I agree that celebrating Christmas is not malicious, but instead misguided.  Imagine you were an ancient Israelite  and began celebrating an annual feast to God that He had NOT commanded, but rather had been handed down as a tradition through your family. This feast day through the generations had become very worldly and encouraged fleshly desires including greed, covetousness, drunkenness, and other ungodliness.  When confronted by your brethren, you would exclaim “Oh not me, I know its not an REAL feast day. I’m just enjoying the festive atmosphere they have here. It makes me feel happy.”  I guarantee you that this man’s brethren would be concerned over any of their own who were being enticed and finding pleasure in these annual feasts.  They would also be concerned by any brethren who were approving of such feasts due to their own participation.  The same is true of Christmas today and I’m very concerned about my brethren who are enticed to participate in these annual celebrations and give their blessing of approval through their own participation.  It sends the wrong message to other Christians as well as outsiders who are no doubt observing our behavior.

These things start out innocently enough, but our example can have a huge impact on future generations.  As Christians, we need to take our faith more seriously.  We also need to take our ministry and influence on others more seriously.  The Bible says that when you become a Christian, you are a slave to Christ and no longer a slave to your own desires (1 Corinthians 7:22).  We are now free, but for the purpose of doing HIS will.  That means whatever we do, we do ONLY the things He commands (Colossians 3:17).  Celebrating worldly holidays because it makes us “feel good” is not the fruit of a spiritual man, but the fruit of a fleshly man. We are to be reminded that we crucified the old man and that the new spiritual man feels good when He is serving God.

You can tell a lot about what is in a person’s heart by the things that they value.  When you value the good feeling of secular holidays and make it a part of your family tradition, you’re sending a message to everyone around you about what you value.  You may be a Christian who knows that Christmas has no real religious significance because it is not found in Scripture (see my previous post).  You may have decided to celebrate Christmas anyway as a “non-religious” holiday. I think this is a terrible mistake.  From the perspective of an outsider (non-Christian), you appear just like everyone else who is celebrating it.  They don’t know that you think any differently about it or how you’ve justified it in your mind.  From the outside, it appears that you approve of the secular holiday.  You’ve diminished your influence to educate people and instead disguised yourself to blend in with the rest of the world (Matthew 5:13).

Instead, be a shining beacon of Truth in the world (Matthew 5:14-16).  The world is full of darkness and confusion. Who will be the true Christians willing to take a stand and show the true Light of God in every aspect of their lives?  Who is willing to be transformed, no longer conformed to this world?  Who will dare to love the Lord God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength(Luke 10:27)?  Who will love their neighbor enough to show them something different in your life than what they see everywhere else in the world?  Do you love God more than the happy good feeling you get from a secular holiday?  Compromise your faith no longer….get out there and show the world something different!  Show Christ living in you!

I know this sounds radical, but I understand this to be the Way of Christ as outlined in the Scriptures.  And I know that some of you will not have ears to hear these things.  My hope is that this will be edifying and encouraging to those who do have ears to hear.  And remember, we can’t fall in love with the things of this world if we want God’s love in us (1 John 2:15-17).

My second cousin sent me an email this week and asked me if I liked Christmas music.  I must admit that while I do enjoy some holiday music, it is not because of religious reasons, but rather because it rekindles childhood memories of the smell of a live tree in the house, decorations, mistletoe, claymation holiday movies, and the anticipation of gifts.  As a Christian, I don’t like how the holidays make me feel.  The whole underlying theme is that we will all be much happier because we have spent money on someone else or have received something (someone else spent money on us).  As a result, many people are actually more stressed during the holiday season because they lack funds to purchase gift….or perhaps they experience disappointment because they didn’t receive enough to fill their wanton desires.  Let’s not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-3)!

I actually feel that Christmas is largely turning back into a secular holiday (which is fine with me, at least that way we can call a spade a spade).  I say “turned back into” because I believe it always had its beginnings as a secular holiday celebrating the winter solstice (December 25th was the winter solstice in the Julien calendar established by Julius Caesar in 46 BC).  The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and was seen by pagan’s as the rebirth of the sun because days started getting longer afterward.  It was later rebranded into a “Christian” holiday by the catholic church as they were expanding their influence into the pagan cultures of Europe.  The Bible doesn’t even say when Christ was born.  Don’t you think if it was important for us to celebrate as an annual holiday that it would be told to us in Scripture?  After all, it is Scripture that prepares us for everything we need to know to please God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If “every good work” is included in Scripture and there is no mention of celebrating Christmas, then Christians were never asked to celebrate it.  So, Christmas seems to be returning to a pagan holiday for the most part covered by a thin veneer of religious symbolism.

Many people think it strange for a Christian not to celebrate Christmas (1 Peter 4:3-4).  But could it be even more strange to learn that early Christians didn’t celebrate it either? Its interesting that after reading the new testament Scriptures, you will find no example of early Christians celebrating the birth of Christ as a holiday.  Of course the media and the corporations have latched onto it as a reason to encourage consumerism.  Its also interesting that the early settlers of the United States also didn’t celebrate Christmas and viewed it as a pagan holiday.  It was actually banned by the Puritans…and these were very religious people.  Their reasoning behind the ban was that it wasn’t found in the Bible and therefore a man-made tradition.  It wasn’t until the 19th century in this country that people started celebrating the holiday. And in England it became popular again after Charles Dickens wrote his book “A Christmas Carol”.  I also find it strange that Christians will lie to their children about the existence of a Santa Claus and then expect them to sincerely believe in Jesus Christ.  Credibility blown!

From a biblical perspective, the emphasis for Christians was always placed on Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.  If we follow Him, we can also have the same hope of being raised after we die.  So that’s why I believe the Scriptures teach it is the more important thing for Christians to remember and celebrate Christ through the taking of the Lord’s Supper which He Himself instituted as a memorial (1 Corinthians 11:24)….the only memorial that Christ asked his followers to remember.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly happy that Christ was born…otherwise, He couldn’t have died for our sins.

If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to read Part 1 and Part 2 in this series of posts.

Today I’d like for us to look into the Scriptures to determine which day of the week early Christians worshipped.  If we want to be like the Christians we read about in the Bible, then we need to worship in the same way that God commanded them to worship.  In the New Testament, you will notice that that Christians were meeting on the first day of the week instead of the seventh day (sabbath).

Here are some things to consider….

1)Christ Arose On A Sunday

In Mark 16:9, we learn that “Jesus was risen early the first day of the week”. Some folks have a problem with this because this verse is missing in certain manuscripts.  Let’s look at another one.  In Luke 24:1, we see the same thing recorded. And check this out…my good friend Jeff Smelser pointed this out to me.  The men who Jesus are walking with here in Luke 24 are traveling a distance of about 7 miles on this day. That’s much farther than was allowed on the sabbath.  In Luke 24:21, the men confirm that it was “the third day” in which Christ was supposed to arise from the dead.  This is before they realized they were talking to Jesus and that he had risen.  So Christ arose on “the third day” and appeared to these men that same day…and they were traveling longer than a sabbath days journey.  This discredits those that belief Jesus was raised on the sabbath.

2)Jesus Met With Disciples On Sunday

After Jesus was raised from the dead, he met on several occasions with his followers before ascending into heaven to be with the Father.  On the same day that Jesus arose, he met with his disciples and again one week later which would have been the next Sunday. (John 20:1, 19, 26).

3)First Gospel Sermon Was Preached On Sunday

In Leviticus 23:15 we can see that the day of Pentecost was always on the first day of the week (the day after the sabbath).  On the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-4, we see that the disciples of Jesus were gathered.  The Holy Spirit caused them to speak in different languages to the Jews who were gathered to the Pentecost feast from many different countries.  It was on this Sunday that the first gospel sermon was preached (Acts 2:22-36).  This was the beginning or the church as men heard the gospel preached to them, as they believed the message, repented of their sins, and were baptized “for the forgiveness of their sins” in Acts 2:38-37.

4)The Early Church Met On Sunday

From passages such as  1 Corinthians 11:18-20;14:23, we learn that the early Christians would come together and meet.  In Acts 20:7, we see that the day that they gathered was on the first day of the week.  They were also commanded to take up a collection of money on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).  If they had met on another day, then they would have had to at least meet again on Sunday to take up that collection.  Most people who keep the sabbath take up their collection on Saturday, not on Sunday as Paul instructed the churches.

5)Sabbath Custom, Not Command

It is interesting that Christians are never commanded to keep the sabbath.  I would like to point out that Paul did have a custom of going into the jewish synagogue on the sabbath(Acts 17:2) to reason with the Jews, but his purpose was to convert them.  He did not go there for Christian worship with other believers.  I would see nothing wrong with Christians today going to a Jewish worship on a Saturday to reason with the Jews, however, this would not make it a Christian worship service.  And we cannot command Christians today to keep the sabbath when we have no example of Christians in the Bible being commanded to keep it.

In my last post, we explored the origin of the jewish sabbath day and some inconsistencies among those who claim to keep the sabbath today.  Some of these people even claim to be Christian.  As we all know, there is much debate about Scripture among those who claim to be Christians.  As a reminder, a Christian is one who follows Christ and His commandments (John 14:15).  So what did Jesus expect His followers to do in regards to observing the Sabbath?  We must realize that Jesus was born a Jew and grew up observing the Sabbath.  However, did Jesus command His followers to keep the Jewish sabbath day?  Some Christians today worship on Saturday and claim to keep the sabbath.  Other Christians worship on Sunday.  The Bible says in Ephesians 4:4-5 that there is only one body (the church), one Lord (this is Jesus) and one faith (that’s the instructions of Christ). So, from this it seems that we must study the Bible in order to learn how the early Christians worshipped.  Was it Saturday or Sunday? Do we observe the sabbath or not?

Old Covenant Written On Two Tablets of Stone

The command to observe the sabbath was part of the covenant made with Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt and was written on two tablets of stone (Exodus 20, Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13; 9:9-11,  I Kings 8:9,21).  Read these passages to see how the term covenant an ten commandments are used interchangeably. There were many more statutes and ordinances given, but for the purpose here, we can observe that the covenant between God and the sons of Israel mentioned was on these two tablets of stone. One of the terms of this covenant was keeping the sabbath. If we can later find a passage of the Bible that says that the covenant written on these stones is no longer valid, that also means that the sabbath is no longer valid. Well, here is one….

2 Corinthians 3:5-14

 ⁵ Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, ⁶ who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. ⁷ But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, ⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. ¹⁰ For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹ For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.¹² Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, ¹³ and are not like Moses, whoused to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

A New Covenant Made The First One Obsolete

God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah of a “new covenant” that would be made with the house of Israel.  In Jeremiah 31:31-34 God said that tge new covenant would be “not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them”.

In Hebrews 8:6, we learn that Christ is the mediator of a better covenant and that the new covenant has made the first one obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

In Hosea 2:11, God spoke through the prophet Hosea and said about the nation of Israel “I will also put an end to all her gaiety, Her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths And all her festal assemblies.”  We see here that the old testament predicted that there would be an end to the sabbath observance.

Christians Are Free From Old Covenant Law

In Romans 7:1-6, there is a wonderful illustration about how Christians are free from the law of the old covenant.  The example used is that of a marriage.  A woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if he dies she is free to marry.  In the same way, when one is buried and dies through water baptism into Christ (Romans 6:4), they are now free from the old covenant law and now instead married to Christ.  The implication is that to observe both the old and new covenant would make one an adulteress in the eyes of God.

But what law is he referring to?  Notice in Romans 7:7, Paul mentions that the law said “You shall not covet.”  He is referring to the ten commandments here.  We established before that the ten commandments was also referred to as the covenant between God and the sons of Israel. Paul is saying that Christians are no longer bound to that old covenant or the ten commandments God gave to Israel.  Remember, the sabbath observance was one of these commandments (Exodus 20:17) so this statement by Paul confirms again that the sabbath day was made made obsolete along with the rest of the covenant.

Sabbath Was Just A Shadow Of Things To Come

In Colossians 2:16-17, the Bible says that no one should judge a Christian “in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or new moon or a sabbath day.”  You see, under the old law or covenant, there were restrictions on what Jews could eat.  They had to observe certain feasts or festivals every year.  They also had to observe the sabbath day.  However, Paul is no telling them that all of these decrees have been nailed to the cross of Christ (Colossians 2:14).  He also mentions that all of these things are a “shadow” of things to come.  He meant that they these physical things have a spiritual meaning under the new covenant.

Hebrews 4 indicates that today the sabbath day rest was just a hint of a future eternal rest that all Christians are awaiting in heaven.  Hebrews 4:9 says that “there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God.”  When we die and go to heaven, we will also rest from our works as God rested from His works. “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall” (Hebrews 4:11).  I’d encourage you to read this entire chapter to understand the comparison between the sabbath rest of Jews and the eternal rest for the people of God today under the new covenant.

The Origin of The Sabbath

Before Christ and before there were any Christians, Jews had been worshipping God on the 7th day of the week (the Sabbath).  Let’s look at the Bible to understand how this began.  In Genesis 2:1-3, we see that by the 7th day of creation, God had completed the heavens and the earth and God rested from His work.  The Bible also says that He blessed it and sanctified (set apart) it.  Many people believe that from this point in history, all mankind observed the Sabbath.  However, I do not believe this is accurate according to the Bible.  In fact, there is no mention of people observing a sabbath rest until Exodus 16 when Moses and the children of Israel are in the wilderness.  You might be surprised to learn that there is no mention of Adam & Eve keeping the sabbath.  Or Enoch, or Methuselah, or Noah, or Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob (later named Israel).  In fact, there is no record of Sabbath keeping until God calls the descendants of Israel out of Egypt. In Exodus 16:22-26, Moses has to explain the sabbath to the Israelites.  It seems that they did not know about it.

Sabbath Given to Sons of Israel, Not Christians

In Exodus 19-20, God makes a covenant with the sons of Israel at Mt. Sinai and gives them this covenant in the form of ten commandments written on stone tablets (Exodus 19:5-6, 20:8-11).  One of these commands given to them was to observe the sabbath which was the 7th day of the week.  In Deuteronomy 5, the ten commandments are repeated by Moses.  In Deuteronomy 5:2-3, Moses reminds them of the covenant that was made between God and the Israelites.  He also tells them that God DID NOT make this covenant with their fathers.  Because the sabbath observance was part of this covenant, this means that their ancestors did not keep the sabbath.  It was for them only.  But why did God make them observe the sabbath day of rest every week?  In Deuteronomy 5:15, God tells them that the sabbath is a reminder that God brought them out of slavery in Egypt, therefore they will observe the sabbath day.  At this point I think it is important to note who God brought out of Egypt.  The text says that the sabbath was designed for the Israelites to remember that they were brought out of Egypt.  Exodus 31:17 also states that the sabbath was a sign between God and the sons of Israel.  Christians today were never brought out of Egyptian slavery.

Killed For Breaking the Sabbath

Many who observe the sabbath today do not observe it properly.  No work could be performed on the sabbath.  In fact, it was a day of complete rest.  Exodus 35:1-3 tells us that anyone who was found breaking the sabbath was to be put to death.  Do you know anyone who enforces this rest rule today?  In Numbers 15:32-36, there is an example of a man caught gathering sticks on the sabbath and God commanded that he be put to death.  If God expected Christians to observe the sabbath today, then God’s punishment for not observing it should also be the same.

Burnt Offerings On the Sabbath

In Numbers 28:9-10, we learn that the sabbath was to be observed with a burnt offering to God.  You also might recall that only a priest was allowed to offer up the burnt sacrifices.  And to be a priest, you had to be from the tribe of Levi.  Do you know of any sabbath keepers today who observe the commanded sabbath offerings?  And if so, are they performed by a priest from the tribe of Levi?  How can the sabbath still be in effect, but not the burnt offering?

Sabbath Travel Restricted

In Exodus 16:29, God expected his people to not travel on the sabbath.  The Bible says “let no man go out of his place on the seventh day”.  In Acts 1:12, we see the phrase “sabbath day’s journey.”  Travel was restricted to less than a mile on the sabbath day.  However, many people claiming to keep the sabbath today travel long distances in order to “keep the sabbath” when in reality they are breaking the rules for the sabbath.

Be Consistent – Rather, Follow The New Covenant

If you are going to keep the sabbath, you need to keep all of the rules concerning the sabbath.  Fortunately, for Christians, we don’t live under that covenant between God and the sons of Israel.  We live under a new covenant between God and all mankind. That covenant was made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, his burial, and resurrection.  We have to study our Bibles carefully to understand the difference between this new covenant and the old covenant with Israel.

In my next post, we will explore how all of these rules of the old covenant (including the sabbath observance) was done away and replaced by a new covenant of Christ (Hebrews 8:13).

Even the smallest thought or idea can become powerful. Like seeds both good and bad planted in our mind which mature and rule our thoughts, shaping the course of our lives.  So wake up and be alert!  What kind of seed is being sown in your life?  Remember, we’re in a battle for our minds that will determine the ultimate fate of our soul.   Stay focused on God, put Christ at the center of your life, and let His light illuminate the dark corners of your mind where the enemy hides.  We are told to break down the strongholds and take every thought captive to Christ.

Remember, we are not fighting flesh and blood, but its rather a spiritual warfare. Our weapons are not human.  Self help books are useless because the help doesn’t come from self.  We must rely on God’s power, not our own. We must use all of the spiritual weapons at our disposal: the Truth of God found in the Bible, prayer, and faith. God will only do for us what we trust Him to do in our life.  He can only make the changes that we allow Him to make.

Let me ask you a serious question.  Is Christ in complete control of your mind?  If not, perhaps you’ve never really put to death the old man.  Perhaps you haven’t been truly crucified with christ and buried with him in the waters of baptism to be raised up in newness of life (Romans 6:4).  This is the sealing of the agreement (or covenant) in which we now have access to all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.  Or you might already be a Christian, but have revived the old sinful man.  Being dead to the old man is a daily task that we choose.  I believe that is what Paul meant in I Corinthians 15:31.  We choose on a daily basis to 1)follow Jesus or 2)follow our own fleshly desires.  How can we change the desires of our heart?  Again, through prayer, study, and meditation on God’s Word.  We must actively put off the old man and actively put on the new man that God wants us to be.  We must allow the peace of God to dwell in us richly and change us.

Click to listen to the full audio lecture…

What exactly is sin anyway?  I think I know what it is, but I was looking on Dictionary.com and liked how they described it as “transgression of divine law”.  They also say that its “any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.”  Hmmm….if a sin is something that has to be committed by the person doing it, how can we be born with it?  That’s a good question, right?

Many believe that babies are born sinful and I think its because of this that they think they need to baptize them.  You can read more about that in my previous article “Is Infant Baptism In The Bible?“.  Let’s look to see what the Bible has to say about being born with sin

1)God Made Men Upright

In Ecclesiastes 7:29, the Bible says that God made men upright, but that they have chosen their own way.  This would put the responsibility for sin on the man or woman doing it.  Otherwise, you could just say “Oh, I was born sinful.  God made me this way.”  That is not what the Bible teaches.

2)”Little Children” Enter The Promised Land

In the Old Testament, God promised to lead the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan if they would only obey Him.  However, He became angry with the Israelites because they did not listen and sinned against to God.   He said that all of them would die wandering in the wilderness and that the next generation would enter the promised land. However, God did name some exceptions.  In Deuteronomy 1:39, God said that their “little ones” would be allowed to live and enter the promised land because they “have no knowledge of good or evil.”  It is widely accepted that the promised land in the Old Testament is symbolic of God’s Heavenly Kingdom.

3)You Can’t Inherit Your Father’s Sins

Among Jews, it was widely misunderstood that if someone was born with a birth defect, that it was because your parents sinned.  We see an example of this with the man born blind in John 9.  Jesus quickly corrects them and tells them that this is not the reason for his blindness.  Also, in Ezekiel 18, we see that that this was a common belief among the Jews:

‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

They thought that if your child had bad teeth, that the parent must have eaten sour grapes.  However, God tells them to stop saying these things because they are not true.  God points out that a son cannot inherit any sin from his father.  Each person is responsible for their own sin.  However, if the son chooses to follow in the sinful ways of his father, he too will be held responsible for his actions.  We are all born into a sinful world, but we’re born pure and then influenced by the sin that is all around us, including the ones committed by our close family.  Romans 5:12-14 reminds us that it was Adam that first introduced sin into the world. However, Paul also adds that death spreads to all men BECAUSE all sin.  You see, its our own sinful choices that lead to spiritual death, not because we are born with it.

4)We Must Become Childlike to Enter Heaven

In Matthew 18:4, Jesus even taught that we must become humble and innocent like a child if we want to enter the Kingdom of God.

5)Was Kind David Born Sinful?

Some folks have been taught that King David says he was born sinful in Psalm 51:5.  However, in verse 3, David admits that he knows his own transgressions (or sin).  He also says that he knows that he has done evil so God would be justified in holding him accountable.  How could God be fair in judging you for something you didn’t choose to do?  I’m talking about being born with sin.  In light of the other passages, we’ve reviewed, it makes just as much sense to me that David is saying that his mother was sinful when she gave birth to him.  Some view this as saying that his mother perhaps got pregnant as a result of a sinful act.  We may never know for sure, but to rest the whole argument of original sin (sin from birth) on this one passage would mean to throw away all of the other passages that teach against it.
I hope that this was helpful and if you feel that I’m missing something or twisting Scriptures, you’d be considered a good friend to let me know.  May God bless you all and keep reading your Bibles!

I have a couple really close friends that worship in churches that practice infant baptism.  And I hear that one of them went against the grain when he refused to have his infant daughter baptized.  He didn’t believe that the Bible taught infant baptism and that there were problems with the practice.  I was really proud of him because its not easy to stand up to church tradition.  It also meant that he had studied his Bible and was convicted in his heart that it wasn’t the right thing to do.  I’ll admit that I’ve never attended a church that practices it.   So if you do, please keep me honest here.  And I certainly don’t aim to offend anyone.  My purpose is to attempt an honest review of the practice compared to what is found in Scripture.  I pray that, at the very least, that we do not support our position by giving undue authority to tradition or church history, but that we do, in fact, base our position on the Word of God.

1)It’s Not In The Bible

OK, the first thing that seems strange to me is that this practice doesn’t seem to be in the Bible.  So I’m wondering how did this get started?  It looks like it has been practiced a very long time, but I find it interesting that there is no example of this in the Scripture itself.  There seems to be a couple verses used to justify the practice.  One is Luke 18:16 where Jesus says ”Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God”. However, when you read this chapter you notice that they weren’t bringing babies to Jesus to be baptized by Him.  They wanted Jesus to touch their babies.  In fact, you couldn’t be baptized into Christ until after he actually died.

In the Book of Acts, we see many individuals who are baptized after responding to the preaching of the Gospel (Acts 2:41; Acts 8:35-38). But we also see occasions where entire households are baptized after hearing the Gospel.  One example is in Acts 16:15 where a woman named Lydia was baptized “and her household”.  There is another example in Acts 16:33 where a jailer and his household were baptized.  From these texts, it is thought that perhaps small babies in the house must have been baptized.  But an honest person will admit that we cannot know for sure what family might have been in the house or the ages of these people.  Many during this time lived in a household among extended family members.  An argument rested on this passage seems like it would be a weak one.  The fact of the matter is that there is no clear command in the Bible to baptize babies and there is no clear command not to baptize them.  If you find one, however, please let me know. It seems that people who practice infant baptism infer that it is necessary.  If your church practices this, is the whole family being baptized like its described in the Bible?  In any case, I think some of the bigger problems lie below…

2)Purpose of Baptism

I really do appreciate the concern of parents who are afraid for their child and want to do everything in their power to help that child avoid God’s judgement. After all, no loving parent would want their child to be lost.  Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he told his apostles to go and make disciples by baptizing them (Matthew 28:19-20).  In a world where most people will tell you that all you have to do to be saved is pray Jesus into your heart using the “sinner’s prayer” (its not in the Bible), I really do like to see folks who still believe what the Bible teaches on the importance of baptism for forgiveness of sins.   My question is this “Why Do Babies Need To Be Baptized?”.  Does a baby have sin that needs to be forgiven?  In the Bible, it seems that it was only after someone realized their own sin that they were converted.  At Paul’s conversion he was told to “Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16).  What are your thoughts?  Are babies born with sin?  Send me your Scriptures.

3)Babies Can’t Believe or Repent

When Peter stood up and delivered the first Gospel sermon (Acts 2:38), the Jews responded to the message and asked “What shall we do?” Peter told them to “repent and be baptized” so their sins would be forgiven.  Repent means to change ones mind toward their sin.  It means to decide to leave your sin and start following Christ.  How can a baby decide to do this?  I believe this is a real problem with infant baptisms.  A child could grow up without ever having to make that personal choice to leave their sinful ways and choose Christ because he/she already thinks they are saved.  In the Bible examples, they always heard the message, believed the message, made a choice to follow Christ, and then were baptized. Am I missing something?

4)You Can’t Force Christianity

As much as you might want your child to be a Christian, can you really do it for them?  In the Old Testament, children were circumcised as Jews when they were only 8 days old.  They  did this because it was commanded in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 12:3).  I think some people might see this old testament mandate and then think they have to baptize babies under the new covenant.  It’s true that baptism is compared to circumcision.  In fact, Colossians 2:11-12  says baptism is a circumcision not made with hands and that in baptism we are buried and raised with Christ through our faith in God because we know that he raised Christ from the dead..  How can a baby have this faith?  1 Peter 3:21 says that baptism is an appeal to God for a clear conscience.  Can babies make an appeal for a clear conscience?  It would be interesting to ask a developmental psychologist when a baby has developed a conscience.

If your church practices infant baptism, please do me a favor and  leave me a comment below.  Include some Scriptures too so we understand the reasoning behind it.  I hope that if nothing else, this will give you some things to consider.  If you see that I’m in error, you’d be my friend to let me know.  I pray that we will all go back to the Bible and learn firsthand how God wants us to live as Christians.  And I believe that means rejecting all man-made church traditions and instead worshipping God just like the early church.

If you went to 10 different churches and asked them how you could join, they’d probably give you 10 different answers. Hmmm…how could that be? Didn’t Jesus start the church? Why aren’t we using his rules for joining it as indicated in the Bible?

The first thing we need to realize is that the term “church” is used very loosely today.  Any group that considers themselves to be Christians are quick to call themselves the Lord’s church. You can read more about choosing a church in my previous article “How To Choose a Church”.  It’s important to choose a group that is using the Bible as the rulebook instead of their own religious traditions.  Here are some ideas to keep in mind in regards to joining the church that Jesus founded:

1)Jesus Built Only One Church

What? I know this is hard to believe because we often see a church on every corner.  But in a spiritual sense, Jesus only has ONE church.  In Matthew 16:16-18, the apostle Peter recognized that Jesus was the Christ (or annointed one) and the Son of the Living God, Jesus said that He would build His church on the foundation of this truth (or on this rock).  When the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, he urged them to stay unified as one body Ephesians 4:3-6. In fact, he told them that there is only one body and in his letter to the Christians in Colossians, he indicates that the church is the body of Christ. So Christ built his one true church which is made up of one body, the one true church (or assembly).  Ephesians 5:23 tells us that Christ is the savior of this body so its important for us to be in His church if we want to have eternal life.  In a physical sense, brethren met in local groups such as the church in Ephesus, the church in Rome, the church in Colossae, etc.  And today, brethren still meet in local groups in towns all around the world.

Why is this important? Because if there is only one true church, the rules should be the same to join it regardless of where it meets.

2)The Lord (not man) Grants Admittance

I know this might sound strange, but in the Bible, it was the Lord that added people to the church.  Only his rules for admittance have to be followed.  When the church began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter preached the first gospel sermon. All who responded to that sermon and became Christians were added to the church.  But who added them? You might assume that Peter and the apostles added them.  But the Bible actually says in Acts 2:47 that it was the Lord that added all of the ones being saved to the church.  And when you think in terms of God’s spiritual Kingdom, you have to realize that a man cannot add you to it.  It must be the Lord who adds you.  If you want to know how they were saved, you can read my earlier post on “How To Become A Christian“.

3)The Two Meanings of Church

You might notice that I’m using the word “church” in two different senses. In one sense, when we join the church that Christ built, we are joining a spiritual body of all Christians both past and present.  But in a practical physical sense, we also use the word church to describe a group of local Christians that meet in a particular town.  But don’t worry, the Bible makes this distinction as well.  We know that after Paul became a Christian, he attempted to associate with the church that was meeting in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26), but they were afraid of him because he previously persecuted Christians.  Did this mean that he wasn’t part of the Lord’s church?  No, he had already been baptized in Damascus so he was still a member of the Lord’s spiritual Kingdom.  It just meant that he wasn’t yet part of the local body of Christians meeting in Jerusalem.

4)Do I Have To “Join” a Church?

If you have fully obeyed the Gospel and have already been added to the Lord’s church, you might be wondering if you need to “join” a local group of Christians.  The Bible seems to indicate that this is very important.  Read Hebrews 10:23-25.  The writer instructs that we are to promote love and good deeds among one another. We are also not supposed to abandon (or forsake) the meetings of the brethren. Instead, we are supposed to encourage one another.  This is done through teaching, preaching, singing, prayer, etc. and made a lot more difficult if we aren’t actually meeting with our brethren in the worship services.  I know, I know, we have a lot of cool technology these days to keep in touch with brethren or even listen to sermons from the comfort of our homes.  But we must not violate the Bible by ignoring the gathering of brethren for the purpose of worship.

Rembemer, there are many different churches in existence today, but the Lord built only one church.  Let’s make sure the church we attend is the Lord’s church that we can read about in the Bible.  The Lord’s church must teach and practice only the things that Jesus authorizes.  This means that we observe all of the commands and examples found in New Testament Scripture which is the outline for the new covenant (or agreement) through Christ.  We must be members of His church if we expect to be saved.

First, let me say that this is not some kind of hate post.  I don’t hate homosexuals at all.  Let’s just look to the Bible to see whether God approves of this behavior. Many people today who claim to be Christians practice homosexual behavior so we need to be sure about this issue.  Others may only approve of homosexuality, but you really need to know how God feels about this issue.  Many churches today have become “inclusive” and openly accept homosexuals as members of their congregations.  As a Christian, we need to know whether to approve or disapprove of this behavior based on how God feels and not based on our own opinions. As we all know, homosexual behavior is very common in our society and the people who practice it could be our coworkers, neighbors, friends, or even our family members.

What exactly is homosexuality? Wikipedia defines it this way:

“Homosexuality is romantic and/or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender.”

This definition includes thoughts (or attractions), romantic relationships, as well as physical acts outside of a relationship. How would we know what God thinks about this issue?  Well, let’s go to the Bible!

1)God Made Them Male and Female

Let’s first consider why God made men and women?  Why not all men?  Why not women only?  In fact, he could have made us so that we just split into two people once we become an adult.  After all, that’s how cells reproduce.  But he chose instead to create male and female creatures (animals and humans) that would mate and reproduce.  Two men cannot reproduce nor can two women reproduce.  It goes against God’s design of a male and a female.  Read Genesis 5:2.  Why did God create men and women? Well, in Mark 10:6-9  we see part of a conversation discussing the divorce of a man and woman.  However, we learn from this conversation that God created men and women to be married or united as one flesh.  In the Bible, marriage always referred to the union of one man to one woman. Romans 1:26-27 indicates that to practice homosexuality, men and women must first give up the natural function of the opposite sex in order to indulge in their desires for the same sex.  These acts are described as degrading passions and are considered indecent.

2)Homosexuals Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of God

Wow!  I know this sounds harse, but let’s put aside our own opinions and focus on what the Bible says about the subject.  In I Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul told the Corinthians not to be deceived into thinking that homosexuals would inherit the Kingdom. He reminds them that unrighteous people cannot enter God’s Kingdom.  And we’re not picking on gay people here.  He also includes many other types of sinners to this list such as fornicators (people who have sex outside of marriage), idolators (people who worship other gods), adulterers (people who cheat on their wife/husband), effeminate people, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.  In God’s eyes, all of these sins are equally wrong.  Many people who claim to be Christians will admit that some of these things are sins, but its funny how they want to pick and choose which ones to believe.  We must either accept what the Bible says or reject all of it Bible, but we need to be consistent.  You can’t say its wrong to steal and swindle, but OK for people to be homosexual, drunkards, and fornicators.

By the way, you may be wondering what effeminate means (as translated in the New American Standard Bible).  This greek word (μαλακοι) was used to describe a boy or a man kept for homosexual relations with another man or a man who submitted his body to unnatural lewdness.  The word can also sometimes mean “soft”.  But based on the context and study of other Greek texts, this word usually refers to the submissive partner in a homosexual relationship.  In addition, the greek word (ἀρσενοκοῖται) translated here as homosexuals specifically means “one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual”.   Again, based on the analysis of other Greek texts, this Greek word when used in contrast to the word translated as effeminate, usually refers to the dominate partner in a homosexual relationship.

3)Homosexuality Is Contrary To Sound Teaching

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:8-11), homosexuality is included with a list of things that are characteristic of people who are described as lawless, rebellious, ungodly, sinners, unholy, and profane.  Notice that these descriptions are not specific sins, but are all synonymous of someone who is living in sin.  The specific sins mentioned include those who kill their fathers/mothers, murderers, immoral, homosexual, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and “whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.”  This last statement would indicate that homosexuality is included with the things that are contrary to sound teaching.

4)That’s Not Me!

Some people who practice homosexuality will look at these passages and say “That’s not me.”  They claim that these examples are talking about promiscuous relationships involving men.  I’ve heard of some people justify their homosexual relationships because their relationship was monogamous.  They believe that since they feel love towards their homosexual partner, that it justifies the action.  However, its important to note that the Bible does not make the distinction, but rather condemns all forms of homosexuality.  And even though these texts and word definitions specifically mention men, the same principles apply to women who practice such things. The Greek word used in 1 Timothy 1:8-11 specifically means “one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual.”

5)You Can’t Trust Your Conscience Alone

We must never justify our actions based on feelings alone.  I realize that many who practice homosexuality are practicing it with a clear conscience.  Because they don’t feel they are doing anything wrong, they reason that it must be OK.  However, the Bible teaches that the conscience can become defiled (Titus 1:15-16).  In addition, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:4 that even though he was not conscious of any wrong he was doing, this would not allow him to escape God’s judgement.  Remember, this is the same Paul who at one time was persecuting Christians with a perfectly good conscience before he himself became a Christian. Read Acts 23:1 and Acts 26:9-11.

I want to stress that we should not hate anyone who practices sin.  As a society, we tend to treat different sins with varying degrees of dislike.  Our society tolerates some sins and condemns other sins.  Often, people who call themselves Christians show hatred towards people who practice certain sins such as homosexuality.  Instead, our hatred should be of the sin itself….and that includes any sin.  With all love, patience, and compassion we should seek to instruct others in the ways of righteousness.  We should not be afraid to stand firm for sound teaching according to the Scriptures, but please don’t forget the love and patience.  Read 2 Timothy 4:2.

As always, if I’ve missed something or you think the Scripture teaches differently, I welcome your feedback and comments.