This article will be a little different than articles usually written here. This is because I'm going to cite the words of four well-known men. The purpose of this is to reveal something that the religious world seems to have overlooked. Using these quotes doesn't mean that these men were inspired by God. What it means is that we can understand the Bible alike and that we'll all speak the same thing when we simply accept and follow that the Bible says (1 Cor. 1:10; 1 Pet. 4:11). Please consider the following Bible doctrines:
Baptism Saves Us
John Calvin (Presbyterian): "For he commands all who believe to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Therefore, those who have imagined that baptism is nothing more than a mark or sign by which we profess our religion before men, as soldiers wear the insignia of their sovereign as a mark of their profession, have not considered that which was the principal thing in baptism; which is, that we ought to receive it with this promise, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" - Mark 16:16" ("Institute," Book IV, chapter 13).
The Lord's Supper
John Wesley (Methodist): "I also advise the elders to administer the Supper of the Lord on every Lord's Day" ("Letters to America," 1784).
Wearing Religious Names Other Than "Christian"
Martin Luther: "I pray you to leave my name alone, and call not yourselves Lutherans, but Christians. Who is Luther? My doctrine is not mine. I have not been crucified for any one. St. Paul (I Cor. 1:13) would not have any should call themselves of Paul or of Peter, but of Christ. How, then, does it befit me, a miserable bag of dust and ashes, to give my name to the children of Christ? Cease, my dear friends to cling to these party names and distinctions; away with them all; and let us call ourselves only Christians after Him from whom our doctrine comes" (Life of Luther, Stork, p. 289).
John Wesley: "Would to God that all party names and un-Scriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world were forgot; that we might all agree to sit down together as humble, loving disciples at the feet of the common Master to hear His Word, imbibe His spirit and to transcribe His life in our own." He also wished that "the very name (Methodist) might never be mentioned more, but be buried in eternal oblivion" (Universal Knowledge, Vol. IX, p. 540).
C.H. Spurgeon (Baptist): "I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living. I hope they will soon be gone. I hope the Baptist name will soon perish; but let Christ's name last forever" (Spurgeon Memorial Library, Vol. I, p. 168).
There are other quotes we could cite, but these are enough to show us that these men had a clear understanding of such passages as Mark 16:16; Acts 11:26; Matthew 26:26-29; Acts 2:42, 20:7; 1 Peter 3:21, 4:16, and other similar passages. It also shows us that we can have the same understanding if we will study God's word and apply it (2 Tim. 2:15).
The question remains that if these men (who were either the founders or extremely prominent in denominations that exist today) could understand God's word concerning these issues, why can't people today understand God's word, too? The truth is that we can understand God's word alike (Eph. 3:4, 5:17). Perhaps the problem was best summed up when Christ said, "By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Matt. 13:14-15; also Acts 26:27-28; Isa. 6:9).
It has been rightly said, "It doesn't matter what you know, but how you feel about it!" How do you feel about God's word? It will judge us one day (John 12:48). Are you ready for the Judgment day? Are you willing to take God at His word, follow His will and simply be a Christian (John 14:15, 15:14; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 11:26; 2 John 9)? The men we cited above understood God's word, and we can too!
- The Old Paths, 9/1/19