Topic(s): Bible Infallibility, Denominationalism

Our report this month is taken from the active life of our beloved Rue Porter. In March of 1954 while Uncle Rue was traveling in his work he came upon a Roman Catholic Bishop in a railroad depot and visited with him for about twenty minutes. The Bishop told Rue of his work and when brother Porter told him that he was a preacher too, the Bishop asked, “But where are your clergyman’s clothes?”

Rue said that he was one of those men who opens his Bible and asks people to believe what it says and that he did not rely on garb to distinguish him from other men of like faith. The Bishop cupped his hands over his mouth, and coming near to Rue, half whispered, “I wish I could do that. We are all under orders. We are told what to say, and we say it. We are told where to go, and we go there. We are told how long we may stay, and when to move, and we do it. I wish I were as free to preach what I find in the Bible as you.” Rue then told the man, “A man of your knowledge should have the courage to preach what he knows to be true in spite of orders from Rome or anywhere else other than Christ.” Again the Bishop said, “I wish I could do that, but my hands are tied.”

Rue Porter’s hands were never tied. From the very first he had been free to preach the Gospel of Christ. Yes, he was free! Free in Christ to preach the gospel of Christ to as many as possible in one’s lifetime. I, for one, am happy that he was free and that he was committed to the Lord enough to traverse these United States in the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.

—Don Deffenbaugh

“Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him” —Acts 28:31

Quick Thinker: A certain husband had forgotten his wife’s birthday, and when she called this to his attention, he responded quickly and wisely, “How do you expect me to remember your birthday—you keep looking younger every day!”

See the Positive Side: You may not have ever thought about it, but mosquitoes sure can make you like flies better. 

What is Baptism?

Topic(s): Baptism, Salvation

“Baptize” is not an English word. It is a Greek word lifted out of the Greek text and inserted into our English Bibles. Other Greek words were translated into English; that is, their meanings in Greek were transferred into understandable equivalents in the English language. But the word “baptize” was not translated, but transliterated instead. They simply spelled out the Greek word in characters of the English alphabet. Therefore, we have baptize in place of baptizo.

If the meaning of the Greek word had been given, it would have been rendered as “immersion, dipping, or submersing.” Another Greek word, luou, means “to wash the body;” another, rantizo, means “to sprinkle;” and yet another, cheo, means “to pour.” None of these words is used with reference to the ordinance Christ commanded relating to salvation. Even though the Greek words for pour, sprinkle, and wash appear in the Greek New Testament, none is transliterated, all of these are translated.

What explanation can be given for this irregular procedure on the part of the translators of the Bible? A quick review of religious history gives the answer. For many centuries, only immersion was practiced. At first sprinkling was introduced only as a convenience for the terminally ill and even this was met with great opposition by most in the church. It was not until the fourteenth century that the Roman Church authorized sprinkling or pouring as substitutes for the act of immersion. The Greek Orthodox Church, which split from the Roman Church in 1054 A.D., continue to use immersion. Because this newer practice was attended with greater convenience, it came into general acceptance not only in the Roman Church, but also in the Church of England which broke away from Rome in the seventeenth century.

It was during this time that an English translation of the Bible was authorized by “The most High and Mighty Prince James, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith...” (see the preface in King James Version Bibles.) This version of 1611 A.D. came into common usage of English-speaking people around the world. By this time the majority of religious people were being sprinkled instead of immersed. To have translated the Greek word baptizo would have been extremely offensive to the dignitaries of both church and state, the Church of England being the official state church. Thus, the true and undisputed meaning of the word baptizo was obscured by transliteration.

The practice of pouring and sprinkling as a substitute for immersion has continued in the religious world; financial pressures lead translators and publishers of the Bible to follow the path of transliteration begun by the King James Version. Publishers of modern speech English translations confess their fear of offending should they translate instead of transliterating this significant command of Christ.

None of the English Versions, new or old, translate baptizo. In fact, one translation started by a southern denomination would not translate the word since it would take their name out of the Bible, even though they practiced immersion.

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” —Romans 6:4

	God has made a history of using the insignificant to accomplish the impossible.
	God never asks about our ability or inability—just our availability.