Does It Make Any Difference?
Few realize the danger of engaging in vain worship and vain service. The fatal idea is widespread that it makes no difference what church a man belongs to. That it makes no difference whether he confesses his sins to a priest, has a few drops of water sprinkled on him for baptism, uses mechanical music in song service, does not regularly partake of the Lord's Supper upon the Lord's day, wears some other name than Christian, etc., etc. The masses are taught it makes no difference.
We want to study the Bible to find out what it teaches. Not to hunt something to prove our opinion, nor to try to sustain the preachments of some sect or party. We want to present what the Bible says, nothing more, nor less. What we, or any man or men, personally, think about any religious question is not authoritative. The only important thing is, what does the Bible say?
No one can intelligently doubt that there is such a thing as a man being wrong religiously. It cannot be doubted that the denominational churches are unknown to the Bible. As sure as the Bible is the standard of right, people cannot be right when they belong to a church not once mentioned in the Bible. It is right for a person to belong only to the church taught in the Bible. When he is a member of some church unknown to the Bible he is wrong no matter who he is, or where he is.
Nor can it be doubted that there are things taught in the religious world that are not taught in the Bible, and that are contrary to things that are taught. The Bible plainly presents the things that were taught by the inspired apostles, It presents "all the truth," as the apostles were guided into preaching it by the Holy Spirit. It shows what they taught those out of Christ to do to be saved. And it shows what they taught all those who became Christians to do to live the Christian life. We kindly submit that any departure from the teaching of the apostles, whether upon what sinners must do to be saved, or upon Christian work and worship, is unscriptural and sinful.
Denominational and sectarian preachers today ignore the teaching of the inspired apostles. They ridicule the idea of people obeying the gospel, as it was preached in Apostolic Times. Their man-made churches are filled with people who have never obeyed the gospel hence with people who are unsaved and still in their sins. The apostles preached Christ to the people and commanded those who believed to, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins." (Acts 2:38) Yet denominational preachers reject this and teach the people to ignore it.
We kindly raise the question, "Does it make any difference?" Can a man be saved and be a Christian, without going by the Bible? Which raises a second question, "What is the Bible for, if it is not to go by?"
Jesus said to his disciples: "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into 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 always, even unto the end of the world." (Matt. 28:18-20) This is the language of Jesus. We do not see how any one can make any pretention to faith in Jesus and ignore it. No man, not even the Pope of Rome, has any authority to change it, for "all authority" is given to Jesus. Nor can any one say that it is unnecessary for believers to be baptized, because Jesus here requires all believers, those who are taught, or made disciples, to be baptized.
Jesus here plainly teaches that the way for one who is taught to get "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," is to be baptized "into" it. If a man is not baptized, he is out of it, has never been brought "into" it, hence is unsaved, not a Christian, not a member of the church, but is lost and in his sins. No man can say that this does not apply to people today, for Jesus made it apply to "all the nations," "even unto the end of the world." To reject these words of Jesus is to reject Jesus.
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." (Mark 16:15, 16)
Jesus here sends "the gospel to every creature." He thus gives "every creature" a choice as to whether or not he will obey and be saved. If "every creature's" destiny is "fixed," it would be mockery to offer him the gospel. The fact that Jesus sends the gospel to "every creature" shows that "every creature" can obey it, if he chooses. The Lord does not wish "that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) Hence Jesus sends the gospel to every one.
According to what Jesus here says, no one but a believer can be baptized. To baptize a little, innocent babe, who cannot know what is being done, is a presumptuous, dreadful sin. How can any man raise his hand over an innocent baby and say, "By the authority of Jesus Christ, I baptize you into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," when Jesus authorizes only the baptism of believers? Yet many thousands today erroneously think they have been baptized, because a priest or clergyman, without authority from the Word of God presumptuously sprinkled a few drops of water upon them when they were babies.
Jesus also here teaches very clearly and plainly that, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." No man who accepts what Jesus says can teach people they are saved without baptism. To say that baptism has nothing to do with salvation is to disregard the -words of Jesus. No one who believes that Jesus is the divine Son of God can think that He said something that He did not mean, or that He mad: a slip and said the wrong thing. Every utterance that the Holy Spirit makes in the Bible, through the inspired apostles, upon the subject of baptism, is in perfect agreement with what Jesus here says.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter commanded: "Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins." (Acts 2:38) This agrees with the words of Jesus, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." When Saul of Tarsus had tasted neither food nor drink for three days, in his deep repentance, Ananias said to him: "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on His name." (Acts 22:16) This agrees perfectly with what Jesus said to the apostles. If a man rejects the words of Jesus "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," he must also reject what the Holy Spirit said through Peter on Pentecost, and also what the Spirit said through Ananias to Saul of Tarsus. If he rejects a single sentence in the Bible, he must reject it all, for all of it is in perfect harmony, and all of it rests upon Jesus. "For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:11)
So the question comes very forcibly, "Does it make any difference that preachers of man-made denominations are teaching the people not to pay any attention to what Jesus says? They have the people to come down and shake hands with the preacher, hold up their hands that they want to go to heaven, sign a card that they take Jesus to be their personal Saviour, or to hit the saw-dust trail, but they teach them not to obey Jesus. Does it make any difference? Can people not obey Jesus? Does it make any difference? Can people listen to the preachers and disobey Jesus and be saved? If they can, then what these preachers say is more important than what Jesus says.
But it is all a delusion and a snare. Being guided by men who put their own opinions above what the Bible says, and who thus disregard the Bible, is a vain, sinful thing for anybody to do. To this class of men, Jesus said: "And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophecy of you, saying, This people honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men." (Matt. 16:6-9)
Every person, without exception, under the preaching of inspired men, in Apostolic Times, "went on his way rejoicing," after he was baptized. No one rejoiced before baptism, which shows that no one believed he was saved before baptism. And brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house." (Here is where preachers who reject the words of Jesus stop this quotation in an effort to make it appear that "faith alone" saves.) The rest of the passage reads thus: "And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And he brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God." (Acts 16:30-34)
Jesus said: "And why call ye me,' Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46) Jesus is the Saviour, all must obey Him or be lost. He commands "every creature" to "believe and be baptized." Why not do it? He promises, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Is not His word for it sufficient evidence of pardon?