We are living in confused times, are we not? Our government doesn’t seem to know what a marriage is, or that an unborn baby is a real person. Where do we go to decide such things? We have a wide array of institutions and individuals claiming to be churches or Christians, but believing and practicing opposing things. Where do we go to decide what is true and what is not?
There is only one source of information that we have to help us define a Christian or a church. That source is the Bible. But someone may say, “Yes, but don’t all churches use the Bible? And don’t all Christians follow Christ? Why then are there so many different kinds of Christians and different kinds of churches?” Those are good questions, and let me be the first to admit that I don’t know all the answers. I do know that Jesus said, “Not everyone that says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” I know that Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them” when he warned us about false teachers. I know that the apostle Paul, speaking to the elders of Ephesus said, “28 Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”
I know that by the time John wrote Revelation when Jesus had him send letters to the seven churches of Asia that many churches had fallen into sin and were warned by the Lord Himself to repent or He would remove their lampstand.
I know that throughout the history of the church there have been heresies that have threatened to tear the church apart. The weak and wayward are easy prey for those who do this. The Bible itself warns us about these things over and over. We are called to test the spirits to see if they are from God. 1 John 4:1. We are urged to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. 2 Cor. 13:5. We are called to contend earnestly for the faith. Jude 3. These commands to test ourselves and others and to defend the faith are not given lightly.
Titus says that elders must hold firmly to the word as it was taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound teaching and refute those who contradict it. Titus 1:9. Paul told Titus that there were many going around teaching things that were destructive to the church and that they must be silenced.
The point is: When we don’t measure our own faith by scripture and define the church by scripture, we can easily be blown about by every wind of teaching and by the false doctrines of men. Eph. 4:14. We need to follow Jesus Christ according to His word and His ways, defining things as faithfully as possible by the scriptures.
When I lived in New Hampshire I met a man named Bruce Gordon who was a Reformed Presbyterian minister. We began studying together about what the Bible says concerning what it means to be a Christian. Over the months that passed we became very close friends. We built a great love and respect for one another. At one point we were having coffee in deep discussion about baptism and Bruce said, “Greg, either you are going to convert me, or I’m going to convert you, we can’t keep this up.” Bruce and I never came to agree on what the scriptures say about being baptized and he moved away and we lost contact not long after that conversation. He would always give me a book and I would always just point to scriptures. He loved that, and agreed that the Bible is God’s word and sufficient. He even began offering communion each Sunday as he came to understand that was a biblical model.
One of the books he gave me was this one by John MacArthur. Let me share with you a couple of sections. P. 21, first paragraph and p. 37, first paragraph. The book goes on to define what it means to follow Jesus Christ using many scriptures, but when he discusses baptism he dismisses it as having nothing to do with salvation. Why? I’m not sure, but my humble opinion is that his theology stands in the way of accepting it. The scriptures certainly do not.
Let me say up front that I believe the Bible teaches that baptism is NOT a religious ritual that has NOTHING to do with salvation or becoming a Christian. In fact, I believe that the Bible teaches just the opposite. Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is for believers in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who repent or turn from darkness to follow Jesus Christ, and who are baptized for the remission of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit… this is biblical, not optional.
Listen to this: Francis Chan on baptism youtube clip. I find it interesting that this guy is discovering this and teaching it at the same time when some in our churches are letting go of this very same teaching of scripture so that they can accept others who don’t believe it.
God’s word has placed baptism in direct connection with the gospel of Jesus Christ. See this comparison of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and Romans 6:1-4. Do you see how the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is called the gospel in 1 Corinthians? We received it, we take our stand on it, we are saved by it, we must hold firmly to it. This gospel is about the person, words and works of Jesus Christ, and specifically as He gave his life on the cross, was placed in a tomb, but rose victorious over sin and death on the third day and lives as Lord and Savior today.
Romans shows us: Baptism is into Jesus Christ, into His death, where we are buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. We "obey the gospel." 2 Thess. 1:8.
This act of baptism marks the beginning of our salvation in Christ. It is the birthday of every Christian. Jesus gave the disciples this commission: Go and make disciples: (how?) baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
Jesus words in Mark 16:15-16 are these: Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. He who does not believe shall be condemned.
Peter’s words in Acts 2:38 after preaching the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and after announcing how God made this Jesus, whom they crucified both Lord and Christ was asked by those who heard him: men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter replied exactly according to what Jesus had told him saying, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Not "be baptized BECAUSE of forgiveness of sins" as some teach. But like Jesus in Matthew 26:28 said, using the same greek word "eis," this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many "eis" for the remission of sins. Matthew understood that "eis" means not BECAUSE OF but IN ORDER THAT. Jesus didn’t shed his blood "because" our sins were already remitted or forgiven. Jesus shed his blood "eis" in order that our sins would be remitted, or, "for the remission of sins." Peter makes the exact same phrase of Matthew 26:28 apply to baptism in Acts 2:38. Those who say Peter didn’t mean that baptism was FOR remission of sins are mistaken. Their theology seems to make them twist this to fit a view that baptism is a work of merit instead of an act of grace).
In Acts 22:16 Annanias told Saul of Tarsus, after Saul had met Jesus on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, and had sat for three days fasting, praying and waiting for instruction from Christ: Annanias said, “Why are you waiting, arise, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord!”
Paul later wrote about baptism to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians where he described the meaning of baptism and how we enter Christ through it, are made children of God in it, are united together in God with it, buried and raised with Christ by it.
God’s word puts baptism in a very important place. Many believers today try to put baptism in a very unimportant place, make it optional, or at least disconnected with salvation. There is great fear that if you accept baptism in connection with salvation you will be teaching salvation through works and not by grace through faith. You will be adding to the finished work of Christ on the cross. You will be denying the very gospel of Christ! These same believers often replace the water of baptism with the Spirit, so that when Paul connects baptism with salvation, it must not be water baptism but Spirit baptism he is talking about. Why? Because of the preconception that water baptism is a work.
Interestingly, there are some believers in Christ who believe in baptism in water, but that don’t think you have the Holy Spirit in you as a Christian. They replace the Holy Spirit with the word. They would argue all day that baptism in water is necessary, but that receiving the Holy Spirit is actually not receiving the Holy Spirit, but memorizing scripture.
Let’s just close with this: the Bible nowhere envisions an unbaptized Christian. The Bible nowhere envisions a church that contradicts the great commission of Christ to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that Jesus Christ has commanded. I want us to be a real biblical church, defining our faith by scripture. Don’t you? I know that there’s a lot more than baptism involved. But let’s start there and all agree on that one and commit not to stray from what Jesus commissions us to do in making disciples.
Go and make disciples baptizing them…
