Oneness and Acts 2:38

[TheLayman]

First Esaias, thank-you very much. In my discussions with Oneness Pentecostals I made a rule for myself which is try to "assume nothing," it is much easier to ask. And the reason I was asking this question came from the Billy Graham thread in that there seemed to be a little disagreement as to whether Oneness Pentecostals practice a Biblical Baptism exactly as it is described in Scripture whereas most others do not, or whether Oneness Pentecostals practice a Baptism based on their interpretation of Scripture since an actual baptism is never described in Scripture. And that's why my last question in the opening post was: "And exactly how is each step 'Biblical?'" You didn't do that but that's okay, I will make an honest attempt to do so on your behalf (if you want to add something that's great). I will not be exhaustive, just making the affirmative case for you where ever I can and where I can't you can respond if you so desire. And I'm not trying to debate (I have read a great many debates on baptism over the years, don't need to do that) but I am going to examine that question as best I can.

Originally Posted by Esaias

An individual seeking to be baptized would be expected to articulate a brief but coherent profession of faith in Jesus as the crucified, buried, and resurrected Christ and Son of God who died as their Substitute taking their sins upon Himself.

A passage which affirms this quite clearly:

Romans 10:8-11 (NKJV)

8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

And to finish up, Acts 2:22-24, 36:

Acts 2:22-24, 36 (NKJV)

22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--
23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it...
36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Originally Posted by Esaias

They would also need to indicate a desire and intention to commit themselves to Him as a disciple (student, follower).That being the case and there being no other reasons NOT to baptize them, they would be immersed upon a public confession of their faith with prayer for the Lord to save them. Whoever immersed them would use a formula as follows "I baptise you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins".

Okay, I think the most obvious passage of reference here is Acts 2:38-39:

Acts 2:38-39 (NKJV)

38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

And so Oneness understand this to mean that during baptism the name of "Jesus Christ" is literally to be audibly spoken, and it can certainly be read that way, so we can say that this is literally Biblical regardless of how someone else may read it. What I do not see and what I cannot find is the Bible saying that anyone besides the person receiving baptism needs to confess it (and you did already include this need in the profession of faith). What you have added to baptism is your ecclesiology and what the pastor does during baptism. However, as I said, according to the Bible the one who needs to call on the name of Jesus is the one being baptized:

Acts 22:10-16 (NKJV)

10 So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.'
11 And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,
13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.
14 Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.
15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.
16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

This would be consistent with Jewish proselyte baptism. Additionally, Acts 2:38 begins:

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;

I'm pretty sure we can all agree that a Pastor doesn't "repent" for anyone. And with regard to this:

Luke 24:45-47 (NKJV)

45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 11:18 (NKJV)

18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."

All of that to say: Biblical vs. Interpretation

So let's say there is a church and a person comes to that church, hears the Gospel, and wishes to be saved and become a follower of Christ. So this person is invited to come into the baptismal water, confess Jesus Christ as "the Son of God who is God, who the Father sent into the world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life," that this Jesus was crucified for our sins, died, and was buried but raised from the dead. This person confesses that they are a sinner and ask Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins through his sacrifice. And what is more is following the Jewish tradition, this person immerses himself in the baptismal water.

There is no need for me to go further. My point is that I believe what I just described is much closer to a baptism as found in Scripture (literally) than what you have described. No, I'm not trying to debate this, I don't even want to, I'm making a point about "Biblical something" vs "Interpretation of something." So I understand that Oneness believe their way of doing baptism is Biblical...but I can pretty much assure you that others who do it differently believe their baptism is Biblical as well. A lot of writing to try to make that point I know, sorry but if you read this far, hopefully you understand.

Originally Posted by Esaias

Prayer for them to receive the Holy Spirit would take place immediately after if they had not received the Spirit earlier.

I actually began a thread regarding this aspect. BTW, while I do not agree with Pentecostals regarding "initial evidence" (I say Pentecostals as unless they have changed it I believe the AOG is very similar if not the same), I do believe that at baptism the pastor/elders should lay on hands and pray the the person is empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit for God's purpose and glory.

Anyway Essaias, thank you for your response. I am going to copy and paste that if that is standard in Oneness and UPCI churches, I'm not sure anyone has ever laid out the exact Oneness baptismal liturgy before, so again I thank you.

TheLayman