We all know of people who know the truth, but for some reason there is something that is holding them back. Here is a list of things that are responsible for individuals not doing what they need to do.

1. More of a love for the things this world has to offer (Lk. 18:18-23).
    
2. More of a love for man than God (Jn. 12:42-43).
    
3. Not convicted of sin and is willing to live in it (Rom. 6:3-9,17,19).
    
4. Having a feeling of comfort in almost obeying (Acts 26:27-29).
    
5. Waiting for a convenient time (Acts 24:24-27).
    
6. Unwilling to gladly receive the word (Acts 2:41).
    
7. Lack of faith (Heb. 11:6) 
    
8. Lack of understanding (Acts 8:30) 
    
9. Simply not willing to make the commitment (Matt. 11:28-30).

Remember: Anyone willing and wanting to obey the gospel – can!

Chuck

I was asked the other day: How do you convince someone, who doesn’t believe in Jesus, but believes in God? I guess the quickest way would be to say, “They do believe in Jesus, because He is God” (Jn. 1:1). However, it will be a little more complicated than that. So where does one begin in a situation like that?

It seems the most logical place to start would be to find out why the individual believes in God in the first place. Then to inquire all that he/she knows about our Creator. You may have already picked up on the fact that I would be trying to get them to turn to their Bible. Once you get someone to use the scriptures to support just one thing that they believe, then possible success is on the horizon. The reason is that the inspired words were given so people would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing, they may have life in His name (Jn. 20:31).

To help anyone see the truth is to help them realize the source of divine truth: the scriptures (II Tim. 3:16). So often people ask me a religious question even when they don’t believe the Bible is from God. Thus, it is futile to answer without first taking them through some studies proving the Bible is God’s word. Once that is accomplished, I will show you how easy it is to convince someone that Jesus is who He says He is, by looking at some straightforward verses in the Bible.

“I the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn. 1:1).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Jn. 3:16).

“And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (Jn. 5:37-39)

“Then they said to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known me, you would have known My Father also.” (Jn. 8:19).

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.” (Jn. 8:42).

“I and My Father are one” (Jn. 10:30).

“Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?” (Jn. 14:8-9)

“But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.” (Heb. 1:8).

The fact is, the Bible is full of passages that not only assert that Jesus  is Christ the Son of God, but also God. When Christ walked on the earth, He spent His time proving who He was with signs and wonders. The only person that would reject who Jesus is would be a person that rejects the Bible as being inspired. The Bible is either 100% correct, or it is a fake. The evidence easily proves it is genuine.

Chuck

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the church. The title was similar to this one. I presented this question:  how can I make it any more clear that Christ’s church isn’t a denomination. This got me to thinking about something else that needs to be made perfectly clear. That is, that being baptized in water when you believe in Jesus does not necessarily mean you have been baptized scripturally.  

I have had people who belong to various denominations quote Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38, telling me they believe in Jesus and they were baptized in water. From the surface, it sure seems like that if anyone would say such, that they have done exactly what the Lord demands. How could there ever be a scenario where their baptism didn’t work and they simply just got wet?

Before I answer this question, let’s make something clear. It doesn’t matter what Chuck says. No one is lost or saved because I say so. This also means that it doesn’t matter what your preacher, family members, friends, or even yourself has to say. The truth is that those who are right are only those who do exactly what the Lord demands (II Jn. 9). Therefore, it matters not how strong someone believes and feels. After all, there are people that strap on bombs and walk into crowds killing themselves and others, being thoroughly convinced they are doing what God wants.

Have said all of that, now let’s take a close look at situations where people who do believe in Jesus and were baptized in water, only got wet and they are not Christians:

Believed one was saved prior to being baptized

This is the most common misunderstanding I hear. People tell me that they were saved and then they went ahead and got baptized. Folks, the Bible does not teach that. No one can get saved prior to having their sins washed away by the blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5). This is accomplished when baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3-7). Peter comes right out and stated that baptism saves us (I Pet. 3:21). Not that there is any power in the water, the power is in the gospel message that we are to obey (Rom. 1:16; II Thes. 1:8).

Believing any baptism is okay, even if done wrong, it doesn’t have to be redone as long as they now have the proper understanding

The Bible does indeed teach there is only one baptism (Eph. 4:5). Yet, it is wrong to conclude that you can have a proper baptism without proper knowledge. This would authorize baptizing people before they hear the message, which is contrary to Christ’s words (Mk. 16:15-16). Of course, what would dispel this idea is if there is a passage in the Bible where people were baptized in water already and were told to do it the right way. There is, and it is found in Acts 19:1-5. Remember, the understanding must come first, which leads us to our next point.

Being baptized without meeting the prerequisites

There was a man who was taught about Jesus and wanted to get baptized. With his desire, he asked if there was anything that could hinder him from being baptized (Acts 8:36). He was told that he needed to first confess his faith in Jesus being the Son of God (vr. 37). This supports what Paul stated in Romans 10:9-10, where the apostles said that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We also read in Acts 2:38, a person must also repent prior to being baptized. This means a person changes their mind and decides to turn their back on sin and follow Jesus. Now this leads us into our next point.

Making an appointment to get baptized, not done immediately

In every example of people getting baptized properly,  they did not wait. The reason is they wanted to be saved. This makes sense since we are told that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:9). Who has this kind of sorrow for their transgression and then opts to wait to be baptized? The answer would be someone who doesn’t understand Bible baptism. This is why a whole household was baptized a little after midnight (Acts 16:25-33). The Ethiopian did it right away with just he and the preacher present (Acts 8:38). Note that these points often overlap. Many times, the reason people don’t do it immediately is because they think they are already saved.

Stating you have been baptized properly without proper reasoning

I have personally had people quote Acts 2:38, where we are told to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. But when I ask them when they were saved, they tell me it was prior to their baptism. How can someone be saved prior to being baptized when Saul/Paul was told, after he believed, confessed, repented and prayed, to arise and be baptized and wash away his sins calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16)? To reason that you have done exactly what the Lord commands, yet at the same time demonstrate your inconsistencies is just not proper thinking.

Believing when you are baptized, you are baptized into the local church

The Bible teaches us that we are to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3). All those who do this are added by Christ into His church (Acts 2:47). Many religious groups perform baptism ceremonies. They turn it into some sort of event for onlookers. However, as noted earlier, in Acts 8 there were just two people there: the preacher and the one wanting to become a Christian. There wasn’t a ceremony of any sort. Man likes to go beyond what is written, especially when it comes to conversions.

Being convinced your baptism was valid by folks convincing you with non-Biblical phrases.

Ever hear, “Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace”? Or, “Accept Jesus as your personal Savior and you will be saved.” These sound Biblical, but they aren’t. Please make sure you did not just get wet. Look at this from a Biblical point of view. It’s the only way!

Chuck

Do not believe everything you read

A couple of weeks ago, I taught a lesson about the life of Saul of Tarsus (later as Paul the apostle). The study pointed out how Saul left Judaism and began preaching the gospel of Christ (Acts 26:1-11). During Paul’s missionary journeys, people were being converted to Christ and local churches were established (Acts 15:36).

Pretend that you once practiced Judaism with Saul. How would you react if you heard that he started teaching the things he previously spoke against (Acts 9:1-2)? Unless you were willing to leave Judaism yourself, you would not have much good to say about him anymore. You would likely do what you could to discredit him. After all, you would not tell people, “Saul found the truth and left us.”

In the sermon, I asked the audience to imagine what people (especially Jews) would say about Saul online if the Internet existed in the first century. People would call him a false teacher. There would be all kinds of false accusations flying around. People would claim that Paul taught things not lawful (Acts 16:21), that he attempted to profane the temple (Acts 24:6) and that he spoke against the law and Caesar (Acts 25:8).

All these accusations against Paul are not true. Too many people are quick to believe lies though, especially concerning religious matters. If all these things were circulated over the Internet, Paul would find himself saying something modern Christians often have to say – do not believe everything you read!

When you search for “the beginning of the church of Christ” online, you will read over and over that Alexander Campbell started the church. Alexander Campbell left the Baptist church and his father, Thomas Campbell, left the Presbyterian church. Obviously, both denominations will be critical of these men, so we must be mindful of what we read. Like Saul leaving the Jews to teach the gospel of Christ, no Baptist or Presbyterian will say, “Those Campbells left because they found the truth.”

When Paul left Judaism, he did not start his own church. The same is true of the Campbell’s – they were not seeking to start their own church. I am not suggesting that nobody has ever left a denomination with the intent to start their own. That has absolutely happened in the past and continues to happen today. Just like Paul though, people can leave a false group and begin following the Lord without any manmade creeds or teachings. This is what the Campbells sought.

When teachers preach the truth, people can be converted to Christ (Acts 9:19-20; 18:1-8). When this happens, local churches can be established. But whose churches are these? They must be the church that Christ built with His own blood, the church that the Lord’s people belong to (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28; Acts 2:47). Anything else is a denomination. A church only belongs to Christ if it teaches the doctrine of Christ and recognizes Him as its head (II John 9; Col. 1:18).

Over the last few hundred years, some people who attended faithful churches of Christ were called Campbellites. This label is wrong because Christians do not follow Campbell, only Christ. Sadly, this is not a new problem. Consider the example found in 1 Corinthians. Some converts called themselves after Paul (verse 12). Whether a person called themselves a “Paul-ite” or was labeled a “Paul-ite” by others, Paul clearly taught that this was wrong (verse 13). Everyone Paul converted in the first century was converted to Christ, just as Campbell’s converts were in the 1800s or modern converts are today.

With so much false information floating around online, Christians must encourage people to open their Bibles and verify claims they hear. Confusion can be cleared up! Let’s compare what we have discussed with the origins of other denominations.

In the year 1536 AD, John Calvin began the Presbyterian church. In 1607, John Smythe started the Baptist church. Did these men get back to the gospel and encourage people to simply be Christians in the Lord’s church like we read about in the New Testament? If this was their intent, something went wrong.

Were there Presbyterians before 1536 AD? Were there any Baptists prior to 1607 AD? Most importantly, where do you read of those groups in the Bible? Both denominations were started by men, meaning they are man-made religions. They taught some Biblical truth, but they also mixed in many of their own doctrines. Recall how Paul consciously avoided creating his own sect. He did this because Christ had already established His church. This why Paul called them churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16).

Could a church of Christ become a man-made church? Of course! The group’s name might be scriptural, but they could still teach man-made doctrines. Consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Joseph Smith started that group in 1830 AD. The Lord’s church was started in approximately 33 AD. Any group claiming origins after that year has a fundamental problem.

When you read the New Testament, you will find letters written to churches of our Lord. Some of these letters describe improper things the churches were doing and needed to repent of (Rev. 2-3). This shows that just having a scriptural name is not enough – your religious group must recognize that Christ has ALL the authority and that all of His doctrine must be followed (II John 9).  If your group does not have a scriptural name though, something is wrong from the start – think about it!

Chuck