Baptist Doctrine # 1
Qualification For Church Membership
Key Verses:
Repentance: Luke 13:2-5; Jonah 3:6-9; Mark 6:12; Acts 17:30
Faith Romans 4:1-25; Gal. 3:1-14
John the Baptist, whose ministry was “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ”,( Mark 1:1) preached, saying to the people,
“Repent ye; for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). His was the baptism of repentance. When John was cast into prison, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the Gospel”( Mark 1:14-15).
When the apostles were sent forth they preached that men should repent” (Mark 6:12).
The Lord Jesus after his resurrection said: “Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations,beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24: 46-47).
Peter on the day of Pentacost said, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;” (Acts 2:38),
Paul, who testified at Ephesus for three years “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21), proclaimed in Athens, “God commanded all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
The New Testament is full of the doctrine of repentance. It is the doctrine of the Gospel. The law knows nothing of it. The language of the law is, Do and Live-not repent, that you may be pardoned. Repentance involves such a change of mind in regard to sin, is absolutely necessary to a proper appreciation of the blessings of the Kingdom of Christ. Therefore no one is a candidate for church-membership unless he has repented of sin and trusted fully in Christ for salvation.
After repentance comes faith as a necessary qualification for church-membership. Great importance in the scriptures is attached to faith in Christ, as will appear from the following passages: “He that believeth on him is not condemned” (John 3:18), “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36), “By him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:39). See also John 20:31: Mark 16:16; Romans3:25,26; and Roman 5:1.
These passages clearly show that faith in Christ is necessary for salvation/ Although faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), it must be exercised and is that which brings the soul into vital contact with the blood of the atonement. It unites us to Christ.
Faith in Christ- the faith which instrumentally achieves the sinner’s justification before God-is an essential qualification
for church-membership. Every penitent believer is a regenerate person and should seek church-membership. Regeneration is the
spiritual process by which we become new creatures in Christ- are Born again-Born of the Spirit-Born of God-Redeemed-Saved,
etc. etc. “Ye are all the children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).
Saving Faith is receiving the Lord Jesus Christ into the heart as one’s own personal Saviour and Lord and believing that He is there. We can say again that the only suitable materials of which to construct a Church of Christ, so far as spiritual qualifications are concerned are: regenerate, penitent and believing persons.
To be born again you must be converted. Conversion involves turning from sin, and man by nature is unable to do this
Jeremiah 13:23.
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Conversion involves coming to Christ.
John 6:37,44,65
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
There is an evangelical repentance and there is also a legal repentance. Sin must be admitted-abhorred and abandoned. Repentance and faith are both gifts from God. There are three elements in “Saving Faith”.
1. Knowledge
2. Belief
3. Dependence
This can be illustrated by a shipwreck in a storm. You are on this shipwrecked craft far at sea in a terrible storm. The
ship is sinking and you know you will soon be drowning in the water if a rescue cannot be found. A large lifeboat is
let down and you are urged to get on board. The lifeboat will take you to safety. Are you going to put your dependence in it or go down with the sinking ship. This lifeboat is your only hope. Christ is your only hope of excaping Hell.
Christ is the Saviour not “a” Saviour.
Regeneration, repentance and faith are private matters between God and the soul. They involve internal commitment, but of this commitment, there must be an external manifestation. This manifestation is made in baptism.
There can be no visible church without baptism. Baptist churches are the only churches on Earth that require a person to profess to be saved before the person unites with the church in baptized. An observance of this ordinance is the believer’s first public act of obedience to Christ. The penitent, regenerate believer is baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. There is a visible, symbolic expression of a new relationship to the three persons of the God-Head. We are said to be baptized into the death of Christ.
(Romans 6:1-13)
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 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.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
In baptism our sins are declaratively remitted-formally washed away.
(1 Peter 3:21)
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”
Chris gave the Great Commission to the church before Pentacost.
(Matthew 28:18-20)
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.
Go-Disciple-Baptize-Teach.
A great awakening took place under Peter’s preaching and repenting thousands accepted salvation through Christ.
(Acts 2:41,47)
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The converts to the faith were first baptized and the added to the church. This shows baptism to be prerequisite to church-membership.
No one is entitled to baptism unless he can be taught. Then he is not entitled to it until he has been taught and has received that teaching. That leaves out infants and others.
(Acts 2:41)
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
(Acts 8:26-39)
26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, Who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
The baptism of the Ethiopian enuch required much water. Going down into the water-a burial and a coming up out of the water.
One who has believed at the preaching of the Word and has been scripturally baptized by one having the authority of a local New Testament Baptist Church can be given the authority (with one or more others) to go out, makes disciples, baptize and start another Baptist Church. This has been going on since the apostolic days and is why we have true Baptist Churches today.
There are 4 aspects of Baptism-The PROPER:
1. Subject-a saved person
2. Authority-(administor-boni-
3. Purpose-(design) to show salvation not procure it
4. Mode-immersion in water
So salvation is the first condition of baptism. Others make baptism a condition of salvation. With Baptists it is-blood before water, Christ before the church, salvation before baptism.
The only church on this Earth that Jesus could join if he were here, on his baptism, is a Baptist church (others say John’s baptism is invalid).
Baptism is the voluntary immersion of a believer in Christ to symbolically show what Christ has done for Him/Her.
Baptist Doctrine 1 Qualification For Church Membership Part 1