Apostolic is defined as following the apostles' doctrine and teachings. However, how can we be certain that we still adhere to what they taught? Simple, we look to the book of Acts, which is the “actions” of the apostles. This is our church history book, which helps us learn how to conduct our services and what doctrine to teach and preach. The apostles preached four simple things to attain salvation: Repentance, Water Baptism, the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and Holiness. The apostles received their doctrine from Jesus Christ himself.
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2 Corinthians 7:10 KJV)
Repentance starts with sorrow. Repentance is more than just telling God you’re sorry. It’s regretting past decisions, and turning away from them, never doing them again. It’s ultimately admitting you’re wrong and God is right. It's humbling yourself and your worldview to exalt and promote Jesus as being the most perfect way.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:16KJV)
Baptism is the next step in following the apostle's doctrine. Baptism is only profitable if it’s done correctly. If you haven’t repented before baptism, then you went down a dry sinner and have come up a wet sinner. You must be baptized AFTER you have repented!
We must also understand that baptism is complete submersion in water. The original word for baptism means to immerse. Why do we have to be fully submerged? Because it is symbolic of burying our flesh. Just like when Jesus died, he was laid in a tomb. When we bury our flesh, we want all of it buried. You wouldn’t bury someone with just a shovel full of dirt.
Using the correct formula is also vital in baptism. We can find this formula throughout Acts whenever anyone was baptized. Including but not limited to the following Acts 19:5, Acts 2:38-40, Acts 8:12, and Acts 8:36. In each one of these passages, we see the same formula of baptism, which is to be baptized in Jesus' name. People throughout the years have erroneously promulgated that Jesus taught something different on baptism than the disciples because of Mathew 28:19. However, they have promulgated this out of their own ignorance because any Bible scholar or theologian can tell you that the Bible is infallible and can not contradict itself. Therefore, if we do a little bit of reasonable deduction, we can understand that Acts 2:38 actually obeys Mathew 28:19. You may be confused by this, but when you look at Mathew 28:19, it says;
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
If we look closely, we can see that it says NAME, not names, and though seemingly insignificant, it makes a vital difference. If it said names, we could easily extrapolate that we have to baptize in the names Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. However, it says the NAME, and through the scriptures, we can understand.
The name of the father is Jesus (John 5:43)
The name of the son is Jesus (Mathew 1:21)
The name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus (John 14:26)
Therefore, it makes logical and contextual sense to be baptized in Jesus name!
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Infilling of the Holy Ghost. This is evidenced through speaking in tongues. You cannot have the Holy Ghost without speaking in tongues. The Holy Ghost is God's Spirit that dwells inside of you. It is what will lead you, guide you, and even comfort you. It is absolutely necessary for salvation! There’s no ands, ifs, or buts about it, you have to have the Holy Ghost if you want to be saved!
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
(Romans 8:9 KJV)
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11 KJV)
It’s his Spirit that will ultimately translate/transport you into heaven. The Holy Ghost is our ticket to be with Jesus. It’s our wedding garment if you will. How could we possibly think of making heaven our home? If we’ve denied having the very Spirit of Christ inside of us.
A separated holy life is the next step after the Holy Ghost. Holy living becomes not only attainable but, in fact, easier when you have the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will draw you closer to God, which produces holy living/holiness. Holiness is quite simple; the closer you get to God, the further you get from the world.
Holiness is about separation from the things of this world; it's no longer associating yourself with worldly things. You no longer watch, look, or listen to evil things. You begin to shut out any bad thing and seek after the things of God. You look for things that edify and make you closer to him.
In conclusion, these steps are what comprise the apostolic faith. It is these steps that we see the apostles following, and it’s these steps that we can see throughout our Bible. I will present to you three archetypes of salvation from Old Testament sources. There are many more, but to keep this succinct, I present to you only three.
The first being the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah rebuilt the altar and killed a bullock on it, which is a type of repentance. He then saturated the altar in water, completely submerging it. This is a type of baptism. Then the fire of God fell; this was a type of the Holy Ghost. The fire consumed everything; this is a type of Holiness. God wants to be in all of you if you will allow it.
The second archetype is the first four verses of the Bible. God created the earth, which is the foundation of creation. Therefore, it’s a type of repentance. Then God moved upon the face of the waters, which is an archetype of baptism. God said, "Let there be light...", which represents the light/Holy Ghost that dwells in you. God then separated the light from the darkness, that’s holiness. Separating good from evil.
The third archetype is Jesus, who crucified his flesh, which is repentance. He was then buried, which is archetypal of baptism. He then rose again; the Holy Ghost resurrects our spirit. Jesus then ascended. Leaving his flesh behind, he is now solely Spirit. That is holiness and separation from the things of this world.
There are countless archetypes in the Bible that back this apostolic way. Even the germination process is archetypal of salvation. However, for the sake of time, I won’t go into that. I pray this will help you better understand this apostolic way and why it’s the only way to heaven.
Let’s pray up, pray through, and have revival till Jesus comes!
~ Jacob E. Armstrong
