Halo there, Mr. Craig Branch: June 15, 2005

Maybe this is not the proper way to greet a man like you who wears various hats in Christendom, but let it be. I am writing this, moved by a deep concern after I happen to by accident read your website article “TWISTING ACTS 2:38; as a guess on Mr. Robert Bowman’s site, and you implied that, to us people who are baptized in the grounds of Acts 2:38

So, walking on those grounds, and since it has been said, “when one’s faith has been ridiculed, not to defended became sin”; I am obligated to defend my faith in being “…buried with Him in baptism…” (Ups)

Maybe in this phraseology Paul he didn’t mean to say that, or maybe there is one word that in Creek it has another meaning, as you said of Acts 2:38, therefore this Pauline saying does not say what he means, and what he means to say, this he is not saying it. (It is that?)

Your statements offend my belief in baptism; don’t you preach that salvation is by faith?

That, is believing, is not? What is our wrongdoing in believing Peter’s words of salvation, when good religious heads asked WHAT WE MOST DO? (TO BE SAVED, THAT IS).

Peter did not tell them:

1. Accept Jesus as your personal Savior. Or did he?

2. Pray after me. Or did he?

3.Pray the sinner’s prayer. (God be merciful unto me, I am a sinner) Or did he?

4. Receive Jesus in your heart. Or did he?

5. Give them his favorite redemptive Old Testament Scriptures. Or did he?

6, Etc. etc. etc. and etc. and etc……. Too long list.

I hope I am getting my message across, and as far as GRACE IS CORNCERN, you think that we do no have grace in our being saved. Because we require repentance, invoking the Name of The Lord to be saved and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit which places us into rhe Mystical body of the Lord Jesus here on earth.

If you Mr. Branch, do not see THE GRACE OF GOD there, you must be spiritually blind, regardless the many hats that you wear; just follow me and see with my glasses:

It was Barnabas, no Paul, the very first Apostle who used the word GRACE immediately after he saw the converted gentiles from Cornelious’ household. “ Who, when he came, AND HAD SEEN THE GRACE OF GOD…”. From the same occasion now it is Peter, not Paul who is the second to mention the word GRACE:

See his testimony: “But we believe, that TROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WE SHALL BE SAVED, EVEN AS THEY.”
(That is the preacher of Acts 2:38, we believe the same, WHY YOU SAID IT IS A HERESY? AND BRANDED US AS A CULT.

And finally, the third one to mention the word GRACE. Many, many years later, he wrote to some men he had baptize in the Name of The Lord Jesus “BUT GOD WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, FOR HIS GREAT

LOVE WHEREWITH HE LOVED US. EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, HATH QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST; BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED…FOR BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED, THROUGH FAITH…”

According to the Scriptures, all who got to get saved, were saved by grace and through faith in the Lord

Jesus, even the chief of sinners Saul who was told “…wash away thine sins…,” every one of them people, were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus, is not that the truth? Will you provide your readers with a Verse where some one got baptized in the Trinity titles?

Since you are the head of Apologetics Resource Center, and you do a lot of research, you should know that in the original gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew, does not say …baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost… or you do not know it?? Check it out then!

I am telling that, to hundreds of Ministers like yourself all over across country every month, now you are one more who knows it, I am committed to that task; it is for His Name sake; you know the preacher of Acts 2:38 also preached this:

NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER: FOR THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED.

This was one of the essentials of the Apostles’ Doctrine in the primitive Church. But it is not any more, why? Preachers use it too lightly now days. Why are so many like you who try to explain away Acts 2:38 and some contradict themselves attacking or trying to explain away that saying of Peter, once an Evangelist from the Assemblies of God told me that “Peter was wrong in the Day of Pentecost;” does not the Apostle Paul wrote that we “must build upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets being Jesus Christ the chief corner stone?” The same Apostle also wrote that in their time or little after was going to be a …“falling away…” time of apostasy, an abandonment of first teachings! How true it is.

How an organization, or all denominations put together as you called the whole church, can preach the WHOLE GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD when they do nor have the whole gospel because they do not have the completeness of The Apostles’ Doctrine, beginning with the discontinuing of preaching Acts 2:38, as it is, consider this: on the day of Pentecost, do they who heard the answer of Peter to them, took time for a second thought analysis of what in reality he said or they were pricked in their heart and received his words as they were? You accused us of twisting Acts 2:38, but I would like to put it in reverse to you; examine yourself to see if you are in the faith that the preacher of Acts 2:38 wrote about “… a precious faith like ours, more precious than gold…” I will tell you why is like that, we preach the gospel as Paul said it should be preached “…and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery

Which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according of the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” You see, there is a commandment that Christendom has not obeyed; “…Preaching Jesus Christ according to the revelation…” here it is where all denominations had missed the way; I assume you are acquainted with Mr. Bowman, since you wrote your article on his web site as guess writer; he said “we believe in a revelation out of the Bible,” I do not know about you, but allow me one more question: what reason Jesus had to offer a “revelation in order to know who is the Father and who is the Son?”

I am bringing this to a close, but I have one more point: in your website in the segment of “false religions and cults, you know it there are many, many, many groups that you know they have false teachings, regardless of what nice name they have for their fellowship, even using scriptural titles and using the words GRACE, and FAITH but they are still false!

Gabriel Mendez

P.s. Since I read your article on the Website, I will publish this on my Website also.