Remission of Sins

Raising ourselves from the dead cannot happen with a lot of sweat or expenditure of ergs (units of energy expended in doing works to achieve a purpose)

So if food, clothing, housing, riches, power and all material benefits are the gift of God because we cannot work hard enough to create food or life, then how do we accept the free gift of God? We do whatever He demands. In the case of free food from God all we have to do is plant the little seed which has the gift of God within it. We water it and weed it and harvest it and eat it and it is still the free gift of God.

In the case of salvation by grace (free) through faith (our effort) the free gift comes by hearing the Word Christ delivered to us containing both Spirit and Life:

So, we are saved by by the word of God which is the free gift of God to produce faith. He does not stuff faith in our face if we don't want it.

Faith from hearing is still the free gift of God because we couldn't write the faith-producing word of God.

Obedience which brings the state of salvation is still the free gift of God because we couldn't obey without faith; without hearing; without the word; without God Who gave us the free method of being saved?

But free food withot following God's plan? No. Free salvation without following God's plan? No. Part of that plan after we believe is to obey; the first act of obedience is baptism which is still the free gift of God because taking a bath will not save us.

Like human conception, spiritual life sprouts in us when the seed or Word is placed in our heart and begins to germinate. However, the enjoyment of spiritual life and the state of being continually cleansed is not available until we come to "full term" and come forth from the watery grave.

We believe that faith is not simple acceptance of facts but resting ones total confidence upon Christ. We cannot rest in Christ until the we in us is dead.

The KJV inserts the comma in Acts 2:38 probably because "repent" is a complete sentence. Peter didn't mean that the people should do a little act called "repentance + baptism = remission." Rather, there was a demand that they change their minds and direction of life. They must turn away from because they obviously believed; they must turn around and go in a different direction; and they must turn into (eis) Christ through baptism. This is true with or without the comma.

We know for a fact that the big comma was not put there by Luke. However, many modern people rest their soul's salvation upon its presence even when other translations do not add it to the text. We also know for a fact that even if the comma belonged there it would not make any difference. Its addition helps translate the sentence into English.

We believe that Jesus should be allowed to tell us whether the giant anti-baptism comma belongs in the Greek or not and can, therefore, be translated to make baptism optional. When Jesus commanded what Peter preached, He said without a comma:

But, you ask, aren't you just making this up? No one can believe that. Nope. I have looked hard to find the comma argument (Singular-Plural) in a form which fully explains the contortion. In the table, I have listed several statements of a theology upon which many rest their souls without having to accept the counsel of God for their lives:

Part of this mystical scheme advances a collective repentance. It may help to look at the passage from which universal or collective repentance for salvation is dragged kicking and screaming:

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Acts 17:23

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Acts 17:24

Neither is worshipped with mens hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; Acts 17:25

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and mans device. Acts 17:29

But how can repentance be a gift to the predestinated and still be a command? The next verse shows that Paul is not speaking about salvation but judgment:

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent (from idolatry): Acts 17:30

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Acts 17:31

Many people undoubtedly repented of idol worship when they watched others involved in charismatic ecstasy or out of their mind worship - Mad according to Paul. However, this repentance from idolatry did not save them.

Repent is one command which must be obeyed. It can be stated completely as: "Repent" because the people understod the "what for."

If all men are commanded to repent of idolatry isn't each individual man who is an idolater to repent? Doesn't this translate Acts 17:31 to say:

He that is an idolater must repent for the remission of judgment as an idolater.

Or Paul might just cry out: "Repent!"

But, there were no believers and repenters!

And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. Acts 17:32

So Paul departed from among them. Acts 17:33

So, you see, repentance could not save them. After they turned direction away from idolatry they could hear the gospel which included the resurrection of the dead. They mocked Paul with their little childish, and often musical, "Na, ha, nah, na, hah" as they mocked Jesus. So we can put Paul's message in the Acts 2:38 form:

Repent! And hear, believe and obey the gospel and you shall not be judged.

Paul then went to Corinth, was rejected by the Jews, turned to the Gentiles, preached, some believed and were baptized. They repented:

And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Acts 18:8

All heard, some repented, some believed and each individual who was convicted was baptized. They began the turning away process when they believed and rejected their old lives. Their baptism is the end-product of their belief.

Because baptizing those who believed was such a fundamental break with the old life, Jesus continued to "guide Paul into all truth" by telling him that there were many people with a good heart who would believe:

Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: Acts 18:9

Second Formulation
"The main verb in this verse is metanoesate (3340), meaning "repent." this refers to that initial repentance of a sinner unto salvation. The verb translated "be baptized" is in the indirect passive imperative of baptizoÑ (907) which means that it does not have the same force as the direct command of "repent." The preposition "for" in the phrase "for the remission of sins" in Greek is eis (1519), "unto." Literally, it means "for the purpose of identifying you with the remission of sins." This same preposition is used in 1 Corinthians 10:2 in the phrase "and were all baptized unto [eis] Moses." These people were identifying themselves with the work and ministry of Moses. Repentance is something that concerns an individual and God, while baptism is intended to be a testimony to other people. That is why baptistheto, "to be baptized," is in the passive voice indicating that one does not baptize himself, but is baptized by another usually in the presencce of others." (Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, p. 1357)

In order for this to work these people have to develop a scheme of salvation by repentance only. Therefore, let us look at the word "repentance."

Repentance

People who are doing something wrong are asked to turn around and go the other way. Just ceasing to sin does not cause one to be saved. Repentance by itself does not save. In Greek Repentance is:

Metanoeo (g3340) met-an-o-eh'-o; from 3326 and 3539; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (mor. feel compunction): - repent.

We will look at two passages written with a comma after the "main verb" and see that repentance and the second verb, must both be done for sins to be remitted. The first one is Acts 3:19 compared to Acts 2:38:

(Peter said unto them,)	Then Peter said unto them,
Repent ye therefore, (comma)	Repent , (comma)
and be converted,	and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
that your sins may be blotted out, (in order that)	for the remission of sins, (in order that)
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19 (The Lord is the Spirit)	and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38

Repent is one statement. Be converted by being baptized is another. The purpose of baptism is "that your sins be blotted out."

Repent means to change your minds and actions.
That is just changing directions. This is like a fellow who understands that he has taken the wrong fork in the road. Changing his mind doesn't get him on the right path.
He must turn around and turn into (eis) the right road. Therefore, to turn into (eis) Christ in Whom is remission to convert us from purely carnal to a spiritual child of God, we must be baptised.

As Peter continued his second sermon he said:

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. Acts 3:22

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Acts 3:23

That "prophet like Moses" said:

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16

If you refuse to believe then you don't need to continue: you are lost already and nothing changes -- there is no repentance in turning from unbelief to faith. You are heading for New York and will not get to Los Angeles on that road.

Look at what Paul said to answer to the "promise of the Spirit" through Abraham:

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Acts 3:24

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Acts 3:25

Yes, Abraham was justified by faith. However, faith is not true faith until it becomes an active verb. God showed the nature of Abraham's faith:

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Genesis 26:4

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Genesis 26:5

The Apostle Paul explained the promise which the Spirit (Christ) made to Abraham and then said:

WHAT: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26

HOW: For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:27

As Jesus promised to return as the "another Comforter" (John 14:16-18) Peter said that Jesus was there speaking through Peter. The Spirit's purpose was to cause repentance:

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. Acts 3:26

However, the leaders hated Peter and his message:

Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. Acts 4:4

By knowing that the number now grew to about five thousand, we know that they were baptized. The verse is translated in two other versions:

But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so that the number of believers now reached a new high of about five thousand men! Acts 4:4LIV

But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. Acts 4:4NIV

From just two chapters back, we know that receiving or believing meant that they were baptized before they were added:

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 2:41

The second table compares Acts 8:22 Acts 2:38 is:

(Then Peter said)	Then Peter said unto them,
Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, (comma)	Repent, (comma)
and pray God,	and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Acts 8:22	for the remission of sins,
(and you will not perish)	and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38

First, you have to repent: you have to quit trying to bribe Peter and Christ into giving you power which you should not have. However, repentance did not remit your sins. You still must pray as the remedy for sins committed after baptism. If we can make this into a formula:

Initial remission of sins:	Subsequent remission of sins:
Belief, repentance and baptism.	Repentance and prayer.

Jesus, through Luke, used two examples involving repentance, belief and baptism:

Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into (EIS) the kingdom of God before you. Matthew 21:31 (not because of the kingdom)

For John came unto you in the way of righteousness,

and ye believed him not;

but the publicans and the harlots believed him:

and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward,

that ye might believe him. Matthew 21:32

Yes. Repentance can come before belief in a saving sense. I might believe the moral teaching of Jesus and repent or turn away from my old life. After I have repented of idolatry (in our example above) I am able to come to belief or a saving faith. However, only after I have turned into Christ by trusting my life to Him am I saved.

The publicans and harlots who believed and repented "went into (eis) the kingdom." Remember that our "scholar" has translated EIS or FOR to mean "for the purpose of identifying you with the remission of sins." But this is not what the Holy Spirit said.

If our anti-baptist scholar is correct, what Jesus really said was that "the publicans and harlots went for the purpose of identifying with the kingdom." No. The text says that they actually penetrated or went inside of the kingdom.

One who is an unbeliever is heading "north." In order to believe, they must repent and turn "south." When they have turned south they are believers up to that point in their conversion but not until. They would have to "repent" and believe before they could obey John's baptism or any other command. They they must turn into Christ.

Using a similar incident, Luke wrote:

And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. Luke 7:29

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God (for) themselves, being not baptized of him. Luke 7:30

This means that the called God a liar/

Faith only, doesn't accomplish much---

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him;

but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: John 12:42

In the Samaritan event, the apostles knew that the people had received the word of God because they were baptized:

But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Acts 8:12

Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Acts 8:14

By receiving the Word of God and being baptized they did not reject the counsel of God for their lives.

Remember that Peter said:

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. Acts 3:22

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Acts 3:23

Doesn't this agree with what Jesus said?

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16

To hear Jesus meant to believe in Him and obey whatever He told them to do. Therefore, failure to obey what Jesus commanded was to 'not hear that prophet' and this means to "reject the counsel of God" and this means not to confess Jesus Christ and this means, ultimately, to "be destroyed ."

Peter continued to show that this promise leapfrogged the Law of Moses and was based upon the Covenant made with Abraham and repeated and rejected at Mount Sinai:

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Acts 3:24

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Acts 3:25

To the Galatians, Paul connected the blessings of Abraham or the promise of the Spirit to baptism:

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians3:27

Baptism was the time and place where you "called upon the name of the Lord." That is, you confessed Him as your Lord and Savior. The failure to be baptized was the failure to confess Him was to reject His counsel. The internal belief has no value unless it "puts you at risk" by publically proclaiming Jesus as your Master and teacher by being baptized.

Many of you who have been locked into the idea of "faith only" are just as works oriented as you can possibly be because you cannot even breathe and "earn" salvation. However, if you confess that baptism is necessary to believe in Christ, confess Christ, receive Christ and reject not the counsel of God for your lives you know that you will, like the Pharisees, be cast out of the "brotherhood."

Baptism is something which you decide to do when you decide to do it. To withhold baptism until you "measure up" to the standards of the "church" so that you can be admitted into the "clan" and begin to enjoy the "fellowship meal" is also the rejection of the counsel of God by putting yourself in His place to be accepted or rejected.

This form of baptism still demands that you must be baptized in order to receive the benefits of salvation. However, this is not on Christ's terms but the terms of the group.

The Gospel as PROTOS or prototype is the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the following events.

However, Mark connects the ARCHE or corner of the Gospel to the baptism of John and Jesus.

These people refused to repent from unbelief to turn to belief and therefore could not be baptized. Remember that Peter made repentance a condition before believers could be baptized and be saved.

Therefore, Zodhiates has no basis for stating that "Repentance is for Salvation" and baptism is just for "show and tell."

Unto or Eis

Let us hear the true anti-baptist again:

"The preposition "for" in the phrase "for the remission of sins" in Greek is eis (1519), "unto." Literally, it means "for the purpose of identifying you with the remission of sins." Zodhiates

Because this writer is interpreting from a preconception rather than from knowledge we need to look at the definition of EIS:

Eis (g1519) ice; a prim. prep.; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (fig.) purpose (result, etc.); also in adv. phrases: - [abundant-] ly, against, among, as, at, [back-] ward, before, by, concerning, / continual, / far more exceeding, for [intent, purpose], fore, / forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, - to), to the intent that, / of one mind, / never, of, (up-) on, / perish, / set at one again, (so) that, therefore (-unto), throughout, till, to (be, the end, - ward), (here-) until (-to), . . . ward, [where-] fore, with. Often used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs (etc.) expressing motion (lit. or fig.).

Therefore, one who repents or turns around must turn into Christ to get into or to the point reached of salvation. Only when certain sentences are turned backward does EIS ever mean because. For instance,

"You were saved because you repented and were baptized."

Heaven knows where one gets the definition of EIS to mean: "for the purpose of identifying you with the remission of sins."

Another word with the same meaning as repent is to convert. In Greek convert is:

Strepho (g4762) stref'-o; strengthened from the base of 5157; to twist, i.e. turn quite around or reverse (lit. or fig.): - convert, turn (again, back again, self, self about).

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, Matthew 18:2

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become (ginomai = be regenerated) as little children, ye shall not enter into (EIS) the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3

The ONLY connection with becomming a little child was at baptism of adoption or as the Master Potter washed you, gave you his name and you were reborn as a little child.

You will notice that comma again. However, both converted and become as a child are coordinate: in this case both must happen or one cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Again, we note:

(Then Peter said)	Then Peter said unto them
Repent ye therefore	Repent
and be converted	and be baptized every one of you
-------	in the name of Jesus Christ for
that your sins may be blotted out	the remission of sins, and
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Ac.3:19	Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 2 :38

John records a similar event which allowed Jesus to teach the same principle:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born? John 3:4

Now, Nicodemus has established this person as already born of his mother and old. When the baby is born it is not born "because of the world" or "for the purpose of identifying it with the world." No, when the child is born EIS, it is born into the world:

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into (EIS) the world. John 16:21

In exactly the same way, one who is baptized for the remission of sins is born into the remission of sins. As the child is born into a totally different state, the baptized believer is born into a state like that of a little child who has no sins

Therefore, the Holy Spirit precludes interpreting the following verse to speak of human birth from the mother (Amniotic fluid is not water) while salvation depends only on Holy Spirit baptism. Therefore, Jesus is commanded a two-fold baptism of flesh and spirit:

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man (already born of flesh) be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5

Paul understood this when he wrote that assured faith or putting one's life into the hands of Jesus is not just simple belief. Rather, full assurance of faith comes only after both a literal and spiritual cleansing:

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts (spirit) sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews10:22

The people of the time would have understood this to mean baptism for the purpose of becomming a little child:

"At the latter ceremony two disciples of the wise stood by to tell him more of the light and heavy commandments. When he came up after the immersion, those assembled addressed him saying: 'Unto whom has thou given thyself? blessed art thou, thou hast given thyself to God; the world was created for the sake of Israel, and only Israelites are called the children of God... After his baptism he was considered (reckoned to be dead and now alive) to be a new man, 'a little child newly born'; a new name was given him." (Int Std Bible Ency, Proselyte).

"The effect of this baptism was held to be complete regeneration; he was born anew. He was called a little child just born, the child of one day. All his sins were remitted because God cannot punish sins committed before he was born." (Barclay, William, Romans, p. 84)

Baptism Unto Moses

Our scholors claim that EIS in Acts 2:38 means the same things as 1 Cor. 10:2--

"This same preposition is used in 1 Corinthians 10:2 in the phrase "and were all baptized unto [eis] Moses." These people were identifying themselves with the work and ministry of Moses."

And were all baptized unto (into) Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 1 Corinthians 10:2KJV

Our scholar retranslates all of the words of Act 2:38. For instance, baptism is translated:

"In this verse, the word baptizo (907), means "to be identified with." In the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites identified with the work and purposes of their leader, Moses. (Zodhiates)

However, God told Moses to quit calling to him because He had already provided everything by grace. He told them to "Raise your hand" and lead the people into the Red Sea where God would cover their sins as a FORM of baptism.

Well, let us look at what all scholarship agrees to be the definition of baptism:

Baptizo (g907) bap-tid'-zo; from a der. of 911; to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only (in the N.T.) of ceremonial ablution, espec. (techn.) of the ordinance of Chr. baptism: - baptist, baptize, wash.

palingenesia 1 [genesis] a being born again, new birth; used by Cic. of his restoration after exile:-- hence, in NTest.,1. the resurrection.

2. regeneration by baptism.

anazôgr-êsis , eôs, hê, restoration to life, Agath.1.13.

ana-threpsis , eôs, hê, renewal, restoration in physiological sense, hai a. sphalerai Hp.Aph.1.3

The element they were baptized into was the cloud and the sea where they would be totally overwhelmed from the view of Pharaoh. Only by getting up and marching into the sea they committed themselves unto Moses as their leader:

This might be called their "baptism"-baptized both in sea and cloud!-as followers of Moses-their commitment to him as their leader. 1 Corinthians 10:2LIV

In the same way, being baptized into water meant that believers were baptized into Christ and committed themselves to Him. In John's baptism, those who rejected baptism rejected God as their Savior. How can one be saved and still refuse to commit to Jesus?

Could the Israelites have been saved if they had remained firm in their conviction to return to Egypt. No. Their faith had to become active, they had to repent and turn toward the Red Sea, they had to commit to Moses as their leader and they had to go down below the water and come up out of the "burial" before they could see the dead bodies (typical of sin) on the shores.

EIS Examples

EIS only rarely means "because of" and then only when looking at an event from the opposite side of salvation. For instance we might say:

Repent and be baptized for (EIS in order to enter into) the remission of sins.

Or:

Your sins were remitted for (EIS because of) your repentance and baptism.

Look at some common examples of the translation of EIS:

For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; Romans 1:11

Not because you are already established.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: Romans 1:26

And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. Romans 1:27

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:13

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Colossians1:13

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 3:21

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 2 Peter 1:9

Katharismos (g2512) kath-ar-is-mos'; from 2511; a washing off, i.e. (cer.) ablution, (mor.) expiation: - cleansing, / purge, purification, (-fying).

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 2 Peter 1:10

For so an entrance (1519) shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:11

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation22:14

It takes a lot of "stretch" to force EIS to mean what our Plural-Singular people want it to mean.

The singular Plural argument is well made here: (Click Here for Source)

The grammatical rule is, "A masculine noun in the singular, with the article, is often used collectively to denote the whole class. The singular in all such cases presents the distinctive characteristic more exclusively and more forcibly than the plural, designating, as the latter does, a multitude of individuals. Similar to this construction is the use of the singular to express, in reference to a plurality, an object which belongs to each of the individuals."

Liddell & Scott, in their classfic Greek lexicon say: "The singular is often joined with a plural verb - they went home -- every one of them. The singular is also put in apposition with a plural noun -- fear seized them every one." (Eighth edition, New York, 1897, page 428).

Thayer, in defining ekastos ("every one of you," Acts 2:38), says that this word, when "it denotes individuality, every one of many is often added appositively to nouns and pronouns and verbs in the plural."

Examples from our own usage:

"Ye children," (2nd person plural), "and every one of your ancestors" (3rd person sinuglar), "descended from Adam and Eve."

"Come ye," (2nd person plural), "and be washed every one of you" (3rd person singular), "for the cleansing of your bodies."

"Turn ye," (2nd person plural), "and be ye inoculated every one of you" (3rd person singular) "for the prevention of the flu."

Deuteronomy 4:4

"But ye," (2nd person plural), "that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you" (3rd person singular), "this day."

If we can improvize on this scholarly work, we will try it on Acts 2:38

"Repent ye," (2nd person plural), "and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ every one of you" (3rd person singular), "for the remission of your sins."

It is very difficult to grasp why people attempt to translate the Words of the Holy Spirit against nature, against the rules of the language and against about 26 tranalations in order to destroy the force of the Spirit's direct command that all of you as a class, Nay, each individual man, woman and child must repent and be baptized to "show regard to" the comands of Christ and "reject not the counsel of God for your lives."

This was the universal belief before Zwingli invented FAITH ONLY to refute baptismal regeration which is believed ONLY by baby sprinklers. He claimed that NO DOCTOR prior to his time understood faith only. Martin Luther objected saying that faith must have a OBJECT. To Luther, faith only was in the written word only as the basis of faith and practice and BAPTISM ONLY as the object of FAITH ONLY. This all happened in ad 1525 and Believer's Baptism is identical to pagan baptism.

However, the in-place rulers would destroy a Jesus, a Peter or a Paul for teaching baptism to become a disciple of Christ.

Kenneth Sublett

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Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the LUSTS of our FLESH, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of WRATH, even as others. Ephesians 2: 3	In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Col 2:11
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2: 4	Buried with him in BAPTISM, wherein also
And hath *RAISED* us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:6	ye are *RISEN* with him through the faith of the OPERATION of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Col.2:12
Even when we were dead in sins, hath "QUICKENED" (regenerated) us together WITH Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:5	And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Col 2:13

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the LUSTS of our FLESH, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of WRATH, even as others. Ephesians 2: 3	God forbid. How shall we, that are DEAD TO SIN to sin, live any longer therein? Rom 6:2 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Rom 6:3
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2: 4	Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:
Even when we were dead in sins, hath "QUICKENED" (regenerated) us together WITH Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:5	that LIKE AS Christ was *RAISED* up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
And hath *RAISED* us up together, and	even so we also should walk in newness of LIFE. Rom 6:4
made us sit together in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:6	For if we have been planted together in the likeness (Form) of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Rom 6:5