What Is Written 21-Feb-99: Myths of Denominationalism

Myths have always intrigued me. I remember as a Latin student being fascinated with Greek mythology. The images of dragons, gargoyles, mermaids, unicorns and the Phoenix rising from its own ashes have captured the imaginations of generations. Today, the idea of flying saucers, the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot are fascinating myths. As journalist Hunter Thompson said, “Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines on most men’s reality.” Myths can be fun and benign when we have the wisdom to keep them in the realm of fantasy. But if we begin to blur reality with mythology, we pose a danger to ourselves and others. This is especially so in the arena of religion, and of Christianity in particular. In our present age, many myths are being circulated as biblical truths. Today we wish to examine and refute some of the myths of modern denominationalism.

The first myth we wish to examine says salvation is by faith only. This myth has been told so often and for so long that most people believe that it must be taught in the scriptures. Most every denomination in the world believes and teaches the doctrine that a sinner is saved by faith only. But this doctrine is only a myth. It is not based upon the teaching of scripture. The myth that says a sinner is saved by faith only is contrary to God’s Word. Now, I suspect what many of you might be thinking. You are thinking, “J.R., I know the Bible says that we are saved by faith.” And, do you know what? The Bible does say that the sinner is saved or justified by faith. Rom. 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” This statement from the pen of the apostle Paul is truth. If you look carefully at what is written in this text, you will see that the scriptures say we are saved by faith. But they do not say we are saved by faith only. The Bible says we are saved by faith, but it is a myth to say we are saved by faith only. Jas. 2:24 informs us that the myth of faith only is totally unscriptural. That verse says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” Yes, we are saved by faith — but James says we are not saved by faith only.

Do we then merit our salvation? Absolutely not! Salvation comes only by undeserved favor or grace. We must, however, follow God’s plan to accept or receive that grace. Faith is defined in Heb. 11:1 as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Verse 6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” We see that faith is essential to salvation but of itself it is useless. We must have faith and come to God. Jas. 2:20 says, “Faith without works is dead.” No one I know, including me, refutes the scriptural fact that we are saved and justified by faith. In addition to Rom. 5:1, Eph. 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” But this is a far cry from saying we are saved by faith only. Now, this isn’t at all confusing. We are saved by faith, but not by faith only. Let me illustrate it this way. Say you have a really bad infection and you go to the doctor. He tells you to fill the prescription he writes for you and you will be made well. Faith tells you he knows what he is talking about and that following his instructions will make you well. Now the question is, does that faith by itself make you well? Of course it doesn’t! It does, however, cause you to fill the prescription and follow the doctor’s orders to the letter. You are made well because your faith in the doctor moved you to fill the prescription. The same principle applies to God’s word. It tells us that faith in Jesus as the Son of God, in his death and resurrection, will save us from sin. But the Bible goes on to say that faith alone will not save. For faith to be any good, it must immediately be followed by action. Faith alone does not save, but it leads us to take certain steps that do save us. So in the sense that faith leads us to obey the words of Jesus, it does save. The only faith that saves is faith that is followed by obedience. Faith-only salvation is a myth of denominationalism.

Another fallacy in our modern day religious circle is the myth that says if we only have faith and repent we will be saved. The Bible clearly reveals a pattern through which we may be saved, and repentance is part of that pattern. Though repentance is a necessary part of salvation, faith followed only by repentance does not bring about salvation. This is a myth of denominationalism. Acts 17:30 says, “God...now commands all men everywhere to repent.” Furthermore, Jesus said in Lk. 13:3 that without repentance one would surely perish. We cannot be saved without repenting, just as we could not be saved without faith. To be saved without repenting would be to say, “Okay God, save me, but I want to continue to sin against you and never come to realize my sins hurt and grieve you — nor do I intend to turn from them.” To repent means literally to turn, to change one’s mind. And this changing of mind always is followed by a change of life. Paul says to repent we must first be sorry for our sins. He writes in 2 Cor. 7:10, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.” Just being sorry for sin is not repentance, but it leads us to repent. Who can be truly sorry for doing wrong, and continue doing wrong? If we truly are sorry, then we will repent or turn from sin. But it is just a denominational myth to say that faith followed only by repentance will save. Those in Acts 2:38 were told to repent and do something else: “Then Peter said to them, repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”

A third denominational myth that many are willing to believe is that repentance is praying and apologizing to God for one’s behavior. Some preachers in some denominational churches would have us believe that to repent we must pray and apologize to God for our sins. This myth is the mother of the so-called “sinners’ prayer.” a truth that is often overlooked is what was said in Jn. 9:31. There we read, “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, he hears him.” I recognize the immediate context of this statement. I know it was spoken not by Jesus, but by the man who had been healed by Jesus. He said it to prove to these Pharisees that Jesus was of God, or else he could not have healed the man’s blindness. However, the truth stated by this man is born out in scripture. Isa. 59:1–2 expressly tells us that God will not hear a sinner — in the sense of accepting their apology and saying that everything is okay. How can we expect God to accept our apology if he doesn’t even hear us? In the case of a Christian who has sinned, God will hear and forgive. Christians (not all men) are told in 1 Jn. 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Those, however, who have never obeyed the gospel and been baptized into Christ cannot expect him to hear their prayers because they are not his children.

Another untrue denominational myth says that if we only have faith or believe and then repent and confess, we will be saved. Sometimes you hear preachers quote Rom. 10:10, which says, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” and then conclude that this teaches that faith plus repentance plus confession brings about salvation. If we say that faith, repentance and confession are all that is necessary to insure salvation, then we do a great injustice to the Bible. We should know that without coming into contact with Christ’s blood we cannot be saved. And regardless of the sincerity of a confession, confession does not bring anyone into contact with his blood. I am happy to grant that confession is essential for salvation. Without confession, we cannot be saved. Jesus said in Lk. 12:8–9, “I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” We must confess Christ before men for him to confess us before God. It is a denominational myth, however, that says all one needs to do is to close his eyes and bow his head and ask Jesus to quietly come into his heart. It is a denominational myth to have the minister say, “If you have accepted Christ, just slowly raise your hand to acknowledge your salvation.” When the Ethiopian man wanted to be saved, the following exchange occurred in Acts 8:36-37: “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, see, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” What did the noble Ethiopian do? He confessed his faith in Christ with his mouth. He did not secretly raise his hand as a testimony of his faith. Instead, he confessed with the mouth the Lord Jesus. Remember Paul wrote in Rom. 10:10 that this confession was necessary.

But now let’s expose another denominational myth, the one taught by every church established and built by men. This myth says that baptism does not save anyone. The doctrine that says baptism is a work and will not save anyone is a lie devised by the devil to destroy souls. This myth is contrary to all that the apostles taught, contrary to all that Jesus said, and contrary to all that history shows. But like any lie if it is told often enough many will begin to believe it. Have you been taught that baptism is not necessary in order for you to be saved? I am sure that most of you listening this morning who are members of Protestant denominations have been told that baptism is nonessential for salvation. You might have been told something very similar to this: “We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be observed by the church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as means of salvation.” This quotation was read word-for-word from an Internet Web page of a local Christian Church in the city of Indianapolis. In their statement of beliefs, this Christian Church affirms that baptism is “not to be regarded as a means of salvation.” This shows the power of a myth. I am positive this Christian Church did not always believe this, but falling under the influence of an often-told myth instead of the word of God, this religious body has now begun to advance this unscriptural myth. There are not many things taught more plainly in the scriptures than the fact that baptism is essential to salvation. In Mk. 16:16, Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe [that is, does not have faith] will be condemned.” Most people in the religious community will omit baptism in the first part of this statement and over emphasize does not believe in the second part. Every Bible believer will agree that if we do not believe (that is, have faith) it is impossible to please God! That does not, however, release us from the command to be baptized. Contrary to the myth being taught by these denominational churches, the Bible teaches that baptism is essential for at least three reasons. First, it is essential because Christ commanded it. Second, it is imperative by reason of what it does. Third, baptism is essential because of the actions of the early preachers and apostles. Let’s take a moment and consider each of these individually.

There can be no denying that Jesus commanded baptism. We have already read Mk. 16:16, so now let’s read what Matthew recorded in Matt. 28:18-19: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” If baptism is omitted from one’s preaching and actions, then Jesus is not being obeyed, for he said go and baptize. Also, baptism is for the remission or the forgiveness of sins. When a person is saved, that person is forgiven of his or her sins. One is not saved until God has remitted sins. It is impossible to be saved otherwise. Therefore, if we can find out in scripture when sins are forgiven (or remitted) then we discover when one is saved. To do this, we need go no further than Acts 2:38. That verse makes it clear that if our sins are to be forgiven we must “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” The word remission here means pardon or forgiveness. Now, I know this is foreign to what many of you have been taught, but look carefully at scripture and not denominational myths. The Bible tells us that our sins are not forgiven until after we have been baptized. Also, Saul of Tarsus was told in Acts 22:16, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins.” The reason he was told not to wait (or delay) was because baptism was and is essential to washing away sins. In spite of denominational myths, baptism accomplishes great things. It remits sins, and it washes away sins. This makes it essential to salvation. If one has not been baptized, then one’s sins have not been remitted. They have not been washed away. It is as simple as that. Now what will you believe, scripture or a denominational myth?

Another important scripture to consider is Gal. 3:27, which says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You can search the New Testament from Matthew through Revelation and you will find the only way one can be in Christ is to be baptized into Christ. You cannot get into Christ by saying a nonexistent sinner’s prayer. You can’t get into Christ by going to an altar and praying through. You can’t get into Christ by having the church vote on you. You can’t get into Christ by asking Jesus to come into your heart. You can only get into Christ by being baptized into him. Now stay with me on this, because I want to highlight from scripture what the benefits are of being in Christ. When a believer is in Christ he receives “all spiritual blessings,” according to Eph. 1:3. When a believer is in Christ, he then suffers “no condemnation,” according to Rom. 8:1. A believer in Christ has eternal life, according to 1 Jn. 5:11–12. And finally, those who are in Christ receive salvation, according to Paul in 2 Tim. 2:10. It doesn’t take someone with a doctor of divinity degree to understand that if one is to receive all spiritual blessings and suffer no condemnation and gain eternal life and be saved, than he must be in Christ. Also, it becomes obvious that if all these are in Christ and baptism is the only way to get into Christ, then baptism is essential to all spiritual blessings, avoiding condemnation, gaining eternal life, and receiving salvation. This is so simple that those with a doctor of divinity degree are the ones who miss it, and begin to foster the denominational myth that we have just debunked. If you are still not convinced, then just consider what Peter wrote in 1 Pet. 3:21. It can’t be made any clearer than this. He wrote, “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.” Even though this passage is easy to read and understand, some wish to twist it by focusing on the word figure. They then make an argument that sounds something like this: “Why, Peter says that baptism saves us only in a figurative way.” Peter did not say baptism saves us figuratively. He said the water during the days of Noah and the flood was a figure or an antitype of baptism. The New Living Translation renders the verse this way: “And this [the flood] is a picture of baptism, which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience.”

As for the practice of early preachers and New Testament apostles there is not one account of salvation in the book of Acts (which is a book of conversions) that did not include baptism. That is, every sinner converted in the book of Acts was told to be baptized, whether we are discussing those in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost or the Philippian jailer or the Corinthians or the Ephesians. Every convert was baptized. You can hang this denominational myth out to dry. In spite of the preaching to the contrary, baptism is essential to salvation.

Having exposed this myth as unscriptural, those who teach it as fact will retreat into another well-established myth. Many will say, “Well, baptism might be essential but it does not refer to water, it refers to the spirit.” Have you ever heard this Have you ever heard some denominational preacher say that the baptism essential to salvation is not baptism in water but baptism in the spirit? This has been a cardinal doctrine of most Pentecostal and holiness churches. They believe and teach the myth that baptism in the New Testament that is essential to salvation is baptism in the Holy Spirit. Just two points on that subject will refute such an unscriptural myth. First is what Jesus says in Jn. 3:5 when he is speaking to Nicodemus. He said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Those who advance the myth that the baptism essential to salvation is the baptism of the Holy Spirit wish to tell us that water means a physical birth. And that the new birth occurs when one is baptized in the Spirit. This is the same misunderstanding that Nicodemus had when Jesus first told him of his need to be born again. Nicodemus believed Jesus meant a physical birth. So he asked the Lord in verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus isn’t discussing two births, one physical and one spiritual. Instead he is discussing one birth, a new birth that consists of two essentials — the water and the spirit. The water of the new birth is the water of baptism. The Ethiopian asked the preacher, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” in Acts 8:36. Why mention this body of water if Jesus was talking about the water sac of an infant when he discusses water with Nicodemus? The truth is, Jesus was referring to water baptism when he said that a man must be born of water and the spirit. Also, why didn’t Philip correct the misconception of this man by saying “no, you are incorrect, water means the water sac of an infant in the mother’s womb?” Instead, verse 38 says, “So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” Now, I ask you, where did both men go? They went into the water. For what purpose? So that Philip could baptize this man. This Ethiopian was born again when he submitted to water baptism. Peter speaks about this in 1 Pet. 1:22–23 when he writes:

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.

When one’s heart is pricked by the teaching of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the word of God, and when that one submits to the Holy Spirit’s teaching by being baptized in water, that one is born again. Jesus said so and Peter said so. Then in the second place Paul wrote in Rom. 6:4, “Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death.” Baptism is a burial in water. No one was ever buried with the Holy Spirit. Those who were baptized in the New Testament were immersed in water. They were buried in water. This is another of the popular denominational myths that evaporates when brought under the light scripture.

I exhort you, do you fall for any of these myths. They will condemn your soul. Why not contact us today for more information about the church of Christ? I will be more than happy to allow you to compare what we believe and teach with the scriptures. And I promise that you will not find any myths being taught or believed here.