See if you can tell any difference in meaning between the first and second sentences in each of the following pairs: We are now going to get pizza for supper. vs. We are not going to get pizza for supper. You are now going to receive a brand new car for free. vs. You are not going to receive a brand new car for free. You do now have cancer and heart disease. vs. You do not have cancer and heart disease.
Now, see if you can answer these simple questions:
- Were you able to discern any difference in meaning between the first and second sentences?
- Is there much of a difference in meaning between the first and second sentences in each pair?
- If the first sentence in the pair is true, could the second sentence also be true?
- Do you believe that almost anybody can discern and understand the dramatic difference in meaning that there is between “now” and “not”?
Now, let’s try one more pair of sentences: Baptism does now save us. vs. Baptism does not save us.
The first sentence was written in Scripture by the inspired apostle Peter in First Peter 3:21. The second statement has been popularized by uninspired preachers who claim to believe and follow the Bible. Because they are contradictory in nature, they both cannot be right. So, which one is true?
From the Garden of Eden to this very hour, Satan and his allies have used “not” to contradict God and His word. Don’t believe the lie; believe the truth: Baptism doth also now save us” (1 Peter 3:21). Regardless of whether the sentence is discussing pizza for supper, a new car, bodily illnesses, or the salvation of a person’s soul, it’s easy to see that “now” and “not” aren’t synonyms.
