Why Be Baptized Into the Name of
Yahshua?
Is baptism
just an initiation into a church, or is it truly important for salvation? Did
you know that there is a proper method for, and Name into which you must be
baptized? (Also see "The Authority to Baptize")
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The New Testament’s basic message to mankind is that our salvation is
anchored to Yahshua the Messiah, the One Yahweh sent to earth for a living
example and the One Who died for the sins of the world. He became the Author of
eternal salvation to all that obey Him, Hebrews 5:9.
In Acts
At times those claiming humbly to follow the Bible
have “reasoned” as Naaman initially that it is neither necessary nor logical to
be immersed into Yahshua’s Name when they already have been baptized in the
name of “Jesus” or perhaps in the titles of Father, Son and Holy Ghost years
ago while in the churches. But titles are not names. We find no power or
promises in titles.
When we come to a better understanding of the Bible,
we should do everything possible to fulfill all righteousness. One very
important act is to be immersed “into the only name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved,” Acts
The name Jesus carries no such meaning, and titles
alone have no legal obligation on any contract. Through baptism we enter the
covenant of Yahweh.
The Problem with Matthew 28
Matthew
28:19-20 is questioned by reputable scholars as the authentic formula for
baptism. Every example in Acts shows that the candidate is immersed into the
single Name, Yahshua, not a trinitarian formula. A trinity or triad of deities
is found in almost all pagan religions, and the concept of a Christian trinity
likely sprang from an attempt to please pagan converts.
Matthew 28:19-20 commands immersing into “the name,”
singular. The Jerusalem Bible, a Catholic publication, admits this verse is
spurious and had likely crept into the text from liturgical usage. This same
finding is expressed in “World Religions,” “The Encyclopedia of Religion &
Ethics,” “New Schaff Herzog Religious Encyclopedia,” “Hastings Dictionary of
the Bible,” and other sources.
Examples in the Book of Acts
Take
note of THE NAME into which the converts are to be immersed in the examples
from The Holy Name Bible:
·
Repent, and be immersed every one of you in the Name of Yahshua the Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit, Acts 2:38.
·
Neither is there salvation in any other: For there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts
·
For as yet [the Holy Spirit] was fallen upon none of
them: only they were immersed into the Name
of Yahshua the Messiah, Acts
·
And he commanded them to be immersed into the Name of Yahshua, Acts 10:48.
·
When they heard this, they were baptized into the Name of Yahshua the Messiah, Acts 19:5.
·
And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and
wash away thy sins, calling on His Name,
Acts 22:16.
It is apparent from the above record found in Acts
that the Apostles immersed all repentant believers into the single, saving Name
of Yahshua the Messiah.
The Savior and His disciples naturally spoke Hebrew.
Acts 26:14-15 also reveals the Savior spoke to Paul in Hebrew. Acts 9:5 reads, “I am Yahshua of
Buried With Yahshua
Paul
emphasizes that baptism is into the Name of Yahshua as given Him from on high. “Know you not, that so many of us as were
immersed into Yahshua the Messiah were immersed into His death?” Romans
6:3. He continues, “Therefore we are
buried with Him by immersion into death: that like as the Messiah was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life,” Romans 6:4.
Paul continues through the next several verses
pointing out that we consecrate our lives for the Savior. And as we strive for
righteousness, sin has no dominion over us, for we are not under the penalty of
the law, but under grace.
Paul again emphasizes the one Name into which we are
baptized, 1Corinthians
Heirs Through Yahshua
In
his letter to the Galatians, Paul reveals that those who have been immersed
into Yahshua have put on the Messiah. We are all made one in Him and are
Abraham’s seed, being heirs according to the promise.
“For you are
all the children of Yahweh by faith in Messiah Yahshua. For as many of you as
have been baptized into Messiah have put on Messiah. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Messiah Yahshua. And if you be Messiah’s then are you
Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise,” Galatians 3:26-29.
Proper baptism into the true Name of the Savior of
Israel is a definite and emphatic command of the Savior Himself, and is as
essential to salvation as any of the other commands of the Bible.
Peter’s sermon to those assembled at
If repentance is necessary for the remission of sins,
so is proper baptism. “He that believes
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be condemned,” Mark
Putting On The Messiah
The
Bible teaches that we have not even taken the final step which puts us into the
Body of Messiah until we have been scripturally baptized. Paul states, “For as many of you as have been baptized
into Messiah have put on Messiah,” Galatians 3:27. By being immersed into
the saving Name of Yahshua, we have in effect put on His righteousness.
Yahshua said, “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the
Arguments Some Advance
At
times the argument is given, “But I already received the Holy Spirit when I was
immersed into the common titles long before I knew the name.”
There is no argument over a change having come about
for the better. But why would one hang back and refuse the clear command of
Scripture? Why not do all one can to fulfill all righteousness?
We learn that even those who may already have been given
of Yahweh’s Spirit are still required to be immersed into Yahshua’s saving
Name. Note Peter’s comments in Acts 10:47-48, “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized which have
received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in
the name of Yahshua the Messiah...”
The family of Cornelius already had the Holy Spirit,
which came as Peter talked, yet were still required to be baptized!
Precious Name Yahshua
Being
immersed into Yahshua’s saving Name has far greater importance and meaning than
is generally perceived. Yahshua proclaimed, “I
am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me,” John 14:6. John 10:9 states that Yahshua is the “door” of the sheepfold.
Only through Yahshua is the Holy Spirit given us. The
Spirit is first given to Yahshua as we see in Acts 2:33: “Therefore, being by the right hand of Yahweh exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has shed forth this,
which you now see and hear.”
The Holy Spirit is channeled to mankind in the Name of
Yahshua. Notice John 14:26: “But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name...”
The Savior had to go to the heavens so that the Spirit
could be available to mankind through Yahshua. “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send [it] unto you,” John 16:7.
The Holy Spirit is given by Yahweh only through
Yahshua’s saving Name. “Neither is
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts
Receiving of His indwelling Spirit is one
manifestation. In taking on His true Name we become a part of His Body. We
become a part of the family called by Yahweh’s Name (Ephesians
True Repentance
The
first step in being baptized is to repent. “Repent” in the New Testament is
from the Greek metanoeo, which means to change one’s mind, and also to regret, feel
remorse over the view previously held, to think differently afterwards.
The call for repentance and the promise of forgiveness
is followed by turning to the ways of Yahweh with a full heart. It means more
than just feeling sorry, or changing one’s mind, but a turning around; a
complete change of goals and motivation in one’s life.
Which Age Is Appropriate?
This
means that babies and children are not yet mature enough to comprehend the
meaning of baptism and do not understand fully the meaning of repentance. It is
only upon reaching maturity that they are considered responsible for their
actions.
According to Yahweh’s Word, that age is twenty years.
Some mature before reaching that age, and others are immature long after.
Yahweh feels that by the time His people have reached the age of twenty they
are then responsible.
How do we know 20 is the age?
In
the Old Testament, those age twenty and over died in the wilderness because
they did not believe Yahweh’s promises and refused to cross over the
As long as children live with their believing parents,
Yahweh sees to it they are under His protective umbrella (1Cor.
Immersion Is a Burial
Briefly,
the only acceptable baptism is done by complete immersion. When the King James
Bible was being translated, the question of translating the Greek word baptizo
presented a problem.
Baptizing practices inherited from the Roman church
included sprinkling and pouring, but baptizo clearly meant to immerse or dip.
Not knowing how to properly represent this word in English, the translators
consulted the king. His decision was to transliterate the Greek baptizo into
the English text, not to translate!
Other Greek words could have been used if pouring or
sprinkling were proper. Please note the following:
· Baptizo means “to immerse” or “dip.”
· Cheo means “to pour.”
· Rhantizo means “to sprinkle.”
The writers of the New Testament did not use “cheo” or
“rhantizo” in any reference to the necessary act of salvation!
The evidence from the Bible shows baptisms all took
place where there was an abundance of water for immersing.
John the Baptist ministered in Aenon “because there was much water there,” John
Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and then “they were come up out of the
water, ”Acts
Laying On Of Hands
Baptism
cleanses one from all sins. At the moment of baptism the individual stands
before Yahweh as if he or she had never sinned. This is known as justification
and means one is justified in the cleansing work of the Savior. All sins are
washed away.
But we still have the carnal nature to overcome, and
there remains another requirement following baptism that we are to perform.
Known as “the
laying on of hands,” this on-going practice was carried out by the
presbytery since the early assembly in
Paul wrote to young Timothy, “Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy,
with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.”
Thus, we learn that believers are given a special gift
of the Holy Spirit to uplift and strengthen the assembly. Paul laid hands upon
Timothy for the gift, 2Timothy 1:6.
Only One True Baptism
Ephesians
4:5 teaches there is one Master, one faith, one baptism. The “one baptism” is the baptism into
Yahshua the Messiah for the remission of sins. All other baptisms are more or
less baptisms of repentance — a type of John’s baptism where one has gone as
far as one knows at that time.
But now that we understand we are to be immersed into
the “only name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved,” every effort must be made to be immersed
into Yahshua’s Name for the remission of sins.
Such baptism is the highest on earth. There is nothing
higher, and there is no need to be baptized all over again as is often done in
the churches. Yahshua’s saving Name stands preeminently above all names.
The Spirit Within
Being
immersed into Yahshua’s Name and having hands laid on by the Elders of the
Assembly means one is immersed into Yahshua’s Body. The Holy Spirit is given to
those baptized and from that point onward; the very Spirit or power of Yahweh
is within that individual.
We are then to set our hearts on the gifts of the
Spirit. Paul urges the believer to seek those things that edify and lift up the
assembly. He does not encourage speaking in tongues (1Cor 14:5).
Paul says that tongues are a sign for the unbeliever,
but inspired preaching is intended for them which believe, 1Cor
Why Do You Wait?
The
more we study and learn of Yahweh, the greater is our responsibility.
We are more accountable for the knowledge Yahweh has
revealed to us through His Word. We are not to sit idly by and do nothing. Ours
is the responsibility of the “great
commission” to teach all nations His truth.
If you have not been immersed into Yahshua’s saving
Name you need to be. Even Yahshua, who was perfect, was baptized by John to
show His complete obedience.
You have nothing to lose and the Kingdom to gain by
being willingly obedient in all things, as was our Savior in His example for
us.
If you have questions about baptism or personal
problems about which you need counseling, get in touch with us.
We speak plainly about sin, about the coming
tribulation, about the high calling we have in Yahshua, to be a part of His “Ekklesia”
— the called out ones — to rule, and that mankind should repent and change his
ways so that he learns of the ways Yahshua has laid down for us. Yahshua is
choosing His own who willingly are baptized into His name and seek for that
first resurrection to be with Him in the coming Kingdom.
Then, as a part of that spiritual body of Messiah, our
task will be to reach out and help others to come to a saving knowledge of His
ways.
We are to do what we can to win others to the Messiah.
Supporting those who are doing this work with tithes and offerings makes it
possible for the Good News to expand and go out with growing power to those who
are seeking truth both in this hemisphere and around the world.
Yahweh’s Assembly In Yahshua continues to send out increasing
amounts of Bible truth literature and encourages all to prepare now for the
coming Redeemer of Israel. (Also see "The Authority To
Baptize")
© 2007 Yahweh’s Assembly in Yahshua
View us online at: www.YAIY.org
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