89
February 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
B ü s i n e s s
His unsuspecting sheep believe it pure, And, tainted by the very means of cure, Catch from each other a contagious spot, The foul forerunner of a general rot! — Cowper. — o — G olden T ext I llustration So we, who are many, are one body in Christ (Rom. 12:5): It is said that Dr. Green, pastor of Cal vary Baptist Church of Washington, D. C., on the same morning received into his church, Hon. Charles E. Hughes, a wash erwoman, and a Chinaman. 1As he saw the three standing before him, the pastor paused and said, “My friends, I will have you notice that at the cross of Christ the ground is level.” March 10, 1929 Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Texts: Mt. 3:13-17; 28:19-20; Acts 2: 38, 41;|Rom. 6:1-14; 1 Cor. 11:23-29. L esson in O utline I. The Baptism of Jesus. Matt. 3 :13-17. IL The Baptism of the Believer. Matt 28:19, 20. III. Baptism commanded and Obedience rendered. Acts 2:38, 41. IV. The Sp’iKtual Significance of Bap tism? Rom. 6 :1-14. V. The Spiritual Significance of the Lord’s Supper. 1 Cor. 11:23-29. 'THERE are many today who seem to re gard baptism as of little importance, and many Bible teachers give little or no at tention to the subj ect, although it is a doc trine accorded large t » ' iSfc, place in the New — o — - the mode of administering it, and the per sons who are proper subjects, are all points under dispute. But are we war-: ranted in avoiding the whole subject be cause of the existence of a conflict? It is not the writer’s purpose to enter into this conflict of opinion. We believe, however, that the fact that confusion ex ists furnishes strong reason why every believer should attempt to settle the mat ter for himself, going to God’s Word with open mind. “ Let every man be fully per suaded in his own mind,” was the advice of the Apostle Paul. To assist the stu dent we set forth herein the various Scripture passages relating to this subject. Baptism was among the few simple in structions given by our departing Lord to His disciples, to be carried out by them in all nations of the world until His return (Mt. 28:19-20). There was no uncer tainty as to its importance at the begin ning, for when Peter said: “Repent and be baptized every one of you,” there was no hesitation as to what should be done (Acts 2:38, 41). Its importance is ’further seen by its direct connection with the name of the Triune God. One who has been made a T e s t a m ent . The neglect of this doc trine is doubtless due to the conflict of opinion among teachers. The sig nificance of the rite,
FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OUTLINE
and said also : "the promise was to them and to their children and to ALL that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him" (Acts 2:37-42). Whom did Peter mean by "them that are afar off"? We find this veiy phrase in Ephesians where Paul speaks of believing Jews and Gentiles ( “once afar off”) as the Body of Christ, the church (Eph. 2: 22; 3 :1-12). We thus have in Peter’s first sermon the coequal parties of the church described by Paul in Ephesians. Later, at the Jerusalem council, James in his ad dress brought out clearly the truth con cerning the church as, a body of saved and highly exalted believers of heavenly call ing. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans before his imprisonment at Rome, and in chapter 16 :25, -26, he states that at the time the Epistle was written, which was certainly before the close of the Acts, “the mystery” was being made known by prophetic writings. It is a mistake, there fore, to suppose that the date of the rev elation of the mystery to Paul must be the date of the formation of the Church, the body of Christ. We believe it a serious error to discon nect the church from Pentecost when the Holy Ghost was received according to our Lord’s word in Jn. 7 :38-39, thus connect ing the Spirit’s coming with His own glory and the taking up of His interces sory work. As they waited, together in prayer, the Spirit filled the house where they were sitting, and not only so, but filled each individual. Thus by one Spirit they were "all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). It was here that the “owe body” became an actual fact, and it was here that they were "endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49; Acts 1:8). It was here, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord started building Himself His church with "living stones” (1 Pet. 2:5) upon the Rock. A learned brother recently informed the writer that in carrying the church back to Pentecost, we. were “opening the door wide to the practices of extreme Pente- costalists.” Even were this the case, we should feel obliged to regard the plain statements of Scripture. But have the ex treme Pentecostalists been able to show that the manifestations in their midst are repetitions of what occurred at Pente cost? We think not. We hear nothing of “à rushing mighty wind” nor of “cloven tongues like as of fire.” We hear of none being enabled to speak in languages never studied by them, so that foreigners are enabled to hear the Gospel immediately and be saved. The miracle of Pehtecost was a sign signifying the arrival of the glorified Christ in heaven and the Comforter’s coming according to promise. It ar rested the attention of all nations, con firmed the Gospel, and secured the rapid spread of the truth among the different peoples represented. There was one Pen tecost, nor are we told to seek any repe tition of it. The great essential of Pentecost—the' Holy Spirit’s coming—remains, and the great message of that birthday of the church remains. "They were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4). Paul in his great church epistle exhorts : “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). The need of the hour is a church filled with Pente costal power so that it can give utterance to the great truths of the Gospel in such a way as to bring conviction upon sinners.
T he C hurch B r id e —Rev. 21 -.9. ODY—1 Cor. 12:27. UILDING—Eph. 2:21. Christ loved the church.—rEph. 5 :25. Without that kifld of a church, there will soon be no church and no Christianity. It is not for believers today to have the identical experience of those assembled at Pentecost, but it is absolutely essential that the church today should have the same Pentecostal power to bear witness. The Christian church of today, with all its faults and weaknesses, when baptized with power, is, the- -salt and the .light of the world. It holds,, preserves, and spreads the faith of Christ just in pro portion as' it' is filled with the Holy Ghost. A church that does not exist for the conquest of souls and the spiritual en lightenment and empowering of men, may as well close its doors, fbr it is not a part of' the true church. 1. What will be the most natural thing in the world for those to do who have accepted Jesus, Christ as their Sacrifice? (Psa. 50:5.) 2. Will social standing defer true be lievers from attending church? (Prov. 22 : 2 .) 3. With whose blood was the church purchased? (Acts 20:28; cf. 1 Pet. 1:18- 19.) 4. How large a crowd must we have in church to get the benefit of church at tendance? (Mt. 18:20.) 5. Even if no sermon were preached, what great reason have we for attending church? (ISph. 5 :19.) 6. What should always be the atmos phere of the church service? (Jn. 4:23- 24.) 7. What is the only kind of preaching fitted for the church? (2 Cor. 4:5-7.) 8. If for no other reason, why should believers be found in the church? (2 Cor. 8:24.) 9. What reputation should the church have in the community? (Mk. 11:17.) 10. What special exhortation is given us for the last days? (Heb. 10:25.) 11. What is absolutely out of place in a church service? (1 Cor. 14:33.) 12. What is the program of the church? (Lk. 19:10; Acts 20.:28; Eph. 4:11-12.) L esson P oem When nations are to perish in their sins, ’Tis in the church that leprosy begins: The priest, whose office is, with zeal sin cere, To watch the fountain and preserve it clear, Carelessly nods and sleeps upon the brink, While others poison what the flock must drink; Or, waking at the call of lust alone, Infuses lies and errors of his own: — o — — o — S uggestive Q uestions
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