Topic(s): Church

Lovely works of art are often marred by accumulations of dirt and grime. Specialists are employed to restore them to their original beauty. They carefully remove the foreign matter that obscures their true nature. Fine furniture can become worn and damaged. Its beauty is hidden by tattered upholstery and layers of paint. To see it as it came from the hands of the artisan, it needs to be restored by a skilled workman. The paint and ragged upholstery need to be stripped away.

Christianity is two thousand years old. Its modern appearance is greatly marred and distorted by the accumulation of human doctrines and practices imposed upon it over the ages. A careful reading of the New Testament provides one with an accurate picture of Christianity as it came from the hands of Jesus. Comparing that with modern “versions of Christianity” reveals a stark difference. Hardly a single teaching or practice of the original faith has been untouched. Human hands have defiled and marred its beauty with their changes. But as with the work of art or the fine furniture, we can restore the church to its original simplicity and beauty.

First we look to the New Testament of Christ to determine just how He intended the church to be; what she was to believe; how she was to worship. We then resolve that we will follow those guidelines faithfully. Each item of faith and practice must be examined carefully in light of Christ’s word. Anything not as old as the New Testament must be discarded. Anything that has been left out or neglected must be put back in its proper place.

We must be willing to endure the complaints, criticisms, and ridicule of those who love their human traditions more than they do the original faith of Christ. We must be prepared to be a minority because Jesus said, “Many are called but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). We must resolve to hold fast to that which we find to be true lest we let it slip from us (Hebrews 2:1). The labor will be intense, the cost will be high, but when we have done the necessary work of restoring, we will possess the pure and holy church of Christ which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).We will have found the way that is right, which cannot be wrong.

Any Christian Can Baptize and a Person Can Be Baptized at any Time.

Topic(s): Baptism

Most people believe that a preacher must baptize them or it does not “count.” This doctrine comes out of medieval church tradition; the Bible places no such restriction on baptism. If a man can teach another what to do to be saved, then he can also baptize him. The great commission applies to all equally (Matthew 28:19-20). Many people, following a Bible study with Christian friends, are surprised to find out that they do not have to wait to be baptized. They figure that there would be a special “baptismal service” at the end of the month or six months. In the New Testament, it is clear that in every case when people wanted to be baptized, there was no waiting (Acts 2:41; 8:36-38; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 33-34).Few songs have words of such intensity as these written by George Bennard: “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suff’ring and shame….” As our mind’s eye catches a glimpse of Calvary we see the great cost at which our salvation came.

Jesus’ Life in Four Words

Topic(s): Jesus

What Jesus did for you and me was an incredible demonstration of genuine love. What Jesus did for us, we do not deserve. What He did for us was an act of grace. We could never repay the debt that we owe Him. But, we can (and should) be grateful for Him and His life-giving sacrifice! Not a day should pass without us expressing our thanks to God for what His Son has done on our behalf. “But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Jesus did four amazing things for us.

HE CAME. He came from heaven to earth. He Himself said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). In heaven Jesus shared in the glory of the Father “before the world was” (John 17:5), but He left heaven to come to earth. Why? “...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Let us admit it without shame: if Jesus had not come, we could not be saved from our sins. Consider some of the beautiful words of the song “He Still Came:”

Yet the King of kings left heaven to become a lowly man,
He left all heaven's glory to fulfill His Father's plan.
He still came just for me, He still came.
Knowing all He would endure, He still came.
Disregarding every cost, from the manger to the cross,
He still came just for me, He still came.

HE WENT. He went to the cross. When the mob came to take Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, He could have called “twelve legions of angels” (72,000) to protect Himself (Matthew 26:53), but He didn’t. Jesus had the power to run away from the interrogations of the Jewish council, Pilate, and Herod, but He chose not to do so. Instead, He endured mockery, physical and mental torture, and with the help of Simon carried His cross “to the place which is called Calvary; there they crucified him” (Luke 23:33). Why did our loving Lord go to the cross when He could have avoided it? The Bible’s answer is plain: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). If Jesus had not gone to the cross, we would still be hopelessly lost!

HE STAYED. He stayed on the cross. After He was crucified, He hung on the cross for six hours (Mark 15:25, 34-37). While He was still hanging there, some mockingly spoke these words of blasphemy: “Save thyself, and come down from the cross...He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Mark 15:30, 31). Did Jesus have the power to come down from the cross? Of course! But He stayed right there until the end. Why? Because of His great love for us and because He knew that in God’s plan, His death was a necessity.

HE RETURNED. He returned to heaven, where He sat down at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19). He went “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24). Upon His return to heaven, He was given “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13, 14). There He “ever liveth to make intercession for us” (Hebrew 7:25).
May we ever thrill at the story of Jesus!
—Roger D. Campbell