One Lord, One Faith, One Baptsim

Bulletin

Dan Peters
07/07/24 - The Faith

“One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism”

This unity glorifies God, “to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:21). Every word in that sentence is so important, but what I want to emphasize for the moment is that “to all generations for ever and ever” includes our generation. The Lord doesn’t change, nor does the one faith, nor does the one baptism change. They cannot be improved or adjusted for our generation! We must continue to ask what does that one faith say? What does our one Lord want? What is the one immersion he calls us to undergo?
If this unity glorifies God, the dividing up Jesus into two Lords, falls short. Likewise, if we divide up the “one faith” into two faiths, it no longer glorifies God. So what does dividing up the “one faith” into hundreds of denominations do? Jesus prayed that this division would not happen, he prayed, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21). Unity glorifies God, division shames him. Jesus wants his followers to be “one”, not in some phony unity where we merely just hold hands together, but “that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthains 1:10). Having the “same mind” and “same judgment” will take some serious work, but it is in our reach. We are not a denomination. Denominational names or ideas are not found in the Bible. We are simply christians, disciples of Jesus. We have no creed but the Bible. We are a local congregation that strives to practice “one faith”, practice the “one baptism”. Timothy was “one mind” and “one judgment” with the apostle Paul. “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.” (1 Corinthains 4:17). Timothy did this. We too can teach what Paul taught “everywhere in every church”. We must humble ourselves and teach what Jesus and his apostles taught, no more and no less. “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9). Therefore every word is important. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” (Matt. 28:19-20). This is for all generations, for ever and ever, amen! Dan Peters