Baptized Into...?

We spoke of rites of passage in the adult Bible class a few Sundays ago on whether baptism was our rite of passage, as Christians, into the church. If we have ever studied about or been a part of a denomination we will have probably heard that to become part of that group one must be baptized into it. This is done sometimes at birth or shortly thereafter, or perhaps later in life when the person makes the decision to join that group, depending on the flavor of denomination. In the book Questions Answered, by Lipscomb and Sewell, a brother asked if when a person was baptized into a denomination, was he baptized into the church of Christ; if so, how was he then also added to the denomination; if not, how can one become a member of the church of Christ? The best and only way to find the answer to a Bible question is to turn to the Bible itself.

The Church

To determine how we are to obtain entrance into the church, we must first understand what the church is. We find in Matthew 16:18 that Christ says, “I will build My church.” The Greek word ekklesia, which is translated “church,” is literally the “called-out ones.” The church is also referred to as the body Christ, Christ being the head and the members making up the body (1 Cor. 12:27). Therefore, the word church means the people who have obeyed the gospel and have been called out of this world into the body Christ (Rom. 1:6-7). The church is not a denomination. A denomination, as found in the dictionary, is “a recognized branch of a church or religion.” Since there is only one body, the church, and one faith (Eph. 4:4), then there cannot be a separate “recognized branch” that is pleasing to God. In short, a denomination is something that is more than a local congregation and less than the whole of the church. The church is made of faithful individuals that form separate congregations which make up the church.

“Baptized Into”

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3). To understand why we are to be baptized we must look at its purpose. Romans 6 compares baptism to Christ’s burial and resurrection. When baptized, we are buried in that watery grave to be raised into a newness of life, leaving behind the “old man of sin” (Rom. 6:6). Baptism is also “the answer of a good conscience toward God,” again, “ through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21). When we come to the realization that without God’s saving grace we are without hope of eternal life, we can chose to put away the things of this world, repent of our sins, and be baptized into Christ. Baptism does not add us to some man-made organization; it adds us to the body of Christ. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27).

“Added To”

So how are we added to the church? “Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). The Lord adds us to His body when we follow His commands and are baptized for the remission of our sins. We do not join the church as we would a social club with some rite of passage. We do not swear, on penalty of death, to some secret society. We give ourselves to Christ, who then welcomes us into His fold.

Conclusion

e must be careful when speaking about or studying the church that we do not think of it through denominational eyes. It is not a man-made organization, and so it does not fall under any set of rules that man has come up with. To become a Boy Scout one must follow the guidelines set up by that group. The same goes for any other club we could be a part of here on earth. We must meet the qualifications, perform the proper duties, and abide by their laws. Just so, God has set forth a system by which we no longer have to be separated from Him but can have our sins purged and be restored as His faithful children. To have this happen we must follow the only guideline that He has put forth, the Bible. Let us not follow the instruction of man to find what God would have us to do, but let us look only to Him in all things.

 

Some Do's and Don'ts

Of Being a Dad

Father’s Day is an especially appropriate time to examine Paul’s statement, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Here we find one do and one don’t.

First, consider the don’t. The word translated “provoke” means to make angry or resentful (used again only in Rom. 10:19).  Dads do this by modeling improper behavior and/or by making such unreasonable demands on their children that their children become discouraged (Col. 3:21 cf. 1 Cor. 7:36).

Second, consider the do. The word translated “bring...up [nurture, ASV]” basically means to nourish (Eph. 5:29), but is here applied to rearing children. Paul gives two aspects of this rearing. “Nurture [training, NKJ; chastening, ASV; discipline, NAS]” is from a word that means strict discipline. In fact, it is often translated “chastening” (Heb. 12:5-11). “Admonition [instruction, NAS]” is from a word that refers to instructive warning (found again only in 1 Cor. 10:11; Tit. 3:10), which certainly involves reproof but also includes positive advice and encouragement. How important to our children’s rearing is their involvement with the church?