"THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER" Pilgrims And The Governments Of Men (2:13-17) by Mark Copeland

"THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER"

Pilgrims And The Governments Of Men (2:13-17)

INTRODUCTION

1. Throughout our study in 1st Peter, we have noticed that as
   "pilgrims" those who are Christians have many blessings and
   responsibilities

2. For example, in our previous study we saw that as "pilgrims and
   sojourners" we are to have our conduct honorable among those with 
   whom we live

3. But what about our responsibilities to those governments of men 
   under which we live?

4. When our true citizenship is in heaven, do we have any 
   responsibilities to the countries on earth?

[Peter addresses this very question in 1Pe 2:13-17...]

I. THE PILGRIMS' RESPONSIBILITY IN ONE WORD:  SUBMIT! (13-14)

   A. WE ARE TO SUBMIT "TO EVERY ORDINANCE OF MAN"...
      1. The word "submit"...
         a. Means "be subject to," signifying "to place one's self 
            under subjection; to render one's self subordinate"
         b. This will not be the only time in this epistle that 
            Christians will be told to be submissive 

             - cf. 1Pe 2:18;3:1; 5:5
      2. In this case, we are told to submit "to every ordinance of man"
         a. The word "ordinance" literally means "a creation"
            1) The Greeks and Romans were accustomed to describe the 
               appointment of officers as the "creation" of them
            2) Therefore, the expression "ordinance" actually refers...
               a) Not to a particular law passed by government
               b) But to the civil government or institution itself
            3) Cf. the NASV, "to every human institution"
         b. Note also, we are to submit to EVERY human institution
            1) Whether it be a monarchy, democracy, or totalitarian state
            2) The responsibility of pilgrims is still the same:submit!

   B. THE APOSTLE PAUL TAUGHT THE SAME PRINCIPLE...
      1. We are to be subject to the governing authorities 

         ("higher powers", KJV) - Ro 13:1
      2. We MUST be subject, and show such submission by paying taxes
         and customs, and showing respect and honor to our officials - 
         Ro 13:5-7

[Our responsibility as pilgrims to the governments of men under which 
we live is quite simple:  submit to them.

But submission is not always an easy thing to do.  What reasons do 
Peter and Paul give that might motivate us to submit to our governments
as we should?]

II. REASONS WHY WE MUST SUBMIT (15-17)

   A. PETER GIVES US TWO GOOD REASONS...
      1. First and foremost, "this is the will of God" - 1Pe 2:15a
         a. Cf. also, "for the Lord's sake" - 1Pe 2:13
         b. That ought to suffice for all true servants of God
         c. But Peter does explain why this is the Lord's will...
      2. That we may "put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" 
         - 1Pe 2:15b
         a. Because of their allegiance to a heavenly King, Christians
            are often falsely accused of sedition or treason - e.g., 
            Ac 17:5-8
         b. By doing good (e.g., submitting to the governing 
            authorities), we can "silence" (lit., muzzle) such ignorant
            charges

   B. PAUL GIVES US ANOTHER GOOD REASON...
      1. Governing authorities that exist have been appointed by God! 
         - Ro 13:1
         a. This truth is emphasized in the book of Daniel 

            - cf. Dan 2:20-21; 4:17,25a,32a
         b. Even those that are evil, which God uses for His divine 
            purposes and then replaces - cf. Exo 9:16 (Egypt); 

            Isa 10:5-12 (Assyria)
      2. This being the case, to resist the government means to resist
         God Himself! - Ro 13:2-4

[So lest we find ourselves resisting against God Himself, let God's 
"pilgrims" freely submit to the powers ruling over them.  In so doing,
we will also silence those who might falsely accuse us of wrong-doing.

But is the principle of submission to government without exception?  Is
there ever a time when Christians are justified in refusing to obey 
governmental authorities?  From Peter himself, we learn...]

III. THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE

   A. IT IS NOT "WHENEVER GOVERNMENT IS OPPRESSIVE..."
      1. Consider the government and conditions under which Peter and
         Paul wrote:
         a. The government was totalitarian, with Nero as ruler, an 
            evil, despotic emperor
         b. Under his reign, Christians suffered greatly 

            - cf. 1Pe 4:12-13; 5:8-9
         c. Eventually, even Peter himself was crucified, and Paul was
            beheaded
      2. Under such oppressive governments, our responsibilities remain
         clear:
         a. We are to submit
         b. We are to pray for our rulers, that peace may prevail - cf.
            1Ti 2:1-2
         c. Who knows?  Perhaps God who "removes kings and raises up 
            kings" will answer our prayers and give us rulers who are 
            good and just!

   B. THE EXCEPTION:  WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MAN!
      1. As illustrated by Peter and the rest of the apostles 

         - cf. Ac 4:18-20; 5:27-29
      2. Only when government tries to force us to disobey God, must we
         then disobey the government
      3. Even then, it is only the particular laws designed to force us
         to disobey God that we have a right to break;  we have no 
         authority to break other laws in protest
      4. Rather, we are charged to pray for those in authority, and 
         submit to them in all other areas

CONCLUSION

1. Such is our responsibility as pilgrims under whatever government  we
   may find ourselves as we sojourn here on earth
   a. Even though we have liberty and freedom in Christ, we should use 
      that freedom in serving the Lord - cf. 1Pe 2:16
   b. As we do so, we will show honor and respect to those in authority
      - cf. 1Pe 2:17
      
2. Of course, we who live in countries that allow freedom of religion 
   should be especially quick to show our respect and submission, and 
   to thank God daily for this wonderful privilege!

Speaking of freedom of religion, are we taking advantage of such 
freedom by rendering obedience to God?  Perhaps there are those who 
have not yet done so... - cf. He 5:9

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

 

Pope Francis Claims God Will Save Atheists by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4667

Pope Francis Claims God Will Save Atheists

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Pope Francis conducted Mass in Rome. During that service, he made one of the most memorable and astonishing statements ever spoken by anyone who calls himself a Christian. The theme of his sermon was that all humans should do good deeds for others. In the course of the talk he stated:

The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! “Father, the atheists?” Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. “But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!” But do good: we will meet one another there (“Pope at Mass...,” 2013, emp. added).

The Pope’s statement highlights two very important issues. First, it shows how far the Pope and the Catholic Church have fallen from the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus explained to the first-century Jews: “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). His point could not have been more clear: acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Son of God is required for salvation. That is why Jesus told His apostles: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Furthermore, the inspired apostle Paul explained that Jesus Christ is coming “from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, emp. added). John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, boldly stated: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” Make no mistake, neither Jesus nor His inspired apostles ever once hinted at the possibility that people who do not believe in God will be saved. They will not. Revelation 21:8 explains: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (emp. added).

The second issue evident in Francis’ statement is the fact that pressure from the unbelieving community is mounting. As the number of unbelievers gradually increases, so does the temptation to appease them and attempt to bend the truth to ingratiate one’s self or organization with unbelievers. As Christians—followers of Jesus Christ—we must resist this tempation at all cost. Yes, praise God, Jesus’ blood is powerful enough to redeem unbelievers, if and only if, those unbelievers turn to Him with humble hearts, confess that He is God’s son, and obey the Gospel (Lyons and Butt, n.d.). Barring that response, unbelievers can look forward to nothing in the afterlife except a “certain fearful expectation of judgment” (Hebrews 10:27).

REFERENCES

Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (No Date), Receiving the Gift of Salvation, Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/Receiving%20the%20Gift%20of%20Salvation.pdf.

“Pope at Mass: Culture of Encounter Is the Foundation of Peace” (2013), Vatican Radio, http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/05/22/pope_at_mass:_culture_of_encounter_is_the_foundation_of_peace/en1-694445.

Plants that Do Math Add Evidence for God by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4733

Plants that Do Math Add Evidence for God

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

One of the first steps to becoming a good student in school is to learn the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Students spend hours trying to master the basics of arithmetic. But it seems that students in grade school are not the only math masters. A new study indicates that plants may be exceptional at math as well. Allison Smith and Martin Howard of the John Innes Center in Norwich suggest that plants perform basic arithmetic in order to preserve the correct amount of starch during the night (Ledford, 2013). Heidi Ledford, writing for Nature News, explained that scientists once thought plants broke down starch at night time at a fairly constant rate. Experimental results, however, have shown that plants can vary their rate of starch consumption based on the number of hours of darkness they experience. Regardless of how many hours plants sit in darkness, they can regulate their starch use so that virtually no starch remains when the light returns (2013).

While this is the first study to suggest that plants do arithmetic, researchers indicate that this process could explain other biological systems, such as animal hybernation and long migrations in which food supplies need to be regulated to ensure survival. More research will be needed to verify Smith’s and Howard’s conclusions, but Howard states: “We are dealing with a fundamental biological process in cells that’s doing a sophisticated arithmetic calculation” (Ledford, 2013).

The implications of these findings that pertain to the existence of God are obvious. If plants really are doing arithmetic, that means they have been programmed by some type of intelligence. This intelligence must understand arithmetic, and be able to write into plants a code by which the plants can use arithmetic to their advantage. The atheistic, materialistic explanation for the origin of the Universe cannot adequately account either for the laws of math or for plants that can use those laws to survive. When the Creator designed plants, He saw that they were very good (Genesis 1:12). The concept of an intelligent Designer is the only one that adds up.

REFERENCES

Ledford, Heidi (2013), “Plants Perform Molecular Maths,” Nature, http://www.nature.com/news/plants-perform-molecular-maths-1.13251.

People All Over the World Associate Atheism with Immorality by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=5465

People All Over the World Associate Atheism with Immorality

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Recently, Huffington Post writer Antonia Blumberg penned an article titled “Anti-Atheist Prejudice Is Entrenched Around the Globe, Even Among Atheists.”¹ In the article, she commented on research that appeared in Nature magazine.² The summary paragraph on the Nature Web site describing the research stated that “people in most—but not all—of these countries viewed extreme moral violations as representative of atheists. Notably, anti-atheist prejudice was even evident among atheist participants around the world.”³ The researchers wrote,

Combined, these results show that across the world, religious belief is intuitively viewed as a necessary safeguard against the temptations of grossly immoral conduct, and atheists are broadly perceived as potentially morally depraved and dangerous. Viewed differently, people perceive belief in a god as a sufficient moral buffer to inhibit immoral behaviour.⁴

Blumberg wrote, “The study echoes the findings of a report by Pew Research Center, published in 2014, which found that majorities in 22 countries say a person must believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.”⁵ In truth, Charles Darwin recognized this when he stated,  “A man who has no assured and ever present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him the best ones.”⁶

At Apologetics Press, we have written extensively on the fact that the philosophy of atheism absolutely cannot provide a foundation upon which to build a moral framework.⁷ It is true that atheists can behave in more moral ways than people who believe in God. But atheists cannot appeal to atheism to honestly explain or defend such moral behavior. Atheism cannot really even define the terms “moral” and “immoral.”

It is interesting that in Blumberg’s article she quoted Bart Campolo, an atheistic activist who stated, “We secularists, who pursue goodness simply because we recognize it as the surest way to flourish, need to get a whole lot better at compellingly articulating our own good news, and maybe even learn to make it sing.”⁸ Notice the sentiment behind Campolo’s statement. He sees morality as “the surest way to flourish.” But what happens when the morally right thing to do does not coincide with an individual “flourishing”? What happens when “doing right” means a costly sacrifice even to the point of death to help someone who might never respond in kind? You can see that even in the context of trying to make atheistic morality appear meaningful, Campolo only succeeds in showing that it is a “means to an end” way of life based on a foundation of self-preservation. Imagine what would happen if people made their moral decisions based only on what would help them “flourish.” Campolo’s articulation of atheistic morality helps us to see why the foundational tenets of atheism are distrusted around the world.

ENDNOTES

¹ Antonia Blumberg (2017), “Anti-Atheist Prejudice is Entrenched Around the Globe, Even Among Atheists,” Huffington Post, https://www.yahoo.com/news/anti-atheist-prejudice-entrenched-around-203055330.html.

² Will Gervais, et. al. (2017), “Global Evidence of Extreme Intuitive Moral Prejudice Against Atheists,” Nature, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0151?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Blumberg.

⁶ Charles Darwin (1958), The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, ed. Nora Barlow (New York: W.W. Norton), p. 94.

⁷ Kyle Butt (2008), “The Bitter Fruits of Atheism, Parts 1&2,” Reason & Revelation, 28[7&8]:50-64, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=2515; Eric Lyons (2011), “The Moral Argument for the Existence of God,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4101&topic=95; Antony G.N. Flew and Thomas B. Warren (1977), Warren-Flew Debate (Ramer, TN: National Christian Press), pp. 15ff.

⁸ Blumberg.

Attributes of God (Part 7) God is Patient

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1717

Attributes of God (Part 7) God is Patient

2 Peter 3:3-3:15

My wife often tells me that she don’t life to pray for patience because she is afraid of what the Lord will send her way to teach her a lesson on how to be patient. I have nto met very many patient people lately.

A man’s car stalled in the heavy traffic as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed, and a chorus of honking behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car and walked back to the first driver and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there and give it a try, I’ll stay here and blow your horn for you.”

Did you hear about the teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put his boots on? He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn’t want to go on. When the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, “Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet.” She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off then it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on – this time on the right feet. He then announced, “These aren’t my boots.” She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, “Why didn’t you say so?” like she wanted to. Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said, “They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear them.” She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, “Now, where are your mittens?” He said, “I stuffed them in the toes of my boots…”

How many of you like to wait on others? How many times have we wanted something to happen, but got impatient because it did not happen, like right away? Patience can sometimes be hard to muster.

Do you consider yourself a patient person?

As we continue to look at some of the attribute of our awesome God, we are going to look at an attribute that we would do well to pick up on in our own life. This attribute is PATIENCE. Today we are going to see that God is patient, not indifferent. We will look at the motivation for God’s patience and we will see the blessing of God being patience for us.

A French proverb says, “Laziness is often mistaken for patience.” Perhaps the opposite is also true; patience is often mistaken for laziness. In frustration a mother once told her doctor, when her daughter was ill and she was worried. “Why don’t you do something?” she asked. “I am doing something,” replied the doctor. “I am waiting.” Many of us have trouble determining when someone is being patient or are being lazy.

Today we will be looking at 2 Peter 3. This letter was written about 30 years after the resurrection when some people began to doubt whether or not Jesus was coming back. If that’s what some thought 30 years after Jesus ascended can just you understand why people doubt today, over 2000 years later? The prospect of Jesus returning seems more like a fairytale to some rather than a fact.

Peter tells us that in the last days (in which we have been living since the resurrection of Jesus) people would say that God is not going to do anything. Listen to what Peter writes:   “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

Even some who call themselves Christians don’t expect Jesus to return anytime soon. We tend to think that if something doesn’t happen right away, it will not happen at all. The sad thing is that those who mock God in this manner probably do not want Him to come back too soon because they personally are not ready for Jesus to return.

The Second Coming of Jesus was preached often by the Christian preachers of the early church, Matthew and the other gospel writers wrote about it when Jesus told them He was going to return. Paul and Peter also wrote about the Second Coming. In 2 Peter 3:5-7 we read in the past people doubted God word and judgment to come to them but then suffered the consequences…  “5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Peter wanted them and us to know that the same One and the same Word that created all and then destroyed the world by the flood will do it again not with water, but with fire.

As far as God’s delay, in vss 8-9 Peter reminds us that God is not operating on our time table. Peter wanted to point out to the critics that just because it has not happened according their timetable, that doesn’t mean it will not happen. He writes in 8-9:   “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Peter bases verse 8 on Psalm 90:4 which says, ”For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.”   God lives outside the dimension of time, something we call eternity. So He is not limited by the same time-space concepts that we are.

Because God works differently with time than we do, it does not mean that He is indifferent or has made a mistake about the return of Jesus. We should not look at look at the time that has gone by as an indication that God is slow about the promises that He makes, but that it is just not time yet.

Peter is letting us know that the Lord is simply patient; He is not eager to punish us.  In 1 TIMOTHY 2:3-4 Paul wrote that God, “ desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

In reality, God’s time frame is affected by His patience. This attribute of God is spoken of over and over throughout the Bible. He is long suffering  when it comes to us.

Peter in Verse 9 says “…He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

God was especially patient in the Old Testament times. 1 Peter 3:20 speak of the patience of the Lord during the days of Noah. It took Noah 120 years to build that ark and during that time He wanted to give those people a chance to repent, proclaimed by the spirit of Christ through the mouth of Noah. But no one did and only Naoh’s family entered the ark and were save. The flood water came and then it was too late.

Once Jesus returns or when we die, it will also be too late for us to change, it’s is game over at that point, there are no second chances.

God’s love for us motivates Him to be patient with us, but it is not endless. In v10-11 we see that the Day of the Lord is coming “10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

Verse 10 tells us that it will come like a thief in the night. This means that the time is unknown and it also means that we must always be ready. The question for you and me is, Are we ready to stand before God today at the final judgment?

Peter tells us that, all we know will be destroyed when the Lord returns. We must be ready for that day by giving our life to Jesus and then living for Him. Jesus is not your insurance policy, He is our life if we belong to Him.

It has been said that there are two things in life you can count on. CAN YOU NAME THEM? Death and taxes. You could refuse to pay or cheat on your taxes, but you will not cheat death, you need to be ready. C. In vss 13-18, I believe we see that God wants us to have time to anticipate what is coming and our new home and then adjust out behavior. (Read v 13-18) “13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him……….  17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen”

Simply put, God is patient, and thank goodness He is. His love for us, and His desire for us to live with Him in Heaven motivated Him to be patient with is even those we keep making one mistake after another. And I believe we should thank Him for His mercy and grace, and patience everyday! (You should Pray now!)

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

All comments can be emailed to: bfronzek@gmail.com

“Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40) by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/065-besaved.html

“Be saved from this perverse generation”
(Acts 2:40)

Peter described his generation as perverse. The basic meaning of the Greek word [σκολιός] is crooked, not straight. Figuratively it refers to something different from what it ought to be. It describes behavior that is depraved, degenerate and immoral.

Is our generation depraved, degenerate and immoral, different from what it ought to be? “We know that ... the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). Peter’s appeal is certainly still applicable: “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

Are we part of this crooked generation?

We were born into it and we share responsibility for it. None of us is what we ought to be, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2).

How can we be saved from this crooked generation?

Salvation is possible by the grace of God through Jesus Christ: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Through Jesus our sins can be forgiven. When Peter’s hearers asked, “What shall we do?” he replied: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

We must repent to be saved.

To repent is to be sorry for our sins, turn away from a life of sin, and put God first in our lives by doing His will from day to day.

Jesus came to call sinners to repentance (Mathew 9:13). He said that everyone must repent or perish (Luke 13:3). He said that “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).

We must be baptized to be saved.

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

Peter said, “Every one of you” must be baptized. Jesus gave His followers the assignment: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:15, 16).

Christian baptism is a burial. We are buried with Christ in baptism (Colossians 2:12). The Greek word for baptism means immersion. Many people think they have been baptized, when they were never “buried with Christ.” Their so-called baptism was not an immersion.

Christian baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Many people’s baptism is not valid because - although they were immersed - they were not baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness comes through the sacrificial death of Jesus, who “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5). Our sins are washed away at baptism (Acts 22:16).

Through baptism we are united with the death of Christ: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3, 4). We are saved at baptism because it is a participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Spiritual rebirth occurs at baptism. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5).

To believers who had been buried with Christ in baptism (Colossians 2:12) Paul wrote: “God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13, 14).

Thus, God saves us from this crooked generation by grace when we are born again by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

During the summer of 1961, after graduating from university, I participated in two evangelistic campaigns in western Canada. We worked one month at Salmon Arm, British Columbia and one month at Edmonton, Alberta. One Saturday at Salmon Arm, brother and sister Armstrong invited our group to spend the day at their summerhouse on Shuswap Lake.¹

They told us about their conversion to Christ. They lived in California where brother Armstrong sold insurance. He was a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, a professional association of people who sell at least a million dollars’ worth of insurance each year.

Since they had been active members of a Baptist church for many years, brother Armstrong was greatly annoyed when members of the church of Christ suggested that he was not yet a Christian because in the Baptist church he had not been baptized for the remission of sins.²

To prove them wrong, brother Armstrong decided that when they went to their cabin in Canada for a holiday the next summer, he would make a thorough study of what the Bible says about salvation. He studied at a table in front of a big window with a view of the lake and the mountains.

Sister Armstrong said she remembered the day, after they had been studying for two weeks, when brother Armstrong suddenly sprang up from the table and started pacing back and forth.

His Bible was open to Acts 2:38. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

He picked up his Bible, read the verse again, laid it down, and started pacing some more. Then he exclaimed: “That is exactly what it says! Be baptized for the remission of sins!”

He had known that verse from memory for years, but had never really noticed what it said.

The next day they drove 700 kilometers to the nearest church of Christ they knew about, so they could be baptized into the body of Christ. There were congregations much closer, but they did not know about them.

Christians shine as lights in this crooked generation.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:12-16).

To work out our salvation does not mean that we earn our salvation but that we are to elaborate or flesh out our salvation, to develop it to its intended fullness. This is not easy “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” We need God’s help! He works in us when we hold fast the word of life. At baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Paul describes this unfolding process: “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

Our calling is “to shine as lights in the world,” to “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.”

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”³

The gospel of Christ calls everyone “to be saved from this crooked generation.” “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Forgiveness of sins is available through faith in Christ. We must repent and dedicate our lives to God. When we are born again spiritually by obeying God’s command to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, He transfers us out of the darkness of this crooked generation into the kingdom of His Son, into the church of Christ.

With God’s help, we then work out our salvation with fear and trembling to become blameless children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Amen.

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Footnotes

---

¹ Shuswap is an H-shaped mountain lake in British Columbia with a shoreline of 1000 km.

---

² Evangelical churches do not baptize for the remission of sins as commanded in Acts 2:38. They practice believer’s baptism by immersion, but only as a symbol of having been saved already, not as a requirement for salvation. They believe salvation is by faith only although James 2:24 teaches otherwise.

---

³ Luke 8:8.

---

Published in The Old Paths Archive
http://www.oldpaths.com

Sex by Gary Rose

My wife and I grew up in upstate New York on farms. My family had about 15-20 chickens and a few cows, but Linda’s family had about 75 cows, both Jersey and Holstein. Her family had a much larger farm of 400 acres and also a wider assortment of animals – pigs, ducks, and a pony.

Anyone who has spent any time on a dairy farm will tell you that there are bulls and cows (male and female). There are no bulls who think they are cows and no cows who pretend they are bulls. Simple stuff.

Today, some humans want to pretend they are the other sex. Society has accepted this mental disorder and so the picture at the top has almost become commonplace. But, today’s perversity was not how humanity began. In the book of Genesis, God created as follows:

Genesis 1 ( World English Bible )

Gen 1:25, God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

Gen 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Gen 1:27, God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

Gen 1:28, God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Gen 1:29, God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.

Gen 1:30, To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.

Gen 1:31, God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

God made the animals and after that HE created human beings in HIS own image and after HIS likeness. Animals are different from humans, period. Further, God created them male and female; HE only made two sexes, period. Sex is simple and permanent; leave God’s work alone and call it what it was designed to be – either male or female.

Anything more than this is evil.