|
CLAUSE
16
“That the way
to obtain this salvation is to believe the
gospel they preached, and to take on the
name and service of Christ, by being thereupon
immersed in water, and continuing patiently
in the observance of all things he has commanded,
none being recognised as his friends except
those who do what he has commanded:- Acts
13:48; 16:31; Mark 16:16; Rom 1:16; Acts
2:38,41; 10:47; 8:12; Gal 3:27-29; Rom 6:3-5;
2:7; Mat 28:20; Jno 15:14.
In emphasising the
vital importance of steadfastly adhering
to the Gospel as taught by Christ and his
Apostles, the Spirit through Paul exhorted
the believers at Galatia: “Though we, or
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel
unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed, as we said
before, so say I now again, if any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8,9).
Here are words and concepts which are positively
condemned by the humanistic ideals of our
age. In an age of ‘free speech’ and liberal
thinking, the notion that people should
be pronounced “accursed” for expressing
their “views” and “opinions” and teaching
their own ‘interpretation’ of things, is
seen as an outrageous suggestion; a violation
of the human ‘rights’ of those in question.
Such is the perversity of the human mind,
that man might, with impunity, teach other
principles and still claim to be teaching
the Gospel that saves - whilst those who
protest that because what they teach is
different to the Gospel, that those teachings
cannot save, are scorned and disregarded
as mere “extremists” out to unlovingly criticise
the opinions of others. Even those who ought
to know better speak of the doctrines of
these ‘accursed’ persons as being “different
views,” the people themselves merely having
“chosen a different spiritual pathway.”
But such is not the way of the Most High.
Yahweh will not be mocked. Such false professors,
despite the following and admiration they
attract are leaders not into life and liberty
(cp 2Pet 2:19), but death, and the bonds
of the grave.
The Lord Jesus Christ
did not speak of the ‘views’ of those who
resisted the gospel he preached - how can
blind people have a ‘view’ of anything?
“to the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them” (Is 8:20),
and if there be no light, there can be no
sight - and no ‘view’ of anything. The Master
described the class of men in whom no light
dwells, by way of asking a question: “Can
the blind lead the blind? Shall they not
both fall into the pit?” (Luke 6:39). It
is a simple truth, and a fundamental principle
of Scripture that those who cannot see their
way to accept the Light of the Glorious
Gospel of Christ cannot lead others into
any other place, but the pit, and the darkness
of sheol.
This is a truth emphasised
in the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith.
The way to obtain the salvation spoken of
by the Apostles, “is to believe the gospel
they preached …”. Belief in any other gospel
will not do; for no other gospel can save.
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from
Him that called you into the grace of Christ
unto another Gospel” was the admonishment
of the apostle to those who were being led
astray by blind teachers of dark things.
There are those who severely frown upon
Christ’s brethren who obey the injunction
to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude
3). They say that we should do “positive
things instead,” that we “should be helping
others, not condemning them.” They say we
are most “arrogant” for daring to criticise
another, highly esteemed man’s ‘views’!
“DOING
POSITIVE THINGS”
But such do not appreciate
either the high calling to which obedient
hearers of the Gospel have been called,
nor the responsibilities that such a calling
brings. It is the Truth of the Gospel that
saves, but the folly of man that brings
him to the grave. The “views” of men are
unstable and uncertain, whereas the certainty
of the Scriptures gives hope. It is written
that “the way of the fool is right in his
own eyes: but he that hearkeneth to counsel
is wise” (Prov 12:15). Of what use is the
“view” of such an one, pronounced to be
a ‘fool’ by the Spirit? Is such a wise counsellor
unjust for correcting such a man’s ‘view?’
Again, it is written that “there is a way
which seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof is death” (Prov 14:12). Is it
not a good and positive thing to demonstrate
from the Word to such a man that his way
is in fact, not right, and that if he persues
it he will go to the grave without hope?
How can a brother of the Lord Jesus stand
idly by, and watch a blind man walking into
a pit, with blind people being led along
behind him, all thinking that their ‘way’
is the right ‘way’? Surely he would want
to cry out and warn of the danger? Is it
not a “positive” thing to do, to utter such
a cry? Apparently not, if our detractors
be believed. Apparently, it is more ‘positive’
to look the other way (cp Luke 10:31,32),
to frown upon such uncouth and unloving
people shouting out in such a way, and to
attend instead to quietly arranging the
flowers for the meeting, to bake the cakes
for the ‘interested friends’ at the seminars,
and to discuss their ‘views’ with them,
taking care not to mention anything that
smacks of ‘doctrine,’ lest the visitors
be offended and no longer enjoy their tea
and biscuits!
We cannot agree.
Just as the beginning of Wisdom is the fear
of Yahweh (Prov 1:9), even so the beginning
of a man’s salvation begins with belief
in the “Gospel of God” (1Thess 2:2,8,9)
as taught by the apostles of Jesus Christ
- and in order to understand the Gospel
to be believed, the ‘interested friend’
must be fed, not with a hollow shell with
no nutritional value; but the nourishing
and life-giving principles, or doctrines
of Truth that form the very heart of that
Gospel. Many will not hear, it is true -
such has always been the case, and their
response will demonstrate how interested
the so-called ‘interested friend’ actually
is, but the fact provides no excuse for
Christ’s brethren to serve up empty husks
instead of meat in due season. And if there
is any love for those who have obeyed that
way, yet who appear to be stumbling for
obscurity of sight, brethren with integrity
will cry out with all their might against
that class of Gospel-perverters whom the
spirit through Paul declares are worthy
to “be accursed”, that their followers may
have the scales removed from their eyes,
‘see’ the folly of departing from the precepts
of the Truth, and be saved from falling
into the abyss. We would submit that there
is no more positive work that can be done,
than that of plucking others from the fire
(Jude 23) and saving them with fear; for
such a work is commended by the Masters
own brother in the flesh: “Brethren, if
any of you do err from the truth, and one
convert him; let him know that he which
converteth the sinner from the error of
his way shall save a soul from death, and
shall hide a multitude of sins” (Jas 5:19,20).
TAKING
ON THE NAME AND SERVICE OF CHRIST
It is a fact taught
by Scripture that in order to be granted
the salvation taught by the Apostles, a
person who believes the Gospel they taught
must obey it. That is, they must be baptised.
Hence, the Lord Jesus taught that “he that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned”
(Mark 16:16). But the BASF is most explicit
in each aspect of the matter. Baptism is
not the infant-sprinkling as taught by those
in the darkest of blindness, but is being
“immersed in water”. But being “immersed
in water” is not an end in itself, rather
it is the means whereby a person may “take
on the name and service of Christ” (which
again excludes infant-sprinkling where the
sprinkled child has no idea about the name
and service of Christ). It is but the beginning
of a new life of holiness - and a life of
holiness it must indeed be in order to gain
acceptance before the Throne of the Almighty
(Rom 6:19; 2Cor 7:1). Baptism does not in
itself secure Salvation, but is merely an
introduction to Christ in whose service
the baptised believer must continue. There
are those who feel that it is an introduction
to “the Church”, and those who should know
better who feel that it is an introduction
to “the ecclesia.” But the Scriptures do
not so speak. True, without Baptism a man
cannot be truly called part of Christ’s
ecclesia, or assembly of “called out” ones;
but that is because that assembly constitutes
the Body of Christ into whom a believer
is baptised, not because the believer is
merely baptised into a group of men. It
is far more than being merely some rite
of entry to a congregation of believers;
- it is entry into the Name and Service
of Christ.
THE
NAME OF YAHWEH
It is written in
the Proverbs that “the Name of Yahweh is
a strong tower; the righteous run into it,
and is safe” (Prov 18:10). To enter into
the Name of the Father then, is to enter
a place of safety. It is to enter into a
strong tower which is impregnable, being
able to easily withstand the very worst
that the enemy can bring against it. This
tower is founded upon the Rock of Peter’s
confession that Jesus is indeed the Son
of the Living God (Mat 18:6), and even the
gates of hell cannot prevail against it,
for Jesus Christ has “the keys of hell and
of death,” and is able therefore to unloose
the bonds of those held captive in the grave,
that others may share in his victory over
it. But he will only do so upon certain
conditions; one of those conditions being
that the hearers of the Gospel which the
Apostles preached become baptised, for it
is through Baptism that a believer enters
into the Father’s Name - which is also his
Name, and the Name in which all the operations
of the Father are performed. Accordingly,
he commanded his disciples to “go therefore,
and teach 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” (Mat 28:19). Notice here; there is
one name not three; the Name of the Father,
which is also the name of the Son (cp Ps
72:17), and of the Holy Spirit, and it is
into that Name that those who are ‘taught’
enter into through baptism.
THE
OBSERVANCE OF ALL THINGS COMMANDED
Following Baptism,
for the obedient hearer of the Word, is
the observance of all things commanded by
the Christ. The BASF declares that only
this class are recognised as Christ’s friends,
despite the commonly held woolly and nebulous
notion that “Jesus loves you - whoever you
are,” because that is a plain truth taught
by Christ himself: “This is my commandment,
that ye love one another, as I have loved
you. Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I
command you” (Jno 15:12-15, cp 14:21). There
is no greater love than for a man to lay
down his life for his loved ones; his friends.
But his ‘friends’ are not the worldly down-and-outs
who have no regard for his ways, as some
would have us believe, in their exhortations
to us to devote time and energies in catering
for the needs of such; nay, his friends
are those who belong to a particular category
of men - the class who do his commandments.
Those who do not his commandments, by his
own terms of definition, are not the friends
of Christ, and are not therefore among the
number for whom he died. Here is the simple
testimony as taught by the Master himself,
which was repeated by his Apostle who brought
this commandment to the attention of the
brethren: “by this we know that we love
the children of God, when we love God and
keep his commandments. For this is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments: and
his commandments are not grievous” (1Jno
5:2,3). And again, “hereby we do know that
we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not
his commandments, is a liar, and the truth
is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word,
in him verily is the love of God perfected”
(1Jno 2:3-5).
Here then, are the
vital prerequisites of Salvation, as required
by the Prince of Life himself. Belief, Baptism,
and a faithful walk according to the precepts
of Christ are all indispensable requirements.
A man may believe that it is not so; that
his way is right, and may even teach such
to others. But his ‘view’ will do him no
good at the last, for none of such are recognised
by Christ as his friends. To such, the Master
will say, “I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:23). But
for those who are partakers of his Death,
having passed through the aqueous baptismal
grave as he commanded, and who continue
steadfastly in the performance of those
things which he has ordained; of these “he
is not ashamed to call them his brethren”
(Heb 2:11), and as the Captain of their
Salvation, he shall lead them into glory.
Chris
Maddocks
|
