The New Testament Church; Its Plan Matt. 16:13-19
INTRO.: Walter Scott was a preacher in Pittsburgh, Pa., who moved to Steubenville Ohio in 1826. This brought him into the area of the Mahoning Baptist Assoc. His speaking abilities were well known and, even though he was not a member of the Association, nor even a Baptist, they selected him as their area evangelist the following year. This was still frontier and Scott’s preaching had a powerful influence on religious life. He brought new life to the sixteen churches of the Mahoning Assoc. Some of his views were not accepted and he was eventually expelled by the Baptists. For thirty years he converted and baptized an average of 1000 people a year.
Scott had studied the Scriptures for years, believing that if God wanted all men to be saved, He must have revealed a simple plan that would apply to everyone. He could not accept the idea of a subjective "religious experience" that was generally required by churches of his day. He could not agree to the requirement of learning lengthy creeds.
Eventually, he perceived that the simple proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God was the key to bringing people to Christ. He reasoned that if this could save 3000 on Pentecost, it could save his hearers as well. He began to preach that message.
Scott also discovered from the New Testament there were certain responses to that message that bring a person into Christ. He named six: faith, repentance baptism, remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. This became the original "Plan of Salvation." He saw all six elements as equally important parts of "the plan." He called his plan "the restored Gospel." It was so simple and clear that it launched the fastest growing religious movement on the continent til that time. Later, the plan was shortened. The last two items were combined so the elements could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Scott would ride into a town and get a crowd of school children together. He would show them the plan, listing one item for each finger. Then he would tell them to double up their fist and put it in their pocket. When they got home, they were to pull it out and show their parents what they had on their fingers. The children would invite their parents to come to the schoolhouse and hear Scott preach that evening. (The Stone Campbell Movement by Leroy Garrett pp. 218, 219)
Let’s examine the plan Walter Scott discovered in the New Testament.
I. The heart of the plan involved preaching the message that Jesus is the Son of God:
A. Jesus clarified His identity late in the second year of His earthly ministry in Matt. 16:13-16;
1. There were many rumors out about the identity of Jesus, but His disciples were in the best position to know.
2. Jesus wanted to settle it in their minds before He began to teach them about His coming death and resurrection.
3. In response to Peter’s profession of belief (v. 16) He declared God to be the source of this truth and promised to establish His everlasting Church upon the premise.
4. Now, He is ready to begin serious teaching about His suffering to come. Verse 21.
B. Jesus’ friend, Martha of Bethany, was one of the very earliest to grasp this truth: John 11:27
1. Jesus makes what seems to me to be His boldest claim; "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;" He then asks Martha to affirm her faith in Him. John 11:2-27
2. Her response "you are the son of God." seems to settle the issue for her. It implies He can do anything and will live up to His claims. He proved it by raising Lazarus.
3. This is one of the miraculous signs John recorded so men may know Jesus is the Son of God and may find life in His Name. Jn. 20:31.
C. Saul of Tarsus was a powerful and energetic persecutor of the Church until he met the risen Christ on the Damascus Road. The story appears in Acts 9, 22, and 26.
1. The One appearing to him plainly claimed to be Jesus and declared Himself to be the victim of Saul’s persecution. Saul knew Who he had seen.
2. After three days we may safely presume were filled with tearful prayers and concluded with a heartfelt repentance, Saul was visited by a preacher of the Gospel who enabled him to see again and instructed him to be baptized.
3. Then, Saul began to preach Christ in the synagogue and the burden of his message was, that Jesus is the Son of God. (Acts 9:20)
4. Saul was convinced and later wrote Jesus was "declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead" Rom. 1:4
II. The result of preaching that message involves three actions on the part of man and three on the part of God:
A. Faith: A person must believe Jesus is the Son of God:
1. Without faith, it is impossible to please God Heb. 11:6. I Jn. 5:5 "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
2. The source of faith is the Word God delivered through Jesus and His apostles. Rom. 10:17
3. We live by faith in the Son of God. Gal. 2:20
B. Repentance: A person must have a change of heart and mind that will lead him to an honest desire and effort to change his life.
1. The classic example is the story of the prodigal son told by Jesus: Lk. 15:11ff
2. The sincerity of his repentance is seen by what he did. V. 20
3. The Scriptures connect repentance with remission of sins. Jesus remindedHis disciples of the teaching of Scripture that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His Name. Lk. 24:47
4. Paul concluded his message to the Athenians with a call to repentance. Acts 17:30
C. Baptism: One must obey the Bible’s command to submit to Christian baptism. It is the beginning of our obedience to the Lord.
1. Many say, "there is no power in baptism to save." Of course, that’s true. The power is in the death of Christ. But, when we have been baptized into Christ, we have been baptized into His death. Romans 6:3
2. Gal. 3:26, 27 makes baptism an unavoidable consequence of true faith and a means of "clothing" ourselves with Christ.
3. So, today, we echo the call of the Apostle Peter to those who have come to believe in Jesus; "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" Acts 2:38
D. The forgiveness of sins: The first element that applies to God. He alone can forgive sins.
1. The lawyers were right when they said, "Only God can forgive sins." Mk. 2:7 But, Jesus proved He could by healing the sinner and thus let His enemies state His claim to deity.
2. God forgives our sins in response to our faith and obedience.
E. Eternal life: This comes as a result of having our sins forgiven and it comes with a guarantee; the gift of God’s spirit to live within us.
1. The command to repent and be baptized was coupled with a promise in Acts 2:38. Furthermore, the promise was for all the Lord would call.
2. The Holy Spirit within us is a mark of God’s ownership and a deposit on our eternal inheritance. He comes into our lives when we are obedient to God. Eph. 1:13, 14
3. He is a great source of blessing and strength, but that is another entire sermon.
CONC.: When Walter Scott began preaching his message on the plan of salvation, his first convert was a man named William Armand, who was not even in the congregation. The building in New Lisbon Ohio was so full the crowd had overflowed into the yard and William was listening to Scott from the fringe of the crowd. As it turned out, he had been studying the Scriptures for years with the same intention as Scott and had reached the same conclusions. For years, he had been looking for the a preacher who would baptize him for the forgiveness of sins on a simple confession of faith in Jesus as God’s Son. Every preacher he had approached had disappointed him. He had made up his mind that if he ever heard a preacher who preached the Gospel like Peter on Pentecost, he would obey it. As Scott preached, William became more interested and gradually worked his way forward until, at the invitation time, he stepped out of the crowd and obeyed the Gospel.
Perhaps you have come to the place in your life where you are ready to make the same decision. If so, now is the time.
