The Broad Way and the Narrow Way

Matthew 7:13,14

Acts 4:10-12 – The whole problem is that mankind has disallowed the stone, Christ, who has become the chief corner stone.

The first part of our mission is to reach the lost with the saving message of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  What is lost?  This is a very important question because without a Biblical knowledge of what lost is, a person cannot be saved.  Lost means “to be fully destroyed, to die, to perish.”  People come into the world with the seed of sin and eternal destruction already in them.  They don’t have to do anything to be lost and go to hell.  People are born with the sin of Adam in them, as is stated in Romans 5:12, “For as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.”  They are already lost.  They are already condemned to eternity in hell, as declared in John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  John 3:17 emphasizes that Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.  Hebrews 9:22 summarizes the salvation message by stating, “…without shedding of blood is no remission.” According to Luke 19:10, “For the son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost,” Jesus Christ came into the world to die for sinners.  Therefore the condition of being lost doesn’t have to be permanent.  Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross of Calvary so sinners, those that are lost, could have eternal life.  Eternal life is by unmerited, unearned grace “…through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

The second part of our mission is to give scriptural baptism to each believer who makes a public profession of salvation and requests baptism.  Scriptural baptism is not just dunking a person in water.  There is much more involved than that.  Scriptural baptism involves four things.

(1) The scriptural subject is a person who is already saved.  Baptism does not save, but is a picture of salvation.  John 4:1 makes a clear distinction between salvation and baptism by stating, “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.”  Notice that Jesus made, then baptized disciples.  Salvation and baptism are two separate events.  Another conclusive scripture is Acts 16:20 when the Philippian jailer asked, “…Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  Paul and Silas answered “…believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved, and thy house.”  The jailer was saved, and then baptized.

(2) The scriptural method is to completely immerse in water, reflecting the complete death to sin and being raised to newness of life.  There are numerous scriptural examples of people being immersed in water, but there are no scriptural examples of anybody being baptized by sprinkling, pouring, or any other method.  In Acts 8:38,39, both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and both Philip and the eunuch came up out of the water.  Romans 6:4 declares “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death...” 

(3) The scriptural administrator is the one who has the authority to baptize.  When Jesus was baptized, he walked approximately 60 miles to receive baptism by John the Baptist.  Why?  Because John had authority as one sent from God.  Today the authority for scriptural baptism rests in the kind of church established by Jesus Christ during his personal ministry.  That kind of church continues to this present day, so scriptural baptism is still available.  [2]

(4) The scriptural purpose is for obedience to the Lord’s commands.  Jesus was baptized, not to be saved, but to fulfill all righteousness.  The result of His obedience is revealed in Matthew 3:17, when God said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The third part of our mission is to teach every saved, baptized believer (church members) to obey whatsoever God commands.  What are the commands of God?  You will find them recorded in detail in the Bible.  Love is the key to spiritual obedience.