What The Bible Says
“What The Bible Says - Vol. 8 / No. 3”
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What The Bible Says
Vol. VIII - No. 3 July 6, 2025
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT WE ARE NOT TO LOVE THE WORLD?
1 JOHN 2:15-17
“15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
Loving the world means being devoted to the world's treasures, priorities, and ways of thinking. God wants us to put Him first.
Matthew 6:24 “24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 6:33-34 “33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
James 4:4 “4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
So, if we choose to be a friend of the world then we are an enemy of God.
The Apostle Peter admonishes us 1 Peter 2:11-12: “11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Matthew 16:26 “26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Matthew 16:24 “24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” —David Maddox
ROMANS 6:3-6
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
It is surprising the number of people who believe baptism has nothing to do with forgiveness of sins. Do they believe in this nonessential aspect of baptism because they have never read these verses? Could be! Even some, having read these verses, attempt to explain them away in order to harmonize with their belief or the beliefs of the church they are a member of. If baptism is an essential part of our salvation from sin, then it is necessary and we must accept it as a part of God's will. We must not just explain it away but, rather, we must deal with it.
There are those who teach baptism has nothing to do with saving. "Baptism, therefore, is an act of obedience and as such brings the candidate into a more intimate and exclusive fellowship with his Lord; but it possesses no power in itself to remit sin,..." (The Hiscox Guide For Baptist Churches, p. 88, emphasis mine, ERH). It is interesting that this denomination believes this about baptism when the inspired word of God says, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" (1 Peter 3:21). Baptism is not a cleansing or washing away of the filth of the physical flesh but it does "wash away thy sins" (Acts 22:16). The passage in Romans 6 states that when we are buried with Christ in baptism the body of sin is destroyed. Sin causes us to be dead (Ephesians 2:1), not physically but spiritually. Being dead in sin, we must be buried; not in a tomb but in baptism. Therefore, as Jesus died on the cross and was buried, we who are dead in sin must be "buried with Him by baptism into death". We must be "planted together in the likeness of His death" so that "our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed." In no other action does this occur but in baptism. We are not buried with Christ when we believe. If so, where is the passage that says so? We are not buried with Christ when we repent. If so, where is the passage that indicates such to be the case? We are not buried with Christ when we confess Him to be the Son of God. If so, where is the passage of scripture? But don't be mistaken, we must believe, repent, and confess. These are absolutely essential to salvation but can we not see that baptism is just as essential? Only in baptism are we "baptized into Jesus Christ" (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27). Only in baptism are we "planted together". If we have not been planted together with Christ, we certainly cannot be "in the likeness of His resurrection" nor is "the body of sin...destroyed”.
Still there are those who teach and preach we are saved the moment we believe and baptism has nothing to do with saving. What they actually have is a person spiritually dead in sin, made spiritually alive the moment they believe, but they bury them in order to make them a member of the church. The same creed book we quoted from earlier says, "...persons are not received to membership in the churches until they are baptized" (Ibid, p. 83). How ridiculous this teaching is when compared to what the Bible says.
It's no wonder people are confused about what the Bible teaches when there is so much contradictory teaching being done and, yet, everyone is professing to follow the Bible. The fact of the matter is, there are those who are following the doctrines of men. Those doctrines cannot be found in the Scriptures but, rather, in the creed books of men. What we need to do is leave off the creed books and manuals of men and take only what the Bible teaches for what we believe and practice.
A CHALLENGE! Can you find the passage of Scripture which shows where anyone since the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was saved the moment they believed? Let us hear from you if you know the whereabouts of such a passage. If you cannot, then let's just take what the Bible says: Sins are forgiven after baptism; not before. —E.R. Hall, Jr.
BAPTISM AND THE CONVERSION OF SAUL
The conversion of Saul is recorded in Acts 9. We learn here that Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians when the Lord appeared to him. At this point, he realized that Christ was actually God's son (v. 6). Saul was told to go into the city where it would be revealed to him what he must do. Now blind, it was necessary for him to be led into the city. Once there, he did not eat or drink anything for three days. Eventually, he came in contact with a man appointed by God named Ananias who healed his blindness and baptized him.
Why was Saul baptized? Consider what he was told by Ananias in the account found in Acts 22. Verse 16 says that Saul was told, "And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." What was his baptism for? It was to wash away his sins.
It is also clear that Saul was not saved by faith only. In fact, Acts 22:16 makes it clear that Saul still had his sins prior to his baptism. This is true even though he had been praying and fasting for three days; even though he had now become a believer; even though he had repented, and even though he was sincere. He still had his sins because he had not been baptized. Remember, his baptism washed away his sins.
In addition, Saul was told by the Lord to, "...arise, and go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do." In the city, he was told to be baptized. Thus baptism is something that one must do. Hebrews 11:6 tells that one must believe. It is puzzling why people can look at a command which says that we must do something (such as Hebrews 11:6) and conclude that it is essential to do and even necessary for our salvation, and then go to another command where the word "must" is used, and say that one can obey this command if he wants to, and that it is not essential.
The Bible clearly teaches that baptism is essential; it washes away our sins and is certainly essential for salvation. —Mike Johnson
"What The Bible Says” is e-mailed twice a month. If you know of others who might benefit from the articles contained in this bulletin, we would be glad to have you submit their e-mail addresses and we will include them in the next mailing. If you are receiving this bulletin and do not wish to continue to do so, please e-mail us with your desire to be removed from the mailing list and you will be removed promptly. Continue to the bottom of this page for further instructions as to how you may contact us.
--- E.R. Hall, Jr.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
For The East Albertville Church Of Christ
meeting at
4777 U.S. Highway 431
Albertville, AL 35950
Sunday
Bible Classes …………..….…………… 9:30 AM
Morning Worship ……..…….….……… 10:30 AM
Evening Worship …………………........ 5:00 PM
Wednesday
Bible Classes …………..………........... 7:00 PM
Radio Program
Sunday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 8:30 AM
Monday - Saturday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 11:15 AM
Website: www. EastAlbertville.org
