Insight for the Journey

This weekend at Grace Fellowship we are talking about water baptism.  Most of the people who attend Grace were baptized as infants.  Their parents made that choice for them.  Yet, we encourage people who have consciously chosen to put their faith in Christ to be baptized by immersion, whether they have ever been baptized before or not.  Sometimes that is called “believer’s baptism” because you believe and then choose to be baptized.

This raises all kinds of questions about the nature, purpose, and affects of baptism in a person’s life.  For instance, people ask me sometimes, “Are you saying that if I’m not baptized by immersion I’m lost?  Are you saying that my godly grandmother who was sprinkled for baptism is not in heaven?”  No.  I’m not saying that.  God judges each individual, individually.  He knows our heart, our motives, our opportunity, and he knows our response.  It was a glorious day for me when I realized that I wasn’t suppose to play God and determine everybody else’s salvation.

I’ve known people who were baptized by immersion and went on to live like the devil.  And I’ve known people who were sprinkled as infants, later committed their lives to Christ and demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit, and were never baptized as a believer.  I am suggesting that each of us is responsible for responding to the light that we have.  If there is something that you clearly understand the Bible to be teaching, you are responsible for obeying what you know to do.

Let’s say you own a grocery store and your parents owned the same grocery store, and your grandparents owned the same store before them!  And they are as honest as possible.  But the State Inspector comes in one day and says, “Did you know your scales are off?”  You say, “Well sir, we’ve been using that old scale to weigh meat for over 40 years now.”  And he says, “Well, it’s off!  You say you’re giving people a pound of meat and your giving them only 15 ounces.”

Is he calling your parents and your grandparents crooks?  Are your grandparents and your parents dishonest?  No.  But you would be if you didn’t change.  The Bible says, “To him who knows to do good and then doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.”

We are responsible to obey what we know God is saying.  Rather than do as little as possible to be obedient to Christ, we ought to do as much as possible.

Are you responding to the light you have?  Are you obeying what you know to be true?