“I’d rather obey Jesus than Peter”

Sometimes when talking to Trinitarian friends we hear the phrase, “When it comes to baptism, I’d rather obey Jesus than obey Peter.” This usually comes after we’ve shown them Acts 2:38,

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

The part that bothers them is that Peter said to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they see that as contradicting what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19,

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Which is the right way to be baptized?

When a Trinitarian friend says that they’d rather obey the words of Jesus they imply that Peter may have been mistaken, but Jesus, of course, could never be mistaken. By asserting this they essentially shot themselves in the foot, among others, for the following reasons.

1. He is admitting there’s a contradiction in the Scriptures. He assumes Peter was wrong when he said baptism was in Jesus’ name. Then, ALL Scripture would NOT be inspired of God as Paul asserts in 2 Timothy 3:16. No true Christian should ever make such an affirmation. It destroys the trustworthiness of the Bible.

2. If there's a contradiction between both scriptures, then the Holy Spirit made a mistake, because Peter had just received the anointing of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4) and this was supposed to have given him the power to be a witness of Jesus (Acts 1:8).

3. If the Holy Ghost can make a mistake, then, how can we trust the rest of the Scriptures? How can we know which parts are true and which are in error?

4. We must also remember that Jesus never wrote an epistle. Matthew is the one that reports Jesus commanded to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This would not be a case of Jesus vs Peter, but Matthew vs Peter (IF there was a contradiction).

5. If there was such a disagreement between Peter and Matthew, why did Matthew, on the day of Pentecost, say nothing but rather stood with the other Apostles backing up what Peter was preaching? Why did Matthew not correct Peter, if Peter was mistaken? (Acts 2:14).

6. Why did Jesus give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven if He knew that the day Peter was to receive the Holy Spirit he would disobey and betray His instructions?

The only solution to harmonize this apparent contradiction is to see in Matthew 28:19 the commandment and in Acts 2:38 the fulfillment or obedience to the commandment of Jesus. Both scriptures are true. The “name” of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is Jesus!

In other words, the Spirit that was in Peter reminded him of the words of Jesus, and gave him the Name that should be called on the baptismal waters. Matthew, being present, full of the same Spirit, was in total agreement with Acts 2:38. The rest of the Apostles understood Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19 in the same way since they consistently baptized calling on the name of the Lord. (Please do take the time to study the following scriptures: Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; 22:16.)

For Apostolic Pentecostals “all Scripture is inspired of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). There are no contradictions in the Holy Word of God. There’s perfect harmony between Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38. There’s a Name revealed for our salvation, a Name so high and glorious that manifests the identity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That name is the name of Jesus (Please see Hebrews 1:4; Ephesians 1:21-23).

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 NKJV)

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A "Preterist" Prophet

Preterists insist that Jesus returned on 70 A.D., evidenced by the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies. They assert that we are waiting for a Second Coming that's already come.

They also insist that the "end of the world" or "end of the age" really meant the "end of the Jewish age." So, in their view, this "end of the world" has already occurred.

They can believe and preach what they want, but we remain, as the Apostle Paul, "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13)


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What does this passage mean to me?

Most small group Bible studies are lead by reading a portion of the Scriptures and then asking the participants, “What does this passage mean to you?” Everyone answers what they feel this passage is trying to say to them, they have a group discussion and that’s it. That’s a cell group’s “Bible” study.

The problem with this approach to Scripture is that it makes every individual’s feelings the interpreter of Scripture. It is one of the easiest way to twist Scriptures and make the Bible say what we want it to say rather than what God intended. The important question when sharing Scripture in a small group settings (as well as when preaching from a pulpit) is not “what does it mean to me?” but rather, “what does the passage say and what reasons do I have for such an interpretation?”

In Apostolic circles, not even a “Holy Ghost impression” is enough to judge the validity of an interpretation, but rather we judge every impression by the written Scripture as instructed by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Interpreters (this includes the leaders, pastors and theologians) are not infallible, only Scripture is. That is why the context of a passage is so important to determine the meaning of the author. We compare Scripture to Scripture to make sure we are interpreting it correctly.

We believe the Holy Ghost can guide us in ascertaining the meaning of Scripture, but His meaning will never contradict the plain meaning of the Bible. The Holy Spirit didn’t make any mistakes when he inspired the writers of Scripture, therefore He doesn’t need a prophet or apostle today to fix His Word. He doesn’t make mistakes when He leads us in our Bible studies. But sometimes we think God is guiding us to a certain meaning when in reality is just our own mind or emotions. The Holy Spirit doesn’t make mistakes but people do. That is why we teach that the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible itself.

We don’t ask, “What does this Scripture mean to me?” but rather, “What does God mean in this Scripture?”

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Are tongues for preaching the Gospel?

I was at a wedding early in the year when a man that had been a member of a United Pentecostal Church (UPC), now backslid, came around trying to engage every UPC member he could get to listen to him.

“You should leave the UPC, the UPC doesn’t save, only Jesus saves. You don’t need tongues to be saved. Tongues were for missionary work, to preach in foreign languages. We don’t need tongues like that anymore, and certainly the UPC doesn’t use tongues that way.”

Since this was his son’s wedding I found it really strange that he would be spending his time going from table to table trying to find an apostolic to engage in the same conversation.

When he approached me I assured him that I was very interested in conversing with him, but that perhaps this occasion wasn’t the best venue for it. He had strayed so far from the truth that now he wasn’t even able to enjoy his own son’s wedding without attacking the church he had left many years ago.

I emailed him a couple of months later wanting to resume the conversation. I asked him where specifically the Bible taught that tongues were for preaching the Gospel in missionary work. He asked for more time to send me his reply. It’s been about four months now, and I have followed up with him on at least three occasions. He hasn’t replied yet. I wonder if he is still trying to find a Bible verse that teaches what he has come to believe about tongues. He will not find such a verse.

The truth is tongues are not a preaching tool, tongues are given as a sign of the infilling of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor 14:22; Acts 2:1-4; 11:15-18). Sometimes they are known languages (Acts 2), some times they are angelic tongues (1 Cor 14:2). They can help us in time of prayer for private edification or even for intercession (1 Cor 14:4; Rom 8:26). Tongues don’t save, the UPCI doesn’t save, Jesus does and He comes to us in the Holy Ghost if we repent of our sins and are baptized in Jesus name (See Acts 2:38-39). This experience is available to everyone that thirsts after God. Jesus is still making the invitation:

“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…)” (John 7:37-39).
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