Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 20, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 15, 1947 Page: 2 of 8
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I
OCTOBER 15, 1947
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RELIGION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
October 15, 1947
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VISITOR’S VIEWS
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Ttoto editorial is taken from the
■Mai church bulletin in the home
otoy of Its author. From week to
Weak this column wll! carry a
totart editorial chosen from the
■rany church bulletins received.
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EPfFYINC THE CHURCH
Elders In The Old Testament
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UNIVERSAL 5 xL-.
i — (Stlicfe 0^ oTKe —
Each week the editorial article which is adjudged most
E timely and valuable will be printed on this page
of CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE.
•I
THE CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE
none
given
among men whereby we must be
saved. Acts 4:13.
KCRC BROADCAST SEPT. 31
CLYDE P. FINDLAY
EaM. Okla.
■
John Believed That Baptism Was
Unto The Remission of Sins
»hn came, who babtized in the
irness and preached the bap-
1
’'if.?
Saved By Faith Only
Do you believe, that you are sav-
ed by faith only? John the Bap-
tist didn’t. Listen: “But wlfen he
saw many of the Pharisees and
Saducees coming to his baptism,
he said unto them, ye offspring of
vipers, who warned you to flee the
wrath to come- Bring forth there-
■fore fruit worthy of repentance
..." Mt. 3:7-8. Then John told the
publicans, the soldiers and the
other citizens Just what works they
were to do. John agreed with an
inspired apostle tn the only ref-
erence In the Bible to the words,
"faith only" I “Ye see then how
that by works a man is justified
i
Number 2rt what >bout the rell<lon of JohnJ
the Baptist? This subject ought 24.
to be important and interesting.1
Jesus performed miracles but John
performed none. Jesus founded a
church but John founded none.
Yet John, the Baptist, can claim
many devotees. I am addressing
this message principally to those
admirers of John, the Baptist.
PAGE TWO
is but little in the
greater than he.”
The Baptist was as great as any
man born of women, but those in
the kingdom/ of Heaven are great-
er than he because they had to be
born, not only of women, but also
of water and the Spirit to enter
the kingdom of God. John 3:5. '
No one can claim to be a follower
of John the Baptist who says that
the kingdom is yet to be establish-
ed. John apld, in his day, that it
was then, at hand.
r _________.
IMMshed Wednesday of each week except the last week in June and
the last week in December at Abilene. Texas.
$3.00 Per Annum in Advance
■tend all communications and articles to Box 1158, Abilene, Texas
•MN L. HXDKB a Editor and Publisher
■Mtared as second-class matter October 18 1844, at the Poet Office at
Abilene, Texas, under the Act of March 3, 1878.
John Believed Those Things;
Mere Than That—Bte
Knew Theas ■
John the Baptist was filled with
the Holy Spirit even from bh
mother's womb. Lute 1:11. He was
the prophet of the Most/High.
Luke 1:78. He IdenttAtor Jeans.
“On the morrow he eeeth Jaras
coming unto him and aaKh. Be-
hold the Lamb of God which tate-
th away the sin of tte world. This
to He of whom I eaid, after me
cometh a man which to tecoaw be-
fore me; for He was before me
.... DON’T, DON’T, DON’T!
BY A. H. MANER
Washington Ave.
Wheeling, W. Va.
A trend which has ceased to Me a trend and is now fuH-
<n»wn is that of the attitude and method of opposing every-
ttting which was not our custom at the turij of the century.
JDon’ts, don’ts and don’ts of the past and present have in-
fluenced the church not only in matters of opinions, 4>ut in
fli very work and life. -
Individuals are afraid to make suggestions for fear that
they would come under the fatalistic attitude of don’t. That
attitude must not be hindered at any cost. As a result people
db not enter into the work with the fervor which the Bible
demands. We have a sluggish and semi-dead spirit existing
is our bodies. Sometimes that spirit cries to be let free from
■ •» bonds of slavery which this trend has placed upon it.
Examples: Don’t dare suggest a change from one way of
doing things to a better way—that is the mark of the beast.
Tfce manner of servihg the Supper is in point. If we are in-
•■rested in the appearance of the building, or people, we are
worldly. If we do not sing the same songs we learned when
we were children, we arc slipping. Don’t, don’t—leave things
the way they are. We are “don’t” conscious.
If the young people dare to venture into their rights a-
fcig with the older people, they are violating the old cus-
twn that the young People should be seen and not heard.
They become apostates. The young are just so much material
property o£ the church, and viewed in this manner at the
wry age that something can be made of them. The wise and
■oriptural leader will plan and regulate (not leave them)
activities instead of following the custom of the past
■tifeh has not given us many elders nor enough preachers.
Many leaders will arise and meet a failure at the judg-
■ent because it was easier to say “don’t.’’
gather the elders and all the in-
habitants of the land into the
house of the Lord your God."
These Scriptures are sufficient to
show the Importance of the elders
In the Old Testament economy.
Paul speaks of these leaders tn Is-
rael when he refers to “an the es-
tate of the elders," thus showing
that their office had continued
down to the times of the New Tes-
tament. Who were these elders?
What were their functions? Are
these questions of any importance
to us? We shall pursue our study
John Believed That His Dfecfnfes
Must Decrease
"Ye yourselves bear me witness,
that I said, I am not the Christ
... He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom ... He must increase,
but I must decrease.’ John 3:29-
30. John the Baptist didn't make
Jesus his dtsciplf when he baptiz-
ed him. /
The disciples of John the Bap-
tist were told that their dbefple-
shlp to him was of a very tempor-
ary nature. This was because Jonn
the Baptist had no church and
Jesus had not yet built Ms church.
The church is the bride of Christ,
was
The bride
bridegroom,
wear the
name of John, for, as he declared.
He was not the bridegroom. Six
months after the death of John
the Baptist Jesus said. “I will,
build my church.’ Mt. 16:18.
The apostle Paul understood the
matter end when he found a doz-
en disciples of John the Baptist
at Ephesus he promptly decreased
the ranks of John’s disciples and
increased the number of Christ's
disciples by rebaptising them in
the name of the Lord Jesus. Ads
19:1-6. Henceforth they were to
wear the name of Christ, not that
as Pau! knew the necessity of
wearing only the name of Christ
You recall this: “There is
other name under Heaven
and not by faith only." James 3:-
Do you believe that yea are
Justified by faith only? John the
Baptist didn’t. He demanded
works, also.
In Conclusion. I Urge You To
Obey This Lamb of God Who
Taketh Awav The Shi of
The World
Jesus purchased His church with
His own blood when He died on
Calvary. Acts 20:28. Jesus sent
the Holy Spirit to His chosen apos-
tles to direct the building of His
church beginning as described in
the second chapter of Acts. The
church is bullded on the founda-
tion of the apostles and the prop-
hets (not even the great John the
and Jesus Christ, Him-
the chief cornerstone.
Jphn made it plain that he
not' the bridegroom,
wears the name of
Baptist)
self. Is the chief
Eph 2:20. Acts 2141 tells how that
3JJOO living stones were added to
the church that day: T Pet. 2:3.
Men are added to the Churches
of Christ today tn just the same
way that they were added on Pen-
tecost day. They were not added
by prayer. Even Jbhn the Baptist
did not tefl the sinners who came
to him, to pray fbr remission of
sins. John taught his dlsc'.ples to
pray. Lk 11:1 but he was not out
there tn the wilderness pleach-
ing” the Prayer of repentance
unto the remission of sins.” He
was out there preaching the bap-
tism of repentance unto the re-
mission of sins. Peter on the Day
of Pentecost knew the value of
prayer and before Pentecost, ano -
afterwards, he continued in pray-
er. But now on Pentecost prayers
were not in order. Men wanted to
know what to do to be saved. Even
the instructions of the great John
the Baptist was not in order at
this time Jesus had become the
mediator of a New Covenant when
He died on the cross. Peter was
ready to declare the provfeicns of
salvation of the new covenant.
Pfetert Inspired prescription was
two-fbM and to the one given to- •
dky to every gospel preacher who
! to fMthfu! to the commission of
Christ. Here B to. “Repent - and
be baptised, everyone of you * In ,
the name of Jesus Christ unto
tte remission of your sins.” Acts
3:38. That to my plea to you now
as yon Itotan. not that you kneel
down at your radio to become a
cMM of God but that you repent
■M bo baptised. I am ready and
anxtous to help you to obey the
gospel. Call for me and I will
come to help you
“Johi
wildei-
tism of repentance unto the remis-
sion of sins.'* Mk. 1:4. John did
not baptize people because their
sins had been forgiven. He baptiz-
ed them because their sins had not
been forgiven. “They were baptiz-
ed in the River Jordan, confess-
ing their sins.” Mk. 1:5. John bap-
tized the slnneu not the sfnless.
They were baptized 'to flee the
wrath to come. (Mk. 3:7) not be-
cause they had already been sav-
ed from the wrath to come. Of
course, that remission of sins did
not take place until they bkHkyed
on Christ, the risen Christ. But
John taught that baptism was an-
’ vi Christ. She does not
John Believed That We Are Not
And T knew Him not; but that He
should be made manifest to Is-
rael, for this cause came I baptis-
ing with watpr.” John 1:29-32. Be-
ing a prophet. Jbhn knew that the
kingdom would come soon in
dav. 'He knew that baptism
unto the remission of sfns.
He knew that we are hot saved
ft. ’ by mereiv believing. He knew that
a child of God could fall from
grace - so as to be finally lest in
Heil. He knew that his own discip-
es would decrease and that all
must become disciples of Jesus
Christ because Christ Is the bride-
groom. I am an admirer of John
the Baptist. I admire him so much
that I accept his testimony that
I am not to foUow him but that I
am to follow Jesus Christ.
John Believed That A Child Of
God Could Fall And
Be Lost
Do you believe that a child of
God cannot fall from grace and be
eternally lost? John the Baptist
d'dn’t. These Pharisees and Sad-
duccess he was warning were chil-
dren of God, because they were
sons of Araham. Mt. 3:9. He warn-
ed them of the baptism of fire. He ]
believed in Hell. He illustrated the
baptism in the lake of fire by com-
paring it to the burning of the un-
fruitful branch and the rejected
chaff from the threshing - floor,
agreed with
is become of
whosoever of
the law; ye
BY JOHN F. WOLFE
. Fremember of one of my old professors at Abilene once
Buying that when they ran out , of something to talk about
M the old Nashville Bible School they simply declared “open
■feaaon” on elders. Perhaps that has been one of our greatest
troables in the past—the feelnig that every wrong could be
lighted and every difficulty settled by going gunning for
romething or someone. Questions arising concerning the
eldership have been difficult and thorny ever since Paul’s
prediction began to be fulfilled that “from your own selves
«en shall arise speaking peiYerse things and seeking to
draw away disciples after them.” All the questions have
■at yet been solved satisfactorily, and it behooves us to con-
tinue to study God’s Word on the subject and continue to try
tn make our practice square with bur findings, whatever
»ey may be.
The average Christian is likely the congregation, that they
8b think of the eldership aa a dis- stand there with thee. And I will
Oactly New Testament institution, come down and talk with thee
The'term there: and I will take of the spirit
which is upon thee, and will put it
upon them; and they shall bear the
burden of the people with thee,
that thou bear it not thyself a-
lone.” On another occasion* Moses
gave commandment to “gather un-
to me all the elders of your tribes,
and your officers, that I may
speak these words in thdtr ears.”
When Ezra wished to call a great
assembly of the people concerning
the mixed marriages among them,
the proclamation went out that
"whosoever would not come within
three days, according tefthe coun-
sel of the princes and the elders,
all his substance should be for-
feited, and himself separated from
the congregation of those that had
been carried away."
Tn Joel 1:14 we read, “Sanctify
John Believed That The Kingdom
Of Heaven Was Near
In Hto Day
"And in those days cometh John
the Baptist, preaching in the wil-
derness of Judea, saying: Repent ye;
for the kingdom of Heaven is at
hand.” Mt. 31-:2. John didn't ex-
pect 3,000 or more years to pass
before the kingdom would be es-
tablished. He said in his day that
the kingdom was then at hand.
The kingdom hadn’t come at the
time because Jesus taught that
John the Baptist was not in the
kingdom. In Mt. 11:11 Jesus said.
“Verily I say unto you, among
them that are bom of women
there hath not arisen a greater • "fallen from grace," and here it is
than John the Baptist: yet he that i said that someone had
kingdom 1_
: ■
1
l 1 '
fe ■
Is Rev. 22:19 declares that God shall
take the part of some out of the
Book of Life, Rev. 20:15 says “Who-
soever was not found written In
the Book of Life was cast into the
lake of fire.” Please notice that
their part had been in the Book
of Life and removed. Those who
are not in the Book of Life are to
be cast into the lake of fire.
The names of Christians are writ-
ten In Heaven. Heb. 12:23, bat they
can sin. be taken oat of the Book
of Life and cast Into the lake of
fire.
Hiat is not the case.
■Mtfers” is frequently found in the
Od Testament, and for a better
wadentanding of the Bible Idea
Chat Inheres in the word we should*
0B back and examine these Old
Testament roots from which the
dMmhlp of the New Testament
toterch grew up. In the Old Testa-
asnit we read of the 'Elders of Is-
te.' the ’Elders of Judah’, the *As-
oratoly of the Elders,' the 'Elders
of the Jews,' and the 'Elders of the
Cbngregatlon*. It to a term applied
Bette Judges who judged the of-
ttwses of the people, in the gates
«T the cities. In Numbers 13:18-17
»md: .
“And the li>rd said unto Moses.
Gather unto lme seventy men of
eidera of Israel, whom tliou
iwest to be ttto elders of the peo-
and officers over them, and .
Attem unto the tabernacle of yo a fast, call a solemn assembly, next week.
Frederick. Okla.
Seeks 2 Preachers
Dillard Thurman reported this
week he is leaving Frederick No-
vember 1, to begin work with the
Arlington Heights church in Fort
Worth, Texas.
He is in trto fourth year of wore
in Frederick. The membership has
varied from 210 to 230. Bible School
has averaged more than the entire
membership. “We have averaged 244
for the month of September," his
report stated.
Last Spring the Frederick church
was awarded the Army Airfield
chapel gt Frederick Army Air Field.
This chapel has been moved into the
Southeast part of town intact and
is now almost completely redecorat-
ed and ready for occupancy By the
first of November another congrega-
tion will be started here in town.
The church now desires the ser-
vices of two preachers. Applicants
should state experience and other
qualifications and submit references.
Applications should be mailed to
any of the three elders, H. G. Boyd.
B. M. Wilkinson, or Henry Prescott,
all of Frederick. No other address
needed for three men
Mt. 3:10-12. John
Paul's words “Christ
no effect unto you,
you are justified by
are fallen from grace."
I know of no other passage in
the Bible that has the expression.
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Hicks, Olan L. Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 20, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 15, 1947, newspaper, October 15, 1947; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1305964/m1/2/: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.