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"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Lk. 6:26).
There are many false teachers in agreement, and even in disagreement, they still endorse one another. Men speak well of them.
They will step right up to the threshold of complete truth and stop. They will agree regarding their view of faith, though it is not biblical faith. They will agree, sometimes, to the notion of repentance. They will marginalize confession, at times, but will not balk if confession is mentioned as necessary for a person to meet God's approval. They will not, under any circumstances, however, agree with the Scripture that baptism is essential for a soul to be approved by God as one who obeyed God's commandments.
They will say it's holy spirit baptism, though holy spirit baptism is never said to be a burial. They will then say it's baptism in fire, though fire is reserved in the NT as a destructive force, and never for forgiveness of sins. They will say it is anything other than what it is.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 that there is only one valid baptism in the new covenant era: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:4-5). Peter says it is this baptism which is for the forgiveness of sins.
What baptism is that? Philip, inspired, and directly commanded by the Holy Spirit, met a eunuch on his way back from Jerusalem and, according to Acts 8:35 "preached Jesus to him." The very next verse says "now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?'"
What did he point out to Philip? Water. What happened next?
"Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water..." (Acts 2:37-39a).
They went into the water and Philip baptized him. Then they came up out of the water...
The only valid baptism for us today is water baptism. That's what the Holy Spirit had Philip preach to the eunuch. That's what the eunuch submitted to. That's what we need to do.
This is where we who are of the body of Christ, the Lord's church; those who have been added to His church upon obedience to his command to be baptized, are spoken against.
Those who are well spoken of by all will say we are a cult because we do not hold to the "generally accepted doctrine held to by the majority."
Since when does the majority determine correctness? Since when are we to accept what is "generally accepted?"
I am told by my God to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
God is concerned with my being approved by Him, not the majority. God is concerned with my diligent study of His word. God is concerned with my being a worker who handles His word correctly. I don't see anything here, or anywhere else in the scriptures that tell me to walk the line of the majority...
I'll be ridiculed if that is what the Lord chooses for me. It's okay. I'll be called names (like a cultist), that's okay. I'll be reviled, that's okay. I will walk the narrow way that few will find, that's okay. I will be rejected for being narrow minded concerning God's truth, that's okay. I will be dismissed by the false majority, that's okay.
If it means acceptance by my Lord Jesus Christ now and on that great day!
"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Lk. 6:26).
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Mt. 5:10-12).
Those two passages look sweeter and sweeter every day.
For those who are the Lord's: hold fast to the faith. Preach the Word. Endure hardship. Endure ridicule, scorn, belittling, rejection, reviling and name calling, for one day God will "repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1:6-8).