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BAPTIST BRIDERS AND REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY

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Difficulties with Briders Doctrine

By Ken Blue

Recently an article by a Baptist Brider came to my attention. The following quote was the first paragraph. “When did the church start? Baptists, being dispensationalists and not replacement theologians, believe that the church is a New Testament institution so we know that we can find its origins within the borders of the New Testament Scriptures.”

The first mistake our brother makes is his reference to “the church.” You see, in Baptist Bride doctrine, there is no such thing as “the Baptist church.” There are only individual local churches. Now, I am aware that he may have been thinking of only one local church at the time, but I doubt it.

Baptist Briders believe their baptism is the door to the local church. Next, their local church is the bride of Christ. Therefore, you must be baptized into a Baptist Bride church to be in the bride. In fact, years ago, whenever you moved from one Baptist Bride church to another, you had to be rebaptized, because water baptism was the only key to each local church.

This practice became monotonous and burdensome, so a convenient transfer method was devised. It was called a Transfer of Membership letter. However, anyone can see the hypocrisy of this act. If the only church that exists is a local Baptist Bride church, and it alone is the bride of Christ, and the only way into it is Baptist Bride baptism, how does a letter, replace baptism? It cannot, unless you believe a universal Baptist Bride church exist, and one baptism will work for all of them.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If Baptist Briders are not replacement theologians, why is John’s baptism, the parables of Jesus, His teaching and miracles attributed to the Baptist Church?[/pullquote]

Also, there was a Jewish church. (“This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:” Acts 7:38 .) It would be interesting for someone to show us where and when that church ceased to exist. If Baptist are not “replacement theologians” why do they insert themselves in the upper room, replacing the “the little flock” to whom Jesus was going to give the Kingdom of Heaven? (“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32.)

If Baptist Briders are not replacement theologians, why is John’s baptism, the parables of Jesus, His teaching and miracles attributed to the Baptist Church? And, at what point was the nation of Israel rejected? What did God take from Israel and give the Baptist according to Luke 12:32? “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” Matthew 21:43. Is the Baptist Brider that kingdom and nation? If so, was it taken away from Israel in Matthew 3? If it was taken from Israel and given to John the Baptist and his followers, wouldn’t that be a replacement??

A follow-up question is, can you pinpoint where the New Testament began? (“16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”) Hebrews 9:16-17. Even a casual reading of the Gospels, reveals that everyone was operating under the intent of the Law during our Lord’s Jewish ministry. See Matt. 5:17, 18; 7:12; 8:4; 11:13; 22:40; Mark 1:44; Luke 2:22-24, 27, 39; 5:14, 16:16.

There are Bible believers who believe the church began in Matthew, 3, 16, 27; Acts 2, 9, 28, can you prove where it started? The reason many have no idea when the church started is their replacement theology.

Since a covenant and a testament are not the same, and the Old and New covenants were made with Israel, to whom and to what did the new testament testify? Can you describe the difference between a covenant and a testament? The confusion of Baptist Briders on these, and many other subjects, forces them to embrace replacement theology.

THINGS YOU WEREN’T TAUGHT ABOUT THE MORMON CHURCH

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Be sure and listen to the great songs to lift your spirit


Compiled By Ken Blue

• Wives Cannot Go The Celestial Heaven Without Their Husband’s Approval
“Mormonism teaches of the importance for couples to be married and sealed in the Mormon temple. This doctrine is especially important for the women, considering they must have a male priesthood holder to accompany them into the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom. Mormon Apostle Erastus Snow preached Mormon women must keep themselves “worthy” to have a husband, if not they may be received as a servant by someone else.
“Do the women, when they pray, remember their husbands? Do you uphold your husband before God as your lord? What!-my husband to be my lord? I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without him? Have any of you been there? You will remember that you never go into the celestial kingdom (during the temple ceremony) without the aid of your husband. If you did, it was because your husband was away, and some one had to act proxy for him. No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not, somebody will receive her as a servant” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p 291)”

• Jesus And The Devil Are Brothers
“In the Discourses of Brigham Young, on Pg.53-54 he lets it be known that Lucifer is the second son, the one known as “Son of the Morning.” “Who will redeem the earth, who will go forth and make the sacrifice for the earth and all things it contains?” The Eldest Son said: “Here am I”; and then he added, “Send me.” But the second one, which was “Lucifer, Son of the Morning,” said, “Lord, here am I, send me, I will redeem every son and daughter of Adam and Eve that lives on the earth, or that ever goes on the earth.” Note: Brigham Young is simply making this story up as he goes along. He had no knowledge that this conversation ever took place. In fact, it did not! Jesus Christ is not the brother of Lucifer in any manner. Why? Because Jesus Christ is God and the creator of all things. That includes Lucifer. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” Colossians 1:16.

• Tithing Required To Enter And Dwell In Zion
While tithes are not uncommon among religion, rarely are they mandatory. LDS theology states that in order to make it to the highest kingdom of heaven, you must pay a full and honest tithe.
D&C 119: 3-6. 3 And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.5 Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.6 And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.”

• Blacks And The Priesthood
Black-skinned people are of inferior origin – Mormonism teaches that the spirit beings that did not fight valiantly for God come to earth as blacks, while those who fought valiantly come to earth as whites. Until very recently blacks could not become priests in the mormon system of worship for reasons related to this and other demeaning doctrines.
President Brigham Young, for example, in the March 1863 Journal of Discourses 10:110, said: “Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.” Note: It was not God who opened their eyes and changed their stand. It was the Civil Rights movement and the fear of lawsuits.

• There Is No Salvation In Any Other Church
“Orson Pratt (Mormon Apostle)–”..all other churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God; and any person who receives baptism of the Lord’s supper from their hands highly offend God, for he looks upon them as the most corrupt of all people” (The Seer, pg 255)”

  • Secret Underwear

A Temple garment (also referred to as garments, or Mormon underwear) is a type of underwear worn by members of some denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, after they have taken part in the Endowment ceremony. Garments are worn both day and night and are required for any previously endowed adult to enter a church temple. The undergarments are viewed as a symbolic reminder of the covenants made in temple ceremonies, and are viewed as either a symbolic or literal source of protection from the evils of the world.
The garment is given as part of the washing and anointing portion of the endowment. Today, the temple garment is worn primarily by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and by members of some Mormon fundamentalist churches. Adherents consider them to be sacred and not suitable for public display. Anti-Mormon activists have occasionally publicly displayed or defaced temple garments to show their opposition to the LDS Church.
To members of the LDS Church, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God. Church President Joseph F. Smith taught that the garment was to be held as “the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life.”
(Note: The Mormon Church is the master of deceit. The web is much larger than you might imagine.)

little IMPERFECTIONS MAKE HUGE IMPRESSIONS # 3

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Be sure and listen to the great songs to lift your spirit

 

In previous articles I have written about some little things that visitors will not overlook, and pastors do so to their own peril. In this blog we will deal with four very important things that one cannot afford to overlook.

The first of these is the sound system. I have been in the ministry long enough to know, that if anything drives a pastor to the edge of insanity, it is the church sound system. The pastor is responsible to inform those in charge where the volume is to be set. This decision cannot be left to anyone else.

I visited a large church recently, and after the service, I received a copy of the service on DVD. That morning, a trio was singing. They were accompanied by a guitarist, who did a superb job. However, when I got home and played the DVD, the mikes for the trio were not on. All I heard was a guitar solo. These kinds of mistakes should not happen. This was human error, and visitors have a different view of it than old church members.

Train workers how to operate the equipment. Once the sound and dials are set, they should keep their hands off them. It would be wonderful if you could convince visitors to lay the blame at the feet of the sound operators, however, they will not. It will be laid on the pastor.

A second area of embarrassment is in the matter of song books. I know of nothing worse than asking people to turn to a page in the hymnal, and then discovering there aren’t enough available. This may seem like a small matter, but believe me it is not. That is just another reason the songs should be projected by Power Point, if possible. The pastor must walk around and see that each area has an adequate number of books, and they should be in good condition.

The same thing said about song books, could be said of Bibles. If you have unsaved guest coming to your church, the odds are, they do not have a Bible. Make sure Bibles are also in the pews. Inspect them to see that they are in good condition.

If a church is serious about reaching the lost, they must insure that Response Cards are provided. These cards should be designed to, not only communicate with visitors, but they should provide for members as well. I suggest that the cards be filled out by members and visitors. Visitors should not be pointed out, or ask to introduce themselves.

The card should be filled out just before the sermon, and completed at the end of the sermon. People will indicate their response to the sermon on the card. After the cards are filled out, the offering should be taken and the cards placed in the offering plate. These cards should cover every need your people might have. Contact Pastor Jason Murphy for card temples ,and how to make them work in your church. (http://www.opendoorbaptist.com/index.aspx.)

THE DANGER OF NEGLECT

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Be sure and listen to the great songs to lift your spirit
By Ken Blue
The American Heritage Dictionary defined neglect as, “1. To pay little or no attention to; 2. To fail to care for or attend to properly. 3. To fail to do or carry out, as through carelessness or oversight: Habitual lack of care.”

There are many ways to kill a flower. You may pull it up by the roots and stomp on it. Another, less strenuous way is simply to ignore it. Only eternity will reveal how many churches and ministries have died as a result of neglect. Neglect may be one of the greatest sins in the church. The book of Hebrews warns of its consequences.

One area that is most often neglected is the buildings and grounds. The pastor should either drive or walk around the grounds every week to inspect the lawns, shrubs, parking lot, lights, and building. It need not be said again that, it is not what you expect that gets done, it’s what you inspect. So, don’t neglect these.

A second area that the pastor must not ignore is that of finances. You must know what the fixed expenses are. You must also know how much cash the church has available, and what the projected weekly income will be. Also, the pastor must be in control of the finances. He need not handle any money, or sign any checks. But he must oversee all expenditure. The best way to do this is to start with the budget. Also, use purchase orders that the pastor must approve. Just remember, if the church gets in financial trouble, the only person who will be held accountable will be the pastor. Don’t neglect this important area.

This next area of neglect should be considered the greatest crime. It is the neglect of new members. Churches compass land and sea, and spend thousands of dollars and man hours to reach one family. They court them in every conceivable manner. Then, once they have joined the church, they are forgotten and ignored. This is the horrible crime.

The problem is the mindset of the pastor. He sees getting members as the end objective. However, this is just plain dumb. Membership is not the end; it is just the beginning! If a church worked as hard to get members through the other three steps of assimilation as they do get a new member, people would not be neglected. Also, small groups that are properly led, under dedicated leaders will solve the problem of neglect. The pastor must rearrange his thinking process.
Every church has VIP, VTP, and VDP in its membership. Obviously, those in leadership positions are the key to your ministry success. The sure way to disaster is to neglect your leaders. The very important people must have your attention and encouragement. The very teachable people must be taught how to do ministry. These are your future leaders. The very draining people must be ignored, and not allowed to discourage you or waste your time.

Lastly, the preacher must not neglect his study of the Word. Although, no one can see that part of your private life, it will become evident in your preaching and teaching if your are studious or not.

AFTER THE RAPTURE, WHAT THEN? #3

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By Ken Blue

The reader should read the previous articles on this subject to understand where we are in relation to them. The next major event on God’s calendar is the rapture of the Church. That will be followed by, what the Bible calls, The Tribulation. Jesussaid of that time, “21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:21-22.

This tribulation will be centered in Israel and the surrounding nations. Their stated purpose in Scripture is found in many passages. “1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.”Zechariah 14:1-7. The world is fully aware of the nations that have declared that all Jews must be destroyed. The context is obvious that those days are still in the near future.

We are witnessing the unraveling of the nations surrounding Israel. These nations must reorganize under new leadership. Once that takes place, a union of ten nations emerge. These are represented by the ten toes on the image, and the ten horns on the beast. “41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” Daniel 2:41-44. “12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” Revelation 17:12-13.

Therefore, the best commentary for the believer to watch is the reformation of those nations surrounding Israel. You are witnessing prophecy being fulfilled and history being made! These are exciting days for the child of God!