Glorifying Jesus in the Gospel - An Overview of Paul's 3rd missionary journey

Acts 18:22-23  "When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch. 23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples."

Introduction:

Over the past few weeks I have been from time to time writing about the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts. For sake of review, I will simply include the links to those posts and a brief summary of each.

1. http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/07/p1-declaring-and-defending-gospel-why.html

In this post we had explored Paul's first missionary journey in Acts 13-15. We discovered that the main point of that trip was to declare and defend the Gospel. Paul declared the Gospel and defended it during his journey through the Island of Cyprus and the Southern portions of Galatian and Pamphylia. When he returned to Jerusalem in Acts 15, he along with the other Apostles fleshed out how the Gospel was going to be preached among an increasingly Gentile audience. Despite the opposition from the Judaizers, the cardinal doctrine of Justification by Faith alone was upheld and soon thereafter Paul wrote his 1st epistle, Galatians, in the beginning portions of his second missionary in Acts 16. 

2. http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/07/christians-need-to-share-jesus-with-all.html
In this post we considered Paul's second missionary journey as recorded in Acts 15:36-18:21. Paul's point was to spread the Gospel Westward and heed the vision given by God to press into the regions of Macedonia.  During this time he wrote two more Epistles: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, from Corinth. This journey last for nearly two years, nearly twice as long as his first one.

With those reviews in mind, we now once again travel with Paul on what will be his third missionary journey in Acts 18:23-21:16. Again one of reasons we are doing these periodic studies is to understand the backgrounds to some of the other books of the New Testament. 

Paul's third missionary journey in a nutshell


Paul's third missionary journey was both similar and yet different from the prior two. The similarities lie in the fact that he started out encouraging the same set of churches he had ministered to in his first missionary journey (compare Acts 18:23). Upon meeting a scholarly Jew by the name of Apollos, Apollos' conversion led him to be sent onto Corinth while Paul made headway into the region of Ephesus and Asia Minor in Acts 18:24-28. Unlike his second missionary journey wherein he had been unable and prevented by the Holy Spirit from heading into Asia Minor and Ephesus (Acts 16:1-8), Paul was now given liberty by the Spirit to make Asia Minor his target in Acts 19:1-41 and 20:17-38. 

Out of all the places Paul would have the most fruitful ministry, none exceeded Ephesus. After two years of fruitful ministry, Paul left and then returned to Ephesus to say his final farewell in Acts 20. As Paul would sail to Macedonia once more, he would make several stops along the way in Acts 21:1-16. It would be during this time that Paul would compose three more letters: 1 & 2 Corinthians and then Romans.

Dr. Harold Kime, a professor that I had in my Bible College days, wrote these words in his notes on 1 & 2 Corinthians: "Paul's travels between the writing of 1 & 2 Corinthians. After writing 1 Corinthians, Paul left Ephesus and sailed to Macedonia, stopping a while at Troas, and then moving onto Philippi. There he awaited the coming of Titus who had been sent to Corinth in his place." Many scholars believe that Paul would had written the Epistle to the Romans towards the tail end of his third missionary Journey. Much like Galatians functioned in summing up all that Paul did in his first missionary journey, Romans was written to spell out the Gospel on the Western-most frontier of the early church's westward push. Romans contains the finest and most comprehensive presentation of the Gospel found anywhere in the Bible. 

The following outline summarizes Paul's third missionary in Acts 18:22-21:17

1. Paul's journey through Galatia to Ephesus.  Acts 18:22-28

2. Paul's ministry at Ephesus (most likely wrote 1 Corinthians during this time). Acts 19:1-41

3. Paul's journey back to Macedonia through Greece to Miletus. Acts 20:1-16

4. Paul's final farewell to the Ephesians, back through Miletus to Caesarea to Jerusalem (this is where he most likely wrote Romans, 2 Corinthians). Acts 20:17-21:16 

Point of Application for Paul's third missionary journey in Acts 18:22-21:16
In comparing these chapters to what Paul ended up writing in Romans, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, we can note that following main point of application: The more we let the Gospel transform us, the more effective we will be in glorifying Jesus Christ. 

Certainly Paul's great concern during his third missionary was about getting the Gospel right and letting it transform him, his companions and his hearers. If we were to locate a summary set of verses for this third journey, we would find them in Acts 20:25-32 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.


Closing thoughts
Today's main point of application was:  The more we let the Gospel transform us, the more effective we will be in glorifying Jesus Christ. We looked briefly at Paul's third missionary journey in Acts 18:22-21:17 and noted how during this trip Paul wrote three more letters: 1 & 2 Corinthians and Romans. May you and I be those who are being transformed by the Gospel and who are eager to tell the transforming Gospel to other people.

P2 of 2 God's Big Arrow of Believer's Baptism

Colossians 2:11-12 "and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

Introduction:

Today's post is a continuation from yesterday. Like before, we aim to zero in on what exactly believer's baptism means. As we saw yesterday, dozens upon dozens of scriptures in the New Testament present and explain this important ordinance. If we were to classify the scriptures that present New Testament believer's baptism, we would note three basic types: First there are those that present the ceremony or act of Baptism itself, followed by those that feature it being commanded by Christ to His church, with a final set of scriptures giving the clear meaning. Today's focal text: Colossians 2:8-23, falls into the category of giving to us one of the clear meanings of baptism. 

Point of Application:

We will designate baptism as discussed here in Colossians 2:8-23 as God's Big Arrow of Believer's Baptism, being that it points us to an event, an experience and a calling. Yesterday we saw how baptism points to an event - the cross and to a needed experience - saving faith. We labored to show that to interpret baptism other than believer's baptism is to undo the argument of Paul here in Colossians 2. Contrary to what some well-meaning, Godly people may advocate, infant baptism is not the point of this text. Rather Paul is pointing his readers to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ by the big arrow of baptism. He needed to do this in lieu of the awful heresy plaguing the Colossian church.



Today we will conclude our study of God's big arrow of believer's baptism by noting one more important truth that it points to, namely....



The Calling to Sanctification. Colossians 2:16-18
As we already saw, baptism points to the cross as seen in Colossians 2:9 and 13-15 and also to saving faith in Colossians 2:10-12. But now Paul reveals something else baptism points to, not only what took place in the past, but also the present calling God has for every Christian. The calling to be progressively sanctified means that from conversion the Christian is called to be like Jesus in their thoughts, actions and attitudes. Oftentimes I will refer to baptism as the believer's first major step of Christian obedience. Other baptism texts bring out this meaning, such as Romans 6:4 "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." What Paul does is use this word picture to urge his readers to heed God's calling on their life to be sanctified and to walk out the Christian walk. 

Baptism points to our calling to be sanctified in the mind. Colossians 2:18  
We read in Colossians 2:18 "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind." The mind is the battleground of spiritual warfare that is to be waged with the weaponry of scripture and prayer. It is helpful sometimes to think about the day of your baptism, because you can simply ask yourself - why was I baptized? When you reflect on how you felt when you came up out of that tank, you realized more than ever that your calling was to walk forth in newness of life. The Spirit called you, transformed your heart and brought you to the point of saving faith prior to your baptism. You didn't get baptized to get changed, rather you got baptized to testify of having a prior change.  Baptism's message is not only about you testifying publically about your faith in Christ, but also the desire to walk forth in a growing relationship with Christ. Romans 12:2 reminds us to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind". Though this world may try to fill our minds with evil thoughts and others may try to delude our way of thinking, we are to take every though captive and bring it to the obedience of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). Notice how else baptism points the believer to God's present calling to be continually sanctified...

Baptism points to our calling to be sanctified with God's people. Colossians 2:19
Notice what Paul writes in Colossians 2:19 "and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God." In Baptist churches today we recognize that those who have been truly converted and scripturally baptized as believers by immersion are deemed members of that local church. Why? Because baptism is one's initiation into the membership of the local church. Acts 2:41 describes the first baptismal service in church history: "So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls." Those believers who were baptized were "added", that is to say, they were put on the membership rolls of the church at Jerusalem. 

Jesus gave baptism to his church as an ordinance that is to be practiced until His return in Matthew 28:18-20. Baptism does not merely speak about the individual new convert entering into the water, it also reminds the new Christian who is about to enter that they are getting ready to participate in the local day in, day out life of church membership. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 drives this point home: "Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper."

Christians need the local church to effectively heed the call of God to grow in sanctification. Hebrews 10:24-25 states - "and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." So baptism points to the calling God has to be sanctified in the mind and with His people, the local church. But notice one more thought...

Baptism points to our calling to be sanctified in the Word. Colossians 2:20-23
Paul writes in Colossians 2:20 "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as...".  What Paul then does is enumerate more of the false teachings being peddled by the heretics operating at Colossae. Why heed the traditions and empty teachings of men? If anything, baptism reminds the Christian that nothing else but the Word of God can cleanse the saint of God. Again many well-intentioned people will try to make baptism the cleansing agent of the believer's life. Yet once more I say: what does the scripture teach? Notice John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." Also Ephesians 5:26 "so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word." Then one more, 1 Peter 3:21 "Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 

Why those three verses? Because those advocating some type of baptismal regeneration appeal to these texts. Yet the first two plainly tell the reader that it is the Word alone that cleanses. Then the 1 Peter 3:21 passage plainly tells us that the symbolism of the ark of Noah in the prior verse "corresponds" to the baptism that now saves you. Which baptism? The Spirit baptism at salvation (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) to which water baptism signifies. I always tell my baptismal regenerationist friends that the weight of the passage lies not at the first half, but at the second part - namely Peter tells us what water baptism "does not do" - wash away the dirt from the flesh." So then if water baptism is incapable of taking away sin, then what is its point? Notice again - the appeal of a good conscience to God. Only a true believer in Jesus Christ is fit to enter into the water, being that a converted human heart is interested in asking God to enable them to grow in the faith that they prior received before the water baptismal event.  

The only thing that can convert the soul of the sinner is the Word of God. (Psalm 19:7; 1 Peter 1:23) Likewise the only thing that can cleanse the soul of the Saint and strengthen them in their faith is the written Word of God preached and taught. (Psalm 19:8-14; Ephesians 5:26). Baptism pictures for us what the Word of God alone can do. Water does not cleanse. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse, and only the scriptures can continue to cleanse. (Hebrews 9:14-15)

Closing thoughts
These past two posts have aimed to specifically unpack the meaning of baptism in Colossians 2:8-23. To heed the immediate context of Paul's statements in the chapter, it has been contended that the only proper manner in interpreting the baptism of which he speaks is to understand it as believer's baptism. Baptism is Christ's ordinance to His church which functions as an arrow in pointing to an event - the cross; a necessary experience - saving faith and a present calling to all Christian - sanctified living. 

P1 of 2 God's Big Arrow of Believer's Baptism

Colossians 2:11-12 "and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

Introduction:

Today's post aims to zero in on what exactly believer's baptism means. As we saw yesterday, dozens upon dozens of scriptures in the New Testament present and explain this important ordinance. If we were to classify the scriptures that present New Testament believer's baptism, we would note three basic types: First there are those that present the ceremony or act of Baptism itself, followed by those that feature it being commanded by Christ to His church, with a final set of scriptures giving the clear meaning. Today's focal text: Colossians 2:8-23, falls into the category of giving to us one of the clearest meanings of baptism in the New Testament. 

Point of Application:

We will designate baptism as discussed here in Colossians 2:8-23 as God's Big Arrow of Believer's Baptism, being that it points us to an event, an experience and a calling. 

As Paul is concerned about communicating to his reader's the sufficiency of Jesus as being enough, he also has to deal with a heresy that attempts to promote the opposite. The heresy in question, without expending to much space, was a mixture of paganism and ritualism. On the pagan side of things the heresy said that salvation was equal to attaining some type of mystical knowledge and understanding of pagan rites and angelic beings. The heresy also advocated a ritual that involved strict dietary regulations that aimed to curry favor with the Divine powers above. Such a teaching had no cross and ultimately no Jesus. This appears to be the group to whom Paul is referring to in Colossians 2:8.

To combat such destructive teaching, Paul uses a big arrow to remind these Colossians of who they are in Christ. That arrow is believer's baptism.  As we noted already, God's big arrow of believer's baptism points to an event, an experience and a calling. Lets see what the scripture has to teach us about believer's baptism and why it is right to call it God's big arrow for the Christian life. First of all.....

Baptism points to an event - The cross

Paul makes this statement in Colossians 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form." Now what is Paul talking about in this text? A quick survey of Colossians brings us back to an earlier statement he wrote in Colossians 1:19-20 "For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven." Thus there is no doubt that Paul is setting the tone of Colossians 2:8-23 around what Jesus Christ achieved in the event of the cross and resurrection.  Nothing but the cross can defeat the self-righteous claims of dead man-made religion. To further reinforce this saving event, the cross, Paul makes this statement in Colossians 2:13-14 "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Now when you consider the fact that these remarks about Jesus' achievement of salvation on the cross are said before and after his mention of baptism in Colossians 2:11-12, you realize that baptism points to, pictures, portrays and communicates the event of the cross. 

Certainly we can say that Baptism is one of the ordained practices given by Jesus to portray the Gospel in picture form. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 for example - "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." This language of death, burial and resurrection is used to describe the meaning of baptism in passages such as Romans 6:3-4  "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." 

Baptism in and of itself does not save, only Jesus saves. Baptism is but a sign signifying and pointing to the greater reality of the event of the cross. Just as a stop sign points to the need to stop, baptism is a sign that points to the need of the Savior, Jesus Christ. It points to the event - the cross. But notice secondly...

Baptism points to an experience - saving faith
Notice what we read in Colossians 2:10  "and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority." Now what lies in between the mentions of the event of the cross concerns the experience of saving faith. The little phrase that tells us that Paul is speaking of personal salvation is the phrase "in Him" or the similar phrase "with Him". The event of the cross is objective - that is to say, it occurred in time and in history, outside and apart from my involvement. Christ did it - case closed. However to just know about the event of salvation as a fact of history will save no one.  There must be faith. In over 160 places the New Testament uses this little phrase "in Him" to describe how the Christian is associated with and experiences whatever Jesus experienced. Jesus died, so the Christian can say: "so did I die" (Galatians 2:20). Jesus was buried, yep, me too! (Romans 6:3-4) Jesus raised from the dead and guess what, in Him I walked out of the grave and He walked out with me (Ephesians 2:5-9). 

Whenever you scan through Colossians 2:10-13, you find this phrase "in Him" mentioned on several occasions. To be "in Christ" means I have identified with Him, and He with me. What Baptism does is point to an experience that was begun in my life by the Person of the Holy Spirit bringing the Person of Christ and the miracle of saving faith to me in the Gospel. Paul uses two illustrative word pictures - Old Testament circumcision and New Testament baptism. In circumcision, we see the removal of the foreskin of the old way of life removed from the human heart, which describes what God does in the moment of saving faith. The Old way of life, the old nature is done away with and in its place is a new heart. (2 Corinthians 5:17) The second word picture is of course Baptism, which describes and portrays the believer's prior identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Other New Testament passages use this imagery of death, burial and resurrection to describe our salvation - with baptism being used as the chief word picture. (Romans 6:3-11).

Baptism points to a prior experience, begun in the heart by the Holy Spirit. Notice Colossians 2:12 "through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." Contrary to what some groups may think, Paul is not advocating infant baptism nor is he advocating baptismal regeneration (or salvation by baptism). To try to make baptism either the cause of salvation or to somehow draw a connection between infants being circumcised as carrying over to infants being baptized is to undo the whole intent of Paul's statements.

Lets me be as clear as possible. Scripture uniformly teaches that faith is first, then baptism. (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:36-38; 9:18; 16:15; 16:31-33; 18:8; 19:4-5; 1 Cor 1:14-16; 1 Peter 3:21). To use the stop sign illustration once again, what causes a car to stop? Is it the stop sign or is it the person inside the car? All the sign does is point to the necessary experience of needing to stop, otherwise I will be pulled over and declared a law breaker. Baptism is a sign of something far greater and it signifies what is necessary prior to entering into it - saving faith. Faith is an inside work, wrought by the Spirit through the scriptures. He convinces me to receive the Savior He has brought to me in regeneration. Unless I respond in saving faith, I will not be a fit candidate for the baptismal tank.  Unless there has been the supernatural experience of saving faith in a person's life, baptism will do no better than a stop sign will do for anyone ignoring its message. Whenever you read of anyone getting baptized in scripture, they are a believer. Baptism is God's big arrow that points to an event - the cross and to a needed experience - saving faith. 

More tomorrow....

What every scripture teaches about believer's baptism

Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Introduction:

Last week I had posted a blog on how Southern Baptists understand the richness and meaning of baptism as given by the Lord to His church. The link for that post is here for the reader's review if they so choose: http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-southern-baptists-understand-rich.html. That post served as an overview or summary, however it was not exhaustive. Since that time I have been thinking of trying to gather together every New Testament scripture that deals with water baptism. Thankfully, resources such as "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance" and "Nave's Topical Bible" can aid greatly in achieving this task. For today's post, the aim is to list every New Testament Scripture and arrange them under topical headings for the purpose of understanding what the Bible teaches about believer's baptism. 

1. Over 20 Scriptures speak of John the Baptist and his baptism

Mt 3:5-8, 13-16; 20:22,23,21:25; Mk 1:4-5,8-10; 10:38-39, 11:30; Lk 3:3, 7:29-30;12:50; 20:4; John 1:26,33,4:1-2, 10:40; Acts 1:22,10:37, 11:16; 13:24, 18:25, 19:3-4. 

2. All the scriptures that speak of water baptism as an ordinance given by Jesus to His church. 

a. 4 times it is commanded, with two of the verses giving the most clear command.

Mat 28:18-20 and Acts 2:38-41. Also compare Mark 16:16 and Acts 22:16

b. Roughly 20 places speak of the practice of baptism 

Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38-41; 8:12,13,16,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:3-5; 1 Cor 1:13,14,15,16 (2x), 17

c. Over 30 places speak of saving faith first, followed by baptism. Hence this is why we can call baptism - "believer's baptism"

i. All of the verses pertaining to John the Baptist's practice of baptism entailed baptizing those who had first received His message by faith

Mt 3:5-8, 13-16; 20:22,23,21:25; Mk 1:4-5,8-10; 10:38-39, 11:30; Lk 3:3, 7:29-30;12:50; 20:4; John 1:26,33,4:1-2, 10:40; Acts 1:22; 10:37, 11:16; 13:24, 18:25, 19:3-4

ii. Jesus Himself chose to allign with John's baptism, thus endorsing the pattern of faith, then baptism. 

Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23a; John 1:29-34

iii. Christ commanded (ordained) believer's baptism for His church

The Apostles followed suit. 

Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:22; 2:38-41;10:37, 11:16; 13:24, 18:25, 19:3-4; 1 Cor 1:14-16

iv. 10 passages that state the pattern of saving faith first, followed by believer's baptism

Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:36-38; 9:18; 16:15; 16:31-33; 18:8; 19:4-5; 1 Cor 1:14-16; 1 Peter 3:21

3. 10 scriptures serve to unfold the meaning of  baptism


a. 6 unfold the meaning of water baptism itself
Matt 28:18-20; Acts 19:5; Romans 6:3-11; Gal 3:27; Col 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21

b. 4 refer to the Spirit's baptism or connection of the believer into Christ at saving faith, to which water baptism points as a sign signifying that prior reality
Matthew 3:11; Acts 10:47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:4-5

4. Saving Faith, followed by believer's baptism, are prerequisites to participation in the Lord's table. Note the consistent pattern below:


a. Jesus submitted Himself to baptism, and then ordained His covenant meal on the eve of His crucifixion. 
Matt 3:13-17 & Matt 26:26-29; Mark 1:9-11 & Mark 14:22-25; Luke 3:21-23a & Luke 22:17-20; John 1:29-34 & John 13-16.


b. The early church baptized their converts, who in turn got to celebrate the "breaking of bread" or "Lord's supper". Acts 2:38-41; 16:30-34

c. Paul speaks of baptism at the beginning of 1 Corinthians and then later on speaks of the Lord's table in the same epistle.
1 Corinthians 1:14-17 & 1 Corinthians 11:23-28

Closing thoughts
This post has aimed to inform the reader as much as possible about all the New Testament scriptures that speak on the subject of believer's baptism. As always, I encourage people to reference each verse given in every blogpost to see for themselves what the scriptures say. May God be glorified!