"But when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked…" (Acts 17:30). Such was the reaction in ancient Athens to Paul's sermon about the one true God, the resurrection of Christ, and the final judgment of all humanity. Sadly, that spirit of mockery and ridicule still exists, even among some who profess to be friends of the word of God. Consider the following example of such.
Jesus very clearly taught, "He who that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16, KJV). The apostle Peter unmistakably commanded, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38, NKJV). In spite of the clarity of these two passages (along with a host of others) as to the place of baptism in God's plan of salvation, there are those who seek to avoid the force of the passages by ridiculing them.
"When is the sinner saved in baptism? When the tip of his nose breaks the surface of the water?" So asks one modern mocker. Why are such blasphemous attitudes directed toward the plain teaching of God's word? What if it could be proved that one is saved before "the tip of his nose breaks the surface of the water"? Would that change what the New Testament says about the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins? Why not simply preach and practice what the Bible says without caviling? Ridiculing the word and mocking it will not change what it says one iota.
When Jesus came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River to be baptized, John protested, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You." Jesus' response was, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:13-17). At what point in Jesus' baptism was all righteousness fulfilled: When Jesus first approached John? (Surely the Father knew the intent of His Son's heart!) As He and John started down into the water? When they were standing waist deep in the water? While Jesus was still submerged in the water? Or when the tip of His nose first broke the surface of the water?! What a mockery of a holy act!
Paul wrote, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians3:27). I wonder exactly when the Galatians got "into Christ": When they first approached the water? When they were standing waist deep in the water? While still submerged beneath the water? Or when the tips of their noses broke the surface of the water? The utter foolishness of some!
I never ceased to be amazed at the lengths—to say nothing of the silliness—to which some people will go in an effort to get around the clear teaching of God's word! Paul wrote, "For the message of the cross [and the response one is to make to that message, hf] is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God" (I Corinthians 1:18). The apostle then follows with a quotation from Isaiah: "I [God] will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (Verse 19). A moment later he declared, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (Verse 25). How modern man does need to learn this most basic and fundamental truth!
Several years ago I published an essay titled "Market-PlaceChurches, User-Friendly Elderships, and Generic Preachers." In it I spoke of those who have compromised the word of God for the sake of their own opinions—those of whom Paul spoke when he said, "Be not wise in your own conceits/opinion" (Romans 12:16). Those who mock and ridicule the clear teaching of Scripture and who seek to circumvent the obvious are guilty of just exactly that! Christ emphatically affirmed, "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John12:48). As I said in the above referenced essay, "I would not want to be in the shoes of some preachers on the day of God's final judgment."
Hugh Fulford
November 8, 2011
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