How Important Is it to Obey?

[Rhymis]

Originally Posted by pelathais

Good questions. I think that the early PCI people and other Apostolics as well, for that matter, looked at it differently than we do today.

You see they felt that they were a part of a larger fellowship of believers and that this "new" doctrine (Jesus Name baptism/Oneness of God) shouldn't divide that fellowship. So they preached some variation of the "light doctrine" so as not to be setting themselves up as the judges of their own brethren. Baptism in Jesus name was not "essential" at the start. It has only become "essential" as the two sides grew a part.

Today there are those that similarly refuse to set themselves up as the judges of other Christians. These will tend to preach some form of the "light doctrine" where baptism is not essential.

There are others who see the essentiality of following the Apostle's commands as stated in the Book of Acts and the Epistles. But they want to avoid entangling themselves in "legalistic" terminology. So they say that you are saved at repentance, and if you have truly repented then the "refusal" to be baptized in Jesus name will never be an issue. If it is an issue, then we need to go back and look at what it means to "repent."

And then you have the "hypotheticals." What happens to the guy that is run over by a cement truck on his way to the church to be baptized? Is he saved? I say let God sort out the hypotheticals - however in doing so, am I implicitly saying that baptism is not essential in at least this one case? By acknowledging my perplexity on this kind of a question, am I being "weak on the message?" Will my ministry suffer all because of an imaginary cement truck? The answer is sadly, "yes." My brethren will tear me to pieces because of that imaginary cement truck. Both you and I know this to be the case.

So, if we rend and tear one another over the imaginary cement truck, is our problem really one of baptisms? Or do we have more fundamental problems that show the need for us all to go back and re-examine what it means to repent.

Methinks you have felt one head too many, perhaps even Yorick's. "Where be your gibes now? your gambols?"