When Paul left Crete, we are told he left Titus there to set in order the things that were lacking (Titus 1:4-5). The thing that stands out is the fact that the apostle felt he needed to have a preacher teach on the importance of leadership. We know that because he was told to appoint elders in every church.

As one reads through the qualification of elders (Titus 1:5-9; I Tim. 3:1-7), you can’t help but notice what is required in order to become qualified. No one is unqualified to teach one day and then is qualified to teach the next day. Nor is one unhospitable one day and then is considered hospitable the next day. We can say this about each and every one of the qualifications. This shows that leadership is developed and brethren need to be exhibiting these qualities long before being appointed.

The good news for a local church is that before such people are appointed as elders, the congregation has been blessed with those who have been demonstrating their abilities in the leadership role. They have been doing this by being blameless, not self-willed, not being quick tempered, not being violent, not greedy for money; being hospitable, loving what is good, holding fast to the word, able to teach, married with faithful children.

What’s great about all of this is the fact that leaders in the church act that way even if they are not elders, deacons or evangelists. This goes for our sisters in the Lord too. God’s children are part of a local church family and do what they can to help out (I Cor. 12:12-27).  Who doesn’t love to see Christians who jump in to take care of things that need to get done? Whether inviting people to their home, cleaning the building, preparing the Lord’s Supper, teaching a class, leading singing, helping with the radio, or working on the website, etc.

Until a local church appoints elders like Titus was told to do, those without them are being blessed having the members working together developing their leadership qualities to help things run smoothly. May we all be doing what we can to help, and not hinder, the work of the church.

Chuck                                       

As we often say about God’s word, it is timeless. By that we mean that it is just as applicable today as in the day it was first given. Can the Bible really provide guidance in situations that arise today? The answer is yes. A case in point would be this: how do you deal with a preacher/teacher that wants to “run” a church? What should the church do? Thankfully, the scriptures are not silent concerning this issue. Let’s take a closer look.

In the book of 3^rd John, we are told about a man that many students of the Bible are familiar with, his name is Diotrephes. Notice what John wrote about him. “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the pre-eminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.” (vr. 9-10).

Does this kind of behavior exist in the world today? Of course it does. There are a few principles that we can read to help us learn what a church should do in dealing with such a person. Now, we are not told whether this man was the local preacher. He may very well have been. Whether or not he was, he was a member of the church who wanted to run things. To desire the pre-eminence means he longed for the right to rule. Of course the only one who is to have the pre-eminence in the church is Jesus Christ (Col. 1:18).

Here are ways a local church can deal with a person like Diotrephes that are lawful:

1. Don’t ignore sinful behavior. Problems are not so bad within a local church. They become more serious when it is not taken care of. John said that when he comes he is going to bring up all his evil deeds (vr. 10)
    
2. Let everyone know what’s going on. Think for a moment what we are reading in 3^rd John. The apostle is telling everyone about this man. There is nothing sinful in pointing the finger at evildoers. This dispels the false notion that we are not to “judge”. When you read Matthew 7:1-5, we are told to identify sin. That’s not being judgmental, it’s being a faithful servant of Christ.
    
3. Confront the person face to face. It is true that the apostle was going to deal with him, but in our text, members of the church confronted this man (vr. 10). You can’t help but notice that John said certain ones went to Diotrephes, and not the whole church. It doesn’t matter if certain ones refuse to confront, that shouldn’t stop those who know they should.
    
4. Don’t worry about what might happen. Perhaps those members who didn’t want to confront Diotrephes thought about what might happen. We are told by John that when brethren did approach him that he turned around and put them out of the church (vr. 10). The fact that this evil doer didn’t repent and acted worse, it didn’t mean he shouldn’t have been dealt with. To ignore his actions would have been worse.
    
5. Understand what a fallen brother can’t do. In our last point we pointed out that Diotrephes put those brethren out of the church who opposed him. This doesn’t mean they were cast out of the body of Christ which the Lord added them to (Acts 2:47). To be cast out of a local assembly by those who refuse to do right is not a bad thing. This doesn’t mean those faithful brethren stop gathering to worship, they just do it somewhere else.

Chuck

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the church. The title was similar to this one. I presented this question:  how can I make it any more clear that Christ’s church isn’t a denomination. This got me to thinking about something else that needs to be made perfectly clear. That is, that being baptized in water when you believe in Jesus does not necessarily mean you have been baptized scripturally.  

I have had people who belong to various denominations quote Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38, telling me they believe in Jesus and they were baptized in water. From the surface, it sure seems like that if anyone would say such, that they have done exactly what the Lord demands. How could there ever be a scenario where their baptism didn’t work and they simply just got wet?

Before I answer this question, let’s make something clear. It doesn’t matter what Chuck says. No one is lost or saved because I say so. This also means that it doesn’t matter what your preacher, family members, friends, or even yourself has to say. The truth is that those who are right are only those who do exactly what the Lord demands (II Jn. 9). Therefore, it matters not how strong someone believes and feels. After all, there are people that strap on bombs and walk into crowds killing themselves and others, being thoroughly convinced they are doing what God wants.

Have said all of that, now let’s take a close look at situations where people who do believe in Jesus and were baptized in water, only got wet and they are not Christians:

Believed one was saved prior to being baptized

This is the most common misunderstanding I hear. People tell me that they were saved and then they went ahead and got baptized. Folks, the Bible does not teach that. No one can get saved prior to having their sins washed away by the blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5). This is accomplished when baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3-7). Peter comes right out and stated that baptism saves us (I Pet. 3:21). Not that there is any power in the water, the power is in the gospel message that we are to obey (Rom. 1:16; II Thes. 1:8).

Believing any baptism is okay, even if done wrong, it doesn’t have to be redone as long as they now have the proper understanding

The Bible does indeed teach there is only one baptism (Eph. 4:5). Yet, it is wrong to conclude that you can have a proper baptism without proper knowledge. This would authorize baptizing people before they hear the message, which is contrary to Christ’s words (Mk. 16:15-16). Of course, what would dispel this idea is if there is a passage in the Bible where people were baptized in water already and were told to do it the right way. There is, and it is found in Acts 19:1-5. Remember, the understanding must come first, which leads us to our next point.

Being baptized without meeting the prerequisites

There was a man who was taught about Jesus and wanted to get baptized. With his desire, he asked if there was anything that could hinder him from being baptized (Acts 8:36). He was told that he needed to first confess his faith in Jesus being the Son of God (vr. 37). This supports what Paul stated in Romans 10:9-10, where the apostles said that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We also read in Acts 2:38, a person must also repent prior to being baptized. This means a person changes their mind and decides to turn their back on sin and follow Jesus. Now this leads us into our next point.

Making an appointment to get baptized, not done immediately

In every example of people getting baptized properly,  they did not wait. The reason is they wanted to be saved. This makes sense since we are told that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:9). Who has this kind of sorrow for their transgression and then opts to wait to be baptized? The answer would be someone who doesn’t understand Bible baptism. This is why a whole household was baptized a little after midnight (Acts 16:25-33). The Ethiopian did it right away with just he and the preacher present (Acts 8:38). Note that these points often overlap. Many times, the reason people don’t do it immediately is because they think they are already saved.

Stating you have been baptized properly without proper reasoning

I have personally had people quote Acts 2:38, where we are told to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. But when I ask them when they were saved, they tell me it was prior to their baptism. How can someone be saved prior to being baptized when Saul/Paul was told, after he believed, confessed, repented and prayed, to arise and be baptized and wash away his sins calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16)? To reason that you have done exactly what the Lord commands, yet at the same time demonstrate your inconsistencies is just not proper thinking.

Believing when you are baptized, you are baptized into the local church

The Bible teaches us that we are to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3). All those who do this are added by Christ into His church (Acts 2:47). Many religious groups perform baptism ceremonies. They turn it into some sort of event for onlookers. However, as noted earlier, in Acts 8 there were just two people there: the preacher and the one wanting to become a Christian. There wasn’t a ceremony of any sort. Man likes to go beyond what is written, especially when it comes to conversions.

Being convinced your baptism was valid by folks convincing you with non-Biblical phrases.

Ever hear, “Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace”? Or, “Accept Jesus as your personal Savior and you will be saved.” These sound Biblical, but they aren’t. Please make sure you did not just get wet. Look at this from a Biblical point of view. It’s the only way!

Chuck

In one of the winter Olympic events this past week, there was a tie for first place and both countries received a gold medal. I think that was the right thing to do. If both crossed the finish line at the exact same time without any infractions, then both are winners. From this, Christians can understand and appreciate the following lesson.

Even though the Bible depicts the Christian life as running a race and needing to finish to obtain the reward (I Cor. 9:24; Heb. 12:1; II Tim. 2:5), it isn’t a competition between others. All Christians want everyone to be saved and obtain the reward (the gold medal so to speak).

When Paul spoke about the race he was in, he was definitely thinking about his reward (II Tim. 4:8). Yet Paul wasn’t wanting to obtain the prize alone. He stated, “there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (vr. 8).

During the Olympics I saw great sportsmanship. Why someone got bumped out of 1^st place into 2^nd, the runner-up would congratulate the winner. Of course, with Christians ,there isn’t any runner-up. All the faithful are winners! To help followers of the Lord learn this aspect of godly living, Jesus told the parable about the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). Christ taught that if someone obeyed the gospel late in life, he obtains the same reward as someone who obeyed the gospel early in life. What Christian wouldn’t rejoice over someone obeying late in life? Hopefully none!

There is a comfort in knowing that brothers and sisters in Christ are not competing against each other. There is no such thing as a “Super Christian”. Every child of God is doing what they can, with the talents they have been given (Matt. 25:14-30). After all, no Christian can actually beat (or do more) than another Christian. Whatever one does, it is what was expected of them (Lk. 17:10). One cannot do over and beyond.

Chuck

When you read II Timothy 4:2-4, one can’t help but wonder why anyone who wants to go to heaven and wants to continue to worship God, turns to false teaching? Even though the apostle answers that question by saying that people will turn their away from the truth and turn aside to fables (vs. 4), we are still left wondering why anyone would do that?

I realize that there isn’t any good reason why people would leave the truth and cling to anything else. Even though the following just doesn’t seem right, here are some possible answers as to why someone would leave the truth and follow lies:

1. There is comfort in numbers and that’s what the majority does (Matt. 7:13-14).

2. The gospel is considered foolishness and there is no desire to be connected with foolishness ( Cor. 1:23)

3. The gospel message doesn’t allow for “enjoyment” of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life (I Jn. 2:16).

4. The preaching of the gospel demands that one make changes in their life, and there is a desire to stay the same (II Pet. 3:18).

5. The preaching of the gospel doesn’t make one happy playing the hypocrite (Matt. 15:7-9).

6. Standing fast in the gospel can cause one to be at odds with their own family (Matt. 10:34-35).

7. Practicing what the gospel teaches will prevent one from gaining the praise of men (Lk. 6:26).

8. Rejecting the gospel will be upsetting at first, but soon the lies will seem like truth once the conscience is seared (I Tim. 4:1-2).

9. By preaching a “different gospel” you will have more success since it will be more appealing to the masses (Gal. 1:6-9).

10. Since the gospel can’t be changed, if one turns to fables, they will feel like they have more control and not be governed by limitations (Col. 3:17).

11. Without hearing the gospel, a person can now favor foolish flattery and empty praise (Prov. 7:5).

12. Leaving the gospel will be much easier and it will take very little effort to go down another road (Jn. 14:6).

13. Following the gospel involves church discipline. By leaving it, you can go where it isn’t done (I Cor. 5:1-10).

14. By not appreciating those who preach the gospel and point the finger, one can leave and go where it isn’t taught. Then you can point the finger at those who do teach it (II Cor. 11:5-15).

15. One can leave the gospel and believe lies because it makes them “feel” good. But it will be temporary (Heb. 11:25).

Chuck