| June 27, 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 9
|
Quite often in Bible discussions someone will say, “That’s just your opinion -- your interpretation. I don’t see it that way.” Opinions, for the most part, should be avoided in such discussions. Diligent effort should be made to discover all that the Bible says on a given subject, not just a few verses. The study should include related verses, being careful not to isolate any verse from its context or from other verses that speak on the same subject.
Even on a subject like baptism, which is ordinarily considered to be highly controversial, one can agree with all others on what the Bible actually says. Leaving off all opinions and interpretations, this is what the Bible says:
2. Baptism is for those who believe the gospel, and have repented of their sins, Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Acts 18:8.
3. When Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me,” they were NOT coming for baptism, Matt. 19:13-15.
4. Baptism involves water, Acts 8:36.
5. Baptism involves “much water,” John 3:23.
6. There is one baptism, Eph. 4:5.
7. Baptism involves going down into the water and coming up out of the water, Acts 8:38-39.
8. Baptism is a burial and a resurrection, a planting and a raising, Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12.
9. Baptism is for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38.
10. Baptism was administered without delay in the New Testament cases, Acts 16:33; Acts 2:41, etc.
11. After baptism we are to walk in newness of life, Rom. 6:4; John 3:4; Titus 3:5.
12. Baptism puts us into Christ, Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3.
13. Baptism saves us, 1 Pet. 3:21
14. Those who refuse to be baptized have rejected the counsel of God, Luke 7:30.
--CRJ
Read carefully Luke 16:19-26. There are a number of lessons we may learn from this passage. For instance, in Lazarus we learn that (1) One doesn’t have to have money, power, fame or good looks to please God, vs. 20-21. (2) The discomforts of this life are but momentary compared to eternity. See also 2 Cor. 4:16-18. (3) Death does not have to be a curse -- it can be a blessing, vs. 25; and (4) Physical ailments are not necessarily a sign that a person has displeased God.
The case of the “rich man” teaches us that (1) No amount of money, popularity, or worldly power can assure one a home in heaven, vs. 19, 22. (2) The “pleasures of sin” are but “for a season” (Heb. 11:25. (3) Who we know, or are related to, will be of no consequence to the God with whom we have to deal. (4) Financial success and good health are not signs that one is pleasing God, vs. 25; Luke 12:20. (5) Not all will be saved. See Luke 13:23-24. (6) A person’s eternal destiny is sealed at death, vs. 26.
We may note from this passage that there are two general kinds of physical death -- the death of the righteous, Psalm 116:15; Num. 23:10, and the death of the wicked, Ezek. 33:11. It is obvious that in order to die the death of the righteous, one must first live the life of the righteous, Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10.
Our own experience tells us that death can come at any time. Sickness, disease or accident may befall us far ahead of the general life expectancy. The soul is the most important possession of man, Matt. 16:26. Sin has placed our souls in jeopardy of eternal death, Rom. 3:10, 23; 6:23, but God gave His Son that we, through Him might have life, John 3:16-18. The blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse us from all sin, 1 John 1:7, but we must apply His blood to our sin-sick souls through obedience to His gospel. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27). “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3).
Yes, there is something more important in life than money, fame, power or popularity. Have you seen after the welfare of your soul?
--CRJ
Bart Simpson is the ten-year-old, spike-haired, foul-mouthed cultural icon who became a celebrity for saying out loud what lots of people conspicuously think. He has no respect for authority. He goes out of his way to be unrefined and disrespectful.
Bart is only a cartoon character! But he has had enough of an impression on America that adults have picked up one of his favorite lines and put it into common usage: "Don't have a cow, man!" And some schools have banned his Bart Simpson T-shirts that say "Underachiever and proud of it!"
A few days ago Bart's creator -- made this comment about his fictitious character: "I now have a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old boy, so all I can say is, 'I apologize.' Now I know what you guys were talking about."
I don't know how seriously His response to complaints that Bart is a bad role model for children was taken. When I read it, though, it set me thinking about the larger issue of growing up and getting what my wife calls "second sight."
Second sight is the perspective one gets on a situation with a little more age and maturity. It is the insight that comes with fuller knowledge. It is sometimes the sense of self-consciousness one feels for speaking too quickly or judging too harshly when he or she finds out what was really going on in another person's life.
As you look back on some of the Bart-Simpson-like episodes from many peoples lives, how does it make you feel? Maybe some used to be foul-mouthed, crude, and brazen because of anger they were carrying around. Maybe some treated their parents or a particular teacher with disrespect. Maybe they just "had an attitude" that spilled into their job or friendships or family. Chances are, it cost them dearly!
Now that the creator of Bart is a father of two small boys himself, rebellion and rudeness aren't nearly so funny as they once were in writing scripts. Now that he finds himself on the receiving end of satire or insubordination, they've become far more important. And he understands what some parents and teachers said to him years ago.
Aren't you grateful that a patient God lets people grow through the Bart Simpson phase? Oh, yes. I think there's some of his insolence and chaos in many folks. Some parents probably prayed for their children to get through it without having to lock them up!
Too bad we can't be born with second sight, but it only comes by living. "Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin" (Proverbs 10:14).
Maybe this writer can take his ability and use it for something good. I’ll be praying for him.
--Rick Woodall
One of the things Jesus taught that is reasonably easy to understand but often quite difficult to practice is that of giving Him priority in our lives. After He forewarned His followers that their attachment to Him would sometimes alienate them from friends and relatives, He went on to say in Matt. 10:37-39 that He who loves father, mother, son or daughter more than he loves Christ is not worthy of Him. He even said, “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Luke gives us insight into what Jesus meant when He said, “he is not worthy of Me.” Luke’s account records Jesus’ words thusly: “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).
As we mention that Luke’s account helps us to understand Matthew’s account, we might also note that Matthew’s account also helps us understand what otherwise would be a difficulty in Luke’s account. Luke records that Jesus as saying that a person must “hate” his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life. Of course, we are aware from Jesus’ statements in many other passages that we are not to LITERALLY hate any human being. Matthew shows that Jesus simply means we must love all others much less than we love Him. Otherwise, we will follow someone else in matters in which we should be following Jesus.
In order to have a right relationship with Jesus and with the heavenly Father, we must allow His will to take precedence over the desires of any other person. If we do not do so, we are not really disciples of Christ.
Of course, we must take caution that we do not allow this principle to become an excuse for mistreating husband or wife, children, or others. We must learn to live a well-balanced life that puts Christ in first place without disregarding our responsibilities to parents, children, spouses, friends, neighbors and society in general. Pure religion will not cause us to ignore such responsibilities. See James 1:27 and 1 Timothy 5:8.
--CRJ
People with tact have less to retract.