Do You Believe The Bible?
Just last evening, I picked up a church bulletin in which I found the following:
A denominational preacher registered in a St. Louis hotel. As he was about to sign in, he noticed on the register the name of Robert G. Ingersoll on the line above. He inquired at the desk if this were the great Colonel Ingersoll, famed skeptic. When assured that he was, the preacher asked for his room number and rushed up to see him.
Upon arriving, he quizzed the Colonel, "I wrote you for a debate several months ago. Why did you not answer my letter?" The Colonel replied, "I did not answer your challenge, because I know that you do not believe the Bible any more than I do."
The preacher was insulted at his faith being questioned, and asked for proof. The Colonel picked up his Bible and turned to Mark 16:16 and read, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
Then he asked the preacher, "Do you believe one must be baptized to be saved?" The preacher stammered, stuttered, and trembled, but finally answered in the negative. The Colonel then said triumphantly, "You see! I knew you did not believe the Bible! Why should we debate?"
Men who claim to believe in and love Jesus but who will not believe and obey His word are misled (Luke 6:26).
1) Men who say that the alien sinner (one who never has entered Christ) can be saved without being baptized do not believe the Bible.
a. Our narrative above emphasizes this point. Mark 16:16 plainly proves that, according to Jesus Christ, one must be baptized in order to be saved. To say that one can be saved without being baptized is to give plain evidence that one does not truly believe the Bible.
b. But there is much more proof of this. 2 Timothy 2:16 proves that salvation is in Christ. That being true, so long as one is out of Christ he is not yet saved. But how or when does one enter Christ? The Bible gives a plain, easily understood answer. Will you accept it? Are you a Bible believer? Do you believe what the Bible says about it? If so, then you believe that one enters Christ when he is baptized, for Romans 6:3 plainly so declares. Compare also the following: Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21.
2) Men who say that there are many faiths and that one is just as good as another do not truly believe the Bible.
a. In Ephesians 4:4-6, among other things, Paul points out that there is "one faith." The word "faith" here refers to the system of faith, the Gospel, the Word of God. There is only one Gospel, and this Gospel contains only one plan of salvation (or instruction as to how to enter Christ, or become a child of God). Compare John 14:6; Matthew 7:13, 14, 21, and Romans 1:16, 17.
b. In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul points out that those who preach any Gospel other than the one which he preached would be under the anathema (curse) of God. Do you believe the Bible? Do you accept the idea of there being only one Gospel, one faith? Or do you, in utter contradiction of the Bible, believe the doctrine of men that there are many gospels, many faiths and that the following of any of (even if it is not the Gospel of Christ) will bring one into heaven when this life is over?
3) Men who say that the sinner is saved by faith only, do not truly believe the Bible.
a. In James 2:24, the Bible plainly declares that men are NOT justified by "faith only." Do you believe it? Or do you accept the theory of man that the doctrine of faith only is wholesome doctrine and "very full of comfort.?"
b. One who says that sinners do not have to obey Christ (but only believe) would have no ground to challenge Colonel Ingersoll on his infidelity. For the Bible plainly declares that Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all those that OBEY him (Hebrews 5:8, 9). To deny that one must obey to be saved is to deny the Bible - it is plainly declared that one does not believe the Bible. Compare the following: Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; 1 Peter 1:22, 23; James 2:26.
A Word of Exhortation. May I plead with each and every reader to become a sincere student of the Bible? May I plead with each to be a true believer of the Bible, to accept as his rule of faith and action the things taught upon the pages of the Bible? Accept no mere man's word for anything about the word of God. Investigate for yourself (see Acts 17:11).
By: Thomas B. Warren