We are saved by Jesus alone, and church membership is something that the Bible wuld desire us to do, but is not reuired to do in order to be saved!
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What constitutes a Baptist church?
- Thread starter Salty
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The 1689 Baptist Confesion Fait was done in order to NOThave infant Baptism advocated, nor Presby churc governing, so you would have Baptists still be doing those things?
So to yo, all oter Baptist groups/churches save for LM ones apostasized then?
I said "If"......but maybe you need to examine some of these places.
Thanks, but I already know that Brother. I was just having fun with Tom. He has no real patience with people so I'm playing "the Idiot" to see his reaction. Honestly he takes the bait every single time.
Thanks again though,
Prince Mishkin LOL!
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What places?
Brother, do you really think so....I for one hope not.
What places what?
Yes. One of my most serious faults is assuming Christians tell the truth. My bad.
See what I mean Tom! Proves the point, how do you know if a person is sincere or not? They can tell you something & because your a True Christian, you are duty bound to believe them. But what happens when you get enough of them in the church, what do you as a pastor do? What I have seen is that you attempt to correct their every impropriety which slows down the discipleship process.....sometimes to a standstill.Yes. One of my most serious faults is assuming Christians tell the truth. My bad.
Perhaps your not like that but Ive seen it happen. After a while, discipleship goes out the door or is run poorly & the pastor is spending a large percentage of his time trying to re-regenerate the fakers sitting in the pews each week. Hows that for circular reasoning?
The unregenerate are not members of the church. They are merely present. And, as I don't know their hearts, I take those who want to press on and work with them and let the others sit. Their eternal fate is not up to me. It is in God's hands and He is a lot better at being God than I am.
It was hard to distinguish your quote of me and your response! Where do you get the idea that they are not performing the work of the kingdom???? They have missionaries all over the world and in most states. The problem is that they are "independent" and therefore there is no central organization publizing what they are doing as a whole. Our little church supports missionaries in Romania, Ireland and in the U.S. You don't know all who are being sent and supported until you start personally interacting with some other congregations who have missionaries they support in most of South America and mexico or in Africa. Some are supporting missionaries in Russia, etc. Trying to judge such churches by individual congregations isolated from others does not give you a proper picture.
why would you send someone to Romania and neglect poor souls in your own community (and I am not saying you do) but .....are we not called to feed and clothe poor widows and orphans in our own community? there brother where the concern lies.
with all due respect, you are missing my point. there are in fact unregenerate people who are on the registries. Now please don't tell me you don't know or that you don't suspect it. The Lord would call them 'the wheat and the tares' right? Further He tells you to leave them alone---it will all get sorted out in due time. Now here is the problem (as I see it), there are pastors content to make it their mission in life to preach to these ....what shall we call them, (INFILTRATORS). That cannot be because it drains the precious resources of the church....which could be put to use to making disciplines that will go out into the communities and spread the gospel.The unregenerate are not members of the church. They are merely present. And, as I don't know their hearts, I take those who want to press on and work with them and let the others sit. Their eternal fate is not up to me. It is in God's hands and He is a lot better at being God than I am.
But more, and maybe I'm rambling here, but I view the "Church" much like the example given by John the Baptist (maybe that's why I'm drawn to the Baptists)....John has to point beyond himself to the Kingdom. The church is not the kingdom. It is not an end in itself. The church is a means....the Kingdom is the end. I keep this in mind in all my discussions about church....it balances me.
Heaven forbid I should ever start making the means the actual end
No, the church does not have a commission to feed and clothe the poor of the world. They are commissioned to preach the gospel to the world and make disciples. We are to take care of our own but ours is not a social gospel.That does not mean we are not to help those we can help within our means when they come into our path, but that is completely secondary to preaching the gospel.
Many of our churches have food and clothing banks to help the poor but our commission is not feed and cloth the poor but preach the gospel.
Wrong! The 1644/1646 Confession never had much traction among Baptist churches.
The problems came from two sources
1. Churches refusing to sign up to the 1689 Confession because they refused to subscribe to any 'manmade' confession.
2. Particular and General Baptists coming together to start the Baptist Union.
I agree. I much prefer the First London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1644/1646 over the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. The latter drew much too heavily from the Westminster Confession of Faith.
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