My response --- The only Jews to speak in tongues on the day of Pentecost were the disciples gathered in the upper room, and the apostles who preached in tongues to the Jews present that day. Those who repented and were baptized that day are not said to have spoken in tongues at all. Acts 1 & 2 testify to this fact.

Mr. Maxey says:

• Once God had demonstrated His acceptance of the Gentiles, however, notice what action then followed immediately. Peter, at the home of Cornelius, declared, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" (Acts 10:47). Well, of course not!! "Therefore, he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 10:48).

My response --- So far, so good! -- no argument. But watch as Al can't make up his mind if he is a "Church of Christ" or a Baptist!

Mr. Maxey says:

• Why ORDER them to be baptized, if they were already saved, David?!! What was the point?

My response --- Here, Al is a "Church of Christ." But the answer to his question is that "the point" is that the Lord commanded believers to be baptized for the same reason that Al gives us in the following line:

Mr. Maxey says:

• The point was, and still is, that our Lord has commanded baptism (and this is water baptism) as a demonstration of our faith in Him.

My response --- Here, Al is a Baptist! This is the BAPTIST position! That baptism is a demonstration (illustration & expression) of our faith in Christ, not the exercise of our faith in Christ for salvation. Salvation is experienced when the lost, convicted sinner repents of his sin and receives Christ by faith into his heart. Baptism is the demonstration (illustration & expression) of our faith in Christ that FOLLOWS our exercise of faith in Christ. Us Baptists refer to water baptism as "the outward demonstration of an inward act." That is, baptism pictures (it is a "figure," not the real thing according to 1 Peter 3:21; again, a demonstration is an illustration or "figure") OUTWARDLY & PHYSICALLY what took place in the heart of the believer and in the spiritual world when he was saved. So, Al is taking the BAPTIST position here.

Mr. Maxey says:

• To refuse to respond is to refuse the gift. No one in their right mind would do such a thing. But, if they did, they would fail to acquire that precious gift of life! Again, immersion does not earn or merit the gift, it merely receives it.

My response --- Al, your logic here would, as you say, earn you a failing grade. IF the Gentiles WERE to refuse to be baptized (your "straw argument"), which they DID NOT (so there your "straw dummy" collapses), but if they did, the fact is that THEY HAD ALREADY RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST according to the text! And again, without obeying they would not have gotten the Holy Ghost (Acts 5:32). Therefore they MUST have obeyed to receive the Holy Ghost, and this, according to the Bible in any version, including your NASV, happened BEFORE they were baptized. So, to parrot your question: "What was the point?" Answer: out of obedience to Christ's command, one of the first steps in following Christ as a disciple, but not to be saved. They received salvation by faith, not water baptism. Acts 10 and 11 is clear and plain about this. Comparing scripture with scripture in Acts 10 & 11, there is no way anyone can find baptism preached as a means of receiving forgiveness of sins. Acts 10:43 is the only mention of forgiveness, and it is conditioned upon believing, not being baptized.

Regarding ACTS 19

Mr. Maxey says:

• David wrote in his tract, "The Bible says in Acts 5:32 that only those who obey God may receive the Holy Ghost."

My response --- That is what the verse says, not what I say. Notice that Al has confused ME with the BIBLE. How peculiar.

Mr. Maxey says:

• Pastor Martin also noted, "We know that unsaved people do not receive or have the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit is given only to those who have believed on Christ."

My response --- Hmm. The Bible says in Romans 8:9 that if you do not have the Spirit of God, you are NOT Christ's. I am only repeating what the Bible says. Again, Al is confusing ME with the BIBLE.

Mr. Maxey says:

• This leads me to wonder what Pastor Martin would do with the situation presented to us in Acts 19:1-7.

My response --- Pastor Martin would believe the Bible.

Mr. Maxey says:

• We find 12 disciples who clearly believed in Jesus Christ, but who had NOT received the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey, according to Pastor Martin's own declaration...

My response --- Pastor Martin is only stating what the Bible said. Once again, Al is confusing ME with the BIBLE.

Mr. Maxey says:

• ...it leaves one wondering what part of obedience was lacking in these twelve men. Paul questioned these men about their baptism, and he soon discovered they were not yet immersed into Christ. Notice the conclusion of the matter: "And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5). The next verse tells us they then received the Holy Spirit.

My response --- Al is wrong here if he is implying that they received the Holy Ghost through water baptism. The FACT is that they DID NOT according to the verse that Al refers to. The very verse (v.6) tells us that they received the Holy Ghost "when Paul had laid his hands upon them." This is the same scenario as Acts 8 where people believed and were baptized but DID NOT receive the Holy Ghost UNTIL the apostles laid their hands upon them. Neither ACTS 19 or ACTS 8 are in accordance with ACTS 2:38, unless our Campbellite friends are going to violate their own principle and SPEAK where the Bible is SILENT.

Mr. Maxey says:

• I wonder if those 12 men, if they could speak to us today, would tell us baptism was purely optional and had nothing to do with our cleansing from sin and the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit? Not likely.

My response --- Just for "grins and giggles," let's follow Al's reasoning that these disciples needed to be baptized properly in order to have their sins forgiven BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT BAPTIZED ACCORDING TO ACTS 2:38. Well, if we said that, we would be just as wrong as Al. These disciples said that they were baptized "unto John's baptism" (Acts 19:3). Well, lo and behold, according to MARK 1:4, John's baptism was for repentance and "for the remission of sins." So, if that is the case, WERE THERE SINS FORGIVEN when they repented and John baptized them? Or not until Paul baptized them? Or BOTH times? WHEN? If the "church of Christ' folks are correct in their interpretation of the phrase "for the remission of sins" then these disciples were forgiven TWICE. This demonstrates that from John until Pentecost, there is a transitional period of time, going from the O.T. to the N.T. , from Law to Grace, from Israel to the Church, and you must be careful to not build doctrine on "shifting sand." Acts is a HISTORY book. The Epistles are the DOCTRINAL books, and you must interpret ACTS in the light of the Epistles, not the other way around. The fact is that you cannot OVERTHROW clear verses of scripture with ones that are not so clear. All rules have exceptions that "prove the rule." ACTS 10 & 11 present the RULE. All others are exceptions if they contradict that rule, and must be special cases. Again, you cannot overthrow the rule with an exception, in the Bible, or any where else.