Why introduce this over-worked
subject again? It is because we in the
Church of Christ have let it block the path to unity. Our
rejection of others because they were not baptized purposely
“for the remission of sins” separates us from the
greater portion of
believers. In this, we have become
rejecting judges denying the very validity of the discipleship
of others.
We in the Church of Christ probably have discussed
baptism more than any other group because we have considered it
of more
importance than most other Christian groups.
It seems that by now we should have laid the subject to
rest. I think I have dealt with the subject
sufficiently for my readers in general in my books.
However, now being on the Web with new readers who are not
familiar with the views I have expressed, I hope this essay may
offer some
helpful clarification.
In proclaiming Jesus’ promise that “he who believes
and is baptized will be saved,” we have also used the
emphatic statement of
Peter on Pentecost, “Repent, and be baptized every of you
in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins”
(Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38). Although
most all Christian groups practice baptism as an act of
obedience to Christ,
they generally teach that believing is the only necessary action
of obedience
in order to receive forgiveness. So
they think they are saved before obedience in baptism.
Since those persons are not baptized purposely
“for the forgiveness of your sins,” many of my people
contend that those
persons should be rebaptized specifically for that purpose.
By denying the validity of the baptism of such
persons, many in the Church of Christ actually deny that such
persons are
saved, and they offer them no fellowship or admission into their
congregations. So this goes beyond friendly discussion
about accepting disciples and is made the basis of
rejection. Rebaptism becomes a dividing issue.
Let me clarify this point in the
beginning. Allowing God to be God
who may make gracious exceptions as he
may choose, I am convinced that ordinarily baptism is an
essential action on
the part of the sinner in accepting the grace of God bestowed in
Christ. The contention of this essay is that one is
not required to understand each and every purpose or result of
baptism in order
for God to fulfill those purposes and effects.
Is “for the remission of your sins” a part of the
command or a part of the promise? If it
is a part of the command, then one is required to understand
that purpose and
to be immersed specifically for that purpose.
If it is a part of the promise, then it is fulfilled by God to
the one
obeying his command to be immersed whether that person
understands fully or
not.
If, in order for baptism to be valid, one must
understand its purpose, let us look at the stated
purposes. In Peter’s declaration on Pentecost, he
first called for convicting faith. Then
he called for them to repent and be baptized in order for their
sins to be
forgiven. Can anyone deny that both
faith and repentance, in addition to immersion, are necessary
for the remission
of sins? Faith, repentance, and baptism
are (1) for the forgiveness of sins and (2) to receive the gift
of the Holy
Spirit. Shortly after Pentecost, Peter
delivered a similar discourse at Solomon’s Porch.
Even though baptism is not mentioned specifically, he called for
faith and, “Repent therefore, and turn again, (3) that your
sins may be blotted
out, (4) that times of refreshing may
come from the presence of the Lord, and (5) that he may send the
Christ
appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the
time for
establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy
prophets from of old”
(Acts 3:11-22. Numbering added). If a
candidate for baptism must understand these five stated purposes
and have them
in mind for his baptism to be valid, woe is me! I am a
goner, a dead duck!
I did not fully comprehend them all at that time and I still do
not 62
years later! What about you? Were you baptized
purposely in order to
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?
Why make an issue of one promise and not the other? In the
one account of rebaptism in the
Scriptures, converts of Apollos were asked by Paul, “Did
you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?” We are not
told of any inquiry into the understood
purpose of their prior baptisms (Acts 19:1-9).
Commands are to be obeyed, but how do you obey a
promise? When Jesus announced, “He who
believes and is baptized shall be saved,” he set forth two
things that a person
can do and the result that God will accomplish. The
promised result was not a part of the command. It cannot
be obeyed. Neither were any of the five promises
enumerated above parts of the command.
These are not things a person can do.
In Matthew’s account of the Great Commission, no mention is
made of the
purpose or promise connected with baptism (Matt. 28:18-20), yet
we can be
confident that God saved those who were obedient.
Judean disciples in the Jerusalem church were
convinced that circumcision, in addition to obedience in
baptism, was necessary
to be saved, yet no question is raised about the validity of
their baptisms (Acts 15).
Other purposes were fulfilled through baptism in
response to faith and repentance also.
I shall continue the numbering begun above. We are
baptized (6) into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3-4). By our
baptism we are brought (7) into the
one body, (8) the church (1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18). It is
through this obedience that we are (9) born again, (10)
become a child of God, and (11) enter the kingdom of God (John
3:3-5; Gal.
3:26-27). There we find (12) newness of
life (Rom. 6:3-4) and (13) are circumcised with the circumcision
of Christ
(Col. 2:11-14).
These are things that God
through his Spirit accomplished in and for us when we obeyed him
in baptism,
whether we understood it or not. If one
must have had those purposes in mind prior to baptism, then few
of us could
have confidence that God’s promises were fulfilled in
us. Most of us would need rebaptism! Isn’t it
amazing how we become hung up on
one point!
There is no Biblical record that
all the purposes listed above were explained to a person before
baptism. The last eight of them were explained to
disciples after their baptisms to assure them of what God had
accomplished in
and for them when he saved them.
Perhaps it will put things in
better perspective to look again at the records of conversions
in Acts.
On Pentecost Peter was addressing the very people who had
called out
for the crucifixion of Jesus. His
discourse was designed to turn them from rejecters to believers
in Jesus as the
Christ. His powerful presentation of
Christ caused them to recognize the horrible thing they had done
so that they
felt doomed. They called out in despair
asking rhetorically what they could do when they thought their
case was
hopeless. They were probably surprised
and greatly relieved when Peter told them simply to repent and
be baptized in
order to receive forgiveness and the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
In Samaria (Acts 8), to these
people who had been rejected by the Jews but were eager to serve
God, the need
for repentance and forgiveness was not mentioned, but great
numbers of them
were baptized eagerly in acceptance of Christ.
A similar pattern is seen as the righteous Ethiopian gladly
expressed his
acceptance of, and allegiance to, Jesus as his Savior.
They were not escaping impending doom due to
heinous sins so much as aligning themselves with the one who
would save them.
Saul’s circumstance was similar
to that of the Jews on Pentecost. Being
convicted by an appearance of the Lord on the road to Damascus
of fighting
against God by his frenzied persecution of disciples, Saul cried
out, “What
shall I do, Lord?” Later, this man who
had been fasting and praying in contrition for three days and
nights was told
to be baptized to wash away his sins (Acts 9,
22). Forgiveness was the burning
issue with him.
Cornelius was a devout,
God-fearing Gentile (Acts 10). After
God convinced the Jews that he was receiving Gentiles by the
outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household, Peter commanded them
to be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ. No mention
is made of “for the remission of sins,” for that was
not the emphatic issue
with them so much as their being initiated into life in
Christ. In his Great Commission, Jesus had
authorized baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy
Spirit. When they baptized in the name
of Christ, they were baptizing as Jesus had authorized. It
was a matter of obedience to Christ.
In no case was a discourse on
baptism delivered to those who were to be immersed. No
evidence points to an explanation of all the designs of
baptism, nor of reimmersion of the penitents after they learned
all the designs. They simply obeyed the expressed will of
God
— like we should do, whether we understand all its purposes or
not.
Many in our congregations think
of baptism as a sacrament, a ritual or ceremony through which
grace is
conferred to the soul. They think it
changes the soul from death to life, affecting a new birth in
us. They believe in baptismal regeneration –
that in baptism divine action transforms and regenerates the
soul in a new
birth process.
Baptism symbolizes, finalizes,
and confirms the change that the convert has undergone rather
than accomplishing
the change. The conversion process is
similar to the process of physical birth.
There is an insemination, a conception, a period of gestation,
and a
parturition or birth. The birth
finalizes what has been taking place in the womb rather than
being the cause of
the life developing process. The
parturition is necessary, but it is not the cause of life.
Life is not conferred, infused, or poured
into the fetus at birth, yet the life-giving process is
incomplete without it.
In similar manner, a sinner
hears the gospel, develops faith, decides to submit his life to
God in Christ,
begins a process of reformation, and is baptized. Although
baptism is necessary in this procedure, it is not the
cause of life. Baptism confirms what
has already been developing in the person.
The regeneration is a process finalized by baptism instead of
being
produced by it.
Now, must a person who held a
sacramental view of baptism be rebaptized when he learns of his
misunderstanding? Such a person has
obeyed what was commanded. He was not
commanded to understand all the purposes and implications.
If God does not demand such an
understanding, why should we? And
again, who could ever quality for baptism, for it is likely that
none of us has
understood all. He stands on unholy
ground who rejects others who do not have his particular
understanding.
The respected pioneers of our
Movement did not demand rebaptism of those who had been immersed
in other
groups. It was later in the nineteenth
century that an issue began to be made of it.
David Lipscomb, the influential editor of the Gospel
Advocate, opposed
such rebaptism. In 1884, Austin McGary
and Elijah Hansborough started the Firm
Foundation especially to promote the rebaptism issue.
That publication became very effective, but
now I am confident that both the issue and the journal are
waning.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he
was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an
inheritance; and
he went out, not knowing where he was to go” (Heb.
11:8). If he had waited until he saw everything
clearly, he would not have left. How
can we demand that others see all clearly before they begin
obedience to the simplest of commands?
[For a thorough study of this subject, read RE-BAPTISM, Jimmy Allen,
Howard Publishing Co., 3117 N 7th, West Monroe, LA 71291.]
As we affix your name and address label to the copy
you are reading, we will be thinking of you with a special wish
for the Holiday
Season. As we all focus on this mailout, let us consider it a
greeting and sharing of love with every other reader.
Let us continue to recycle God’s love.
Shortly after our last mailout, Lea had a fall which
impaired her sense of balance. She was
unable to get out of bed or to move about unassisted.
Lately, however, she is recovering enough to move about the house
cautiously. I am thankful for that and
also that I have been able to assist her.
With my attention and energy directed to her and housekeeping, my
creativity has suffered. I have
difficulty keeping up with correspondence, and I have no hope of
reading all
the material you send me. I am sorry
for that. I hope you will understand.
At this stage, we might be tempted to cease our publication were
it not
for your kind encouragement. The
subscription list is growing fast! We
are glad to have you. It is free to all
who request it.
In the last two months 300 copies of Free In Christ have
been distributed
with 237 of them being sent free as gifts from you who support
this
ministry. Distribution has been slower
lately, but I know some are accessing the books on the Web
rather than
purchasing them. The Web opens the
books for the world to read, and we have no way of knowing how
many are reading
them. Your continued financial support
for this ministry is a vote of confidence.
You do not allow us to worry about expenses. The working
fund now stands at $3,208.49. Thank you!!
From my Web site you can now access I Permit Not A
Woman…To Remain Shackled, by
Robert Rowland, and also these five books by Carl Ketcherside:
According To The Pattern, In The Beginning,
Simple Trusting Faith, The Death of The Custodian, and The
Twisted Scriptures.
While doing the laundry last week, I read some of the
warnings on the washer lid. One warned,
“Do not let children play in the washer.”
How foolish I have been, letting all the kids play in the
washer! They will hate me now when I refuse to let
them put each other through the spin cycle! L The warning
was in English only, but to be on the safe side, perhaps it
should be in ten
languages like the notice in our clinic – with a footnote
that translators are
available for other languages also.
My family was helping me celebrate my birthday
November 24. Tom and Joey were
excitedly watching me opening gifts.
Mira reminded that Joey, the nearly-four-year-old had made me a
gift. His face brightened more and he
became enthralled in anticipation of giving his gift to
me. In delight he tugged at his jeans pocket to
pull out an unevenly folded and crumpled sheet of paper.
It was a “picture” he had drawn consisting
of markings and lines and smudges of different colors of
Crayola. No image or design could be detected in his
proud piece of art. But it has its place
on the ice box door for in his “abstract” display I
see the guileless
expression of childish joy derived from thoughts of pleasing his
grandfather.
Surely, God is not pleased with deliberate
sloppiness in our offerings. Through
our gifts of masterful music, eloquent expressions,
sophisticated declarations,
and attention getting performances we may present our worship to
the Creator of
our universe. But the Infinite Artist
may judge them as childish lines and smudges.
His pleasure may be in seeing in our crude forms the guileless
heart
that finds joy in honoring him. Our technical
rituals, language of religion, and
“five acts of worship” may not rate high with him
while joyful praise makes it
to his ice box door.
Natalie Murrie reports that work is going fast in
preparing Carl Ketcherside’s Mission
Messenger for the Web. Having a
second set of that journal would help greatly in coordinating
their work. Do you have a set, or near-complete set that
you would lend them? It would be
returned with no damage. Contact me, or
her at <nateach@ezl.com>.
Last week a man was promoting a book on the radio
which told of the effectiveness of prayer in healing. He
was explaining that patients who pray, or for whom others
pray, had a better healing rate.
Nice. Then he went on to say
that this had been tested on rats, and it was found that when
they prayed for
the rats, they had a better healing rate!
Spare me! Christ-ians don’t need
the agnostics to make more derisive skeptics.
We make them ourselves by such senseless claims, by
“end-times”
predictions, and by fighting among ourselves.
Tim Woodroof will be leaving our pulpit in
March. His plan is to devote time to
his writing, publishing, and seminars.
If there is an improved message heard in your congregation, it
may well
be due to Tim’s great materials which are being used in many
congregations.
“I’m through Chapter 14 of Free In Christ.
If you want to send me a full carton of 100, I’ll
see that they get distributed. Thought I
might even Christmas wrap them for the season!” -Tom Mackey
<temackey.jn17.21@juno.com> [A
man after my own heart! He plans to
give the books to preachers and leaders in different segments of
our Movement in Ohio. A courageous promoter of
unity! Your partnership enables this.]
“One day nine years ago our
preacher in Oklahoma preached a sermon on why we should not read
your
books. Fortunately, I was at work that
day. I used to be more hot- headed and God did not
want me to confront the
preacher in the pulpit. I hope the
preacher is not too shocked when he finds out that God read, and
maybe
inspired, your work. May God bless and
keep you. Your work is appreciated.”
-Matt Hayes, Friendswood, TX.
Thank you for your books, Free To Change and Free To
Accept. I have been
struggling with our interpretation of some Scriptures and our
legalistic
attitudes in the Church of Christ, and God blessed me with your
books at just
the right time.” -Leslie Kelly, Port
Orchard, WA .
“I have just read parts of Free In Christ on your
Web site, and,
though I am not myself a Christian, I commend you for the wisdom
of your
writings. With so many people around
the world moved to hatred, even murder, by sectarianism and what
you call
legalism, I am glad to hear a voice for reconcilia-tion among
Christian
believers who, I am sad to say, often appear to be far too quick
to condemn
others, even fellow Christians, for their beliefs and
practices. We have clearly forgotten that the letter
killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.
“I only hope that the same
spirit of tolerance and mutual support might take hold among
Muslims, Jews,
Hindus,, and all others. Maybe, with
your help, Christians can lead the way.
Now, I personally hope that we Buddhists following the Dalai
Lama will
be the ones to lead mankind to wisdom and compassion, but there
are a lot more
Christians than Tibetan Buddhists, so I think you have a good
head start, and I
wish you well.” -Richard Hussong,
<rhussong@ultranet.com>. [If a Christian revealed this
beautiful
attitude, we would be quick to say he had the Spirit of Christ,
which is
lacking in so many of us. In a contest
between ritual and attitude, this man might win. Rituals
are important only as they lead us to a right
relationship with God in Christ where immortality is
promised. Right rituals and right attitudes, however
important they may be, do not earn eternal life for us. It
is the gift of God through Christ. Now, how do you feel
about the next letter?]
“I am a campus minister. I graduated from LCC,
Boston U., and
LCU. I am about to be fired (maybe)
because I did not jump up at a teen gathering on Wednesday
evening and shout, ‘SIN,
SIN’ when a few teens clapped their hands a couple of times
during one
song. I have also been chastised
because I did not offer an invitation at the same type of
‘worship service’
(words of the preacher from my supervising congregation).
I think you will understand why I am about
to go nuts.) -Signed.
“Greetings in the loving name of
Jesus. I do pray for you and family and
church. I thank you very much for your
nice letter. I am not happy. Why? because of storms
hited my house and
over areas. Water up to my house. Much of people
died, here is no water, and
light, no food to eat. This is time for
help. It is needy dear brother tell the
news to your church members for help many Christian families
helpless.” -Dr. J. B. M. Prasad, H. No. 11-37,
Opp.S.B.I., Jaggampeta 533-435 E.G.A.P., India. [This
physician-evangelist has distributed some of our books
among other evangelists in India. I feel
helpless in view of such need. Pray for
them.]
“I would like desperately to
receive your writings on the freedom knowing Christ can
bring. My wife is locked in a terribly legalistic
congregation and I am trying to use any Biblically based
material I can find to
show her how much she is missing. Any
help you can provide would be appreciated greatly.”
-<RainbowLake@msn.com>.
“Hi! It’s been a while since I’ve writtern
you or heard from you. Things are absolutely
wonderful. I am waiting for a chem test at 9 and then
sleep. I pulled an all-nighter – some-thing
I don’t recommend. It was nice though
in that I had a lot of quiet time. I really
had some wonderful prayer time with the Lord and was thinking
about how great He
is. I also thought about how much I have
grown in Him. I also thought about how
much my sisters and brothers in Christ have encouraged and
stimulated that
growth and how Free In Christ has
totally changed my perspective on everything about God! It
was after thinking this that I decided to
e-mail you and tell you how much I appreciate your dedication to
the Lord and
for your boldness in speaking the truth – even when
dedicated disciples have
been against you. I really love God and
give him all glory and praise for my present condition of
salvation and
growth. I also give you much credit
(credit to whom credit is due) for my growth.”
-Vino <msm96a@timon.acu.edu>.
[Vino, a first-year student in ACU, is miles ahead of where I was
spiritually when I enrolled there in 1937.
He is only one of many spiritually-minded young people among us
who are
already leaders.]
“A word of appreciation from a
fellow Louisianan. I can concur with
the 24 ‘discoveries’ you say you have found on the
pathway of life (in Free To Change). May God
continue to bless you with His joy
and peace. A fellow traveler in pursuit
of Truth.”
“Dear Brother and Sister Hook,
although it seems too slowly, the move toward freedom and
acceptance in the
Church of Christ can be seen in Montgomery, Alabama. Having just
received the latest issue of Freedom’s Ring, I am
reminded that we should again thank you for the part your
publishing ministry
has contributed to this change. We pray
for God to bless you in this ministry and in your daily
lives.” -Paul Bozeman [Thank you! Yes, the
Spirit is working change, and it cannot be stopped! If WE
get any credit, the WE includes all who have helped
financially, all who have passed the books along to others, all
who have
recommended that others read my stuff, all who encourage this
ministry as many
of you have done in these letters, and Vic Phares who maintains
the Web
site. May God bless you all.
“I just printed your latest
issue from your web site for Sylvia and me, and some additional
copies to share
with others. Great stuff! We give the Lord all the
praise and glory,
and we thank you for letting Him use you to bless so
many!” -Bob West,
<Theophilus@CITCOM.NET> [Bob is
the creator of all those popular Theophilus
teaching cartoons.
“Well, who would have thought
years ago when we were having the Bible studies that some day we
could turn on
our computers and see your picture.
Seeing you on screen brings back memories of those studies
– and many
fun get-togethers. I appreciate more
and more every day your insights and your courage for standing
up for what is
right. The church we were attending
dissolved – no money to pay the building payments.
We’ve gone to every CofC in the county and just can’t
hack the
legalism and lack of life. So, we’re
now going to the Christian Church – haven’t placed
membership, but I imagine we
will soon.” -Martha Hammond, Ocala,
FL… <mham@atlantic.net> [Martha
and Richard were in our study group in New Braunfels, Texas when
we were working
our way through new (to us) concepts of grace.
A question often raised in those early times was, “Where
are we going to
stop?” We can never stop, for we will
never comprehend all truth. No one
could have foreseen from our vantage point then the liberty that
we feel now. Once liberated from the shackles of
traditional
legalism, there is no turning back.]
Web Site:
<http://www.freedomsring.org>
E-mail: <hookc@teleport.com>
or <cecil@freedomsring.org>