“I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” [1]
Colosse was united to Laodicea in the Apostle’s mind. When Paul thought of one congregation, he thought of the other. These two congregations were united in more than merely being in close proximity, however. Obviously, at the time Paul wrote this letter to the saints in Colossae, these two churches shared a great deal in common. As an example, the Apostle acknowledged that he struggled in his labours on behalf of these two churches [COLOSSIANS 4:13]. The two churches were also charged with the responsibility of exchanging greetings as they were to exchange letters that the Apostle had written each of them [COLOSSIANS 4:15-16]. What Paul said to one would be applicable, and even beneficial, to the other. It is quite possible that these two churches may have shared pastors at one time, or at the very least shared interest in one of the pastors. At the conclusion of this letter, Paul addresses a man named Archippus [COLOSSIANS 4:17], who was likely the son of Philemon [cf. PHILEMON 2]. From the tone of the verse to which I just now referred, situated as it is near the end of the Colossian letter, it could even be inferred that this man Archippus was the pastor of the Laodicean church.
I suggest that these two churches shared more in common than simply being congregations of followers of the Son of God. Even if none of the speculation I have just advanced is accurate, it is nevertheless true that at the time Paul wrote this letter to the Congregation in Colossae, these two churches were united with that which fully unites God’s people until that spiritual union should be voluntarily broken by one of the parties. You know very well that there is a unity of the Spirit that is recognised between those congregations that seek the Lord and serve Him.
Was there a break in fellowship between these two churches? I raise the issue because John, writing only a few decades later, conveyed the scathing message of the Risen Christ to Laodicea. Laodicea had become a church which sickened the Lord. They had grown lukewarm, tepid, neither hot nor cold. Did the church at Colosse seek to maintain a semblance of unity with their fellow church of the Laodiceans? Did the church at Colosse maintain close relations with their sister congregation? The two congregations could literally look across the valley and see their respective cities, but did they continue as one in the Faith? The question will be answered through considering the Word of God. I leave it to you to weigh the teaching of the Word and judge for yourselves whether the two churches might have maintained their confession of unity.
We Baptists pride ourselves on our independence. We speak boldly of the autonomy of the local church. By this we mean that no outside agency can dictate to a church in matters of faith and practise. No government agency can tell us what to believe. No denominational agency can tell us how we are to conduct our service to the Lord. No sister church can dictate to us how we shall worship. Instead we are fiercely free in the determination of and in the implementation of our service before the Lord.
In the text chosen for the message this day the Apostle speaks of encouragement and of unity. The encouragement of which he speaks and the unity to which he refers are those precious commodities which are always and only revealed when faith is centred in Christ the Lord. The Apostle rejoices in the orderliness and in the firmness exhibited by these two churches. He commends these two churches and encourages them in that which glorifies the Lord Christ. So long as the churches followed the apostolic teaching, they enjoyed sweet communion. However, as soon as one departed from that apostolic doctrine, there could be no further communion. Just so, it is our doctrine which unites us and not any organisation. That doctrine constitutes a rope of sand with strength of steel.
WE CHRISTIANS ARE UNITED BY LOVE. I know that some among us have convinced themselves that love is a feeling, an emotion. These individuals are focused on their feelings and thus they gauge the quality of the love they hold for others, or they gauge the love others reveal for them, by how they are made to feel. I am aware that when I avow that we who believe are united by love that these same individuals will likely imagine that I mean love for one another. While that may be great “pop” psychology, it is neither good science nor is it sound theology. To say we “love one another” can prove rather superficial, especially if we are focused on how we feel about one another.
In fact we do love one another; but we love one another because we have received the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We must understand that the love that unites us as Christians is our mutual love for Christ our Saviour. To the degree that I love Christ, I love my fellow Christians deeply from the heart. This does not mean that I am particularly concerned about how they feel about me or even how I may feel about them, but it does mean that I am greatly concerned with how they act. Godly love is concerned with how it can benefit the recipient and not to merely make another person feel good about himself or herself. The weakness of the faithful in these days is that we are thoroughly versed in the philosophy of this dying world, and deficient in our grasp of biblical concepts. Consequently, we are concerned about how others feel rather than being concerned that they live in such a way that Christ is honoured in their lives.
That love for Christ is in view in what the Apostle has written becomes evident from reading the preceding passage. Note how the Apostle has written, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” [COLOSSIANS 1:24-29].
In espousing this position, the Apostle is making it abundantly clear that he is concerned that the people of God are united in love for the true Faith. He speaks of Christ’s afflictions and of his own struggles which he had endured for the sake of the body. His evident concern is to present the Word of God faithfully and in its fullness, convinced that it is the mystery of salvation. In short, Paul is focused on the Son of God. Clearly, the Apostle’s first priority is the presentation of the Gospel; and for this cause he testified that he struggled “with all His energy” [COLOSSIANS 1:29].
Don’t lose sight of the truth that the common factor binding us in love for one another is love for Christ. Without Christ’s love reigning supreme in our lives, we are incapable of rising above mere affection for one another. Without the love of Christ controlling us we haven’t the capacity to move beyond mere feelings.
Concerning the love of Christ, we have received this vital teaching in the Word: “We love because He first love us” [1 JOHN 4:19]. From what is written, we know that godly love is unnatural. If it were natural, we would need no encouragement to love one another. If godly love was a natural aspect of life, we would each be lovers by nature. In fact, this verse compels to say that it is impossible for us to love others until we have received the love which God has for us. Notice the context in which that verse is found. Before writing the words of that NINETEENTH VERSE, the Apostle of Love has written, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” [1 JOHN 4:10-11]. God’s Spirit is instructing us to give serious thought to our love life.
GALATIANS 2:20 teaches us that the love of Christ is a sacrificial love. Listen carefully to what that verse says: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” It should be evident that if I experience that divine love I will find myself willing to sacrifice myself for fellow saints.
The love God demonstrates toward us is focused on the sacrifice of Christ as revealed in the following biblical statements, all taken from the Letter to the saints in Rome. Here is the first statement for your consideration: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” [ROMANS 5:8].
Reading further in Romans, we read what I would hope is a readily recognised statement among God’s people. “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” [ROMANS 8:28].
As the Apostle continues instructing those to whom he is writing, he testifies, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” [ROMANS 8:35]? Then, Paul follows up with this statement: “[Neither] height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ROMANS 8:39]. Every Christian relationship is dependent on the love He showers on me.
Let me be pointed in making this observation concerning what is written in the Word: if the focus of my love leads me to value the love of others by how they make me feel, I have no concept of the meaning of divine love. Ouch! Did you hear that? This thought devastates the concept of love that is commonly accepted even among the churches in this day. It is necessary that we address this issue because there are yet far too many who are found among the churches of the Living God who are so focused on themselves that it is questionable whether they have yet experienced the love of God.
Truth as written in the Word compels me to stress yet again the fact that we are united by love—love for Christ and love for the truth delivered in the Word of God! If we thus love Christ, we will love the brotherhood of believers. The expression of that love will have little to do with how we feel or even with how others respond. We will express that love through making every effort to maintain a spirit of unity instead of attempting to make the church adapt to our concepts or our feelings. Dear people, it is not love that leads us to manipulate and to micromanage the attitudes of the people of God. Love is expressed through a spirit of submission to one another, rejoicing in the appointment which Christ gives to each of us, and walking together in truth.
LOVE RESULTS IN COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING. The maturation of saints is hard work. Paul speaks of “struggle” such as an athlete would endure in the arena, of “wearisome toil,” and of “suffering” all within a few brief sentences. The power the Apostle displayed in all this demanding work was power given by Christ. The purpose for all the Apostle’s labour was to equip the church to resist false teaching, being thus encouraged and obtaining unity. There is no full knowledge apart from moral commitment. Complete understanding results from complete yielding. This understanding is centred in Christ.
As he writes the Church at Colosse, Paul writes of rejoicing in his sufferings experienced on their behalf [see COLOSSIANS 1:24]. Paul doesn’t write of how he feels. Such sentimentality is the concern of people with time on their hands and who are sufficiently unchallenged as to focus on themselves instead of considering how they may build others in the Faith. The Apostle invested his time warning and teaching everyone [see COLOSSIANS 1:28], because deadly false teaching was even then threatening the churches. The Gnostic heresy had invaded the churches, and the churches situated in the Lycus River Valley [Colosse, Laodicea, and Hieropolis] appeared to have been especially vulnerable. Paul’s concern was the production of mature believers, as is evident by his words in COLOSSIANS 1:28 which state his longing to “present everyone mature in Christ.”
While we cannot speak with complete authority on the content or presentation of the Gnostic heresy, we know enough about that teaching which competed with the Faith of Christ to present the essence of that strange doctrine. Whatever the particular branch of Gnosticism, the Gnostics claimed to have an elevated spiritual understanding. This is the basis of the title of the religion, derived from the Greek term for “knowledge.” The Gnostics, either explicitly or implicitly, claimed special knowledge which made them more spiritual than others. In their estimate, their special knowledge made them superior to others, and so they were released from the normal rules of society, especially the society of the faithful. Among the Gnostics was an emphasis upon feeling, upon ascribing to the ordinances magical power, and upon spiritual understanding of events.
Elements of Gnosticism are evident among the churches even in this late day when we see teaching which emphasises the spiritual meaning of a text to the exclusion of the practical application. Whenever an individual begins to exalt himself or herself above the people of God, claiming superior knowledge to the redeemed of God, that individual is flirting with Gnosticism. Whether an individual claims a spiritual encounter or special insight unavailable to others except through that one’s special experience, the heresy of Gnosticism again is being promoted. Should an individual claim a dispensation to do that which is patently immoral or unethical, compartmentalising life into physical and spiritual realms, the heresy of Gnosticism is again vying for legitimacy.
What I find interesting is that although the Gnostics claimed superior knowledge, it was Christians alone who had any possibility of truly understanding God in that day. Thus it is today. Today, Christians must distinguish between a myriad of voices, each claiming to present “something more.” It is true that the Christian Faith is presented as a “mystery” in our text [COLOSSIANS 2:2-3], but a “mystery” in biblical terms is not identical to the term as it is employed in secular usage. In our language, a mystery is an enigma, something over which we puzzle and wonder. That is not the case in biblical terms.
A mustérion, a mystery, is not an enigma, something that is dark and obscure; rather a mustérion is that which is openly seen. A mustérion is the revealed mind of God. In an earlier day, those who worshiped God would have been ignorant of what is now recognised as common knowledge. In most instances, the term mustérion revolves around the revelation that Christ would make for Himself a people from both the Jews and Gentiles. We read in ROMANS 11:25, “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” It is a mystery that Israel is hardened in part to allow the full number of the Gentiles has come to faith in Christ Jesus.
Again, we see Paul write, “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith” [ROMANS 16:25-26]. It is a mystery that Christ has been revealed so that all nations might believe and obey Him.
Writing in the Ephesian Encyclical, Paul testifies that it is a mystery that we who are Gentiles are chosen in Christ [see EPHESIANS 1:3-14], especially since we are chosen to share in the Body of Christ together with the apostles and prophets [see EPHESIANS 3:4-12].
There is also the mystery of godliness which Paul describes in his first missive to Timothy. The Apostle writes, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
“[Christ] was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”
[1 TIMOTHY 3:16]
Christ Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin and vindicated by the Holy Spirit. He was seen by angels, proclaimed among the Gentiles with the impact that many believed. Moreover, He conquered death, walked among those who knew Him in the flesh, and was taken up into Heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. The very presence of Jesus, God’s only Son, and His sacrifice and ascension are a mystery.
Each of these Scriptures that I have cited point to Christ and our relationship to Him. Another great mystery which is presented in the New Testament is that which comforts us with the knowledge that “we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” [see 1 CORINTHIANS 15:51]. Even this final mystery speaks of our ultimate relationship with Christ the Lord. We shall be changed into His image, and this is a mystery.
Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. In love He predestined us to be adopted into His family and to be presented complete in Him. It was the Risen Son of God who gave us apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers to prepare us for works of service. Because He loves us He created the churches wherein we may be built up as we all grow toward unity in the Faith and in the knowledge of Him as the Son of God, always moving toward becoming mature in Him.
If we love the Son of God, we love the church. And if we love the church we love those whom Christ gave to us. We accept those whom He placed in the Body as gifts meant to enrich us; we know that He expects us to receive His gifts. Therefore, we will endeavour to do all that we can to build them up to the praise of His glory, confident that that which builds up one another is knowledge of Christ Jesus the Master and an understanding of His will. Anything that detracts from the knowledge of Christ threatens the unity of the Body. This point is critical, especially when the churches tend toward becoming socially engaged even to the exclusion of sound preaching and teaching.
There is nothing deeper than the doctrine of Christ. There is nothing more difficult to fully grasp and nothing which is easier to understand than this doctrine. This doctrine becomes for us that rope of sand with strength of steel. It is this which binds us together and it is this which keeps us serving. The remainder of the message is an exploration of how that doctrine is to be expressed in the church. I invite each on listening to consider in practical terms what the doctrine of Christ means. How will holding the doctrine of Christ have an impact in our lives?
LOVE WILL LEAD US TO CHRIST AND KEEP US FROM ERROR. Only the full knowledge and wisdom of Christ can keep us from being deceived by plausible arguments. Those who would lead us into error use plausible arguments, and these plausible arguments mask grave error because the arguments are false. Truth and persuasion do not always correlate. Error can be persuasive, as evidenced by world leaders such as Adolph Hitler. Error can be persuasive as evidenced by the lies promoted by national leaders on many occasions. The promises of presidents and prime ministers are often plausible, but false.
And ecclesiastical leaders often present polished and plausible lies. As evidence that this is the case, one need only consider the words of past moderators of the United Church of Canada, or the statements of multiple prelates of the Anglican Church of Canada or the statements given by prelates of Episcopal Church in the United States. Whether one is compelled by truth or persuaded by error depends on whether the listener possesses the full truth and is committed to it. Thus, the Apostle was delighted by the evidence that the Colossians were orderly and firm in their faith in Christ.
What doctrine makes us Baptist? Why are we not Presbyterian? We admire their scholarship. Why are we not Pentecostal? We admire their enthusiasm in worship. Why can we not be Anglican? We admire their solemn attitudes in worship. The doctrine which historically distinguished Baptists from all other communions was our insistence upon the priesthood of the believer. This means that we hold that each individual is responsible before God for faith and practise. There is no denominational covenant that can bring us to God. There is neither salvation nor merit of any kind within any denomination. Each individual alone is the sole arbiter of his or her conscience before God. Each individual must determine what is right and what is wrong. The sole criterion by which we judge our actions is the Word of God. Thus, we are committed to the Word.
The consequence of this teaching leads us to the insistence that since salvation is by faith, each individual must answer to God for his or her faith—or lack thereof. It is the individual who receives salvation by faith and thus it is the individual who shall be required to answer to God for both the faith professed and the outworking of that faith. And there are immediate consequences arising from holding to this biblical teaching.
Holding to this doctrine means that we must reject as invalid any baptism that was performed to secure salvation or any baptism that was performed in the hope that the act would secure merit with the Lord God. That one who was baptised in order to become a Christian has no baptism at all. The one who was baptised to be a better Christian has no baptism at all. Scriptural baptism is administered by a church because the one baptised has become a follower of Christ and not in order to make one a follower of Christ.
This means that we must in good conscience reject as invalid any baptism that is performed in order to make the candidate a member of the Body of Christ. That one baptised in order to become a member of a particular church has no baptism at all. This would exclude as having received an invalid baptism those who were baptised by or into any paedobaptist church (e.g. the United Church of Canada, any of the various Presbyterian and/or Methodists Churches, etc.). Those who claim membership in all such communions may be Christians, and assuredly they are Christians if they have faith in the Risen Lord of Glory. However, they have not received baptism as prescribed by the Word of God, and they are thus unbaptised.
In the same manner, we must reject as unbaptised anyone who was baptised in order to become a Christian. This would mean that those who were baptised in a Campbellite congregation (Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ), many of the assorted Lutheran Churches, any of the various Anglican Churches, any of the several Catholic Churches, or Eastern Orthodox Churches, etc., have not received valid baptism.
The doctrine of the priesthood of the believer means that we must reject as unscriptural all teaching which teaches or implies that one can obtain merit with Christ through human effort or which teaches that one must maintain their saved status through their own effort. Whenever any religious authority teaches that human effort is important in obtaining salvation or in maintaining salvation, that must be viewed as errant teaching and the church holding such views is guilty of teaching heresy.
This leads us to conclude that the church has no authority to compel faith nor does any agency outside the local church have authority over that body. Just as we cannot compel an aberrant member to obey our doctrinal position, neither may an outside agency—whether a convention, an association or a union—compel us to adhere to denominational doctrine. We can, however, require those in membership to live according to biblical standards. In a similar vein, those groups with whom we might affiliate have every right to insist that we live according to standards prescribed in the Word of God. Should a member refuse to obey biblical instruction, we may only debar that rebellious individual from the Lord’s Table in an expression of disfellowship. Even so, those agencies with whom we fellowship may only declare us out of fellowship.
Why can we not encourage people to become Anglicans or Catholics? What would keep us as Baptists from co-operating with Presbyterians in church planting and missionary endeavour? Why would we choose to co-operate with churches which call themselves Baptist while avoiding co-operation with Charismatic churches? We will, with the Psalmist, aver,
“I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.”
[PSALM 119:63]
We rejoice with the angels in heaven over every soul saved, knowing that each redeemed soul is saved by faith in Christ the Lord. We know the truth that we are taught when the Apostle writes, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” [EPHESIANS 2:8-9]. However, we are assured that those who are saved within some communions are saved in spite of the doctrine and not because of the doctrine that is taught therein. Should a church teach, either by example or by precept, that salvation is found only within their organisation, we must in conscience reject that teaching as unsound and heretical. Love leads us to Christ and keeps us from embracing such error.
When a religious community teaches that salvation lies within what that community identifies as sacraments or that God’s free gift of life in the Beloved Son is somehow enhanced through observance of sacraments, we are conscience-bound to reject that teaching as errant. Love leads us to Christ and keeps us from falling into condemnation through such deceitful and such deadly error.
When ecclesiastical leaders teach that children are made members of the Kingdom of God by a rite, stealing their right and their responsibility to obey Christ with a decision made with mature knowledge, we must in love of the truth reject that teaching as fallacious. Love leads us to Christ and keeps us from accepting such grievous error.
When a religious organisation teaches that there are multiple classes of Christians, or a minority within that organisation assume themselves or assume a select few to be superior saints who achieve some advanced level, whether through an experience in the flesh or through a supposed experience in the spirit, we must reject that teaching as errant. Love leads us to Christ and keeps us from allowing such error to hold validity.
When a religious group teaches that there exists an authority higher than the Word of God, we are conscience bound to reject that teaching as unscriptural, as errant, as heretical. Love leads us to Christ and keeps us from error.
When a church teaches that there is a distinction between the members of the Body, some being endowed with authority beyond that which is stated in the Word, we must of necessity reject that teaching. Love leads us to Christ and keeps us from error.
LOVE IS NOT A DOCTRINE TO BE EXPOUNDED; IT IS A FAITH TO BE LIVED. The words immediately beyond our text serve to draw the message to a logical conclusion. The Apostle states the issue as follows: “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” [COLOSSIANS 2:6-7]. How did you receive Christ Jesus as Lord? There are not two ways to Christ—there is but one. Either the Word is true when the Apostle states, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” [EPHESIANS 2:8-9], or the Word errs grievously. If you are saved, you became a Christian by faith in the Risen Son of God. If you became a Christian by faith, why would you change after having been saved?
I remember a conversation I had with my own Dad only a year before he passed into eternity. He was quite agitated that I had declared myself to be a Baptist and he was trying to get me to “see the light.” He employed a number of arguments. My grandfather had “baptised” me and my decision was hurting the family. How could I really believe that strange doctrine which taught that salvation was eternal without my own efforts? The discussions ranged far and wide throughout the better part of one afternoon and well into the evening hours.
At last he used his clincher. “Son,” he began, “if I believed what you are saying I would go out and take my fill of sin.”
“Ah, Dad,” I retorted, “that is the rub. I’ve had my fill of sin.”
With that I asked him how he was saved, and he confessed that it was by faith in Christ. “If you began by faith and were unable to do anything to make Him love you,” I challenged, “what could you do to keep yourself saved? If you were too weak to save yourself in the first place, how could you be so arrogant as to think that you could somehow add to your salvation at a later time?” There was no answer.
Dear people, if you began by grace, continue to live by grace. If you began with works, continue to labour in the pitiful hopelessness that perhaps you can somehow secure your salvation. In that instance, however, you will too soon discover that the harder you labour the less you will know of love. You may share a measure of sorrow and grief with those who labour with you, but you will never the experience true love found only in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. The sole concern of those who struggle with you will of necessity be how to use you to advance their own agenda.
Throughout most of North America we witness a growing tendency to reduce the Faith of Christ Jesus to a sort of religious mutual admiration society. Whether they possess His life or not, people are invited to be part of the church. The emphasis is upon belonging to an organisation that will make us feel good about ourselves. The great problem with this “feel-good” religion is that it has few doctrinal roots and seeks to reduce the Faith to an experience embracing the lowest common denominator. While that may have some value in avoiding immediate conflict, it ultimately serves to insult the teaching of Christ our Lord. Worse yet, such a movement is certain to ensure that the church will be neither hot nor cold but will instead become a tepid religious society.
It does seem that Jesus has something to say about those churches which are lukewarm. The Revelator records the Risen Lord’s warning to disobedient churches. “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” [REVELATION 3:14-22].
I am quite deliberate and bold in pleading with this congregation to review its doctrine, ensuring that we seize the truth and hold firmly to the Faith once delivered to the saints. If Baptist doctrine is biblical doctrine, than boldly be Baptists. Ardently adhere to those roots which have served you well throughout past years, roots which have grounded you in love for Christ and in love for His people. If somehow such adherence is odious, then follow whatever religion you wish. Only be honest enough to admit that you have forsaken that biblical doctrine which distinguished the Faith throughout the years. Call yourself by any name you choose, only don’t besmirch this honoured name—Baptist.
As I have said repeatedly during past messages, I bear only biblical authority as declared by the Apostle when he wrote, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” [2 CORINTHIANS 11:2]. I cannot compel people to believe sound doctrine, though I am charged to teach that doctrine and plead with all to embrace that which honours Christ the Lord. I cannot force the church to do my will, much less compel the congregation to do the will of Christ the Lord. I can teach the Word of God and plead with the people who choose to honour the Lord God to submit to that which He has delivered in this Word.
Now the message is done for this day. The Word of God seems quite clear in my estimate in presenting the truth that we are to love Christ supremely. Because we love Him we will love the truth. Because we love the truth we will walk in that truth. Because we walk in the truth, we will seek to walk together with those who likewise seek to honour Christ the Lord and to walk in the truth. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
