Let The Bible Speak?

By CHARLES PERKINS, Pastor

GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH

GALENA, MISSOURI 65656

"A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." (Titus 3:10,11)

Some of the most subtle heretics in religion are the Campbellites. (The Church of Christ). This phony church was started by Alexander Campbell. (1788-1866)

Every Sunday morning on our local television station, the program "Let The Bible Speak" hits the air waves. I watched it all the way through, one time, and "SHAZAM!" it was a man speaking and not the Bible.

Not surprising, however. One of the mantras of Campbellism is "we speak where the Bible speaks and we are silent where the Bible is silent." Such is not as well known as "repent, confess, believe and be "buptized"!" (in their pool, of course.)

They don’t really speak where the Bible speaks. They speak parts of the Bible that fit their false religion posing as Christian. Being ignorant of dispensational truth, the Campbellite religion knows nothing about "rightly dividing the word of truth." (2Timothy 2:15)

Being a Campbellite Deacon, before I was saved, and having preached in Campbellite churches, I must say there are many kind and dedicated people who have been deceived by the false doctrines of Campbellism. My grand- mother was a Campbellite.

Another branch of Campbellites is the Disciples of Christ, Christian Church. This group split with the "Church of Christ" decades ago over church musical instruments. One group said yes to pianos and organs and the other said no, but pitch pipes are okay.

The Campbellites start their theology with Acts 2:38. When you pin them down, they jump to Mark 16:16. When you call them on this they peel out for 1 Peter 3:21. After this they will roam over to Romans 6:4. Finally, after you continue to expose their ignorance of the Bible, they will take a big leap to Luke 3:3 or John 3:5. After all of this, they usually will end up back at Acts 2:38. This is what is known as circular reasoning.

The main thrust for this Bible ignorance is to get the unsuspecting candidate under their water in their baptismal pool. This heresy is known as baptismal regeneration. In order to be saved and go to Heaven you must be baptized into their church by being dipped in their pool by one of their ministers or elders. (No church pool found in the Bible). J

According to Campbellite doctrine you might sin after you are saved and lose your salvation. What particular sin causes this no one knows but it could happen. If it happens, you will NOT need to be re-baptized to get it back, if you can get it back.

Nobody is sure. Forget about Ephesians 2:8,9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Forget about Revelation 1:5: "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"

Forget about: 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Forget about the repentant thief on the cross to whom Jesus said: "today shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

Every time a "water-dog" sees "water" in the Bible he automatically thinks "baptism." The Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

When the Campbellite professor sees that, he says, "Aha, baptism." Like all religious cults they throw away the context and give it their own private interpretation. The context of John 3:5 is physical birth compared to spiritual birth. "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" (John 3:4) PHYSICAL BIRTH.

Nicodemus had a physical birth, now he needed a Spiritual birth. Physical birth is a water birth not baptism. When a baby is born, it is a water birth. The mother’s water breaks and out he pops.

When a sinner is born again it is a Spiritual birth. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6)

Peter put it this way: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." (1 Peter 1:23) Corruptible seed is my father’s seed (physical). "Incorruptible" seed spiritual.

Jesus said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63).

However we cannot expect lost heretics to be able to get this or they might become real Bible speakers. They would no doubt be tossed by the top religionists of their false church, not to mention their "scholars" at Lexington Theological Seminary and others.

The Church of Christ, (Campbellites) do not baptize babies like the Catholics do. They only baptize those who say they have "accepted" Christ. After their baptism, they then are eligible to receive communion. Their doctrine on baptism is so wild that the candidate is never told what the church teaches or what is about to happen in the city water supply.

The teaching is that the blood of Christ and the water meet in the baptismal pool and regeneration occurs at that moment. The poor sucker gets "born again" at that moment. They get this phony baloney idea from 1 John 5:8 which has nothing at all to do with baptism. It has to do with the birth of Christ and His appearance on earth not some poor, misguided, lost person being dunked in some Campbellite church pool or some muddy river. (1Timothy 3:16)

Once the Campbellite Elder is pinned down on his false interpretation of John 3:5 He will quickly jump to Mark 16:16. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

The poor duped Elder hasn’t enough Bible knowledge to know the passage of scripture is doctrinally applied to the Apostles and has a Tribulation fulfillment in view. The context goes on to say: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17,18)

Like all good (or bad) cultists, Campbellites pick out one verse and ignore the rest. Snake handling, casting out devils, tongue speaking, faith healing and poison drinking are not found in Campbellite churches. That’s the wacko Charismatics and Pentecostals.

The day I watched the thirty-minute program, "Let the Bible speak" the man gave a pretty good lesson on Bible separation but did not tell anyone how to be born again.

Saved by water baptism and kept by good works are their major doctrines regarding salvation. The word of God says: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4:5)

Water baptism does not save anyone and never did save anyone. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who does all of the saving and all the keeping. Baptism is a picture of salvation. It pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Believing on the risen Savior is how to be born again, not trusting in the city water supply that many people won’t even drink.

How pious and self righteous is that Campbellite to tell you that you must come to him to get born again by getting into his baptismal pool. Such idiocy! Such arrogance! Of course, he will first tell you that we are the "TRUE CHURCH." " Just look at our name."

What could be "TRUER" than "The Church Of Christ?" The dumb-bell thinks that is a Bible term. The term "The Church Of Christ" is nowhere found in the Bible. You can’t judge a church by its name. All false cults say they are the real thing and you must join them to be saved. (Catholics, Mormons, Christian Science, Seventh Day Adventists, Scientology, Church of Christ and others) If the Campbellite church is the only true church where was it before Alexander Campbell came along and started it in about 1820?

The only "Thing" you need to join to be born again is the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 1:35, Ephesians 4:16) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:27-29)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5) WATCH OUT FOR THE FALSE CULTS! THE DEVIL IS IN THE WORKS !

"Of those on earth, only three are born of water outright: a mosquito a tadpole and a Campbellite!"