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THE LAYING ON OF HANDS

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  And this will we do, if God permit.” (Hebrews 6:1-3).   Laying On of Hands It appears that the act of laying hands on an individual as a religious practice has its roots planted solely in the Judeo-Christian tradition.   There is no known account of this practice in ancient texts until it is mentioned in the Old Testament.   The Bible, therefore, is the only source of information concerning its origins.   It is clear in scripture that the laying on of hands was an integral part of worship to the Jews and to the early church.   Its absence from many churches in modern times is a curious omission of Biblical practice.   The laying on of hands served many...
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THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  And this will we do, if God permit” (Hebrews 6:1-3).   You will notice that Paul uses the plural “baptisms” rather than just “baptism;” but in Ephesians 4:5 he states that there is but “one baptism.”   This is because while there is truly just one baptism, that one baptism has a number of different aspects to it which make it easy to think of them as separate when, in fact, they are all part of the whole.   These aspects include water baptism (the one John the Baptist introduced, and also what Jesus and His apostles practiced), the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the baptism of fire.   There is also a baptism that Jesus mentioned when He told the apostles, “But I have a...
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