5.03 - THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH

THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH

Friends and brethren, I am conscious of the responsibility that I assume in arising in your presence. I know that impressions are going to be made. God forbid that they should be other than of the right kind. I am reading to you tonight, as the basis of what may be said, from Ephesians 3:8-21 : "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, in this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Brother Goodpasture announced that the theme tonight would be: "The Identity of the Church of the New Testameet." There are a number of things implied in such an announcement. The first is that there was such an institution upon this earth as the church. It was promised by the prophets, also by Christ himself, for he said: "Upon this rock I will build my church." As yet it was a matter of futurity, but later on in the record we read of the Lord’s adding to the church, making it an historic organization. From that time on the Bible speaks of it as a definite institution, hence, the admonition to its members throughout the epistles. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." Evidently there was in New Testament times a church, founded by Christ, filled with his Spirit, and of which every Christian was a member. I suggest to you further, based upon the reading that you have heard, that this church was not a mere accident, or, as some have put it, a "spiritual contingent," which word means an incident, accident, or that which came by chance. I have said over and over again that such a statement is almost an insult to the word of God, and I am sorry that any man was ever so thoughtless as to put in print a statement of that kind. Let us remove all such ideas from our mind, and let not a semblance of such an ill-founded thought remain in our hearts. God ordained that His manifold wisdom was to be made manifest unto the world through the church. It is Heaven’s missionary society, through which the wisdom of God is to be made known to the world. And, be it said with emphasis, it is the only organization known to the Bible through which the gospel truth of God Almighty is to be made known to the sons and daughters of man. Since there was a church of the New Testament, having a definite existence, wherein all spiritual blessings were offered to mankind, it follows that outside of the church there is not a ray of hope nor a crumb of comfort promised to any man. After the passing of these nineteen hundred years since that record, I ask: Can such an organization be found upon the earth? If so, how can we know it when we read about it, or learn things concerning it? According to the last federal census, I think there are about 250 religious organizations or churches here in America. No man that ought to be allowed to run loose believes that all of them, or either of them, constitute that thing that Christ said he expected to build. They are counterfeit, friends, and regarding them the Bible knows absolutely nothing. Just to put a matter of that kind to the test, I offer you this suggestion: you can take God’s Word, read every line in it, and you would be wholly unacquainted with the 250 different denominations that disgrace the face of this earth. I speak that candidly, and yet kindly. The Bible knows nothing about any of them. If you ask where you can learn about them, the answer is from the writings of uninspired men. Neither God nor Christ nor the Holy Spirit ever mentioned anything that is akin to the denominations of our day. They are all strangers to the sacred oracles. But, friends, a counterfeit always implies the reality, and, as you quite well know, the nearer like the genuine a counterfeit is, the more dangerous and deceptive it is. Here is our silver dollar. You can take one somewhat like it, made of lead, and nobody would ever be deceived for a moment. But make one of almost the same metal and practically the same superscription and you can deceive the multitudes. I have done my best, time and again, to illustrate the necessity of assured identity. Let me try again. Suppose that a valuable horse has been stolen. The owner advertises and offers a fine reward for his return. His description follows: First, he is a black horse; second, sixteen hands high; third, he has a white stripe in his face; fourth, his left hind ankle is white; fifth, he has a white spot under saddle on right side. There the horse is described and his identity is sufficiently complete. Do you think you could find him and know you had the right horse? Take your stand by the side of the road and watch them go by. Chestnuts, grays, bays, sorrels, and Palominos pass along, with but little attention given, because everybody knows they do not meet the description. By and by we hear the hoofbeats of another far down the road. We prick up our ears with the possibility that he might be the one. As he comes in sight we observe he is a black horse. Interest increases. As he approaches we see a beautiful white stripe down his face, and we feel pretty certain that he must be the one for which we are looking. He comes on to where we are, and we think his height is sixteen hands. We now feel pretty sure that he is the horse. We look at the left hind foot and there is the white ankle. So certain are we now that we seize the bridle and say to the rider: "Sir, this is the stolen horse." Of that we are positively sure. Why? Because he measures up to the requirements. But there is yet one mark to be checked. When the saddle is removed there is no white spot on his back. Now, is this the horse? He is lacking in one essential mark of the description. No court on earth would be justified in turning that horse over to the man who described his stolen one as above outlined. Surely everyone can understand that all essential marks must be found. As stated before, there are many churches in our land and there are thousands of good moral people, members of them. Out of the whole number, can one be found bearing the marks of that one bought with blood of God’s Son? Can we identify that one so definitely described in the New Testament? There are many that have some of the marks, and the more they have, lacking some, the more dangerous they become. Now won’t you agree with this next statement, that no church whose history cannot be traced back to the Bible can possibly be the identical church founded by Christ? But, to make the point definite and beyond the possibility of misunderstanding, I mention some organizations that claim to be the church of the Lord. I assure you that I speak of them with no unkind feeling to any man or woman deceived by them. I repeat that which they have published and sent abroad to the reading public. First of all, there is in our land tonight the church called the "Adventist." They are here in Nashville and we recognize their existence. Is the Adventist Church the one Christ was talking about? The Adventist Church is here in 1942. It was in existence in the year 1900.It was here in 1876.

Go on back to 1865 and it was in existence then. It came into being soon after Mrs. Ellen White made a trip to heaven (?). Upon her return with a message fresh from the mouth of the Lord, that church came into existence. Strange it was that God told her to repeat the heavenly message when he forbade Paul’s telling what he heard. Who can believe God ever heard of Mrs. White? Now hear it. Back of that date, neither in the Bible or out of the Bible, in no history, in no encyclopedia, in no magazine, or journal of any kind whatsoever is there a hint of any trace, or a single mention of anything that looks like a distant relative to even an imitation of that called the Adventist Church. So, when Christ said, “I will build my church," he had no reference to that body called the Adventist Church. Also the Mormon Church is in the land, with headquarters out at Salt Lake City, and with organizations in many states. They now exist and I have no unkind word to say about them. No reflection whatsoever is intended upon any man who has been deceived by this denomination. But what are the facts about it? The Mormon Church is in existence now and it was in existence a hundred years ago. It was here in 1835. But, back of 1830, there never was on the face of God’s earth one solitary reference or allusion whatsoever to anything called the Mormon Church. Now, if that is not so, a different history of that body must yet be written. Their history is one of heinous crimes and atrocious deeds. Surely no serious, sane, sensible, civilized person ever imagined that Jesus Christ was the founder of that church. But, again, there are Methodist congregations almost everywhere. They are an honorable body of people and against any of them, personally, I have nothing to say. It is a fact that Methodism is in our midst tonight. It was here a hundred years ago and on back to 1729. At this date you are at the little end of the taproot of Methodism. Back of that date, nobody ever heard of such an organization as the Methodist Church. Bishop McTyiere was one of the greatest men in that church. He rose to the highest heights in its realm and wrote an authentic history of it, He says: "The history of Methodism cannot be given without a biography of John Wesley. To him belongs the distinction of founder." And the introduction of the Methodist Discipline says: "The Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Church." "Our form of discipline has been founded upon the experience of a long series of years." You will observe that neither the church nor its form of discipline claims to be founded by Christ. It follows beyond a doubt that Christ had no connection with its beginning nor has he with its continuance. Christ built the New Testament church in the year 33 and in the city of Jerusalem. John Wesley built the Methodist Church in the year 1729 in the city of Oxford. If any poor soul thinks these are identical, let it be remembered that the Lord will provide. You can study the history of all denominations and find that not one of them meets the demands of the New Testament. I was preaching in Philadelphia about a week ago, and I mentioned some of the denominations. A good Baptist woman seemed to think I had done wrong in not mentioning her church, so I decided to say something about it when the occasion seemed favorable. The Presbyterian Church is an honorable body of people, and I could say a number of good things about them, but I am talking about the facts in the case. Back of John Calvin and about the year 1535, no man living or dead ever heard or knew anything whatever about such a church. Neither in the Bible nor out of the Bible was there anything pertaining to Presbyterianism or to the Presbyterian Church. The Episcopal Church is likewise in our midst It is a prominent organization, but it owes its origin to a human founder, Henry VIII. Back of the days of old Henry VIII, 1535, there never was on this earth such an organization as the Episcopal Church. If its members knew its origin, I have an idea they would become convinced of their error and turn in search of God’s truth. The Baptist Church began in 1608 in the country of Holland. Such is the story told by Baptist historians. The attempt to trace it back to Jerusalem or to find in the Bible an organization like it is indeed a vain effort. There are many interesting things about the Baptists. In 1883 the Executive Board of the American Baptist Publication Society appointed a committee to translate the New Testament. The first edition translated the word "baptizo" and other forms of the word into "immerse," etc. When their attention was called to the fact that their name had been translated out, they brought out a second edition, retaining the name "Baptist" after "John," and elsewhere as it occurred. That crowd is determined to wear the name of "baptism"—water baptism. They name themselves after water baptism only, thus esteeming a physical act—and even that a "nonessential," above Christ. They make baptism their Spiritual Father; it is the one family name worn by them; they are children of water baptism, for children always take the name of their father. Baptists refuse fellowship to all Christians. They say that every sinner who accepts Christ by faith is a Christian, a child of God. But they will not fellowship him until he goes on and becomes a child of water baptism— becomes a Baptist. When God receives a man, he must be changed before the Baptists will take him. God is not a sufficient Father to be honored. Baptists come from baptism only. They wear the family name. The word "Baptists" in the plural is not in the Bible from beginning to end. There never was but one Baptist on the face of God’s earth, and he said: “I must decrease." Let me ask some two or three direct questions: (1) Is it necessary for me to become a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Episcopalian in order to receive forgiveness of sins? Their concerted answer is "No." (2) Do I have to be a Baptist or Methodist or Presbyterian in order to live a Christian life? Again, they answer "No." (3) Do I have to become any one of these mentioned in order to reach heaven when I die? Once more, they all say "No." In the light of their answer, I ask again, why be a member of any denomination when neither God nor Christ nor the Holy Spirit ever mentioned either of them? Will you think, friends, on these statements? I will grant you that some folks may consider them unkind, but they are not. I have spoken facts that cannot be questioned. We should always ask, Are these things so? As Paul one time said to the Galatians: "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" Do you now think that the Baptist Church is that institution founded by Christ on that memorable day of Pentecost? The last that I mention tonight is the Catholic Church, which is prominent almost everywhere. What I have said complimentary about others is equally true of them. Some of the finest folks that live upon the earth are members of that great hierarchy. Its existence can be traced for hundreds of years. But you finally reach a time when no such things as a Catholic Church is known either to sacred or profane history. It was a gradual development History fails to record the exact person, place, or time of its beginning. Its likeness cannot be found in the Bible. It is now time to ask what are the outstanding marks of a New Testament church? I mention first of all the name by which it is called, both collectively and individually. It is called the church of God, the church of the Lord, the house of God, the pillar and ground of the truth, God’s family, God’s building, etc. The members are called disciples, saints, brethren, Christians. Why cannot all who love the Lord unite on these Bible names rather than wear some name unknown to eternal truth? Another mark of the New Testament church is the conspicuous absence of all titles that have been given denominational preachers. Such titles as father, reverend, pastor, doctor, or even parson were never attached to gospel preachers. I next call attention to the terms of entrance. No man can successfully deny that faith, repentance, anal baptism, upon a proper confession, are conditions of entering into the New Testament church. The church is the body of Christ. No recognized translation of the Bible ever says anyone "believes into Christ." Nor does any translation ever declare that someone "repented into Christ." Combine faith and repentance or repentance and faith and "into Christ" never follows. But all translations declare that we are baptized "into Christ and into his death." My friends, will you accept what the Bible teaches or will you rest upon what "our preacher" says? Bear in mind that these are eternal issues. Another New Testament mark is the worship of the church, which demands that Christians meet and teach God’s word; that they pray one for another; that they eat the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week; that they contribute of their means according to ability and that they sing God’s praise accompanied by melody made in the heart. Last of all I mention the officers of the church of our Lord: (1) Every church had a plurality of elders, bishops, overseers, pastors, shepherds. These names all refer to the same office. (2) Every church had also deacons, whose work is outlined in Acts 6. (3) In New Testament churches there were also evangelists, whose business was to "preach the word." I insist that all of these essential marks can be found only in the church of Christ. If any are present who have never obeyed the gospel of God’s Son, you are invited to do so now while we stand together.