Matthew 28 KJT
18 ¶And Jesus came and spake unto them,
saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost:
20 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.
Some observations:
1. The Apostles were authorized to baptize in
the blessed name of the Triune God.
2. They were ALSO authorized to teach those
baptized by them all things whatsoever Christ has commanded them.
3. Those baptized are brought under the
authority of Christ; they are subject to all the things Christ has commanded.
4. Teaching the baptized all things whatsoever
Christ has commanded necessarily requires the baptized to be members of local
churches, to be brought under Christ's authority vested in the local churches.
This is what the Apostles did on the day of
Pentecost - giving the apostolic example and setting the apostolic precedent
for the NT practice.
Acts 2
40 ¶And with many other words did he testify
and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word
were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.
Those baptized were added to the church even
though most of them were residents of distant cities scattered throughout the vast Roman Empire.
What puzzles me no end is why some good men
would reject such an obvious and simple matter, i.e. baptism and membership
with a local church belong together, by Christ's authority. Maybe they are
disgusted by some churches baptizing young children who are unable to shoulder
the responsibilities of membership. Why? Is membership only for the strong and
able? Some even insist that being learned and grounded in the faith are
prerequisites for membership, too!
--------
Bill
Amen, Bro. Sing! Baptism and membership in a
local assembly are inextricably tied together.
Mark
It seems to me that the crux of the issues
herein contained are the issues of whether Scripture is correctly interpreted
to support a singular line of authority to baptize and thereby provide a
singular line of membership or whether the line of authority exists without a
singular such line. Please note that I have not said that the singular line can
be historically proved all along the line. I simply am stating that these are
the two lines of thought professed and that this is the crux of this issue.
