Matt Powell ( ‪@MattPowellOFFICIAL‬ ) Is Right... and Wrong! ‪@NeedGodnet‬

‪@MattPowellOFFICIAL‬ Matt Powell recently featured a clip from my discussion with Ryan of ‪@NeedGodnet‬ in which I stated that our Lord Jesus Christ has made Holy Baptism necessary for salvation. He then immediately turned to the website of an Antiochian parish that appeared to charge money for baptisms. On one point, Matt Powell is absolutely right: Christians should object to the buying and selling of the means of salvation. I vehemently oppose charging money for Holy Baptism. The attempt to purchase the gift of God with money is the ancient sin of simony, condemned by the Apostle Peter himself: “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” (Acts 8:20) Our Lord commanded His Apostles: “Freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) I would rather have my hands cut off than refuse someone Holy Baptism because he could not pay me. God forbid! If Matt Powell wants to expose the commercialization of the sacraments, then on this isolated point I do not want to stand in his way. It is a terrible scandal. But Matt is wrong to associate me with the practice he is condemning. I neither practice nor defend it. So I am making a simple request of Matt: please remove my clip from the video, or edit the presentation so that your viewers are not left with the impression that I participate in or defend the practice you are exposing. If Matt wants to challenge what I actually believe, I welcome that discussion. Did Christ make Baptism necessary for salvation? Yes. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) I quote the early fathers St. Justin Martyr and St. Cyril of Jerusalem to show the antiquity and constant interpretation of this passage. That is the doctrine I am willing to defend. But the necessity of Baptism does not justify charging money for it. In fact, the necessity of Baptism makes such a practice all the more objectionable. So Matt Powell is right... and wrong. He is right to condemn the scandal of charging for Baptism. He is wrong to associate me with it. And he's wrong to reject the Biblical doctrine. Criticize what I actually believe, and I will gladly answer. But let us not attribute the scandal caused by another to someone who also rejects the error. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Patristic Orthodoxy is devoted to the Holy Scriptures, the teaching of the Holy Fathers, Church history, apologetics, and the defense of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Please LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE if you would like to see more content examining Christianity through the Scriptures and the witness of the ancient Church. #OrthodoxChristianity #MattPowell #Baptism #BaptismalRegeneration #Simony #NeedGodNet #PatristicOrthodoxy #OrthodoxChurch #ChristianApologetics #Bible