Peter
had just made a remarkable statement. He confessed that Jesus is “the Christ,
the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus acknowledged this awareness
as from God and said that it is upon this truth (that Jesus is the Son of God)
that Christ would build His church (Matthew 16:18). It is the great kingdom of
heaven that John the Baptist and Jesus Christ had been preaching and preparing
the world for (Matthew 16:19; 3:2; 4:17).
After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, He left this world
in order that He might send the Holy Spirit. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide
the apostles into all truth, bringing to their remembrance those things He had
taught them (John 14:26; 16:7). And Christ prayed for their work of bringing
people to faith in Christ through their word (John 17:20,21). It was the task
of the apostles to write down those things in order that people could know and
believe (Ephesians 3:3,4). This word that came to them through inspiration of
the Holy Spirit was confirmed by the miraculous signs and wonders of the Holy
Spirit that were poured out upon the disciples in the first century (Hebrews
2:3,4). This inspired word is the sword of the Holy Spirit to turn hearts to
Christ (Ephesians 6:17).
Jesus has said He would be lifted up from the earth (that is,
crucified) and would thus draw all men unto him (John 12:32). Through the
preaching of the cross of Christ, the Holy Spirit is actively using the sword
(the Bible) to facilitate people being drawn unto Christ, recognizing Him as
the Son of God who has died for the sins of the world.
It is by the grace of God that we are saved, and not of
ourselves (Ephesians 2:8,9). Because God loved us, he sent his Son (John
3:16), even while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). There is nothing that we
could have ever done or nothing that we could ever yet hope to do that would
merit that wonderful gift of Jesus Christ; it is purely God’s grace bestowed
upon sinful mankind.
Indeed, Jesus tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9) but,
alas, not all will come to Him. He is the author of eternal salvation unto all
them that obey Him (Hebrews 5:8,9). It is not that we could ever merit or earn
it, but that this is the way that God has established for man to accept this
free gift from him.
Man can find redemption only in the name of Jesus Christ
(Acts 4:12). It is the power of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ
that enables our salvation through His blood (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians
1:7). When the sword of the Spirit pierces our hearts, we must humble
ourselves before God in repentance (Acts 2:38). We must recognize Christ as
the Son of God by the great demonstration of His being raised from the grave
(Romans 1:4). We must confess that we believe that He is the Son of God and
that His Father has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9,10). And we must
join in His death, burial and resurrection by being buried with Him in the
watery grave of baptism and raised from baptism to walk in newness of life
(Romans 6:3,4).
When
we acknowledge Him as the Son of God, having repented of our sins, and obey
from the heart the form of His death, burial and resurrection in baptism, it
is then that we have the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 6:16-18; Acts 2:38).
When we call upon Him on faith and obedience, our sins are washed away by His
blood as we are baptized into His death (Acts 22:16). It is nothing that we
deserve or merit. God is in no way in debt to us. But rather we have been
obedient to His will. We have with good conscience responded to His pleading
for us to obey the gospel call to be baptized into Christ’s death. And so the
Bible says that baptism saves us. It is not that the water or the act
themselves have some special powers, but rather it is our entering into a
covenant relationship with God by doing his will, all empowered by the
resurrection of Jesus from the grave (1 Peter 3:21).
Many
have mistakenly suggested that churches of Christ teach that baptism is a work
of human merit and that our doctrine is a doctrine of salvation by human
works. Nothing can be further from the truth. Salvation is the gift of God,
nothing that anyone could ever deserve. But we do accept His gift on His terms
and not our own. We are children by faith in His Son when we put His Son on in
baptism (Galatians 3:26,27). And He adds us to His church (Acts 2:41,47).
On each Lord’s Day, all over the world, members of the Lord’s
church gather in their respective communities to give tribute to the blood
sacrifice that Christ made for us, enabling us to enjoy the gift of salvation
in Christ’s name. It is our freedom from the bondage of sin. When we partake
of the memorial emblems every Sunday, as we observe the Lord’s Supper, we so
acknowledge our continuing faith that Jesus is indeed God’s Son, and thereby
express our love and appreciation for the blood that He shed for the remission
of our sins.
Yes, it is upon
this great truth, that Jesus is the Son God, that Christ built His church. We
would urge everyone to learn of the church that Christ built, that belongs to
Him, that He is the head of (Ephesians 1:22,23) and that He is coming again
for (Ephesians 5:23-27).
Please call upon us for any assistance that we may be to you.
We are anxious to emulate the spirit of Christ in our lives and show our love
for our fellow man. We will be more than happy in any way that we can to help
you as you strive to come to God through His Son Jesus Christ.
