Can I Prove My Case? Yes!

Today as I was scrolling I saw a Facebook post from a well-known minister in my former organization. Normally, I try to keep the peace between us because I do still genuinely care for a lot of people within the denomination and I don't want to offend people for the sake of offending. However, as much as I love the people within the organization, my love for God and His Word is greater. This is what the post said,

"Can you prove your case? 

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established according to Deuteronomy 19:15. In 2 Cor Chapter 13, Paul wrote "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."

We know that the Scriptures bear witness to the truth.

John 5:39 "Search the Scriptures; for in the YE THINK ye have eternal life: and they are they which TESTIFY of me."

To bear witness is to show or to prove something is true. 

THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT BEEN WATER BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. The concern here is this: Is your salvation experience valid? is it correct? is it biblical?

1) If you claim your salvation is based on Romans 10:9, I challenge you to produce two or three witnesses (scriptures) where someone was clearly saved that way.

2) If you claim your baptism was performed by a minister saying "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost", I challenge you to produce two or three witnesses (scriptures) where someone was clearly baptized that way.

I have several witnesses (scriptures) to prove my case that water baptism MUST be administered in the Name of Jesus Christ such as Acts 4:12, John 3:5, Acts 2:37-38, Acts 10:48, Colossians 3:17.

If you are a minister, an evangelist, a relative that believes in God. I'm calling on you to testify with your SCRIPTURES. 

You have been summoned.

If you don't respond, the court may subpoena you!"

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Normally, I let stuff like this go. But the arrogance of the post makes me feel the need to address the claims made. 

First, do we just claim a passage is wrong because of his made-up standard of two or three witnesses? He appeals to Deuteronomy 19:15 to build the case that in order to teach something as doctrine, it must first be found in two or three witnesses or scriptures. Before I even get into the point of the original post I would like to point out the inconsistency of the post. The passages about two or three witnesses are completely taken out of context, they have nothing to do with Scriptural support for a belief, they are dealing with accusations and law. It's dangerous too because the original post seems to poke fun at someone for believing the Scripture. Why do I need to find other passages to prove Romans 10:9 is correct? Doesn't the context of Romans 10 alone prove that? 

He claims you need two or three witnesses to teach something. However, He is a member of the United Pentecostal Church which teaches that women should have long uncut hair and that men should have short hair. If we hold to the standard of the original post this teaching falls short. The case for uncut hair is only found in 1st Corinthians 11, there's no other witness that can confirm this teaching. 

Also, The UPC teaches that women shouldn't wear pants because of Deuteronomy 22:5, this also fails to stand up to the standards put forth in the original post. So at best, the post is inconsistent with his own beliefs, or at worse, it's intentionally misleading. I will assume the best and say that it is just inconsistent.

Now, addressing his actual arguments. The first challenge he makes is that if you hold to the idea that salvation is found in Romans 10:9 then provide two or three more Scriptures to support it.

So what does Romans 10:9 say? "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

So can we find other passages in Scripture that agree with this? Let's find out!

John 3:14-15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

Romans 10:9 says if you believe you will be saved and here Jesus says he must be lifted up, speaking of his death on the cross, so that whoever believes may have eternal life or be saved. But look at the very next verse!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

So that's twice I found passages agreeing with Romans 10:9, but maybe you will say that I cheated because it was a continuous passage. I'll give you that and only count those as one witness. Let's see what else we find!

John 6:40 "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Acts 13:38-39 "Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses."

Acts 16:30-31 "Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

You can see, without even going into the Epistles I can show that there are plenty of examples of being saved exactly as Paul laid out in Romans 10:9. 

One of the issues with the theology of the UPC is their hermeneutics, or their method of interpreting the Bible, in interpreting the Bible they assume Acts takes precedent over the Epistles because Acts is the narrative of the early church while the Epistles are written to churches that have already been established. 

The error they make is they assume these churches have already followed their understanding of salvation they find in Acts 2:38. Not a single Epistle points to this event even though Paul particularly goes to great lengths to describe justification by faith and Christ's work on the cross. 

The argument is they didn't need to emphasize Acts 2:38 because they were already saved, but if Paul was addressing false gospels, and correcting their theology on salvation, wouldn't there be at least one point where he would remind them of what they experienced? 

Also, Epistles like Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians were most likely written before the book of Acts making it even more unlikely that Paul would leave out such an important topic. What we find however is Paul repeatedly emphasizing believing, faith, and grace. 

One last thing, the original post says this, "Is your salvation experience valid?" This is the greatest error that they make. Salvation isn't an experience, it is a promise fulfilled. 

Romans 3:23-26 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as the mercy seat by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is a gift, not of works, so that no one can boast."

Romans 10:9-13 "If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."