Study #68: The Lord Jesus sent Paul away from Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 22:11

Study #68: The Lord Jesus sent Paul away from Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 22:11 - 21)

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The Golden Ratio outline of Acts Chapter 2.4:

Acts, Chapter 2.4: Paul the free man traveled to Jerusalem to witness to the Jews (21:1 - 23:11)

§Unique Introduction: Paul continued traveling to Jerusalem, in spite of opposition from the Holy Spirit through other believers (21:1 - 14)

¶Opposite Paul and his missionary band sailed from Asia Minor to Tyre, where they stayed with a church for a week (21:1 - 6)

¶Opposite Paul refused to listen to the urgings of other Christians not to go up to Jerusalem (21:7 - 14)

§Complement Body: Paul demonstrated his faithfulness to the Law, but was attacked by unbelieving Jews in the Temple (21:15 - 22:21)

¶Unique Paul declared to the other Apostles at Jerusalem what God had done among the Gentiles by his ministry (21:15 - 19)

¶Complement The Apostles told Paul to demonstrate his fidelity to the Law of Moses before the zealous Jews in the church (21:20 - 26)

¶Complement The Roman Centurion rescued Paul from being killed by the zealous Jews in the Temple (21:27 - 39)

¶Opposite Paul testified that he was a zealous persecutor of Christians before he was met Jesus Christ (21:40 - 22:10)

¶Opposite Paul testified that the Lord Jesus sent Paul away from Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles (22:11 - 21)

§Complement Conclusion: Paul used his citizenship against the Romans and his heritage as a Pharisee against the Sanhedrin (22:22 - 23:11)

¶Complement Paul frightened the Romans soldiers with the news that he was a natural-born Roman citizen (22:22 - 29)

¶Complement Paul caused great division among the Sanhedrin Council by identifying as a Pharisee (22:30 - 23:11)

If you are unfamiliar with the design of the golden ratio in the Bible, please visit this page of my website:

https://www.phibible.org/info/GoldenRatioBibleStudies/EnglishIntroduction.html

Comments: This study will focus on the fifth paragraph of the Body Section. Notice how the themes oppose each other:

¶Opposite Paul testified that he was a zealous persecutor of Christians before he was met Jesus Christ (21:40 - 22:10)

¶Opposite Paul testified that the Lord Jesus sent Paul away from Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles (22:11 - 21)

¶Opposite The Lord Jesus sent Paul away from Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles (22:11 - 21)

Opposite And when I could not see for the glory of that Light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias (a devout man according to the Law, having a good reputation of all the Jews who dwelt there) came to me, and stood, and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And the same hour I looked up upon him.

Opposite And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know his will, and see that Just One, and should hear the voice of his mouth: for you shall be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, having already called upon the Name of the Lord.”

Complement And it came to pass, that when I returned to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance, and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry, and get out of Jerusalem quickly: for they will not receive your testimony concerning me.’

Complement And I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on you; and when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and agreeing to his death; and I guarded the clothing of them that slew him.’

Unique And he said to me, ‘Depart: for I will send you far from here unto the Gentiles.’”

The issue we need to examine is Acts 22:16: “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, having already called upon the Name of the Lord.”

If you have read my previous studies in Acts on the subject of water baptism, then you know that this passage has been a problem for many centuries; but it is easily solved if you apply the principles that I have explained many times in this series of studies in Acts.

The Book of Acts is an inspired historical record of the acts of the Triune God, working through the Apostles and others, during the first 30 years or so of the early churches. But it is not an official teaching letter of the Apostles; therefore any saying of any person in the Book of Acts has to be compared with the official teachings of the Christian Faith in the teaching letters of the Apostles, in particular the Apostle Paul: such as Romans, Galations, I and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Peter, etc, so that the true understanding of the Bible teaching can be learned. If you use one passage out of context with the rest of the Bible, it will lead you into error, every time.

We know from these teaching letters that water baptism cannot wash away sins of any kind at all. It is impossible for water to wash away anything but dirt or external contamination: it cannot wash away a sin against God or anyone else. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that:

Hebrews 9:13-14: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Hebrews 9:22: “And almost all things are by the Law purged with blood; and WITHOUT SHEDDING OF BLOOD, THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS OF SIN.”

Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for IT IS THE BLOOD THAT MAKES AN ATONEMENT FOR THE SOUL.”

The Bible is 100% clear that water has no power to cleanse anyone from sin: only the blood of Christ is powerful enough to do that.

So where do people get the idea that water can wash away their sins? From false teachers in many denominations such as Protestants and Roman Catholics, that’s where.

They cannot use the Bible to support this false teaching, but they can twist the Bible to make it say what they want it to say; and they do. They will twist passages such as John 3:5

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and also of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”

But they omit the following sentence, which proves them wrong: John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

So there is a parallel between these two sentences:

1) Born of water = born of the flesh

2) Born of the Spirit = born of the Spirit

In other words, when our mothers brought us into this world, her water bag broke and water came out! This was our first birth, which was of water.

Our second birth occurred when we repented of our sins and received Jesus Christ as our personal Savior! The Holy Spirit cleansed our soul with the blood of Jesus Christ, in whom we trusted for salvation; and we became a child of the Living God by faith in Christ. This is the Second Birth.

The Bible clearly teaches that water baptism comes AFTER salvation, not before:

1) Mark 16:15-16: “And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned.”

Jesus gave the Scriptural order: a person must hear the Gospel and understand it (an infant cannot do this), and the person must believe the Gospel. Baptism is connected with Believing, but baptism is not connected with being damned or condemned, which proves that baptism in water cannot save anyone. If the lack of water baptism cannot damn you, then water baptism also cannot save you.

Paul showed clearly that water baptism comes after salvation in the teaching letter of Romans.

The letter of Romans explains the Way of Salvation from saving faith to mature faith:

Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from [saving] faith to [mature] faith: as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.””

So we can understand the process of the salvation of a person’s soul in five steps in this wonderful Letter:

Opposite Chapter 2.1: Both Jews and Gentiles have rejected the one true God and will be judged by the Old Covenant Law of Moses (1:1 - 2:16)

Opposite Chapter 2.2: Both Jews and Gentiles can only be justified through faith alone in the New Covenant Finished Work of Christ (2:17 - 5:21) --

Complement Chapter 2.3: The indwelling Holy Spirit will deliver Believers from the power of sin if they walk in obedience to Him (6:1 - 8:39)

Complement Chapter 2.4: The Election of God will save a remnant of Israel in spite of their unbelief in the New Covenant Gospel of Christ (9:1 - 11:36)

Unique Chapter 2.5: The New Covenant Gospel of Christ calls us to serve God in every part of our lives (12:1 - 16:27)

[When we complete our studies in the Book of Acts, we will begin a detailed study of the Book of Hebrew & Romans. It will be very good!]

So in Romans 5:1, Paul says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...”

And in Romans 5:11: “And not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the Atonement.”

But in the following Chapter, Paul begins explaining how a Believer in Christ can have victory over sin; and he begins with water baptism!

Romans 6:3-4: “Do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized as a sign of his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, in the same manner as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of Life.”

So you see, water baptism has nothing to do with washing away sin! It is the first step of obedience for every Believer AFTER they have repented and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

So in light of these passages, we can now read the words of Ananias in Acts 22:16, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, having already called upon the Name of the Lord”, and we can understand what he meant: “wash away your sins” was clearly a figurative expression, and he did not mean that the water would actually wash away the sins of the soul of Saul of Tarsus.

No, the sins of Saul had already been washed away by the Holy Spirit at the moment when Saul believed in Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus! Saul was already a born again Believer in Jesus Christ when Ananias came to speak to him in Damascus; but he needed “to follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism” as his first act of obedience to his Lord Jesus Christ, as Christ had commanded his Apostles after his Resurrection.

Also notice that Saul did NOT speak in tongues, neither on the road to Damascus, nor when he was baptized in water. This contradicts a common false teaching in many Charismatic and Pentecostal churches today, that if you don’t speak in tongues, that you are not saved.

What makes this issue even more confusing is that most Bible versions, including the King James version, translate Acts 22:16 in a way that promotes the false teaching that water can wash away your sins. Here are four examples:

King James Version 22:16b: “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

New American Standard 22:16b: “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’

New International Version 22:16b: “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”

English Standard Version 22:16b: “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”

Not a single one of these Bible versions is correct! But the Kingdom Study Bible in English or Spanish is correct.

Kingdom Study Bible: “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, having already called upon the Name of the Lord.”

Another error in these translations is the reference to “calling on his name” or “calling on the name of the Lord.”

The correct translation is “having already called on the name of the Lord”, which refers back to when Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Saul did not need to call on the Name of Jesus again for salvation, because he was already saved when he met Ananias. He only needed to be baptized in deep water as the first step of obedience in his new walk of faith with Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

This translation preference for the teaching of salvation through water baptism is rooted in the fact that the Bible translators of these versions are members of Protestant churches who believe that water has washed away their sins when they were infants or when they joined their church. The worst translation in these examples is the New International Version; but all of them, including the King James version are poor translations. The Kingdom Study Bible, on the other hand, is correctly translated.

Satan has created much confusion in the minds of Christians on this issue with poor Bible translations and with many false teachers who do not understand the Bible.

I trust that this lesson has been helpful to you with this important Bible doctrine. If you have missed the earlier studies in the Book of Acts, I recommend that you take the time to read them at this link.

https://www.phibible.org/info/GoldenRatioBibleStudies/English/GoldenRatioActs/GoldenRatio_ActsTOC.html

I have created several topical studies on the doctrine of Baptism that will be very helpful to you, I trust. Amen, and praise the Lord!

The work of Satan is to keep you from trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary; instead, Satan wants you to trust in your church, your pastor, your parents, your government, your good works, your money, your religion, your Lodge: anything, but Jesus!

Satan doesn’t care whether you are a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Baptist, a Catholic, or an Atheist: only he does not want you to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ and be saved!

One of his most effective ways to keep sinners out of Heaven is to get them to trust in their baptism as a baby or as an adult. Then they become innoculated against the Gospel, because they think, “I am okay, because my sins were washed away when I was baptized, so I will go to Heaven when I die.” But this is not true! The Bible clearly says the opposite, as I have explained, so if this is true about you, then you need to repent of your trust in water, and instead place your trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for your salvation!

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14:6.

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.”

You cannot be a child of God until you have been born again; and you cannot be born again until you have repented of your sins and asked Jesus Christ to come into your life to become your Savior. This is done by your prayer of faith in the Finished Work of Christ on the cross, and not by the water of baptism or by church membership or by your good works.

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been permanently saved through faith; and that faith is not out of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of our own works, lest any man should boast”

Romans 10:8-13: “But what does it say? “The Word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart”; that is to say, the Word of faith (which we preach), that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for [it is written], “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you want to be saved, and become free sin and Satan; and have a future in Heaven, here is how you do it: if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He died on the cross for your sins, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, you may pray this prayer to receive Him as your Savior and be saved:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! You are my only hope for salvation! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, you were buried, and you rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.