Should I be baptized again as an adult if I was baptized as a baby?

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10 Ways to Read the Bible

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 Woollen and Linen

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Jim Batterton

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Printable Nativity Scene

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THE “FALLING AWAY” DOCTRINE

Is it possible for one who has been truly converted and has eternal life to be eternally lost?

Surely the terms “eternal life” and “eternal perdition” are incompatible and mutually exclusive. A life that can be lost cannot be eternal. The Lord says of His sheep: “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:28)," TARGET="_blank">John 10:28), and again, “He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (lit, judgment) but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24)." TARGET="_blank">John 5:24). Christ is the life of His people (“Christ, who is our life”—Colossians 3:4)" TARGET="_blank">Colossians 3:4) and each true believer is “baptized in one Spirit into one body,” and is a temple of the Holy Spirit and a child in the family of God. Not one such then could be lost, for if so, the Church would be blemished; the temple marred; and the family broken for all eternity. The Word says, “He that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6)." TARGET="_blank">Phil 1:6). It behoves us then to be sure that this good work has truly begun in us, for as there were false brethren crept in unawares in the primitive churches, so there may be spurious Christians to-day even in the most scriptural assemblies, men who can pass muster with their fellow-men, but who are only counterfeit professors, and who will one day be exposed as such—”Every tree that my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted out.” We should not then take ourselves too easily for granted. Perhaps a few doubts about ourselves now and again are not a bad sign, though we should never, never doubt Christ. I question whether false professors often doubt themselves. How then does God begin His work in a soul? By convicting of sin by His Spirit and then revealing Christ crucified as the all-sufficient Saviour. He continues, however, to shew us increasingly the evil within, till we find that we must look away to Christ for everything, and be content to have Him for our All in All. But if we want to convince others that we are indeed true believers, something more is needed than a profession of faith. We read of some who became antichrists, who had no doubt professed faith, been baptised and broken bread: “They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19)." TARGET="_blank">1 John 2:19). Not even great gifts, successful preaching and mighty works prove reality. Judas Iscariot had all these, and so also have the wonder-workers of Matthew 7: 2, 23," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 7: 2, 23, of whom the Lord utters one of His most solemn warnings: “Many will say unto me in that day, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name cast out demons, etc.?” Yet He will say to them “I never knew you.” They were never possessors of eternal life through faith in Him. Gift is of great profit, where there is grace, but gift without grace is nought. There is a number of tests in the Epistles of John, which we may apply to ourselves, if we would be assured that we have truly been born of God, of which I will here quote two or three: “Every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29)." TARGET="_blank">1 John 2:29). If a man is crooked in his ways, unrighteous in his acts and untruthful in his words, he may well tremble for himself. Then here is another test: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin” (i John . ). This does not mean that a true child of God never sins, for in chapter i. we have God’s gracious provision for the failures of His people, but it means he does not continue in it, like a swine in his wallowing. Alas! with what warning voice to us all do the sad exposures of years of immorality and dishonest dealing of which we sometimes hear, even among professed believers, speak. It is not for us to say glibly of such that we know them to be children of God, because they have long passed as such. The hidden life which has come to light, seems to give the lie to any such theories. One more such test will we quote:
“Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4)." TARGET="_blank">1 John 5:4). The overcomer is not one who is never overcome, but who, like Joshua, overcomes at last (Exodus 17:11)." TARGET="_blank">Exodus 17:11). The final overcomers are not some extraordinary kind of Christians; they are true Christians who prove themselves to be such by continuing to the end. For other tests we may see chap. 3. 1 and 14; 5:1; 2 John 1:9." TARGET="_blank">2 John 1:9. Enough has been said to remind us of the solemn words: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall”; “Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation!” Thank God for the words of our Lord Jesus, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out”; which not only mean that He will not reject, but that He will not eject the one who comes to Him.

William Hoste

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Romans 3:9-23" TARGET="_blank">Romans 3:9-23  What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,  (10)  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;  (11)  no one understands; no one seeks for God.  (12)  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (19)  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  (20)  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin… For there is no distinction:  (23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 John 5:9-13" TARGET="_blank">1 John 5:9-13  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.  (10)  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.  (11)  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  (12)  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  (13)  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

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DISCIPLESHIP
Is there any difference between a Christian and a disciple? (John 6:66)." TARGET="_blank">John 6:66).

Are all Christians disciples?

Luke 14:27," TARGET="_blank">Luke 14:27, “cannot” Can one be a disciple and not a Christian?

What of Judas (John 12:4)." TARGET="_blank">John 12:4). Can we speak correctly of “discipleship” as a call distinct from conversion?

In Acts 11:26" TARGET="_blank">Acts 11:26 we read “that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch,” so here the two terms are not to be separated, especially when one remembers that, as I firmly believe, the new name was God-given. The verse runs as in the Revised Version: “And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people; and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch,” so that the “gathering together,” “the teaching,” and the naming of the disciples in the new way, were three concomitant facts of spiritual significance. The English word, “dis-ciple,” is from the Latin, “dis-co,” “I learn by study,” and is the equivalent in the New Testament of “mathtës,” “a learner” (from “manthanö,” “I learn”). It is certainly used in two meanings like our word “scholar.” A boy goes to school and becomes at once “de facto” a scholar in that school, though he may not yet have learnt anything, but he is regarded according to the intention of his being there. He may not become a “scholar,” in the deeper sense of being proficient for years to come; in fact he may never deserve the name.

So we read in John 4:1," TARGET="_blank">John 4:1, “Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.” They became disciples by obeying the Lord’s call. They professed themselves His followers and they were marked as such by baptism. But of some such we read in John 6:66," TARGET="_blank">John 6:66, “Many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.” But did this take the Lord by surprise? In no way was He surprised, for in ver. 64 we read, “But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him.” When these special disciples became such the Lord knew they were not real. It is the same to-day. Perhaps one of the best proofs that we ever did believe in the Lord Jesus isto be Continuing daily to believe on Him. There is, it is to be feared in these days of easy profession, a possibility of taking ourselves too easily for granted. The exhortation is “that they that have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works” for “faith without works is dead” (Titus 3: 8;" TARGET="_blank">Titus 3: 8; James 2:20)." TARGET="_blank">James 2:20).

However, there were many who proved themselves true disciples, in the primary sense, but such were called to go on and become disciples in the fuller meaning. To do so meant and ever means a costly thing, as Luke 14:26-33" TARGET="_blank">Luke 14:26-33 testifies. It involves the sacrifice of natural ties, of self, yea, of all. Though the word “disciple” does not occur in the New Testament after Acts zi. i6, the verb manthanö occurs often, e.g. Ephesians 4:20;" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 4:20; Philippians 4:11;" TARGET="_blank">Philippians 4:11; 1 Timothy 2:11;" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 2:11; 2 Timothy 3:4" TARGET="_blank">2 Timothy 3:4 (and for the false thing, see 2 Timothy 3:7);" TARGET="_blank">2 Timothy 3:7); and the commission of Matthew 28:19," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (marg. “make disciples of”), carries the thought on throughout the present dispensation, and the truth is prominent in the Epistles.

Philippians 3" TARGET="_blank">Philippians 3: is a good example of true discipleship: “What things were gain to me (i.e., as a religious Jew) those I counted (lit. I have counted: hëgmaj) loss for Christ. Yea doubtless and I am counting (hgoumaj) all things but lOSS. . . but dung, that I may win Christ” (Vi’. 7, 8).

A man said to a friend of mine, “I would give the world to have What You’ve got.”

“Well,” replied my friend, with a smile, “that is about what it cost.”

W.H.

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Are we to Suppose that the injunction to abstain from blood (Genesis 9:4)" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 9:4) holds good to day?

If not, how quote verse 6 to justify capital punishment? Or does 1 Timothy 4:1-5" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 4:1-5 allow us to eat all things even blood, so long as we give thanIs?

Sometimes we have to complain that the divisions of the chapters in our Bible cut the sense, but in this case the division between Genesis 8" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 8: and 9, though it may seem awkward, is really useful to the right understanjing of the passage. God’s covenant with man, guaranteeing him from a recurrence of the deluge “while the earth remaineth,” with an uninterrupted continuance of harvests, seasons and diurnal changes is contained in the two closing verses of ch. 8. This is known as the Noachian Covenant. In Genesis 9:1-7" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 9:1-7 we have God’s blessing on Noah, accompanied by (1) a promise, V. 2 (2) a provision, V. 3; (3) a prohibition, v. and (4) a penalty, VV. 5, 6, in which penalty was embodied the entrusting of govermuent into the hands of men.All this, however, was apart from the covenant, which is unconditional, and which is brought up again in vy. 9-12, thus: verse 9—its universality; 9-I I—its perpetuity, V. x2—its token, the rainbow.

As for the prohibition and penalty attaching to the blessing, we should not know whether they were perpetually binding on man or the children of God, apart from the rest of the Scriptures. As far as I can see, the penalty attaching to murder has never been abrogated and is binding to-day as a governmental act, on rulers to whom God has entrusted the sword for executing justice on evil doers, especially murderers. As for the prohibition to eat blood, it held, as we know, under the law (see Leviticus 17:10-11)," TARGET="_blank">Leviticus 17:10-11), and in the Acts period Acts 15:20)," TARGET="_blank">Acts 15:20), but has, I believe, been abrogated for us, not only by such a Scripture as the questioner quotes; but by such a verse as 1 Corinthians 10:25" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 10:25: “Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no questions for conscience sake.” The heathen knew nothing of slaughtering after the Jewish method, so as to be sure of draining off the blood of the animal.

According to this verse, therefore, a believer might eat whatsoever was put before him, asking no question for conscience sake. Then it does not say, “But if any say unto you, This has the blood in it, eat not,” for that question we may infer was of no importance, but rather, “This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not” (v. 28). It is perfectly clear then that the injunction not to eat blood does not apply to Christians to-day. ‘rhe prohibition in Acts 15" TARGET="_blank">Acts 15 really has nothing to set against this, as things were then in a transition state, and the Corinthian Epistle had not been written.

W.H.

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