I AM NOT A BAPTIST
Acts 17:10-12 And the brethren immediately sent away
Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue
of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that
they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures
daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also
of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
Though I have
been member of 5 different Baptist congregations of various name in Maryland
and Nebraska, attended and participated in, I have never been, am, or will be a
Baptist. After trusting Christ as personal redeemer I was an active member of
the Evangelical Methodist Church in Dublin, Maryland for 7+ years. I never have
been, was, or will be an Evangelical Methodist. For a short interim 6 month period
I participated in a fine active Missouri Synod Lutheran congregation. I have
never been a Lutheran of any stripe nor will I ever be. As a Boy Scout I went
with our troop to mass at Saint Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Dundalk,
Maryland. Nor am I a Calvinist or Arminian.
I am rightfully
God’s child striving to see lovingly see Him, others, life, and all things thru
the lens of His Word. (2Tim.2:15; 3:16-17)
To illustrate
this important matter of identity, the following list determines and describes
who I am:
WHO I AM IN CHRIST
·
I am God’s
child. Jn.1:12-13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of
the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
·
I am Jesus’ chosen friend. Jn.15:15 [Jesus
explained] “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know
what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have
heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
·
I have been justified. Rom.5:1 “Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
·
I am one spirit with the Lord. 1Cor.6:17 “… he
who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”
·
I belong to God. 1Cor.6:19-20 “… do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from
God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in
your body.”
·
I am His family, a member of the Body of
Christ. 1Cor.12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of
it.”
·
I am a holy saint. Phil.4:21 “Greet every saint
in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.” (Act.9:13; Rom.16:2;
1Cor.1:2; Eph.4:12; 5:3)
·
I am adopted as God’s child. Gal.4:4-5 “ … when
the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under
the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons.”
·
I, as a saint, have direct access to God.
Eph.2:18-19 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens
with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Heb.4:16)
·
I am redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Col.1:12-14 “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
·
I am complete in Christ. Col.2:8-10 “See to it
that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to
human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not
according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and
you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”
·
I am forever free from condemnation. Rom.8:1-4
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For
the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of
sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not
do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to
the Spirit.” (Rom.4:18-25; Jam.2:23)
·
I am, as a lover of God, assured that all
things work together for good. Rom.8:28 “And we know that for those who love
God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to
his purpose.”
·
I am without condemning charges. Rom.8:31-34 “What
then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He
who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also
with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against
God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the
one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed is interceding for us.”
·
I cannot be separated from the love of God.
Rom.8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As
it is written [Ps.44:22], "For your sake we are being killed all the day
long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
·
I am established, anointed and sealed by God.
2Cor.1:21-22 “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has
anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our
hearts as a guarantee.”
·
I am confident His good work in me is assured.
Phil.1:6 “… I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring
it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”
·
I am a citizen of heaven sojourning on earth.
Phil.3:20-21 “… our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his
glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to
himself.”
·
I am hidden with Christ in God. Col.3:1-4 “If
then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are
above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died [Rom.6:2; Eph.2:1],
and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life
appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
·
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of
power, love, and a sound mind. 2Tim.1:7 “… God gave us a spirit not of fear but
of power and love and self-control.”
·
I am able to find merciful grace when needed.
Heb.4:15-16 “… we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet
without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
·
I am born eternally of God and Satan cannot rob
me of my soul. 1Jn.5:18-19 “We know that everyone who has been born of God does
not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one
does not touch [Gr. “attach oneself to”] him. We know that we are from God, and
the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
·
I have utmost purpose in life. Mt.5:13-14 “You
are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its
saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown
out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden.“ 2Cor.5:17-20 “Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us
the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the
world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to
us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God
making his appeal through us.”
·
I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus. Jn.15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it
is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
·
I am chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit.
Jn.15:16-17 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you
should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you
ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you,
so that you will love one another.”
·
I am Christ’s personal Spirit-empowered
witness. Act.1:8 “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth."
·
I am Christ’ ambassador of reconciliation.
2Cor.5:15-21 “[Jesus] died for all, that those who live might no longer live
for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on,
therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once
regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed
away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ
reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is,
in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We
implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him
to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God.”
·
I am God’s coworker. 2Cor.6:1-2 “Working
together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in
vain. For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of
salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold,
now is the day of salvation.’
·
I am truly now alive and seated with Christ in
the heavenly realm. Eph.2:1-7 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of
the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and
raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his
grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
·
I am God’s workmanship, created for good works.
Eph.2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of [our] works, so that no
one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
·
I may approach Most Holy Sovereign God in
freedom with confidence. Phil.3:11-12 “This was according to the eternal
purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness
and access with confidence through our faith in him.”
·
I am loved by God. Rom.5:6-8 “For while we were
still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would
dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.” (1Jn.4:8)
·
I am a joint-heir with Christ. Rom.8:16-17 “The Spirit
himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if
children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we
suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
·
I have been given wonderful promises.
2Pet.1:3-4 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and
excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
·
I am never left alone. Heb.13:5b-6 “… [God] has
said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently
say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
(Deut.3:16; Jos.1:5; 1Chr.28:20)
·
I have access to God’s wisdom. Jam.1:2-5 “Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know
that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness
have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all
without reproach, and it will be given him.”
·
I am a serving priest. 1Pet.2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may
proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once
you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
·
I am temporarily this side of physically being
in heaven. 1Pet.2:11-12 “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to
abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep
your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you
as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of
visitation.” (2Cor.5:6-8)
·
I am able to see what the unregenerate cannot.
Jn.3:3 “Jesus answered him [Nicodemus],
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the
kingdom of God."
Sincerely,
Edwin Bennett Bullock 4th
