Pastoral Musings

The Baptism Debate is provoking much discussion. I see that it is finally getting down to the essence of the issue. That essence is the necessity (or lack thereof) of local church membership. After all, this is the thing that is central to the issue at hand.

We must ask ourselves the question, “Is baptism requisite to church membership?” If so, we must determine what baptism is. We then must recognize the fact that admission to the table follows baptism. The New Testament knows of no unbaptized communicants. In fact, we find that the church at Jerusalem baptized the believers, then the believers continued with the church in the apostles doctrine and fellowship as well as in the breaking of bread and in prayer. (See Acts 2:41,42) When the Lord Himself instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper we find that He included only baptized believers. No unbaptized person was a participant.

One may ask, “What is the big deal?” Simply put, the big deal is this: a local church is a community of believers. It is a body of baptized believers. This body has a code of discipline that must be exercised. This discipline takes the form of denying the erring member access to the Lord’s table. (Read 1Cor 5:1-13)

That being said, we must conclude that membership in a local church is necessary. We also conclude that there is more to the Lord’s table than simply saying that we believe the same gospel. It is also becoming accountable to our brothers and sisters in the Lord to live a life that is in harmony with the gospel that we mutually embrace. What about the mode of baptism? Simply put, that is requisite to becoming part of that body, fellowship, community, to which each member is accountable. Thus, the method matters because no one should expect any body to receive someone whom the believe is not baptized into their communion.

Just musing………