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Why So Many Churches?: Truth Comes Under Attack – Part 2

Truth

The church’s response to heresy shaped Christianity for centuries to come. False teaching didn’t wait for the church to mature. Deception appeared almost immediately after Pentecost. The apostles spent much of their time correcting errors and defending truth.

This early battle against heresy explains much about how our denominations formed. The church’s defensive strategies—some brilliant, others problematic—echo through history to today.

Understanding this struggle helps us appreciate both our theological heritage and our current divisions.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Church History

Why So Many Churches?: The Unity Jesus Prayed For – Part 1

Unity

Why do thousands of Christian denominations exist when Jesus started just one church? Jesus prayed for unity among His followers. He asked His Father that believers “may be one” (Jn 17:21). He wanted this unity to convince the world of His divine mission. 

Yet today, Christianity fragments into countless denominations. This division confuses outsiders and weakens our witness. Instead of showing the world a united body so that “the world may believe” (Jn 17:21) we’ve often displayed the opposite. Some people reject faith entirely because Christians can’t agree among themselves. 

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Church History

Acts 2:38: An Inconvenient Truth Too Clear to Ignore

Inconvenient Truth

One Greek word has shaped how millions understand salvation. That word is eis. It appears over 1,700 times in the New Testament and almost always points forward—into, unto, or toward. But in Acts 2:38, some argue it means “because of.” That shift changes everything. If eis is causal, baptism follows forgiveness. If it retains its normal meaning, baptism leads to forgiveness. The difference is massive, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. It’s an inconvenient truth for those who believe baptism has nothing to do with salvation, yet the text speaks with stubborn clarity.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Baptism, Word Studies

Why Some Christians Can’t Let Acts 2:38 Mean What It Says

Acts 2:38

In the previous article, we explored the meaning of the Greek preposition eis in Acts 2:38 and found that it consistently points forward to something, never backward. According to BDAG, the leading Greek lexicon, eis in Acts 2:38 means “for forgiveness of sins, so that sins might be forgiven.”1 No major Greek lexicon defines eis as meaning “because” or pointing backward. BDAG, Mounce, Thayer, Louw-Nida, and Strong’s all agree. They show eis means into, toward, or with a view to—always pointing ahead. It speaks of direction, result, or purpose. This forward-looking sense is consistent throughout the New Testament. 

Yet some scholars argue that eis can be causal, meaning “because of,” suggesting that baptism in Acts 2:38 happened because forgiveness had already taken place. In this article, we will examine those claims. In a subsequent post, we’ll evaluate the New Testament passages often used to support that view.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Baptism, Word Studies

Acts 2:38: Baptized for Forgiveness or Because of It?

Acts 2:38

You’re sitting at the kitchen table with an open Bible and a friend who’s eager to learn. You’ve just read Acts 2:38 out loud: “Repent and be baptized…for the forgiveness of your sins.” Your friend pauses. “But I thought baptism isn’t necessary for salvation. My pastor said the word ‘for’ is a translation of the Greek word eis, which means ‘because of.’ So, someone baptized them because God had already forgiven their sins.”

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Baptism, Word Studies