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    Baptism: A Quest for Truth
    Baptism: A Quest for Truth
    Baptism: A Quest for Truth
    Ebook90 pages2 hours

    Baptism: A Quest for Truth

    By Cole Parsley

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    About this ebook

    Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about baptism? Though one of Scripture’s most controversial subjects, the truth about baptism is surprisingly clear. This book leads the reader on a journey examining the Scriptures, Church History, and Common Arguments on the subject. This is a must read in a Christian world that has forgotten the meaning of baptism.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateMay 20, 2022
    ISBN9781664265509
    Baptism: A Quest for Truth
    Author

    Cole Parsley

    Cole Parsley seeks to reform the way the church thinks about baptism through a non-dogmatic approach. His story is one which readers can sympathize with. He has a Bachelors in Biblical Studies, and has spent the past ten years refining his knowledge of the Scriptures through personal study and graduate work.

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      Book preview

      Baptism - Cole Parsley

      Copyright © 2022 Cole Parsley.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

      any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

      recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

      without the written permission of the author except in the case of

      brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      844-714-3454

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or

      links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

      may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

      of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

      and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

      models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

      All scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English

      Standard Version® (ESV®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway,

      a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

      ISBN: 978-1-6642-6549-3 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-6642-6548-6 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-6642-6550-9 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2022908259

      WestBow Press rev. date: 05/19/2022

      CONTENTS

      Preface

      Introduction

      Chapter 1   Jewish Baptism Before Christ

      Chapter 2   The Scriptures on Baptism

      Chapter 3   Church History on Baptism

      Chapter 4   Objections

      Chapter 5   What Now?

      Works Cited

      Acknowledgments

      PREFACE

      My conlcusions on baptism do not come from a childhood of indoctrination. I did not grow up in the Churches of Christ, or the Christian church, or any other church with a high view of baptism. My parents/grandparents never nurtured me into correct doctrine on the topic. As this book showcases, I do believe that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, but I did not always believe that. Here is my story. This is how it all happened.

      It was a late night in the middle of Fall 2015. I stared at the ceiling hoping and begging for sleeps sweet embrace. After hours of tossing and turning, I finally approached God in prayer, and that prayer would not only bring peace which transcends all understanding, but it also would drastically change my life forever. This did not all start with just one sleepless night. These were countless sleepless nights and months of unrest both spiritually and physically. I was a mess as I asked myself over and over what God’s plan was for me. I was in college at the time, and my pursuit in the study of Nutrition was no longer fulfilling.

      There was an unrest in my soul over this. It was not simply a career change, but God was communicating too me. Deep down I think I knew what He wanted, but I did not want to accept it. That night in prayer, however, I did accept it, and I felt God’s peace which only comes through the power of The Spirit. I remember crying that night as I stood outside in my back yard looking up at the stars. It was over, the torment in my soul seized. I was terrified of the future, How am I supposed to pursue ministy when I’m terrified of any public speaking whatsoever?, I asked myself. Despite this fear, I was at peace, and yes, it is possible to experience both.

      There was a new problem that presented itself that I would spend half a year trying to sort out. If I was going to pursue ministry, then I would need to pick a school. Every school, however, is governed by a specific denomination, and I knew that whichever school I picked would likely lead to my views being changed, and to me pursuing a church/school for work that was in that school’s denomination. With this in mind, I decided to wipe the slate clean in regards to my biblical beliefs (or try to at least), and to question everything and to try and learn as much as I could about denominations, their beliefs, and which one was correct.

      I studied relentlessly over those six months, and I questioned everything. It was a stressful experience. It was also hard because my knowledge was very limited. Finally, however, a minister offered to study with me. His name was Tim Knox.

      Tim was a member of the Churches of Christ. He invited me to church, and I remember being deeply offended by that Sunday School lesson taught by Steven Smith. It was on baptism, and how Jesus stated that it was necessary for salvation. What?! This is heresy, salvation is by faith alone at the point of belief!, I said to myself during the lesson. The thought was probably written all over my face as well. You see, at the time, I thought I really knew something about the bible, but in actuality, I was just getting started.

      Later that week Tim invited me to a bible study. We studied for probably three hours one on one. It was a humbling and gut-wrenching experience, though I was not combative, I was deeply offended, not by him, but by the truth. The topic we studied was on baptism.

      For three months, I studied and meditated on what the scriptures say concerning baptism. It was hard. I read articles and I asked preachers who belief in faith alone about these passages. I also talked to friends about my studies. It is not fair to say I studied baptism for three months. It is more like I fought against the doctrine of baptism for three months. I did not want to believe it, but I was also not willing to dismiss it and pretend the verses were not there.

      It was during my commute to school one morning that I became frightened of my own safety. There was a semi-truck on the road, and I thought, What if I hit them and died? What would happen to me? You see I had been baptized at a very young age. I did not understand who Jesus or sin was at the time, or at least I doubted that I did. Would that be good enough?

      Later that day, I was baptized for the forgiveness of my sins. It was a hard decision because though I wanted to feel secure in my salvation, I also knew there was no going back. In that moment, I forfeighted my old beliefs in faith alone. I surrendered to that old

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