Tonight we're going to continue our study that we've been looking at once a month on the subject of sufficient grace. Tonight we're going to talk about grace and denominationalism.
Members of the Church of Christ have been accused of having given the cross to the Catholics, the Holy Spirit to the Pentecostals, and grace to the Baptists. And yet this charge is unfounded and untrue. The cross, the Holy Spirit, and grace, they're not ours to give away. And none of the three supposed recipients have what they're supposed to have been given.
You know, it's not amusing, it's not something that we are intimidated by when they make charges like this. The proof is on them. We stand with the Word of God. If we stand with the Word of God, we can't be wrong, we can't go wrong.
Grace and Denominationalism are in Opposition
When we think about grace and denominationalism, those two are opposed to one another. The very spirit that permits denominations to exist is anti-grace. It is the will of God for all believers to be one in Christ Jesus.
- Galatians 3:28
The Church of the New Testament
In New Testament times, how many churches were there? We know there was just one church. There was no such thing as a denomination at that point. There were the churches of Christ that met in the cities of Galatia, Jerusalem, and Rome, things like that. But they were all one in teaching, in practice, and doctrine. And so, all Christians are one in Christ Jesus.
God sent His Son to die so that "He might gather together in one all of the children of God that were scattered abroad.", (John 11:52). He's talking about Jews and Gentiles gathered together, all humanity gathered together in one body in Christ. So Jesus prayed that those who believed on him through the Apostle's word would all be one.
- John 17:20-23
And so he wants all disciples to have the same unity of belief, the same unity of thought and purpose as the Father and the Son have, to have this unity, this oneness. So how can one please God, the God of all grace while practicing that which goes against the unity that he desires for all believers to have?
The Conflict Between Grace and Works
How can one receive the gift of grace while showing utter disrespect and disregard for the will of the giver? There are those who preach salvation by faith only, or by grace only. And, those who preach salvation by grace through faith are accused of having exchanged works for grace. The question is, have we done that? Do we, in preaching the need for obedience to the faith, exchange works for grace?
- Romans 1:5
He's teaching and he says, his purpose in writing this letter, his purpose in being an apostle is to teach obedience to the faith among all the nations. And so that's how he opens that great letter to the Romans.
- Romans 16:26
He says the gospel is made known unto all men so that they can come to an obedience of the faith. And so, do we in preaching that there is a need for obedience to the faith, do we abandon grace when we do that? Absolutely not!
Denominations, though, who claim to be grace-oriented and grace-sustained, while really not understanding either, are the ones who teach and practice works. And they teach, denominations, most of them teach, though they deny that they teach it, but they teach a salvation by works. We'll show you how.
We're to have a working faith certainly, and nearly every denomination affirms that works of any kind nullify saving faith, they teach that men are saved by faith only or by grace only. And you think about that, that itself is a contradiction. Grace and faith are not the same thing. They're not the same. And so, it can't be by both only. We can't be saved both by grace only and by faith only. Those are two separate things.
Now they're related, but they're different things. The Bible teaches, though, that faith itself is a work.
- John 6:29
And so, faith is a work. It's not true to say that we are not saved by works. We are saved by the work of faith, by grace that worketh by faith. Can one deny that faith is a work without denying that Jesus spoke the truth? Can one deny that Jesus spoke truth and still be a recipient of grace?
Furthermore, not only is faith a work, but we also must have a working faith.
- Galatians 5:6
In Christ, the only thing that avails is a faith that works by love.
A simple illustration of the fallacy of faith only that I think should demonstrate the point here: it is good to study your Bible, right? Certainly, it is an act of nobility.
- Acts 17:11
It is an act of nobility. It's an act of being fair-minded to study the Bible, one must, of necessity, turn the pages or, flip their phone or whatever it is that we have the Bible on now. But we still have to do something with it. I challenge you to open your Bible or open your Bible app by faith only. You can't do it, can you? It won't work. You can try. You know, use the force. It won't open. No, you've got to turn the pages yourself.
Now what about worship? Can we worship by faith only? Can we teach by faith only? Of course, we can't. The whole concept of faith only as propagated by the denominational world doesn't make sense.
Faith and Works
- James 2:20-24
Abraham was told to take his only begotten son, to take him up to the place that God would show him, to sacrifice him as a burnt offering unto the Lord. And we know that Abraham, in Genesis chapter 22, carrying out God's commands, did exactly that. Even as they were going up the mountain Isaac said, here's the wood, we're going up the mountain, the altar's going to be there, where's the sacrifice? Abraham, remember he said, don't worry son, God will provide.
We also know that by faith, he understood that God had promised that it was Isaac, by name would be the child of promise through whom all the other promises would be fulfilled. And he had absolutely no doubt that had he literally carried out the execution of his son that God would have raised him back from the dead. He had absolute faith, but he was not rewarded, he was not called the friend of God until he demonstrated that absolute faith by tying his son to the altar and raising the knife to bring it down and kill him.
And so faith wrought by his works was made perfect. And it was imputed unto him for righteousness.
- James 2:24
You know, faith without works is dead, grace is not a partner to a dead faith.
Baptism and Its Purpose
What about baptism? How does this come into play here? You know, most denominations practice some form of baptism as a ceremony for the introduction of converts into their fellowship. Some do it by actual immersion, which is what baptism is in the New Testament. Some have changed the purpose of baptism and they've changed the mechanics as well.
There was an inmate who wanted to be baptized, and I tried to get permission, to find a way to bring in a baptistry or take him to a baptistry and baptize him and the only answer I got was, here's a water bottle. You can take it back and you can just pour it on his head. And so, I went back to that inmate and I said, well, they said I could pour a bottle of water on your head and he just looked at me and laughed and he said, but that wouldn't be baptism. I said, absolutely right. It wouldn't be. So, I hope that he got a chance to be baptized. He got transferred to a different jail, and I don't know what happened. So, I pray he had the opportunity. I know that he was ready, and I know that he understood.
But baptism is for the remission of sins. It's not a ceremony that inducts someone into their particular church. The ritual that they have has become, in the denominational world, is to accomplish their purpose, therefore it is their work. Those being inducted are active. It is something that they are doing.
Now some explain it as showing an outward sign of an inward grace, which is a purpose that's never even hinted at in the scriptures. It is their demonstration, regardless of how sincere they may be. It is something they are doing. It is something that they have invented for themselves to do.
What is strange about all this is that baptism is the doctrine most often attacked as a work, even by those who practice it totally as a work. And yet, scripturally speaking, baptism is a doctrine that least fits the description of a work.
The perverted practice, purpose, and practice by denominations came about as a result of going about to establish their own righteousness, just like the Jews were attempting to do.
- Romans 10:3
In doing this, the way that they go about baptism, they're making it a commandment of men, and they render it vain.
- Matthew 15:9
- Mark 16:16
He, that believeth, believe is essential, and is baptized, is equally essential, shall be saved. And so we must believe and we must be baptized in order to be saved. You know, this is what was preached by the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
- Acts 2:38,41, 47
- Acts 8:38
- Acts 9:18
- Acts 18:38
- Acts 19:5
- Acts 5:14
- Romans 6:4
- Galatians 3:27
In every, single, case and there's a lot more that we could look at, in every single case, notice the passivity of the one being baptized. It is not something that one is doing, it is something that is being done to someone. And so the Biblical view of baptism is that it is something we submit to in response to God's will. And it is something God does to us in keeping with His plan.
- Colossians 1:13-14
- Colossians 2:12, 11
Notice, uh, who is operating on us. It is the operation of God. The operation is the circumcision of the heart. Circumcised was a sign of the covenant between Israel. In order to be in that covenant relationship, they had to be circumcised, physically circumcised. In order to be in that covenant relationship with God today, we must be spiritually circumcised. And that takes place by the operation of God when we are buried with Him in baptism.
- Colossians 2:13
- Ephesians 2:6
- Galatians 3:27
- Colossians 1:13-14
You know, baptism is a work. But it is a work of God to which we respond. Denominational baptism is a baptism designed to accomplish man's work. It is a work of man. Bible baptism is a work of God which men and women of faith respond to, and which, functions within the realm of grace.
Church Membership
- Acts 19:5
Church membership is another area where the proof is on the denominations, not ours. They have this idea that, if you believe in God and you believe in Jesus, [you can] join the church of your choice. That's a common expression, hoping, of course, that you will join theirs. Whether it is a piece of paper that one signs, a ritual that one submits to, or a set of rules one subscribes to, the force of the act is still upon the one who is the joiner. It is your choice, your act, something that you do.
The expression, join the church, is not found anywhere in the Bible. The expression found in God's word is that the Lord added.
- Acts 2:41
The word in the passage, them, is talking about the disciples of Jesus, added unto them. They were added. They were baptized, and then they were added to the church.
- Acts 2:47
When those who were saved, when people submitted to baptism, they were added to the church.
- Acts 5:14
Again, it's God that does the adding, not men.
- Acts 11:24
Because of the teachings of Barnabas and his evangelistic zeal, there were people that were added to the Lord when they heard what he had to preach when they heard the Word of God. When one does what God says to do to be saved, it is God who does the adding. And that is grace.
Ignorance of God's Righteous Grace
Denominations teach works, and practice works in their plan of salvation. And in how one becomes a member of their church, their worship, their evangelism, and every other facet of the religion that they propagate.
Any unauthorized act in religion, though, is a human work.
- Romans 10:1
- Hosea 4:6
Why were they ignorant of God's righteousness? Because they were going about to establish their own righteousness and have not submitted themselves under the righteousness of God.
Any unauthorized act in religion is a human work that the Jews of Paul's day were seeking and putting forth their own form of religion. And when we do that, you know, it is neither grace motivated or grace blessed.
Let us leave the human work to the human that dreamed it up. Let him be the one who answers for it. We need to submit to God's will that His sufficient grace might be ours. When we hear and believe the word of God. The gospel message is God's grace extended to all mankind.
When we hear and believe that great gospel message, we're called upon to respond. We're called upon to act. Repent of our sins. That is a work. That is something we must do. We turn away from sin. We give up sin. We turn away from it. Confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Be baptized to wash away our sins. Be faithful to God.
Respond to God's Grace
When we hear and believe that great gospel message, we're called upon to respond. We're called upon to act. Repent of our sins. That is a work. That is something we must do. We turn away from sin. We give up sin. We turn away from it. Confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Be baptized to wash away our sins. Be faithful to God. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life, (Revelation 2:10).
We urge you today, if you have not received God's grace and not obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was preached for the obedience of faith, we urge you to do so, to put on Christ in baptism. We're here to help you to do that. And if you have not been faithful as a child of God, we also call upon you to repent and to come home.
If we can assist you in accepting God's grace through obedience to His will, we ask that you contact us.
