Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE-BAPTISTS

CHAPTER TWO-APTISTS & BAPTISM

CHAPTER THREE-BAPTISTS & THE LORD'S SUPPER

CHAPTER FOUR-BAPTISTS & THE OTHER DENOMINATIONS

CHAPTER FIVE-GOD'S PROGRAM FOR WORLD CONQUEST

CHAPTER SIX-WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

CHAPTER SEVEN-CAN A PERSON BE SAVED AND THEN LOST?

<h1>Additional Information</h1>

CHAPTER ONE-BAPTISTS

The first thing I wish to make clear is that Baptists do not teach nor believe that you have to belong to their church to be saved. We do not believe that because we are the oldest church in the world that we hold the keys to the Kingdom of God, and that no one else can preach Jesus.

If you study the history of Baptists you will see at a glance why a Baptist is proud of his heritage. We are not proud in a haughty way, but humbly, because we can go back to the banks of the river Jordan.

After reading this thoroughly there will be no wonder in your mind why we are proud of our heritage, but you will be proud of a group of people, even though you might not be one of us, who made it possible to have today what you now have-RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

I want you who are Baptists to be able to give an answer for what you are. Ninety per cent of the Baptists are willing to refer to themselves as Protestants. They are ignorant of what Baptists believe and some go so far as to think that the Baptists came from the Roman Catholics.

The Name Baptist

The church that Jesus built has not always been called a Baptist church. We do know, however, that Jesus built His church while He was here, (Matthew 16:18): "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

This tells us plainly that the church He built was built while He was on earth and not after He ascended. The point I wish to make clear is that the church Jesus built was not built by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, but it was empowered on the Day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. The people who made up this church that Jesus built

were called, "Christians" (Acts 11:26), "And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

This name was given to them in mockery by the enemies of Christ at Antioch. The name Baptist was given to us in ridicule and mockery by Pedo-Baptists, opponents of the people who rejected the baptism of babies. A Pedo-Baptist is one who advocates infant baptism. This group of people began under Constantine the Great in 300 A.D. They are not Baptists, but are infant baptizers.

Now we come to a most interesting discovery. Out of the seven hundred some odd isms and beliefs in the world, for everyone you can find the date and the name of their human founder. For instance: Martin Luther founded the Lutheran Church; Henry VIII founded the Episcopal Church; John Wesley founded the Methodist, although he never left the Church of England; John Calvin founded the Presbyterian; Alexander Campbell founded the Disciples, out of which came the Church of Christ and the Christian Church; William Miller founded the Advents, out of which came the Seventh Day Advents, Seventh Day Baptists and the Church of God. On and on we could go.

Now I shall make a startling statement. There is no personality this side of Jesus Christ who is a satisfactory explanation of Baptists. We originated, not at the Reformation, nor in the Dark Ages, nor in any century after the Apostles. It was a group of Baptists who stood with Christ on Mt. Olivet and received their marching orders, "Go into all the world and make disciples." The church in Jerusalem was a Baptist church. Here is a question to be answered, "Is there a personality this side of Jesus Christ who is a satisfactory explanation of Baptists?" If so, give me the name of the founder of the Baptist and the date they were founded and have three historians agree with you, one a Catholic, one a Protestant and one an infidel.

Not Name But Characteristics And Marks That Identify

Let us examine the church that Jesus built. First, the New Testament church held to the fact that no one could become a member of it except by baptism (immersion) and that only after they had accepted Christ as their personal Savior (Acts 2:41; 8:12,36-37).

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls . . . But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women . . . And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, see, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

Second, the New Testament churches were independent churches. They were not told by any other church what they could do. They were directed by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Third, these churches rendered absolute Lordship to Christ. There were no presiding elders, no priests, no pope, no cardinals to lord it over them.

Fourth, they were characterized by the observance of two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They were merely pictures picturing: BAPTISM-the death, burial and resurrection of Christ; and the LORD'S SUPPER- portraying His death until He comes.

As to the marks of the New Testament church: Let us first define it. It is a local visible body of born-again believers who have been immersed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and have banded themselves together under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to carry on a visible work and to produce visible results.

I. Where is this visible body of born-again believers located today? Wherever you find a church bearing the marks of the New Testament church. What are these marks and characteristics?

1. The New Testament church acknowledges Christ as the head (Eph. 5:23), "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body."

2. It relies on His atoning sacrifice and resurrection for justification (Rom. 5:11; 1:4), "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement . . . For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established."

3. It depends on the Holy Spirit for sanctification and leadership (Rom. 15:16; John 16:13), "That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit . . .

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

4. It is a church united in belief of the Gospel, and that Gospel is centered in Christ only (Acts 4:12), "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

5. It is a church meeting together for worship.

6. It is a missionary church. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:19,20).

II. Let us examine thoroughly these marks.

1. Christ, the head of' the New Testament church. "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:22,23). We find here four things: (1) Christ, the head of the church; (2) Christ to be head over all things to the church; (3) The church is the body; (4) As His body the church expresses His completion of His fullness. Now since Christ is the head of the church which means that He is the ruler -that would exclude anyone else. For example, the pope who sits in Rome says that he is the head of the church and that he is Christ's representative here on earth. Now, if we turn to the Scriptures we know that the only representative that Christ has on earth is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended He promised that if they would go to Jerusalem and pray, that they would receive the Comforter. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down upon the whole body of believers, and He is the only representative that Jesus has on this earth today. So this kills the idea of the pope of Rome being the head of the church. The only head of the local church that Jesus built is Christ Himself.

2. The New Testament church relies on the atoning sacrifice of Christ and His resurrection for justification. As we studied in Rom. 5:11 and 1:4, the New Testament church does not depend upon (1) Salvation by works; (2) Salvation by baptism; (3) Salvation by church membership; (4) Salvation by observance of the Lord's Supper. The New Testament church depends entirely upon the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away the sins of a lost person, and His resurrection for justification.

3. The New Testament church depends upon the Holy Spirit for sanctification, leadership and regeneration. (1) Now, when a soul comes to Christ, he is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit," (John 3:8). (2) That soul is also sanctified by the Holy Spirit, Rom. 15:16. (3) That soul is led by the Holy Spirit John 16:13.

The Holy Spirit is the administrator of the church that Jesus built. The administration is not delegated into the hands of any group of individuals or anyone of human origin. The only administrator the New Testament church acknowledges is the one that Jesus sent to take His place on earth, namely, the Holy Spirit.

4. There was NOT sprinkling. Sprinkling did not come until 1311 A.D.

5. There was NOT open communion. There was only one church and that was the New Testament church that observed communion with Christ and they were baptized born-again believers who bore all the marks of the New Testament church as mentioned. They did not invite the Pharisees nor the Sadducees nor the other members of the temple to come in, even though those members said they believed in God.

6. There was NOT an episcopal form of organization. There was no one at the head of that church who was a king or who held any temporal power.

7. There was NOT celibacy among the preachers. That means, the preachers of the New Testament church married. We have the records of where Jesus went in and healed the mother of Simon Peter's wife of a fever, "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever" (Matt. 8:14).

8. There was NOT priestly confession. The only confession that a child of God makes is to God in the name of Christ. We read that in First John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

9. There was NOT a pope, bishop, or ruling elder. There were bishops in the sense that pastors were called bishops, but not in the sense as used among Protestants today.

ARE THERE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES IN THE WORLD TODAY? Certainly! Christ said, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Now, if He said that, that church is still here.

HOW ARE THEY TO BE FOUND? Two ways: (1) Is there a denomination in the world today without human origin? (2) Is there a denomination in the world today with the same characteristics as the New Testament church? The only churches in the world today without human origins are Baptist churches. All others are identified.

It is of more importance to identify our churches today with those of the first century than it is to trace the history through the centuries.

Great Group of People

There are millions of Baptists in the world. What makes them so strong? Because they are the freest denomination in all this world. Our heritage places a great responsibility upon us.

We must live our life so that we shall not bring dishonor on the name that stands as the symbol of freedom, Christ and New Testament truth. We must not stand by with silence when we see other Baptists bringing reproach upon that heritage, and do nothing about it. Even though a Baptist church is a local governing body of its own and is not ruled over by anyone except the majority of its own members, when one deviates from the teachings of the New Testament we should look upon it as having left the teachings, beliefs and heritage of Baptists, even though it may bear the name.

We have survived since the days of Christ because we have been true to the Word of God. For these 1900 years we have been carrying out the Great Commission we accepted from Jesus on Mt. Olivet.

As long as we remain true to the New Testament and faithfully carry out the work which Christ outlined for us, we can rest assured that "The gates of hell can not prevail against us."

When one of these churches ceases to do that which Christ has commanded, it will become the symbol of power and evangelism that is past, and be a picture of spiritual depravity and filled with demon possessed leaders proclaiming a Social Gospel and meaning no more to the lives of the people they contact than does Jesus mean to a hottentot.

May God help us to stand true to the Word of God and not go around with head held high in pride because we are Baptists, but may we go around humbly with bowed heads before God, praying that we shall ever hold high the standards of Christ and the Gospel which we were commanded to carry around the world, a Gospel centered in One Person - JESUS CHRIST.

CHAPTER TWO-APTISTS & BAPTISM

We come now to answer the question of so many people, "why don't Baptists accept the baptism of other faiths?" I believe I can make it quite clear.

The ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper were not given to any individual, but to the church that Jesus built. Since Baptist churches are the only churches in the world without human origin, and go all the way back to Jesus Christ, we contend that Jesus gave the ordinance of baptism to these churches. All Protestants received their authority to immerse and administer the Lord's Supper from the Roman Catholic church, or from the church from which they went out in protest. Thus we do not accept the baptism of other faiths. Understand, we are not talking of salvation. We are speaking of baptism. Too many of you want to jump on the Baptists at once and say, "THEN YOU CLAIM WE ARE NOT SAVED." We make no such claim even of our own members who appear to us to have never been born again. But if we let down the bars on the question of baptism we have opened the Lord's table to all people and we have unionized and fused ourselves into one body as a church, and gone directly against the Word of God by building an hierarchy.

May I say also that no individual has a right to go up and down the country, in the mountains or plains, preaching and teaching, and then baptizing those who are saved. This ordinance was given to the church that Jesus built. Listen to Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Paul recognized this fact when he was going after the Corinthians for splitting themselves into groups. He claimed that the Lord did not send him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. He made clear that baptism is not and never has been a part of the Gospel. Let us read it.

"Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ send me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect" (1 Cor. 1:12-17).

Is it true that Baptists do not practice infant baptism? That is true. There is no scriptural authority for it. "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (Matthew 3:7-9).

From this we find that John preferred repentance. He baptized no one until they had confessed their sins. A baby is not conscious of the guilt of sin and therefore could not have been baptized. Again in Acts 19:4, "Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." Here Paul explained the baptism of John. A person who did not or could not repent was not baptized by John. Again, the disciples baptized no babies during their ministry. So many used the argument of Matthew 19:13, "Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them." Why were they taken to Christ? To be baptized? NO! Jesus did not baptize (John 4:2). Was it that the disciples might baptize them? No, because the disciples rebuked those who had brought them. Matthew 19:14 and 13b tells you why they were brought. "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence." "That the Savior might put his hands on them." These children did not become members of the church, for Jesus did not say, "These children were of the kingdom of heaven," BUT, "OF SUCH is the kingdom of heaven." In other words, the kingdom of God is made up of persons with children's temperament. He does not say, "of those infants," but, of such persons as resembled them or were like them in temperament.

The commission given to the church before Jesus ascended said nothing about baptizing infants. No person can be baptized if an unbeliever or an infant. A commission to do a thing or things authorizes only the doing of that thing or those things specified in it. The doing of all other things is virtually prohibited. This is a maxim of law. For instance: God commanded Noah to make an ark of gopher wood. Gives no reason why, but the command is positive and forbids the use of every other kind of wood. Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac for a burnt offering. He was virtually forbidden to offer any other member of his family and he could not offer an animal until the original order was revoked by him who gave it, and a second order was given, requiring the sacrifice of a ram in the place of Isaac.

The Passover Is Another Illustration of the Maxim of Law

A lamb to be killed-not a heifer-be first year-not second or third: a male- not female; without blemish-not with blemish; on 14th day of month - not some other day, etc. Thus the commission of X to the apostles in requiring them to baptize disciples (believers) prohibits the baptism of all others. You say, "it does not forbid it in so many words." That is true. Neither does it forbid the baptism of unbelievers, horses, cows and bulls, but it is not commissioned by Christ that we baptize them, because He named the subject to be baptized as a disciple.

If I tell one to go out and buy me a pint of cream, doesn't that person violate his instructions if he comes back with having bought on my account also several pints of cream? The buyer might say, "You did not forbid the purchase of more." I could only say to him, "It was not necessary that I insert in your instructions a prohibition. My instructions to you were definite when I directed you to buy the one pint of cream. You must have known you had no authority to buy more. So you have done it at your own risk."

Pedo-Baptists, or infant baptizers argue that maybe there was included somewhere the right to purchase the additional cream. Then all I ask, "is it given?"

Now they throw back at us this line of reasoning. "If infants are not to be baptized because they cannot believe, they cannot be saved because they cannot believe." If the salvation of infants depends on their faith they cannot be saved. They and people without mental faculties are incapable of faith. How are they saved? Through the mediation of Jesus Christ. It is not by faith but by love. Our opponents fail to accomplish their object in urging this objection to our views. As soon as we say that infants are not saved by faith, but without faith, their objection is demolished.

On the day of Pentecost those added to the church by baptism believed first.

The Pedo-Baptists love to use 1 Corinthians 7:14. "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." What are the facts? The question was agitated at Corinth whether believing husbands and wives should not separate themselves from their unbelieving partners? The idea of some was that an unbeliever was "unclean" to a believer, even as a Gentile was under the Mosaic dispensation, "unclean," to a Jew.

Paul corrects this by showing that "the unbelieving husband is sanctified . . ." The sanctification was such to justify the continuance of the marriage relation between the believing and the unbelieving partner. "Else" -that is, if the sanctification did not remove the supposed uncleanness from unbelieving parents" were your children unclean; but now are they holy."

This passage is strongly against infant baptism. The children held the same position in the Corinthian church as unbelieving husbands and wives did, and that if believing husbands and wives abandoned their unbelieving partners, believing parents might, with the same propriety, separate themselves from their children.

You ask me, "What objections do you have to infant baptism besides that it is not authorized by the Bible? Don't you think that should be enough? But to satisfy you, may I offer these:

1. The ones who administer it, cannot agree as to why it should be practiced.

It would be well for these people to call a conference and get together on why infants should be baptized. Roman Catholics do it in order to have salvation. They consider baptism essential to salvation of adults and infants. Episcopalians baptize infants to make them children of God by regeneration. Calvin, maintains that infants are capable of exercising faith. This also seems to have been Luther's opinion. Wesley said, "If infants are guilty of original sin they are proper subjects of baptism; seeing, in this ordinary way, that they cannot be saved, unless this be washed away in baptism." The Directory of the Westminster Assembly place the right of infants to baptism on the ground that they are federally holy. Others, that they are born members of the church, and are baptized because they are members. Infant baptizers cannot agree among themselves. If one good reason could be furnished for infant baptism, by the united wisdom of Catholics and Protestants, it would be more satisfactory than all the reasons which are now urged.

Its Tendency Is To Unite the Church and the World

If' anything in the New Testament is plain, it is that the Lord ,Jesus Christ intended that there should be ii distinct line of demarcation between the church and the world. Infant baptism unites the church and the world, and obliterates the line of demarcation which the Savior established. If infant baptism prevailed universally-one of three things would follow:

1. Either there will be no church or,

2. There will be no world or,

3. There will be a worldly church.

"All born of the flesh" would be brought into the church. The qualification for membership would be to be generated, not regenerated. The unregenerated members would be in a large majority. The world would absorb the church, or to say the least, there would be an intensely worldly church. Look at the national churches of Europe. Look at your own America.

In Europe the time was when "partaking of the Lord's Supper" was a qualification for holding the civil and military offices of the kingdom. Offering a premium for hypocrisy.

In Germany, it used to be that a woman could not be licensed as a prostitute unless she was a member of the State Church, while the tax she paid went into the treasury from which the clergy drew his salary.

Infant baptism is dangerous because they think they are in a saved state. Ask the average person who has had infant baptism if saved, and he will tell you, "oh yes, I was baptized and have already had my first communion." Episcopalians teach that by infant baptism the infant is made a member of Christ, child of God, and an inheritor of the Kingdom of heaven. Other Pedo-Baptists teach the same thing.

Will these people ever be saved after having been taught that they are already children of God by their baptism? They will not be saved unless they admit the teachings of their "Prayer Books," "Disciplines" and "Confessions of Faith," on the subject of baptism are absolutely false. They will have to take the first step by denying the truth of what they have been taught concerning their baptism.

Why are some of these children saved when older? One prominent reason is probably because on the part of their ministers and parents. Whatever the formulas may say, the children are taught that they are sinners, unregenerates, lost, condemned, and exposed to the wrath of God, for the very reason that they are not, "in covenant" with him.

Thank God that some teachings of Pedo-Baptists do not conform to their Confessions of Faith so far as the subject of infant baptism is concerned.

Infant Baptism Often Prevents Baptism On A "Profession Of Faith In Christ."

As these children grow up, suppose they are annoyed with doubts as to the validity of their baptism? They feel they can not entertain these doubts without calling in question the sincerity of what their parents had done for them in their infancy. Faithful respect and reverence to parents is often a barrier to seeking knowledge. So the devil brings up the question: "Shall you reflect on the wisdom of your parents, by declaring their act null and void?"

Many would be baptized on a profession of their faith in' Christ were it not for their infant baptism. They point you to great and good men who have practiced infant baptism. They are perplexed. They come to the place where they wish they had not been baptized in infancy. So my objection is right, for infant baptism keeps so many from obeying Christ, and even fosters a spirit of disobedience.

Infant Baptism Has A Tendency To Banish Believers' Baptism-From the Earth

All people will admit that the New Testament enjoins the baptism of believers. Let me illustrate my point. Suppose infant baptism prevailed in the world. All parents come into the church and have their children "dedicated to God in baptism." In one generation believers' baptism would banish from the earth. There would be no Gospel baptism on earth. If I had no other objection this would be sufficient.

What Is Believer's Baptism?

It is to take a person who has repented toward God and put His faith in Jesus Christ and publicly confessed him as Savior down into the water to be immersed.

What is it to Immerse?

It is to baptize. Any Greek scholar who has a reputation to lose a-s such, will tell you that the Greek word "baptidzo" means to immerse, and was so done until the thirteenth century. The very design of baptism is in favor of immersion. In Romans 6:3-5:

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." It represents the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We read also in Colossians 2:12, "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Also 1 Peter 3:21, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Thus we see it has a commemorative reference to the burial and resurrection of Christ. The two ordinances of the church proclaim the four great facts of the Gospel. These facts are, that Jesus died, was buried, arose again and will return." The Lord's Supper commemorates the first and fourth facts. In baptism we see him buried and raised again. So baptism is symbolic of two of the four prominent Gospel facts-the burial and resurrection of Christ. Baptism also expresses in picture the believer's death to sin, and resurrection to newness of life.

Baptism Also Anticipates The Believer's Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:29, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?"

There was an argument on the resurrection of the dead and Paul proposed these questions. If there be no resurrection of the dead, those who, in becoming Christians, expose themselves to all manner of privations, crosses, severe sufferings and a violent death, can have no compensation, nor any motive sufficient to induce them to expose themselves to such miseries. But as they receive baptism, as an emblem of DEATH, in voluntarily going under the water, so they receive it as an emblem of the resurrection unto eternal life, in coming up out of the water. Thus they are baptized for THE DEAD, in perfect faith of the resurrection.

If all this be true, and who could dispute it, then it follows that immersion in water of a believer in Christ is essential to BAPTISM-so essential that there is no BAPTISM WITHOUT IT.

When Did It Cease?

It has never ceased. It was changed in 1311 by the Council held at Ravenna, when they declared immersion or sprinkling to be indifferent. But the Bible never did change it. During the persecution of Mary, many Scotsmen fled from England to Geneva, and there imbibed the opinion of that church. In 1556 a book was published at that place, containing prayers and forms and administration of sacraments, which was approved by John Calvin in which it stated in one place, "the administrator is enjoined to take water in his hand and lay it on the child's forehead." The irony of it is that these Scots who had renounced the authority of the Pope, implicitly acknowledged the authority of Calvin; and returning to their own country, with John Knox at their head, in 1559 established sprinkling in Scotland. From Scotland, this practice made its way into England, in the reign of Elizabeth; but was not authorized by the established church of England."

This would startle many people. More infants have been immersed than ever had the operation of sprinkling or pouring performed on them. Immersion, however, so far as unconscious infants are concerned, is no better than sprinkling. Both are uncommanded in the Word of God, and belong to the' large family of human traditions.

Thus you see that the Bible does not teach sprinkling, nor the baptizing of infants nor the immersing in water of a person who is not dead to sin. This therefore excludes baptismal regeneration, sprinkling and pouring; and confirms what I said a moment ago that immersion in water of a believer in Christ is essential to baptism-so essential there is no baptism without it.

CHAPTER THREE-BAPTISTS & THE LORD'S SUPPER

This has been termed erroneously "close communion" by our friends the Protestants and Pedo-Baptists. They call us "selfish, and uncharitable" in refusing to commune with them. They tell us we shall commune together in Heaven and ought to on earth; forgetting that whatever the regulations of the heavenly state, the Word of God alone is our guide during our earthly pilgrimage. There are too many erroneous views concerning communion at the Lord's table. In some places it seems almost as a manifestation of Christian love, rather than a commemoration of the Savior's death. They look upon it as a practical illustration of the union of different religious denominations, instead of a solemn celebration of the sufferings of the Crucified One. There is among Baptists alone a Scriptural observance of the Lord's Supper.

Roman Catholics believe that the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper are changed into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ. To believe this the Savior then took His body and made the disciples eat of it, and literally poured out His blood and told them to "drink ye all of it." If you can believe that you should be a Catholic. Bread cannot be His real body; neither can wine be His real blood, but bread can represent His body and wine can represent His blood.

The Lutherans differ least from the Romans in regard to communion, for they maintain that "the body and the blood of Christ are materially present in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, though in an incomprehensible manner. They call it CON-SUBSTANTIATION. The Catholics call it TRANS-SUBSTANTIATION. Both are incredible.

Episcopalians and Methodists would perhaps think it unkind, to infer that their "sacramental services" indicate their ecclesiastic descent from Rome. But it is even so. The communicant in receiving the bread is addressed thus: "The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." And in receiving the cup, "The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." These are from the book of "Common Prayer." The same language is found in the Methodist "Discipline."

The terms soul and body however are made to change places. No charge that the Episcopalians and Methodist believe in Trans-Substantiation or Con-Substantiation. But if not, they should modify the language. Do they know why they kneel at the communion? What is the origin? Here it is: When the Roman sentiment of Trans-substantiation began to prevail, the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper being considered the real body and blood of Christ, were regarded as suitable objects of adoration. Hence the superstitious kneeling of Romanists at the "holy communion."

Episcopalians, abandoning "Mother Rome" in the reign of Henry VIII, retained the practice of kneeling, while Methodists have inherited it from the Episcopalians. All Protestants ought to repudiate it on account of its idolatrous origin. Worshiping bread and wine makes one guilty of idolatry.

Presbyterians celebrate it by speaking of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as "sealing ordinances." This conveys an unscriptural idea. Christians are as we read in Ephesians 1:13, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."

Baptists hold that the Lord's Supper is a church ordinance, to be observed as a memorial of the death of Christ. The bread represents His crucified body-wine His blood shed on Calvary. Jesus said, "This do in remembrance of me." Paul tells the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:24, "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."

So the death of Christ will be commemorated until He comes the second time. We do not show the death, burial or resurrection or ascension or glorification of our Lord, BUT HIS DEATH.

Baptism is a pre-requisite to the Lord's Table. We reason thus: It is an ordinance, to be observed exclusively by the members of a visible church of Christ. None can be members of a visible church of Christ without baptism.

Now let us read Luke 22:19, "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." This is in simple language the institution of the Lord's Supper.

Isn't it strange how the two ordinances of the church have been the cause of so much contention, so many broken homes and so many isms? Not strange either because if the devil could destroy these pictures he would eventually blot out the Christian religion. Jesus Christ instituted the church and gave to it two ordinances. Baptism, a picture of His death, burial and resurrection, and the Lord's Supper, picture of what He has done for us-to think of Him and remember Him until He comes. Both will be done away at His return.

Let us now open our minds and be frank and discuss the question and see if we cannot find the meaning. There are several bed rock principles.

1. The ordinance was entrusted to the church.

2. It has been restricted by Jesus Christ.

3. Certain pre-requisites.

4. Those pre-requisites were laid down by Jesus Christ.

5. The church possesses only executive power.

6. No church has a right to establish any terms other than found in the New Testament.

Common Objections Urged Against the Restrictions

1. Primitive rules are not applicable now.

2. Pedo-Baptists think themselves baptized, hence they should be admitted to the Lord's Supper. Individuals do not decide.

3. Restricted communion is a hindrance to union among Christians.

4. It is urged that restricted communion is inconsistent since we reject the better and receive the worse.

All denominations agree with us that God has placed certain restrictions around the Lord's table.

What are These Restrictions?

1. Regeneration. John insisted that "meets for repentance," come before baptism, so belief must precede it. Yet today baptism so-called is given to helpless babes without any authority in the world from the Bible.

Notice the order of Pentecost, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41). "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 8:12). Again in Acts 10:47, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"

Take the great commission. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

2. They were baptized believers. There was no open membership in these New Testament churches. The only way you could get into one of them was by baptism. Immersion was the only mode. The Lord's Supper was and is in the church.

3. Since it is a church ordinance it must be celebrated by baptized believers in church capacity.

(1) Lord's Supper not spoken of in connection with individuals. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42).

(2) The individual administration of it has no Bible warranty.

(3) It is a church ordinance and anything which goes beyond or comes short of this falls for want of Scripture example or command.

4. Orderly Walk. "Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper" (1 Cor. 11:17-20). "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup" (1 Cor. 11:28). "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat" (1 Cor. 5:11). "But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you" (1 Thess. 3:6).

Should Baptists Invite Other Baptists?

Frankly NO! This comes from two facts.

1. Every church is the guardian of the purity of the ordinances of Jesus Christ.

2. Every church is an independent body-a democratic sovereignty under Christ. Every church is under sacred obligations to preserve the purity and integrity of the ordinances. "Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2).

How are they to be preserved? By each church. How are they to preserve it unless each local body feels its local responsibility? We preserve the ordinance of baptism by demanding that the subject be saved. We preserve the Lord's Supper by demanding that the subject be worthy. This brings up the question of discipline. We can only discipline those within our church. So what right would we have to invite those of other churches over whom we have no power of discipline?

Remember every church is an independent body. If a church is independent how can the members of another church interfere with its action? How can they claim anything of it on the ground of right to be invited? It would be a peculiar independence if those members who do not belong to it could demand a seat at the Lord's Table among them. Baptists can restrict because they are independent. Pedo-Baptists such as Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Methodists extend over state and provinces. Local congregations are in a great measure exempt from such responsibilities as rest on those with whom is the sovereign power under Christ. The Episcopalian looks to his General Convention, the Presbyterian to his General Assembly, and the Methodist to his General Conference as the highest authority as the supreme judicatory.

Every Baptist feels that he is a sovereign citizen of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Every Baptist church is a sovereign democracy on which devolves the duty of executing laws of Christ and of preserving in their primitive purity and integrity the ordinances of the Gospel. This does not make our members love less the members of another Baptist church. Christian love is not created nor preserved by the acts of Synods nor the edicts of Conferences, Conventions, Associations or Fellowships. It is originated by the influence of the Holy Spirit and perpetuated by the same agency.

Why Do you Object to Open Communion?

The reasoning generally resorted to in its defense is illogical, often involving its advocates in the most glaring inconsistency. "Don't you believe them Christians?" "Shouldn't you love all Christians?" "Won't you commune with your wife or mother?" "Don't you expect to commune in Heaven?"

1. Where positive laws which from the very nature must be observed according to the expressed will of the law giver are the subject of discussion all appeal to the emotional nature is out of place.

2. Family or social relationship has nothing whatever to do with qualifying a person for communion at the Lord's Table.

3. The logical and the inevitable sequence of open communion is open membership.

4. It is false claim that open communion tends to brotherly love and Christian union.

5. Open communion put into practice would compel a church to commune with those who had been excluded because of unworthy fellowship.

6. The practice of open communion is a flagrant violation of principles common to nearly all the creeds of Christendom contravening and nullifying what is admitted almost universally to be the expressed will of Christ.

7. Open communion is a plain violation of the New Testament.

(1) We are to keep the ordinances as delivered.

(2) We must do whatsoever God has commanded us, if we would prove ourselves His friends. "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14).

(3) If there be a cross it must be taken up and borne. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).

(4) If we permit earthly ties (even those of father, mother, wife, children, brother or sister) to come between us and our duty, the Savior says we cannot be His disciples. "And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:36-38).

CHAPTER FOUR-BAPTISTS & THE OTHER DENOMINATIONS

A movement is on foot and has been for a number of years to group all non-Catholic bodies under one overhead leadership, on the assumption that Baptists and the other non-Catholic bodies are practically one. This is not so.

Baptists have been called narrow because they refuse to unionize. But it is not a question of being narrow, it is a question of what is Christianity? Summing it up you would say it is the individual being joined to Christ by faith. We believe: that each person is capable of dealing with God through Christ, and that this privilege is granted every creature who knows right from wrong. Further we believe as Baptists that every individual has an equal right in all matters of the church and that each church is a free autonomous body of its own, governed by the majority of its members and not obligated to the state except as pertains the individual himself in legal relation to the state. In other words, we hold that the church is a free church in a free state and that our first obligation is to Christ and since it is that we shall also express our duty to our state which God has set up for our legal rights.

With this as a foundation there is little need for me to state that Baptists cannot unionize with others for they cannot accept anything or harmonize with anything that affects the direct relation of the soul to Christ. This the ecclesiastical administrators do. Furthermore, we cannot accept the idea of saving grace coming through the ordinances of the church, such as, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. This brings grace down into the same realm as matter and takes it out of the realm of mind and spirit. John 1:12,13 answers, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

These views would destroy the relation of the individual soul to Christ by making Christianity depend on something outward or on some priestly order who by administering the ordinance holds in his hands the destiny of my soul, in that he could refuse to grant to me such ordinance.

We cannot unionize because we cannot accept infant baptism.

So you see that Baptists are separated from all other denominations by their New Testament principles. Understand that we do not believe that Protestants are lost, for many Protestant churches hold to repentance and faith as the only means into the kingdom of God, but, they will have to admit that their structure is built around certain principles and certain errors which we cannot accept.

Here is a startling statement: If you would take from the Protestant Pedo-Baptist bodies all in them that is Catholic, you would have nothing left but a Baptist church, and if you were to take from them all that is Baptist you would have nothing but a Catholic church remaining. Most Protestant churches believe one or more of the following: infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, good works, church membership, repentance and faith. The only thing there that we believe as they believe is repentance and faith for salvation. Take away those two things and you have a complete Roman Catholic church without the Priest. Take away all the other and leave repentance and faith and you have a Baptist church. So you see, we cannot change our position.

So you ask, "What is your relationship to other ecclesiastical bodies?" None.

We are not to be blamed for this separation. We have stood our ground since the church was built on the banks of the river Jordan. We have given our blood and even endured death because we stood for this principle. Instead of you Baptists hanging your head in shame for being a Baptist, and any who would, should leave the Baptists in a hurry, you should lovingly and boldly accept your ecclesiastical isolation and preach it to all the world and especially to the coming generations. We have a heritage to which we do not bow our heads in shame, but to which we lift our head in honor, having never had laid at our feet the charge of aggression or persecution of any other religious group in all the world, even while standing in our own blood, flowing there at the hands of some of those who would today tear down our principles.

Now let us look at this unionizing or ecumenical movement that is sweeping our country. It started back in 1919 under John R. Mott. He had influence and access to men with plenty of money. They operated through a number of inter-or outside denominational organizations such as the Y.M.C.A.; Continuation Committee of the Edinburgh Conference; Federal Council Foreign Mission Council; Inter Church World Movement and others. They planned their movement with great skill and ability. They began their work by assuming that all non-Catholic bodies are one, and their differences are not noticeable. Their object was to break down all denominational lines and build one organic religious body with an overhead management.

This is exactly the way the Roman hierarchy finally came into existence. You will not find a word about it in the Scriptures. Rome did not become a reality until human wisdom was enthroned in place of the wisdom of Christ. This is true of the Ecumenical Movement. I point you to the National Council which has so outgrown itself that now it reaches out into the World Council of Churches. I need say little about this except that most of it is aimed at Baptists to destroy their faith. This I shall show to you. If Baptists were to put the program of Dr. Mott and the World Council, we would die overnight.

How do they work? The leaders assume the overhead leadership of the historic religious bodies and advance with their program. They promote that which is uppermost in the minds of the people at the time and use programs that deeply affect their work at home and abroad. They do not wait for an invitation. They have no manners. I refer to the Council of Churches here.

It was this very kind of Ecumenical Movement that hampered mission work in China some years ago. Dr. Mott and his crowd heading the Continuation Committee of the Edinburg Conference, went to China, called conferences and put on a program utterly subversive to the principles of the people supporting the missions involved. There he sowed seeds of discord that threatened some of the Baptist mission work overseas.

They went further than that. In World War I, do you know what this unionizing group did? Mott went to Washington with a plan for war work. He kept his meeting secret. War came and what did we wake up to find? Three forms of religion has been established in the camps: Judaism, Catholicism and Y.M.C.Aism. The non-Catholics, that is the great groups of them were barred from the camps, though many soldiers came from their ranks. Those who did minister were compelled to merge into the Y.M.C.A. and work through them and wear their uniform and the "Y" was covenanted with the government not to encourage anything denominational.

Why do some of our Baptists join these movements? Out of ignorance, and because they are not Baptist. You can always find bad apples or lemons or potatoes in a whole mass. This is how they work. They call a conference and pay the expenses of the individual. They call the ones who will work with them. Then the papers carry a big article that such and such denominations were represented and thereby mislead the people. There are people named Baptist in the various State Councils, National Council, and World Council of Churches, but they did not take their churches called Baptists in with them. Let me give you a conversation I had one time after being turned down in Grundy, Virginia. An evangelist said, "Why not hold a Union meeting?" I asked him, "Do you?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Don't you have any scruples?" He then said, "I am not limited in my financial drag. If I hold a union meeting all people will put in their money but if I limit myself to Baptists, I won't make near as much."

I then said, "Do you believe in infant baptism, foot-washing, baptismal regeneration, salvation by works and falling from grace?" He said, "No." "But," I said, "these people you are inviting in do." "Well," he said, "I may get them to hear me in this way and get them to see the error of their ways." I said, "will you tell them that?" He said, "Don't be a fool."

A druggest that won't label the medicine he sells cannot stay in business and you would not trade with him. Yet you go right down, without knowing a thing about the person who holds a union meeting, and join in and don't even bother to ask him for his label. Some of you say, "He sounds just like a Baptist." Yes sir, but sounding like one and being one are two different things.

The danger of unionism is what it leads to. It leads to hierarchy.

Look at your World Council of Churches. If ever anything is farce in the way it has been represented it is this group. Do you know their charter? Do you know what they believe? What you read in the papers sounds good, doesn't it? What you know about them makes the whole thing stink, if you viii excuse such an expression.

Why do we need a World Council of Churches? Jesus never endorsed such a thing. He did the very opposite. WE HAD BETTER WATCH THE BAPTIST WORLD ALLIANCE TOO. All these alliances will lead us right to the place we know Jesus does not want us. Baptists cannot unionize with other Baptist churches and keep the New Testament church. We are local governing bodies of our own, carrying on the work as the Holy Spirit directs us, not as He directs some other Baptist church. They may be led to put on a training school at the same time we are led to put on a school of missions. It is all right when we plan far enough ahead to co-operate in the census, school of missions, etc. But let it be said, that even after saying we would co-operate if we feel led not to go into that and put on another program, that is our business and privilege.

What a Great Thing to be a Baptist

Some Baptists have not learned yet that they are to run their own church according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Let us go back to this World Council. We know what the National Council is. It has some communist composition. The local and State council of churches are kin to them and one of their bed fellows, if not its own child. All these union movements with the exception of the revival of the old Oxford Movement under another name, THE MORAL RE-ARMAMENT MOVEMENT, are sponsored mostly by the National Council. The National Council may soon take over the Oxford crowd.

They call this thing the World Council of Churches. What does this group stand for? Simply stated, here it is. "The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which accept our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior."

There is an affirmative statement but nothing in it definitive. This Council did not affirm its faith in the inspiration and final authority of the Scripture. Barth and Brunner were there. They did not affirm their faith in the virgin birth, for many of its number do not so believe. They did not affirm their faith in the heart of the Gospel, the atoning death of Christ, for many of the churches it represents do not believe in this. They did not affirm its faith in the return of Jesus. Many of its leaders have repudiated this. They did not affirm the resurrection. For some of its leaders no longer accept it. Summarizing I simply say it is a group of churches the PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST will not fellowship with-ever! (Case Against World Council of Churches"-Chester Tulga.) This crowd did not want another Pentecost. TIME Magazine summed up all this meeting in a true statement, "The men of Amsterdam did not expect and did not receive flames from heaven."

Now let me make myself even more clear by clearing the errors that exist about Church evangelism-that is that evangelism apart from the church is possible.

1. Christ was and is the one evangelist.

2. He now fulfills His great work of proclaiming the good tidings through His body which is the church.

3. Unattached and unauthorized evangelism is unscriptural. Christ committed the evangelizing of the world to His church.

4. Another error, supposing that a time can be set for it and people worked up to it.

5. Another great error and one which I wish to dwell on now is that to have church evangelism it is necessary for all the denominations of a given city to unite.

Now I Shall Sum up for you why Baptists Are and Should be Opposed to Union Meetings

1. The basis of agreement in every union meeting implied or distinctly stated is the suppression of a part of the truth and that in the face of the direct command of Christ, "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations . . ."

2. The necessity of such organizations does not exist in order to secure the cooperation of those who really want to assist in winning the lost. No Christian who loves God and wants to win the lost is debarred from this. He can do personal work every day in the year.

3. By far the greatest amount of genuine cooperation is given in meetings not run on the union plan.

4. As a rule the church work is continuously kept going by those members who are most loyal to their church's doctrines.

5. Union meetings have a necessary tendency to make people willing to surrender part of the teachings of the Word of God.

6. As a rule the churches and members who are the greatest believers in union meetings do very little to save the lost after the campaign is over.

7. A union meeting makes it next to impossible for a pastor to indoctrinate his church after the revival closes.

8. In union meeting sectarianism is described and the direct effect is to make it odious and defend firm convictions of church doctrine.

9. In doctrine and practice Baptists stand opposed to all others. In going into the union meeting they minimize and discount the fundamental doctrines and practices which in the estimation of thinking people form the reason for their existence.

10. In union meetings the real difference between truth and error is mystified.

11. The union meeting is a misnomer because a real union involves oneness of faith and practice and the Bible says, "two cannot walk together except they be agreed."

12. If churches can unite for four weeks in a union meeting, why, let us unite for all time to come.

But you ask, "How do you explain John 17:21? 'That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me'" This should come from the heart of every Christian. A prayer for unity of God's true people. What is the nature of this unity which Jesus had with His Father? NOT A PRAYER FOR ORGANIC unity, for organic unity can never be the close spiritual relationship like that existing between Father and Son. It is that deep unity of identity, will and purpose that existed between the Father and His Son, who was said to be, "the express image," of God. It was the unity of will which could say, "not my will but Thy will be done."

This is the basis of the unity for which Jesus prayed and by which He illustrates His will for His people.

CHAPTER FIVE-GOD'S PROGRAM FOR WORLD CONQUEST

This is a most vital subject. It concerns us all. There are two views. Let us look at both of them and distinguish between them. God will do two things:

1. He will give us power to conquer the world in our life through receiving the Gospel and,

2. He will enthrone His Son, Jesus Christ as King of Kings and cause His enemies to become His footstool.

For the first, God uses the Gospel, and for the other God abides His time and will use His Son at the Battle of Armageddon. Now let us consider the first. Many people are confused. We hear so much today about the church bringing in the Kingdom. This sounds good and gives a lot of prestige to the church, but it is utterly false.

After God created man lie rested. but not for long. It was soon after that man sinned and God has to begin His work of redemption. We know the story as found in Genesis three. Then we know how God could do one of three things:

1. Destroy man.

2. Take into communion with him a sinful creature.

3. Make a way back for the man.

God chose, because of His grace, to do the latter. Thus we find God in the Garden of Eden after man sinned, making a promise that was to shake the very foundations of hell, and cause Satan to become His worst enemy. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3:15).

That promise meant two things:

1. God was going to bring a Savior into the world for man. That Savior would be known as the "seed of the woman" and would suffer at the hands of the Devil and

2. God would see that the "seed of the woman" would sometime crush Satan and reign as King of Kings.

After making this promise God killed some animals and took their skins and clothed man, signifying by that, that He would cover man's sin. Man had tried to cover his own and could not.

So in the Garden of Eden, God was making a way back for His creature. God has been opposed in His efforts to redeem man ever since the day man sinned. Adam and Eve were hounded. You remember how Abel was killed and then Seth was promised as the "seed" to take the place of Abel. Remember this: Those who believed that promise of Gen. 3:15 and looked to the coming of the Savior were saved by faith. No difference in their faith and ours. They looked to the Cross and we look to the Cross. All have been saved alike since God spoke His plan in Gen. 3:15. Nothing has been added to it, nothing has been taken from it.

Satan however tried to wreck the faith of those who looked to the coming of the Savior by trying to prevent the birth of Christ. He tried to kill off the "seed of the woman." God first worked through individuals to keep alive the promise and to keep it before the people in each succeeding generation. You see Seth bearing witness, but the devil trying to tear it down by intermarriage of saved and unsaved. Result: IMMORALITY. Result of that? FLOOD. Then came Noah and the promise passed on to Shem. But people still were unwilling to get away from magnifying the flesh and self, and tried to build a tower that would reach into heaven. God came down and confounded them and scattered them, and the nations we have today arc the result of that scattering: God saw that He must work through a race rather than an individual so He calls Abram. "Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will make of' thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:1-3).

A new nation was born. A nation to be highly honored. But a nation is just as strong as the individuals that compose it. The spiritual strength of Israel was not much to brag about. There was constant trouble from time to time. It was called out as a nation to represent God's chosen people until God had to turn away from it.

We could go on and on showing that Satan has ever been opposed to God conquering the souls of men. Look at the history of Israel and you see how Satan exerted his power. First upon the leaders, then upon the people. Look how he used the tool of jealousy to bring a whole nation into bondage, hoping to have it slaughtered and the seed of the woman destroyed. The eleven brothers of Joseph. Just eleven men that put them all as slaves down in Egypt. Then came Moses to lead them out. Then followed the Golden calf, tree worship, Baal, bowing down to the Queen of Heaven and listening to people rather than God. They were not satisfied with Samuel, so they demanded a King. They wanted a great big fellow who would make a good impression. Saul was chosen. He became rather corrupt and followed off after Spiritism, but got his full of it in one night. Then came David who did pretty well until the Devil got to dogging him. He sinned and so corrupted the people that they drove him off the throne in favor of his favorite son. Then came Solomon with his ideas. He listened to God for a while and God gave him wisdom. But his heart went off after other gods after he got too many heathen wives. The kingdom was divided and split into the north and south. Then they were scattered and led off into captivity. What a history!

Finally after nearly 4,000 years Jesus came. He fulfilled the promise that God had made in Eden. You know how He suffered at the hands of Satan and his crowd. Finally they took Him out early one morning and crucified Him! "And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, the place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him" (Mark 15:22-25).

Before this we find Jesus teaching and preaching and healing the sick. He was telling the people that He was the Prophet that should come. He preached for three years and had a small group following Him after this tremendous effort. About 120. Not many. The people of God have never been in the majority but once, on Noah's Ark. They will be again some day but not before Jesus comes again. God left His program for world conquest, which was now to include both Jews and Gentiles, free and bond, rich and poor in the hands of this little group of followers. They did not realize that the Gospel would be given to others beside Israel but they soon found it out. For God turned from Israel to the Gentiles when He saw they continued to reject Him and His Son.

Up to the death of Jesus on the cross, the people looked forward to His atonement, but now we look back to His atonement. The greater of the two faiths is that of the ones before His actual death, burial and resurrection. It is much easier to believe that God sent His only begotten Son, after reading it in the New Testament and after the great array of witnesses, than to believe that He would send His Son. Just as Jesus told Thomas, "Blessed are they that have not seen but have believed." We find this little hand full of followers being given their commission from the Lawgiver (Matthew 28:19,20).

Why did not the Jews accept Christ? They would had He proclaimed Himself as King. They wanted a physical restorer, not a spiritual restorer. They were similar to us today. They had sunk so low spiritually that they were blind as bats to their inner need. They should have known better. Our modernists today should know better also. The Jews had the Old Testament. God told them in His Word that He would raise first a Prophet like Moses. Then this Prophet would become a High Priest after the order of Melchidezek, and then this High Priest would some day become the King. Right here is where the modernist is getting all confused. He wants Christ to be the High Priest and at the same time a King, but a spiritual King. This is not taught in the Bible. Thus the modernist believes that the church will bring in the Kingdom. They must mean that the church will bring in a spiritual Kingdom and subdue all the evil influence and make of this earth a Utopia, and a great revival will break out that will spread around the world and all people will bow their knee to Christ, then He will come as the literal King. I can not figure it all out. They are getting people as confused today as the modernistic Jews had them in the days of Christ and before He came the first time.

People ought to know that Jesus would have to fulfill one office before He could take another. He was FIRST, the Prophet; SECOND, the High Priest, which He is NOW; THIRD, He will be the king.

You remember when God called out Abraham, He used a nation in which His love would be manifested. That nation did not appreciate His love and when Jesus came, that very nation nailed Him to the cross. So God turns now to the little group of people on Mt. Olivet and says, "I no longer can go only to the House of Israel but to all the world." Then we find Saul of Tarsus being called as a preacher to the Gentiles. Now here is what I want you to notice: We are now under the dispensation of grace and the Holy Spirit.

Under grace the preaching of the Gospel to people has been entrusted to His church that He built. Every born-again believer is obligated to carry that Gospel. But the church as a sacred trust to perform. He sent them back to Jerusalem to pray until they "be endued with power from on high," and then they were to go with that Gospel to all the world. What is that Gospel? Jesus was born of a virgin; He died without sin, but with our sins resting upon Him, and offered His blood as atonement for them; He was buried and after three days and three nights in the earth He came forth; He ascended into Heaven to become our High Priest, and someday He will come again as king. That is the full gospel. They were instructed to preach "repentance and remission of sins in His Name among all nations."

Thus God is today bringing about His conquest of the soul of man in order that through faith in His Son, man might be given power over sin in his life.

The only instrument they had with which to go forth and conquer the souls of men for God was the Word of God! That they used! They were not to use airplanes, tanks, guns, bombs, and material things. They were to conquer in His Name the works of the devil. This would not come through the church, nor through the ordinances of the church; nor through the law nor the sacrifices pertaining to the law. They were to conquer in THIS WAY ONLY, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).

In other words, God's plan for world conquest by the Gospel is to rid the individual of sin. The only remedy for sin is the blood of Jesus. The only way to overthrow the forces of evil in the world is to first overthrow those same forces in the life of each individual.

We have gone at this thing backwards. We have tried to legislate evil out of the world. We think that all we have to do is make law, and evil is gone. Thus you will find your modernist today always in the political whirl, either a Psychoanalyst, or a Washington representative, or a leader in the World Council or National Council of Churches. Why? They are seeking to bring in the Kingdom. What Kingdom? I don't know. Ask them, maybe they know. Do you want to rid the world of gamblers? Of whoremongers? Of street walkers? Of Bookies? Of liquor?

Let these preachers who are trying so hard to make the world a fit place in which to live start getting down to God's business and making people fit to live in this dirty old world and a change will take place. If a dead man were to become alive and find himself in a coffin, he wouldn't waste any time getting out of there. The same is true of a person who becomes alive to God. We don't need all this Psycho stuff and Political gab-we need for people to hear again the old message of "repentance and remission of sins in his name among all nations."

The battle of proclaiming this program for the world conquest of men's souls has been long, and after all these years, Christians are still in the minority. Many "isms" have sprung up with new doctrines. These "isms" have just enough of Jesus in them to make them enticing and just enough of the devil in them to appeal to the flesh. In other words the Devil has built his institutions right along as God has empowered His. The Devil would be a fool if he did not. We see today some 700 different groups of people. All with a different message. But amidst all this group we find one standing in the blood of their own martyrs, still proclaiming and still preaching, "repentance and remission of sins in his name among all nations."

Every orthodox Baptist church is sounding forth that message. But just as some Jews were orthodox and some were not, so it is today. Some are sound and some are unsound in the faith. But this is all the fulfillment of prophecy. I do not wish to spend my time showing how unsound they are but to show that we who still believe the Bible to be inspired, and who still believe that Jesus was born of a Virgin, that He died and was buried, that He arose again and will some day come back, must continue to fight and stand for the truth. We need as never before to "quit ourselves like men."

That Commission given 1900 years ago is to be carried to all the nations until Jesus comes again. Nothing is to be added to it, nothing taken from it. He is the Lawgiver--we are the executors. So long as we keep this in mind we will continue to evangelize the world. This is what we are to do. God's program for world conquest of the souls of men is through the Gospel. He entrusted to His church the proclaiming of that Gospel. What does that mean? That every born-again believer is obligated to carry that Gospel to the lost just as it is found in the Bible. When people quit analyzing the Bible and trying to psychoanalyze those who belong to Christ as though they were a crowd headed for the bug house; when they quit putting in our schools men and women who question the Bible and who know more about it than the Author Himself, and get back to preaching as did the early preacher, preaching Jesus and Jesus only and His return, then, we will see people turning to Jesus!

The church does not bring in the Kingdom, but the church causes the Kingdom of God to become visible to the lost through the new birth, which can come only by repentance toward God and faith in Jesus. When we are born again God enthrones Himself in our hearts as Lord. We cannot reach lost souls with moving pictures or racy discussion of current events. Neither can we reach them by using things that appeal to their flesh or by enticing them into the house of God on pretense of a social and then corner them. We cannot reach them by conferences or athletics. No, we don't win men and women, boys and girls to Jesus by these methods. God gave us THE method. "Preach repentance and remission of sins in his name." When we do this people will come to God's house. People are dying today for the simple old time Gospel that they are not getting.

Now the Other Conquest is:

When God conquers the world through Jesus becoming King of Kings! God will not use the Gospel to do this. The church will not be present when this takes place. When Jesus is set up as King of Kings it will be by His own power. Just as He needs no one to help Him save a poor lost sinner, neither does He need anyone to help Him bring in His Kingdom.

We are told that Jesus will come in the air and take His born-again believers out of the earth. This is when the church will go, and the Lord's Table and Baptism will vanish. The redeemed will be up in the air with Him. On the earth their will be tribulation such as the world has never seen before nor ever will again.

Israel will be restored to the land of Palestine. The Anti-christ will arise out of these Western nations which shall compose the revived Roman Empire. As the Tribulation moves to a close Russia will have taken the land of Palestine. The Jews will have been deceived into signing the agreement with the Anti-christ. The sun will be darkened, the moon will become as blood and the nations of the world will be gathered around Jerusalem. Then there will come a thunderous sound and the heavens will open. Then we see this:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. (Rev. 19:11-18)

This is when God brings His Kingdom upon earth and sets His Son Jesus on the throne as king. Then we will have a thousand years of peace on earth. After this reign of peace we will see take place the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

Listen to Rev. 20:7-10:

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.

So we see that today we are to proclaim the message of the cross and the blood of Jesus. We are to help God conquer the soul's of men through preaching Jesus. God's program for bringing in the Kingdom is His own. He Himself will bring it about. The big question is, "Are we as Baptists helping God in the program for the conquest of men's souls? Are we winning the lost? Are we burdened?" If we are to be true to Him and His commission we must! May God help us go out into the whole world with the Gospel of Jesus, and bring men to Christ so when God sets up His Kingdom on earth, they along with us shall reign with Him. If we do not proclaim Christ to those we contact daily, then we have not been true to Christ and we have done them an injustice. I have eternal life for them in the Name of Jesus. May God help us to see that they are offered, and told how to receive that eternal life. What they do about accepting it is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to see that they hear the message from us; to see that the church to which I belong shall proclaim the full gospel as found in Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER SIX-WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

The average person when asked, "what must I do to be saved?" will answer, usually, "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." But isn't there more involved than that? We shall see as we take this plan and simple study together. Let us see the true condition of every person when born into this world. We read in Psalm 51:5, "Behold I was brought forth in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." That verse of Scripture used to worry me a lot as a child. I kept wanting to know, "why was I born in iniquity and why did my mother conceive me in sin?" We must turn to Genesis for the answer. Let us read Genesis 2:7, "And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Now verses 15-17 in Genesis, third chapter:

And Jehovah God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Then In Genesis 3:1-7:

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

That sin of Adam and Eve brought death, spiritual death, which is separation from God. Darkness came between man and God because of that sin, and in God's sight the soul of that man died. Now you can understand Romans 5:12, "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all have sinned."

From the time that Adam and Eve sinned, death entered. Sin and death have always been linked together. Sin earns death. Every person born into this world from Cain down to now, has been born in sin. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Understand that we are not born in sin because of anything we have done, but because of what Adam and Eve did when they transgressed the Word of God. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God: They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no not so much as one" (Rom. 3:10,11).

So that means that a person could keep all the Ten Commandments, could live morally, never lie, never steal, live as pure as a lily and die and go to Hell? That is what God says. None of us has anything to offer God, in the way of goodness. I know it riles some people to tell them that they are unrighteous, unholy and defiled when they come into this world, but that is exactly what God has said about everyone of us. There is no use to get angry with the preacher.

You can't change the Bible. You can, but you had better not. You are not to sit in judgment upon it, but let it judge you. So you stand unclean, unholy and completely rotten when you come into the world. God says so!

Then you ask, "Is there any hope for me?"

Yes, there is plenty of hope, and it is found in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

When Jesus died on the cross, all of our sins were nailed to Him. Not only the sin of Adam, but all sins -past, present and future.

Now you raise the question, "What about a little baby that has been born in sin. Suppose it dies, where will its soul go?"

If that little baby dies before reaching the age of accountability, which is the age to know right from wrong, that baby's soul will go to heaven. Why? When Jesus died on the cross He died for the sin of which that little baby is guilty, the Adamic sin. Since that baby inherited that sin, and knows nothing of that sin and does not know that it is guilty before God, if it dies, it will go to be with Jesus. That is God's grace extended to that little baby. Understand, the baby does not go to heaven because of anything it has done, nor because of anything you have had done to it. That baby goes to heaven because of what Jesus did for it on the cross.

You immediately ask, "Then there is no need for me to have my baby sprinkled?" Of course not. And furthermore, it isn't taught in the Bible. That is a dangerous practice. Why? Because you cannot MAKE anyone a Christian, and you are liable to lead that child to believe later on in life that it is saved because of what you did for it. Thus you take Christ completely out of the picture, and claim that Jesus was able to die for sin, but not for ALL sin. If Jesus did not die for the sin of which that little babe is guilty, then He did not die for any sin. It was the sin of Adam that brought Jesus into the world. It is that sin that the baby is guilty of', and it was atoned for by Jesus on Calvary.

Where did we get the idea of sprinkling infants? It came from the paganism of the Chaldeans. It was practiced long before Christianity came into the world by Christ's offering. It was brought over into the Roman Church and included in its program. It was never heard of or practiced in a New Testament Baptist church. We practice only what is taught in the Word of God. There is enough in the Bible that we are told to do, without adding some pagan worship to it.

But suppose the child doesn't die? Then there will come a day when that child will reach the age of accountability, and know that it is a sinner. That child will know that Jesus died on the cross for him, and that he is a sinner before God. Until a child does know this, he cannot be saved.

How old does a child have to be before knowing this? I do not know. We do not know the age. But when that child comes to know that he is a sinner, and that Jesus died for him, then something will take place. That child will either become a child of God, or a child of Satan. Suppose that child says, "I will not trust Jesus now, but will a little later." What happens? That child at once does three things.

First-chooses Satan as the father of its soul. John 8:44:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.

We see from this that we are not born into the world as a child of God, neither are we born as a child of the Devil. We are born into the world, in "sin." It is the Adamic sin. But Jesus has atoned for that sin, and therefore the child does not have to be born a child of God at birth, for the grace of God has taken care of that sin. This kills the idea of the "Universal Fatherhood of God" theory.

And neither are we born a child of Satan. We become that, by rejecting Jesus as the Savior of our soul. So we cannot blame God for what we are! If we are lost, it is because we refused to accept Jesus; if we are saved it is because we by faith accepted Jesus in our hearts.

Second-when that child rejects Jesus, he comes under the wrath of God. We read in John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM."

Third-that child comes under the sentence of condemnation. We read in John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

This is the condition of everyone reading this who has not trusted Jesus as a personal Savior. Let me now answer some questions. Who placed you in the hands of Satan? Who put you under the wrath of God? Who placed you under condemnation? Just one person. You yourself. The latter part of John 3:18, "He that believeth not is condemned already." So it is not a question of your goodness or meanness; not a question of your morality or immorality. It is YOUR UNBELIEF.

Is there any hope for a person who has rejected Jesus Christ? Yes. Your first rejection may not be final. The Holy Spirit may call you once to come to Christ, or He may call you many times. This is the reason I plead with you to trust Jesus, the very moment that you know you are a sinner and lost before God. You cannot say you don't know you are a sinner, because it is for that very reason that the Holy Spirit has been sent. Listen to John 16:8-11:

And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

When I know I am a sinner, "What must I do to be saved?" The Devil has built a bulwark around God's plan of redemption! Let us consider just a few of the things that the Devil has added to God's plan of salvation. Here are some things you do not have to do to be saved:

You don't have to PRAY to be saved. I have never understood why a person would think they had to ask God for something which He has been offering them for over nineteen hundred years. You don't ask for salvation, you take it. Salvation is a gift, not something you work for or ask for. Suppose I offered you a twenty-dollar bill, and you were in need of it. I tell you the only thing you have to do to get it is to come and take it. You start for it, and then suddenly stop and fall to your knees and commence to cry, "Brother Gibson, give me that twenty dollars!" I would think you had suddenly gone berserk. What do you think God thinks of a person who begs for salvation? It is offered, so just TAKE it and you have it.

You don't have to get a SECOND BLESSING to be saved; you don't talk in unknown tongues to be saved. The fact of the matter is, there is no such thing as unknown tongues mentioned in the Bible. The translation in the Greek is "other languages." You don't have to get RELIGION to be saved. You don't have to be GOOD to be saved; not get BETTER; not REFORM. You don't have to be BAPTIZED to be saved; nor JOIN A CHURCH; nor HAVE FEELING; nor DO GOOD WORKS. You don't have to LEARN A CATECHISM to be saved; nor take COMMUNION; nor be CONFIRMED. Neither do you have to be TWELVE YEARS OLD or have your FEET WASHED. After all the above propaganda, the marvel to me is, that as many people are saved, as are saved.

Did any of the above-mentioned things die for you? Of course not. Do they have blood in them? Of course not. Then how will you explain Hebrews 9:22? "And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission."

It's all in the BLOOD OF JESUS!

You ask, "THEN WHAT MUST I DO?!!

It is so simple that the smallest child may know what to do. Let us read Acts 20:21, "Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

You notice two words, "Repentance and Faith." Which comes first? Repentance! Repentance means literally, "a change of mind or attitude toward God, toward Christ, toward sin and toward self." When you do this, you are ready to turn to the One who can save your soul.

There is a word which never should have been carried over . into the plan of salvation. That word is "believe." So many think that if they "believe" in Jesus that they will be saved. We know this is not true. Let me illustrate what I mean. The Bible says, "he that 'trusteth'" in Jesus is not condemned. To TRUST is one thing, and to BELIEVE is another. You can BELIEVE without TRUSTING. Too, you can BELIEVE without REPENTING, but you cannot TRUST until you REPENT! [For a full discussion of this subject, read Faith and The Faith by T.T. Eaton].

Many believe that Jesus is the son of God, but believing that, they are on the road to Hell. Hell is full of people who have died believing that Jesus was the Son of God. The word is not believe-but trust.

Often I have illustrated it to an audience by the use of a chair. I take a chair that I have never sat in and place it in front of me. I look the chair over. I examine it thoroughly and am convinced that it is able to hold me. I believe that it will. Yet I still remain on the platform. So with a lost soul. They hear about Jesus, and they examine Him and come to know that He is able to save them, and they believe sincerely that He can. But they still remain in their sin. I examine the chair again and find it is well constructed and is able to do, I believe, what it was built to do. But I remain on the platform! So with the unsaved, they examine the Bible and find from it that God is able to hold them. His Son, that He gave to die on the cross, is well able to do that for which He was sent-to save sinners! But the unsaved man, believing all of this, is still lost.

Using the chair I ask the question. What am I going to have to do if that chair is to hold me? Immediately the answer is, "Trust it." So I leave the platform and step onto the chair. Now the chair is able to hold me because I have trusted it. The plan of salvation is that simple.

Here is Jesus Christ. He comes to you and says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth (trusteth) in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." The moment you commit yourself to Him, He will save you. So it makes no difference what you believe about Jesus-have you TRUSTED HIM?

Now I could not commit myself to the chair until I left the platform. So with the unsaved. You cannot TRUST Jesus until you repent and are willing to leave the old life. So you see you can believe without repenting, but you cannot trust until you do repent.

Isn't it simple? Yes, you reply. Then, why don't you trust Him right now as you read this? May I close with this passage from Romans 10:9-11:

Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth (trusteth) on him shall not be put to shame.

Don't turn your back on Jesus any longer. Settle NOW the destiny of your soul. May God help you to do it, is my prayer for all you who read.

CHAPTER SEVEN-CAN A PERSON BE SAVED AND THEN LOST?

Before a person can be saved they must be convicted by the Holy Spirit. He was sent into the world to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment. John 16:8-11:

And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged.

After a person is convicted of sin and repents toward God and puts his faith in Jesus he is saved and given eternal life. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

That person is also sealed by the Holy Spirit. "In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation-in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13). The word "seal" means security, a finished transaction. You ask, "how long is a person sealed?" God answers in Ephesians 4:30, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption."

What is meant by "the day of redemption?" We read it in Romans 8:23, "And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." So we are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the resurrection morning.

"Does that mean that a person who is saved can never again be lost?" Yes. There is no such thing as the loss of salvation taught in the Bible. Let us reason just a moment. If ONE person could be saved and then lost, couldn't EVERYONE be saved and then lost? True. Then if everyone could be saved and then lost, we would have to admit that the devil could cause EVERYONE who is saved, to commit a sin that would cause us to be lost? True. Then I ask, "how many would the devil let go into heaven, if he had such power?" Now let us read John 10:28-29, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."

There is no reason for anyone to limit the power of Christ's work. Every saved person knows two things. First, that he is saved. If you don't know you are saved, it is because you are not saved. Second, that he can never again be lost. 1 Peter 1:3-5 says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

"Why do some people teach that you can be saved and then lost?" Because they teach that salvation is dependent on works and not on faith alone, in Christ. If you teach that you are saved by works, then you must also teach that to cease to work means the loss of salvation.

But we read in Ephesians 2:7-9, "That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory."

The Difference

Let me illustrate the difference between "working out" and "working for." I go down the street one cold winter day and see a beggar. He has on a worn-out coat, run down shoes and a dirty hat. He, from all appearances is in dire need. I go up to him and hand him a five-dollar bill along with one of my calling cards. I say, "Old fellow, I want to give you this in the name of the Lord." He takes it. I go on my way.

In a few weeks someone knocks at my door. It is a beggar. I open the door and invite him in. He says, "Are you Oscar Gibson?" I reply that I am. Then he says, "You gave me a five-dollar bill some weeks ago. Out of gratitude for that gift I came to see if there is anything I could do, to show my appreciation."

It has just snowed and the walk needs cleaning. I tell him he might clean the snow from my walk. He takes a shovel and goes to work. Now that man is "working out" the gift which he received. He is not working "FOR" it, for he already has it. You "work for" that which you have not yet received, you "work out" that which you have already received. So with salvation. It is a gift from God. When I by faith take it, it is mine. Since I have received it, I want to work it out.

You ask, "But doesn't it give a person the privilege of living as he pleases, to teach him that he is saved forever?" Of course not. It gives him the liberty of living for Jesus. He could not live for Jesus before he was saved, but now that he is, he can.

There are two schools of thought which have been put forth. One is, a person can be saved, live as he pleases and still be saved. The other is, a person can be saved and then be lost. Neither such untruths are taught in the Bible. But God does teach that when a person is saved they become a new creature. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17).

That new creature will live a new life. If you have not lived a new life since you claim you were saved you were not saved. I have never seen a butterfly on a cabbage leaf. But one day a caterpillar fed on that cabbage leaf and after a while spun a cocoon and remained in it all winter. Then one day it came forth a butterfly. It became a new creature. So the cabbage leaf no longer appeals to the butterfly because it is changed. But before that butterfly was changed from a caterpillar into a butterfly, the cabbage leaf was appealing. So with the Christian. Now that you have trusted Christ, you will not have the craving for the old life of sin. So salvation doesn't give you the privilege of sinning, but of living for Jesus.

"Can a person live a sinless life?" No. But one can live a victory over sin. Salvation means that you have Christ in your heart. It means, too, that now you have an Advocate to whom you can come for strength over sin and forgiveness of sin. The Christian never reaches the place of sinlessness until the resurrection morning. We read in I John 1:1-2, "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation (covering) for our (Christian) sins; and not for ours (Christian) only, but also for the whole world."

You ask, "But doesn't that still give a person the privilege of sinning, or of making one want to sin?" No, unless they are just mere church members who have never been regenerated. Because I know I can never be lost is not going to cause me to go out and live like a rotten sinner. But it is a wonderful hope to know that I can get forgiveness for my sins.

You ask another question, "Suppose I am committing a sin and die, where will I go?" Let us see. We are not saved by our works but by our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And we read also in I John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son CLEANSETH us from all sin." We find that the Christian is undergoing a continual cleansing of sin by the blood of Jesus. He knows our weakness and our flesh. I know of no one who never sins. I know of plenty who claim they do not, but claiming and performing are two different things. If you commit a sin and die God answers where you will go very plainly in His Word.

You remember the story of Moses. God told him to speak to the rock and water would come from it. The children of Israel had aggravated him to such an extent that he became angry and when he came to the rock, instead of speaking to it, he smote it with the rod. The water came out. God called him to the top of the mountain and showed him the promised land, but also told him that because he sinned that he could not enter. Moses was buried on the mountain and never entered the promised land. Where did he go? He went to Heaven.

We turn to the seventeenth chapter of Matthew and find where Jesus went onto the mountain of transfiguration. Two people came down and talked with Him. Who were they? Moses and Elijah.

Can We Backslide?

Yes, a person can backslide. I don't like that word. I had rather call it, "out of fellowship." Now fellowship and relationship are two different words with two different meanings. When we trust Jesus we are told that we become "children of God." We become related to God. We cannot break that relationship, but we can break fellowship.

Let me illustrate: I was raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was a mean town. On Saturdays people would get drunk and sometimes the Indians from across the river, on the Oklahoma side, would come and get some "fire-water" and shoot-up the town.

My brother and I were not allowed out of the backyard on Saturdays. We had a big fence built around it and were to play there. My brother, who is two and one half years older than I, was given the privilege one Saturday of playing football. Dad always went to the barber shop on Saturdays to get "frizzed" up for Sunday. We knew how long it would take him, some two hours.

On this particular Saturday, I could not play football out on the church lawn. I waited for Dad to leave the house. I heard the front door close. I waited until I thought he was down the street. Then I went over and lifted the latch on the gate, peeped out and got a signal from my brother that I could come on out. I went.

My brother was acting as center and was down over the ball. I was waiting to receive it when I got a shock instead of the ball. I looked up, and down on the walk stood my Dad. I must have turned pale, for my brother gave me an inquisitive look. He looked up and saw Dad too.

Now understand, I was out of fellowship. I had been told to stay in the yard. I would have given most anything if I could have been at that time, out of relationship. But I was not.

Dad went on to the barber shop, and I went back into the yard. But the damage had been done. In a few hours Dad came home and called me in the house. I went, knowing what was coming. He took me back in a little pantry and laid the oil on and whipped me back into fellowship.

That is what happens when a Christian disobeys God and sins. He doesn't lose his relationship, but his fellowship, and God will chastise him. So you see a Christian can, and often does, get out of fellowship, but never out of relationship. When you yield to Christ, then you have the hope and the assurance that your salvation is secure. Then you can say, as in Romans 8:35-39:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loves us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Comfort in a Time of Sorrow

Comfort in a Time of Sorrow is a helpful reference for anyone who is experiencing a time of grief and sorrow. The gift book is filled with healing Bible scriptures, poetry and other writings which offer hope and comfort for the healing heart. Scriptures quoted are from the King James version of the Holy Bible. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

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