The trouble with the Westminster or any confession or statement of belief is not in the confession itself, but, rather, in the fact that men make of it a tradition which eventually supplants the Scripture and thus becomes as detestable as the Tradition of the Elders which Jesus condemned and which, when codified, became known as the Babylonian Talmud.

Prominent and respected promoters of Reform Theology habitually dismiss as unworthy of consideration any teaching or doctrine which is contrary to the Westminster Confession, irrespective of the Scriptural evidence which may be offered.

You can't legitimately use Acts 10:43 to argue against baptism for the remission of sin. Read the context!

The Jews viewed as unclean so-called "Gentiles" (actually descendants of Israelites of the divorced Northern Kingdom). Apart from the baptism of the Spirit upon the Gentiles, the Jews would not have been willing to proclaim to them the Gospel -- much less, to baptize any who believed.

Namaan the leper was not cleansed by washing in the river Jordan; he was cleansed because he obeyed the Word of God which was communicated to him by the prophet.

If you are unwilling to obey the command to be baptized for the remission of sin, what other commands are you unwilling to obey? Are you also unwilling to repent? Are you unwilling to endure? Are you unwilling to believe? Are you unwilling to forsake all?

Again, the issue is obedience. God gives nothing to the rebel, other than judgment.

However, in every recorded instance of conversion subsequent to the death of Christ, baptism is seen to be of very high priority.

But when the entire passage is considered, it is apparent that the entire Christian community at Corinth has been baptized: some, by Paul, others, by Apollos, and still others, by Peter (Cephas). Indeed, there was such a focus upon the ritual of baptism that the Corinthians had become divided, mistakenly thinking that the ritual conferred a status which was determined on the basis of the man administering the ritual.

It is obvious that you consider yourself mature. The command, "Prove all things", applies to the hearer -- that's you.

If you genuinely love truth, then you shall take the pains necessary to ascertain whether my assertions are true.

But if, as I suspect, you are but a toddler in diapers or a babe at the mother's breast, or perhaps not even in the Faith, then this discussion is "strong meat" which you are incapable of digesting.

"Even so, come Lord Jesus." ???

Here is a passage of which you should take note:

Amos 5:18 - 18 Woe to you that desire the day of the Lord! what is this day of the Lord to you? whereas it is darkness, and not light.

You ask what becomes of those who are not baptized?

Jesus portrays salvation as a way of life which is constrained and which has but one entrance, which is quite narrow.

Baptism is one of the requirements for entrance into the Way of Life.

Those who do not enter the Way of Life cannot walk in the Way of Life. Those who do not walk in the Way of Life and endure unto the end are not saved.

Ultimately, salvation is resurrection to life everlasting.

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As to the recent broadcast of MacArthur, it should be available on the Internet web site. MacArthur, citing I Corinthians 15:7, definitely indicated that there is question as to which James is in view. MacArthur appears to have changed his position. Quit defaming me. And go to the Scripture yourself and ascertain the truth of the matter.

The resurrected Jesus did appear to "James"; the question is, to which of the several "James" found in New Covenant scripture?

In all probability, the James to whom Jesus appeared personally is James, the brother of John, who soon would be martyred, in order to encourage him and to assure him that his calling to apostleship was not in vain.

I am not talking about the historic Baptists of a century or two ago. Nor am I talking about Baptists who embrace Reform Theology, and thus essentially are Calvinists.

I am talking about the here-and-now "Bible Belt" Baptists -- from the little one-room country church to the mega-church such as Second Baptist in Houston (pastored by Ed Young).

Even the mainstream teacher John MacArthur (who leans toward, if not embraces, Reform Theology) in his broadcast about a week ago said that James the half-brother of Jesus was not a believer; and MacArthur strongly implied (if he did not explicitly assert) that James never became a believer, even though (according to MacArthur) it appears that the resurrected Jesus appeared to him personally.

Most teachers and theologians agree that the epistle of James was written by the half-brother of Jesus.

And most commentators flatly state that, apart from the words "Lord Jesus Christ" in James 1:1 and James 2:1, no unbiased reader would have reason to conclude that the epistle of James is a Christian document, for it contains no teaching that distinctly is Christian.

I doesn't take much research and comparison to establish the fact that Papistry and Talmudic Judaism are two sides of the same counterfeit coin.

The unregenerate Jew corresponds to the rotten figs of the 24th and 29th chapters of Jeremiah; they are present in every generation, being used by God as an example or warning and as instruments of judgment.

Papacy as an institution was prototyped by James of Jerusalem, who is the archenemy of the apostle Paul. Papacy is the mystery of iniquity, and the restrainer is Paul, 2 Thessalonians 2.

And the cause of the disfiguring visual impairment of Paul (Galatians 4:14-15, Galatians 6:11) was not, as many suppose, disease; it was a beating at the hands of thugs commissioned by James.

Sadly, Hagee is but one of countless men who are promoting the same error, though at the moment he is one of the most influential.

Only truth can combat the error which Hagee and others are teaching, because the error is too prevalent and too firmly embraced.

The error is grounded in the concept of Dispensations, in the failure to understand the nature of the Old and New Covenants (both are covenants of marriage), and in the failure to understand that the Old long ago was replaced by the New. And the error involves misinterpretation of Romans 11:26 ("all Israel shall be saved") -- a passage which cannot properly be interpreted apart from the understanding that the "Gentiles" are the descendants of the Israelites taken captive by Assyria; see 2 Kings 18.

Before you call someone a "heretic", you should be careful to have in hand Scriptural evidence to support your charge -- because you shall stand before Christ Jesus and be made to answer for that charge, which is false.

If there is any man whom the Lord hates, it is the false witness:

Go find yourself a Baptist, and ask him if it is necessary to be baptized in order to be saved. I have yet to find one who says that baptism is necessary. If you find one, kindly tell me.

Then ask him why Baptists baptize, and what the ritual signifies. Typically, he is going to tell you that baptism is "an outward sign of an inward grace" or a "testimony" or "profession of faith" or something of the sort, and that it is by getting baptized that people "join the church" (by which he means a local congregation).

If you try to tell a Baptist that he cannot be saved unless he obeys the command of Acts 2:38, in most cases he is going to rush off or ask you to leave.

Because Baptists reject Acts 2:38, the pathetic dunking ritual in which they engage is an affront to God.

So the fewer they baptize, the less odious they make themselves to the Lord.

"He said the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith has been leading the charge for such crime bills for years, and has explained on its website how its campaign already has installed laws at the state level."

But all of this is a diversion. The great issue of life is government, and the struggle is that of the governments of man fighting against the government of God. The adversary is human government -- not a "fallen angel".

For the same reason, the agents of Caesar have drilled into the Christian the lie that the reign of the Christ lies yet in the future, and shall begin only when a visible Jesus returns and is seated on a visible, earthly throne.

Television and Hollywood have no redeeming qualities.

Luke 22:36 - 36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

If would-be troublemakers had to worry about students packing a .38 special in their backpacks, or instructors with a 9mm pistol in their briefcases, this nonsense would be non-existent.