Newsletter

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WHAT IS BAPTISM?

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Q&A with Pastor Charlie #1

     I told you last month that for the rest of the year, I intend to answer questions from the body concerning things like faith, doctrine, and life according to the Bible. You can submit these questions via email at questions@firstmoore.com. The first question that I am going to address has to do with baptism. There were many questions attached to this, and since I have such limited space, I will share our church’s belief regarding baptism.

     Simply put, we believe that baptism is an ordinance of the church (the other being the Lord’s Supper) by which one publicly declares their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation by identifying themselves with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. It is important for me to state that we do not believe baptism is necessary for salvation, as we believe that our salvation is through grace alone and received by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). This means that salvation is not something we earn or work for but rather is a gift of God that we receive through faith in Jesus. This is one of the things the reformers fought for, and it is important for us to understand lest we believe that salvation is a work or ritual. This does not downplay the importance of baptism, as we see that Christ commanded it after His resurrection and before His ascension in Matthew 28:19-20 (also known as the Great Commission). If Christ commanded it for His disciples, we should see it as important and obey it. However, it does make a clear distinction between what is necessary for salvation (faith, apart from any work) and what is an act of obedience following salvation.

     We need to understand several other things about baptism if we are to apply it properly. First, baptism in the Bible is always by immersion. We know this because the word for baptism in the Bible, baptizo, means to immerse, dip, or plunge. Second, every description of baptism in the Bible speaks to immersion. When the Bible describes someone being baptized, it includes phrases like “in the river” (Mark 1:5) or “he came out of the water” (Mark 1:10). These all describe baptism as immersion rather than something like sprinkling. Third, because the picture of baptism is an identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, symbolizing our own death to sin and new life in Christ, then immersion is the mode that most clearly tells this story. Going into the water and coming out is the clearest picture of what baptism symbolizes (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12).

     The next thing we need to see is that baptism is for believers only. Only those who profess faith in Jesus, have a biblical testimony of salvation and have a clear understanding of what salvation is (and isn’t) and what baptism is (and isn’t) should be baptized. This safeguards us against baptizing unbelievers or those who may put their faith in the wrong thing.

     The final thing that I think we should see is that since baptism is an ordinance of the church when there is a local church available, it should be conducted by and with the gathering of the church. It is the church that is to bear testimony to one’s faith, it is the church that should celebrate with the new believer, and it is the church that is welcoming one into their fellowship. This is not to say that baptism must happen within a church building, but rather with the gathered body when able, affirming and celebrating God’s work in their life.

     If you are a believer in Jesus who has not followed in baptism following your salvation, please reach out to us so we can discuss the next steps for you at firstmoore.com/baptism.

For His glory and your joy,
Pastor Charlie

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LESSONS FROM TAYLOR SWIFT

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In all honesty, I would consider myself a bit of a Swiftie. Over the years, I have found her songs clever, thoughtful, and catchy. More than a few times, my daughters and I have turned up the radio and sung her hits in the car together. Recently, she has once again been the topic of discussion with her latest album release, “The Tortured Poets Department.” This album continues the trend of a darker side to her music and, sadly, has been in the news due to the darker content, the more frequent use of profanity, and even anti-Christian/blasphemous themes. As Christians who live in the world but are not to be part of the world, we often struggle to know what to do with things like this. Let me interject some thoughts about lessons we can learn from situations like this.

DON’T EVER BE SURPRISED WHEN THE WORLD ACTS LIKE THE WORLD

First, we must always remember that the world will always act like the world. This shouldn’t surprise us. Before our regeneration, we, too, were lost and lived accordingly. Sin manifests itself in different ways in individuals' lives, and we should never be caught off guard when an unbeliever is okay with things God says are wrong. There is a difference between the standards of believers and unbelievers, and we should never be surprised when Taylor Swift or any other unregenerate person is okay with things that we know to be counter to what God says. Remember, though, that as Christians, we are indeed called to different standards, and we are no longer to live according to the world. Therefore, we should not be okay with these practices.

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR INFLUENCES

This leads us to make sure that we are careful about who and what we allow to influence our lives. If you have been to a Taylor Swift concert (or any concert for that matter) or watched her Era’s Tour film, you can tell how much influence she holds, especially over ladies and young girls. We all must be careful with who we allow to hold influence over our lives, and music and media are some of the things that can influence us most greatly. Words have power; what we listen to and allow to speak into our hearts and minds holds power in our lives. All of us, especially parents, need to be mindful about what we and our children are allowing to have sway over their thoughts and beliefs. Let me encourage you to evaluate regularly what and who you are allowing to influence you and your family. Is it pointing you to Christ or away from him?

One of the things I have been concerned about with many of Taylor Swift’s lyrics, beyond her more frequent use of profanity, is her seemingly constant internal problems and struggles. The name of this album speaks of being internally tortured.  We already have an epidemic of mental health issues, especially among our young people, and I am concerned that things like this might make it worse, normalize these feelings, and possibly even glamorize them. Her tone is that of unforgiveness and revenge, while her identity sadly seems to be wrapped up in relationships, what others say about her, and her fame. As Christians, we know that these are empty cisterns and should only let our identity be found in Christ.

TAYLOR SWIFT REINFORCES WHAT THE BIBLE WARNS ABOUT IN ECCLESIASTES

Taylor Swift is a billionaire who has everything the world can offer. Wealth, fame, beauty, prestige…you name it. However, she refers to herself as tortured and often sings from a point of dissatisfaction and emptiness. How can this be? Because the Bible tells us there is nothing in this world that can satisfy. Solomon learned this lesson as well. Full of wealth, wisdom, and women, he realized how empty this world was. He records this in the book of Ecclesiastes. Sadly, we have a hard time learning from the failures of others. There is only one thing that can satisfy us, and He is not of this world. Taylor’s own words reinforce what the Bible warns us about.

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

So, where do we draw the line in this world? We clearly cannot throw out everything that is secular. What about when it comes to entertainment? Should we have a good old-fashioned record burning in the church parking lot? We each have to decide where we draw the line. However, here is my biggest concern with some of the newest lyrics from Taylor Swift’s newest album. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, her words mock and belittle the very thing that Jesus did to earn our salvation. There is a lot that Christians can tolerate from a lost world, but when things belittle our God and the gift of his Son, that is a line that we should feel is unacceptably crossed.

For His glory and your joy,
Pastor Charlie