does it really make a difference whether your batized in Jesus Name or the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?

Question

having been raised in chuch all my life, we where taught that you must be literally baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. and that all other forms of baptizm is not recognized by God. For instance I know that the baptist church baptizes in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We have been taught that with out the proper baptism the Holy spirit can not abide in you. I am bothered by this because i know many people who live very spiritual and holy lives who where baptised under this method. I don't mean to seem juvenile in my question, it's just when your raised to believe something it becomes a part of you that you don't necessarily want to believe but almost by repetitive force, forced to believe. It's kind of like you call a person ugly all his/her life they will begin to believe they are just that? So just remember these are things that have been taught for years and embedded, I want to grow beyond this stage and open my mind and my heart to and for the truth. Thanks.

Answer 1

The Holy Spirit abides in you from the moment you're saved. I believe according to what Jesus taught, that we should be Baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Ghost. Baptism is an outward expression of what's already taken place on the inside!

Answer 2

Somebody quoted the chapter and verse above. I don't know if your statement "with out the proper baptism the Holy spirit can not abide in you" is correct.
I don't think it is right to baptize "In the name of Jesus," but baptism is a very political subject.
On the basis that Baptism is the outward sign of a change in ones faith and a repentance for past sins, then it doesn't matter.
But I don't believe the Church is correct, they aren't following the instructions of Jesus. I think you should write to the church elders and ask why they don't follow his instructions in this matter. It seems to be such a small thing to do (to change to what Jesus asked).

Answer 3

Jesus was very clear in Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." It's not just in the name of Jesus, but it is a Trinitarian "formula" that we are commanded to do.

Answer 4

According to Matthew 28:19, we are supposed to baptize in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That does not necessarily mean a formula that has to be repeated in every baptism (although that's alright too), but it means that belief must underlie the baptism.

Answer 5

Matt 28:19 commands us to baptize in the name of the trinity

Answer 6

Yeah, it is hard to go against something you have been taught all your life; you're right about that.

This comes from a legalistic attitude of compliance to a "new law" of God in the New Testament. The same legalistic attitude also probably said that it's wrong to go to movies and to play cards, right (just guessing from experience)?

First about the whole legalistic thing. Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 6:12,
12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
And again in 1 Corinthians 10:23
23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

So not everything that would be technically not specifically excluded (smoking, gambling, card playing, etc.) would be excluded by logical extension because they do not profit you in the Kingdom of God, in fact, they are harmful to you.

Okay, now about the baptized thing.
Matthew 28:19-20, says:
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

"In the name of" is an aphorism for "in the authority of." First off, all new Christians should be baptized as their first act of obedience to God. Second, NOWHERE does the Bible lay out baptism as a condition of salvation, not when you look at it in the original Greek construction, translations (esp. KJV) could be read that way, but not the original Greek. If baptism is required for salvation, then where was baptism in the Old Testament? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehimiah, Job, Boaz, for none of them do we have any record that they were baptized.

Abraham was saved by faith:
Romans 4:3
3 For what does the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."

Galatians 3:6
6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

We are saved looking *back* to the cross, the OT saints were saved because they looked *forward* to the fulfilled promise of God in the cross.

Being baptized should follow, and soon, the confession of faith in God. Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
(Sorry for the caps, those were used by the translators to indicate quotations from the OT.)

Look through the book of Acts. You will find that the pattern of people being saved does not follow a discernable pattern. Instead, God worked in the lives of the people as He saw fit. But once people were saved, they were normally baptized soon after their conversion.

Being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not a magic formula that makes you a Christian. Muslims believe that for you to convert to Islam, you must repeat three times, "There is no God but ALLAH, and Mohammed is His prophet." When you repeat that mantra three times, then you are converted to Islam. Christianity has no such simple formula that must be repeated, not even the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Sometimes this is known as a "shibboleth." Christianity has no shibboleth but "Jesus is LORD."

But even that formula is not consistantly found in the Bible; sometimes it's as simple as "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'," Luke 18:13.

Answer 7

Was Jesus baptized in his own name? Of course not, so both of your examples are probably incorrect.

Answer 8

Jesus made a simple command. What part of that command is confusing for you?