[Winman]

Bro George

Thank you for that study. But there are some verses that seem to apply to Gentiles (very few, but they are there).

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Now, to me, these verses are including Gentiles with the Jews. Maybe I am wrong, but that is how they read to me. I will agree that the overwhelming majority of these verses apply to the Jews only, but the Gentiles are not entirely left out.

And when I read Acts 2:38, I have never quite read it the way you do (not saying you are wrong or that I am right)

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I read this as Peter saying to repent of believeing Jesus was a blasphemer (what the Jews had accused Jesus of), and to believe he was indeed the Son of God. And then to follow with believer's baptism. The Holy Spirit would be received upon believeing, not because of baptism.

It is similar to Mark 16:16

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Many teach that this verse says you must be baptized to be saved, but that is not what it says, the second phrase shows that it is the believeing only that saves.

Now to me, Mark 16:16 is an excellent example of rightly dividing the word. If you do not read the second phrase, you misunderstand the first.

And I see Acts 2:38 to read in a very similar manner. Repent means to "believe", then a person should be baptized (but has nothing to do with salvation), upon believeing a person receives the Holy Ghost. Notice it says "gift". If you have to perform an act or work to receive the Holy Ghost, then it is no longer a gift.

Now, I could be wrong on this, I am going to have to study the matter more. I think you present a good case, but I do not see it 100% as you do.

But I thank you for this detailed study. I have learned much from you.