All right, so the Baptist briders believe that the local Baptist church is the bride of Christ. So they believe if you are not part of a Baptist church, then you cannot and are not part of the body of Christ. You're not part of the bride, therefore you're not part of the body. So in Revelation 19, at the marriage of the Lamb, Christ marries, according to their teaching, Christ marries the Baptist church, because the Baptist church, in their view, is his bride. Well, what is everybody else? Friends and family of God, that's it. But you're not part of the body, you're not part of the bride, because if you're the bride, you're the body, and so both of them You're gonna you're gonna lose out on both now Where do they get that? Well Matthew 22 I asked you to turn to watch it says in Matthew 22 As people always go to the Bible except they don't rightly divide it they rest it to their own destruction So we want to try to get some understanding Matthew 22 verse 11 and when the king came in to see the guests He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment And he saith unto him, friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And for many are called, but few are chosen. Now that's got nothing to do with you being the bride of Christ. But that's where they get that marriage of the lamb and look they had on a wedding garment, but they weren't part of it Okay, so it's it's a weak scripture verse to go to but And the other thought that's connected to it if you're not part If the local Baptist Church is the only bride of Christ Then guess who gets raptured It would only be the local Baptist church. Because who's the rapture for? His church. Who's the church? His body. Who's the church? His bride. You say it's a strange teaching. I know it's a strange teaching. But it's out there. I ask you to turn to Proverbs 22 as well. In order to get an understanding of this, don't have too much time to spend in Matthew and in this passage of Scripture and Proverbs. But in Proverbs 22, and we're gonna be looking at verse 28, and you say, in 1851, the landmark Baptist movement started. Now that's way, way, way back. Why did that movement start back in 1851? Because the Southern Baptist Convention was accepting members From Protestant denominations So that would mean they wouldn't have been baptized by a Baptist preacher and So that's where the term Alien baptisms started to come into play So if you are not put into a tank by a Baptist preacher in a local Baptist Church In their view that means your baptism is considered an alien baptism Where do they get that in Proverbs 22 look at what it says in verse 28 Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have said. So they take that principle, this is, you know, what's the ancient landmark? Well, they take this verse and this principle and they say the ancient landmark is tracing your baptism all the way back to John the Baptist. And if you can't do that, you've got an alien baptism. Except not a one of them can trace their baptism back more than a century. And biblically, John's baptism, it was never and is never the baptism that believers receive. In fact, we did lessons before where we saw that people in the Bible who were baptized by John the Baptist received After they were saved what a scriptural New Testament baptism. There are some people that had both John's baptism and believers back John didn't start the Baptist Church If your house has plumbing issues you're going to call Tom the plumber Why? because Tom is a plumber. Why'd they call John the Baptist? Because John was baptizing people. It doesn't mean he started the Baptist church. So this ancient landmark is all about what they call church successionism. You've got to be able to trace it all the way back to John. What baptist briders do that's unscriptural is? They confound the local church only the local Baptist Church Within the body of Christ So what does that mean? They don't believe in a universal church It is church it is a local church only only local church. But let's back up a second and qualify something. I believe, and I would say that I would ask you to believe, so I am very strong on local church. I don't think you'll find a stronger guy on local church, at least in this five or ten mile radius, very strong local church. But a line is drawn and a distinction is made because we are not local church only. There are both. There is a universal church. The body that we belong to is the same body that believers belong to at the non-denom outfit down the road. And as much as we may disagree with them on doctrine, and as much as we may disagree with them on how they live their life, I won't, and I'm assuming that you won't say that because they don't have all of their doctrine worked out, because they're not living their life unto holiness, I wouldn't go as far to say they're not part of the body of Christ, because they are, just like we are. It's universal church. Yes. But local church also. There's both. Baptist briders say, no, it's only local church. That's it. Baptist local church. It's the only way you're getting in. First Corinthians 12. verse number Oh boy, let's see if we can See if we can get this thought across first Corinthians 12 verse 13. I know we've read this before it says for by one spirit Are we all baptized? into one body What type of baptism is that Spirit that's pretty simple You ever hear the charismatic use the phrase war baptized in the spirit You've all heard that before When you look at some of the modern versions the ESV and the NIV they either correct it in the text or they put a footnote correction in this phrase here for by one Spirit and they add in one spirit. Are you baptized? So instead of it saying if you look at the text closely Verse number 13 it starts off for by one spirit They just go to the Greek and they grab the Greek preposition and and they say that means in one spirit Are you baptized? But it doesn't say and it says for by and that's important Well, we're going to get to why it's important but I Am by no means a Greek scholar nor do I have any ambition to be one. But typically, when you learn Greek, they'll teach you four case endings concerning Greek. Tom may have learned some of this. He might be a little more versed in it than I am, but there's nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. Basically, these case endings indicate how a word is used in a sentence. Well, there's four other case endings that they don't teach the Bible students. And I have some theories why. Some of them may be right. Some of them may not be right. But the other four are evocative, ablative, locative, and instrumental. And the reason they don't teach them is because they say the evocative now is merged with the nominative case. The ablative is merged with the genitive case. And the locative is merged with the dative case. Well, you've got one left. And the one case ending that's left is the instrumental case. So the Greek word en, you find that Greek word, it's translated correctly in the King James because it's in the instrumental case. And it's only translated to en instead of for, by when it's in the locative case. I say that to say this, 1 Corinthians 12, 13, it's not a location for the case en. It's an instrument. Who's the instrument? The Holy Spirit It's in an instrumental case in the context you were put into Christ By the instrument of the Holy Spirit You say that's a lot of Greek, okay But forget the Greek forget the Greek You don't have to know any of that I said all that to say this, we've got it right in the text. We've got it right. It's four by one spirit. So the instrument of that Holy Spirit does something to put you into something. And the instrument isn't a man. It's a Baptist. but standing in a local church building, putting you in water. Look at verse number five. Actually, I'm sorry. Go to Ephesians. We need to get out of 1 Corinthians. Go to Ephesians. So we got that in 1 Corinthians. Flip forward. Yourself and Ephesians and we'll get chapter number four Ephesians chapter number four. We'll start reading at verse three Bible says endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body Okay Simple question, but you probably won't have the answer, but you get the point. How many Baptist churches are there in this town? Well, wait a minute, I thought it's one body. Well, you've got a lot of bodies. You've got a lot of Baptist churches. What's the one body? It's the universal church of all those who have been baptized by the instrument of the holy spirit by the person of the holy spirit And have been placed into the body of christ So you've got one body And one spirit even as you're called in one hope of your calling and watch what verse five says one lord one faith one baptism If you're a Roman Catholic priest, Ephesians 4, 5 means the one baptism is through that priest when you bring your child to get sprinkled. That's what they believe that verse means. If you are a Church of Christ preacher and you attend the Church of Christ, this verse means to them in that local church by a Church of Christ preacher, You will be dunked into water and that is the one baptism The roman catholic church and the church of christ believe exactly the same thing when they can when conclude it to the end You cannot be part of the body of christ unless you are baptized by one of our men in our church You know what? They'll disagree on sprinkling verse immersion That's it. Well Baby versus, uh, you know someone that's of age that can understand That's about it of the distinctions other than that. You ain't getting in unless you're part of that church Baptist briders are the same deal It's the same doctrine They believe the one baptism is You're not put in the tank by a Baptist preacher Your baptism is alien and the best you got is you're a friend and family of the bride That Friend and family of God you're not the part you're not the bride of Christ That's why they say the local church is the body and the water put you in the body Well, that's not what Ephesians 4 says If I'm endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit, I see spirit there pretty easily. There's one body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. If water puts you into the body, what puts you in Christ? It's it's got to be water if you're saying water puts you into the body Then by default you're saying water is the way that you get in Christ But that's not the way you get in Christ. You're baptized by his spirit This is why most all of the groups hang out guess in what chapter Acts 2 They can't get out of Acts 2 I'll read you something. This is what the Lutheran Church is I'm not making this stuff up. I'm not picking on anybody. I'm reading to you what they have publicly stated and what they believe. The Lutherans. God's act regarding baptism, Lutheran and baptism, Lutheran. God's act of what grace is. They say water baptism is not symbolic. It's what God promises salvation will come through. You say, you're picking on the Lutheran. I'm not picking on the Lutheran. I'm reading to you what you would find out if you searched their doctrinal beliefs on water baptism. The Methodists, regarding water baptism, the Methodists say this. It initiates people and is God's instituted means of justifying grace. It's not. That might be what their doctrinal position is, but it's not a Bible position. You say none of those folks are saved? I didn't say that. I said that's what they have publicly stated, publicly written, and whether or not all the people sitting in the pews even know that is still up for grabs. Whether or not those people sitting in the pews buy into that, that's up for grabs too. Why? Because anybody can be saved in any denomination. You have people sitting in pews, a Roman Catholic, a Methodist, a Lutheran, a Church of Christ, that could very well be in Christ. It doesn't mean if you go to a certain denominational church building and hang out with those denominational people that you're lost We tend to sway that way and deal with them as if they're lost because we know what they believe But you can't say you can't take that brush and just broad brush everybody with Anglicans they believe God sends Holy Spirit through the waters of baptism. And it's how God adds members to Christ's body. The Westminster Presbyterians, they believe it's water baptism seals the covenant of grace. Not signed and sealed until you get in water. It's how the Presbyterians believe, it's how God claims us as his children. It washes us clean from sin Well, I was just talking to someone that had to have a water filtration system to make sure the water is clean So I don't know how you're going to take impure water with impure elements put it on somebody and make them It isn't going to happen It's not And I guess if it has enough hard minerals in it get yourself a really good hard shell Baptist, but but beyond that it's And you got a few jokes to make but beyond that it's not gonna do nothing for you but get you wet and Show everybody an outward physical sign Where do they get all that they get all of that out of Acts 2 some other passages that we're not going to go to for sake of time But everybody will say this we said this before Everybody in the entire book of Acts Received to baptism They got baptized by the Spirit and then they got baptized in one, every single one. So what do we say? If you trusted Christ, you're a member of his body, the universal church, you should then, as a member, join yourself to a local church so that that local body has itself now a foot, an arm, a leg, okay, an eye in here, And then we would say, what do you think we should do as a believer, as part of a member now of Christ? Get water fast. There are groups that are, and people that are, they're just an outward rebellion against God. They just say, nobody's going to tell me that I have to get water. I'm safe. Okay, we're not saying you're not saying Why are you fighting against God and obeying God What are you trying to prove by that attitude? We want everybody to get baptized But not because I'm twisting your arm and strong we're putting a guilt trip Do you want it? You want every single believer in Acts, you know what they wanted they wanted to obey the Lord and follow him in obedience with believers baptism and that's what we want and All of as far as I can tell as far as I know all of our members those have chosen to join themselves This local body. They're all baptized. I don't have to hold anything over anybody's head Just teach the Bible show them what the scripture says. No one's got a right heart before God want to do it One baptism has to be the spirit baptism water baptism is just a picture of salvation, but water baptism is not salvation get this Local church can have all types of members All types, you know how many Baptist denominations there are Is there 35 brother Yeah, first Baptist second Baptist American Baptist Atlantic Baptist cooperative Baptist foundation Baptist regular Baptist national Baptist landmark Baptist missionary Baptist North American Baptist free will Baptist primitive Baptist hardshell Baptist seventh-day Baptist southern I Mean You got more Baptist than you got McDonald's in town At least McDonald's can all agree on what's going to go into those fries that are going to end up clogging our arteries. These Baptist churches, they can't agree on nothing, man. There's something wrong with that. There's something wrong with that. You can get a franchise. They can all come together in agreement and unity on how we're going to build this franchise. We're going to brand it the same. And you'd be hard-pressed. This is not going to happen. I'm telling you, there's something in the heart of man that says, I just have to distinguish myself. It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing that Baptists are known by how many times they split. It's shameful. I'm embarrassed by that. Now, I say that on one breath, but on the other breath, I say, I'm not taking Baptists off the sign because, one, because I've had I've had a sour attitude about things at times. I'm sure you have. You know, I don't know. You hang around with somebody long enough, or you work with somebody long enough, or you're in the same household as somebody long enough. There's going to be a rubbing of the It happens in every relationship. Why is church life different? Why do we just get to pick up and leave? I'm going to do things and say things you don't like or rub you the wrong way. The more you talk, the more opportunities you have as well. You're going to say things and do things that are going to rub others the wrong way. Your kids are going to say things and do things that are going to rub others. My kids are going to say things and do things that rub others the wrong way. There's either unity of the spirit or there isn't. We'll move on to the next thought. Let me just qualify those thoughts. I'm not saying there aren't scriptural reasons to leave the church. And I am not saying there aren't scriptural reasons to address issues that need to be addressed. All for the sake of flying the flag of unity Okay, it's one spirit. We all need to be tapped into the spirit and if matters need to be discussed that's Called a healthy relationship. Okay Husbands and wives only get to an argument and then just forget that any no they deal with it For the sake of unity that makes sense you had a problem with the brother wolf He don't know you're going to have to tell him You have a problem with the sister, she's got no clue what's bugging you. You're gonna have to tell her. Why? For the sake of unity and sanity and emotional health. But watch what it says in Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5. Okay, look at verse 24. You know, 23 says Christ is the head of the church, Savior of the body. Verse 24, he says, therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, all of us who are part of his body are part of his church, and all of us are subject unto him. Look at verse 30. We are members of his body. His flesh of his bones We have unity with Christ Go back to John We'll go to John 4 If you truly and honestly get a hold of the fact, it's Christ's body. You are in union and connection with him. His flesh, his body, his bones, it's so easy to see that picture spiritually. We should desire to want to get into fellowship with others of like-minded faith in local churches. We know that, look at verse 24, in John 4. Verse 23, but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. I know you know this. Please note in spirit. For the Father seeketh such to worship him. That's the spirit of unity. For part of his body, his flesh, his bones, That's that spirit behind knowing the truth you know how some people have all their doctrine figured out but they just can't unify or just fellowship or They can't connect with anybody It's that's not Christian we have got to be able to relate to each other Not talking about everybody has to have the same personality I'm not going. I'm more outgoing. My wife is more injured. Who's more spiritual? It's how God made. You get three kids. One can't stop talking no matter what you try to do to get him to quit talking. The other don't talk no matter how much you try to get him to talk, they don't talk. And then the other one You ask them a question, and they're off on so many rabbit trails, you don't even know what you're asking. Which one's more spiritual? None of them. It's just the way God, you know. Just rejoice in the fact that you have three children, that God blessed you. You know what we ought to do in church? Just rejoice in the fact that you might have one brother who just, he don't talk. and you got another brother, he just won't quit talking. And you got another sister who you asked her a question, next thing you know, she's on so many different things, you don't even know where she started. That's not a bad thing. It's just, we have a hard time relating to people that have different personalities than we do. It's not bad. It's not, none of that's wrong or simple. It's just God made everybody different. Now you might have to chisel some of that away and say, hey, Well, hey, you know, maybe at least we'd say hi. Hey, maybe limit the answer to like a minute. I mean, there's some things that we can, but to act like that, we can't have a spirit of unity with them within Christ. It's going outside the line, but the body, John, for example. The local church cannot be limited and confounded to a local church. John 3 says, Jesus in verse 5 says this, verily, verily, I say unto thee, accept a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of God. If you're not part of the spirit, if you've not baptized that which is born of the flesh, Which is born of the Spirit is what spirit marvel not but I say unto thee you must be born again And when you're born again, you're baptized by the Spirit that puts you in the body Before metal before members we baptized water this year this last year I Didn't put any It already had the one spirit that You cannot Baptist writers are wrong when they confound the bride and body of Christ to the local church Go back to Ephesians 5 and finish it Look at the end of Ephesians 5 In verse number 29 The Bible says or no man ever get hated his own flesh, but nourish it and cherish it even as the Lord the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, his bones. For this call shall man leave his father and mother, shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. And watch this. This is a great mystery. What's the great mystery? Well, a church necessarily isn't a great mystery. A church is just a gathering or a call-it-out assembly of people, and they're gathering. And you've got a church in the wilderness, and you've got different people that are gathering. Even before the New Testament church was gathered, they were calling it a church. But you know what the mystery is? The church. This is the great mystery. But I speak concerning Christ and the church. The church as a body is a mysterious thing. What are you, an eye? What are you, an ear? What are you, a hand, a leg, a foot, an arm, torso? That's a mysterious thing. And Christ says, I'm going to baptize you, and I'm going to make you part of my body. And you are all going to be members in particular. And you're all going to have a different function to do. And you're all going to function together and get along. And if something bothers you, don't cut off your arm. It's the same. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Unique, mysterious. So we'll close with this. Baptist briders have it wrong Someone can be a member It's down the road and goes to some Presbyterian outfit. It's trusted Him and I us and them part of the same body And if they decide They've worked out baptism differently now in the Bible. They decide to come here and worship Me putting them in water is not all of a sudden going to make them part of the bride If they've trusted Christ, they are part of the bride and if the rapture were happened today and they were alive They're part of the bride. They would meet the Lord in the air Just like you and I and we wouldn't be waving to each other fighting about baptism We would be rejoicing to be with the Lord. That's a blessing.