Buried in Baptism

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).

Baptism is a burial in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). It is essential to salvation (Mark 16:16). “Therefore we are buried” (Romans 6:4) and, “Buried with him in baptism” (Colossians 2:12). Using our God-given reasoning powers and conclusive evidence in the New Testament; baptism is a burial in water.

An incident in the life of James A. Garfield, our twentieth President, brings out the fallacy of arguing against baptism as immersion. While at a young age, Garfield went to work for a farmer one summer. In the fall, he found himself in the middle of an argument on the subject of baptism:

James was digging potatoes in October, and putting them into the cellar. On going to the house with a load one day, he found a neighbor discussing the subject of baptism with his employer’s daughter. “Sprinkling is baptism,” James heard him say. “Immersion is no more. A drop of water is as good as a fountain.” “Sprinkling is not baptism, according to Alexander Campbell,” replied the young woman; “and I don’t see how it can be.” “I said, according to the Bible. I don’t care a fig for Alexander Campbell,” the neighbor rejoined. “That makes your position harder to support,” interrupted James, with the design of affording relief to the farmer’s daughter, whom he very much respected. “What do you know about it?” exclaimed the neighbor, somewhat annoyed at the boy’s interruption. “You know more about potatoes than the Scripters, according to my idee.” “You can’t prove that sprinkling is baptism, from the Bible,” added James. “That’s all you know about it,” retorted the man. “See here,” continued James, thinking he would surprise the disputant by his familiarity with the Scriptures; “how do you get along with this?” And he proceeded to quote from Hebrews: “Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” “There you see it says ‘sprinkled,’” interrupted the neighbor, quite elated. “But, hold on!” replied James; “wait, and hear the rest of it. You are in too big a hurry.” And James repeated the remainder of the text: “and our bodies washed with pure water.” He laid stress on the word “washed,” adding: “Now tell me, if you can, how you can wash your body in a drop of water.” Without waiting for a reply, he hurried away to the potato-patch. (William M. Thayer, From Log Cabin To The White House, pp. 180-182)

We must remember that the Bible is the final authority.  As James A. Garfield turned to the Scriptures in the above incident; so must we, in all things that pertain to life and godliness! (2 Peter 1:3).

Steve Miller

Religious Division

Do different denominations have a scriptural right to wear names unauthorized by the Bible, teach different and conflicting doctrines, and promote unscriptural practices?

What is a denomination? It is a religious organization larger than the local church, smaller than the redeemed in the aggregate. Therefore, it comes in between separate and distinct from the church of the Bible at both ends of the line. How is the church used? It is either a local congregation or it embraces all Christians. Now a denomination stands between these, and, therefore, it is a thing unheard of and unknown in the Bible; and, I say it cautiously, respectfully and yet firmly (Hardeman’s Tabernacle Sermons Volume 1, 1922. pp. 226-227).

A religious body with a distinct name and doctrine which separates it from other religious bodies that does not claim to be the church as a whole but only a part of it, or section of the body of Christ.  We must be careful with using the terms “Undenominational” or “non-denominational” because they are are often used when “all denominational” is meant.

Denominationalism is unscriptural because:

It Opposes God’s Eternal Purpose and Plan to Redeem Man (Galatians 4:4).

It Destroys the Bible as the Sole Authority in Religious Matters (2 Peter 1:3).

It Creates Confusion, Making Jehovah Unreliable (1 Corinthians 14:33)

It Would Make Jesus A Hypocrite, Contradicting Himself (Matthew 15:7-9)

It Denies What the Bible Teaches About the Oneness of the Church (Ephesians 4:4)

It Makes the Lord’s Death Worthless (Acts 20:28)

Charles Hodge has reasoned:

Obviously God had a church in the Bible, the first century. Denominations of men (in error) came centuries later! So? Men made denominations. Then they came up with a definition as to what a denomination was. Then their definition is forced upon all. God’s church is rejected, put down, men’s denominations are promoted, glorified (Keynoter, 1996).

A man can do everything the Bible teaches him to do to be saved and never be a member of a denomination.  He has to do something in addition to or instead of what the Bible teaches to be a member of a denomination.  From Pentecost on no person in the Bible was ever saved outside of Christ’s church, and in the Bible no saved person was ever added by the Lord to any denomination.

 Steve Miller

“May I Speak to the Pastor?”

 

It would be considered an unusual week for the church office not to receive a call from someone asking to speak to a “pastor.”  The titles of “reverend” and “pastor” are liberally applied when someone speaks to a preacher.  What’s the problem?  Most people seem to believe that they are showing respect to those who minister on a full-time basis.  Is it being too critical to call attention to the fact that the terms “reverend” and “pastor” are misused and misapplied?  “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call not your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:8-10).  Jesus answers the question!  Where is the New Testament passage authorizing use of the term “reverend?”  We should be interested in calling Bible things by Bible names and that includes using the appropriate, scriptural designations.

Our study briefly focuses on three passages of scripture.  “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28, NASB).  “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly” (1 Peter 5:1-2, ESV).

A word study on the term pastor:  W.E. Vine:  “a shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks (not merely one who feeds them), is used metaphorically of Christian ‘pastors,’ Ephesians 4:11.  Pastors guide as well as feed the flock; Acts 20:28, which, with verse 17, indicates that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops); so also in 1 Peter 5:1, 2, ‘tend the flock…exercising the oversight,’ this involves tender care and vigilant superintendence” (P. 167).   The noun poimen (pastor) has a corresponding verb, poimaino (feed)in Acts 20:28). “The verb means “to feed, to tend a flock, keep sheep” (Thayer, p. 527). The one who does the work of feeding/shepherding is a poimen (i.e., the one who does the work of shepherding is a shepherd or pastor).  Who is it that does the work of “shepherding the flock?   The shepherds or overseers in the local congregation of the church of Christ.

J. W. McGarvey addressed the misunderstanding back in 1870.

“The evidence that this term designates the overseers or elders is conclusive and may be briefly stated. The Greek term for shepherd is poimeen, and the verb poimaino means to do the work of a shepherd. Now, he to whom this verb applies is a shepherd, just as he who sows is a sower, he who reaps is a reaper, he who speaks is a speaker, he who sings is a singer, etc.,etc. But Paul exhorts the overseers in Ephesus “to be shepherds to the church” Acts 20:28, and Peter exhorts the elders of the churches to which he writes, “Be shepherds to the flock of God which is among you, and promises that when the ‘chief Shepherd’ shall appear, they shall receive a crown of glory. They then, were shepherds and Christ the Chief Shepherd.”

“The term pastor, the Latin for shepherd, has come into common use from the influence of the Latin version of the Scriptures. There is one all-sufficient reason for preferring our own Anglo-Saxon term ‘shepherd’. It is found in the fact that ‘pastor’ has become perverted by sectarian usage, and designates in popular phraseology, an entirely different office from the one to whom it is applied in the Scriptures. It has become a synonym for a settled preacher, and is often used for the purpose of distinguishing the preacher from those who are scripturally called the ‘pastors’ of the church. It will perhaps be impossible to recover the term from this abuse, and therefore, it is better to throw it away.

Another good reason for preferring ‘shepherd’ is, that its primary meaning is familiar to the most illiterate reader, and the metaphor by which the overseer is thus styled is perfectly intelligible to every one; whereas, the term ‘pastor’ is known to the masses only in its appropriated sense (A Treatise On The Eldership).

It is one thing for individuals who are ignorant or indifferent of the teaching of the scriptures on the meanings of words as meant to be used by God to call a preacher “reverend” or “pastor” and quite another when members of the church who have been Christians for years to utter these titles!

Steve Miller

A Dark Day for America, January 22, 1973

Abortion is the planned, deliberate destruction of a human life while yet in the womb.  “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13) has been a principle of every age.  Proverbs 6:17 reminds us that God hates “hands that shed innocent blood.”  This is a God issue that has been politicized and tragically viewed as nothing more than an election topic.  Because of the Supreme Court of the United States ruling on January 22, 1973, over 50 million unborn children have been slaughtered in this country.  Tragically, our President has been heralded as the most pro-abortion President ever. It should be no surprise to realize that God will not bless a nation that practices and promotes abominations.  The discussion rages as people try to distinguish between the fetus and baby; between prenatal and postnatal life. Remember, our language is not in harmony with Bible language. The fetus is used in our society so as to deny that the unborn has life or is a baby. In Luke 1:41, it is said that John the Baptist as a “babe leaped in her womb.” The word “babe” in the original means “an unborn child, embryo, fetus; a newborn child, an infant, a babe.” – (Thayer. p.105).  This word is also used in Luke 2:12 to refer to the Christ child in a manger.

HUMAN BEINGS DO NOT HAVE SOVEREIGNTY OVER OUR BODY.  A woman may say, “It’s my body and I will do as I please with it.” But such is not the case. In the first place, it’s not her body that is being destroyed in an abortion. It’s someone else’s body. God said in Ezekiel 18:4, “All souls are mine”; soul being used for the total person. No, we do not have control over our bodies. We belong to God. As Creator, He must have the final say over our body. We must recognize His ultimate authority and power.

CONCEPTION IS A GIFT FROM GOD.  Notice the following two scriptures: Genesis 4:1: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” Psalm 127:3: “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” According to Scripture, children do not just happen. God is involved in the process. They are His gift. Children are evidence that God condescended to spend personal thought and intimate attention with that one family. Can we afford to despise that which is evidence of His intimate thought and care?

GOD IS INVOLVED IN THE CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT.  If God is involved directly with the development of the child in the womb, who would dare to presume to interfere with the wondrous work He is performing? “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16).  How awesome is this thought; God is busy in the womb, using skilled craftsmanship to design a great living work.

A CHILD IN THE WOMB IS A PERSON.  The real issue to a Christian is what God reveals about the child in Scripture. How does God view that which is in the womb? Notice the following:  “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139: 13). David thought that what was in the womb was himself. David was covered in his mother’s womb. It did not become David at birth or right before birth. While the inward parts were being formed, David acknowledged that it was him. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou calmest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations”(Jeremiah 1:5). Yes, it was Jeremiah in the womb. What is in the womb is a human being; a person in the sight of God.

Action Items: Be compassionate. Promote and support pro-life organizations. Vote.  Pray.  “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

Steve Miller

You Haven’t Got A Prayer!

Are You Sure You’re a Christian? “You need to do five things to become a part of God’s family. If you haven’t already done this, I urge you; if you’re sincerely ready; to do them now: 1. Admit your spiritual need. “I am a sinner.” 2. Repent. Be willing to turn from your sin and, with God’s help, start living to please Him. 3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose again. 4. Receive, through prayer, Jesus Christ into your heart and live. Pray something like this from the sincerity of your heart: Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and then rose from the grave. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen. 5. Then tell a believing friend and a pastor about your commitment (Seven Promises Of A Promise Keeper, p. 10).

Compare this example of the false doctrine of the sinner’s prayer with what the Bible teaches, regarding how one becomes a New Testament Christian (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:1-47; 8:4-12; 8:26-39; 9:1-22; 22:12-16; 10:30-48; 16:11-15; 16:19-34; 18:5-8; 19:1-7).

If a sinner could pray only, and receive salvation, then consider the following biblical data concerning this view!  For what should the sinner pray?

Not for Christ to come unto him – Matthew 11:28

Not for God to love him – John 3:16

Not for light – Psalm 119:130

Not for understanding – Psalm 119:130

Not for the Spirit – John 14:16-17

Not for God to be reconciled to Him – 2 Corinthians 5:20

Not for grace – Titus 2:11

Not for pardon – Isaiah 55:7

Not for faith – Romans 10:17

Not for salvation – Acts 11:14

Not for the new birth – 1 Peter 1:22-23

Not for God to purify their hearts – Acts 15:9

Not for freedom from sin – Romans 6:17

Not for God to purify their soul – 1 Peter 1:22

Not for God to send saving power – Romans 1:16

Not for religion – James 1:27

Not for God to accept him – Acts 10:35

Not for remission of sins – Acts 2:38

Not to be made clean – John 15:3

Not for repentance – Acts 17:30

Not for mercy – Proverbs 28:13

Not for God to be willing to save him – 2 Peter 3:9

Not for sanctification – John 17:17

Not for conversion – Psalm 19:7

The sinner’s approach to God must be in humble obedience (belief + baptism) to the Master’s Will.

Steve Miller

When You Come, Bring the Books and the Parchments

 

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments (2 Timothy 4:13).  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching (1 Timothy 4:13).

Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon using 2 Timothy 4:13 as his text. The following stood out among his statements:

We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them. Even an apostle must read. . . . He is inspired, and yet he wants books!  He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books!  He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books!  He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books!  He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books!  He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!  Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read…We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service. Paul cries, “Bring the books”—join in the cry.

God has always demanded that His Word be read.  “And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them” (Deuteronomy 17:19 2). “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8 3). “For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end” (2 Corinthians 1:13 4). “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16 5).“I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren” (1 Thessalonians 5:27).

Tragically, we are not readers as we once were.  “Our culture has made a radical shift in the last century from a word-based society of readers to an image-based society of viewers.  The medium of our time is television, not books.  As a result, unlike our forebears of a few generations ago, we don’t know how to read.  To a large extent, we’ve lost that art” (Living By The Book, p. 64).  This trend eventually infiltrates the church membership.  “Illiteracy is growing at an alarming rate in our nation.  The church is not exempt from illiteracy relative to knowledge of God’s Word. Give a basic Bible knowledge test, and you will be shocked. Some Christians believe an epistle is an apostle’s wife and Moses built the ark. We have a reading problem in the church” (J.J. Turner, Gospel Advocate, Oct 2012).

Reading has immediate and eternal benefits.  “People who read well generally enjoy a better quality of life because reading provides pleasure, joy and comfort. It affords us new ideas and meanings and provides questions to ponder and connections to the lives of others. It opens doors to a full menu of life not yet sampled” (The Gift of a Lifetime, CW, 2011).

  Steve Miller

The Waters of Eternal Destruction

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent.  And stings like a viper.  Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?  (Proverbs 23:29-35).

The word wine in the Bible has different meanings and the context must tell if it is alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Several Old Testament passages such as Deuteronomy 28:39, 32:14, Isaiah 16:10, and others, show that the word wine can refer to the juice of the grape, or grapes in the cluster on the vine. The ancient Greeks and Romans also used the word wine to refer to grape juice which had been preserved.   There are other passages; such as our text (Proverbs 23:29-35), where the word wine means fermented or intoxicating wine, and in most cases, condemnation follows those who use it.  “But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean” (Isaiah 28:7).   “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20: 1).  “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his nakedness!” (Habakkuk 2: 15).

Drunkenness is condemned in Romans 13:13, I Corinthians 6:10, Galatians 5:21; and I Peter 4:3 condemns all recreational use of alcoholic beverages.  “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).   Is only drunkenness condemned, but not moderate (or to use the misnomer “social”) drinking?  The word translated “drunk” in this passage is defined, to “make drunk, or grow drunk – an inceptive verb, marking the process for the state expressed by the verb methuo, meaning to become intoxicated.”  What Paul is forbidding here is the process by which one becomes intoxicated.  When you take one drink, you are one drink drunk!

As Christians, we are called upon to exert a positive Christ-like influence.  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden…In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5: 14, 16). Our light is our influence as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.   Are we being the influence Jesus would have us to be by imbibing alcoholic beverages?  Each of us has an influence on those around us. When others see us drinking alcoholic beverages, we have damaged that influence, and God is not honored. Once we have destroyed our influence; it is extremely difficult to teach the truth to others (1 Timothy 4:12-16).   Jesus also gave a stern warning to those who cause others to stumble (Matthew 18:6-7).

The effects of alcohol, in any amount, upon the brain and mind of an individual have been well documented.  Alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant. It alters the judgment, and causes one to throw off normal inhibitions.  People often do very unbecoming things after drinking. As Christians, let us be very cautious in our individual choices and the impact those choices have on both ourselves and our example to others.

Steve Miller