Page 164 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

Study Section 18: Jewish Backgrounds in Acts and the Epistles.

18.1 Connect.

There are some churches that believe a person must be baptized to be saved. Roman
Catholicism, Seventh-day Adventism, Mormonism, United Pentecostalism (and other Oneness
churches), most Churches of Christ and Eastern Orthodoxy all believe that salvation is not
finalized until one is baptized. The problem is that there are a number of passages that clearly
and explicitly declare faith to be the only requirement for salvation. There are literally dozens
of verses in the New Testament that attribute salvation to faith/belief with no other requirement
mentioned in the context. If baptism, or anything else, is necessary for salvation, all of these verses are
wrong, and the Bible contains errors and is therefore no longer worthy of our trust.

If you don’t have to be baptized to be saved, then what is the reason for such an act? Today we are
going to look at the growth of the Church in the book of Acts, noting that upon his testimony of faith, a
believer was baptized. Let’s see if we can sort out the confusion…

18.2 Objectives.

1. Students should be able to describe the major conception of exile and its connection to baptism
and purity rituals.

2. Students should be able to summarize what the major sects of Judaism during Jesus and the
Apostles ministry were.

3. Students should be able to explain the Diaspora and its impact on Jewish culture.

4. Students should be able to explain the discipleship relationship of a rabbi to a disciple and how that
informs biblical and theological interpretation.

18.3 Jewish Backgrounds in Acts and the Epistles

At some time or another Christians all wonder whether baptism is necessary to be saved
eternally. The real question is what was baptism in that culture and how was it understood?
We also wonder why the Jewish culture in Palestine was convinced that the exile had not truly
ended yet. Why did the Jewish people consider themselves in exile though some still lived in
their homeland? If we know why it will help us to understand what the culture was trying to
accomplish as it attempted to bring about the return from exile. Understanding what the goal of ending
exile entailed will help us understand the various sects present in Judaism at during the time of Jesus
and the early church. It will explain why various socially significant groups gained influence. What were
the major social groups that defined the culture of that time? Jewish life and background were not
limited to the land of Israel (called Judea by Romans). As we have already seen, many Jews were
scattered throughout the empire. What about their lives? Many different views of the coming Messiah
were dominant throughout Jewish thought at the time. What was the messianic hope of the Jews?

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