Truth Magazine

Bible baptism and the blood of Christ go together. They are so closely related that one is of no value without the other. This writing is designed to help us see the connection between Bible baptism and the blood of Christ.

1. For The Remission Of Sins. In instituting the Lord’s supper, Jesus declared, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Why did Jesus shed his blood? For the remission of sins. On the day of Pentecost, Jews convicted of sin asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts

 2:37). They were instructed, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins . . .” (Acts 2:38). Why be baptized? For the remission of sins.

2. Washes Away Sins. Revelation 1:5 records, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” How is a person washed from his sins? In the blood of Christ. On the road to Damascus, the Lord told Saul of Tarsus, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do” (Acts 9:6). In the city, Saul was told, “And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). According to this verse, how is a person washed from his sins? By being baptized. Therefore, in order for a person to have his sins washed away by the blood of Christ, it is absolutely essential that he be baptized. If not, why not?

3. Saves. Bible baptism and the blood of Christ are both said to have saving power. Paul wrote, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 5:9). The blood saves. But, baptism is also said to save. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The apostle Peter penned, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us . . .” (1 Pet. 3:21).

4. Connecting Bible Baptism With the Blood of Christ. Paul reminded the Romans, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Rom. 6:3). It was in his death that Jesus shed his blood (John 19:34). Bible baptism puts us into contact with the blood of Christ by putting us in his death where he shed his blood. It is in Bible baptism that a person reaches the blood of Christ and receives the remission of sins, has his sins washed away, and is saved. See the connection?

A failure to see the connection between Bible baptism and the blood of Christ has caused some to overlook the importance of Bible baptism. Have you been baptized?

By Connie W. Adams

Jesus taught that there are some who are unteachable. They have imposed certain obstacles in their own way and until they remove them, the truth will not be appreciated by them. “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophesy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matt.13:13-15).

With stopped ears, closed eyes and hardened hearts these were un- teachable. They had the capacity to learn, but not the willingness. It is unfortunate that we yet have unteachables.

1. Prejudice has so blinded the minds of some that they will not be taught. Through campaigns of misinformation which dwell upon themes which are known to trigger definite reactions against those who preach the truth, the minds of some are closed. During the period of rapid growth of the church in this country in the decades from 1820-1850, the advocates of denominational error coined a term which automatically incited an adverse reaction with some. “Campbellite” was the term. A further prejudicial appeal was made to the religion of the “fathers.” Some could not hear the sound of the truth for thinking, “This man condemns my parents.”

In the present hour prejudice is yet incited by some within the church by the use of epithets and the circulation of rumors which distort what honest brethren believe. The fear of being called “anti” has prompted some to align themselves with popular movements or causes among brethren. Have you closed your eyes to truth because of prejudice?

2. A conglomeration of errors and half-truths has congested the minds of some. Until these can be removed, such people are unteachable. Some of our brethren become unduly exercised over what they call too much “negative” teaching. Of course, all negative teaching would leave no time or occasion for impressing the positive elements of the gospel. Before a field can be plowed, planted and cultivated, it must be cleared of trees, roots, stumps, or rocks. I have tried to talk with Jehovah’s  Witnesses or others whose minds were filled with such an abundance of misinformation or such a hodgepodge of half-truths that very little was accomplished.

Through the years an ignorance has beclouded the minds of many brethren and the minds of some are cluttered with concepts of denominationalism. Even basic principles, such as the way to establish scriptural authority, the realm of generics and specifics, the difference between collective and individual action, and elementary rules for the interpretation of Scripture, are commonly misunderstood. In order to teach some the truth it is necessary to start from “scratch,” lay again the foundation and step-by-step build thereon.

3. Know-it alls are unteachable until they decide that wisdom will not perish with them and that there just might be some truth they have not perceived or some truth which they have not fully comprehended. As one matures in Christ, his appreciation even of truths he has already known should be deepened and enhanced. Anytime we think we have no further need of study, and that we have a corner on truth, we need to study once again what humility is. “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Gal. 6:3).

We all need to study the Bible with open and honest hearts that the full light of truth may guide our feet. Let us not be of the number who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7).

(This article first appeared in The Enlightener, May 1968)

By Mike Willis

As one reads the prophets of the Old Testament, admiring their faith, sometimes he is unaware of the struggles they experienced in life. Jeremiah is not called “the weeping prophet” without reason. His life was hard. Hosea experienced the marital conflicts common to many others who have lived with an unfaithful spouse.

Isaiah is one of God’s most admired prophets. We are impressed with the messianic revelations given to him such as the prophecies of (a) the virgin birth (Isa. 7:14); (b) the miracles of Jesus (Isa. 35); (c) the harbinger of Jesus (Isa. 40:3) and (d) the suffering servant (Isa. 53). However, we may forget what a heavy burden he was called upon to bear when he was called by God.

The Call of Isaiah

The call of Isaiah came in the “year that Uzziah died” (6:1). Uzziah was the king of Judah who became so filled with pride that he entered into the Temple to offer worship to the Lord, in place of the High Priest, and was smitten with leprosy (2 Chron. 26:16-21). As a result of his leprosy, he had to appoint his son Jotham to take care of official business, serving as his co-regent. Isaiah was called to his work in the year of Uzziah’s death. How often God’s call through the preaching of the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14) leading to one’s conversion or his decision to become a preacher is so momentous that one can remember exactly what circumstances surrounded it!

The call of Isaiah came in a vision of God (6:1-4). He saw the Lord on his throne (6:1). His throne was lifted up. His train filled the Temple. He was attended by six-winged seraphim (6:2). The seraphim cried, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (6:3). The thrice repeated “holy” has been thought from ancient times to be a reference to the Trinity, as also indicated by the plural pronoun “us” to refer to God in 6:8. It is the Bible text from which the song, “Holy, Holy, Holy” was written. The foundations of the threshholds were shaken and the house was filled with smoke (6:4).

Isaiah’s Consciousness of Sin

The call of Isaiah made him deeply conscious of his sin. When God appeared to Isaiah, he said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” On the occasions when man has been in the presence of God, he is made aware of his sins. Consider some of these examples: (a) Moses: “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand- est is holy ground” (Exod. 3:5). (b) Moses: “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exod. 33:20). (c) Gideon: “And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die” (Judg. 6:22-23). (d) Peter: “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea” (John 21:7). One can never adequately serve the Lord until and unless he has a vision of his own sinfulness.

Contrast Isaiah’s consciousness of his sin with the attitude of the Pharisees as demonstrated in such passages as Luke 18:11-12; 7:39; 15:1-2, 24-32; 19:7; Matthew 3:7-10. Isaiah had a deep awareness of his own sinfulness that qualified him to be able to proclaim the grace of God to others. He wrote of the self-righteousness of his own people in that day saying,

I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; a people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day (Isa. 65:1-5).

These people had to become aware that their own “righteousness” was but “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). Isaiah said, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isa. 1:4-6). Who was better prepared to make others aware of their sinfulness than one who was first aware of his own?

When men begin to “trust in their own righteousness” and look down their self-righteous noses at those not as righteous as they are, they display the same attitude as did the Pharisees. Isaiah had first to realize his own sinful condition before he could effectively convict others of their sin. The Lord cleansed Isaiah of his sins (6:6-7). Praise God! There is forgiveness from the Lord (Exod. 34:6-7). All of God’s messengers are forgiven sinners pointing other sinners to the Lord’s forgiveness.

Isaiah’s Compulsion to Go

When the Lord appeared to Isaiah, he asked, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” (6:8). (Note the plural pronoun “us,” as it also appears in Genesis 1:26. The plural pronouns are consistent with the trinitarian nature of God.) God had a mission for Isaiah. However, he wanted a volunteer, not a slave serving against his own will. So, God asked, “Who will go?” rather than ordering Isaiah to go against his will. Men can run from responsibility, like Jonah. Or men can accept responsibility willingly, like Isaiah. Isaiah volunteered to serve saying, “Here am I send me.”

Many of God’s servants are reluctant servants. Moses made every kind of excuse before accepting the mission that God had for him. (a) “They will not believe me” (Exod. 4:1). (b) “I am not eloquent” (Exod. 4:10). (c) Send some- one else: “And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send” (Exod. 4:13). Jonah ran from God before accepting his mission.

I am convinced that most of those who preach do so because they cannot do anything else, because the Spirit of the Lord is constraining them to speak. Jeremiah tried to restrain himself, but could not. “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jer. 20:9). Job said, “For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer” (Job 32:18-20). David said, “I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue” (Ps. 39:2-3). The apostles said, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Friend, if you can turn off and on your desire to preach, like a faucet, you don’t need to preach.

Isaiah’s Audience

The sad situation for Isaiah was that he had to preach to an audience who refused God’s word. Many of God’s prophets were blessed to preach to receptive audiences. Thousands responded to Jonah, so much so that he was angry that God’s judgment did not come on Nineveh. On Pentecost thousands obeyed the gospel. In the Philippines hundreds are obeying the gospel.

But, for Isaiah and others of God’s prophets and preachers, God’s message was rejected. God told Isaiah before he went that the people would not hear (6:9-10). Think of some others who preached to men unwilling to hear: (a) Noah (Gen. 6:1-5); (b) Elijah and Elisha; (c) Jeremiah; (d) Jesus.

Isaiah asked for how long he was to preach (6:11). One would think that his time would be shortened because of their refusal to hear. However, God said that he wanted him to preach until the cities were destroyed.

When God sends men to preach to an unwilling audience, he can give them a “hard head.” God said to Ezekiel, “Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house” (Ezek. 3:8-9). He strengthened men to withstand the people’s rejection of the word of God that they preached.

Conclusion

May the Lord give us “hard heads” to keep on preaching to this generation that is so deaf to God’s word, to an audience that is deaf to its saving message. Let us present the testimony of the Lord to this generation that is more interested in its mutual funds than in morality, entertainment than in enlightenment, and sensualism than in salvation. Then, when the Lord’s second coming occurs, men will know that the gospel was preached among them.

By Lewis Willis

Marvin P. Dalton wrote a song in 1948 which conveys a powerful and beautiful message. Very seldom do we sing the song, but I would like to focus your attention on its words.

Once I was straying in sin’s dark valley,
No hope within could I see;
They searched through heaven and found a Savior
To save a poor lost soul like me.

He left the Father, with all His riches,
With calmness sweet and serene,
Came down from heaven and gave his lifeblood
To make the vilest sinner clean.

Death’s chilly waters I’ll soon be crossing,
His hand will lead me safe o’er;
I’ll join the chorus in that great city,
And sing up there forevermore.

(chorus)
O what a Savior, O hallelujah,
His heart was broken on Calvary;
His hands were nailscarred, His side was riven,
He gave His lifeblood for even me.

What a Savior, indeed! All that we need, and all that we are unable to provide, our Savior has provided for us.

The Greek word, soter, is translated “savior” and means deliverer, preserver (Vine 322). In classical Greek the term was applied to mighty men or rulers. In the Bible, however, it is applied to either God the Father or to Jesus Christ.

In the O.T. only God was Savior. “I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour” (Isa. 43:11, cf. 45:21; Hos. 13:4). Israel under- stood that their deliverance could only come through God. As a matter of fact, their greatest problem manifested itself when they sought to save themselves, or when they relied upon someone other than God for their preservation. Also, in the O.T., the term is not so much a title as it is a description of God’s action in behalf of his people.

In the N.T. the term is never applied to a mere man. While sometimes God the Father is identified as Savior (Luke 1:47; 1 Tim. 1:1), the term most commonly refers to Jesus Christ as Savior.

At his birth an angel announced, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Though Matthew does not use the term “Savior” in his account of the birth of Christ, he has the angel say, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus himself understood his mission as Savior, saying, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

No man can save himself. We are dependent upon deity for our salvation. In the Pauline epistles the deity of Christ is referred to in connection with his role as Savior. Note these passages in Paul’s letter to Titus: “Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God (deity) our Saviour in all things . . . Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God (deity) and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:10, 13). These are references to the deity of Jesus, and they clearly teach that our salvation and deliverance must come from God.

Early in his ministry the role of Jesus as Savior was understood by those whom he encountered. At Jacob’s well, He met the woman of Samaria and taught her of the blessings he sought to give. She went to the people of her city and told them of her conversation with Christ, whereupon many of them went forth to talk with him themselves. The N.T. says “many more believed” when they heard the words of Jesus. Now notice, they said to the woman, “. . . for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).

The term “savior” presupposes a danger or disaster from which the deliverer snatches the one whom he helps. That danger is clearly identified in the Scripture. We need deliverance from the worst affliction and trouble known to mankind — deliverance from sin. When John writes “. . . that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14), he was referring to the world’s problem of sin. Jesus came to deliver (save) us from sin (Matt. 1:21).

However, the cost of salvation would be great! The Savior would go to Calvary, and shed his own blood, to save us. There could be no greater expression of love and grace than that shown when the Father sent his Son to die in our stead (Isa. 53; Rom. 5:8-9), that we might be delivered from the curse of sin. Sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, and men throughout all ages have continued to practice sin. The apostle Paul declared that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). The Savior could give nothing greater than himself, so he sacrificed himself that we might be saved.

 

Today the church proclaims the gospel of salvation to men of this world who are lost and dying in sin. Jesus commissioned the church to do so (Mark 16:15; Rom. 1:16). He authored salvation to all of us who will obey him (Heb. 5:9). We are seeking to be faithful to our charge, and call sinners to come to the Savior. What a wonderful Savior he is! If you are lost, we are directing you to the only Savior you will ever have — our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Do you realize your need to be delivered from the sin which condemns you before God? If so, we plead with you, obey the Savior and be saved! Your salvation will not occur until you make up your mind to obey Christ.