AUDACITY OF THE BAPTIST BRIDE
By Ken Blue
Several years ago I wrote a book called, Baptist Brider Bologna. I had no idea just how thick the bologna was until a fellow pastor called my attention to a Baptist Bride webpage. It contained the article below. We could title it “The Switch and Bait Game.”
Briders believe they have the only correct doctrine, and therefore, only those who embrace it are Christians. You may be saved and in the family of God, but if you are not of their cut, you are not in the bride. You will notice that they make the word Christian synonymous with a Baptist Brider. Then they say if you don’t accept their Baptist teaching, you are not a Christian.
What all that means is, if you aren’t baptized by someone, who was baptized by someone, who was baptized by John the Baptist, you are not a Christian. If you are not a member of a Baptist Bride Church, you are not a Christian. If you do not have closed communion, you are not a Christian. If you fellowship with anyone who is not a Brider, you are not a Christian. If you use any Bible except the King James Bible, you are not a Christian. If you don’t believe in eternal security, you are not a Christian. If you are baptized by anyone except a Brider Pastor, you are not a Christian. If you are not faithful to all the Baptist Church services, you are not a Christian. If you don’t tithe, you are not a Christian. If you don’t go soul winning, you are not a Christian. If you disagree with the pastor, you are not a Christian. And, if the sign on your church doesn’t say Baptist, you probably aren’t a Christian. We say “nuts” to all this!
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Baptist Briders believe they have the only correct doctrine[/pullquote]
What these birds have done is set up a series of personal standards and doctrines, they think early believers believed and practiced. Then they teach that these original believers constituted the Baptist Bride Church, whose members lived by those standards. Adherence to their Baptist teachings identified them as Christians. Therefore, if you do not accept their Baptist Bride doctrines and behavior, you are not a Christian. It’s that simple, boys and girls.
Posted by JTR on 7/01/2010
“While some Baptists understand the absurdity of making a distinction between church history and Baptist history many would still refer to non-Baptist believers as Christians. I don’t believe that you can be a Christian without being a Baptist. I did not say you can’t be saved without being a Baptist and that would be absurd because you cannot become a Baptist until being baptized after salvation. The question must be asked, “What is a Christian?” A Christian is not just one that trusts Christ as their Savior. A Christian is one who is a follower of Christ – including AFTER salvation. May I say that one who gets saved and then backslides or never grows in the Lord is not a Christian. They may have trusted in Christ but they are not following Christ in their life. To be a Christian is to follow the ways and teachings of Christ. How could a believer be a Christian without being a member of the institution of the local church which He started? How could a saved Methodist be a Christian with their infant baptism? How could a Pentecostal believer be a Christian with their speaking in tongues? How could a Church of Christ member be called a Christian when they are trusting in baptism for salvation? How could a Presbyterian believer be a Christian when they don’t believe in eternal security and practice sprinkling? Being a Christian is more than believing in Christ and going to a church that historically believes in Christ instead of other gods. As Spurgeon said, ‘We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians.’ As Baptists we don’t treat the polity of new testament churches as optional suggestions and we don’t add to our practices the contradictory writings and creeds of men. If Jesus were physically on earth today he would be a member of a Baptist church because a (true) Baptist church is a practical copy and an actual descendant of the church that Christ started during His earthly ministry. Don’t be ashamed my brethren, only Baptists are Christians.”
(Emphasis is mine. I am not ashamed to be a Baptist; I am ashamed of some Baptist!)
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.