Two passages from two consecutive chapters of Acts will bring us straight to the problem. “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:24-26).
“Paul ... came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he saith unto them, Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptised? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptised with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:1-5).
How are we to understand these references to John’s baptism? Do they imply that there was some limitation or inadequacy about John’s baptism? Let us put the question in another way: Does the baptism of John differ in some important respect from the baptism of the Lord Jesus?
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Author: Peter Watkins
Keywords: Baptism, Rebaptism, Rebaptize, Anabaptism, Anabaptist, John's baptism, John's converts rebaptized, rebaptized, rebaptised, John's converts rebaptised, John's disciples rebaptized, John's disciples rebaptised, baptized again, baptised again, second baptism, John the baptist, baptism unto repentance, remission of sins, baptize for remission of sins, John the baptizer, John the baptiser, baptised, baptized, believer's baptism, adult baptism, baptism necessary, necesssity of baptism, necessary to be baptized, John baptized, John baptised
Bible reference(s): Mat 3:11, Mat 21:25, Mat 28:19, Mark 1:4, Mar 11:30, Luk 7:29, Luk 20:4, John 1:25-31, John 1:33, John 3:22-23, Act 18:25, Acts 19:3-5
Source: Some Difficult Passages, Book 4 (CIL).
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.