Formula for baptism! Help please!

  • Thread starter Thread starter joclucsylv
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

joclucsylv

Guest
Hello everyone!
I love this forum. I have registered because I have a question I need help with. My brother is engaged to a woman who was Apostolic (Jesus only faith). She was baptized Catholic Easter Vigil and it was beautiful. However, her family is maintaining that she is damned because of baptism in the trinity! (They don’t believe in the trinity.) Also her father who is a minister of the Apostolic faith says that there is no historical evidence that the Apostles baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Please help!
 
Her family is misguided; please pray for them. I’m sure there are other references, but you can direct her father to Matthew 28:19 for scriptural guidance on baptism:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit

Here is a link to the Church Fathers’ teachings on Trinitarian Baptism:

catholic.com/library/Trinitarian_Baptism.asp
 
Thank you Michael. I have referred to that passage in Mathew, but somehow they twist it. They always refer to Acts where it says baptize in the name of Jesus.
 
Hello everyone!
I love this forum. I have registered because I have a question I need help with. My brother is engaged to a woman who was Apostolic (Jesus only faith). She was baptized Catholic Easter Vigil and it was beautiful. However, her family is maintaining that she is damned because of baptism in the trinity! (They don’t believe in the trinity.) Also her father who is a minister of the Apostolic faith says that there is no historical evidence that the Apostles baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Please help!
No evidence? Has this guy ever read Matthew 28:19? Who does he think he is?!?!

It’s very unfortunate, but this woman has done the right thing, even if her family does not agree (see Matthew 10:34-36). Don’t forget that her parents aren’t even christian, so take what they say with a grain of salt (a rather large one, at that).

I don’t know if I can say much more than that. I’ll be praying that she may be strong in this time which I imagine is difficult for her.
 
Thank you Michael. I have referred to that passage in Mathew, but somehow they twist it. They always refer to Acts where it says baptize in the name of Jesus.
They are having to do some real word aerobics to twist Matthew 28:19! There are other sects that point to Acts for the belief in baptism in Jesus’ name only. However, as the link I provided explains, the use of Jesus’ name in Acts was to distinguish Christian Baptism from other baptisms–Jewish, pagan, etc.
 
Hello everyone!
I love this forum. I have registered because I have a question I need help with. My brother is engaged to a woman who was Apostolic (Jesus only faith). She was baptized Catholic Easter Vigil and it was beautiful. However, her family is maintaining that she is damned because of baptism in the trinity! (They don’t believe in the trinity.) Also her father who is a minister of the Apostolic faith says that there is no historical evidence that the Apostles baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Please help!
I’m not sure why you are involved in this?

If the woman converted of her own free will because of her belief in the truths of the Catholic Church, she needs to tell her family the topic is off limits.

To promote family harmony, perhaps religion is going to have to be an off-limits topic, but this is for your brother and his fiance to discuss and handle. She needs to be clear with her parents there will be no interference with the religious upbringing of the children she and your brother may have.
 
i wouldn’t worry about them just pray for them you know the truth and that is all that matters.
 
No evidence? Has this guy ever read Matthew 28:19? Who does he think he is?!?!

It’s very unfortunate, but this woman has done the right thing, even if her family does not agree (see Matthew 10:34-36). Don’t forget that her parents aren’t even christian, so take what they say with a grain of salt (a rather large one, at that).

I don’t know if I can say much more than that. I’ll be praying that she may be strong in this time which I imagine is difficult for her.
Why aren’t her parents considered christian?

1Ke, I am not involved in it. However I do feel the need to defend the church, and all the hustle and bustle of lately has made me learn more about my faith.
 
Why aren’t her parents considered christian?

1Ke, I am not involved in it. However I do feel the need to defend the church, and all the hustle and bustle of lately has made me learn more about my faith.
To be a Christian you must believe in the Trinity. If someone does not believe in the Trinity, how can they believe that Jesus is God the Son, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity?
 
Hello everyone!
I love this forum. I have registered because I have a question I need help with. My brother is engaged to a woman who was Apostolic (Jesus only faith). She was baptized Catholic Easter Vigil and it was beautiful. However, her family is maintaining that she is damned because of baptism in the trinity! (They don’t believe in the trinity.) Also her father who is a minister of the Apostolic faith says that there is no historical evidence that the Apostles baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Please help!
he evidently has not read the gospel accounts of Christ’s own baptism where Father, Son and Spirit acting in conjunction are first explicitly revealed, and of Christ’s own injuction to his apostles after the resurrect to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

If he calls himself “apostolic” he ought to emulate the apostles. Do the best you can to support her at this time, your family’s encouragement is desperately needed.
 
Also, the following is what he has written regarding his beliefs. A total twist of scripture!! I suppose only through prayer can what has been twisted in one’s mind be untwiste

Question 21: What did the disciples of Jesus say about the formula (name) into which one must be Water Baptized?
Answer: The disciples of Jesus were clear as to the formula (name) believers were to be baptized into:
Peter says: Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; see 10:48).
Paul says: Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5; see First Corinthians 1:13).
Phillips says: Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16).
Ananias says: name of the Lord (Acts 22:16).

Question 23: Are there any biblical records (example) of believers receiving Water Baptism in the formula of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?
Answer: None whatsoever.
Question 24: What is the earliest date found for the use of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost formula?
Answer: The earliest mention of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost formula is from a Syrian document dating to the second or third century. This document is called the Didache, or Teaching.
Question 25: Is the Didache a reliable document?
Answer: There are some things in the Didache which teach directly opposite from the teachings of Jesus. An example is its teaching on the conduct of traveling preachers . Jesus taught to stay in one house (home) while in a particular town (Mark 6:10), but the Didache teaches otherwise (chapter 11). Therefore, it is most likely a document of some fringe Christian sect. In that the Didache contains both the single name formula for Water Baptism as well as that of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (chapters 7 and 9 respectively), it is very likely that it is a revision of an original which may have been more reliable.
Question 26: Why is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost formula called the triune formula?
Answer: The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost formula is called the triune formula because of its association with the doctrine of the Trinity (the belief in three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead). The triune formula is used to place the baptized person into the Trinity. (See questions 19 and 20.)
Question 27: Are there historical witnesses to the innovating of the formula of Water Baptism from the single name of Jesus to the triune titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?
Answer: History books clearly record the priority of the single name formula and the beginning of triune Baptism.
Dictionary of the Bible, by James Hastings, 13th Edition, volume 1, page 241. “The original form of words was ‘into the name of Jesus Christ;’ baptism into the Trinity was a later development.”
Canney Encyclopedia page 53. “The early Church always baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus until the development of the Trinity. Afterward they were baptized into the name of a Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
For further witnesses see the following references

Question 28: What reasons do the historical records give for the formula innovation?

Answer: The reasons given in the historical records for forsaking the single name formula in favor of the triune method are basically two in number:

The development of the new doctrine called the Trinity. The new formula of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was chosen to accommodate the plurality of persons in the Trinitarian godhead.
Anti-Semitism. Jesus is a semitic (Hebrew) name. The name in Hebrew is “Yohowshua.” Water Baptism is a legal transference of the person being baptized over to the property of the one named in the baptismal formula (see question 39). To require a Gentile to become the property of a Jew was considered anti-productive to worldwide evangelism. (See the Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press, 1962, Volume 4, page 711 under “Trinity”.)

Question 29: What was offensive about the invoking of a Jewish name at Water Baptism?

Answer: See question 28.

Question 30: How does this type of offense fulfill the prophecy of Scripture concerning the name of Jesus?

Answer: The anti-Semitism of the Gentile world, which led to the rejection of the name of Jesus in Water Baptism, fulfill the prophecy that the world would be offended at his name (Matthew 10:22; Luke 21:17).

Question 31: Why is Water Baptism into the triune formula called “Baptism into the Titles?”

Answer: The baptism formula of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is called “baptism into the titles” because these words are titles of the person and not His proper name, i.e. Jesus. This being true, one could not obey the command of Jesus to “baptize into the name…” (Matthew 28:19) by merely repeating the titles of the name.

Question 32: Are there any Biblical (apostolic) examples of the single name formula (i.e. Jesus) being used in Water Baptism?

Answer: Water Baptism into the single name of Jesus is the ONLY formula used by the Lord’s disciples, and is, therefore, the ONLY example found in Holy Scripture. (See Acts 2:38; 8:12, 16; 10:48; 19:5; First Corinthians 1:13; James 2:7). Any other formula is an innovation of the Word of God.
Question 34: How does the Lord’s Church harmonize the Words of Institution to baptize into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19) with the multiple passages of Scripture which teach Water Baptism into the single name of Jesus?

Answer: The Words of Institution of Matthew 28:19 and the disciples action are harmonized in the following way: notice that the Words of Institution are commanding baptism into a single name. The word “onoma” is singular and not plural; the plural form of the Greek word “onoma” would have been employed by the Holy Spirit through Matthew if Christ had intended for three separate names to be invoked. Therefore, the disciples of the Lord executed His command by baptizing into the single name of Jesus (see Acts 2:38; 8:12, 16; 10:48; 19:5; and First Corinthians 1:13.)
 
he evidently has not read the gospel accounts of Christ’s own baptism where Father, Son and Spirit acting in conjunction are first explicitly revealed, and of Christ’s own injuction to his apostles after the resurrect to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

If he calls himself “apostolic” he ought to emulate the apostles. Do the best you can to support her at this time, your family’s encouragement is desperately needed.
Annie, can you point to the scripture where Christ was baptised where Father, Son and Spirit were revealed.

Also…does anyone know how the early church baptized?? It’s like I told my brother. This Jesus only religion developed in the 20th century. Jesus did not die on the cross to wait that long to save people!!!
 
To be a Christian you must believe in the Trinity. If someone does not believe in the Trinity, how can they believe that Jesus is God the Son, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity?
They deny the trinity saying that Jesus is the Father, he is the Son, and he is the Holy Spirit. They believe that they believe in 3 Gods. I tell you, I never heard of such a thing until these people came into our lives.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top