No one seeks after God. Here is the pathway for eternal life as Peter discovered at this chain of events. No mumbo jumbo. No sinners prayer, no water baptism, no church membership, no pledges to tithe etc. Not free will but God's will.
Acts 11:15-17 King James Version
{{{{{{"15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 1:5)
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
This is true, and Peter actually told Christ ,"Go away from me, for I am a sinful man!" Luke 5:8 , Then Jesus said to Simon, (Peter) “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5: 10
The fact of everyone sinning and not seeking God on their own is affirmed in both the Older and Newer Testaments, as is the path:
The oldest extant manuscript of Isaiah, the 1Q Isaiah scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls, dates to around 150–100 BC, providing strong evidence that the text existed well before the time of Jesus.
This supports the conclusion that Isaiah 53 predates Christ and was not written to fulfill a prophecy after the fact, {as some try to say!}
You can read the passage yourself, even in "Rabbinically approved" versions, and still get it!
I offer here the ESV translation: (in two links, since it covers two chapters to get the full impact:
No one seeks after God. Here is the pathway for eternal life as Peter discovered at this chain of events. No mumbo jumbo. No sinners prayer, no water baptism, no church membership, no pledges to tithe etc. Not free will but God's will.
Acts 11:15-17 King James Version
{{{{{{"15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 1:5)
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
This is true, and Peter actually told Christ ,"Go away from me, for I am a sinful man!" Luke 5:8 , Then Jesus said to Simon, (Peter) “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5: 10
The fact of everyone sinning and not seeking God on their own is affirmed in both the Older and Newer Testaments, as is the path:
Isaiah 52: 13 through all of 53 is sometimes called the 'bad conscience of the Rabbinic synagogue' because it is not read in them. If you read through it, the work of Messiah Jesus on our behalf is so clear, that some claim it was added to , or has a late date: https://search.brave.com/search?q=when+was+isaiah+53+written&summary=1&conversation=ca7eb6b0d386887326638b
You can read the passage yourself, even in "Rabbinically approved" versions, and still get it!
I offer here the ESV translation: (in two links, since it covers two chapters to get the full impact:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/52/13/s_731013
https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/53/1/s_732001
Thanks for the links. I shall take a look at these.
Yes Peter was a character. The one thing I like about him was his progression in learning the truth as we all should.
His surprise that salvation and the gift of the Holy Ghost was so simple.
No works involved. No will required but God's will. No water baptism involved or warranted.
Just simple hearing of the Gospel and simple belief and whoosh, in comes the true baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And God did that from start to finish.
He is remarkable.