Why were the baptisms required for Israel?

Why were the baptisms required for Israel?

Exodus 19:5 Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my Covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the Earth is mine. And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Exodus 19 is when Moses begins to give the Old Testament law to Israel, and he tells them right up front, God's intention with Israel is to make them a kingdom of priests.

Lev 21:16-21 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (17) Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. (18) For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, (19) Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, (20) Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; (21) No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

According to Leviticus 21, there were some obvious requirements placed upon the priests who were to approach to offer the offerings of the Lord. They had to be a perfect physical specimen.

Who is judged by which gospel?

Who is judged by which gospel?

QUESTION:

Is Romans 2:16 only referring to those who denied the Paul's gospel during the dispensation of grace? That is my current understanding of Rom 2:16

ANSWER:

Consider the Kingdom gospel. It is based upon the precepts God gave to Israel. It required repentance based on their unbelief and it required water baptism based on the ordinance of washing applied to priests in the Mosaic law. It also required being filled with the Spirit according to the new covenant prophesied in Ezek.36 and Jer.31. So, this gospel had requirements and ordinances specific to Israel and their relationship with God under law.

Now consider Paul's gospel. To be justified by God, it simply required faith in God, and more specifically, faith in His Son. Paul writes,

The need to divide, or cut, or handle, the Word is paramount to understanding its true context

The need to divide, or cut, or handle, the Word is paramount to understanding its true context

STATEMENT:

Your post about rightly dividing prophecy from mystery reminds me of a story about 6 blind men arguing about what an elephant was like. the poem, “The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Saxe. In the poem, each blind man had grabbed a different part of the elephant and was vigorously defending his position. The man who had the leg declared the elephant was like a tree, the one who had the ear said he was like a fan, the one who had the trunk asserted he was like a snake, and so forth. So too, Christians can grab different verses in the New Testament and begin arguing—as if the Bible could contradict itself. That is not how to establish truth in the Christian world. The Bible is God-breathed and does not contradict itself. God’s people are to “rightly handle,” the Word and the words in it, and not wage useless word battles with them. The Bible can be wrongly believed and taught, and it can also be wrongly used as a weapon against other people.

ANSWER:

Thanks for your input. I have no doubt that many denominational churches today handle the Word incorrectly, twisting the Word to fit their church creed or traditions instead of truly studying the Word to find out what God’s will and purpose for the Body of Christ truly is. Thus, your analogy is true for people who take parts of God’s Word and change it fit their purpose and views, essentially creating it into something like what you describe with the elephant's anatomy.

The Timeline of Paul’s Ministry (Study Aid)

The Timeline of Paul’s Ministry

(The timeline below can be useful for orientating oneself in Paul’s time when studying Acts and Paul’s Epistles)

Is our gospel the same as that which Jesus and the 12-Apostles taught?

Is our gospel the same as that which Jesus and the 12-Apostles taught?

COMMENT (in response to an article teaching that there is more than one gospel):

Readers, please take a few minutes to read Galatians 1:6-12. It plainly says that there is one Gospel, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Any time more than one Gospel is taught in scripture or by any teacher, by Biblical teachings, it is a different or false interpretation of scripture. Please read Acts 8:36-38, and Acts10:44-47. These Scriptures clearly say Gentiles are being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, and there are many more scriptures that describe the same things. Finally read Matthew 28:19-20 The Great Commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Gentiles) baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are commanded to reprove our teachers by what the scriptures actually say to be certain of the truth of our true Teacher, the Holy Spirit.

MY REPLY:

I’d like to point out that you conveniently use Paul’s writings to prove only one gospel, but then you send the read back to all the references of the Kingdom gospel which is for Israel, and completely discount all the rest of Paul's writings that clearly define his credentials as the apostle of the Gentiles, and who received a new gospel and mystery doctrine, revealed to him by the risen Christ.

The difference in salvation before and after the cross

STATEMENT/QUESTION:

Are you saying that how people get saved today is different from the Bible times? Was it different before Christ came or different before he died? Please explain how this ‘other salvation’ before Christ works?

My assertion is that there is no other salvation and there never was. From Genesis to Revelation salvation has always been through faith in the promised Messiah to come and take away our sins and set us free.

Agreed? Yes or no?

ANSWER:

Regarding your question on previous gospels:

I agree that every gospel is based on faith. If one does not place faith in believing God’s instructions to be saved, then one will not be saved, irrespective of works or not. Thus, irrespective of gospel, faith is required! However, God’s instructions for salvation did not remain the same over time. What God told Noah did not apply to Abraham. What God told Abraham to do did not apply to Peter, James, and John!