Nicodemus, Jesus was referring to Ezekiel 36:24-27. Water here is a sym bol of cleansing by the Word. (Notice the similar word in John 7 :37.) The word “and” in the Greek can some times mean “even of” giving a fur ther definition. S o m e translations therefore have this, “Except a man be born of water, even of the Spirit.” “I want in for mation on what the Apostles' Creed is. Is it found in the B ible? I f not, when did it come into general usage and is it o f Protestan t origin?” A. It is probably one of the oldest statements of the church. Remember, Protestantism originated largely with Martin Luther. This valuable state ment has been traced back to about 140 A.D. As fa r as we know, it was not originated by the apostles but came into existence and usage not very many decades after the last of them died. Q . Los Angeles, Calif. — “Where in the B ible does it say that one must not harm the Jew s? ” A. There are many passages such as Genesis 12:1-3 and Zechariah 2 :8 . In the latter part of the 15th century, Spain launched a great persecution project against Israel. They have never been a first rate power ever since. We remember what happened from 1933 to 1945, as Hitler dared to touch God’s people. This is not because of who Israel is, but because of who God is, for He made the irrevocable promise. Q . Providence, R.I.— “I was saved as a child but never baptized in water. Now 1 am 18 y ears old. Should I be baptized even though I have been saved fo r several years? Won’t this look peculiar to people o f the church thinking that I ’ve ju st recently been saved?” A. It is probably not your fault that you did not receive instruction con cerning this important aspect of a be liever’s testimony to the world. This 16 Q , Pueblo, Colorado —
Q . Billings, Montana — “A re the descen dants o f A braham in Genesis 25:6 the •wise men who are sp oken o f in Mat thew 2? I thought A braham was the fa th er o f the Jew s.” A. Yes, Abraham was the father of the Jews. The difficulty may come be cause the Genesis passage mentions the East. There is nothing to indicate that the two were related. It is well to remember that before the child of promise, Isaac, that Abraham was the father, through Hagar, of another son. Then, when Sarah died, he took an other wife and by her had six more children. This does not mean that any of these, apart from Isaac, are the people of the promise. Q . Ventura, Calif. — “F o r what purpose have we been created? Was it p ri marily fo r fellow ship or fo r our good w orks?” A. There is no better definition given for our purpose than in the West minister Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” In this sense our creation was primarily for the pur pose of fellowship with the Lord. Still, we are saved to show forth good works to bring glory to our Saviour. Chris tians are twice the children of God. We are His by right of creation, and we are His by right of redemption. Q . Pueblo, Colorado — “In Jo h n 8, where Jesu s was talking to Nicodemus, he said, ‘Except a man be born o f w ater and o f the Spirit, he cannot en ter into the kingdom o f God.’ What does the word ‘water1 speak o f here? Is it bap tism?” A. No, although many try to make it so. In Acts 16 when the Apostle Paul was asked what was necessary for sal vation he answered promptly, a n d without equivocation, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” He didn’t add a single thing more. This does not mean that after one is saved he shouldn’t be baptized. We believe one should be. It, however, will not add or detract from his salvation. In talking with
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