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II John 9-11 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. There are four requirements for scriptural baptism. (1) Proper candidate - a believer in Christ. John the Baptist was sent from God to preach the true gospel and those that believed the message of God ...were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins, Matthew 3:6. The Pharisees and Sadducees came to him to be baptized, but he said unto them, ...O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: These passages make it very clear that baptism does not save, but reflects salvation. Paul even went so far as to say, ...Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel... Therefore the proper candidate for baptism must be a person who already believes to the salvation of their soul. He has already been saved, redeemed, and forgiven. He is not being baptized to find forgiveness, or to do something to obtain the grace or forgiveness of God. (2) Proper design - to show the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. When Christ came to John the Baptist to be baptized, John ...forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? Jesus' answer, Matthew 3:13-15, reveals he was not seeking righteousness, but to fulfill righteousness. ...Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Baptism is a picture of the righteousness of God. When a saved sinner is baptized, he is professing that he now has the righteousness of God within him. Romans 6:2-4 declares, ...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. These scriptures plainly state that when a sinner is saved, he is dead to sin, and baptism is a picture of his death to sin and resurrection to newness of life. He was dead in sins, but now the very hand of God has quickened him: he has been given the gift of eternal life. Baptism shows he is dead to his old way of life and has been spiritually resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ through the power of God. (3) Proper mode - a burial in water. Colossians 2:12 declares, Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Baptism depicts a burial. Baptism is not simply pouring or sprinkling water over a person. In Acts 8:38,39, both Philip and the Eunuch went down into the water, and both came up out of the water. It would have been unnecessary for both Phillip and the Eunuch to get into the water if Philip poured or sprinkled water over the Eunuch. John 3:23 declares that ...John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. (4) Proper administrator - A New Testament church. Matthew 28:18-20 emphatically shows that the great commission was given to the local church organized by Jesus Christ during his personal ministry. The church instituted by Christ is the only organization on the face of the earth that has the authority from God to baptize in the name of Christ. There have been many different kinds of churches and other religious organizations started by men since Christ organized his kind of churches, but none of these have God given authority to preach the gospel or to baptize believers. Regardless of what many religious men say, the church is always a local body, never a universal visible, or universal invisible body. All the saved are not in the Lord's church, but all the saved are in the family of God, and in the kingdom of God. All the saved will go to heaven and spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride. Any baptism that does not conform to the aforementioned four requirements of Scriptural baptism is referred to as "alien baptism." Where Is That Scripture? Some twenty years ago, I heard someone say, "When a church practices alien baptism, or receives alien baptism from another church, they cease to be a church." I accepted that statement right away because I understood the doctrine of the local church. Soon after that first question was asked, I heard a second question, "How long does it take for a church to stop being a church when they practice or accept alien baptism?" I heard two different opinions to this question. The first is that a church immediately ceases to be a church, and the second is that a church gradually ceases to become a church. When I began searching for an answer to this question, I asked myself this question, "Where does the Bible say that a church ceases to be a church when they accept alien baptism? Where is the scripture that says a church immediately ceases to be a church, or where is the scripture that says a church gradually ceases to be a church?" I heard some preachers refer to the Old Testament, when the Shekinah glory left Israel, to show how the Lord gradually removes his candlestick. But that scripture is talking about Israel, not the church. The principle might be the same, but I thought there ought to be a scripture that says a church ceases to be a church when they accept alien baptism. I became very concerned when, in my personal studies, I could not find a scripture that said taking alien baptism causes a church not to be a church! I searched the scriptures, trying to find that magic passage, but could not find it. I read several books, hoping the author would give me the scripture, but I could not find it. I believe taking alien baptism causes a church not to be a church, but why do I believe it if there is no scripture that explicitly proves that point? When I could not find a scripture that said taking alien baptism caused a church to cease being a church, I began to study again what the church is, what the church expects of its members, and what God expects from his church. But I could not find a scripture that plainly said that practicing alien baptism or receiving alien baptism from another church causes a church to cease being a church. My study led me into a renewed study about church fellowship and many other peripheral issues. II John 9-11 II John verse 9-11 is the passage Christ used to reveal to me what alien baptism is, and the real problem. I discovered that alien baptism is not the disease. It is the symptom. Practicing alien baptism or receiving alien baptism is like saying "My arm hurts, when I'm experiencing a heart attack." I John 1 declares, The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; I heard a preacher ask about this verse, "Who is the elect lady and her children?" He answered, "If you will understand that this elect lady is a local church, it will solve many problems for you. If you want to believe it is a real woman, that is perfectly fine with me, but if you understand that this elect lady is the local church, and all her children are local churches that came out of her, it will solve many difficulties." I John 5-7 continues, And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. These passages reveal that it is imperative that children of God love one another. Is it true love when we love each other regardless of what we do? NO! Verse 6 declares that true love is when we walk …after his commandments. That is real love: walking after the commandments of God. Verse 7 shows that there are many deceivers. People who say they walk in love but do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh are deceivers and antichrist. Some supposed believers declare we ought to forget the doctrines of God, disregard the commandments of God, and get together in love. They are adherents of the Universal church theory and do not necessarily want conformity, they want uniformity. Their ideas about religion might sound good to the uninformed, or to the novice, but their ideas are not scriptural. If a person tries to follow God in love, he is going to walk in God’s commandments, and some people are going to be angry with that obedient person, just as some people were angry with Christ. It is possible for many to gather together in what they call a religious assembly to supposedly worship God, but being assembled together does not make them a true church because they are not following the commandments of God in true love for God. They follow their own commandments and desires, and say they love God, but they are in error. Their doctrine does not come from God's Word, but out of their own minds. This is the spirit of antichrist. I John 8 declares, Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. What is the doctrine of Christ? To put it very briefly, it is who Christ is, where he came from, and what he did while on this earth. I John 10-11 states, If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. These are the verses that God used to show me the real problem of alien baptism. The real problem is that there are some, who profess belief in Christ, but do not have true belief in Christ, or acceptance of Christ in their hearts, therefore they do not understand the doctrine of Christ. They do not really know who Christ is, where he came from, what he came to the earth to do, whether he did it or not, or when he returned back to heaven. They have no conception of the doctrine of Christ. This may be very different from what you have heard about alien baptism, but it is the way God has revealed to me what is wrong with alien baptism. Remember, there are those who say they have Christ, and understand the doctrine of Christ, who have built churches, but they really do not know who Jesus is. They are like the people Jesus spoke of in Mark 7:6,7, ...This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. They know in their minds, but they do not know in their hearts why Jesus came, what he did, or where he is. To them, Christ is little more than academic. Of all the churches in this entire world, how many believe that salvation is only of God and of his grace? How many pastors, churches and church members really believe the Bible doctrine of total depravity; that a sinner does not want to come to Christ and will not come? How many people really believe that nobody would be saved if it were left to them? Think about it. First, we are going to talk about other denominations, and then we are going to talk about Baptists. First of all, there are many people in churches all over this land who are trying to work their way into heaven. They are doing everything they know to do to get to heaven. They do not know the truth about total depravity, or the great free gift of forgiveness and salvation. Many lost people are observing and participating in church ordinances trying to be saved. They do not know the doctrine of Christ, therefore Christ commands us to have nothing to do with them. I John 10 states, If any man come unto you and have not the doctrine of Christ, bid him not into your house, and do not wish him godspeed. Think about this: salvation is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, Ephesians 2:8,9. When the gospel is proclaimed, it will be presented in one of two ways. (1) Jesus saves completely, or (2) a person must do something to be saved. Every presentation of the gospel will fall into one category or the other. Romans 11:6 states And if by grace, then it is not more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. God speaks of the salvation of Israel as being completely by grace; therefore works has nothing to do with Israel being saved. II Timothy 1:9 declares Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, There are many different denominations in this world. Anything I say about a particular denomination will not fit all the churches of that denomination because there will be churches in that denomination that do not believe and practice what the majority of the denomination teaches. I know that generally speaking, the Church of Christ denomination believes that for a person to be saved, they must be baptized. I talked with some Church of Christ church members who told me there were five steps to being saved. I can never remember all their steps; God's way of salvation is so simple that when I compare God's way to their way, I find their way very confusing. Their steps included believing and being baptized, along with some other things. To be fair, one Church of Christ man, a leader in one of their local churches, told me, "I do not believe that stuff about working your way to heaven or being baptized to be saved. Salvation is by grace through faith, and if God does not save you, you are not saved." Some members of that same Church of Christ congregation told me, however, that the only way a person can be saved is to be under water. This individual told me a person could not be saved when they were breathing (unless they had gills). Their plan of salvation teaches that a person is lost when they get into the water; salvation comes when the person is underwater, and when they come up out of the water they are saved. That is what they told me they believe! What does the Bible teach about salvation? Nothing like that at all. If Independence Baptist Church accepts Church of Christ baptism, we are agreeing with them that a person is saved while being baptized. In reality, people are unsaved if they are trusting baptism (or anything or anybody else) instead of Christ to save them. Therefore, we cannot accept their baptism. Another example is Catholics. The catechism of the Catholic Church states that a person is saved by grace. But what is the Catholic definition of grace? To Catholics, grace is something you work for; i.e., you do things to receive the grace from God. This is nothing short of working for your salvation. A part of the Catholic doctrine of salvation is taking communion, being baptized, going to church, being confirmed, and a number of other things. All of these things, they say, are a part of receiving salvation. The problem is that they have no idea what Christ came to do. If Independence Baptist Church takes Christ out of our doctrine, what do we have left? Nothing. Because everything we believe is centered on Christ. If the Church of Christ denomination takes Christ out of their doctrine, what do they have left? They love nothing because their doctrine is based on what they do, not on what Christ did for them. They could go right on with their meetings and their doctrine, because they are not wholly depending on Christ anyway. They say they are trusting Christ, when in fact, they are putting more trust in what they are doing than in what Christ has done for them. They could continue in church services, and never know that Christ was missing. The same thing is true with the Catholic denomination. They could take Christ, put him in a closet, shut the door and lock it, and they would never know he was gone. So we cannot accept that kind of baptism. In these two denominations, and many other denominations, there are some who know some of the truth. I know a man who was saved in a Church of Christ church building, under a Church of Christ preacher, preaching Church of Christ doctrine. This man was saved in spite of their doctrine, and not because of their doctrine. This man was baptized into the Church of Christ denomination. Why was he baptized? Here was a man that was already saved, and they put him under the water. Why? According to Church of Christ doctrine, he was not saved until he was under the water. This man was saved in a false church and Independence Baptist Church will accept that he is saved, but we will not accept that he was saved due to being baptized into the Church of Christ denomination. The doctrine of baptismal generation is alien to the Bible. Why won't Independence Baptist Church accept the baptism of the Church of Christ denomination? Because they do not have the doctrine of Christ. They do not comprehend why Christ came to this earth. They have no knowledge of the doctrine of Christ. By the way, the man that was saved in the Church of Christ meeting began to study about salvation and discovered the error of the Church of Christ doctrine. He came to see the truth of scriptural baptism and the Lord's local church, joined a Baptist Church and was called of God to preach the true gospel. He was a successful pastor and is now retired from the ministry. We believe as the Bible teaches, that a person is saved by grace through faith. Where do you have to be to be saved? It really does not make any difference, does it? You can be at home, you can be at work, you can be in your car, you can be in bed, you can be standing up, you can be sitting down, you can be lying down, you can be standing on your head, you can be squatting, you can be in any position. It does not make any difference. You can be anywhere, even in church; you can be in any position whatever, and the Lord can save you. What should a person do after they have been saved? They should be baptized. This point gets to the root of the matter. We are not baptized to be saved, but to show to the world that we are saved. This is the scriptural reason for baptism. Baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It is a picture that we have died to sin, have been buried as far as the world is concerned, and are raised to newness of life. Scriptural baptism is an external symbol of internal salvation. Baptism is not to be saved, but a public declaration that we are already saved. Independence Baptist Church cannot accept the baptism of churches that drift from the real meaning of salvation and baptism, because they do not have the doctrine of Christ. The problem is a heart problem. It is not something that just appears on the outside, it is what is happening on the inside. If you observed the baptismal services of a scriptural Baptist church and the baptismal services of an unscriptural church, and if they were both immersions, you might not be able to tell much difference by looking at what is done. The problem is not the external parts of baptism, but the reasons why a person is baptized. Think also of this. People that believe in salvation other than completely through Christ will also be in error in other ways. They are often in error concerning what a church is. A church is not a visible universal organization, nor is it an invisible universal organization. A church is always a local assembly of saved baptized believers who have covenanted together to serve God in a particular locality, taking care of God's business the way God leads them to take care of it. False churches do not understand the doctrine of Christ; therefore they cannot understand that local churches are the Bride of Christ. The more you look into what false churches believe, the more errors you will find in their beliefs. That is why we cannot accept their baptism. We do not want to be partakers of their sins. Why do we preach the gospel we preach? Because we are following the Bible in declaring the same gospel it declares. Why do we baptize the way we baptize? Because we are following the Bible in the way we baptize. Why do we believe in the local church the way we believe it? Because the Bible says a church is local. One error breeds another. When false churches preach salvation through some sort of works, they are in error on salvation and will also be in error on baptism. Because they are in error on salvation and baptism, they will also be in error on the definition and practice of the Lord’s local church. Many people believe that if they become a member of a church, they are working their way into heaven. The true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is against people trying to get to heaven, but we are in agreement with Biblical salvation, scriptural baptism, the truth of the Lord’s local church, and going to heaven. Many people believe that when they are saved, they become members of "the church": that great big, invisible or visible, "church" that nobody knows the whereabouts of. What terrible error creeps in because of ignorance of the doctrine of Christ! Revelation 2:1-7 states Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. These verses declare that the church at Ephesus had left their first love, which is the love of God and for God. In Matthew 22:35-40, Jesus defines the greatest love, which is the first love, to his disciples by stating, …Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Jesus said in Revelation 2:5 that he would remove the candlestick out of his place except the church at Ephesus repent. Christ was telling the Ephesian church that, although they had been faithful in many things, they had forsaken the most important doctrine of all. They left their love for God. They had forsaken the doctrine of Christ. How did the church of Ephesus forsake their first love? They ceased following God’s commandments. Remember, loving Christ above all things, and obeying his commandments are two things that go together like a horse and carriage. Obeying the commandments of God is not grievous to the true believer. I John 5:1-3 declares, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. A person who is truly saved will automatically love God and they will not try to develop their own commandments that fit their lifestyle. True believers will change their lifestyle to fit the commandments of God. True believers will be willing to do what God wants them to do in his church, and they will love God, his children and his commandments. Acts 4:41-42 records, Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Notice, when the 3,000 were saved on the Day of Pentecost, they continued in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. They did not try to establish their own doctrines or their own righteousness, or attempt to get the apostles to agree with their "better ideas" or "new methods" of service. They loved God, his children and his church, and changed their lifestyle to fit the doctrines and commandments of God. This is exactly what every child of God should do: love God, love his children, love his church, and change their lifestyle to fit the doctrines and commandments of God. When a hell bound sinner is saved by the grace of God, he becomes a new creature in Christ. They no longer ask, "What will God do for me?" They will ask, as Paul asked when he was saved on the road to Damascus, ...Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Paul had no intention of continuing in his own will. He wanted to do the will of his Saviour and Lord. Every believer and every scriptural local church ought to do the first works. Revelation 2:5 relates, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. It seems to me that a church ceasing to be a church is a slow process as the church gradually leaves the place of loving God and putting him first. There is a space for repentance, which is an indeterminate time, at the discretion of God. Revelation 1:20 expresses the thought that having the candlestick of Christ is what makes a church a church. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. The candlestick in these verses is an allegory, of course. Candles are put into candlesticks, which give light to all present. Church members are the candles Christ puts into each of his local churches, which is described as a candlestick. Proverbs 20:27 states, The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly. Whenever the Lord saves a soul, the spirit of man, described as a candle, is lit, as revealed in Psalms 18:28, For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. After a person is saved and baptized by a local church, they become a member of the church that baptized them. This is what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 5:14-16, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. When a church conducts itself in such a way that it is not a fit place for a saved, scripturally baptized person to bring their light, that church is in danger of losing their candlestick, and may have already lost it because Christ said he would remove the candlestick. Christ does not want a saved person thinking a false church is where they ought to go to public worship. Why does Christ remove his candlestick? As I have already stated, because that church has stopped loving God and loving his commandments, and they have devised other plans to follow. Christ knows, and we ought to know, that every saved person needs to be in a local church of blood-bought, scripturally baptized believers who love God and obey his commandments. If they are not in such a fellowship, they will not be able to grow into spiritually mature adults. During the course of my ministry, I have preached that the most important thing is to love God and obey his commandments. Some people have listened to these messages and understood, but others have not understood a thing I have said. My simple premise is this: what is wrong with putting God first in everything? A church is a group of saved, baptized believers who have covenanted together to put God first, and to obey his commandments. When a church loses that first love, they have lost their purpose for existence. When a church begins to practice and accept alien baptism, it is a clear sign they do not understand the doctrines of Christ, or the purpose of baptism. When they begin to baptize for another reason, other than to show the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, they have lost the purpose of baptism. Some churches even baptize babies. Why? So they will go to heaven? Infant baptism is not in the Bible. Those "churches" that baptize babies do so because they do not know why Christ came. The heart of the church is the doctrine of Christ, not just external acts. The external acts are always a revealing part of what goes on in the heart of the church. Just as the evidence that a person is truly saved and loves the Lord is given by what they do in their physical bodies, so the evidence that a church is a scriptural church is given by what they do in their worship services. Remember, according to I John 5:3, the commandments of God are not grievous. I hope this message means something to you. It explains how I came to understand alien baptism. It might have gone a long way around to you, but it is not a long way around to me. I wanted to understand why alien baptism is wrong. I needed more than just to "parrot" the phrase that alien baptism was wrong. Another category of people Some saved people are in churches that we might find difficult to receive letters from. A while back, some people joined Independence Baptist Church from a nearby Southern Baptist Church. I called the pastor, and talked to him about the doctrines of Christ, and what they believed about salvation, baptism, and closed communion for the Lord's Supper. The longer we talked, the farther apart we became in our doctrines. Finally, I saw that Independence Baptist Church could not receive a church letter from that church. The pastor said the right words about salvation, but he said that as long as a person gave a good testimony of their salvation, and were immersed, their church would accept their baptism. Frankly, there are many lost people that are able to give a good testimony of salvation, but we are looking for fruits, not just words. The pastor asked me, "How are you going to receive these people into your church?" I told him, "We will baptize them." He exclaimed, "I have never heard of that!" Here is an example of a Southern Baptist pastor who does not understand the purpose of baptism. I believe the people who joined our church are saved, but they did not understand scriptural baptism. Many churches are very inconsistent; as to following through from the doctrine of Christ to the doctrine of baptism. Some other people joined our church on promise of letter from a different Southern Baptist church. I called the pastor. He told me they would not grant us a letter because we are an independent Baptist Church. That particular Southern Baptist Church only granted and received letters from other Southern Baptist churches. I asked him why they did that. He said, Well, I think it would be all right to receive and grant letters from other churches, but the policy of this church is that we only receive members from and grant letters to Southern Baptist churches. I told him I knew some Southern Baptist Churches that accept alien baptism from denominations that believe in works for salvation. He told me he knew this was correct. Independence Baptist Church could not accept a letter from that particular Southern Baptist Church because they did not know what kind of baptism they were getting from the Southern Baptist churches they accepted letters from. Therefore we baptized those believers into the fellowship of our church. That particular Southern Baptist Church eventually changed her policy, and now investigates each church because there are many Southern Baptist churches that receive alien baptism. When someone joins our church on promise of letter, I always explain to them what we believe about the doctrine of Christ, and baptism. I then call the church they came from and explain to the pastor what we believe about the doctrine of Christ and baptism. When they begin to say, we believe that too, but we will take somebody that comes from another church that believes salvation comes through baptism, I know they do not understand the doctrine of Christ. Independence Baptist Church cannot accept their baptism. The Bible, II John 9-11, declares we are not to participate in their error. This is the position of Independence Baptist Church on alien baptism. I have given many scriptures for what we believe. There is no scripture in the entire Bible that says taking alien baptism causes a church to cease being a church because Christ wants us to understand more than just the external parts of worship. Christ desires that all of his children and all of his churches come to a full knowledge of the doctrine of Christ, and grow to full maturity in faith and practice. If churches do not know what the doctrines of Christ and baptism are and they do not want to learn, then God instructs me to leave them alone. Independence Baptist Church desires to obey the commandments of God. Alien baptism is wrong. |