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Let’s cut to the chase. None of that Campbellite nonsense(One of the legalistic shackles that held me for a short while).

Acts 16:30-31 King James Version (KJV)

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Much like Cornelious was instantly saved when the Holy Ghost fell on him BEFORE he was baptized.

ACTS 10

43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

So, was Cornelious’ sins forgiven when he heard the WORD, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, or when he got wet.

**Let’s cut to the chase.**

Absolutely!

While the Son of man was on earth, he was given power to forgive sins. He did that with the man with the palsy, the woman that anointed his feet, and the thief on the cross (there is no mention of sins concerning the thief, but for Jesus Christ to promise him that he would be WITH him in paradise, points to forgiveness for sure).

Before the Christ departed he told disciples that THEY were to REMIT sins.(John 20:23).

He passed the power on to them. He commanded them to baptize. Acts 2:38,41 is the beginning of their remitting of sins.

How about some symbolism? The afore mentioned man with the palsy couldn’t enter in by another way (although preachers teach another ‘way’). So the men carrying him..opened ...up ...a hole... in the roof. They then lowered him down in his cot, not unlike lowering a body into a grave. Who was down there? Jesus. What power was present (besides the power to heal)?

The power to forgive sins.

That is why, as Paul puts it, we are “buried with him by baptism into his death”.

That’s why if you finish the story of the keeper of the prison, you read how he and his household were taught the word (HOW to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ) and in short order were baptized.

That’s why Peter, after seeing and hearing the out pouring of the Holy Ghost on Cornelius and household, followed the Lord’s command immediately by commanding for them to be baptized.

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Much like Cornelious was instantly saved when the Holy Ghost fell on him BEFORE he was baptized.

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I did not read the word “instantly” in my Bible.

If you believe in Jesus you can be saved. The Devil too believes but is he saved? I think not. Believing only is a start. It’s like starting a car to go to a distant city.

I don’t understand where this fiction comes from. I don’t understand why people think that just wanting Eternal Life will give it to you. I don’t understand why people don’t think there are any strings attached.

Faith comes before believing. Desire to believe comes before faith. Believing comes by testing your faith through works. Soon you begin to realize that it is true and your faith grows and you have works. Your faith becomes stronger and stronger, it becomes belief. Soon you KNOW.

The person who has lived a sinful life with no remorse but fear on their death bed can cry “Jesus” all they want, it won’t get it done, I don’t think. Jesus will forgive who He will and I hope it is more than less, but if you think it is automatic just because you want it you are wrong. If you believe then you will have it because of what the belief causes you to do. The Apostles didn’t go from town to town getting people to say they believed, they went around trying to get people to exercise their faith because that is what would allow them to have access to the Grace of The Savior.

It isn’t like we can sign a book somewhere that says “we believe” and then walk away to our sinful lives. There will be a lot of surprises when people realize that they signed the book but didn’t get “the promise”.

The people that teach this stuff will help people be ignorant of the truth and keep them from being what they could be, perhaps keep them from being able to take advantage of the Grace that He so fully offers us.

All these scriptures that say believe and be saved don’t say believe and don’t do anything else and be saved. The scriptures don’t say do nothing else but confess the name of Jesus. The scripture don’t say just repent, nothing else is required. They don’t say just stop sinning and you will be saved without doing anything else.

When Scriptures say repent and be saved they are correct because they know if you repent you did it because you Loved The Lord and decided to follow Him. It is understood that after you feel sorrow for your sins you will repent and then be baptized and follow The Lord to the best of your ability. It is taken for granted that you will make mistakes again and plead to God to be forgiven and He will forgive you, again and again, but, you must ask. You must repent. You must have faith enough to do those things.

I was 15 years old when I first read the Holy Bible and realized that my minister was preaching information from a source other than The Bible. When you mix scripture with the feel good desires of philosophers, error creeps in. The error does not necessarily come because of evil desire, just the opposite. The error comes from a desire to love all people and wish the best for all people.

There are people who believe that The Bible teaches that homosexuals should be able to become preachers and be married to their same sex companions.

When the homosexual goes to church and confesses Christ Jesus as Lord but goes home to his same sex lover he sins and doesn’t repent or desire to repent. At the last day when the Homosexual complains that he knew The Lord, that he went to church and made big donations, that he taught Sunday School, The Lord will still say He never knew him.

So someone can tell me they went to seminary for as long as they want. To me what they learned were the philosophies of man not of God. That is why every seminary seems to have a different version of the truth, but there can only be one version of the truth. Wanting something to be true doesn’t make it so. The philosophers in the Catholic School in California who recently took down the Statues of Christ and Mary because they didn’t want to offend anyone are perfect examples of what I’m speaking of. The “professors” know well the scriptures but they also know well the centuries of the philosophies of men that they use to interpret the scriptures and come up with these stupid ideas.

Now, to any homosexuals I have offended. I believe you have every right to live whatever lifestyle you want, I also believe that just because you want to live that way does not make it God’s way. I fortunately don’t have to pay for your sin, Someone else already did that, if you are willing to accept it.

In that case it was necessary as a witness to the Jewish believers there what God’s will was and that it was God’s will that Gentiles could be saved without becoming Jews first. Look at the reaction to these things by first those Peter took with him and then by the Church in Jerusalem to verify this. It was not so thereafter though.

Moreover, look at the structure of the later conference presided over by James and Peter when Paul and Barnabas were there. People who have it out for Paul (and who seem to utterly neglect Barnabas) often seem to miss this but at the general meeting neither man spoke a word about theology.

It was, after they had let all those saying this or that speak their peace, Peter who stood up and presented the theology, and he explicitly references the events you are talking about, and who told the crowd what the decision will be.

THEN Paul and Barnabas stand up and recount all the miracles performed.

THEN James reiterates Peter’s statement telling the crowd what the decision is.

No vote, no more debate. They understood what Christ had meant when He said to his listeners that if they could not believe because of the words then they could believe because of the works. It was Peter and James who were orchestrating that meeting, not Paul and Barnabas.

So were Paul and Barnabas preaching receiving the Holy Spirit so that men could be baptized or were they preaching a gospel that with repentance and baptism the Holy Spirit would be given?