Why Be a Baptist

8/12/2019 Why Be a Baptist

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church, a united church, a soul winning church, and amissionary church.

VIII

Th B ti t P


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And last of all, a body of Christ, that has all these otherevidences of the workings of the Holy Spirit in it, will beconstantly edifying itself in love. Selah!

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The Baptist Program

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I havecommanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even untothe end of the world. Amen"(Matt. 28:20).

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these leastcommandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be calledthe least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall doand teach them, the same shall be called great in thekingdom of heaven"(Matt. 5:19.)

The Baptist program includes all the commands of the LordJesus. "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,

even Christ; and all ye are brethren"(Matt. 23:8). Thisprogram may be epitomized in four words: "Go: Disciple (getFolk saved): Baptize: Indoctrinate." The first three of theseare discussed in other chapters of this book. We can not puttoo much emphasis upon them. They are vital, essential,fundamental. The Great Commission is the Baptist MagnaCharta. "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Ihave commanded you"is just as truly the command of theLord Jesus as any other part of that commission. But who

pays any attention to it? The average Baptist preacher orBaptist church not only does not pay any attention to thiscommand of his Lord, but openly and flagrantly disavows allobligations to pay any attention to it. So obsessed have webecome with pleasing men and so little regard do we havefor the Lord Jesus and His Word that multitudes of pastorsand churches have whittled out of our Lord's commission thepart that tells us to observe all things whatsoever He has

commanded. A common saying of what Samuel Johnsoncalls "the bigots of laxness" is: "In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity." A more traitorousutterance to the authority of the Lord Jesus was neverspoken. Who are you and who am I to say that anycommand of the Lord Jesus is nonessential? If He thought itof sufficient worth to command it, how dare you insult Himand treat His Word with contempt by calling it a nonessentialand refusing to obey it?


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cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to bebaptized of him" (Matt. 3:13). He walked sixty miles or moreto get Baptist baptism. Right now in Peru, where there areno Baptists, two different groups of believers, madebelievers through the distribution of Bibles by the colporteursof the British and Foreign Bible Society; right now I saythese two groups of believers widely scattered are waiting


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these two groups of believers, widely scattered, are waitingand begging for some Baptist missionary to come and give

them New Testament baptism. The New Testament waswritten to make men disciples and then make them Baptists.You can't obey the Book without being a Baptist: and youcan't be an informed and obedient Baptist without being aMissionary Baptist. Love to Christ and loyalty to His Wordwill make every saved man in the world a Baptist. That iswhy you ought to be a Baptist.

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Why Be a Baptist