Vol.
XLI
The
Divine Pattern for the Lord’s Church (5)
The
the
by Tom
McLemore
As we continue our study of the divine pattern for the
Lord’s church, we can see that there was uniformity in the work and preaching
of this church about which we read in the New Testament. Both the mission and the message of the
church followed the pattern that was established by Christ himself and by his holy
apostles. The early church operated and
spoke in keeping with the commission the risen Christ gave just before he
ascended to sit on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens.
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20). According to Mark, “...he said to them, ‘Go
into all the world and proclaim the good news to the
whole creation. The one who believes and
is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned’”
(Mark
The book of Acts and the epistles bear
record that the early church was guided by these holy words. The record shows that the church viewed these
words as specifying what was to be said and done. They recognized that these
word prohibited any other messages or missions, because they restricted
themselves precisely to what Jesus commanded.
What, according to Jesus, was the
church to do and what was to be preached by the church, judging from these
precious parting pronouncements from the risen Christ? As for the work to be done, the church was to
make disciples. This term refers
to students of Christ,
those who would engage in the way of life which consists of being
trained by Christ. Entrance upon this
way of life is by baptism into the ownership of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave
instructions regarding whom they were to baptize, and in these instructions, he
also informed the church of its message.
Those to be baptized would be such as had heard the good news about
Jesus the Messiah and believed it, had been instructed to repent, and had
been promised forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus when they shall have
been baptized into his name.
As we make our way through the book of
Acts, we see the apostles and other disciples of Jesus following this procedure
uniformly and without deviation. (Read
Acts 2:36-41, and you will see that this is exactly what occurred when
the good news was first preached. Compare also, for example, Acts
8:26-40). Time and time again penitent
men and women who believed the good news about Jesus were being baptized and
thereby entering upon the training process.
Many today attempt to enter the life
of discipleship to Christ while foregoing this procedure. Religious teachers and groups claiming to be
Christian instruct souls to consider themselves
Christ’s disciples as the result of following some other procedure. Regardless of the sincerity of those who do
so, no other procedure but that commanded by Christ can produce disciples of Christ.
The training consists of being taught
to obey everything that Jesus commanded.
In previous
articles we have surveyed the things which Jesus commanded for his disciples to
observe as they assembled on his day for worship. The training would also include daily
Christian living. All of these things
are contained in the New Testament, which is the disciples’ textbook for life
and godliness in Christ (2 Peter 1:3).
As the Holy Spirit guided the apostles of Christ into all the truth
(John
The pattern of training established by Christ
and his apostles was to be perpetual for all time as indicated by Paul’s
exhortation to Timothy: “[A]nd what you have heard from me through many witnesses
entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.” (2
Timothy 2:2).
By means of the clarity of Jesus’
mandates, it is easy for us to see the kinds of things that have no place in
the mission and message of the Lord’s church. We are not thereby directed to urge people to
“pray the sinner’s prayer”or “to accept Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior.” We are not led
by the directions of our Lord to encourage people to “join a church.” (In the process of being made disciples, the
baptized are being added by the Lord himself through the Spirit to the
number of the saved, which is what constitutes the church. See Acts 2:36-41, 47; 1 Corinthians
12:13).
The procedure Jesus commanded also
ends all discussion of the possibility that infants were baptized in the
so-called “household conversions.” Since
infants could neither be disciples nor believe the good news, and since the
apostles were following Jesus’ instructions, they baptized men and women, that
is, persons who believed and who could become disciples (students,
pupils) in the process of being baptized.
In our next article, we will consider
the mission of the Lord’s church from another perspective, namely that of the
way in which the New Testament writers describe the nature of the church. As to its message, the church preaches the
good news about Jesus the Messiah, and proclaims repentance and remission of
sins in his name to those who are being made disciples by believing and being
baptized. This is our pattern. When Christ’s people follow it, he is pleased
to dwell among us and to work with us (Matthew
Designed and maintained by Houston Park Church of Christ Copyright © 2000 by Houston Park Church of Christ 2 Crescent Hill Drive Selma, Alabama 36701 334-874-7941. All rights reserved. Revised: 24 Sep 2008.