“WHY
I AM A BAPTIST”
Elder
David M. Green
10.26.2007
NOTE:This was adapted from a sermon I preached in New Mexico in December 2002. I trust it will be used by God for His glory!
"But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (1 Peter
3:15).
In the world, there are multitudes of
religions…all claiming to be good or to have the answer. We are all
Baptists in this church this morning, and if you were to be asked the
question…”Why are you Baptist?” How would you answer? Would you
even know how to answer or would you simply ignore the question?
Many of the world’s evangelists will go and preach somewhere, and
then they will say “Go join the church of your choice.” There is
no scriptural foundation for such a question. Church membership is
not a matter of personal preference, but it is a matter of loyalty to
our Lord.
I.
CHRIST ESTABLISHED ONLY ONE KIND OF CHURCH
"And
I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
(Matthew 16:18).
That word church
comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which always means a
local, called-out assembly. Nowhere in the pages of Divine Scripture
will you find a universal church. In today's world, you might find a
few hundred different “churches.” However, this has not always
been the case. Christ established “His church” while He was in
the world. All of these other “churches” must have come from
somewhere else. Notice the wording in this passage. Christ is the
Rock upon which the church was built. This foundation is there and He
is the sure foundation No other foundation is sure! Only Christ!
A church founded by anyone else cannot be the true church!
"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor." (Luke 6:12-16).
"And
God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily
prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of
healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."
(1 Corinthians 12:28).
The disciples
that Christ called out to be apostles were, in fact the first members
of the church in Jerusalem. This was the beginning of His kind of a
church. The other “churches” we see in the world today
cannot trace themselves back to Christ. Notice a few of them:
Roman Catholicism: Developed over a period of time between 251 and 610 AD in Rome. Gregory the Great is their founder. They claim Peter as their first pope, but there is no proof of this either in history or the Bible.
Lutherans: Founded in 1520 by a Catholic named Martin Luther.
Episcopal Church: AKA Church of England, founded in 1534 by an adulterer known as King Henry VIII.
Presbyterians: Founded in 1536 by that Catholic named John Calvin.
Methodists: Started by John Wesley, a member of the Episcopal Church in 1729.
Campbellites: AKA “The Church of Christ” started by Alexander Campbell in 1827.
And the list goes on and on. None of them can trace themselves back to Christ!
II. TO
THIS CHURCH, HE PROMISED PERPETUITY
"And
I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
(Matthew 16:18).
Our Lord made the promise that His church
would never be destroyed…that it would last forever from the time
He established it during His earthly ministry.
If the Catholic Church is the one that Christ established, then
He is a liar. Catholicism certainly has its heresies and does not
even remotely resemble the church that Jesus built. By the time of
Martin Luther, Catholicism had already gone through a long period of
not even resembling the true church of the Bible. Those who read this
article might be surprised to know that men like Martin Luther and
John Calvin and the other reformers believed Catholicism was the true
church that simply needed to be reformed.
As we study church history, though, you will find that in all ages
since the time of Christ, there have been churches that were what we
would call Baptist today. These churches were never associated with
Rome! They were known by other names:
Christians
Donatists
Paulicians
Albigenses
Waldenses
Anabaptists
Baptists
And they go back in an unbroken chain from Jerusalem until our present day! The names have changed, but the truth has not! Take a look at some good church history books, beginning with the Bible, then The Trail of Blood. See my section of this website about Baptist Church History.
III.
FROM THIS CHURCH, HE IS TO RECEIVE GLORY
"Unto
him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all
ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:21).
Our Lord is to receive glory in His church! He does not receive glory
in all “churches” we find in the world today. When this was
written, it was written about only one church. Again, we read the
phrase “throughout all ages.” His church will stand the
test of time!
IV.
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH
"And
he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the
preeminence." (Colossians 1:18).
The Bible only speaks of one kind of church, and that church has our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as its Head. We learned earlier that
this church was promised to exist always. The second oldest so-called
“Christian” religion is Roman Catholicism, and they believe that
the Pope has the rule over them.
Notice what the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia says about our Lord in
their article about Peter: “He wishes to make Peter the head of the
whole community of those who believed in Him as the true Messias;
that through this foundation (Peter) the Kingdom of Christ would be
unconquerable; that the spiritual guidance of the faithful was placed
in the hands of Peter, as the special representative of Christ.”
This simply is not true!
"For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of
the church: and he is the saviour of the body."
(Ephesians 5:23).
Just like my wife has
only one husband…the church of the Bible, the church that Jesus
built has only one Head. When Catholics put the Pope as the head of
their church, they dethroned Jesus Christ. And, Protestantism was
birthed from out of that devilish church, not from Almighty God.
I am a Baptist because our Head is Jesus Christ, not a man!
V. THE
BIBLE IS OUR ONLY RULE OF FAITH AND PRACTICE
"Then
the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where
Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him:
but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:16-20).
Our Lord left us this commission. In it, He gives us three things to
do: (1) Go into the world, and teach all nations. (2) Baptize the
save. (3) Teach the saved. Notice the words “whatsoever I have
commanded you.” We believe that it is the Bible that is our only
rule of faith and practice.
I like what H. Boyce Taylor, in his work “Why I Am A Baptist”
wrote, “If it isn't in the Bible it isn't Baptist doctrine: if it
is Baptist doctrine you can find it in the Bible.” Folks, the New
Testament was written exclusively by Baptists! The Bible is the
Baptist book. Study the Bible and by the grace of God, it will make
you a Baptist!
"Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2
Timothy 2:15).
We are told to “rightly
divide” the Word. If it can be divided rightly, then it can also be
divided wrongly. Beware of the Catholics and Protestants and even
false Baptists who divide the Word wrong.
When a Methodist claims his heresy can be proven in the Bible, watch
out. When the Cambellite says that he can show baptismal regeneration
in the Bible, it is not so. If some protestant claims the Bible
teaches sprinkling or pouring for baptism, you might ought to make
sure he can read. Folks, many misuse Scripture to try to prove their
points! Watch out for these!
Some claim the
exact same lineage as us Baptists. While the Mennonites & Amish
are to be commended for their moral standards, their doctrine is far from
Biblical. There are other denominations that use the word “Baptist”
but they do not pass the doctrinal test. The Arminian Baptists have
made man to be in charge, and the Hardshell Baptists have taken away
man's responsibility. These are Baptist by name, but not in truth.
The
point is, lineage or name is not enough. Yes, that is a big
part of it as we have already seen, but the Lord's churches must also
pass the doctrinal test. Do not join something just because it can be
traced back to Christ. I am a Baptist today because our line goes
back to Christ AND because our doctrine is true according to the Word
of God. There are so many doctrines that separate us from the other
religions of the world that I cannot begin to give them all. Our
method of baptizing, our gospel we preach, our way of organizing and
building churches, etc…these all distinguish the Lord’s true
churches from Satan’s.
VI.
CONCLUSION
"Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John
17:17).
The word of God is our source of truth.
While we can benefit from the writings of our Baptist forefathers, we
must realize that they were fallible men. Only the Bible is what
separates us from the world and her religions! It is the truth!
"But
if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave
thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Timothy
3:15).
The Lord's churches are the pillar and
ground of the truth. We have been chosen to carry the truth of
God's Word. This is why I am a Baptist. I trust these are some
reasons why you are a Baptist today. And if you are not a Baptist, be
a Baptist because you want to please the Lord!