WHICH CHURCH IS THE RIGHT CHURCH?

Photo by B Smith taken from the patio

309 - WHICH CHURCH IS THE RIGHT CHURCH?

JUNE 12, 1966

Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 12: 1 - 4 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

In this Scripture, God is telling us what it means to be spiritual. To be spiritual, one must give his body a living sacrifice, and to do this, we must do it through the mind—the mind is the key, the mind is the starting point.

1/  Do you realize that the mind, the brain, is the most magnificent thing in the universe? Through it weighs only three pounds, it contains some 10 billion nerve cells each of which has some 25 thousand possible interconnections with other nerve cells. Did you ever realize that to build an electronic computer large enough to have that range of choice, would require an area equal to the entire surface of the earth? Your mind is a marvelous instrument, and God wants you to use it—He wants you to use it for Him.

2/  In the beginning, we must have a humble mind—a humble brain—we are not to consider ourselves any better, or any more spiritual than anyone else. This is true in all ages, and this we proved to you last week.

3/  Then, it is necessary that we have the mind saturated with the Word of God, and permit the Word of God to control us.

4/  There is another thing to see—when we have a renewed mind, and we are humble in our mind, and we have our mind centered upon the Word of god, what will be the final conclusion of it all?  Christ will become the center of our thoughts, our speech, and our life.

Ephesians 1: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

That is going to be a reality one of these days, but He wants it to be a reality in the believer’s life, right here and now.

5/  One day a preacher was stalking to a woman about Jesus Christ and witnessing for HIm. She said, I can’t witness for Him, I am a timid person. The preacher went away and one day he came back and happened to see her in the yard taking care of her chickens. She loved her chickens—she knew all about her chicks, what to feed them, how to raise the baby chicks, what price they were bringing on the market, and how to take care of them. The preacher said, if you know as much about the Lord Jesus Christ as you know about chickens, you could talk about Him, too. And of course, the Lord Jesus Christ is a lot more important than chicks, or ducks, or geese or anything else. When our minds are made over in Christ, He becomes the center and object of all our thinking.

6/  John 3: 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Here John tells us this very same thing—He must increase, but I must decrease. It could be written, I am on the wane. I am passed the full now, but Christ is just coming into HIs fullness. He is going to be everything. I read the other day where a teacher asked a little boy if he believed there was just one God, and he said, Yes, I believe, there is just one God, and the teacher said, How do you know that? And the little boy said, He fills Heaven and earth—the Bible says there isn’t any room for any other. Praise the Lord, that was a good answer—better than some philosophers could give. The Bible characters are not important, they are passing off the scene, but Christ is going to fill the scene. For nearly 2,000 years Christ has filled the scene. He has changed world history into two sections before Christ and after Christ.

7/  But there is one thing that Jesus Christ said to John that I want you to notice—when they threw John into prison, he began to wonder. He pointed the Lord Jesus Christ out, he had believed that Christ was the Messiah, he believed that the Messiah would found the kingdom and make Israel a strong nation, and overthrow the Roman empire. But Jesus Christ didn’t do it.

 Luke 7: 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

There seemed to come a cloud over the mind of John, since the Lord Jesus Christ hadn’t attempted to build up the kingdom as he expected, was he to expect someone else? So he sent word to Jesus, Luke 7: 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And Jesus said, go and tell John what I am doing. Tell him all about My works, and they did—then Jesus sent this message.

Luke 7: 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

And I don’t know a better verse for any believer in Christ to know. I don’t know a better verse for every believer to live by. Jesus Christ said to John, Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me. 

Can the Lord Jesus Christ do anything He likes with you? Can the Lord take anything He wishes from you? Can the Lord Jesus Christ put you in a hard position, and you’ll say, Praise the Lord? Are you able to say, no matter what happens, Blessed is he that shall not be offended. You see, John had been faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ let him be cast into prison, and he was a bit offended. When we give our bodies a living sacrifice our minds are centered in Jesus Christ, and will not be offended no matter what He permits us to go through.

8/  Romans 12: 4, 5  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Now we come to another truth—a very important truth. It is the truth of the body of Christ. Here He is talking about the church of our age—we shall see that later on in our message. But the thing I want you to see here is, the 5th verse. So we, being many, are one body in Christ. There are many who are saved. Today there are many of us—we are to get out of our minds the idea that our own small group comprises the only ones who belong to Him—for we being many, are one body. In other words, we have a unity. We do not always show it—but in Christ’s mind there is a unity. All who are saved belong to the same body.

9/  Colossians 1: 17, 18 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

He is before all things, and by Him all things consist, and He is the Head of the Body, the Church.

So we must see the Head of the Body is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the rest of the Body is made up of many members, and all who are saved are members of this Body.

10/  Remember, we have been talking about the mind being in right relationship to God, and giving our bodies a living sacrifice. When we are members of this body, we all have different functions, and in humility, we do not consider ourselves better than anyone else. For notice what it says in this verse—WE HAVE MANY MEMBERS IN ONE BODY, AND ALL MEMBERS HAVE NOT THE SAME OFFICE. In other words, every member has a different function. The Lord has called into His Body down here on this earth those who have different usefulnesses. There are no two members who have the same function. 

I hear someone say, in my body I have two eyes, I have two arms, do not the two eyes have the same function? Do not the two arms have the same function? No, they don’t. Did you ever try to see a speck on the right side of the end of your nose? Try to look at it with your left eye? How can you see that speck on the right side of the end of your nose? You have to close your left eye, and look with your right eye. Then if your left elbow gets itchy, don’t try to scratch it with your left hand. It just doesn’t work—you have to use your right hand, and so every member has his own function. THERE IS NO USELESS PERSON WITHIN THE BODY OF CHRIST.

11/  I Corinthians 12: 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Here Paul is talking about different kinds of Christians, all members of the Body of Christ. For as the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ, for by One Spirit are we all baptized into one Body.

We are not baptized into different bodies, we are all baptized into one body, the body of Christ, and of course, this is a death baptism, this is not water baptism. Everyone has to be baptized, he has to be baptized into the Body of Christ, by being baptized into the death of Christ.

12/  Notice, I Corinthians 12: 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 

What a terrible thing it would be to have a hand all by itself. For there would be no life without the body. The hand would be head. So God has many who are saved and the many have all different functions. No two are alike and no one is useless.

13/  You will notice that he talks about the eye of the body—he talks about the ear, he talks about the hearing. I don’t know what part of the body you are, there are some folks who I believe are his ears—they hear from God. How? Through the Word of God. God has given them a special ability to take the Word of God and get truth out of it. They hear what God has to say, and then they minister to others. Then there are some to whom God gives a message, they are the tongue. They have a special ability in delivering a message. They can take a simple truth and grip the hearts of men and women. These are those who speak for the body. Then there are those who are the eyes of the body—they see for God. It is a wonderful thing to see for God. There may be somebody you think is less than yourself, and yet it might be that one is the eye of the body, seeing things, and when they see things in the body, they pray about it, for they see things that no one else is able to see, and thereby they can have a real prayer life. You may think that one doesn’t amount to very much, and you may despise that one, but that one may have a very important function in the body. So in the body, no one has the right to despise anyone else. We don’t know the ministry God has given them to do. Their ministry may not show at all.

14/  But now let us notice the church. We read in Colossians 1: 18 that the body is the church. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Do you know there are three main churches in the Bible? How few people really understand the church. But before we consider the three churches, let us read Acts 19: 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

Then notice, verse 41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

In this Scripture, the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were in the midst of an angry mob of idolatrous heathen, they were in the theater at Ephesus—the mob was called an assembly, and the Greek word translated assembly is ecclesia—it is the word that we have translated church. Do you know that the word, church, or churches, is found about 117 times in the New Testament Scriptures with the single exception, every time the word, church, is found in the Bible the Greek word is ecclesia—no doubt, this was a church of the devil. But be careful of that word, church. It doesn’t always mean what people want it to mean. All the word, church, means here—the ecclesia is a called-out group. There are three called-out groups in the Bible—three churches.

15/  Notice, I Timothy 3: 15, 16 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Here we read of the church of the living God. This is the right church, this is the church you better belong to. Notice, the church of the living God is the house of God. This has no reference whatsoever to any assembly hall or a meeting place. The house of God is a building made of human beings, and the Church of God during this present divine economy is called the Body of Christ, the fullness of Christ. You and I know perfectly well that no building of stone, brick or wood could be the fullness of Christ, for notice, Ephesians 1: 22, 23 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Here it talks about the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. To belong to this church, one must see that he is a sinner, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved, and immediately he is made a member of the church which is the Body of Christ.

16/  We ought to know how to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. This is not how we should behave in a building, but how we should behave as being members of His body. Certainly, we should be humble in this church. We should not be folks that discriminate, we should not look down our noses upon anyone, but we should be sure that we recognize that all have a part in giving forth the Gospel message. All have a distinct function.

AMEN

Ref: 06/12/1966/ 309 - WHICH CHURCH IS THE RIGHT CHURCH? / 01/12/2021

WHY SHOULD WE AVOID LEGALISM?

Photo by B Smith from the patio

 

16 - WHY SHOULD WE AVOID LEGALISM?

July 23, 1961

Henry F. Kulp

 

 

 

Galatians 3: 19 - 25 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Here Paul is asking the question—Why was the law given? If the law can’t save, what was God’s purpose in giving the law? So the starting point in our study is to recognize the law had a beginning. It started with Moses.

 

1/  Why was it given? There were many reasons why it was given. The week before last we told you it was given to show transgression, to make sin legally wrong.

2/  Now, it is necessary to see that the law was national. It was dispensational, because it was given for only a period of time, from Moses until Christ. Now, it is national, and what do you mean by that? It was given to a definite nation, the nation Israel, and to no one else. This is established beyond a shadow of a doubt in Romans 2: 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

For you will notice, that there are two classes of people spoken of here—those who have sinned without the law, and those who have sinned in the law.  Who are they? 

Romans 2: 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Surely Scripture cannot be plainer. The Gentiles have never had the law. It was given to Moses as a mediator for the people, as a middle-man, and it was only given to the nation Israel.

3/  It might be well that we take a second and say—who are the Gentiles? I heard of a preacher who was doing a cross-word puzzle, and they asked for a seven letter word for Christian, and so thoughts ran through his mind of words that would fit this—a believer? No, that has eight letters. Then saint, that has five letters. And so on—and he couldn’t think of the word, so he filled out the rest of the cross-word puzzle, and discovered the word was Gentiles. And of course there are many people who feel that a Gentile is a Christian. But that is not true. The followers of Mohammed are Gentiles, but they are not Christians. Hindus are Gentiles, but not Christians. The unregenerate people in our land by the millions are Gentiles, but they are not Christians. The Greek word for Gentiles, simply are not Israelites, and God has drawn the line of distinction. In other words, the Gentiles are non-Jews.   

4/  Non-Jews have not the law. They have never had the law—they have never been subject to the law—they have never been put under the law.

 

5/  The next question that follows this is why did God give the law to this one nation? Well, the answer is also given to us in Romans. 

Romans 3: 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

God said the law was given to Israel to stop the mouths of all men forever who would teach that salvation is by the law. Men have always wanted to work for God. Adam did right after he sinned. He made a coat of fig leaves. He tried to make himself righteous before God, he tried to cover his sin before God, and ever since then, man has been trying to appease God with his works, with his religion, by keeping the law. So God gave the law to Israel to prove that no one can be saved by the law. To stop the mouths of all men everywhere, so they will not come to God and say, look, God, I’m pretty good, I kept the law, I’ve done this and I’ve done that and I’ve done the other thing.

6/  God had an experiment for all men. He put this one nation—the whole nation who was over 1,500 years under the law, and he proved that the law cannot be kept by man—there is no need for further proof. 

John 7:19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

Now notice this, Jesus asked the question of the religious people of His day—did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepth the law? Not one person in 1,500 years was able to keep the law. Not a single Jew had kept it all those years. Here is proof to all man—why the law was given to show all men that they cannot be saved by works.

7/  But the next thought we have, do you realize that One at the end of those 1,500 years came, by the name of Jesus Christ, and He was the only One who ever did keep the law, and that nation ended up by nailing that Man to the cross of Calvary. The law had not changed their hearts. Here was One Man who kept it, and they rejected Him. The law ends up causing men to be guilty, cursed by the law.  

8/  The law cannot change a heart—the law can’t make a heart one bit better. 

9/  Now notice, it says that all may become guilty before God, recognizing that they can’t possibly work their way into the presence of God. How often folks have come to me and I’ve ask them whether they were saved—I’m doing the very best I can. And so, what are they saying? They are saying, God, here’s the record of my life. You ought to let me into Heaven because of my record. But you will not get into Heaven because of the record of your life. No, in no wise. Suppose you go down Sixth Avenue at 70 miles an hour, go through all the traffic lights without any regard to the police whistle, and when you are overtaken, you reach out and slap the policeman. When they finally get you into court, they throw the book at you. Here are violations by the dozens, and the judge decides to make an example of you. He totals your fine, and they reach $1,000, but you haven’t any money. Then you finally have your brother who comes in and he pays the fine for you, and while he is paying the fine, you start for the door. A policeman says to you, What right do you have to leave this courtroom? Notice, he says what   right? What would you say to him? Would you say, well, there’s my record. I’m the man that drove the car up Sixth Avenue at 70 miles an hour, slapped the policeman and went through the lights. Now let me go. I’m going to go free, and I’m allowed to go out and go free through that door, because my fine  has been paid. That is it exactly. If you get into Heaven, it will not be because of your record that allows you, it is your record that condemns you—you get into Heaven because Jesus Christ paid the price of your sin. And Israel under the law, shows you that your record is horrible, just as their record was horrible. 

10/  Now let us look and see what the law did for Israel Galatians 3: 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Notice, the word, concluded, that word is misunderstood today, it is not the word, that we think of as being concluded. The figure is that of a criminal or a condemned man who is already in prison. Actually, it could  be better translated, the Scriptures have locked up all under sin. Then we come down to the 23^rd verse. We, meaning the Jews, were in ward under the law, and the word, ward, or under, here means perpetual prisoners. So the law was a jailor to Israel. Men under the law were locked up and could not be released, except by grace. All the law can do is lock you up and put you in prison, because your record proves it. 

11/  Now let us notice something else about the law—why the law was given. We said the law was national, that it was dispensational. Now as we come down here to verse 24 it is proven (verse 24 & 25) even more clearly to us. 

Galatians 3: 24, 25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

I want you to notice the words, our, us, and we. Wherever the pronouns, we, our, and us occur in the book of Galatians, Paul is speaking of Israel, of the Jews. But when he uses the pronouns “ye” and “you” he refers to the nations, in other words to the Gentiles, to the non-Jews. This is the key to the book of Galatians. Now let us notice verse 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

12/  Wherefore, the law was our school-master. He says, was, past tense—our—that is the Jew’s school-master. Nowhere do we read that the law is a school-master—it was. 

Again, we said the law was dispensational. It is because it was past-tense—it is a day that is now gone. The word school-master, could be translated tutor or teacher. 

Now, the word, translated school-master, referred to a servant, usually a slave to whom the child was entrusted for instruction, for training and discipline until he becomes of age. But when the child came of age, he passed from under the tutor, the salve, the servant, the school-master.

13/  Then notice the change in personal pronoun. Verse 26, 27 For ye, the Gentiles, are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 

In other words, the Gentiles, who never had the law, are saved by just having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

14/  Now the important thing to notice here, in verse 25 But after the faith has come, we are no longer under a school-master. 

No language can be plainer. The law was a school-master up to Christ, but when He came, even Israel was no longer under the school-master. The Jews are not now under the law.

15/  Notice, that the pivoting point of everything is here in Galatians 3: 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 

The faith of Jesus Christ. This promise of grace refers to redemption, naturally—to salvation. All this came about because of the faith of Jesus Christ. Now, as you know, there are two aspects of faith. The Scriptures speaks of faith in two ways—objective faith, and subjective faith. 

Objective faith is simply to trust in another, in what another has said or done—it moves toward an object. 

But subjective faith is the character that shows that one is worthy of trust. Objective faith is associated with what one does. He believes in another. Subjective faith is the quality one possesses. Fidelity, dependability, worthiness, to be believe in. Thus, if I have faith in you, I have objective faith. But to have faith in you, you have to be faithful, so you have objective faith.   

16/  Galatians 3: 6 - 9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Abraham is called faithful because he believed God implicitly. He was faithful because he had faith in God. But on the other hand, God is called faithful. Not because he believes in others, but because He is true, He is dependable. 

Hebrews 10: 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

He is faithful that promised. He is dependable. He is worthy. Abraham’s faith is objective  faith, God’s faith is subjective faith. This subjective faith is absolutely necessary. 

17/  Notice the next step in our study. 

Romans 3: 3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

It is about subjective faith. What if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God of non-effect? Here the faith of God is clearly His fidelity – His worthiness as to be believed, and so the Apostle says in effect what if some refused to trust Him, does that affect His trustworthiness? Absolutely not.

18/  Here he is saying the law, that which was the jailer—that which kept people locked up under lock and key, kept them in ward. Will not nullify the promise of God, because Jesus Christ was faithful. He came and paid the price of our redemption.

19/  Now, notice, Galatians 3: 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness could have been by the law, and we have to be righteous to be saved. But the law cannot bring righteousness. Let us turn in the Scripture and show you that righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ. 

Romans 3: 21, 22 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

He is not referring to faith in Christ—but to Christ’s fidelity, and then he adds, unto all and upon all them that believe. Thus, Christ’s faith is fidelity, is righteousness to them that believe. 

20/  Philippians 3: 9 And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. 

Notice the contrast, the law and the faith of Christ. Man’s failure keeps him from having righteousness, but God’s complete trustworthiness gives him righteousness by faith in Christ.  

21/  Now let us go back to another portion of Scripture that is in Galatians, and we skipped over it, purposely up to this point. 

Galatians 2: 15, 16 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Here, notice that Paul says a man cannot be justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ—even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by faith of Christ. 

Here Paul emphasizes and re-emphasizes that the law cannot save us, but it is through the trust-worthiness, the fidelity of Christ. 

All of this is the work of Christ, it is not our work. If only men and women could see this. 

AMEN

Ref: 07/23/1961 / 16 - WHY SHOULD WE AVOID LEGALISM? / 12/29/2020

HAVE YOU BEEN BAPTIZED THE SCRIPTURAL WAY?

Photo by B Smith from the patio

HAVE YOU BEEN BAPTIZED THE SCRIPTURAL WAY?

October 11, 1964

Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 6: 1 - 4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Paul has been preaching salvation by grace and grace alone, and all who have salvation have eternal life. Now he comes to this sixth chapter, and he shows you that because you are saved by grace, that is not a license to live in sin or to live any way you please. 

1/  Paul constantly met opposition who claimed this was exactly what Paul taught, but Paul is showing how foolish it is. He says, what a ghastly thought it is that because we are saved by grace we can go out and sin all we want and then grace will abound. 

2/  The thought that is important is found in Romans 6: 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

We should be dead to sin. How are we dead to sin? Verses 3, 4 tells us we have been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. To understand what it all means to be baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. There are some other Scriptures that we must analyze. 

Luke 12: 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Jesus Christ said I have a baptism to be baptize with and how am I strengthened till it be accomplished? 

What baptism was He talking about? He certainly was not talking about His baptism in the waters of Jordan, for that had already taken place. He was talking about something entirely different. He is not talking about water baptism. Lest you misunderstand, I am not slurring water baptism. What I am saying, this baptism is not water baptism. Let me show there are different baptisms in the Bible. 

Luke 3:16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

And here we have the ministry of John the Baptist, and he said I indeed baptize you with water, notice here he is talking about water baptism. But one mightier than I cometh whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. He, this is Jesus Christ, shall baptize you—not with, but in, the Holy Ghost and in fire. John says, I baptize you with water. He was doing water baptism, but he said, Christ when He came, He would not baptize with water, but he would baptize in the Holy Ghost. You will notice this is baptism where Christ is the baptizer, and the Holy Spirit is the one in whom we are baptized, this baptism is not the baptism of today. 

Let’s compare this with I Corinthians 12: 12, 13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Notice, For by one Spirit, it does not say in, but by one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body. Notice, the reversal of Luke 3: 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

Here the Holy Spirit is the baptizer, and back in Luke 3: 16 Christ is the Baptizer, and here in this Scripture, we are baptized into one body which is the body of Christ, while in Luke 3: 16 we are baptized into the Holy Spirit, so not one and the same. But you are not slurring water baptism when you say this is not water baptism, nor is the one in Luke 3: 16. So in like manner, the one in Romans 6: 3, 4 is not water baptism.

3/  What is the baptism in Romans 6: 3, 4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Here it says we are baptized into the death of Christ. In Luke 12: 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Christ talked about a baptism that He had to be baptized with. What baptism did He have to be baptized with this late in His life? Let us notice another Scripture that will help to explain it even more clearly. 

Matthew 20: 22, 23 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

And here we have the mother of Zebedee’s children coming with her sons and worshipping Him and desiring a certain thing of Him. And she said, grant that these, my two sons, may sit the one on the right hand and the other on the left hand in Thy kingdom. And Jesus said, I can’t do this—this is not given to Me, and then He asked them the question—are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of and be baptized with, and He said indeed, ye shall drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am to be baptized with. What did He mean? 

First of all—the cup, what was the cup that He drank? That they were to drink? And, of course, you and I have to drink? Let us go on in our study to Matthew 26: 39  And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Here in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ refers to the cup, and He says, If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. What is this cup that Jesus Christ was praying against? Can we be sure what the cup is? Yes, we can. There are three cups spoken of in Scripture. 

First there is the cup of salvation. Psalm 116: 13 I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. 

Then secondly, there is the cup of consolation. Jeremiah 16: 7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in the mourning to comfort  them for the dead, neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father and for their mother. 

This is the cup that the Psalmist referred to in Psalm 23: 5 My cup runneth over. Here we have an entirely different cup that Jesus Christ is speaking about. 

Jeremiah 25: 15 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

Here the Prophet Jeremiah is bidden, Take the wine-cup of this fury of My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it. 

This is the cup of God’s wrath against sin, and this Jesus Christ was made to drink when the wrath of God was poured out against Him by the Father as He was made sin for us. 

Notice, another Scripture, John 18: 11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Here Jesus Christ rebukes Peter when he takes out his sword and is willing to fight for our Lord, and he cuts off the servant of the high priest’s ear, and Christ said, the cup that my Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it. 

Notice, it was not Satan who gave Him this cup to drink—it was not the Jewish nation, it was not you or me, it was the Father who gave Him the cup. It was God the Father who put to His lips the cup of wrath or judgement of God against sin. It was not what Christ suffered at the hands of man that makes an answer to sin, but it is what He suffered at the hands of God that put away sin. So, we see the cup He had to drink was the wrath of God against sin. Then what was the baptism? The baptism was death. He was baptized into death as He drank the cup of the wrath of God against sin.

4/   What does all this have to do with Romans 6: 3, 4? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For us to be saved, the Holy Spirit takes us and He baptizes us into this experience that Christ had when He was made sin for us, and He died and paid the wages of sin. We are baptized into His death. 

Notice Galatians 3: 26, 27 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

For ye are all the children—or it should be the sons of God—by faith in Christ Jesus. As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. That is pretty clear isn’t it? This baptism is essential to salvation. This can’t be water baptism or else water baptism is essential, and, of course, it is not water baptism. But you have been baptized into Christ. 

Now go back and notice, Galatians 2: 20 I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. 

That should be the past tense. I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. This is our experience in salvation. We have been made to drink the cup that Christ drank. We are baptized into the death that He was baptized into. For He died in our place, and now because of this, we should reckon, or count ourselves as, dead to sin.

5/  Recognizing this experience should do something to us. Notice the end of the 4^th verse…Even so we also should walk in newness of life. This experience should do something to us. This I believe with all my heart, is a mental attitude. 

Proverbs 23: 7 says, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. 

6/ There are three words I want to fix in your mind which will show you what I mean. The first word is the word, reckon. It is found in Romans 6: 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Likewise, reckon ye yourselves to be dead, or literally to have died indeed to sin. Notice the first word, Likewise, this refers to what had gone behind. We have this firmly fixed in our minds. What has happened to us to say this? Therefore, because this has happened, we are to reckon ourselves to be literally dead or to have died unto sin, And of course, this is done with the mind. 

Reckon is a wonderful word—it can be translated as we saw in the 4^th chapter by the word, counted or credited. It says in the 4^th chapter I want you to reckon or credit that righteousness has been given to you. Now I want you to reckon something else. I want you to reckon that when Christ died you were in Him and you died in Him. 

Now let us go down to the Romans 6: 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin—so the next word is yield—to yield is to surrender.

Romans 12: 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

It says to present your bodies a living sacrifice. The word, present, is the word, yield. You are to reckon yourselves dead, and then you are to yield or present yourself to God, all the members you have. Self-judgement is involved in the first word, and the second word is doing something with your mind. It is an active thing—you yield or present. 

Then the third word, is the word, obey. This is the 16^th verse. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

It is one thing to know a truth, it is another to obey. All of this is done by the mind, of course. We make up our mind that this is going to happen, and through the power of the Holy Spirit we are enabled to do it. 

We are not preaching getting rid of the old nature. Because we have another word very interesting here. Verse 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Henceforth we should not serve sin. That word, serve, is important. 

Then in the 9^th verse we are not to have sin controlling us. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

We are not to serve it. We may from time to time do things we are sorry for, and we confess it to God, but we are not to serve sin, we are to reckon ourselves dead, judge ourselves, then yield our members to Christ, and obey what we already know.  

7/  II Corinthians 10: 3, 5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: Casting (slam it down) down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

All this is with the mind. The mind being saturated by the Word, and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

AMEN

Ref: 10/11/1964 / 282 - HAVE YOU BEEN BAPTIZED THE SCRIPTURAL WAY? / 12/25/2020