Part 3: Christian Basics
There are believers in Jesus Christ who have obeyed God’s word and submitted to scriptural baptism. The Lord has added these to His church. There are good people who believe in Jesus but have never obeyed the Biblical commands to be baptized for the remission of their sins. There are also upright peoples the world over who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ. In these last two cases their lack of obedience might be through a poor understanding of God’s Word or because of having been led away from Biblical truths by false teachers.
The Word of God, the Bible, gives complete and indisputable directions about how to avail one's self of the grace of God. It tells that we must believe God's word and know that Jesus is our savior. One must also repent of the wrongs of his past life and confess to others that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God. Being baptized, immersed, into Christ must complete one’s obedience. Baptism is the death of the sinful man, his burial and his rebirth into Christ. Study the second chapter of Acts. Romans 6:4 emphasizes:
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Among many other scriptures is Acts 22:16 where Ananias told Saul, a repentant persecutor of Christians, to "arise and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His [Jesus’] name." Saul obeyed this command. Saul, renamed Paul, became a faithful and powerful apostle.
The salvation of mankind rests wholly on the grace of God for it is His grace that saves. Study Ephesians 2:8--9:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no man can boast.
The forgiveness of sins is found through obedience. Baptism, then, is obviously not a work it is an act of obedience through faith. Study Colossians 2,12:
...having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
It is very likely that many believers in Christ who, by lax study of God's Word or having been lead astray by the doctrines of men, have failed to yield themselves to scriptural rebirth. They then remain apart from God’s will. Their salvation is questionable without full obedience. It is through obedience to Biblical command and example that the promise of eternal life can be realized. Caution, not everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! See Matthew chapter 7, verse 21:
Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
The need for baptism for the remission of sins expressed here is not of denominational bias. Neither is it of a mean, judgmental or divisive nature. Careful studies of the scriptures show this to be a true and obvious requirement of God. We cannot be called mean for telling a Moslem about his error since the Koran teaches that Jesus is not the savior. Neither should we be called divisive for telling a Baptist that he was not saved prior to his baptism. The truth should always be served no matter how wrongly we might be judged. Even the Apostle Paul, while cautioning the Galatian brethren asked:
Have
I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Galatians 4:16.
In this day of widespread disbelief, moral degradation, high rates of crime and divorce, all believers in Christ must stand against the final destruction of our civilization by its many evils.
As a fine example, see the work of the Promise Keepers. These are good and devout men who earnestly seek to lower today’s divorce count. They also stand against child abandonment by fathers and they want to become guides to lead the younger generation to a higher level.
But, as a general rule, the Promise Keepers do not understand the need for scriptural baptism. Their rule #6 requires that Promise Keepers be committed to reaching beyond racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity. This sounds noble, but it is a requirement that careful, Bible-believing Christians cannot support. To so reach beyond denominational barriers will require much compromise. However Biblical truths can not be compromised. We must follow the instructions of Acts, Chapter 2, Verse 38:
"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 . . ..
Most denominational churches also practice critical aspects of faith and worship not supported by scripture. Despite their zeal, sacrifice and holy intentions they seek Christ outside of scriptural grounds. Contrast such with those of the Bereans:
Now
the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they
received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day
to see if what Paul said was true
Acts
17: 11.
Are we to abandon these believers or scorn them because they have never obeyed the fullness of the Gospel of Christ or have substituted a gospel of men? No! They, like we, believe in the one God and His son Jesus Christ our savior. They recognize a religious experience as being the only way that modern disbelief and moral decay can be reduced. They are excellent prospects for a more exact teaching of God's word because they believe. They need to be taught more perfectly even though their works and enthusiasm might seem to exceed ours. Study Acts Chapter 19, Verses1-7. Here, believers who had previously been baptized by John were baptized into Christ. Let us note that the bulk of the conversions recorded in Acts were of people already deeply religious.
While we are, with profound love, teaching these believers, we must always remember that the Word of God is like a seamless garment that will be destroyed if torn. That is, if a teacher deletes or perverts the Word of God, its divine meaning is lost to the student. One must be obedient to God's will before, according to His promise, He will add that soul to the Kingdom of Christ. Remember how Apollos was taught about scriptural baptism by Priscilla and Aquila? See Acts 18:24-28. Should we do less for these believers?
As Christians we need to recognize how and why our beliefs differ from those of others. We must let God's truths speak for themselves. In this way we can safeguard our faith and assist others by example and teaching.