Knowing when to marry

One of the things I advise young couples to do is to not put off getting married if biblical conditions are met. Marriage is something that has been put off until "education is finished" a "career is established" or "finances are secure." The problem with these arguments is that they are man-made. Now I am not suggesting that marriage should be entered without caution or wisdom. I am, however, suggesting that marriage is becoming less of a priority in our culture in place of personal, self-centered accomplishments. This is a topic I will write on more in the future, but for now let me direct you to the link below for an article in Christianity Today that I think is worth your time to think about. I will try and post more of my thoughts in the days ahead.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.html

Pastor Wes

Can a Christian lose thier salvation?

This coming Sunday night at Tabernacle Baptist church we have hosting our first "Great Debate." This evening is designed to study God's Word through hearing different perspectives on a theological subject. Sunday's debate will center around the topic of Eternal Security (or "once saved, always saved").

There are many Christians who believe that once a person becomes a follower of Jesus Christ they can never lose their salvation. This does not necessarily mean that one can "live however they want" and still be a Christian. Rather, a genuine Christian experiences spiritual transformation and though they will sin, they are kept secure as they are brought into conformity to Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, there are other Christians who believe that it is possible for a genuine Christian to fall away and forsake their salvation. Just as an individual can choose to become a believer, they can also choose to forsake their Christianity, therefore forfeiting their salvation.

We are thankful to have two speakers who will present both sides of this issue. It is my prayer that we will be challenged to think biblically and that the Lord will solidify what we believe in the teachings of His Word.

So make your plans to come out Sunday night. It will be fun, challenging, and thought-provoking as we seek to understand God's Word together.

Pastor Wes

Baptized into one body

Several years ago, in a different ministry context, the pastoral staff was asked if we could do a favor for one of the relatives of a church member. The sister of one of the ladies in the church had recently accepted Christ as her Savior and wanted to be baptized, but lived several hours away. Since she was coming in to visit, the request was made to the pastoral staff if she could be baptized at our church while she was in town.

What should we have done? Should churches baptize people from out of town? Should baptism occur separate from church membership? Is the church commanded to baptize a part from the ongoing process of discipleship?

We discussed this situation in great detail among our staff. Though opinions varied and disagreement was expressed, we finally agreed that we would not baptize her but would encourage her to find a local church in her area, follow the Lord in baptism, and join that fellowship for accountability and fellowship.

There are several reasons why I believe that churches should not separate baptism from church membership.

1) Baptism symbolizes union with Christ and His body.

It is true that the church exists universally (all believers) and locally (believers in a local church). However, the universal church is expressed through the local body of believers. Baptism points to union with Christ (Romans 6:1-4) and union with Christ is expressed through the participation of the local church (Romans 12, 1 Cor 10:16-17, Eph 1:22-23, 2:16; Col 1:18, 2:19, 3:15, and many others). Therefore, you cannot separate union with Christ from union with His body, expressed locally in covenantal community.

Think of it this way…
Baptism shows union with Christ—Union with Christ is shown through participation in His body—participation in His body is shown through local church membership.

2) The Great Commission does not separate baptism and discipleship.

The three participles in the Great Commission involve “going, baptizing, and teaching.” Therefore, when churches separate baptizing from the ongoing teaching and discipleship in a local congregation, they are not fulfilling the Great Commission.

3) Baptism is a “church ordinance” not an “individual expression.”

I have said often that baptism is not an individual event, it is a congregational event. In baptism, the person expressions identification with Christ, the church is affirming that profession, and the local faith community is proclaiming the gospel to one another. That is why we believe there are two ordinances…baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Just as you would not (or at least should not) participate in the Lord Supper in isolation of the local church, baptism is not to be separated from the local body either. You don’t take your wife out to eat and say, “I think we should take the Lord Supper together tonight.” Why? Because it is a church ordnance to be practiced within the local covenantal community…as does baptism. Baptism was practiced in the early church under Apostolic authority within the context of the visible church (Matt 16:16-18).

4) The teaching of Acts 2.

The clear order of Acts chapter 2 is the preaching of the gospel, the baptism of believers, and the addition into the local church. Though the phrase “the church” is not given, verse 42 speaks of life and function of the local church. Words like “Trinity” or “rapture” are not given, but we see their process and function.

5) It is spiritually dangerous to baptize someone without participation in the local church.

More than anything, new believers need the local teaching, accountability, and discipline of the local church. To allow individuals to be baptized (affirmed by that congregation) and not placed under the watch-care of the church can have dangerous consequences upon the believer.

There are other reasons why I believe that baptism and church membership should be connected. Those who disagree often point to the Ethiopian eunuch as not being baptized into the local church. There are a few problems with this example.

a) It is likely that there was no church in Ethiopia at the time because the gospel was starting to spread.
b) We are not given enough follow-up information concerning this situation as to discern what happened after his baptism.
c) One should never take one example (of which we do not have all the surrounding information) and a make a universal principle out of it when the entire rest of the New Testament demonstrates to practice of baptism into the local body.

The decisions like we made in the situation described above are not always easy. But at the end of the day we felt (and I was thankful) that the best thing for that new believer was to find a Bible-teaching congregation in her community, profess her identification with Christ to that body, and submit herself that covenantal community of faith. That, in our opinion, was the best favor we could do for her.

Pastor Wes

Jesus, say what? Why the free gift of eternal life will cost you.

Jesus was walking down the dusty path, as He did most everyday of His life on earth, only to encounter another interruption, another question, another person on their knees, another real life situation to handle, another need to meet. The question He was asked this time did not surprise Him, for He was asked this question time and time again…What must I do to have eternal life? Such is the question everyone wants to ask; yet no one wants to hear the answer because Jesus always makes it personal and it always comes at a cost.

As was the case for this man on this particular day for he was a good man, one who had not murdered, committed adultery, stolen from others, or dishonored his parents. Yet for Jesus, this wasn’t enough. It wasn’t the answer to the ultimate question. Jesus, looking at him with loving eyes, knew that because of this man’s riches, his treasure wasn’t heaven, it was his own possessions.

How disheartened this young man must have been, he had lived a good life, done well for himself, and yet it seems it was all for not. Maybe he wanted to hear, “I’m proud of you for living a good life” or “Just keep doing what you are doing and you’ll be just fine.” Whatever the case, what he heard ripped his heart out. The very idea that he had to give up everything he had worked so hard to gain was a thought he could not bear. This man heard the very thing he hoped he would not hear, namely “If you want to have eternal life…give it all away!” You see the answer to the ultimate question is ultimate sacrifice. You don’t want to hear the answer to eternal life if you are in love with this one.

I’m remind of this passage in Isaiah…

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, a load for the weary beast. They stooped over, they have bowed down together, they could not rescue the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity.

Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth. And have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you. (Isa 46:1-4)

As in the case of the rich young ruler, we have the option of carrying our own burdens or letting the Lord carry them for us. For many of us the thought of letting go is too hard, too much sacrifice, too much of a cost. We have deceived ourselves into thinking we are okay on our own; after all we’ve come this far without help. After all, “we’ve got it all together, just leave us alone.” It is a wonder our backs don’t break with the load we carry.

We can complain about how hard life can be; yet we are unwilling to give up the weight. We keep trying to do the best we can, although our best will never be good enough. We keep wondering what it will take one day to have eternal life, even though we may not really want the answer!

Pastor Wes