in most cases, leads to a wrong impression of what it means to be saved. Giving your heart to Jesus, involves, as I explained from Scripture, a believer who needs to commit his/her whole life to Jesus. Salvation is never depicted as a giving your heart to Jesus in Scripture.

Unfortunately most parents think that when they have their babies baptized it is a promise they make to God. And then, when they reach their teens they allow them to party and whoop it up as much as they like. As you can see, that’s no promise or at best a promise broken. Indeed, man’s heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked which proves that when he makes promises to God it is usually just a lot of empty words.

By: Rista

Rista — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 12:23:37 +0000

Tnx for getting back to me Thomas, I have the answer I needed.

To explain – Giving my heart to the Lord means that I want Him to change me – our hearts are deceitful above all things and only He can bring about the change we need. It means an acknowledgement that I’m a lost sinner, acknowledgement and repentance of my sins, asking the Lord to help me to turn my back on the things the world entice me with. I try my best to, with the help of the Lord, stay within the Biblical boundaries Jesus set up for us (I feel safe within those boundaries) so I can also set an example for my sons. I believe Jesus died to set us free FROM sin, not TO sin and only by His grace can I say no to the worldly enticements that cross my path on a daily basis. And no, smoking, drinking and partying definitely are not on my list of enticements, I cannot even begin to fathom why you had to mention that?

God bless!

By: Tom Lessing (Discerning the World)

Tom Lessing (Discerning the World) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:23:57 +0000

In reply to Rista.

Rista,

You don’t need water and an audience of other believers to make a promise to the Lord. I am sure He is quite capable to understand and accept a promise made by a mother without having to use water in the presence of other believers. Remember, when you make a promise to the Lord and dedicate your child to Him, the child belongs to Him and he or she may not indulge in any worldly activities such as partying, smoking, drinking, etc when they become of age. Hopefully you don’t smoke, drink or party because if you do you will be a lousy example for your children.

May I ask, How does a sinner give his/her heart to Jesus? As far as I know the Bible says that lost sinners should repent and believe the Gospel and consequently be baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (also called the Living Water) in order to be saved. There is only one place in the entire Bible that says “give me your heart” and that is in Proverbs 23:26 where the Father says to his son ” My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” He is not talking to a believer, not an unbeliever. No one can be saved without the person first realizing that he or she is a lost sinner and on their way to a well-deserving eternity in hell. Jesus did not say He came to encourage sinners to give their hearts to Him. He said that He came to seek and to find lost sinners. He cannot find people who do not realize and acknowledge that they are lost.

The bible does not say “go AND make disciples.” 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.”The phrase “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is another way of saying, “teaching them fully about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, helping them to understand Who God is and to live more like God in their lives.” It simply means that by teaching them you are immersing them into the Name (the character) of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So, the best thing for you to do is to immerse them into the Name (character) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit by teaching them and being an example for them.