The 2819 Project (Part 1) | Ep. 167

Today, joins us as we explore one of the most misunderstood aspects of Christian tradition – baptism as practiced in the early church versus how it's commonly performed today.

This podcast will critically examine the baptismal formula practiced today (supposedly supported by Matthew 28:19) and comparing it with actual apostolic practice. In this thought-provoking episode, we introduce the concept of "The 2819 Project", drawing a parallel to how the controversial 1619 Project attempted to reframe American history. Present-day orthodoxy of baptism has similarly obscured biblical precedent.

Through meticulous scriptural analysis, we discover a striking discrepancy: while Matthew records Jesus commanding baptism "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," parallel passages in Mark and Luke use language "in my name" or "in His name". Even more compelling is the book of Acts, which consistently shows the apostles baptizing "in the name of Jesus Christ", with no recorded instances of what has become known today as the trinitarian formula.

This creates a theological dilemma, particularly for those who elevate Jesus' direct words (in red letters) above the rest of Scripture. Were the apostles disobedient to Jesus' command, or have we somehow misunderstood? Historical research suggests that the trinitarian formula didn't become standard practice until the fourth century, primarily through Roman Catholic codification.

The episode challenges listeners to approach Scripture holistically, remembering Paul's words that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" – not just the red letters. By examining these baptismal accounts without preconceived notions, we gain fresh insight into early church practices that might reshape our understanding of this sacred ordinance.

This podcast might affect your view of baptism and biblical interpretation. Join us as we seek truth together, following the crumb trail testimonies found in the Word of God. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Blood Cells Vision Introduction
• 0:25 Welcome and Summer Reflections
• 4:17 Two New Recent Teaching Series
• 5:42 The 1619 Project
• 11:40 Serpent Beguiled Eve
• 14:25 The 2819 Project
• 15:00 The Great Commission
• 18:39 Second Timothy 3:16
• 20:05 The Doctrine of Baptism
• 24:55 “How were people being baptized before the standard practice of “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”?
• 32:16 Summarize of the Parallel Passages of the Great Commission
• 37:25 Biblical Testimonies of New Covenant Baptism
• 42:00 Red Letters vs Black Letters
• 45:00 The 28:19 Project Obfuscates Baptism
• 46:02 Closing Part 1

Transcript

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 0:03

The vision received was that of blood cells traveling throughout the body, supplying the much-needed oxygen and other nutrients to the differing members of the body to fulfill their purpose. Once the blood cells are spent, they must return back to the heart to be refilled before being sent out again and fulfill their purpose. Hello everyone, and welcome to Our Father's Heart. Yes, this is your host, Jay, and this is one of those special episodes where I actually come to you live instead of a pre-recorded teaching that was given at some time in the past. Sometimes it's been years in the past and sometimes it's been in the recent past, but it's summertime and our summertime is about to be ended. We're going back to school in just a short few days and I personally have had a wonderful summer Been able to work on things in the house, some projects that needed to be done and we got them successfully completed, upgraded some things here and there, got to spend quality time with my wife and continue to develop and build our relationship over this time, and that's been a wonderful experience over these last few months. So that's been, that's just been one wonderful thing. Spending more time with our children, who are home right now, has also been a blessing and kind of just being able to relate with everyone without the kind of unhidden pressure of job or work. That's just been wonderful because you kind of you know, you can kind of go about the summer kind of carefree, even though I've had responsibilities and things that have been obligations that I've been wanting to tackle and get done, and so that's always been there. But you know, every time we step away from teaching per se, our job, and just not have that hanging over our heads, you know, every Monday through Friday, always making sure we've got ourselves prepared and planned and ready to go to teach the students, just not having that obligation and being able to wake up every day with this sense of freedom. You know, personally I pretty much spent all summer long just walking with the Lord every day and that has been. It's awesome, it really is. I don't know what else other word to to explain it because just being able to start my day walking with the Lord in the cool of the morning around my neighborhood and talking with Him and hearing from Him, and devoting my concentration, my focus, on just praying with him and and and asking questions and getting answers, um, and and committing this time, uh, to study to pray. I mean, recently we just finished, you know, a 21 day fast in July and it's just, it's just been a wonderful summer in that respect and even though I'm not care, you know looking forward to a great deal going back to work, I know that it's also my responsibility and I want to take what the Lord has instilled in me. Uh, over these you know, about two months that we've been off and I want to take it and I want to put it into practice. So I'm kind of looking forward to that as well Been able to minister more frequently and regularly in our fellowship this past year, and I think that's been a blessing to come out with a couple of new series.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 4:21

One focused on the seven levels of intimacy in our relationship with the Lord. Another that's recently been on my mind is the kingdom, and so those have been released on YouTube and I'm sure in the future at some point they'll be released as podcast. But this summer, as I get to today's podcast, I've had something on my heart that it's just been finagling at me there and I just because of so many different things that I've been trying to get done before school starts again, I really haven't been able to sit down and, you know, just gather my thoughts and kind of put together what the Lord has been just finagling with me about. And recently I spent almost a whole day, maybe six hours straight, just sitting down and really meditating, really focusing on what is it that you're trying to pull out of me, lord? And that's what today's podcast is about, and it's entitled the 2819 Project. Hmm, what is that about? Well, if you continue on listening, you will find out, because I'm about to get started.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 5:41

In 2019, there was an effort made in America to reframe American history, and this effort was going to reframe American history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of the birth of this nation, and it was called the 1619 Project. It was written by Nicole Hannah-Jones she's an investigative journalist. It was released through the New York Times Magazine in. It was August 2019. And it was an attempt to reframe US history so that it would recenter all of US history around the role of slavery and Black Americans, and it made the bold claim in its title that 1776 was not the founding date of America, but that 1619 marked the nation's true founding, because that was the year when enslaved Africans were brought first to Virginia. Now, by the time the 1619 Project was published, one of the results of this newfound claim was that America was actually 400 years old, not 243.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 7:00

Now, traditionally it has been taught that the settlers in the New England colonies were trying to break away from England like the Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church in the Protestant Reformation which began in 1517. But the 1619 Project now claimed that the American Revolution was actually fought to preserve slavery was actually fought to preserve slavery. That in and of itself, flies in the face of everything that we've been taught in our educational program. You know, we were breaking away from England, we couldn't stand taxation without representation and we had the Boston Tea Party, and I can't remember at all anything being talked about. Oh, this was actually about slavery. So this is a far out claim Now. The 1619 Project also claimed that modern capitalism in America was actually rooted in slavery area plantation economics, especially through the management methods and the brutal labor systems. It also claims that black Americans fought alone to make America a democracy.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 8:19

Now some of you may be scratching your heads, like I just did right now, and I said clearly, many of us listening to this are recalling our education years, and we might not remember all the details of our American US history, but we would probably remember the date 1776, because that was when we declared our independence from the King of England, not 1619,. We remember 1776. And some of us might remember that our Constitution came shortly thereafter, in 1787. And some of us would probably never remember capitalism in America being a direct result of the abolition of slavery fought for with the Civil War that ended in 1865. More than likely, we would think of the Industrial Revolution as transforming our American economy from agriculture to industry. Lastly, I would think boomers that's the term called to the baby boom generation today by this generation and the boomers and the generations that closely follow the boomers would not agree with the assertion that the civil rights was solely and exclusively through the efforts of black Americans. We would recognize. Well, no, there was a complex. There was a collaborative awakening of society at the time. It included white abolitionists over years, and then immigrant activists and then political reformers and man.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 10:00

If you've been in America and if you've experienced the turbulent times that America has endured between, say, 2017 and the present, the ripple effects of the 1619 Project is still felt today. But after all of these years, since its publishing in 2019, after careful critique of these four main assertions, its language has been revised because it overgeneralized regarding the reason for the American Revolution and it didn't have any substantial historical support for making that claim. I mean the idea that the 1619, that the year 1619 is the true founding. Well, that was quietly removed from the official framing of the 1619 project and now it's just touted as oh, no, no, no, no. That was symbolic, that wasn't really factual. So they kind of changed their framing of it, their marketing for it and, honestly, there are still debates over the oversimplification of the economic history in America, and recent history clearly shows that the civil rights movement was not an exclusively work of Black Americans making America a democracy. I mean, honestly speaking, america was a democracy before the civil rights movement. It's just a better democracy today for its American citizens. So, wow, where am I going with this?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 11:32

The 1619 Project was effective in doing what the serpent was effective in doing by beguiling Eve. That's from Genesis 3. You can find that in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 3. Because what the serpent did was cause Eve to doubt and question what God had said by changing details and perverting intended meanings of what God said and the result, obviously we all know, was the fall of mankind. Now, honestly, it's hyperbolic of me to think that the 1619 Project would have the same ramifications as the fall, but it certainly had its consequences. I mean, it was the foundational, one of the foundational pillars driving the upheaval that we've been experiencing in our society in America since 2019 to the present, as it was being promoted through the nation, through many educational campuses. Now, I wasn't there, I had already graduated, but I come to find out, looking back, that, oh wow, this 1619 project was marketed through our universities and our colleges, and no wonder, you know, so many people are, you know, in an uproar over things and saying things that are just, they're not valid, they're not correct.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 13:09

By now, I would imagine many of you are wondering why is he talking about all of this in this podcast? Well, again, it's just been finagling at me and I guess I just had to sit down in the presence of the Lord and figure out what exactly is he want to draw out of me regarding this, because I do recognize that the wiles of the enemy have not changed. His purpose is only to here, to steal, to kill, to destroy. It doesn't matter whether he's outrightly coming against the children of God or he's redirecting his tears of his children to cause chaos and turmoil. If some of those tares lose their lives, trust me he cares not one bit. They're just pawn pieces in a cosmic match between the tares that he has sown in the world and Yahweh and the wheat that he has sown in the world. So in my mind, the 1619 Project it's an example that corresponds to the garden, but for the purposes of this podcast, I'm using it as a parable, as a parallel for what I would have liked to talk about in this podcast. Hence the title the 2819 Project. Now, the 2819 Project has absolutely nothing to do with American history, but I see similarities and I recognize the work of the enemy in efforts to cause confusion and disarray in the body of Christ.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 14:43

Some of you listening may have surmised already, based by the title, that I'm probably referring to Matthew 28: 19. And you would be correct. This verse is popularly known in the religious circles as the Great Commission and you may see that as the title of that section in many of your Bibles. So let's take a moment If you have the time, if you're listening to this podcast I always encourage you if you're not driving, because I know a lot of you listen to podcasts while you're driving here and there but get out your Bibles. Use this time as a time of Bible study, as getting into the presence of the Lord and considering his word and how it affects us in our lives today. So if we read Matthew 28, 18 through 20, just to give a little context, and not just read Matthew 28, 19. It says Now, if you're reading along with me, in many of your Bibles, you will notice that most of the text is in red letters, signifying that it was quoting Jesus.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 16:27

Now, personally speaking, I don't mind red letter edition Bibles. I actually like them, but having red letter editions of Bibles can be misleading. Hmm, why do I say that? Well, most Bible readers and studiers, since the advent of using red letter edition Bibles, have they just developed this sense that the red letters are more holy or sacred than the other black letter sections of the Bible? That's just something that has just occurred. I think if you talk to your friends or you start paying more attention to it, you'll realize that a lot of people do seem to be doing that and what that means is that they give the red letters greater weight or importance than the rest of the Bible.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 17:19

Now, the reality is, if you think about it, if you just step back from that idea, the overwhelming majority of the Bible, even in the red letter editions of the Bible, is in black letters. Now, depending upon the edition and the translation that you use, the red letters only amount to 10 to 15% of the Bible. Only amount to 10 to 15% of the Bible, which means you mathematicians out there that the black letters is a majority, 85 to 90% of the letters and words in the Bible. Now, I would presume that the initial reasons for coming up with a red-letter edition of a Bible was not to make the rest of the Bible of less importance. I don't believe that was the motivation, but nevertheless, red-letter edition Bibles have had this unintended consequence.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 18:17

We would do well to kind of be aware of that, because in order to combat that developed sense that the red letters are more important than the black letters, all we got to do is just remind ourselves of the following assertion that Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, made in 2 Timothy 3.16. Paul said all Scripture let me repeat that again before I continue with the reservoirs All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness. All Scripture means all, not just the red letters In our red letter Bibles. This is important to come to terms with as I proceed with what I would like to present to you today. Now, the thrust of this passage of Matthew 28, 19,. It should be that, because all power in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, therefore, that word therefore, is put in those words therefore, go make disciples of all nations. This is how the family of brothers and sisters will grow through discipleship, through sharing life with one another, mentoring each other in this new life that we find ourselves in when we come into covenant with Jesus. He's the Messiah, He's the Christ.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 20:03

But the doctrine of baptism has also taken on almost the same level of significance or importance because of what was recorded in this verse, and this is where the controversy begins Chaos and turmoil. So let's look at this together. According to Matthew, Jesus said to baptize. Quote them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 20:40

The rise of compliance with the literalness of this mandate began not in the first century, not in the second century, not in the 3rd century. It began in the 4th century, most notably with those of the Roman Catholic faith. The Roman Catholic Church is the body that codified and standardized this method of baptism. God codified and standardized this method of baptism, meaning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and I'm sure that you've either known Catholic friends or neighbors or you've seen it in movies or TV shows. You know the very infamous put your hand to the top of your head with your fingers and touch your head and come down to the bottom of your torso and then go to the left and touch your shoulder on the left and then go to the right and touch your shoulder on the right and then take that finger and kiss with your lips and let your hands go up and everybody's seen that In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost and you kiss and whatever.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 22:04

I'm not making it up that it started in the 4th century. If you look at Roman Catholic historical records, they themselves attest to this fact and I'm going to hit more on that later, but I'm not going to sidetrack yet on that perspective Because I admit we are forced to go outside the scriptures to confirm that this method definitely began in the 4th century. In other words, we can't see it in the Scriptures. In other words, it's not there in the Scriptures. Now, if we assume that these historical records of Roman Catholics are indeed correct, that this method of, in the name of the Father, son and the Holy Ghost, baptism did not start officially, you know, on a wide scale, until the 4th century, then it begs the question how were people being baptized before? Now? Some of you may be asking well, why would I ask that? It's right there in the red letters of Matthew 28: 19. And I would then respond well, this is where the red letters can be misleading. So, yes, Matthew recorded what we read. But when we search the scriptures to follow the very same disciples that were sent by Jesus to baptize all nations the way Matthew recorded, we find that none of them did it the way Jesus said.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 24:03

You may not be aware of that. You may have, just over time, just assumed that this was just the standard way of doing it. Why? Because that's probably what some of us, many of us may have been raised in to think that. Oh well, I've always heard that in church, every time I heard the baptism, they always say that In the name of the Father, son and the Holy Ghost, I now baptize you and then they, you know, put them on the water. And so we never really thought anything of it. But if you slow down and you verify the traditions that you've been raised in, you might be surprised. So follow me as I follow this scriptural crumb trail and allow the scriptures to answer this question for us. What's the question again, how were people being baptized before the standard practice of in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 25:06

Now, first I would like to look at the parallel passages of the Matthew 28 event. What are parallel passages, Jay? Okay, parallel passages are other places in the scripture that describe or share the same event, for instance, the baptism of Jesus, event that was recorded by three disciples Matthew, Mark and Luke. They all record the same event from their perspective. So if you read Matthew's account and you read Mark's Mark and Luke they all record the same event from their perspective. So if you read Matthew's account and you read Mark's account and you read Luke's account, you would all agree that they're all talking about the same event, but they all have different details that were highlighted, or maybe they did describe it happening in a certain way. That may be slightly different because it's another man's perspective than the other person, and it might be slightly different than the third person's perspective because they're all different people.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 26:09

Well, the same can be said for the event of Matthew 28. This event was just to give you a better understanding of when this event took place. It was definitely after Jesus resurrected and definitely before his ascension. Okay, so that's where this Matthew 28 event transpired. After his resurrection, before his ascension. I tend to think it was before he ascended, like very, very soon before he ascended, but technically speaking, after his resurrection and before the ascension. We're talking about 40 days that Jesus was ministering to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. So it could have been anywhere within that time, but the point is that Matthew, Mark and Luke all summarized the ending message of Jesus to the disciples before he ascended. Whether it happened over a 40-day period or it happened like within the day that he ascended.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 27:13

I don't think that's really the issue, but they all seem to be describing what Jesus wanted them to do. And so if we read Mark's account in chapter 16, verses 15 through 18, we would see it said in the following manner and he said to them, meaning Jesus, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe In my name. They will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:02

If you've been reading what I just read with me in your Bibles, you would notice, I would say virtually all of those letters are in red, except for And He said to them. You know five words. Everything else is in red after that, and it's just like Matthew's record in the Red Letter Edition, but the phrase in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is nowhere to be found. It does, however, have the phrase in my name, and so that's interesting to note. So we've got the word go. I believe Matthew said to all the nations, and in Mark he said to all the world so same idea, same concept, not a big deal. Okay, they're using their own words and some of our words can be synonymous with another person's words, so that's not a big deal.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:55

It talks about being baptized, but it didn't say oh, we have to say in the name of the Father, son and the Holy Ghost. It just says he who believes and is baptized will be saved. And then it says, in my name, they're going to do these, these, these things of casting out demons, speaking with new tongues, taking up sorpents, and if they drink anything deadly it's not going to hurt them and they're going to lay hands on the sick and they're going to get healed. So there are some that they're untaught. The scripture says, or they're unstable, and these are the people that are going to twist the scriptures to their own destruction. It says, and they're going to use this scripture Mark 16, comparing it with Mark 28,. And they're going to say you see, this is evidence that God's word contains errors and contradictions and it's not valid for adhering one's life to its doctrine. In other words, it's a flawed document, it's not to be trusted.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 29:54

There are some that do that, they do that often. And then there's some novice readers of the Bible that they wouldn't even recognize the difference. It'd be just, oh okay, it's the same idea, and they probably wouldn't even be comparing, because you know, when we compare and contrast you're talking about a different level, a higher level of reader when we start comparing and contrasting, because we have a better grasp of the scriptures. So novice readers might not recognize this. More developed readers might catch that and say, oh, that's interesting, he didn't quite say it the same way. And then their more mature readers will recognize it and they'll begin to search it out Like it's a ooh, that's interesting, I want to know why, and it's like a valuable treasure to them. And so they'll search out the matter for understanding and clarification, which is, incidentally, what we're doing now.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 30:48

So the next parallel passage may not be the same event, but it's definitely within the same time period, time period between his resurrection and his ascension, and that's in Luke, chapter 24, verses 46 through 49. First five words are black letters. Then he said to them and then everything else is red. Okay, Jesus said Thus. It is written thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached. And you are witnesses of these things. I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. So here we see the phrase in his name to all nations. So now we're not just comparing and contrasting two perspectives, we're comparing and contrasting three verses of Scripture.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 31:58

So if you're just listening and taking it all in, you might have a hard time trying to do what I'm doing right now because you don't concretely see it. So I recommend doing your own study to you know, when you get time and you're not driving and you're sitting down and you can open up the pages to Matthew 28. Open up the pages to Mark. Open up the pages to Matthew 28. Open up the pages to Mark, open up the pages to Luke, and just flip the pages back and forth and start seeing the minute differences on your own. And I'm just going to summarize it for you here.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 32:28

The record of Matthew and Mark seem to be clearly the same event. But let's go ahead and summarize. What do we see in common in these what I call parallel passages? Except for Luke, they share the word go, all right, matthew, mark say go. Luke didn't say go, but all three, in their own way, seem to be summarizing the last words of direction of Jesus before he ascended. I don't think that's too far of a stretch. I don't think we're stretching anything. I think we could all read those and generally agree that. Hmm, yeah, it does seem like that's what he said before he ascended and before he left and what he wanted them to do.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 33:10

So the ideas of all three passages, the themes, the concepts, they're found in all three, but clearly not the phrase in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We all can see that. It's explicit, it's self-evident. Now two of them use the phrase in my name or in his name. Okay, so they all record the synonymous phrases to all nations or to all the world. Meaning, you know basically the same go to all the peoples. And so clearly they all have a common emphasis of the name my name, and in his name and in his name. Now, in the Greek, this word, in these particular instances, in these particular places, is always singular, it's never plural. This is also important to acknowledge and to keep in mind, and I think what we should get out of it as we look at all three is man. The name must be very important. Whatever that name is, it must be incredibly important because they're all talking about the name my name in his name.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 34:29

So let's continue, but before I do, let me preface what I'm about to say, the following information I want you to what I'm about to say, the following information I want you to two caveats. Okay, keep these two caveats in mind. Luke, obviously, was written by, or the Gospel of Luke was written by, Luke. That's what I wanted to say. But know this, in case you're not aware, that there's another letter that Luke wrote, and he wrote it to a man named Theophilus and he wanted to recount to Theophilus how this movement, if you will, came about, this Jesus movement. And he wrote, Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, and thereafter he followed it with the Acts, which is a letter to Theophilus. Okay, so I want you to keep that in mind. That caveat, okay. Number two, and I just have to say this plainly, and you can verify it for yourself, you can research it for yourself.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 35:30

I have no quibbles or qualms with making this statement, because it's scripturally true. There is no scriptural evidence that demonstrates that the disciples who turned apostles baptized anyone decreeing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Just sit back and take that in. There is no scriptural evidence that any of the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Barnabas, Saul I'm naming other characters in the first century that were prominent James, the sons of Zebedee, Andrew none of them, nobody, nobody. There's no evidence. These points are important to note because Acts continues the record and the story, if you will, the account where the Gospel of Luke left off and ended. If you read them back to back which is probably the best way to do it because it's the same author he is giving you the Gospel of Jesus for Luke and then he's kind of giving you, you know, the Acts of the Holy Spirit through his apostles in the letter of Acts. So if the disciples didn't leave any evidence that they said what Jesus said in Matthew 28: 19, then that begs a further question what then did they say? So I want to share with you the following are the biblical testimonies of New Covenant Baptism. These are the scriptures that we will now consider In Acts, chapter 2:38, the first opportunity that the disciples had to adhere to the words that Jesus used, that were recorded by Matthew in Matthew 28: 19.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 37:50

The first opportunity is right here in Acts 2:38. Peter said to them repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit. Hmm, wow, well, that Jesus, I mean Paul, I'm going through all of them, Paul, not what am I saying, Peter? Oh, my goodness, Peter did not say what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19. I mean, that's obvious, it's clear. I don't have to say much more about it, I just want to highlight it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 38:36

Okay, the next opportunity that we have of recorded event that shares with us what happened was Acts, chapter 8, verse 16. It says For, as yet, he had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Well, that is a repetition of what Peter said they needed to do For those that were listening on the day of Pentecost. Okay, the next record is Acts, chapter 10, verse 47 to 48.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 39:28

Peter is preaching the gospel to the house of Cornelius and he says because they had just all received the gift of the Holy Ghost. And how did they know that? Because they all began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance, just as happened to the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Peter says Can anyone forbid water? That these here should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Well, that's not surprising. I mean, you got the actual same person, peter, saying the same thing. He said the first opportunity he had to baptize someone. He's just reiterating himself. But then we have another testimony Acts, chapter 19. Now Paul was ministering to some apparent disciples and after some conversation with them, he ended up laying hands on them. They received the gift of the Holy Ghost and they spoke in tongues. And then it says this and when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So we got Peter telling us to baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 40:53

We have Acts, chapter 8 is when Stephen went to minister the gospel of the kingdom to the Samaritans. They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Peter preaches the gospel to Cornelius the Gentiles, and they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul remember the persecutor, the one that was committing murder against the saints of the Most High. He had been converted, he had been born again, he had turned his life over to Jesus and he began to serve him. He also baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 41:33

In the book of Acts, which is a letter written by Luke, one of the original disciples of the Lord Jesus that became an apostle Hmm, very interesting. I'm going to be honest with you. These are the only biblical testimonies that I could share with you. If there were others, I would share with you. I'm not afraid to share the scriptures and show all the different testimonies, but there are none.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 42:01

So, for those who emphasize the red letters over the black letters of the Bible, they're stuck in a dilemma and a quandary. You see, will you take all of the evidence into account, meaning the red letters and the black letters, or will you be the one who twists the scriptures to your own destruction because you can't understand? Or are you going to hold to your traditions and you're going to pit sections of the word of God against other sections of the word of God, hence putting red letters versus the black letters. This is what others who are untaught in the Scriptures do, but they say it in a different way. They take it a step further and they have the audacity to put Jesus against his own disciples. That's what that? That essentially. When we put the red letters against the black letters, saying that no, no, no, we're going to stick to the red letters because that's exactly what Jesus says, that was a quotation of Jesus, and then we put them against the black letters and we make them inferior to the red letters, well, that's what we're doing. We're putting Jesus against his disciples, because all the black letters that are found in the Bible are written by his disciples and his prophets.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 43:33

Clearly, the disciples did not quote Jesus and say what Jesus reportedly said in Matthew. They didn't. What we can all agree on is that it is clear that they did what he said to do, because no apostles, in any of the testimonies that I've shared, corrected each other. No disciples. Apostles corrected each other when they baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. That's important to recognize. Another important thing to recognize is that neither did Jesus correct them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 44:30

Now remember, the main point of Matthew 28: 19 was not how someone should get baptized. The context is hey, since all power in heaven and earth is given to me, I want you to go and make disciples of all nations. That's really the main thrust of all of those three parallel passages that I gave you from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Go and make disciples three parallel passages that I gave you from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Go and make disciples.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 45:02

But what I call the 2819 Project is obfuscating the issue, because the 2819 Project, it seeks to reframe history by focusing on a peripheral issue and perverting its intended meaning of what followed, similar to what the serpent did to Eve in the Garden of Eden, similar to what the 1619 Project tried to do with American history. This is what the 2819 Project has caused that we should question the Word of God, we should pit the red letters versus the black letters, and now we have chaos and turmoil and people are left in Babel. They're left in confusion. They don't know what to think. They don't know what to believe. They don't know what to think. They don't know what to believe. They don't know what to adhere to.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 46:02

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