Following Jesus Without Denominationalism
Is Baptism A Necessary Part Of The Gospel? Part One
Before begin study in this lesson I would like you to note that where the scriptural text appears it will be from the ASV, being the more literal translation, will be used in order not loose scriptural meaning. Now let us begin.
Following Jesus without denominationalism begins by heeding the call of the gospel. For the Lord "calls" us through His gospel - 2 Th 2:14 “whereunto he called you through our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” As we respond to the call, the Lord Himself adds us to His church (His "called-out" group of people), not some man-made denomination - Ac 2:41 “They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.”, 47 “praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.”
In the previous lesson, I presented the gospel of Christ as containing "Facts" to believe:
1) Jesus was crucified for our sins
2) Jesus was raised from the dead
3) Jesus is exalted as king and savior
4) Jesus is coming again
I presented the gospel of Christ as containing"Commands" to obey:
1) Believe the gospel concerning Jesus Christ
2) Confess your faith in Jesus as Lord
3) Repent of your sins
4) Be baptized for the remission of your sins
5) Be faithful unto death
I presented the gospel of Christ as containing"Promises" to receive:
1) The remission of sins
2) The gift of the Holy Spirit
3) The gift of eternal life
In most cases, I have found that there is very little exception taken to the above, save for one thing: the suggestion that baptism is a necessary part of the gospel of Christ. Many people have a problem with the idea that baptism is for the remission of sins; they believe Baptism has nothing to do with God's plan of salvation. They believe to suggest baptism is necessary is to deny we are justified by grace through faith. They believe to teach baptism is for the remission of sins is to teach a salvation by works, not by grace. This raises the question, "Is Baptism A Necessary Part Of The Gospel?" In other words, is baptism really for the remission of sins? If so, then how can we say that we are justified by grace through faith, and not of works?
I believe it is helpful to answer these questions by first observing a few quotations by certain individuals none would ever question of denying that we are saved by grace through faith, Augustine, Aquinas and Luther.
AUGUSTINE (A.D. 354-430)
Referring to the efficacy of baptism, he wrote that "the salvation of man is effected in baptism"; also, that a person "is baptized for the express purpose of being with Christ." (as quoted by Jack W. Cottrell in Baptism And The Remission of Sins, College Press, 1990, p. 30)
In regards to the necessity of baptism, he refers to the "apostolic tradition, by which the Churches of Christ maintain it to be an inherent principle, that without baptism...it is impossible for any man to attain to salvation and everlasting life." (ibid., p. 30)
THOMAS AQUINAS (A.D. 1225-1274)
"...Men are bound to that without which they cannot obtain salvation. Now it is manifest that no one can obtain salvation but through Christ..."
"But for this end is baptism conferred on a man, that being regenerated thereby, he may be incorporated in Christ."
"Consequently it is manifest that all are bound to be baptized: and that without baptism there is no salvation for men." (ibid., p. 31)
MARTIN LUTHER...
In answer to the question, "What gifts or benefits does Baptism bestow?", Luther replied in his Small Catechism, "It effects forgiveness of sins." He also wrote concerning the sinner: "Through Baptism he is bathed in the blood of Christ and is cleansed from sins." Again, he wrote: "To put it most simply, the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save." (ibid., p. 32-34). In his commentary on Ro 6:3, he wrote: "Baptism has been instituted that it should lead us to the blessings (of this death) and through such death to eternal life. Therefore IT IS NECESSARY that we should be baptized into Jesus Christ and His death." (Commentary On Romans, Kregel Publications, p. 101). In his commentary on Ga 3:27, he wrote: "This is diligently to be noted, because of the fond and fantastical spirits, who go about to deface the majesty of baptism, and speak wickedly of it. Paul, contrariwise, commendeth it, and setteth it forth with honourable titles, calling it, 'the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost'. And here also he saith, that 'all ye that are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.' Wherefore baptism is a thing of great force and
efficacy." (Commentary On Galatians, Kregel Publications, p.222).
I trust that we all know that these individuals believed strongly in justification by grace through faith, and not of works (see Ep 2:8-9). How then could they say such things about baptism? The key is to understand "who" is at work in baptism. Is it man, or is it God? The saving power involved in baptism does to sve because the subject merits salvation. Nearly everyone I talk to who takes issue with baptism being necessary, or having any part of the gospel plan of salvation, initially misunderstands this point. They assume that if baptism is necessary, one is saved by meritorious works. They assume that if one is baptized for the remission of sins, one has earned their salvation. The majority believe this because this is what they have been taught by the clergy of their denomination. But they need to listen carefully to Martin Luther. In response to those who would call this a kind of works-salvation, he said "Yes, it is true that our works are of no use for salvation. Baptism, however, is not our work but God's." (ibid., p. 32-34). Again, "Luther correctly describes the working of baptism thus: 'How can water do such great things? It is not the water indeed that does them, but the Word of God which is in and with the water (God's giving hand), and faith which trusts such word of God in the water (man's receiving hand).'" (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, page 398-399).
Baptism saves because “God” is at work. Note that Peter clearly says that "baptism doth also now save us" (KJV) - 1 Pe 3:21. But as observed by Luther, it is God who saves us in baptism:
He is the one at work in baptism - Co 2:11-13 ("the working of God") “in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;”
Other than possessing faith in Christ and God, MAN IS PASSIVE in baptism like a patient submitting to the skill of a physician to remove cancer. So we, seeking the removal of the cancer of sin, submitting to the Great Physician to cut away our sins by the blood of Christ, which He does in baptism It is God who makes us alive together with Christ, having forgiven all trespasses
- Co 2:13 (see above). As stated in ISBE: "Baptism does not produce salutary effects ~ex~opere~operato~, i.e. by the mere external performance of the baptismal action. No
instrument with which Divine grace works does. Even the preaching of the gospel is void of saving results if not 'mixed with faith' (Heb 4.2, AV)." It is not the "act" of immersion that saves, though salvation occurs at that time. It is GOD who saves in baptism, by virtue of grace, when one believes in Christ! But because God commands baptism, and saves us in baptism, it is proper to say with Peter: "baptism doth also now save us" - 1 Pe 3:21 and with Jesus: "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved..." - Mk 16:16. When we properly understand that it is God doing the work of salvation in baptism, then we can better understand why the command to be baptized is such an integral part of the gospel.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part Two
Following Jesus Without Denominationalism
Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part Two
Dear friend, has faith in what Christ did for you on the cross and sorrow over your sins moved you to the point that you have made the decision to change? If so, then you are ready for the culminating act of faith and obedience to the gospel of Christ. To be baptized for the remission of your sins. Baptism is clearly a part of the gospel message that Jesus wanted His disciples to proclaim - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."; Mt 28:18-20 "Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." Peter proclaimed baptism for the remission of sins in his first sermon - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit." Paul related that he was commanded to be baptized "to wash away sins" - Ac 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ Not that there is anything in the act of immersion (the meaning of "baptizo") that merits or earns forgiveness, but it is simply the point of time in which God by His grace unites us with Christ in His death, and by His working in conjunction with our faith raises us to walk in newness of life! Ro 6:3-6 describes baptism as the point in time we are united into the death of Christ at which point we die to sin and thereby raised to newness of life. Co 2:11-13 reveals that in baptism we are buried with Christ and then raised through faith in God's working who makes us alive in Christ by forgiving us of our sins! Dear friend, have you been baptized for the remission of your sins? If not, are you willing to let God cleanse you through the blood of His Son and raise you to a new life?
Those who gladly received the preaching of the apostles were baptized, and the Lord added them to His church - Ac 2:41,47 "On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized." - "while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved." So while in one sense the "commands" of the gospel end with the command to be baptized, there is also the command of our Lord for faithfulness. Jesus wanted His disciples to teach others "to observe all things that I have commanded you" - Mt 28:19-20. Jesus exhorted His church in Ephesus: "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Re 2:10. The need for continued faithfulness is paramount: For believers can develop an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from God - He 3:12 "My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God." For believers can become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin - He 3:13 "You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn." And believers become partakers of Christ only "IF we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end" - He 3:14 Therefore the need for such exhortations as the one given by Paul: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." - 1 Co 15:58
Finally, to fully accept the call of the gospel, we need to receive the "promises" of the gospel. The first as stated in Acts 2:38 is to receive the remission of sins, so that your sins will be forgiven. As stated by Jesus, remission of sins was to be proclaimed among all nations - Lk 24:47-48 "They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened." Faithful to the Lord's charge, the early Christians offered this wonderful promise to those who would heed the commands of the gospel - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ In their epistles, the writers would often refer to this wonderful blessing - Ep 1:7 "Christ sacrificed his life's blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because God was so kind to us." -- Don't you want the assurance that your sins have been forgiven, washed away by the blood of Christ? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Ac 2:38
Jesus had spoken of those who believe in Him receiving the Spirit in a special way - Jn 7:37-39 "On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, "If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say." Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory." Thus Peter offers the gift of the Spirit to those who will obey God - Ac 2:38-39 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live."’; 5:32 "We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to everyone who obeys God." The blessing of having the Spirit in our lives is related to His indwelling. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit - 1 Co 6:19 "You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own." With the aid of the Spirit, we are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh - Ro 8:9 "You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him.", 11-13 "Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit. My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say "No" to your desires." Indeed, the Holy Spirit is an instrumental agent by which the Father imparts strength to the Christian - Ep 3:16 "God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers", 20-21 "I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen." -- Dear friend, God does not expect you to live the Christian life solely by your own strength; don't you wish to receive all of the aids (the Holy Spirit is only one such aid) that God affords His children? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Ac 2:38
The last promise we want to look at is the gift of eternal life. The expression "eternal life" is an interesting one, evidently used in two different ways in the scriptures. It is used to describe the reward of the faithful, received on the day of judgment. Jesus used it this way in Mt 25:46 "Then Jesus said, "Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life."’ Paul, likewise, describing it as gift from God through Jesus Christ - Ro 6:23 "Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord." (See 6:22; also 2:5-8). It is also used to describe the spiritual life we now enjoy by virtue of our knowledge of (or fellowship with) the Father and the Son. Jesus describes it as such in Jn 17:2-3 "And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent." As well as His beloved disciple, John, in 1 Jn 5:11-13 "God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life. But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life. All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life." Thus the gift of eternal life is one that has "promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (to borrow a phrase from Paul)-- Aren't you tired of the shallow life this world has to offer? Don't you wish to receive that "abundant life" that Jesus came to give (see Jn 10:10)? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Mk 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
These wonderful promises (and there are many more) can be received by anyone who is willing to heed and accept the call of the gospel of Christ. Those who do, will not only receive these blessings, but they will also be added by the Lord to His church, that great assembly of "called-out" ones who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Have you accepted the "call" of the gospel? Have you believed the "facts" of the gospel? Obeyed the "commands" of the gospel? Thereby received the "promises" of the gospel? It is possible that you have only obeyed some of the "commands" of the gospel. Many have believed, repented, confessed, but were never baptized. Because you rarely hear preachers stressing that aspect of the gospel in their preaching. Sadly, I fear that many have reacted to one "perversion" of the gospel (adding meritorious works) by going to the other extreme where they commit another "perversion" of the gospel (taking away a command of God). I plan to discuss the subject of "baptism" more closely in the next lesson, but if you are convinced that you need to obey Christ in this regard, why not do so today?
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part Two
Dear friend, has faith in what Christ did for you on the cross and sorrow over your sins moved you to the point that you have made the decision to change? If so, then you are ready for the culminating act of faith and obedience to the gospel of Christ. To be baptized for the remission of your sins. Baptism is clearly a part of the gospel message that Jesus wanted His disciples to proclaim - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."; Mt 28:18-20 "Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." Peter proclaimed baptism for the remission of sins in his first sermon - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit." Paul related that he was commanded to be baptized "to wash away sins" - Ac 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ Not that there is anything in the act of immersion (the meaning of "baptizo") that merits or earns forgiveness, but it is simply the point of time in which God by His grace unites us with Christ in His death, and by His working in conjunction with our faith raises us to walk in newness of life! Ro 6:3-6 describes baptism as the point in time we are united into the death of Christ at which point we die to sin and thereby raised to newness of life. Co 2:11-13 reveals that in baptism we are buried with Christ and then raised through faith in God's working who makes us alive in Christ by forgiving us of our sins! Dear friend, have you been baptized for the remission of your sins? If not, are you willing to let God cleanse you through the blood of His Son and raise you to a new life?
Those who gladly received the preaching of the apostles were baptized, and the Lord added them to His church - Ac 2:41,47 "On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized." - "while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved." So while in one sense the "commands" of the gospel end with the command to be baptized, there is also the command of our Lord for faithfulness. Jesus wanted His disciples to teach others "to observe all things that I have commanded you" - Mt 28:19-20. Jesus exhorted His church in Ephesus: "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Re 2:10. The need for continued faithfulness is paramount: For believers can develop an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from God - He 3:12 "My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God." For believers can become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin - He 3:13 "You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn." And believers become partakers of Christ only "IF we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end" - He 3:14 Therefore the need for such exhortations as the one given by Paul: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." - 1 Co 15:58
Finally, to fully accept the call of the gospel, we need to receive the "promises" of the gospel. The first as stated in Acts 2:38 is to receive the remission of sins, so that your sins will be forgiven. As stated by Jesus, remission of sins was to be proclaimed among all nations - Lk 24:47-48 "They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened." Faithful to the Lord's charge, the early Christians offered this wonderful promise to those who would heed the commands of the gospel - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ In their epistles, the writers would often refer to this wonderful blessing - Ep 1:7 "Christ sacrificed his life's blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because God was so kind to us." -- Don't you want the assurance that your sins have been forgiven, washed away by the blood of Christ? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Ac 2:38
Jesus had spoken of those who believe in Him receiving the Spirit in a special way - Jn 7:37-39 "On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, "If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say." Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory." Thus Peter offers the gift of the Spirit to those who will obey God - Ac 2:38-39 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live."’; 5:32 "We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to everyone who obeys God." The blessing of having the Spirit in our lives is related to His indwelling. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit - 1 Co 6:19 "You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own." With the aid of the Spirit, we are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh - Ro 8:9 "You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him.", 11-13 "Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit. My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say "No" to your desires." Indeed, the Holy Spirit is an instrumental agent by which the Father imparts strength to the Christian - Ep 3:16 "God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers", 20-21 "I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen." -- Dear friend, God does not expect you to live the Christian life solely by your own strength; don't you wish to receive all of the aids (the Holy Spirit is only one such aid) that God affords His children? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Ac 2:38
The last promise we want to look at is the gift of eternal life. The expression "eternal life" is an interesting one, evidently used in two different ways in the scriptures. It is used to describe the reward of the faithful, received on the day of judgment. Jesus used it this way in Mt 25:46 "Then Jesus said, "Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life."’ Paul, likewise, describing it as gift from God through Jesus Christ - Ro 6:23 "Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord." (See 6:22; also 2:5-8). It is also used to describe the spiritual life we now enjoy by virtue of our knowledge of (or fellowship with) the Father and the Son. Jesus describes it as such in Jn 17:2-3 "And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent." As well as His beloved disciple, John, in 1 Jn 5:11-13 "God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life. But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life. All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life." Thus the gift of eternal life is one that has "promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (to borrow a phrase from Paul)-- Aren't you tired of the shallow life this world has to offer? Don't you wish to receive that "abundant life" that Jesus came to give (see Jn 10:10)? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Mk 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
These wonderful promises (and there are many more) can be received by anyone who is willing to heed and accept the call of the gospel of Christ. Those who do, will not only receive these blessings, but they will also be added by the Lord to His church, that great assembly of "called-out" ones who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Have you accepted the "call" of the gospel? Have you believed the "facts" of the gospel? Obeyed the "commands" of the gospel? Thereby received the "promises" of the gospel? It is possible that you have only obeyed some of the "commands" of the gospel. Many have believed, repented, confessed, but were never baptized. Because you rarely hear preachers stressing that aspect of the gospel in their preaching. Sadly, I fear that many have reacted to one "perversion" of the gospel (adding meritorious works) by going to the other extreme where they commit another "perversion" of the gospel (taking away a command of God). I plan to discuss the subject of "baptism" more closely in the next lesson, but if you are convinced that you need to obey Christ in this regard, why not do so today?
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part One
Following Jesus Without Denominationalism
Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part One
In the last lesson I proposed the following as the way out of religious division. First, follow the example of Jesus and maintain a "non-sectarian"relationship with God. Living under the Old Covenant, He was simply an Israelite, as the Law intended. Living under the New Covenant, His disciples were simply called "Christians", and so should we! - Ac 11:26; 1 Pe 4:16. Second, to ensure that we are truly members of Christ's body, the church (i.e., His "called-out" ones), let us be sure that we have answered the call of the gospel, by which He adds us to His Church (and not some denomination begun by man) - 2 Th 2:14; Ac 2:41,47. Let us follow the example of the early church, who "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine" - Ac 2:42
An important key, then, is that we properly answer the call of the gospel. For through the gospel Christ is calling us into His church. When we accept the gospel call, by God's grace we receive salvation and the Lord adds us to His church. Unfortunately, there have always been those who have "perverted" certain elements of the gospel. In the first century, Paul wrote of those who had perverted the gospel by trying to add elements of the Old Law to it - Ga 1:8-9 "I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn't matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven. I have said it before, and I will say it again. I hope God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from what you have already believed."; Ac 15:1 "Some people came from Judea and started teaching the Lord's followers that they could not be saved, unless they were circumcised as Moses had taught.", 6 "The apostles and church leaders met to discuss this problem about Gentiles." Later, others attempted to change the basis of salvation by teaching a salvation of works, rather than by grace through faith. Even today, many pervert the gospel by the manner they call upon people to respond to the gospel, leaving out the proper response as taught by Christ and His apostles. -- For this reason, it is important that we understand the gospel of Christ, and how to properly accept the call of the gospel!
There are several good ways to summarize the gospel that makes it easy to remember, and one was that suggested by Walter Scott. Not Sir Walter Scott, the British author who wrote "Ivanhoe", but a kinsman born in Scotland (1796), who came to America and proclaimed the gospel throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky. In his study of the gospel, Walter Scott summarized it as containing:
1) Facts to be believed
2) Commands to be obeyed
3) Promises to be received
Indeed, accepting the call of the gospel involves a person accepting the "facts," "commands," and "promises" contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To elaborate, let's consider first of all that to accept the call of the gospel one must believe the facts of the Gospel. Fact, Jesus was crucified for our sins. The death of Jesus for our sins is a fundamental part of the gospel - 1 Co 15:1-3 "My friends, I want you to remember the message that I preached and that you believed and trusted. You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don't, your faith was all for nothing. I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say." It was foretold by Isaiah - Isa 53:4-6 "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (ASV). It's necessity is seen in that all are sinners, and the wages of sin is death - Ro 3:23 "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory."; 6:23 "s28 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." But in love, God sent His son to be a propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins - 1 Jn 4:9-10 "God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven."
Fact, Jesus was raised from the dead. Together with His death and burial, the resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the gospel - 1 Co 15:4 "He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say." In the first gospel sermon recorded, Peter centered his message around proving that God raised Jesus from the dead - Ac 2:22-32. Without the resurrection of Christ, the gospel is meaningless - 1 Co 15:14-19 "And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not. So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else."
Fact, Jesus is exalted as King and Savior. Peter proclaimed at the climax of his first gospel sermon - Ac 2:33-36 "Jesus was taken up to sit at the right side of God, and he was given the Holy Spirit, just as the Father had promised. Jesus is also the one who has given the Spirit to us, and that is what you are now seeing and hearing. David didn't go up to heaven. So he wasn't talking about himself when he said, "The Lord told my Lord to sit at his right side, until he made my Lord's enemies into a footstool for him." Everyone in Israel should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross." All has been put under His feet, and made subject to Him - Ep 1:19-22 "I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything."; 1 Pe 3:22 "Christ is now in heaven, where he sits at the right side of God. All angels, authorities, and powers are under his control." Therefore He is truly "the ruler over the kings of the earth"! - Re 1:5
Fact, Jesus is coming back again as prophesied in the Book of Revelation - Re 1:7 "Look! He is coming with the clouds. Everyone will see him, even the ones who stuck a sword through him. All people on earth will weep because of him. Yes, it will happen! Amen." As proclaimed by the "two men in white apparel" when Jesus ascended to heaven - Ac 1:9-11 "After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him, but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them. They said, "Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way that you have seen him go."’ The purpose of His coming? To execute judgment and be glorified! - 2 Th 1:6-10 " It is only right for God to punish everyone who is causing you trouble, but he will give you relief from your troubles. He will do the same for us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with his powerful angels and with a flaming fire. Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn't know God and won't obey his message. Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed what we said. God chose you, and we keep praying that God will make you worthy of being his people. We pray for God's power to help you do all the good things that you hope to do and that your faith makes you want to do."
Certainly there are other elements of the gospel necessary for us to believe (such as the virgin birth of Christ, His deity, etc.), but in the preaching of the gospel as recording in the book of Acts, the facts which I have described were emphasized time and again. Do you believe the "facts" of the gospel? If so, that is wonderful, for when you have such faith you will be prompted to accept the call of the gospel and to obey the "commands" of the gospel.
Command, we are to believe the gospel message concerning Jesus Christ. Yes, this sounds redundant, but it is important to stress two things:
That there are indeed "commands" one must obey to be saved,
And that the first command is to "believe"!
Unless one believes the gospel, there is no hope - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned." The gospel is God's power unto salvation, but only to those who believe - Ro 1:16 "I am proud of the good news! It is God's powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles." Faith (along with confession) is a necessary step leading to salvation - Ro 10:9-10 "So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others." Without faith it is impossible to please God - He 11:6 "But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him." Without faith, one will not act upon the other conditions of the gospel (such as confession, repentance, etc.). Do you lack faith? Then I direct you to the four gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke, John). For they were written to produce faith - Jn 20:30-31 "Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life." For faith comes from hearing the Word of God - Ro 10:17 "No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ."
In addition to the command to believe, there is the command to confess Jesus as Lord - Ro 10:9-10 "So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others." This means to acknowledge that you believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, who is "King of kings, and Lord of lords". An example of such a confession is found in Ac 8:37 "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (KJV) Without confessing Jesus before men, we have no hope that He will confess us before His Father in heaven - Mt 10:32-33 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Are you willing to confess that you believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God?
We have the command to repent. To "repent" means to have "a change of mind", in which case you make the decision to turn from your sins and turn toward living for God. It is brought about by a "godly sorrow" for your sins - 2 Co 7:10 "When God makes you feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, you don't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes you feel sorry, it can cause your death." And it will produce a visible change in one's life - 2 Co 7:11 "Just look what God has done by making you feel sorry! You sincerely want to prove that you are innocent. You are angry. You are shocked. You are eager to see that justice is done. You have proved that you were completely right in this matter." Jesus said that "repentance" should be preached in His name among the nations - Lk 24:46-48 "He told them: The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from death. They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened." Indeed, the apostles Peter and Paul both stressed repentance in their gospel preaching - Ac 2:37-38 "When the people neheard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Friends, what shall we do?" Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; 17:30-31 "In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death."
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part One
In the last lesson I proposed the following as the way out of religious division. First, follow the example of Jesus and maintain a "non-sectarian"relationship with God. Living under the Old Covenant, He was simply an Israelite, as the Law intended. Living under the New Covenant, His disciples were simply called "Christians", and so should we! - Ac 11:26; 1 Pe 4:16. Second, to ensure that we are truly members of Christ's body, the church (i.e., His "called-out" ones), let us be sure that we have answered the call of the gospel, by which He adds us to His Church (and not some denomination begun by man) - 2 Th 2:14; Ac 2:41,47. Let us follow the example of the early church, who "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine" - Ac 2:42
An important key, then, is that we properly answer the call of the gospel. For through the gospel Christ is calling us into His church. When we accept the gospel call, by God's grace we receive salvation and the Lord adds us to His church. Unfortunately, there have always been those who have "perverted" certain elements of the gospel. In the first century, Paul wrote of those who had perverted the gospel by trying to add elements of the Old Law to it - Ga 1:8-9 "I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn't matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven. I have said it before, and I will say it again. I hope God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from what you have already believed."; Ac 15:1 "Some people came from Judea and started teaching the Lord's followers that they could not be saved, unless they were circumcised as Moses had taught.", 6 "The apostles and church leaders met to discuss this problem about Gentiles." Later, others attempted to change the basis of salvation by teaching a salvation of works, rather than by grace through faith. Even today, many pervert the gospel by the manner they call upon people to respond to the gospel, leaving out the proper response as taught by Christ and His apostles. -- For this reason, it is important that we understand the gospel of Christ, and how to properly accept the call of the gospel!
There are several good ways to summarize the gospel that makes it easy to remember, and one was that suggested by Walter Scott. Not Sir Walter Scott, the British author who wrote "Ivanhoe", but a kinsman born in Scotland (1796), who came to America and proclaimed the gospel throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky. In his study of the gospel, Walter Scott summarized it as containing:
1) Facts to be believed
2) Commands to be obeyed
3) Promises to be received
Indeed, accepting the call of the gospel involves a person accepting the "facts," "commands," and "promises" contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To elaborate, let's consider first of all that to accept the call of the gospel one must believe the facts of the Gospel. Fact, Jesus was crucified for our sins. The death of Jesus for our sins is a fundamental part of the gospel - 1 Co 15:1-3 "My friends, I want you to remember the message that I preached and that you believed and trusted. You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don't, your faith was all for nothing. I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say." It was foretold by Isaiah - Isa 53:4-6 "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (ASV). It's necessity is seen in that all are sinners, and the wages of sin is death - Ro 3:23 "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory."; 6:23 "s28 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." But in love, God sent His son to be a propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins - 1 Jn 4:9-10 "God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven."
Fact, Jesus was raised from the dead. Together with His death and burial, the resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the gospel - 1 Co 15:4 "He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say." In the first gospel sermon recorded, Peter centered his message around proving that God raised Jesus from the dead - Ac 2:22-32. Without the resurrection of Christ, the gospel is meaningless - 1 Co 15:14-19 "And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not. So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else."
Fact, Jesus is exalted as King and Savior. Peter proclaimed at the climax of his first gospel sermon - Ac 2:33-36 "Jesus was taken up to sit at the right side of God, and he was given the Holy Spirit, just as the Father had promised. Jesus is also the one who has given the Spirit to us, and that is what you are now seeing and hearing. David didn't go up to heaven. So he wasn't talking about himself when he said, "The Lord told my Lord to sit at his right side, until he made my Lord's enemies into a footstool for him." Everyone in Israel should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross." All has been put under His feet, and made subject to Him - Ep 1:19-22 "I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything."; 1 Pe 3:22 "Christ is now in heaven, where he sits at the right side of God. All angels, authorities, and powers are under his control." Therefore He is truly "the ruler over the kings of the earth"! - Re 1:5
Fact, Jesus is coming back again as prophesied in the Book of Revelation - Re 1:7 "Look! He is coming with the clouds. Everyone will see him, even the ones who stuck a sword through him. All people on earth will weep because of him. Yes, it will happen! Amen." As proclaimed by the "two men in white apparel" when Jesus ascended to heaven - Ac 1:9-11 "After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him, but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them. They said, "Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way that you have seen him go."’ The purpose of His coming? To execute judgment and be glorified! - 2 Th 1:6-10 " It is only right for God to punish everyone who is causing you trouble, but he will give you relief from your troubles. He will do the same for us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with his powerful angels and with a flaming fire. Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn't know God and won't obey his message. Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed what we said. God chose you, and we keep praying that God will make you worthy of being his people. We pray for God's power to help you do all the good things that you hope to do and that your faith makes you want to do."
Certainly there are other elements of the gospel necessary for us to believe (such as the virgin birth of Christ, His deity, etc.), but in the preaching of the gospel as recording in the book of Acts, the facts which I have described were emphasized time and again. Do you believe the "facts" of the gospel? If so, that is wonderful, for when you have such faith you will be prompted to accept the call of the gospel and to obey the "commands" of the gospel.
Command, we are to believe the gospel message concerning Jesus Christ. Yes, this sounds redundant, but it is important to stress two things:
That there are indeed "commands" one must obey to be saved,
And that the first command is to "believe"!
Unless one believes the gospel, there is no hope - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned." The gospel is God's power unto salvation, but only to those who believe - Ro 1:16 "I am proud of the good news! It is God's powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles." Faith (along with confession) is a necessary step leading to salvation - Ro 10:9-10 "So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others." Without faith it is impossible to please God - He 11:6 "But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him." Without faith, one will not act upon the other conditions of the gospel (such as confession, repentance, etc.). Do you lack faith? Then I direct you to the four gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke, John). For they were written to produce faith - Jn 20:30-31 "Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life." For faith comes from hearing the Word of God - Ro 10:17 "No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ."
In addition to the command to believe, there is the command to confess Jesus as Lord - Ro 10:9-10 "So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others." This means to acknowledge that you believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, who is "King of kings, and Lord of lords". An example of such a confession is found in Ac 8:37 "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (KJV) Without confessing Jesus before men, we have no hope that He will confess us before His Father in heaven - Mt 10:32-33 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Are you willing to confess that you believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God?
We have the command to repent. To "repent" means to have "a change of mind", in which case you make the decision to turn from your sins and turn toward living for God. It is brought about by a "godly sorrow" for your sins - 2 Co 7:10 "When God makes you feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, you don't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes you feel sorry, it can cause your death." And it will produce a visible change in one's life - 2 Co 7:11 "Just look what God has done by making you feel sorry! You sincerely want to prove that you are innocent. You are angry. You are shocked. You are eager to see that justice is done. You have proved that you were completely right in this matter." Jesus said that "repentance" should be preached in His name among the nations - Lk 24:46-48 "He told them: The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from death. They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened." Indeed, the apostles Peter and Paul both stressed repentance in their gospel preaching - Ac 2:37-38 "When the people neheard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Friends, what shall we do?" Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; 17:30-31 "In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death."
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, September 03, 2006
The Way Out of Religious Division - Part Two
Following Jesus Without Denominationalism
The Way Out Of Religious Division - Part Two
When we read what the Bible says to us about the Lord's church, we learn that by responding to the gospel and paying close heed to the "apostles' doctrine" (cf. Ac 2:42), people in the first century were able to be Christians only, without all the confusion prevalent today. Is it possible for us to do this today? Yes! Here is the way out of religious division. Accepting the call of the gospel is the first step.
Remember, Christ calls us into His ekklesia (church "a called-out group, an assembly, a congregation") through the gospel. Therefore, we can begin by obeying the same instructions that Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit." Repenting of our sins, and being baptized for the remission of our sins, we then receive the same blessings as did the 3000 on that day: salvation! By being saved in this manner, we know that the Lord truly adds us to His church just as He added them - Ac 2:47 "while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved."
What then...? Follow the example of the early Christians. The early Christians continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine - Ac 2:42 "They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together." They joined no other religious organization, and neither should we! In Christ, we are automatically united with all others who are in Him! As members of the Lord's church, we should study carefully the New Testament description of the church that continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. This description is found in the Book of Acts and in the Epistles which follow it. It is here that we will find instruction from the Lord's apostles on HOW:
1) To worship the Lord acceptably
2) To be scripturally organized as local congregations
3) To live and work together as Christians, spreading the gospel of Christ through word and example.
Since the apostles were guided by the Holy Spirit, we may be sure their instructions were exactly what Jesus wanted them to be! If we duplicate the early churches by following the apostles' instructions, we will simply be "Christians", and we can be certain the Lord is pleased with us. As Jesus said to His apostles about those who would receive or reject their instructions: "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." - Lk 10:16
Simply being a Christian, and duplicating a New Testament congregation is not as difficult as one might think. There are literally thousands of such congregations throughout the world. There is likely one in your area right now! (Feel free to contact me if you would like to try and locate the nearest one.) There is also the option of starting a congregation in your own home. By following the example and teachings of Jesus, as revealed by His apostles, we can be led out of the religious confusion that dominates the religious world today! Do you want to be simply a Christian, a member of the Lord's church we read about in the New Testament? If so, then I plead with you to first render obedience to the gospel of Christ as proclaimed by Peter and all the apostles - Ac 2:36-38. You have the assurance of God's Word that you will then be added by the Lord Himself to His church - Ac 2:47. Then, you have the responsibility to learn and follow the apostles' doctrine as you serve the Lord Jesus in your life - Ac 2:42. If you have not yet responded to the commands of the gospel as put forth by Peter in Ac 2:38, why not let the reaction of those who did on the Day of Pentecost describe your actions today:
"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them." - Ac 2:41
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Way Out Of Religious Division - Part Two
When we read what the Bible says to us about the Lord's church, we learn that by responding to the gospel and paying close heed to the "apostles' doctrine" (cf. Ac 2:42), people in the first century were able to be Christians only, without all the confusion prevalent today. Is it possible for us to do this today? Yes! Here is the way out of religious division. Accepting the call of the gospel is the first step.
Remember, Christ calls us into His ekklesia (church "a called-out group, an assembly, a congregation") through the gospel. Therefore, we can begin by obeying the same instructions that Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit." Repenting of our sins, and being baptized for the remission of our sins, we then receive the same blessings as did the 3000 on that day: salvation! By being saved in this manner, we know that the Lord truly adds us to His church just as He added them - Ac 2:47 "while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved."
What then...? Follow the example of the early Christians. The early Christians continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine - Ac 2:42 "They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together." They joined no other religious organization, and neither should we! In Christ, we are automatically united with all others who are in Him! As members of the Lord's church, we should study carefully the New Testament description of the church that continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. This description is found in the Book of Acts and in the Epistles which follow it. It is here that we will find instruction from the Lord's apostles on HOW:
1) To worship the Lord acceptably
2) To be scripturally organized as local congregations
3) To live and work together as Christians, spreading the gospel of Christ through word and example.
Since the apostles were guided by the Holy Spirit, we may be sure their instructions were exactly what Jesus wanted them to be! If we duplicate the early churches by following the apostles' instructions, we will simply be "Christians", and we can be certain the Lord is pleased with us. As Jesus said to His apostles about those who would receive or reject their instructions: "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." - Lk 10:16
Simply being a Christian, and duplicating a New Testament congregation is not as difficult as one might think. There are literally thousands of such congregations throughout the world. There is likely one in your area right now! (Feel free to contact me if you would like to try and locate the nearest one.) There is also the option of starting a congregation in your own home. By following the example and teachings of Jesus, as revealed by His apostles, we can be led out of the religious confusion that dominates the religious world today! Do you want to be simply a Christian, a member of the Lord's church we read about in the New Testament? If so, then I plead with you to first render obedience to the gospel of Christ as proclaimed by Peter and all the apostles - Ac 2:36-38. You have the assurance of God's Word that you will then be added by the Lord Himself to His church - Ac 2:47. Then, you have the responsibility to learn and follow the apostles' doctrine as you serve the Lord Jesus in your life - Ac 2:42. If you have not yet responded to the commands of the gospel as put forth by Peter in Ac 2:38, why not let the reaction of those who did on the Day of Pentecost describe your actions today:
"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them." - Ac 2:41
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, August 20, 2006
The Way Out of Religious Division - Part One
Following Jesus Without Denominationalism
The Way Out Of Religious Division - Part One
In our previous lesson, I began this series by defining the terms denomination and denominationalism.
"denomination" - a group of congregations that are joined together under some governing body, that effectively serves to distinguish and divide them from other congregations
"denominationalism" - advocacy of separation into religious denominations
I also suggested three reasons why "denominationalism" is wrong. It is un-scriptural (i.e., without scriptural support). It is anti-scriptural (Jn 17:20-23 "I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me. I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world's people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me."; 1 Co 1:10-13 "My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?"; 3:3-4 "because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world. Some of you say that you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't that how ordinary people behave?") It is harmful to the cause of Christ (by discouraging people from believing in Christ - Jn 17:21 "I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.") But is it possible for people today to simply be Christians, without being a member of any man-made denomination? The answer is "Yes!" Indeed, by following the example of Jesus Himself, we can be members of His body, the Lord's church, just as we read about in the scriptures!
To see how, let's start by noticing Jesus' own example in the religious climate of His day. When Jesus came to this earth, the Israelites were living under the Law of God as given by Moses. In that law, God had not made any provision for the division of His people into religious sects or parties. Yet, by the time of Jesus, the Jews had formed several distinct religious parties:
Pharisees (somewhat conservative)
Sadducees (very liberal, the "modernists" of their day)
Essenes (radical isolationists)
Herodians, Zealots (political religionists)
It was assumed that all who were serious about religion would be associated with one of these groups.
To which of these groups did Jesus belong? He belonged to NONE of these groups! Instead, He maintained a "nonsectarian" relationship with God to the very end. As an Israelite, living at a time when the Law of Moses was still in effect, He was simply an "Israelite". In addition, He encouraged all to live by the Law while it was still in effect - Mt 5:17-20 "Don't suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen. If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven." In other words, He encouraged all to simply be what the Law of Moses intended them to be (i.e., "Israelites").
What would Jesus be today? Would He be a Baptist, or Catholic, or Presbyterian, or Methodist, etc.? If He was simply an Israelite then, would He not simply be a "Christian" today? That was certainly what His disciples came to be called - Ac 11:26 "He found Saul and brought him to Antioch, where they met with the church for a whole year and taught many of its people. There in Antioch the Lord's followers were first called Christians." The example Jesus has set for us is clear: just be what God originally intended under the Law which is in effect. Since in the New Testament (the "law of Christ" 1 Co 9:21) the disciples of Christ were called "Christians", so we should be! Not only should we be content with being "called" Christians, we should also be concerned with "just being Christians". Nothing more, nothing less!
But how can we be sure that we are simply Christians, members of the church we read about in the New Testament? It helps to see what the Bible tells us about the Lord’s church in the first century. Jesus promised to build HIS church - Mt 16:18 "So I will call you Peter, which means "a rock." On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it." The word "church" comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means "a called-out group, an assembly, a congregation". Therefore, Jesus was promising to create His own group of people who have been "called"; called out of sin or called out of the world. Note also that it belongs to Him, not to any man or man-made leader or organization.
The church Jesus promised to build was established through preaching the gospel. How does this "calling" take place? According to the apostle Paul, we are "called" by the gospel of Christ - 2 Th 2:14 "God used our preaching as his way of inviting you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." On the first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ, we see by preaching the gospel Peter "called out" those who were willing to express their faith in Jesus - Ac 2:38-41 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live." Peter told them many other things as well. Then he said, "I beg you to save yourselves from what will happen to all these evil people." On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized." Notice that those who gladly responded in faith, repentance and baptism were "added". To what and by whom were they "added"? We find the answer in verse 47: "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." The day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Lord's church (His "ekklesia"). This "called-out" assembly or group was created when the gospel was proclaimed and people responded to it.
The church Jesus built expanded through preaching of the gospel. At first, the church existed only in Jerusalem. As the gospel spread, and people responded to it, groups of these saved people in various cities met together. Each group became known as a church in a local sense (in contrast to the church universal which is made up of all those saved throughout the world). For example, during Paul's first missionary journey, many such churches were established - Ac 14:21-23 "Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in Derbe and won some people to the Lord. Then they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. They encouraged the followers and begged them to remain faithful. They told them, "We have to suffer a lot before we can get into God's kingdom." Paul and Barnabas chose some leaders for each of the churches. Then they went without eating and prayed that the Lord would take good care of these leaders." By simply teaching the gospel of Christ, a local church was formed when those who obeyed the gospel joined together in their work and worship.
The church that Jesus built was edified through the apostles doctrine. Though united in Christ, these local churches were independent of any human association or federation of churches. Christ directed them through His inspired apostles, as they taught them how to worship and work together - Ac 2:42 "They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together." Sometimes this teaching by the apostles was done directly, other times by appointed emissaries - 1 Co 4:17 "That's why I sent Timothy to you. I love him like a son, and he is a faithful servant of the Lord. Timothy will tell you what I do to follow Christ and how it agrees with what I always teach about Christ in every church." Just as often, the teaching was done through the epistles or letters written by the apostles - 1 Co 14:37 "If you think of yourself as a prophet or a spiritual person, you will know that I am writing only what the Lord has commanded."; 1 Ti 3:14-15 "I hope to visit you soon. But I am writing these instructions, so that if I am delayed, you will know how everyone who belongs to God's family ought to behave. After all, the church of the living God is the strong foundation of truth."; 2 Th 2:14-15 "God used our preaching as his way of inviting you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. My friends, that's why you must remain faithful and follow closely what we taught you in person and by our letters."; 3:14 "Be on your guard against any followers who refuse to obey what we have written in this letter. Put them to shame by not having anything to do with them." When we read what the Bible says us about the Lord's church, we learn that by responding to the gospel and paying close heed to the "apostles' doctrine" (cf. Ac 2:42), people in the first century were able to be Christians only, without all the confusion prevalent today. Is it possible for us to do this today? Yes! Here is the way out of religious division. Accepting the call of the gospel is the first step. We will examine the way out of religious division as we continue this lesson in part two.
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Way Out Of Religious Division - Part One
In our previous lesson, I began this series by defining the terms denomination and denominationalism.
"denomination" - a group of congregations that are joined together under some governing body, that effectively serves to distinguish and divide them from other congregations
"denominationalism" - advocacy of separation into religious denominations
I also suggested three reasons why "denominationalism" is wrong. It is un-scriptural (i.e., without scriptural support). It is anti-scriptural (Jn 17:20-23 "I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me. I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world's people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me."; 1 Co 1:10-13 "My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?"; 3:3-4 "because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world. Some of you say that you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't that how ordinary people behave?") It is harmful to the cause of Christ (by discouraging people from believing in Christ - Jn 17:21 "I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.") But is it possible for people today to simply be Christians, without being a member of any man-made denomination? The answer is "Yes!" Indeed, by following the example of Jesus Himself, we can be members of His body, the Lord's church, just as we read about in the scriptures!
To see how, let's start by noticing Jesus' own example in the religious climate of His day. When Jesus came to this earth, the Israelites were living under the Law of God as given by Moses. In that law, God had not made any provision for the division of His people into religious sects or parties. Yet, by the time of Jesus, the Jews had formed several distinct religious parties:
Pharisees (somewhat conservative)
Sadducees (very liberal, the "modernists" of their day)
Essenes (radical isolationists)
Herodians, Zealots (political religionists)
It was assumed that all who were serious about religion would be associated with one of these groups.
To which of these groups did Jesus belong? He belonged to NONE of these groups! Instead, He maintained a "nonsectarian" relationship with God to the very end. As an Israelite, living at a time when the Law of Moses was still in effect, He was simply an "Israelite". In addition, He encouraged all to live by the Law while it was still in effect - Mt 5:17-20 "Don't suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen. If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven." In other words, He encouraged all to simply be what the Law of Moses intended them to be (i.e., "Israelites").
What would Jesus be today? Would He be a Baptist, or Catholic, or Presbyterian, or Methodist, etc.? If He was simply an Israelite then, would He not simply be a "Christian" today? That was certainly what His disciples came to be called - Ac 11:26 "He found Saul and brought him to Antioch, where they met with the church for a whole year and taught many of its people. There in Antioch the Lord's followers were first called Christians." The example Jesus has set for us is clear: just be what God originally intended under the Law which is in effect. Since in the New Testament (the "law of Christ" 1 Co 9:21) the disciples of Christ were called "Christians", so we should be! Not only should we be content with being "called" Christians, we should also be concerned with "just being Christians". Nothing more, nothing less!
But how can we be sure that we are simply Christians, members of the church we read about in the New Testament? It helps to see what the Bible tells us about the Lord’s church in the first century. Jesus promised to build HIS church - Mt 16:18 "So I will call you Peter, which means "a rock." On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it." The word "church" comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means "a called-out group, an assembly, a congregation". Therefore, Jesus was promising to create His own group of people who have been "called"; called out of sin or called out of the world. Note also that it belongs to Him, not to any man or man-made leader or organization.
The church Jesus promised to build was established through preaching the gospel. How does this "calling" take place? According to the apostle Paul, we are "called" by the gospel of Christ - 2 Th 2:14 "God used our preaching as his way of inviting you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." On the first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ, we see by preaching the gospel Peter "called out" those who were willing to express their faith in Jesus - Ac 2:38-41 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live." Peter told them many other things as well. Then he said, "I beg you to save yourselves from what will happen to all these evil people." On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized." Notice that those who gladly responded in faith, repentance and baptism were "added". To what and by whom were they "added"? We find the answer in verse 47: "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." The day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Lord's church (His "ekklesia"). This "called-out" assembly or group was created when the gospel was proclaimed and people responded to it.
The church Jesus built expanded through preaching of the gospel. At first, the church existed only in Jerusalem. As the gospel spread, and people responded to it, groups of these saved people in various cities met together. Each group became known as a church in a local sense (in contrast to the church universal which is made up of all those saved throughout the world). For example, during Paul's first missionary journey, many such churches were established - Ac 14:21-23 "Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in Derbe and won some people to the Lord. Then they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. They encouraged the followers and begged them to remain faithful. They told them, "We have to suffer a lot before we can get into God's kingdom." Paul and Barnabas chose some leaders for each of the churches. Then they went without eating and prayed that the Lord would take good care of these leaders." By simply teaching the gospel of Christ, a local church was formed when those who obeyed the gospel joined together in their work and worship.
The church that Jesus built was edified through the apostles doctrine. Though united in Christ, these local churches were independent of any human association or federation of churches. Christ directed them through His inspired apostles, as they taught them how to worship and work together - Ac 2:42 "They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together." Sometimes this teaching by the apostles was done directly, other times by appointed emissaries - 1 Co 4:17 "That's why I sent Timothy to you. I love him like a son, and he is a faithful servant of the Lord. Timothy will tell you what I do to follow Christ and how it agrees with what I always teach about Christ in every church." Just as often, the teaching was done through the epistles or letters written by the apostles - 1 Co 14:37 "If you think of yourself as a prophet or a spiritual person, you will know that I am writing only what the Lord has commanded."; 1 Ti 3:14-15 "I hope to visit you soon. But I am writing these instructions, so that if I am delayed, you will know how everyone who belongs to God's family ought to behave. After all, the church of the living God is the strong foundation of truth."; 2 Th 2:14-15 "God used our preaching as his way of inviting you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. My friends, that's why you must remain faithful and follow closely what we taught you in person and by our letters."; 3:14 "Be on your guard against any followers who refuse to obey what we have written in this letter. Put them to shame by not having anything to do with them." When we read what the Bible says us about the Lord's church, we learn that by responding to the gospel and paying close heed to the "apostles' doctrine" (cf. Ac 2:42), people in the first century were able to be Christians only, without all the confusion prevalent today. Is it possible for us to do this today? Yes! Here is the way out of religious division. Accepting the call of the gospel is the first step. We will examine the way out of religious division as we continue this lesson in part two.
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Why Is Denominationalism Wrong?
Following Jesus Without Denominationalism
Why Is Denominationalism Wrong?
While many people are attracted to the good news of the grace of God offered through His Son Jesus Christ, certain questions often linger in their minds. Why are there so many different denominations? Can't the followers of Jesus Christ learn to get along? What can be done about the religious division that exists today? Is it possible for me to be simply a Christian, following Jesus without being a member of any denomination? In reply to these questions, some make an effort to discount the significance of religious division, suggesting that the differences are not all that great. Or that religious division is good, for it enables people to find a church that suits them personally. But there are several reasons why I believe these answers are wrong and do a disservice to the cause of Christ. In this series of lessons, I have several objectives in mind. One is to explain why Denominationalism is wrong. To illustrate how one can simply be a Christian, serving Jesus without being a member of any denomination. And then to suggest how followers of Christ might be able "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" - Ep 4:3. In this particular lesson, I wish to explain why Denominationalism is wrong and then why anyone who truly follows Christ will do all they can to avoid participating in it.
First, perhaps a definition of terms is in order as they are used in this lesson by defining the words "Denomination" and "Denominationalism". First, let’s define what a religious denomination is. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: "A large group of religious congregations united under a common faith and name and organized under a single administrative and legal hierarchy." From Webster's: "A religious organization uniting in a single legal and administrative body a number of local congregations."
In simple terms, a denomination is a group of congregations that are joined together under some governing body. The number of congregations can be as few as two or more, but by their tie to a governing body above the local congregation, by definition they are "denominated" from all congregations that do not submit to the same authority. Some examples would be:
The Roman Catholic Church is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the pope in Rome.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the patriarch of Constantinople.
The Anglican Church of England is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the archbishop of Cantebury.
The Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) is made up of those churches that submit to the synod in Missouri.
The International Church of Christ is made up of those churches that submit to the Boston Church of Christ.
These are just a few of the thousands of different denominations that now exist!
Second, let’s define what religious "denominationalism" is. Here again, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, it is: "The tendency to separate into religious denominations". "Advocacy of separation into religious denominations". "Strict adherence to a denomination; sectarianism". Again, Webster's dictionary defines it as: "Devotion to denominational principles or interests". "Narrow emphasizing of denominational differences: SECTARIANISM"
For the purpose in this series of lessons, I will be applying the term to any approval of the denominational division which exists today. I concede that many people in denominations today are not all that devoted to their denominational principles or interests. But by membership in a denomination they are by implication advocating separation into religious denominations. But is Denominationalism really all that bad? Am I suggesting that one cannot serve Christ faithfully while participating in religious division? The answer to both questions is "Yes!"
To understand the reason for saying this, let's examine why Denominationalism is wrong. First, it is un-scriptural. That is, it is without Scriptural support. There is no basis in the Bible for local churches being divided up into various denominational bodies. There is no denomination that can go to the Bible and say, "See that passage? There is our church (denomination)!" What we do find in the New Testament is local congregations that were independent and self-governing. Church organization was limited to within the local congregation, with elders (also known as pastors, bishops, overseers, presbyters) appointed to oversee only the congregation of which they were members - Ac 20:17 "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church."(ASV), 28 "Look after yourselves and everyone the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be like shepherds to God's church. It is the flock that he bought with the blood of his own Son."; 1 Pe 5:1-2 "Church leaders(elders in other translations), I am writing to encourage you. I too am a leader, as well as a witness to Christ's suffering, and I will share in his glory when it is shown to us. Just as shepherds watch over their sheep, you must watch over everyone God has placed in your care. Do it willingly in order to please God, and not simply because you think you must. Let it be something you want to do, instead of something you do merely to make money." The only authority above the local congregation or assembly in the New Testament was Christ and His apostles. Once the church began, apostles were not replaced after they died. But through the Word of God, the authority of Christ and His apostles continues. Individuals, synods, conferences, etc., that presume to usurp authority over local congregations today do so without Scriptural authority.
Second, it is anti-scriptural; not only is it without scriptural support, it is contrary to what the Bible teaches. It is contrary to the prayer of Jesus for unity among His believers - Jn 17:20-23 "I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me. I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world's people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me." It is condemned by Paul in his epistle to the church at Corinth. There are to be no divisions among believers - 1 Co 1:10-13 "My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?" Sectarianism is a sign of carnality - 1 Co 3:3-4 "because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world. Some of you say that you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't that how ordinary people behave?" It opposes the efforts of Christ on the cross! - Ep 2:14-16 "Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body." Jesus died to break down the wall of division. Jesus died to reconcile man to God in ONE body. -- Just as sinning works against the efforts of Christ on the cross (for He also died to put away sin), so it is with denominational division!
Third, it is harmful to the cause of Christ. Jesus knew that unity among His disciples would be "the final apologetic", cf. "that the world may believe" - Jn 17:21. In view of Jesus' words, we should not be surprised when unbelievers are slow to accept the gospel coming from a divided church. Many people point to the divided condition of those professing to follow Christ. Atheists and agnostics often use religious division as an excuse not to believe in God. Adherents to non-Christian religions (such as Islam, Judaism, etc.) will often use denominationalism as a reason not to believe in Christ. Denominationalism has also given support and encouragement to the cults. Mormonism started in reaction to the denominationalism of Joseph Smith's day. Those who call themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses" use religious division to encourage people to follow their strictly-controlled organization.
Let’s now look at some of the statements made by those of the reformation cause, but yet their followers did not heed their words.
Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation Movement:
"I ask that men make no reference to my name, and call themselves not Lutherans, but Christians. What is Luther? My doctrine, I am sure, is not mine, nor have I been crucified for any one. St. Paul, in 1 Cor. 3, would not allow Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I, poor, foul carcass that I am, come to have men give to the children of Christ a name derived from my worthless name? No, no, my dear friends; let us abolish all party names, and call ourselves Christians after Him Whose doctrine we have." - Hugh Thomason Kerr, A Compend of Luther's Theology (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1943, p. 135)
John Wesley, another great reformation leader, among whose followers are Methodists, Wesleyans, etc.:
"Would to God that all party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world, were forgot and that the very name [Methodist] might never be mentioned more, but be buried in eternal oblivion." - John Wesley, Universal Knowledge, A Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Arts, Science, History, Biography, Law, Literature, Religions, Nations, Races, Customs, and Institutions, Vol. 9, Edward A. Pace, Editor (New York: Universal Knowledge Foundation, 1927, p. 540)
Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest Baptist preachers who ever lived:
"I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living! I hope that the Baptist name will soon perish, but let Christ's name last forever." - Spurgeon Memorial Library, Vol. I., p. 168.
Well, that day has not yet come, and denominationalism with its religious division seems to be as strong as ever! But all is not lost. For throughout the world, more and more people are throwing aside their denominational shackles. They are following Jesus Christ in the freedom of gospel liberty that comes from being simply Christians! And what may be a surprise to some, they are able to do so "being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind" - Ph 2:2 How is this possible? That is what I hope to demonstrate starting with the next lesson. But it begins with two things:
A strong desire to follow Jesus Christ and His prayer for unity - cf. Jn 17:20-23
An understanding of the carnal nature of division, and why denominationalism is wrong - 1 Co 3:3-4.
Dear friend, don't you want to be simply a Christian, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ...?
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why Is Denominationalism Wrong?
While many people are attracted to the good news of the grace of God offered through His Son Jesus Christ, certain questions often linger in their minds. Why are there so many different denominations? Can't the followers of Jesus Christ learn to get along? What can be done about the religious division that exists today? Is it possible for me to be simply a Christian, following Jesus without being a member of any denomination? In reply to these questions, some make an effort to discount the significance of religious division, suggesting that the differences are not all that great. Or that religious division is good, for it enables people to find a church that suits them personally. But there are several reasons why I believe these answers are wrong and do a disservice to the cause of Christ. In this series of lessons, I have several objectives in mind. One is to explain why Denominationalism is wrong. To illustrate how one can simply be a Christian, serving Jesus without being a member of any denomination. And then to suggest how followers of Christ might be able "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" - Ep 4:3. In this particular lesson, I wish to explain why Denominationalism is wrong and then why anyone who truly follows Christ will do all they can to avoid participating in it.
First, perhaps a definition of terms is in order as they are used in this lesson by defining the words "Denomination" and "Denominationalism". First, let’s define what a religious denomination is. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: "A large group of religious congregations united under a common faith and name and organized under a single administrative and legal hierarchy." From Webster's: "A religious organization uniting in a single legal and administrative body a number of local congregations."
In simple terms, a denomination is a group of congregations that are joined together under some governing body. The number of congregations can be as few as two or more, but by their tie to a governing body above the local congregation, by definition they are "denominated" from all congregations that do not submit to the same authority. Some examples would be:
The Roman Catholic Church is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the pope in Rome.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the patriarch of Constantinople.
The Anglican Church of England is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the archbishop of Cantebury.
The Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) is made up of those churches that submit to the synod in Missouri.
The International Church of Christ is made up of those churches that submit to the Boston Church of Christ.
These are just a few of the thousands of different denominations that now exist!
Second, let’s define what religious "denominationalism" is. Here again, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, it is: "The tendency to separate into religious denominations". "Advocacy of separation into religious denominations". "Strict adherence to a denomination; sectarianism". Again, Webster's dictionary defines it as: "Devotion to denominational principles or interests". "Narrow emphasizing of denominational differences: SECTARIANISM"
For the purpose in this series of lessons, I will be applying the term to any approval of the denominational division which exists today. I concede that many people in denominations today are not all that devoted to their denominational principles or interests. But by membership in a denomination they are by implication advocating separation into religious denominations. But is Denominationalism really all that bad? Am I suggesting that one cannot serve Christ faithfully while participating in religious division? The answer to both questions is "Yes!"
To understand the reason for saying this, let's examine why Denominationalism is wrong. First, it is un-scriptural. That is, it is without Scriptural support. There is no basis in the Bible for local churches being divided up into various denominational bodies. There is no denomination that can go to the Bible and say, "See that passage? There is our church (denomination)!" What we do find in the New Testament is local congregations that were independent and self-governing. Church organization was limited to within the local congregation, with elders (also known as pastors, bishops, overseers, presbyters) appointed to oversee only the congregation of which they were members - Ac 20:17 "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church."(ASV), 28 "Look after yourselves and everyone the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be like shepherds to God's church. It is the flock that he bought with the blood of his own Son."; 1 Pe 5:1-2 "Church leaders(elders in other translations), I am writing to encourage you. I too am a leader, as well as a witness to Christ's suffering, and I will share in his glory when it is shown to us. Just as shepherds watch over their sheep, you must watch over everyone God has placed in your care. Do it willingly in order to please God, and not simply because you think you must. Let it be something you want to do, instead of something you do merely to make money." The only authority above the local congregation or assembly in the New Testament was Christ and His apostles. Once the church began, apostles were not replaced after they died. But through the Word of God, the authority of Christ and His apostles continues. Individuals, synods, conferences, etc., that presume to usurp authority over local congregations today do so without Scriptural authority.
Second, it is anti-scriptural; not only is it without scriptural support, it is contrary to what the Bible teaches. It is contrary to the prayer of Jesus for unity among His believers - Jn 17:20-23 "I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me. I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world's people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me." It is condemned by Paul in his epistle to the church at Corinth. There are to be no divisions among believers - 1 Co 1:10-13 "My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?" Sectarianism is a sign of carnality - 1 Co 3:3-4 "because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world. Some of you say that you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't that how ordinary people behave?" It opposes the efforts of Christ on the cross! - Ep 2:14-16 "Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body." Jesus died to break down the wall of division. Jesus died to reconcile man to God in ONE body. -- Just as sinning works against the efforts of Christ on the cross (for He also died to put away sin), so it is with denominational division!
Third, it is harmful to the cause of Christ. Jesus knew that unity among His disciples would be "the final apologetic", cf. "that the world may believe" - Jn 17:21. In view of Jesus' words, we should not be surprised when unbelievers are slow to accept the gospel coming from a divided church. Many people point to the divided condition of those professing to follow Christ. Atheists and agnostics often use religious division as an excuse not to believe in God. Adherents to non-Christian religions (such as Islam, Judaism, etc.) will often use denominationalism as a reason not to believe in Christ. Denominationalism has also given support and encouragement to the cults. Mormonism started in reaction to the denominationalism of Joseph Smith's day. Those who call themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses" use religious division to encourage people to follow their strictly-controlled organization.
Let’s now look at some of the statements made by those of the reformation cause, but yet their followers did not heed their words.
Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation Movement:
"I ask that men make no reference to my name, and call themselves not Lutherans, but Christians. What is Luther? My doctrine, I am sure, is not mine, nor have I been crucified for any one. St. Paul, in 1 Cor. 3, would not allow Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I, poor, foul carcass that I am, come to have men give to the children of Christ a name derived from my worthless name? No, no, my dear friends; let us abolish all party names, and call ourselves Christians after Him Whose doctrine we have." - Hugh Thomason Kerr, A Compend of Luther's Theology (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1943, p. 135)
John Wesley, another great reformation leader, among whose followers are Methodists, Wesleyans, etc.:
"Would to God that all party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world, were forgot and that the very name [Methodist] might never be mentioned more, but be buried in eternal oblivion." - John Wesley, Universal Knowledge, A Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Arts, Science, History, Biography, Law, Literature, Religions, Nations, Races, Customs, and Institutions, Vol. 9, Edward A. Pace, Editor (New York: Universal Knowledge Foundation, 1927, p. 540)
Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest Baptist preachers who ever lived:
"I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living! I hope that the Baptist name will soon perish, but let Christ's name last forever." - Spurgeon Memorial Library, Vol. I., p. 168.
Well, that day has not yet come, and denominationalism with its religious division seems to be as strong as ever! But all is not lost. For throughout the world, more and more people are throwing aside their denominational shackles. They are following Jesus Christ in the freedom of gospel liberty that comes from being simply Christians! And what may be a surprise to some, they are able to do so "being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind" - Ph 2:2 How is this possible? That is what I hope to demonstrate starting with the next lesson. But it begins with two things:
A strong desire to follow Jesus Christ and His prayer for unity - cf. Jn 17:20-23
An understanding of the carnal nature of division, and why denominationalism is wrong - 1 Co 3:3-4.
Dear friend, don't you want to be simply a Christian, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ...?
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, August 06, 2006
True Repentance
True Repentance
2 Corinthians 7:9-11
A prominent theme in the preaching of the Gospel is the call to repent. Jesus wanted it to be preached in His name to all nations - Lk 24:46-47 “and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Peter proclaimed the call to repent in his first two sermons - Ac 2:36-38 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”; 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,”. Paul spoke of repentance to philosophers and kings - Ac 17:30-31 “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."; 26:19-20 "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”
However, the call to repentance is often neglected in modern day preaching, by some who preach “faith only” and by some who in reaction stress “baptism”. One cannot truly preach the gospel of Christ without the call to repent; and yet. What is repentance? How is it produced? What are some indications that repentance has occurred? Perhaps the most elaborate discussion on repentance is found in 2 Co 7:9-11, which serves as the text for this lesson entitled “True Repentance”.
Let’s begin by defining “True Repentance”. First, let’s look at some misconceptions of repentance. One such misconception is that repentance is “sorrow”. 2 Co 7:9-10 (“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”) shows that repentance is an outcome of sorrow. Sorrow leads to repentance; sorrow itself is not repentance. Another misconception is that repentance is “a changed life”. Some understand that repentance is a converted life, but Ac 3:19 (see above) shows that repentance and conversion are two separate things. Peter says “Repent therefore and be converted”. If repentance is the same as conversion, then Peter is being redundant. As we shall see, the order is actually this:
1) First, sorrow.
2) Then, repentance.
3) Finally, a changed life.
W. E. Vine’s definition of a proper repentance is a “change of mind”; “involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God”. So think of repentance as simply “a change of mind” in which we decide to “turn from sin and turn to God”, which is preceded by sorrow and is followed by a changed life. Repentance is therefore a decision of the mind in which one decides to change their life; but what prompts one to make such decision?
In order to produce true repentance it is preceded by “godly sorrow”. This we glean from our text (2 Co 7:9-10); but note carefully that it is not simply “sorrow”, but sorrow that is “godly”. For there is a sorrow that is “of the world”. Note the difference between “godly sorrow” and “worldly sorrow”. “Worldly sorrow” is a selfish kind of sorrow. For example, when one is sorry because they got caught, or when one is sorry because what someone did made them look bad. In “worldly sorrow”, one is more concerned about SELF! “Godly sorrow” is sorrow directed toward God (“godly” is lit. “according to God”). In other words, one is sorry because their actions are sins against a Holy God - Psa 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” Also, one is sorry for the price GOD must pay to have our sins removed. In “godly sorrow”, one is more concerned with GOD than self! “Worldly sorrow” produces regret; “godly sorrow” suffers loss in nothing. “Worldly sorrow” produces death; “godly sorrow” produces repentance to salvation.
If “godly sorrow” leads to repentance, how is it best to produce this “godly sorrow” in others? Let’s look at some examples of producing “godly sorrow” that lead to repentance. In Nathan’s rebuke to David in 2 Sam 12:7-12 provides some insight. He made an appeal to God’s love (7-8) “Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.” He revealed the sin (9) “Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.” He warned of the consequences (10-12) “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'"
The Gospel of Christ, when properly taught, is designed to so produce “godly sorrow”, and in turn, repentance. It appeals to God’s love as a basis for repentance - Ro 2:4 “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” It reveals our sin - Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”. It warns of the consequences - Ro 2:5-11. Our best hope for producing repentance in others that leads to salvation is to proclaim the gospel in its entirety. Not just the “commands” (believe, repent, be baptized). Nor just the “promises” (remission of sins, eternal life, gift of the Holy Spirit). But also the “facts” (man’s sin, God’s love, the coming judgment) If people are not responding to the “commands” of the gospel, perhaps we need to consider whether we are providing proper emphasis to the “facts” of the gospel.
Finally, consider the indications of “True Repentance”. Our text (2 Co 7:11) mentions several. “diligence” (KJV, carefulness). This can be defined as “earnestness, zeal, sometimes with haste accompanying it”. In other words, being quick to do what is right! Examples of conversion in ACTS demonstrate this diligence in that every case described in detail shows people obeying the gospel after just one lesson! “clearing of yourselves”. To clear one’s self of blame, quick to stop doing what is wrong, if such is the case, quick to respond to the offer of forgiveness when one realizes their guilt. “indignation”. This involves a sort of anger, or moral outrage, toward the SIN which required the repentance. “fear”. Lest the sin should be repeated. Lest the sin should not be entirely removed. “vehement desire”. A fervent wish. Especially to be right in God’s eyes. “zeal”. This involves an “eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something”. In this case, to turn from sin and turn to God. “vindication” (KJV, revenge). As the NIV puts it, “what readiness to see justice done”, to do the right thing!
Such are the “signs” of true repentance. Not apathy, not halfhearted service. But, a desire to do “works befitting repentance” - Ac 26:20 “but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” Is this indicative of our repentance? Can we look at our lives and see signs that we have really had “a change of mind”. That we have truly made “a decision to turn from sin and to turn to God”? If we have not yet obeyed the gospel ...we have not repented! If we have become slack in our service...we are in need of repentance! If so, then we are in need of a healthy dose of “godly sorrow”, brought about by realizing God’s love for us, the fact we have all sinned and the consequences if we do not repent!
May the love of God and the reality of the coming judgment move us all to “True Repentance”! The blessings for those who do repent are wonderful... - Ac 2:38-39 “And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." ; 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,”
If you need assistance in obeying the gospel or wish to further discuss this matter please contact me at jimnewy@classicnet.net
This material is from ExecutableOutlines.com, a web site containing sermon outlines
and Bible studies by Mark A. Copeland. Visit the web site to browse or download
additional material for church or personal use.
The outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel.
Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To
God be the glory!
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
2 Corinthians 7:9-11
A prominent theme in the preaching of the Gospel is the call to repent. Jesus wanted it to be preached in His name to all nations - Lk 24:46-47 “and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Peter proclaimed the call to repent in his first two sermons - Ac 2:36-38 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”; 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,”. Paul spoke of repentance to philosophers and kings - Ac 17:30-31 “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."; 26:19-20 "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”
However, the call to repentance is often neglected in modern day preaching, by some who preach “faith only” and by some who in reaction stress “baptism”. One cannot truly preach the gospel of Christ without the call to repent; and yet. What is repentance? How is it produced? What are some indications that repentance has occurred? Perhaps the most elaborate discussion on repentance is found in 2 Co 7:9-11, which serves as the text for this lesson entitled “True Repentance”.
Let’s begin by defining “True Repentance”. First, let’s look at some misconceptions of repentance. One such misconception is that repentance is “sorrow”. 2 Co 7:9-10 (“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”) shows that repentance is an outcome of sorrow. Sorrow leads to repentance; sorrow itself is not repentance. Another misconception is that repentance is “a changed life”. Some understand that repentance is a converted life, but Ac 3:19 (see above) shows that repentance and conversion are two separate things. Peter says “Repent therefore and be converted”. If repentance is the same as conversion, then Peter is being redundant. As we shall see, the order is actually this:
1) First, sorrow.
2) Then, repentance.
3) Finally, a changed life.
W. E. Vine’s definition of a proper repentance is a “change of mind”; “involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God”. So think of repentance as simply “a change of mind” in which we decide to “turn from sin and turn to God”, which is preceded by sorrow and is followed by a changed life. Repentance is therefore a decision of the mind in which one decides to change their life; but what prompts one to make such decision?
In order to produce true repentance it is preceded by “godly sorrow”. This we glean from our text (2 Co 7:9-10); but note carefully that it is not simply “sorrow”, but sorrow that is “godly”. For there is a sorrow that is “of the world”. Note the difference between “godly sorrow” and “worldly sorrow”. “Worldly sorrow” is a selfish kind of sorrow. For example, when one is sorry because they got caught, or when one is sorry because what someone did made them look bad. In “worldly sorrow”, one is more concerned about SELF! “Godly sorrow” is sorrow directed toward God (“godly” is lit. “according to God”). In other words, one is sorry because their actions are sins against a Holy God - Psa 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” Also, one is sorry for the price GOD must pay to have our sins removed. In “godly sorrow”, one is more concerned with GOD than self! “Worldly sorrow” produces regret; “godly sorrow” suffers loss in nothing. “Worldly sorrow” produces death; “godly sorrow” produces repentance to salvation.
If “godly sorrow” leads to repentance, how is it best to produce this “godly sorrow” in others? Let’s look at some examples of producing “godly sorrow” that lead to repentance. In Nathan’s rebuke to David in 2 Sam 12:7-12 provides some insight. He made an appeal to God’s love (7-8) “Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.” He revealed the sin (9) “Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.” He warned of the consequences (10-12) “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'"
The Gospel of Christ, when properly taught, is designed to so produce “godly sorrow”, and in turn, repentance. It appeals to God’s love as a basis for repentance - Ro 2:4 “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” It reveals our sin - Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”. It warns of the consequences - Ro 2:5-11. Our best hope for producing repentance in others that leads to salvation is to proclaim the gospel in its entirety. Not just the “commands” (believe, repent, be baptized). Nor just the “promises” (remission of sins, eternal life, gift of the Holy Spirit). But also the “facts” (man’s sin, God’s love, the coming judgment) If people are not responding to the “commands” of the gospel, perhaps we need to consider whether we are providing proper emphasis to the “facts” of the gospel.
Finally, consider the indications of “True Repentance”. Our text (2 Co 7:11) mentions several. “diligence” (KJV, carefulness). This can be defined as “earnestness, zeal, sometimes with haste accompanying it”. In other words, being quick to do what is right! Examples of conversion in ACTS demonstrate this diligence in that every case described in detail shows people obeying the gospel after just one lesson! “clearing of yourselves”. To clear one’s self of blame, quick to stop doing what is wrong, if such is the case, quick to respond to the offer of forgiveness when one realizes their guilt. “indignation”. This involves a sort of anger, or moral outrage, toward the SIN which required the repentance. “fear”. Lest the sin should be repeated. Lest the sin should not be entirely removed. “vehement desire”. A fervent wish. Especially to be right in God’s eyes. “zeal”. This involves an “eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something”. In this case, to turn from sin and turn to God. “vindication” (KJV, revenge). As the NIV puts it, “what readiness to see justice done”, to do the right thing!
Such are the “signs” of true repentance. Not apathy, not halfhearted service. But, a desire to do “works befitting repentance” - Ac 26:20 “but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” Is this indicative of our repentance? Can we look at our lives and see signs that we have really had “a change of mind”. That we have truly made “a decision to turn from sin and to turn to God”? If we have not yet obeyed the gospel ...we have not repented! If we have become slack in our service...we are in need of repentance! If so, then we are in need of a healthy dose of “godly sorrow”, brought about by realizing God’s love for us, the fact we have all sinned and the consequences if we do not repent!
May the love of God and the reality of the coming judgment move us all to “True Repentance”! The blessings for those who do repent are wonderful... - Ac 2:38-39 “And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." ; 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,”
If you need assistance in obeying the gospel or wish to further discuss this matter please contact me at jimnewy@classicnet.net
This material is from ExecutableOutlines.com, a web site containing sermon outlines
and Bible studies by Mark A. Copeland. Visit the web site to browse or download
additional material for church or personal use.
The outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel.
Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To
God be the glory!
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Conversions in The Book of Acts - IXb
Conversions In The Book Of Acts
The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-10) Part Two
The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" does raise an interesting question concerning "re-baptism". Under what circumstances should one be "baptized" again? Here are some thoughts regarding this question. Is re-baptism ever necessary? For the answer to this question I offer the reader some observations concerning the twelve disciples. They had been previously "baptized". Their baptism, however, was lacking in some way. Even though it was immersion. Even though it was "for the remission of sins" - Mk 1:4 "So John the Baptist showed up in the desert and told everyone, "Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven."’ But baptism was not in the name of Jesus - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 10:48 "Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they asked him to stay on for a few days."; 19:5 "After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." That is, by His authority which would have been a baptism into the name of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son - Mt 28:19 "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,"
Because their first baptism lacked an essential element, "re-baptism" was necessary! May we not conclude that if an earlier baptism lacks some essential element, then "re-baptism" is necessary?
Let’s now look at some reason when re-baptism is appropriate. There are four "essential elements" of Bible baptism:
The proper mode: a burial (immersion) - Ro 6:3 "Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death?" (a burial); Co 2:12 "And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death."
The proper authority: in the name of Christ - Ac 19:5 "After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
The proper purpose: remission of sins - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’
The proper subject: penitent believer - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 8:37 "Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." He replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."’; Mk 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
When one of these "essential elements" was lacking, "re-baptism" was commanded In Ac 19:1-5, the proper authority was lacking. Even though their previous baptism had the right mode, purpose, and subject. Some cases where "re-baptism" would seem appropriate are if we were baptized by sprinkling or pouring, for the proper mode is immersion. If we were baptized by the authority of anyone other than Jesus, for the proper authority is Jesus Christ. If we were baptized as a public confession of faith (thinking that we were already saved), for the proper purpose is the remission of sins. If we were baptized but were not penitent believers , for a proper subject is one who believes "with all their heart" For example, when one is baptized just because their friends are doing it or because their spouse, fiancé, or parents are pressuring them to do it (and they do it to please them, not God).
But let me be sure to clarify. When one is baptized because their "first" baptism lacked an essential element it is not really "re-baptism!" For in the strictest sense, that person is finally being baptized scripturally for the first time! When one has been scripturally baptized once there is never a need to be baptized again! For once we have clothed ourselves with Christ in baptism the blood of Christ continually cleanses us of our sins as we repent and confess our sins to God in prayer - Ac 8:22 "Get rid of these evil thoughts and ask God to forgive you."; 1 Jn 1:9 "But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away."
The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" certainly illustrates that one can be religious, have undergone some baptismal experience and still not be a true disciple of Jesus Christ! One can rest assured that they are a true disciple of Jesus when their baptism had:
The right mode - immersion
The right authority- Jesus Christ
The right purpose - remission of sins
The right subject - penitent believer
Lacking any of these "essential elements", one should consider being baptized again in order to "make your calling and election sure". If we desire to truly be the disciples of Jesus Christ, then let’s be sure we proclaim the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, as preached by His apostles in the first century. Let’s be sure we personally have responded to that gospel in the same manner as those who heard the good news preached in its purity and simplicity.
I pray that this study, "Conversions In The Book Of Acts" has been beneficial toward that end as this is the final lesson in this series.
Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in "The Twelve Disciples Of John" and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jimnewy@classicnet.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-10) Part Two
The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" does raise an interesting question concerning "re-baptism". Under what circumstances should one be "baptized" again? Here are some thoughts regarding this question. Is re-baptism ever necessary? For the answer to this question I offer the reader some observations concerning the twelve disciples. They had been previously "baptized". Their baptism, however, was lacking in some way. Even though it was immersion. Even though it was "for the remission of sins" - Mk 1:4 "So John the Baptist showed up in the desert and told everyone, "Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven."’ But baptism was not in the name of Jesus - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 10:48 "Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they asked him to stay on for a few days."; 19:5 "After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." That is, by His authority which would have been a baptism into the name of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son - Mt 28:19 "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,"
Because their first baptism lacked an essential element, "re-baptism" was necessary! May we not conclude that if an earlier baptism lacks some essential element, then "re-baptism" is necessary?
Let’s now look at some reason when re-baptism is appropriate. There are four "essential elements" of Bible baptism:
The proper mode: a burial (immersion) - Ro 6:3 "Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death?" (a burial); Co 2:12 "And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death."
The proper authority: in the name of Christ - Ac 19:5 "After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
The proper purpose: remission of sins - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’
The proper subject: penitent believer - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 8:37 "Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." He replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."’; Mk 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
When one of these "essential elements" was lacking, "re-baptism" was commanded In Ac 19:1-5, the proper authority was lacking. Even though their previous baptism had the right mode, purpose, and subject. Some cases where "re-baptism" would seem appropriate are if we were baptized by sprinkling or pouring, for the proper mode is immersion. If we were baptized by the authority of anyone other than Jesus, for the proper authority is Jesus Christ. If we were baptized as a public confession of faith (thinking that we were already saved), for the proper purpose is the remission of sins. If we were baptized but were not penitent believers , for a proper subject is one who believes "with all their heart" For example, when one is baptized just because their friends are doing it or because their spouse, fiancé, or parents are pressuring them to do it (and they do it to please them, not God).
But let me be sure to clarify. When one is baptized because their "first" baptism lacked an essential element it is not really "re-baptism!" For in the strictest sense, that person is finally being baptized scripturally for the first time! When one has been scripturally baptized once there is never a need to be baptized again! For once we have clothed ourselves with Christ in baptism the blood of Christ continually cleanses us of our sins as we repent and confess our sins to God in prayer - Ac 8:22 "Get rid of these evil thoughts and ask God to forgive you."; 1 Jn 1:9 "But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away."
The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" certainly illustrates that one can be religious, have undergone some baptismal experience and still not be a true disciple of Jesus Christ! One can rest assured that they are a true disciple of Jesus when their baptism had:
The right mode - immersion
The right authority- Jesus Christ
The right purpose - remission of sins
The right subject - penitent believer
Lacking any of these "essential elements", one should consider being baptized again in order to "make your calling and election sure". If we desire to truly be the disciples of Jesus Christ, then let’s be sure we proclaim the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, as preached by His apostles in the first century. Let’s be sure we personally have responded to that gospel in the same manner as those who heard the good news preached in its purity and simplicity.
I pray that this study, "Conversions In The Book Of Acts" has been beneficial toward that end as this is the final lesson in this series.
Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in "The Twelve Disciples Of John" and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jimnewy@classicnet.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Conversions in The Book of Acts - IXa
Conversions In The Book Of Acts
The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-10) Part One
In our survey of "Conversions In The Book of Acts", we have consider the following examples of conversion.
The 3000 on Pentecost - Ac 2:1-41
The 2000 at Solomon’s Porch - Ac 3:1-4:4
The Samaritans - Ac 8:4-25
The Ethiopian Eunuch - Ac 8:26-40
Saul Of Tarsus - Ac 9:1-19; 22:6-16; 26:12-18
Cornelius And His Household - Ac 10:1-48; 11:1-18
Two Households At Philippi - Ac 16:6-34
The Athenians - Ac 17:16-34
The Corinthians - Ac 18:1-11
There were others that we might have considered, but did not.
Those at Antioch of Syria - Ac 11:19-21
Sergius Paulus on the island of Paphos - Ac 13:4-12
Those at Antioch of Pisidia - Ac 13:13-48
Those at Iconium, Lystra and Derbe - Ac 14:1-20
Those at Thessalonica and Berea - Ac 17:1-12
And Apollos, who was taught by Aquila and Priscilla - Ac 18:24-28
In the examples we considered, I made the following observations:
The gospel message was one that focused on Jesus...
Who died for our sins
Who was raised from the dead
Who is both Lord and Christ, returning again one day to judge the world
That the response expected of those who heard was one of...
Faith in Jesus as the Christ, the son of God (which included confessing that faith)
Repentance of one’s sins
Baptism for the remission of sins
Before we conclude this series, I wish to examine one more case of conversion. It is the last example of conversion in Acts (with the possible exception of some in the audience when Paul spoke at Rome - Ac 28:23-24). It is unique for several reasons, one of which is that it describes a "re-baptism". I am referring to "The Twelve Disciples Of John", recorded in Ac 19:1-10.
As we begin this study, let’s review the Biblical record of the conversion of twelve "disciles of John." When Paul arrived in Ephesus. He had just started his third journey - Ac 18:22-23 "Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch. After staying there for a while, he left and visited several places in Galatia and Phrygia. He helped the followers there to become stronger in their faith." At the end of his second journey, he had made a quick stop at Ephesus - Ac 18:19-21 "The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the Jewish meeting place to talk with the people there. They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. He told them good-by and said, "If God lets me, I will come back."’ True to his word, he returned to Ephesus - Ac 19:1 "While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled across the hill country to Ephesus, where he met some of the Lord's followers."
He finds some "disciples", who were twelve in number - Ac 19:1b "where he met some of the Lord's followers.", 7 "There were about twelve men in this group." Upon questioning, he learns they were disciples of John the Baptist - Ac 19:2-3 "He asked them, "When you put your faith in Jesus, were you given the Holy Spirit?" "No!" they answered. "We have never even heard of the Holy Spirit." "Then why were you baptized?" Paul asked. They answered, "Because of what John taught."’ He asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed as explained in the conversion of "The Samaritans" (Ac 8:4-25), I believe the phrase "receive the Holy Spirit" to be a metonymy for receiving a miraculous gift from the Spirit. As an apostle, Paul had the ability to impart spiritual gifts - Ro 1:11 "I want to see you and share with you the same blessings that God's Spirit has given me. Then you will grow stronger in your faith."; 2 Ti 1:6s28 "So I ask you to make full use of the gift that God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well." Assuming the "disciples" to have been baptized into Christ, he desired to give them gifts from the Spirit (such as the gifts of tongues and prophesy, cf. 1 Co 12:10). Their immediate answer sparks another question from Paul as they had not heard about a Holy Spirit. They must not have known much of John’s own teaching, for he taught concerning the Holy Spirit - Mt 3:11 "I baptize you with water so that you will give up your sins. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." They clearly could not have been properly baptized into Christ, for it is a baptism into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! - Mt 28:19 "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," So Paul inquires into their baptism. He learns that it was John’s baptism. Some have suggested that these 12 may have been converted by Apollos before Apollos himself learned the truth - Ac 18:24-25 "A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. He also knew much about the Lord's Way, and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism."
Paul explains that while John did teach a baptism of repentance, he directed people to believe on Jesus who would come after him - Ac 19:4 "Paul replied, "John baptized people so that they would turn to God. But he also told them that someone else was coming, and that they should put their faith in him. Jesus is the one that John was talking about."’ The twelve are then baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus - Ac 19:5 "After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." This would be the baptism commanded by Jesus - Mt 28:18-20 "Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." And the baptism expected of all would-be disciples of Jesus - Ac 2:38; 22:16. Following their baptism, Paul laid hands on them and the Spirit imparted gifts of tongues and prophesy - Ac 19:6-7 "Then Paul placed his hands on them. The Holy Spirit was given to them, and they spoke unknown languages and prophesied. There were about twelve men in this group." Such was the beginning of a very successful period for the gospel (cf. Ac 19:8-10 "For three months Paul went to the Jewish meeting place and talked bravely with the people about God's kingdom. He tried to win them over, but some of them were stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone they said terrible things about God's Way. Paul left and took the followers with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He spoke there every day for two years, until every Jew and Gentile in Asia had heard the Lord's message."). Again we see what was considered the normal response of one who wished to become a disciple of Jesus (faith and baptism). Mark 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" does raise an interesting question concerning "re-baptism". We will look at this question in our next lesson in this series.
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-10) Part One
In our survey of "Conversions In The Book of Acts", we have consider the following examples of conversion.
The 3000 on Pentecost - Ac 2:1-41
The 2000 at Solomon’s Porch - Ac 3:1-4:4
The Samaritans - Ac 8:4-25
The Ethiopian Eunuch - Ac 8:26-40
Saul Of Tarsus - Ac 9:1-19; 22:6-16; 26:12-18
Cornelius And His Household - Ac 10:1-48; 11:1-18
Two Households At Philippi - Ac 16:6-34
The Athenians - Ac 17:16-34
The Corinthians - Ac 18:1-11
There were others that we might have considered, but did not.
Those at Antioch of Syria - Ac 11:19-21
Sergius Paulus on the island of Paphos - Ac 13:4-12
Those at Antioch of Pisidia - Ac 13:13-48
Those at Iconium, Lystra and Derbe - Ac 14:1-20
Those at Thessalonica and Berea - Ac 17:1-12
And Apollos, who was taught by Aquila and Priscilla - Ac 18:24-28
In the examples we considered, I made the following observations:
The gospel message was one that focused on Jesus...
Who died for our sins
Who was raised from the dead
Who is both Lord and Christ, returning again one day to judge the world
That the response expected of those who heard was one of...
Faith in Jesus as the Christ, the son of God (which included confessing that faith)
Repentance of one’s sins
Baptism for the remission of sins
Before we conclude this series, I wish to examine one more case of conversion. It is the last example of conversion in Acts (with the possible exception of some in the audience when Paul spoke at Rome - Ac 28:23-24). It is unique for several reasons, one of which is that it describes a "re-baptism". I am referring to "The Twelve Disciples Of John", recorded in Ac 19:1-10.
As we begin this study, let’s review the Biblical record of the conversion of twelve "disciles of John." When Paul arrived in Ephesus. He had just started his third journey - Ac 18:22-23 "Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch. After staying there for a while, he left and visited several places in Galatia and Phrygia. He helped the followers there to become stronger in their faith." At the end of his second journey, he had made a quick stop at Ephesus - Ac 18:19-21 "The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the Jewish meeting place to talk with the people there. They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. He told them good-by and said, "If God lets me, I will come back."’ True to his word, he returned to Ephesus - Ac 19:1 "While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled across the hill country to Ephesus, where he met some of the Lord's followers."
He finds some "disciples", who were twelve in number - Ac 19:1b "where he met some of the Lord's followers.", 7 "There were about twelve men in this group." Upon questioning, he learns they were disciples of John the Baptist - Ac 19:2-3 "He asked them, "When you put your faith in Jesus, were you given the Holy Spirit?" "No!" they answered. "We have never even heard of the Holy Spirit." "Then why were you baptized?" Paul asked. They answered, "Because of what John taught."’ He asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed as explained in the conversion of "The Samaritans" (Ac 8:4-25), I believe the phrase "receive the Holy Spirit" to be a metonymy for receiving a miraculous gift from the Spirit. As an apostle, Paul had the ability to impart spiritual gifts - Ro 1:11 "I want to see you and share with you the same blessings that God's Spirit has given me. Then you will grow stronger in your faith."; 2 Ti 1:6s28 "So I ask you to make full use of the gift that God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well." Assuming the "disciples" to have been baptized into Christ, he desired to give them gifts from the Spirit (such as the gifts of tongues and prophesy, cf. 1 Co 12:10). Their immediate answer sparks another question from Paul as they had not heard about a Holy Spirit. They must not have known much of John’s own teaching, for he taught concerning the Holy Spirit - Mt 3:11 "I baptize you with water so that you will give up your sins. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." They clearly could not have been properly baptized into Christ, for it is a baptism into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! - Mt 28:19 "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," So Paul inquires into their baptism. He learns that it was John’s baptism. Some have suggested that these 12 may have been converted by Apollos before Apollos himself learned the truth - Ac 18:24-25 "A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. He also knew much about the Lord's Way, and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism."
Paul explains that while John did teach a baptism of repentance, he directed people to believe on Jesus who would come after him - Ac 19:4 "Paul replied, "John baptized people so that they would turn to God. But he also told them that someone else was coming, and that they should put their faith in him. Jesus is the one that John was talking about."’ The twelve are then baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus - Ac 19:5 "After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." This would be the baptism commanded by Jesus - Mt 28:18-20 "Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." And the baptism expected of all would-be disciples of Jesus - Ac 2:38; 22:16. Following their baptism, Paul laid hands on them and the Spirit imparted gifts of tongues and prophesy - Ac 19:6-7 "Then Paul placed his hands on them. The Holy Spirit was given to them, and they spoke unknown languages and prophesied. There were about twelve men in this group." Such was the beginning of a very successful period for the gospel (cf. Ac 19:8-10 "For three months Paul went to the Jewish meeting place and talked bravely with the people about God's kingdom. He tried to win them over, but some of them were stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone they said terrible things about God's Way. Paul left and took the followers with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He spoke there every day for two years, until every Jew and Gentile in Asia had heard the Lord's message."). Again we see what was considered the normal response of one who wished to become a disciple of Jesus (faith and baptism). Mark 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" does raise an interesting question concerning "re-baptism". We will look at this question in our next lesson in this series.
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Conversions in The Book of Acts - VIII
Conversions In The Book Of Acts
The Corinthians (18:1-11)
Following his limited success at Athens, Paul went to nearby Corinth. An economic center of Greece, known for its immorality. It became an important focus of Paul’s ministry. He stayed a year and a half on his second missionary journey. Where he visited once and possibly twice on his third journey. A well-known church was established, the recipient of at least two epistles by Paul. The establishment of the church is described in Ac 18:1-11 in which we read of Paul’s work in the local synagogue. We also read of he conversion of many Corinthians, including the ruler of the synagogue. We also read something about their conversion in 1 Co 1:14-17, where Paul expresses thanks for personally baptizing just a few of the Corinthians in which some have concluded that Paul was declaring the non-essentiality of baptism. In this study we shall examine the conversion of "The Corinthians". Once again, to glean what we can about the gospel’s message and response. We want to look at and determine whether Paul was actually demeaning the importance of baptism in his epistle to the Corinthians.
Turning to Ac 18:1-11, let’s review Luke’s account of the conversion of the Corinthians. Upon Paul’s arrival in Corinth he meets up with Aquila and Priscilla - Ac 18:1-2 "Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla" Of the same trade (tentmakers), Paul stays with them - Ac 18:3 "and found out that they were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker too. So he stayed with them, and they worked together."
Looking at Paul’s ministry at Corinth he goes to the synagogue, as was his custom - Ac 18:4 "Every Sabbath, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles and tried to win them over.";also see 17:1-3. He "reasons" with the people, as he did with those at Thessalonica and those at Athens - se Ac 17:2 and Ac 17:17 We will find that Paul did the same with those at Ephesus - Ac 18:19; 19:8-9; Felix the governor - Ac 24:25; Festus and Agrippa - Ac 26:25 where the gospel is designed to appeal to the mind as well as the heart! He "persuades" both Jews and Greeks just as he did at Thessalonica - Ac 17:4 and as he did at Ephesus - Ac 19:8 He came close to doing the same with King Agrippa - Ac 26:28. Again, the gospel appeals to the reasoning processes of the mind.
When Silas and Timothy arrive, Paul is constrained to preach even more - Ac 18:5 "But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah." He "testified" to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ - just as he did in Ac 20:21,24; 23:11; 28:23. Such testimony likely involved using the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament as in - Ac 17:2-3 "So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about." He likely used his eyewitness testimony as an apostle - Ac 26:16 "Now stand up. I have appeared to you, because I have chosen you to be my servant. You are to tell others what you have learned about me and what I will show you later."’
Rejection by some of the Jews sends him to the Gentiles - Ac 18:6-7 "Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes and told them, "Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles." Paul then moved into the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and lived next door to the Jewish meeting place." Just as it did at Antioch of Pisidia - Ac 13:45-46. In Corinth, Paul has only to go next door, to the home of Justus. The gospel bears fruit in Corinth - Ac 18:8 "Crispus was the leader of the meeting place. He and everyone in his family put their faith in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard the message, and all the people who had faith in the Lord were baptized." Crispus, ruler of the synagogue, believes with all his household - (see also 1 Co 1:14 "I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius.") Many of the Corinthians believe and are baptized. Encouraged by the Lord in a vision, Paul stays for a year and a half - Ac 18:9-11 "One night, Paul had a vision, and in it the Lord said, "Don't be afraid to keep on preaching. Don't stop! I am with you, and you won't be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me." Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching God's message to the people."
With Luke’s description, we see a similarity with what we have read before. Upon hearing the gospel, those persuaded both believe and are baptized (cf. Ac 8:12; 18:8). This is certainly in keeping with the commission of our Lord (cf. Mk 16:15-16). But often people will use Paul’s comments in 1 Co 1:14-17 to say that baptism has nothing to do with conversion (salvation). Is that true? Let’s take a close look at Paul’s comments to the Corinthians. Keeping to the context the church at Corinth was badly divided - 1 Co 1:10-11 "My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other." People were aligning themselves as followers of different men (perhaps based upon who baptized them) - 1 Co 1:12-13 "They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?" Paul illustrates the absurdity of calling themselves after men with several rhetorical questions. "Is Christ divided?" "Was Paul crucified for you?" "Were you baptized in the name of Paul?" The implied answer to each question was "No!" But notice what else is implied by each question. Christ is not divided. It was Christ (not some man) who was crucified for you. You were baptized, not in the name of some man, but in the name of Christ! So the context itself implies what we read in Ac 18:8 ("...many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.")
Note Paul’s comments, "I thank God that I baptized none of you except..." - 1 Co 1:14 "I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius." Paul should be understood in light of the context. Since some of the Corinthians were dividing over who may have baptized them, Paul was grateful that he had not personally baptized many of them. His reason? Not because he did not consider baptism important. But as he states himself: "...lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name." - 1 Co 1:15. The Corinthians had been baptized - as seen in Ac 18:8; 1 Co 1:13 as a result of Paul’s preaching, by the way. But not many by Paul personally, for which he was later thankful! "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." - 1 Co 1:17. Are we to understand Paul to say that he did not preach baptism?
Clearly he did to Lydia and the Philippian jailor - Ac 16:14-15; 32-33. Clearly he did to the Corinthians - Ac 18:8. He taught baptism as the means by which one puts on Christ - Ga 3:27 "And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes." He taught baptism as the means by which one dies to sin - Ro 6:3-7 "Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father. If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn't have power over dead people."
Instead, we are to understand that Paul was emphasizing his function as an apostle. He was sent to preach the gospel (which includes the command to be baptized - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned.") It was not his primary function to perform the baptisms of those who responded to the gospel! Though he did in some cases - 1 Co 1:14,16. But he was often accompanied by others (e.g., Silas, Timothy, Luke), and they were likely the ones to handle the physical act of immersing people. In view of what later occurred at Corinth, he is simply thankful that his involvement in the act of baptizing others was rather limited. Such was the point of Paul’s comments, and they should not be understood as Paul demeaning the value or place of baptism in the process of conversion!
The conversion of "The Corinthians" confirms what we have seen in previous examples of conversions in the book of Acts. The gospel concerning Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) was proclaimed. Those "persuaded" by the gospel message believed and were baptized immediately. The conversion of "The Corinthians" also stands out because of the impact the gospel had in their lives. As mentioned, the city of Corinth was known for its immorality. Many of the members of the church had lived immoral lives - cf. 1 Co 6:9-11a "Don't you know that evil people won't have a share in the blessings of God's kingdom? Don't fool yourselves! No one who is immoral or worships idols or is unfaithful in marriage or is a pervert or behaves like a homosexual will share in God's kingdom. Neither will any thief or greedy person or drunkard or anyone who curses and cheats others. Some of you used to be like that." Yet through their faith and obedience to the gospel of Christ, Paul could write:
"But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Co 6:11)
Such is the power of the gospel of Christ to the obedient believer. Have you been "washed", "sanctified", and "justified"? Let the conversions in the book of Acts show you how!. Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ? If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in the conversion of the Corinthians and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jnlnewsted@nts-online.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
The Corinthians (18:1-11)
Following his limited success at Athens, Paul went to nearby Corinth. An economic center of Greece, known for its immorality. It became an important focus of Paul’s ministry. He stayed a year and a half on his second missionary journey. Where he visited once and possibly twice on his third journey. A well-known church was established, the recipient of at least two epistles by Paul. The establishment of the church is described in Ac 18:1-11 in which we read of Paul’s work in the local synagogue. We also read of he conversion of many Corinthians, including the ruler of the synagogue. We also read something about their conversion in 1 Co 1:14-17, where Paul expresses thanks for personally baptizing just a few of the Corinthians in which some have concluded that Paul was declaring the non-essentiality of baptism. In this study we shall examine the conversion of "The Corinthians". Once again, to glean what we can about the gospel’s message and response. We want to look at and determine whether Paul was actually demeaning the importance of baptism in his epistle to the Corinthians.
Turning to Ac 18:1-11, let’s review Luke’s account of the conversion of the Corinthians. Upon Paul’s arrival in Corinth he meets up with Aquila and Priscilla - Ac 18:1-2 "Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla" Of the same trade (tentmakers), Paul stays with them - Ac 18:3 "and found out that they were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker too. So he stayed with them, and they worked together."
Looking at Paul’s ministry at Corinth he goes to the synagogue, as was his custom - Ac 18:4 "Every Sabbath, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles and tried to win them over.";also see 17:1-3. He "reasons" with the people, as he did with those at Thessalonica and those at Athens - se Ac 17:2 and Ac 17:17 We will find that Paul did the same with those at Ephesus - Ac 18:19; 19:8-9; Felix the governor - Ac 24:25; Festus and Agrippa - Ac 26:25 where the gospel is designed to appeal to the mind as well as the heart! He "persuades" both Jews and Greeks just as he did at Thessalonica - Ac 17:4 and as he did at Ephesus - Ac 19:8 He came close to doing the same with King Agrippa - Ac 26:28. Again, the gospel appeals to the reasoning processes of the mind.
When Silas and Timothy arrive, Paul is constrained to preach even more - Ac 18:5 "But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah." He "testified" to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ - just as he did in Ac 20:21,24; 23:11; 28:23. Such testimony likely involved using the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament as in - Ac 17:2-3 "So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about." He likely used his eyewitness testimony as an apostle - Ac 26:16 "Now stand up. I have appeared to you, because I have chosen you to be my servant. You are to tell others what you have learned about me and what I will show you later."’
Rejection by some of the Jews sends him to the Gentiles - Ac 18:6-7 "Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes and told them, "Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles." Paul then moved into the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and lived next door to the Jewish meeting place." Just as it did at Antioch of Pisidia - Ac 13:45-46. In Corinth, Paul has only to go next door, to the home of Justus. The gospel bears fruit in Corinth - Ac 18:8 "Crispus was the leader of the meeting place. He and everyone in his family put their faith in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard the message, and all the people who had faith in the Lord were baptized." Crispus, ruler of the synagogue, believes with all his household - (see also 1 Co 1:14 "I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius.") Many of the Corinthians believe and are baptized. Encouraged by the Lord in a vision, Paul stays for a year and a half - Ac 18:9-11 "One night, Paul had a vision, and in it the Lord said, "Don't be afraid to keep on preaching. Don't stop! I am with you, and you won't be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me." Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching God's message to the people."
With Luke’s description, we see a similarity with what we have read before. Upon hearing the gospel, those persuaded both believe and are baptized (cf. Ac 8:12; 18:8). This is certainly in keeping with the commission of our Lord (cf. Mk 16:15-16). But often people will use Paul’s comments in 1 Co 1:14-17 to say that baptism has nothing to do with conversion (salvation). Is that true? Let’s take a close look at Paul’s comments to the Corinthians. Keeping to the context the church at Corinth was badly divided - 1 Co 1:10-11 "My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other." People were aligning themselves as followers of different men (perhaps based upon who baptized them) - 1 Co 1:12-13 "They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?" Paul illustrates the absurdity of calling themselves after men with several rhetorical questions. "Is Christ divided?" "Was Paul crucified for you?" "Were you baptized in the name of Paul?" The implied answer to each question was "No!" But notice what else is implied by each question. Christ is not divided. It was Christ (not some man) who was crucified for you. You were baptized, not in the name of some man, but in the name of Christ! So the context itself implies what we read in Ac 18:8 ("...many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.")
Note Paul’s comments, "I thank God that I baptized none of you except..." - 1 Co 1:14 "I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius." Paul should be understood in light of the context. Since some of the Corinthians were dividing over who may have baptized them, Paul was grateful that he had not personally baptized many of them. His reason? Not because he did not consider baptism important. But as he states himself: "...lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name." - 1 Co 1:15. The Corinthians had been baptized - as seen in Ac 18:8; 1 Co 1:13 as a result of Paul’s preaching, by the way. But not many by Paul personally, for which he was later thankful! "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." - 1 Co 1:17. Are we to understand Paul to say that he did not preach baptism?
Clearly he did to Lydia and the Philippian jailor - Ac 16:14-15; 32-33. Clearly he did to the Corinthians - Ac 18:8. He taught baptism as the means by which one puts on Christ - Ga 3:27 "And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes." He taught baptism as the means by which one dies to sin - Ro 6:3-7 "Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father. If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn't have power over dead people."
Instead, we are to understand that Paul was emphasizing his function as an apostle. He was sent to preach the gospel (which includes the command to be baptized - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned.") It was not his primary function to perform the baptisms of those who responded to the gospel! Though he did in some cases - 1 Co 1:14,16. But he was often accompanied by others (e.g., Silas, Timothy, Luke), and they were likely the ones to handle the physical act of immersing people. In view of what later occurred at Corinth, he is simply thankful that his involvement in the act of baptizing others was rather limited. Such was the point of Paul’s comments, and they should not be understood as Paul demeaning the value or place of baptism in the process of conversion!
The conversion of "The Corinthians" confirms what we have seen in previous examples of conversions in the book of Acts. The gospel concerning Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) was proclaimed. Those "persuaded" by the gospel message believed and were baptized immediately. The conversion of "The Corinthians" also stands out because of the impact the gospel had in their lives. As mentioned, the city of Corinth was known for its immorality. Many of the members of the church had lived immoral lives - cf. 1 Co 6:9-11a "Don't you know that evil people won't have a share in the blessings of God's kingdom? Don't fool yourselves! No one who is immoral or worships idols or is unfaithful in marriage or is a pervert or behaves like a homosexual will share in God's kingdom. Neither will any thief or greedy person or drunkard or anyone who curses and cheats others. Some of you used to be like that." Yet through their faith and obedience to the gospel of Christ, Paul could write:
"But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Co 6:11)
Such is the power of the gospel of Christ to the obedient believer. Have you been "washed", "sanctified", and "justified"? Let the conversions in the book of Acts show you how!. Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ? If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in the conversion of the Corinthians and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jnlnewsted@nts-online.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Conversions in The Book of Acts - VIIb
Conversions In The Book Of Acts
The Athenians (17:16-34) Part Two
As has been our practice in previous lessons let’s look at some observations of Paul’s sermon and in this conversion of those that believed. First, some observations from Paul’s sermon. Paul used tact - Ac 17:22-23. He acknowledges their spirituality, though misdirected. We should not hesitate to acknowledge the devotion one might have; if in error, our task is to explain "the way of God more accurately" - e.g., Ac 18:24-26 "A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. He also knew much about the Lord's Way, and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism. Apollos started speaking bravely in the Jewish meeting place. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him understand God's Way even better."
Paul began with the present spiritual condition of his audience - Ac 17:23-27. They believed in supreme beings, but didn’t know the True God. With the Jews he began with the Law, with the Gentiles he began with the nature of God; we too should take into consideration where one is spiritually.
Paul made use of an accepted authority - Ac 17:28-29. He quotes from one of their own prophets to make his point. When appropriate, we can appeal to an uninspired authority accepted by others.
Paul led his audience to the main themes of the gospel - Ac 17:30-31. Such as the need to repent, the coming Judgment - cf. 2:38; 3:19. So our ultimate goal in preaching should be the gospel message.
Paul used the resurrection of Jesus as the ultimate proof - Ac 17:31. God has given assurance of the coming Judgment by raising Jesus. Indeed, if Jesus truly did rise from the dead, it is proof of:
The existence of God
The truthfulness of all of Jesus’ claims
The reality of sin, judgment, and the need to repent
This is why we need to develop a strong apologetic (defense, see prior lessons on Apologetics) for the resurrection of Jesus.
Now let’s look at the response to Paul’s sermon. People responded in three different ways - Ac 17:32-34. Some mocked what they heard. Some put off making a decision until later. Some decided to follow with Paul and believed. Since we have no promise of tomorrow, the only safe course is the last! Of those who responded favorably, it is only said that they "believed" - Ac 17:34. Are we to conclude from this that was all they did?. Did they not also "repent", as commanded in Ac 17:30?. The term "believed" encompassed more than simply an acceptance of the facts that had been proclaimed. It involved a complete reception of the message preached. It included an obedience to whatever conditions had been proclaimed by the apostles (such as repentance, baptism). Just as faith was not explicitly mentioned in Acts 2, or repentance in Acts 16, but is fairly inferred from what we know from other passages, so also with baptism here.
"There is, indeed, much to be said for the contention, independently advocated by theologians of varied schools, that in the New Testament faith and baptism are viewed as inseparables whenever the subject of Christian initiation is under discussion, so that if one is referred to, the other is presupposed, even if not mentioned." - G. R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism In The New Testament, p. 272. "Baptism and faith are but the outside and inside of the same thing" - James Denny (as quoted by Beasley-Murray, ibid.). "Where baptism is spoken of faith is presumed, and where faith is spoken of baptism is included in the thought" - N. J. Engelsen (as quoted by Beasley-Murray, ibid.). In quoting from Beasley-Murray please note that thses two gentlemen where theologians of faith only persuasion until they made a thorough study of baptism in the New Testament as it relates the gospel message. They too, repented of their prior beliefs and were baptized into Christ. They then wrote the aforementioned book, Baptism In The New Testament.
Whether Jew or Gentile, philosopher or simpleton, the gospel of Christ is for all. Where we begin may vary with the spiritual condition of our audience. Where we end must always be the same:
Proclaiming the reality of sin, judgment, and the need for repentance.
With Jesus as the only way to salvation!
When one becomes convicted of their sinful condition and their need for Jesus, the proper response should also be the same no matter who we are. Faith in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead, whom we are willing to confess before men. Repentance from sin and baptism into Christ for the forgiveness of sins through His blood.
One’s reaction to the gospel will always be one of three ways:
w Rejection ("some mocked")
w Reluctance ("others said, ‘we will hear you again on this matter’")
w Reception ("some men joined him and believed")
In Athens, people such as Dionysius and Damaris exemplified the proper response; are you willing to imitate their example?
Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in the conversion of the Athenians and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jimnewy@classicnet.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
The Athenians (17:16-34) Part Two
As has been our practice in previous lessons let’s look at some observations of Paul’s sermon and in this conversion of those that believed. First, some observations from Paul’s sermon. Paul used tact - Ac 17:22-23. He acknowledges their spirituality, though misdirected. We should not hesitate to acknowledge the devotion one might have; if in error, our task is to explain "the way of God more accurately" - e.g., Ac 18:24-26 "A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. He also knew much about the Lord's Way, and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism. Apollos started speaking bravely in the Jewish meeting place. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him understand God's Way even better."
Paul began with the present spiritual condition of his audience - Ac 17:23-27. They believed in supreme beings, but didn’t know the True God. With the Jews he began with the Law, with the Gentiles he began with the nature of God; we too should take into consideration where one is spiritually.
Paul made use of an accepted authority - Ac 17:28-29. He quotes from one of their own prophets to make his point. When appropriate, we can appeal to an uninspired authority accepted by others.
Paul led his audience to the main themes of the gospel - Ac 17:30-31. Such as the need to repent, the coming Judgment - cf. 2:38; 3:19. So our ultimate goal in preaching should be the gospel message.
Paul used the resurrection of Jesus as the ultimate proof - Ac 17:31. God has given assurance of the coming Judgment by raising Jesus. Indeed, if Jesus truly did rise from the dead, it is proof of:
The existence of God
The truthfulness of all of Jesus’ claims
The reality of sin, judgment, and the need to repent
This is why we need to develop a strong apologetic (defense, see prior lessons on Apologetics) for the resurrection of Jesus.
Now let’s look at the response to Paul’s sermon. People responded in three different ways - Ac 17:32-34. Some mocked what they heard. Some put off making a decision until later. Some decided to follow with Paul and believed. Since we have no promise of tomorrow, the only safe course is the last! Of those who responded favorably, it is only said that they "believed" - Ac 17:34. Are we to conclude from this that was all they did?. Did they not also "repent", as commanded in Ac 17:30?. The term "believed" encompassed more than simply an acceptance of the facts that had been proclaimed. It involved a complete reception of the message preached. It included an obedience to whatever conditions had been proclaimed by the apostles (such as repentance, baptism). Just as faith was not explicitly mentioned in Acts 2, or repentance in Acts 16, but is fairly inferred from what we know from other passages, so also with baptism here.
"There is, indeed, much to be said for the contention, independently advocated by theologians of varied schools, that in the New Testament faith and baptism are viewed as inseparables whenever the subject of Christian initiation is under discussion, so that if one is referred to, the other is presupposed, even if not mentioned." - G. R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism In The New Testament, p. 272. "Baptism and faith are but the outside and inside of the same thing" - James Denny (as quoted by Beasley-Murray, ibid.). "Where baptism is spoken of faith is presumed, and where faith is spoken of baptism is included in the thought" - N. J. Engelsen (as quoted by Beasley-Murray, ibid.). In quoting from Beasley-Murray please note that thses two gentlemen where theologians of faith only persuasion until they made a thorough study of baptism in the New Testament as it relates the gospel message. They too, repented of their prior beliefs and were baptized into Christ. They then wrote the aforementioned book, Baptism In The New Testament.
Whether Jew or Gentile, philosopher or simpleton, the gospel of Christ is for all. Where we begin may vary with the spiritual condition of our audience. Where we end must always be the same:
Proclaiming the reality of sin, judgment, and the need for repentance.
With Jesus as the only way to salvation!
When one becomes convicted of their sinful condition and their need for Jesus, the proper response should also be the same no matter who we are. Faith in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead, whom we are willing to confess before men. Repentance from sin and baptism into Christ for the forgiveness of sins through His blood.
One’s reaction to the gospel will always be one of three ways:
w Rejection ("some mocked")
w Reluctance ("others said, ‘we will hear you again on this matter’")
w Reception ("some men joined him and believed")
In Athens, people such as Dionysius and Damaris exemplified the proper response; are you willing to imitate their example?
Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined in the conversion of the Athenians and would like to do so, by all means please contact me directly at jimnewy@classicnet.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
