Baptism

Thought for Today
Dec. 08

APPEARANCES AND BAPTISM

I had another one of those experiences today that only those who know the truth can have-and know that they have had it.

It was the telephone man again. In late 2000, he was the one that the phone company sent out here to install the phone lines in our home, then under construction. He was then, as now, extremely zealous for his "apostolic" religion. These people seem always to be looking for some way to insert the word "baptism" into every conversation, hoping for the opportunity to explain to their unsuspecting victim that without their brand of water baptism "in Jesus name", all men are damned. I have been through it with them a number of times.

In 2000, I understood immediately what this seemingly friendly brother (?) wanted when, as he went about doing his job in the house, he managed to insert the world "baptism" into an unrelated conversation. What a sick feeling it always is, when it hits me that what had appeared to be friendliness on someone's part was just a ploy to get me to listen to a doctrine! And such a doctrine! It holds that Jesus' holy Ghost baptism does not wash sins away, but their water baptism does. So, even if Jesus forgives you and fills you with the holy Spirit of God, you will die and go to hell unless one of their ministers baptizes you in water, repeating a certain phrase as he does so. That is why they feel so compelled to bring up the word "baptism"; to them. Their baptism (not Jesus' baptism!) is a matter of life and death to them.

On that day in 2000, I listened to him talk a few minutes. He had his few little Scriptures lined up in a row, and fired them all in perfect order, as he had been taught to do. And then I asked him, "What do you think Paul meant when he said, 'Christ sent me not to baptize'?"

He had made himself appear to be so knowledgeable of the Bible that I was actually surprised by his answer, which was: "That's not in the Bible."

"Oh, yes, it's in there. If there was a Bible out here on this construction site, I would show it to you."

He didn't believe me. If his doctrine was of God, Paul could never have said such a thing, and he knew that. Such a statement was contrary to everything he had ever been taught by his pastor.

Knowing that Paul did say that, in Corinthians 1, I asked, "If I could show it to you, that it really is in the Bible, would you believe it?"

"Yeah, if it was in the Bible."

That wasn't enough for me. "Will you really? I somehow think that if I showed it to you, you still wouldn't believe it."

He insisted that he would believe it if I showed him that such a statement was actually in the Bible. The strength of his insistence even moved me a little, and I began to think that he might actually be willing to consider that he had been taught wrongly, if only I could show him that verse in the Bible. Fortunately, through the little woods beside our new home lived Brother Bob and Sister Ellen, and having walked over there, I soon returned with a Bible that their daughter Abigail let me use.

I read the Scripture to him, 1Corinthains 1:17, "For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel."

He was stunned. He took the Bible from me just to make sure that I wasn't pretending to read from it. Then he saw it for himself. But he didn't believe it, and unbelievably, within just a few minutes, he was explaining that Scripture to me as if he had always known it was there and it was an important part of his doctrine. His explanation was so confused that I was embarrassed for him; even he could not understand what he said, and I don't think he could have said it twice. The long and short of his explanation was that Christ did send Paul to baptize, but that Paul said Christ didn't send him to baptize because . . . actually, I can't even remember how he managed to twist that Scripture that far around. But that's not my point now anyway.

That was then. Yesterday, about three years later, he was the one sent by the phone company again to add a line to our house. He must have remembered me because he had a very impressive little speech ready. And when he found an opening and managed to bring the word "baptism" into the conversation, the dam broke. He quoted about three or four verses, word-for-word, in perfect order, as he went along in his sermonette. It was somewhat impressive. His presentation would have given an ordinary person the impression that he knew the Bible nearly perfectly. His appearance of absolute command of the Scriptures would without question have intimidated a lot of people.

His message was unchanged. It was as I had heard it three years before: the gospel is three things: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. "Death" represents repentance; "burial" represents water baptism; and "resurrection" represents the holy Ghost. (Don't bother telling such men that the word "represent" is not even in the New Testament.)

After a minute or two of enduring his explanation of what the gospel is, I decided I would make a comment. I said, "You know, the gospel is not in word, but in power."

"It IS in word!" He demanded.

"What?"

"Where did you ever get that?"

"Well, it's in the book."

"That's not in there."

"Well, Paul said that the kingdom of God is not in word but in power."

He didn't believe me. "Where did he ever say that?"

I told him where it was, and our conversation continued for a while until I broke it off and went inside the house. But I had to marvel a little at what I had just seen again.

APPEARANCE

What struck me was the gigantic difference between the knowledge of the Bible that this poor man knew how to appear to have and the ignorance of the Bible that was really in him. I am still marveling at it today, twenty-four hours later. He had obviously worked hard to please his elders in his religious sect and had learned how to put certain scriptures together, quoting each one with precision. He had spent his time, not learning the Bible with a sincere and honest heart, but learning how to make people think he really knew the Bible. Would to God that Jesus had truly made him the authority that he tried to appear to be. The children of God need the help.

In the end, I was left with a deep sadness, not just for this young man but also for the ignorant people that he can impress. How many of God's own children, I wondered, know the Spirit well enough to be able to discern that this young man knows nothing, despite his boldness and confidence, and despite his appearance of great knowledge? How many are in a spiritual condition to help him instead of either fighting or following him? How many would know God well enough to know, after listening to him give his little well-rehearsed sermon, that his message is not of God, that his spirit has been poisoned by professional liars, and that he is a lost little child in God's kingdom?

Paul taught the saints that in order to maintain good health in body and in spirit, we absolutely must be able to discern the body (1Cor. 11:29-30). It starts with discerning who is born again and who is not, but there is much more to discerning the body than that. A major part of discerning the body is to discern such people as this young telephone company employee, who thinks he is something he is not and is to be pitied, not followed.

Since the rise of Christianity (the "Church"), God's children have been following men that they should have pitied, and their present divided, confused condition is the foretold results. Seek God, my friends, and read your Bible. Get to know it well. Let's prepare ourselves to discern who is in the body of Christ, and who is who in the body of Christ, so that we can "discern the Lord's body". Otherwise, foolish young men such as the one with whom I spoke yesterday might impress us as being other than what they really are.