Apostasy is Both Gradual and Progressive, Part 3

Brother Don McWhorter presented an excellent lesson a few years ago during the Southern Christian University (now Amridge University ) Leadership/Mission Forum in Montgomery , Alabama concerning the issues presently facing and dividing the church of our Lord. He made the point quite clear that the same doctrinal problems causing havoc today divided the brotherhood some one hundred years ago. He also mentioned most of them specifically and quoted from reliable sources as to the authenticity of each issue. How wonderful it would have been if all of our young preachers, youth ministers and teachers could have heard his lesson. It is almost essential that we study the history of the church in order to know where we are headed as far as the unity of the body of Christ is concerned. It is not unreasonable to state that “history repeats itself” in regards to the kingdom of Jesus Christ .

The leaven of liberalism that is permeating the body of Jesus Christ has been slowly but surely working over the years. The book VOICES OF CONCERN that was written over forty years ago contained articles written by disgruntled members has had a lasting adverse effect on the brotherhood. Liberal leaders like Carl Ketcherside and Leroy Garrett have sown seeds of discord with their teachings and writings. Cecil Hook has written several books that have found their way even on the campuses of our Christian universities and colleges. One book is entitled FREE IN CHRIST contains much error as the author endeavors to teach against many of the scriptural practices of the Lord’s church. Now we have the book THE JESUS PROPOSAL along with scores of other volumes written by brethren who have lost their moorings regarding sound doctrine.

Please observe how far our brother Rubel Shelly has departed from some of his earlier convictions in his book I JUST WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN that was written in 1984 and in the book THE JESUS PROPOSAL (2003) of which he was co-author.

CONVERSION/BAPTISM: “On the fundamental issues of the faith which relate to salvation from sin and righteous living, the teaching of the Word of God is clear, explicit, and direct. The plan of redemption, for example, is not only set forth in straightforward statements of Scripture but in several precedent-setting cases of conversion in Acts” (p. 46).

“One becomes a Christian only through his or her faith in Christ, repentance from all known sin, and baptism in Jesus’ name. There is no other way to become a part of the fellowship of the saints. For those in the body of Christ to extend spiritual brotherhood to anyone who has not yet become a child of God is for them to fail to acknowledge the divine principle of inclusion” (p. 89).

“My presumption (whether justified or not) is that baptism received in most denominational settings is inadequate to admit one to fellowship. The reason is simple enough: denominational doctrines of baptism with which I am familiar reject one or more biblical truths about the subject. Baptist doctrine, for example, explicitly affirms that baptism is not essential to salvation and is instead an ordinance by means of which already saved persons join the Baptist denomination” (p. 102).

There is no fault to be found in the aforementioned quotes from this brother’s earlier writing; however, it is a different matter when you read the following statements found in the book THE JESUS PROPOSAL:

“If there was a series of “fixed and inflexible steps” to salvation – whether three, five, seven, or seventy-seven steps—they could have been listed somewhere in systematic fashion. But that was neither the method of God nor the mindset of the biblical writers” (p. 89).

“At what point in one’s journey to spiritual life do we count him or her a Christian—the word simply means “Christ-follower” or “one who give allegiance to Christ”—and extend our fellowship as the body of Christ? Is it at repentance and saying the sinner’s prayer? Is it in the event of his or her hearing the gospel with a receptive heart, the Good News that Jesus saved? Is it at the point of one’s initial, private acknowledgment of faith? Or perhaps the initial confession of that faith? Is water baptism in the name of Jesus the defining moment of union with Christ? Is one saved only at the point of the manifest present of the Holy Spirit in his life? Or is one a Christian only after he has begun sharing in the life of the church? Should there be a time of nurture by the Word of God and prayer that must be accounted for before one can be regarded as a child of God? Or must she be able to prove the genuineness of her faith through the discipline of life in Christ—including the willingness to suffer for her faith? I suspect the right answer may be “Yes”—to all of these questions rather than to any one” (p. 134).

“Our fondness born of Modernity to have a single formula that fits every situation doesn’t work well either with the New Testament data or with spiritual pilgrims in the real world. I think that is so because salvation is not an event but a journey, not a single “moment at which” but a pilgrim direction toward God” (p. 135).

“The notion of salvation as rebirth into the family of God certainly supports this view. How can we preach, for example, the importance—even necessity—of the baptismal event for salvation and regard others who have not been immersed as brothers and sisters in the family of God? How can we say we affirm the theological importance of baptism and extend spiritual fellowship to those who are still unbaptized? We would argue that it is wrong to deny fellowship to anyone who gives evidence of seeking God in good faith through Jesus Christ—and thereby become a stumbling block to his continued growth and development in spiritual life. Making baptism, church membership, or repentance of a particular action into the test of Christian fellowship is inconsistent with Christ’s example of receiving those whom the institutional faith of his own time had deemed unworthy and runs contrary to the biblical evidence” (pp.135, 136).

A knowledgeable student of God’s Word can readily see that this brother is advocating that we should accept as a Christian any person who is on his/her spiritual journey even though they have not been “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Can you imagine the apostle Peter answering the inquiry of some of the hearers on the Day of Pentecost when they asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:36) by saying, ‘Well, I am not sure when you will be saved. It may be when you pray through or just when you believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son.’ Was Saul saved when he saw the Lord on the road to Damascus or perhaps when he fasted for three days and prayed to God during that time (Acts 9:9, 11)? Maybe Ananias told Saul that he wasn’t sure just exactly where on his spiritual journey that he could know he was saved from his sins. The men who were directed by the Holy Spirit left no doubt in the minds of the truth seekers when they would be assured of their salvation from their past sins and become children of God. Peter commanded the believers on Pentecost to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Emphasis mine, RE, Acts 2:38). Saul was instructed by Ananias to “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Emphasis mine, RE, Acts 22:16). Why you do suppose the nobleman from Ethiopia “went on his rejoicing” (Acts 8:39)? It was the same reason that the Philippian jailer rejoiced and that was when as a penitent believer he was immersed into Jesus Christ in order to have his sins forgiven by God’s grace and the blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-34). The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:17, 18, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Emphasis, mine, RE)” Now when did the members of the congregation in Rome obey “from the heart that form of doctrine” and “having been set free from sin”? Was it not when they were “baptized in Jesus Christ” and “into His death?” Was it not when they were “buried with Him through baptism into death” and raised to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4)? There was no doubt in the mind of Paul when these brethren had been saved. Listen carefully what he wrote in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” The apostle clearly stated that they had been baptized “into Christ” (Romans 6:3). The false doctrine being propagated by many educators, editors, authors and preachers among us that one cannot know on his spiritual journey when he is saved from past sins should be exposed and renounced by all who know and teach the truth. One of the main reasons for these articles in which I have examined some of the teachings of brethren Shelly and York is because they have influenced so many young men and women to accept these errors as being taught in the Word of God. One of the most influential media through which these and other liberal authors are influencing members of the church is the publication WINESKINS which is under the control of the ZOE group. I have a vivid remembrance of reading one issue of Wineskins when the editor taught from the opening editorial to the closing article written by another brother that we should accept into our fellowship anyone who was a believer in Jesus Christ, regardless of the doctrine that they believed and practiced. It is the old teaching of ‘Unity in the diversity of doctrine’ error that has been around now for a long time. And through such teachings these brethren are placing less importance on the Lord’s requirement for penitent believers to be baptized in order to have their sins forgiven (Mark 16:16).

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