Safe in the Camp

 Safe In the Camp

Exodus 32, 33

So, I had gotten finagled into a religion discussion with a customer. (Something I sincerely avoid.) He's a regular, I know him to be a professing Christian and he's always, though dry of humor, very amiable toward me.

He has brought up things regarding our Lord to me before, but, this particular night, he started asking me, shall we say, questions on the matter of religion, church, etc. I can't remember exactly the evolution of the discussion, but I wound up asking him some questions that garnered some telling responses.

He said much in the course of the conversation about how open minded he is and expressed the same about his church. (The local First Baptist. But of course!) He continued that he is also a deacon at that particular congregation.

I think the conversation was begun with me responding to a remark by him, making some silly comments about my beliefs being outside the mainstream of orthodox thought. I might've referred, euphemistically, to my thoughts as being "strange" to most people.

He assured me that he was of his own mind and that he didn't have any problem disagreeing or hold anything against those who do. I doubted his illumination.

His defense was one I'd heard from hundreds of Christians about their welcomeness to contrary thought. They all seem to boldly state their independence of belief and tolerance for heterodoxical thinking.

I began, as gently as I knew how, to question his and his church's alleged open-mindedness. I wondered out loud that, if one of their own was to doubt, disagree or, at least, seriously question the doctrines normally accepted among the circle he goes round in, would they be all that accepting. He assured me they would.

Me being me, I thought that I might put him to the test. So, I began to ask a series of eschatological questions that I felt certain would get the Fundamentalist accepted answers that I expected. I was not disappointed.

My hooks were well-baited. 

"Do you think the anti-christ is alive today and possibly living somewhere in Europe?"

"Do you believe there'll be a seven year Tribulation when the church is called out?"

"Do you believe Christ and the church will reign in Jerusalem for a thousand years upon their return?"

I might've asked a couple more questions, all along that line, but I got what I was looking for. He answered in the affirmative his basic agreement with the concepts and doctrines I was asserting with my little pop quiz. Of course, he was slightly defensive, saying he didn't give that sort of thing much thought, but that it wasn't the most important point of Christianity. (Basically, words to that affect.) He fell right into my trap!

This is where I apologized for my insincerity. I explained to him that I was just checking to see if he was standing where I already assumed he stood. He did.

I vainly tried to express to him that he was safely in the camp. Sure, he might not have invested hundreds of hours of study in these particular matters, but he was always faithful to the accepted orthodoxy. He would never give any real consideration to viable alternatives. Yes, he would give lip-service to the possibility of other ideas, but he would know no details or doctrines and, in his heart of hearts, should he give it any thought at all, would dismiss any other lines of thinking out of hand.

Sadly, most Christians are "safe in the camp." Like the Israelites of old, they huddle together, avoiding gentiles like leprosy and look out at those who are any different as no more than mistakes to be ignored. Or disposed of.

The problem with being safe in the camp, though, is that God, is, in actuality, not in the camp. He's outside the camp.

After Moses had received the Ten Commandments, he returned from Mt. Sanai only to find the children of Israel involved in a raucous party and worshiping a golden calf. Punishments were meted out and the people paid the price. He then relayed the plans for the temple, which was promptly placed outside of the camp. Not in the middle, where it would be surrounded by the people, but outside of the camp.

This was obviously an abbreviated version of a long story, but the point remains that the forlorn children of Israel, instead of having the Temple, ergo, God, in the middle of their camp, it was placed outside of the camp where they would be forced to leave the comfort of friend and family to seek God elsewhere. Yes, friends and family were good, they knew of God, but God was not there. They could stay comfortably in the camp or could seek God where He may be found.

This, actually, was against God's design, but was still part of His plan. Much like Adam and Eve were designed for a garden, God knew what was coming and it all fit perfectly, completely into His plan. As my brother says, "God has no plan B."

As the Children of Israel were unprepared to hear the Voice of God speaking from Sinai, neither were they ready to have the Tabernacle of God in their midst. One day, though, the Tabernacle of God would be with men. Then men would not have to seek God, for God would be in us. 

Hallelujah! That days is here!

Exodus 33:7 KJV

And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

Revelation 21:3 KJV

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

To Eschatology or not to Eschatology!

I was asked a question regarding a question of eschatology on Facebook. I had to pray a lot about it and this was the best answer to a question I've been mulling over for years.

The names have been changed to protect the guilty. 

*****************************************************************************

Brother, speaking of eschatology what is your view point on that subject? My views have changed dramatically since I've been doing some research and study about it. I am prayerfully asking God to settle me on that issue. I am no longer pre-trib, mid- trib or even post-trib anymore. Could you PM me and bless me with a little of the [Aaronism] knowledge and I will share with you my Tonyism thoughts. Philippians 2:12 my brother ??

Have you ever danced with the devil in pale moonlight? Well, asking my opinion on a matter, any matter, perhaps especially eschatology, is a little like that! 

In my very young days, I thought I could speak for Christianity. I was wrong.
I was still foolish enough to try to speak for Southern Baptists. They proved me wrong.
Once upon a time, I may have even feigned to speak for the Davis family in general. Time, though, has made a change in my family.

So, I'll just talk about what I think. I'll preface this with the obvious: I don't have all the answers. Still, I know enough to generally recognize when something is wrong. Obviously, you are seeing errors in things you have heard preached for decades. To publicly say you are not "pre-trib" is anathema to Fundamentalists today. I never heard what is often called pre-millinialism preached as I was coming up, but I was fortunate enough to have my father as my pastor. I can also testify that my brother Joe, who was my pastor for several years, easily found meat from the Gospel that was fresh and neither stale nor rotten. I can further testify that my grandparents, who lived in the post-bellum South, testified to me that neither they nor their parents believed it, neither was it preached from pulpits of their churches. Further, if a preacher had tried to preach pre-millenialism back then, even up into the sixties locally, he would've been escorted by the pastor/deacons to the pew to learn or out the door. My how things have changed!

That little story is almost unimportant, but, dealing with this delicate matter, I thought it might be important to let you know where I come from. Having said all that, as my dad taught me, I had to examine these things, "work out my own salvation," for myself. Time and study has, for me, confirmed my perspective.

Now, to the point:

The Book of Revelation is, in my never to be humble opinion, one of the most read and studied and most misunderstood books of the Bible. Yet, it is one of the most beautiful!

I've sat through so many sermons, attended study courses, read books on the matter from the "pre-trib" perspective and, frankly, all I hear is a bunch of hooey! I hear no hope for the Church or salvation for the lost in the any of it.
Let me sum up:

A couple of verses, not to diminish others, in Revelation are the two keys to having any understanding of it. 

Revelation 1:1 KJV
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ." Christ Who was revealed to us through the man Jesus. Who revealed Himself to John in a vision on Patmos. We know so much about Him, but we understand so little. 

Preachers drone about computer banks, plastic strips on credit cards, Russia and the "state of Israel," quickly forgetting that John said, first thing, that this book is about Jesus Christ! To even hope to begin to understand that revelation, we must not lose sight that it is He we should be looking for.

Actually, there is another that we should look for in this book. Someone who, sadly, is repeatedly overlooked and passed over. Someone whose idea and image has been distorted by both ignorance and intent for nearly two millennia now. This One is the second key.

Revelation 21:9 KJV
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

"The Lamb's wife." We see the angel specifically introduce to, or "shew," John the Lamb's Wife, the Bride. The Bride of Christ!

Preachers fill their congregants' ears with talk about Heaven and streets of gold, jasper walls and gates of pearl completely ignoring that the angel is not showing John Heaven, but the most important Person in Heaven. The One that the Bridegroom gave His life to purchase, to prepare and, as any loving husband, spend an eternity with. It's like attending the wedding of strangers and when someone there points out the bride, we only see the flowers and candles, but never the pretty lady in the white dress.

We have eyes, but we don't see. Like the Bible in general, I believe more especially the Book of Revelation, this is a love letter from the greatest lover in history to His One and Only! Without this, I believe we can never even begin to grasp the love story that our God and Father is desperately trying to get us foolish souls to ever so slightly comprehend. 

We are so caught up in looking at the hands of God, we never look up to see His face or that of His Bride. We see the dragons, the plagues, the wars and the seas, but we miss the wedding party.

Tragically, I hear very few preachers talk about the "Bride of Christ." They only speak of the Church as if it's a different entity. It's all about Her identity! 

One more thing: I'll paraphrase my Uncle Ulis who, referring to the Wedding Supper spoken so much of by so many preachers, said, if there has not yet been a wedding, that makes us all bastards!

Well, I confess I am a little short on specifics here. My point is always, when asked this basic question, to try to help the questioner find a way to come closer to the truth than to continue to hobble along with those who seem to be, well, missing out on the party.

Yes, I have been long, but you did ask! ha! ha!

p.s. I'm going to tag you in a link for Youtube. It's a sermon by Mark Rutland. It's ninety-plus minutes, but well worth your time!

Statement of Faith

Everyone and every organization seems to have a purpose statement, a manifesto, a statement of faith, if you will. I often, very often, differ with people. I often differ even with those with whom I have affiliated myself for years. Yes, I'm fond of saying, I sometimes feel I am at war with the world and the world doesn't even know it.

The following statement is meant to be nothing more than that...a statement. It is neither an argument or an apology. I merely wish to express my particular beliefs on the following subjects. I have, for brevity and the aforementioned reason, left off many Scriptural references, (though I still found myself adding many,) that might be necessary and appropriate for a doctrinal thesis that was intended to teach, persuade and indoctrinate.

This, though, is about what I think. What I believe. For whatever reasons. My reasoning and convictions are as valuable and, likely, as fallacious as those of any one else. This is to record, for posterity, and my progency, what I believe to be the truth concerning the Holy Scriptures, our Heavenly Father and His plan for mankind.











1. The Holy Scriptures


The Holy Bible, at least the present day King James Version, is both instigated and inspired by God Almighty. It is inviolable, without scientific, historic or doctrinal error. It is useful for education and inspiration, for correction and reproof. The Holy Bible is the ultimate written authority on God and His doctrine, subordinate only to the Holy Ghost. The Holy Bible is an "it."

The Holy Bible is not the "Word of God"! It is the Holy Scripture. It is the Divinely inspired Book that God, through the Holy Ghost, enkindled mortal men to put pen to paper. It is infallible and holy, (separate from others,) but it is not Divine.

No book, no matter how glorious, no matter how marvelous and inspiring, can contain the Mind of God. David understood that no building could contain God. We should understand that neither can any book.

The Bible contains the words of prophets, apostles and sundry witnesses as inspired and lead by the Holy Ghost. It is an infallible, if not complete testament of God and His Love and Wisdom. It is words of God. It can be referred to as the "word" only in the most tortured and abstract sense.

I like to quip that Fundamentalists treat the Holy Bible as if it is the "fourth person of the Trinity." They seem to prefer to call the Bible the "Word of God" because they believe, somehow, that adds authority to what they have to say. It is not, as I've heard some preachers say, everything we need to know about God.

My dad once asked me, "If somehow, every Bible in the world were to somehow disappear, would we have anything to preach?" Innumerable congregations throughout the centuries have preached and prospered, staying true to the Gospel, without the advantage of having one single written verse among them. Obviously, until Paul, et al., had written what we refer to as the New Testament, the Disciples had only the Old Testament for written knowledge and inspiration. No one had a personal copy of the Old Scriptures. They were rare and precious to those fortunate enough to have access to them. It would behoove us to remember that, before Moses had written the Pentateuch, Abraham "believed God" and Noah was a "preacher of righteousness."

There are certainly other writings that give illumination to the Love of God and His plan of salvation. Surely these should not be cast aside, but neither should they be given the gravitas of what lies bound within the leather covers of the sacred tome I read nearly every day. Pundits and theologians will argue about the veracity of other texts, but I have found the Holy Bible, as millions before me, to be tried and true.











2. The Holy Father

God is our Father, not our mother. God is not a man; He is not flesh and bone. God is a Spirit. Though He is not a man, He is masculine. He acts as a father in His protection, providence, nativity and nurturing of His children.

3. The Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, is a Person. He is not an "it"! He is the Comforter that is with God's children every minute of every day. It is perhaps fair and accurate to refer to Him as the "Third Person of the Trinity." (He certainly is one of the three of the One.) He leads us in witnessing and living and is the ultimate authority on doctrine; He will never lead us in any way that will contradict the Holy Scriptures.

4. The Christ/Word

He is a Person of the Trinity, immemorial, immortal and eternal. He appears repeatedly in the Old Testament, (the Rock and the Cloud, etc.,) and He ultimately appears in the Person of Jesus, the Man from Galilee. He is the Creator, in that all things were made by Him, and the Voice that walked in the Garden in the cool of the day, who called out, "Adam, where are you?" He is very God!

5. Baptism/ The Lord's Supper

There seem to be only two ordinances listed in the Holy Bible: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Baptism is to be done by an ordained minister, on the authority of a local congregation only, in water, by full immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Baptists have suffered contempt, derision and even persecution over the centuries for refusing to accept alien immersion, (baptism performed by other denominations,) but, over the past half century or more, in the interest of political correctness, self-consciousness, the desire to appear falsely humble, avoid conflict and, incredibly, increase donations to the SBC and its local congregations, Southern Baptists have more and more began to accept the alien immersion that had been repugnant and anathema to Baptist congregations since the Lord's time.

The Lord's Supper should never proceed Scriptural Baptism. Jesus had no disciples who were unbaptized, no one but His disciples were present and participatory at the Lord's Supper. In the Great Commission, He said to first make disciples and baptize them. He didn't even mention a meal.

I have, inconceivably, had debates with Southern Baptist pastors who feel that baptism is an unnecessary prerequisite for partaking in the Lord's Supper. I don't think any of those men would support ordaining an unbaptized man to be deacon or hold any other office, but the more important thing takes second chair to pride.

I, for some few years, grew fond of the term "communion." I've decided, though, that it is actually a way to avoid discussing to Whom this humble meal belongs and who has power to decide who sits at His table.

The meal should consist of unleavened, unbleached bread that has been broken by human hands and not cut by a machine. I suppose grape juice is functional, but red is a better choice. Sharing from the same cup, like the old-timers, seems more Scriptural to me. Would it kill us to have a sip of real wine on extreme occasion?

6. The Bride of Christ or the Church

Much talk is made by Fundamentalists today about the church, but little about the Bride. They profess, by their own argument, that salvation equals membership in the church. They will, conversely and convolutedly, argue church membership does not equal salvation.

They also speak of the "local church" and the "universal church." As if there are two "churches. One and one still equals two.

The mystery of the Bride, the Church, renders itself to no pithy formula. Still, to examine and understand the human body and the multitudinous billions, rather trillions, of cells that make but one body lends itself to, hopefully, at least a shadow of this great miraculous marital relationship.

The Church is the Congregation of God. A congregation is not a congregation if it is not congregated.

Their is one Bride. There is one Church. The Bride of Christ is washed in the Blood of Christ, prepared and presented by Him to His Father as a chaste and pure "Help Meet" for Him, drawn, like Eve, from the side of the Groom.

The Bride is both local and temporal. She is not an "it." She is the earthly Body of Christ. Her Head is Christ. Her Glory is on Her head, like the long hair of a woman and the oil that flowed down Aaron's beard. She is on this earth to be the Vicar of Christ, to represent Him, to tell the world about Him, to spread His Gospel and to be like Esther who was born for "such a time as this," to be the one who encouraged her king to provide a means of salvation to her people. (Unlike Vashti who refused to be presented as the "trophy wife.")

Members include only those who have been born again, Scripturally Baptized after having presented themselves as candidates for said membership. Membership, as it were, is only at the behest and approval of the Congregation. To be one, ask many.

Baptists for centuries considered themselves to be THE Bride of Christ. Whatever name they may have been called by, they shared a common doctrine, legacy and genealogy that lead back to Christ building of His Church before His Ascension.

7. Salvation or Regneration

Salvation is granted by God through the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son. We must accept this sacrifice by faith and works of goodness and righteousness have no affect on either our salvation nor our relationship to God. If anything can effect either, we will surely lose our salvation or our relationship.

Salvation is for each person who chooses to accept Christ as Lord. (Being first drawn by the Holy Ghost.) You must be born again was an admonition given by Christ to Nicodemus for those who desire to see the Kingdom of God. Regeneration is the first moment of becoming a Child of God. Repentance and works of righteousness always, always follow salvation.

We are regenerated. Life begins again. We are a new creation in Christ.

　
8. End Times

John wrote of "things which must shortly come to pass." Pastors, preachers, theologians, et. al., all of whom have books to sell, love to talk for hours in seminars, for which you are charged admission, about the "Tribulation" and the "Millennial Reign." They grow their book sells, viewership, listening audience and popularity by regurgitating the same old nonsense that they and their pals spew across the airwaves and from the pulpits Sunday after Sunday. Yes, to quote one preacher, "It's a Jim Dandy way to sell books about end time prophecy."

9. Suffering

Suffering molds us and makes us. It is the fire that purifies and shapes. It tries us and strengthens us. It binds us and molds us. It provides opportunity to share in our Savior's suffering.

When we suffer for him, allowing ourselves to be used and persecuted by Satan and his cohorts, we begin to understand, in the smallest of ways, what Christ went through, what it cost Him, what it cost His Father to make us like Him.

Suffering also helps us identify with others who have and are suffering. We recognize the pain that we ourselves feel and we can not only sympathize, but empathize with their condition. That is why Christ came, born of a woman and lived those decades with us. So, that He could know, not just imagine, what life, and death, are for us.

It helps to remember that the word "suffering" means "to allow." We must ask ourselves, what will we allow our Master to do with us?

10. Wisdom and Knowledge

Wisdom, alas, often comes from experience and that being bad experience. Most of the the good ideas I now have are fomented by stupid ideas I have held in my past. If I am circumspect, I will learn, not only from my mistakes, but from those of others.

"The heavens declare the Glory of God." Much can be learned of our Heavenly Father by studying His creation. We "have the mind of Christ." We should use it. Faith is not the abandonment of reason.

For example, Deism, an often misunderstood and misapplied word, when properly understood and applied, connotes an idea of understanding and appreciating our Creator by empirical and rational methods. While I recommend such methods as useful and, hopefully, mind-expanding, they will always, always fall short of Divine Revelation. Of course, the ultimate revelation was when God became flesh and dwelt among us.

11. The Trinity

I consider myself a Trinitarian. The argument: Three in One or Three revelations of One. All believers have struggled with this great mystery since God first shed light on men.

Muslims call us pantheists because they claim we believe in more than one god. Fundamentalists have further obfuscated the discussion by talking about Jesus, as the Eternal Son of God, (incidentally, a Catholic concept,) a Person who pre-existed the manger in Bethlehem.

Although I have the good sense to admit my ultimate ignorance on how the Trinity might actually work, I believe the view of the Fundamentalists, et al. are far, far off base. I see this Holy Three more as three Persons in One. Not only just in name and office, but, somehow, in actuality.

A perusal of the first three verses of Genesis lays out the first appearance of these Holy Three.

1) "In the beginning God..."
2) "...and the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters.
3) "...and God said..."

12. The Unborn

The unborn are babies at every stage of development. They have gender. They have souls. Those souls will spend an eternity somewhere. Most believers will attribute hope for the salvation of these little ones to their innocence. They believe that, since they have never reached the "age of accountability," thus, they go to Heaven.

The problem is, these same people argue that salvation is only through faith in Christ. They will continue that those who have never heard the Gospel, the unevangelized, will not go to Heaven because they never accepted Christ. They make the insane argument that these will be beat with "fewer stripes," thereby also arguing for degrees of Hell and even Heaven. They see no contradictions in their argument.

I once agreed with the "innocence" argument myself. Somehow, someway, how I do not yet understand, the unborn, like the unevangelized, are received into God's Heaven through they same Blood that saves me and all of us who have given our lives to Him.

13. Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism, along with political correctness, has brought the Southern Baptist Convention to its knees and not in a good way. It is so entrenched in Fundamentalist dogma and the pursuit of monolithic, centralized control of its membership that it has forgotten the priesthood of the believer. Individual conscience has given way to thought control and lock step, lifeless, monotonous uniformity. From the control of literature and monthly and weekly promotion of sundry theme Sundays. Not only are parishioners afraid to follow the Holy Ghost, but they have been convinced themselves incapable of doing so. This approaches the kind of strangling and stifling dominance the Catholic denomination had on Europe for centuries.

The Fundamentalism that was argued to be the defender of the "Authority of the Scriptures," has come to be ever more the defender of political correctness and the oppressor of independent thought. Southern Baptists have come even to except such wild, foreign doctrines and apostasies as premillennialism, rewards, "deaconesses" female pastors, alien immersion and, perhaps worst of all, the concept of a universal church. The Bride, alas, is an anachronistic, archaistic idea that is rarely even peeped from SBC pulpits.

14. The Bridegroom

The creation of Adam and Eve, the first bride and groom, the first family, was no accident and no coincidence. God, the Creator, in his Divine Wisdom, gave us a picture, early on, of God's plan for salvation and His very own Bride. One day, like Adam, the Second Adam would have His side pierced and would, from the contents thereof, His Blood, build His Church, His Bride.

Not all those saved are members of His Bride. Salvation and Church membership are not one in the same. Those who join the Bride, who are allowed to join by the Bride and become members, (in the sense of a part of a body like the hand, foot and eye are,) are His physical Body on earth, who, like a good wife, are to do the part and work of her groom.

You don't have to be a doctor to understand that body parts cannot be transplanted from one body to another, nor can blood that is not of the same type be transfused from one body to another. Simply because a body is a body, does not make it necessarily compatible with another body.

The Church, like any self-respecting bride, knows her primary job is to give life to her husband's children. Sarah understood this; Hannah understood this; Elizabeth understood this. Those who claim to be members of the Church of Christ do not seem to understand. If the Bride of Christ is not procreating, does she really have a purpose?

Much talk is made by Fundamentalists of a future "Marriage Supper of the Lamb." They argue that, after this world's passing, all the "saved of the earth" will one day be present for this inestimable event. Frankly, though, if there has been no such "marriage supper" already, is the Bride of Christ no more than a concubine and are we, Her children, no more than bastards?

　
Much has changed today so far as our concept of marriage, the bride and groom, the husband and wife, but, Scripturally speaking, they are one and the same, they support one another, there is one head and the wife has no issue with being subservient to him, because he loves her so that he would lay down his life for her.

Christ, our Groom, did exactly that! He laid down His life for us. We are his Body. His body can be seen. It is not invisible. It is not to be ravished and raped by those who attempt to force themselves upon Her, but is protected and kept clean by the awesome power of an Almighty God, Her Husband, Her Groom. No one joins to Her, but through Her own consent. She is not a powerless waif, having no say so. She is the Queen of Heaven. God's Body here below. She deserves respect, as any queen does, and there is no help in Heaven or Hell for those who misspeak Her name, abuse or threaten Her or show disrespect to Her. For Her Husband watches over Her, loves Her, died for Her and will bring swift agony and judgment on any who think they might harm Her in any way!

15. Israel

The Bible makes it emphatically clear that the Church is Israel. Fundamentalists, though, with their own agendas and desire for power and control, have promulgated the idea of Jews being "God's People." This is pushed regardless of whether or not these individuals are even saved. Their support for the nation of Israel is based on their interpretation of Scripture and "prophecy," even to the detriment of America. Any who disagree are shunned.

16. Creation

There is no reason to not believe, scientifically or theologically, that God created all that exists in the physical realm in what we would recognize as six days. This concept is mostly held by modernists as a quaint, uninformed idea. They have found themselves swayed by political correctness, the desire to not be seen as anachronistic and what is reported as scientific fact, that is no more than unproven and unprovable theory, in order to fit in with those who consider themselves, frankly, smarter and superior to the rest of us..

An omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God is certainly able to make a universe in six days or six seconds or no seconds. If God is able to make a universe from nothing, how could we hope, with our finite understanding, to be able to honestly determine its chronological age? What we puny humans take as age, would God not see as functionality? If Einstein was right and it's all relative, it would be truthfully impossible for us to make an accurate determination from our point of view.

God created all things in His own way for His own reason. The question that should be asked is, why did He do it so?

17. Marriage and Divorce

God hates divorce. Why? For many reasons, but mostly, because, according to Jeremiah, God has been through a divorce Himself...and it was an ugly one!

　

Much argument, especially since the "women's liberation movement" and womens' sufferage took hold, about the roll of men and women in the marriage. Who is in charge of whom?

Well, I like to tell women that if they want to terrify their husbands, start doing what he says. I tell the men, if they want to terrify their wives, start listening to what she says.

18. Holiness

Completeness and separateness. "God does not need either man's works nor his own gifts." He is as far above us as the stars above earth. As Moses, hidden in the cleft of the Rock and covered by God's unchanging hand, we can only hope to catch glimpses of Him.

19. The Unevangelized

The unborn, the baby, the toddler, those who have reached chronological adulthood, but are stricken with mental retardation that harshly limits their understanding, as well as those who have never been under the preaching of the Gospel and the conviction of the Holy Spirit are all under the Blood of Christ.

While Fundamentalists make contradictory claims about children going to Heaven, but adults who never heard the Gospel going to Hell where they receive "fewer stripes," they cannot see the contradiction. They say God would never condemn the child, the retarded adult, but would condemn a man to Hell who never had opportunity to accept or reject the Gospel. They say they can see God in nature. Yes, but can they see Christ? How could they possible know that a man named Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died for our sins and will one day return for us? How can they know unless they are told. Paul said, "How can they hear unless there is a preacher? How can there be a preacher unless one is sent?" It is my job to share the Gospel. Not nature's. Not even that of the Holy Ghost. It is His job to convict the heart to repentance upon hearing the Good News.

"Will God condemn a person for not responding to evidence they've [sic] never had?"

John Lennox

　
20. Repentance

Is salvation a result of repentance or is repentance a result of salvation? Are we saved because we turn or do we turn because we are saved?

It seems evident, that if salvation is dependent solely upon the sacrificial work of Christ, even repentance cannot save us. Yet, if we are unrepentant, are we truly saved? Can the Holy Spirit move into us without effecting a change that brings about true repentance?

If we are truly indwelled by the Holy Ghost, like Mary, can there be no change? And, like Mary, we are still imperfect, but that does not prevent God from using a willing vessel. Even, sometimes, an unwilling one.

21. Sons of God

God has no daughters. Being a son of God is a matter of office, position and authority, not of gender. In Heaven, we will be neither given in marriage or taken in marriage. All will be as He is.
22. Prayer

Jesus prayed and prayed and prayed! We have only a  few instance recorded of Him reading the Holy Scriptures, although He obviously knew them and quoted them, but much is said about Him praying.

This all begs some questions, if Jesus is God, why did He need to pray? Why did He call God, His Father? These are not silly, trivial questions, but speak, I believe, to the humanity of Jesus.

The abject loneliness suffered by our Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane was testimony to his total humanity. He needed His Father! He was God, Christ, in the flesh, but He was so separate from the God of Heaven that He did not even know when He shall return to bring time, space and all creation to an end. It is a great mystery! Yet, we must examine and compare it to our very existence and intertwining with our Father and our own separation from Him while on this earth. He lives in us, but we cry out to him Abba! Father! He is us and we are Him. Like Adam and Eve, the twain have become one flesh. Yes, it is a great, great mystery!

23. Heaven and Hell

Both exist. How can there be reward without punishment? How can there be punishment without reward? Vice and virtue will be rewarded.

How good will Heaven be? That's how bad Hell will be. Can you earn your way into Heaven? Can you earn your way into Hell? Is Hell the default and Heaven the exception?

Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us and if it were not so, He would have told us. Paul said that we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.

The old Fundamentalist idea of literal streets of gold, twenty room mansions, harps and robes seems to make less and less sense as the years go by. All of that stuff seems, somehow, earthly and temporal to me these days.

I like to say, if you can draw it, it won't be there.

I do not believe we will be lost in God, like some deranged Nirvana. I believe that we will, somehow, know who we were and who we are. We'll recognize loved ones and saints of old. We'll know who God is. Yes, we'll then know! Then we shall be known as even also we are known. Mom and Dad won't exactly be Mom and Dad anymore, but that won't make them strangers to me.

Will we remember or think of loved ones who did not make it? How will we feel about them?

Will we remember the suffering we went through on earth? The sins that we were forgiven for? The sins that cost our Savior's life and blood to be forgiven?

I can't help but think that there will be some type of remembrance of years gone by and our sojourn on this earth. How else will we know what to be thankful for?

Still, perhaps our attitudes will be different? Certainly, our understanding will be greater. Will we no longer be subject to our own humors and finally, in full illumination, will find the understanding that we thought, preached and sung about for so many years down here?

I am certain that our Father knows of the souls that have been lost and that His heart breaks for them. Still, He knows He gave the ultimate sacrifice, paid the ultimate price, so they wouldn't have to be separated from Him for eternity.

There are certainly no "degrees" of Heaven or Hell. The Bible emphatically teaches us that salvation is through the unmerited grace of an Almighty God who gave Himself to save us and that we have no power in the formula other than, if it may be called a power, yielding to Him.

Many vainly hope for crowns and rewards and "outer darkness" in Heaven, so that the more faithful are somehow more rewarded while the less faithful are, well, not so rewarded? (They never do make that quite clear.)

The same will usually make the argument that the unevangelized, and sometimes the ones who do less sin, but die unsaved, will be beaten with "fewer stripes," grossly misinterpreting Scripture. They see some parts of Hell as hotter than others, I suppose.

They do not seem to understand the simplicity of Heaven and Hell: Heaven is with Jesus. Hell is without Him.

24. Questions

Too many people are afraid of asking questions! Though, I think they are less afraid of the questions than the answers they might receive. I believe God, like any good teacher, is desperate for us to ask the hard questions, because He wants to answer those questions. Satan's initial temptation to "be like gods," was not as far removed from the truth as we might think. God actually wanted us to be like Him. He wanted us, in His ultimate plan, to, one day, be like Him. One day we shall. For we shall see Him as He is.

25. Incarnation

It is one of the greatest mysteries of the Gospel how God became man. It is ordinarily explained quickly and lightly with weak theories that not only do not begin to explain this unspeakable mystery, but are actually wrong.

It would be vain to say that I think I have the answer, but I think I might have some illumination on the subject.

I ask the question: was Jesus God? If I say, no, I would be condemned by Fundamentalists and others as heretical. Still, if you recall that every man has a spirit and Jesus was a man, might His spirit have been the Holy Spirit. In my mind, the dichotomy between the manhood of Christ and the God-ness of Christ is, hoping not to fall prey to reduction, simply, (not so simply,) that, yes, He was a man, born of woman. (A man like me.)Yet when the Holy Spirit moved upon Mary, just as He did the "face of the waters," and she became with child, this Spirit indwelling the fetus within her was the spirit of very God. Ergo, God, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, became flesh and, yes, dwelt among us.

It has for years been a point of fascination and just one more reason to love my God that He, in fact, truly, totally became a man just like me. With all the feelings and growing pains that came with it.

Had God not became a man and walked on this earth, all of us sinners could stand before His Throne of Judgment, look Him in the eye and say with unfaltering self-righteousness and honesty, "You don't know what it's like down there!"

26. The Word of God

There is one Word of God. Not two! The Holy Bible, the Holy Scriptures, is not the Word of God. The Word of God is a Person. That Person is Christ. The Bible is a thing; it is an it.

27. Tithing, Giving and Fasting

Floyd Davis said, "If you don't believe in tithing, you don't believe in missions." Tough words! I wish I adhered to them. Perhaps, I make excuses and try to spiritualize the concept of these three words.

Our Lord obviously fasted on many occasions. He would become so caught up in staying close to the Father that He would simply neglect the things of this world.

God owns it all and wants it all. We can't give portions of property and time and feel we've fulfilled God's commission.

Isaiah spoke of fasting as more than just abstaining from eating. Jesus said the man who doesn't help his poor parents because he claims he's always given it to God, has "made the commandment of God of none effect."

When we become so involved and dedicated to the will of God that we have lose sight of ourselves and go without because we gave it to him without self-consciousness, when we leave all behind for Him, then we will truly be tithing and fasting as God desires us to do.

28. Guilt

It seems we may never shed all the feelings of guilt we have in this life until the next life. We are forgiven when we ask it, but it is so very hard to forgive ourselves. It is, possibly, wrong to forgive ourselves too easily. We certainly should never demand forgiveness from either God nor man. We should never feel resentful if it is never granted.

Guilt haunts us in our sleep and our waking hours. It invades our thoughts when we first arise and linger in our minds when we rest our heads. It is often unshakable and inescapable. Yet, God has promised He would forgive us when we ask. We must accept that fact on faith. The rest, we must leave in the Lord's hands.

Guilt has no true power over those who have been redeemed. Fear and shame, the bastard children of guilt, are not for those who have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

Remember, it is not all about us! We can become so distracted by our own guilt that all we think about is our selves and it can keep us from, not only missing the peace that He promised, but, if possible, missing out on the plan He wants us to follow.

Finally, guilt may describe a feeling, but guilt is actually a condition. We are guilty, yes, but we are also pardoned. Therefore, there can now be no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. The feelings sometimes do what feelings do, but the Holy Spirit will remind us of Whose we are, if we will only listen.

29. Peace

Peace is not just quiet. Peace is not just the absence of war or strife.

We have peace that we cannot understand. If we could understand it, it wouldn't be Godly. As much as anything, it's the ability to have faith that, whatever hell we and our loved ones may go through today, we will spend an eternity together in the presence of our Savior.

30. Witnessing

"How can they hear unless there is a preacher? How can there be a preacher unless one is sent?"

It is our job to carry the Gospel to the lost and dying. It is not nature's job. It is not even the Holy Ghost's job. It is our's.

We are to first live the Gospel. Yet, if we wait until we do all we should do, we will never go and we will never share. Jesus said, "Go."

When we live a life, by God's grace, that illustrates our sincerity, He will bless our testimony. Then, when we share the Gospel, people will be more apt to believe.

I have heard more than one funeral preached where the preacher talked about the deceased not being the type of man who talked about the Gospel, but lived it. Bologna! That would be like saying you can teach a man to work on a car by letting him watch you work on yours. You'll learn some things, but I wouldn't want you working on my brakes.

The "Heavens declare the Glory of God," but God sent His Son to literally speak the words of life to us. Yes, sometimes, many times, we must actually, literally speak.

We all must not only live the Gospel, we must speak the Gospel. The sinless Son of God didn't just walk around living the perfect life, He spoke the words that the masses needed to hear. He lived and he spoke. We should follow His example.

So, You Wanna Go Back to Egypt?

After God freed the Children of Israel from the slavery of Egypt, they left bondage behind, taking with them the spoils of war as if they were the ones who had conquered their former masters. They sojourned in the wilderness, received the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses, were fed manna from Heaven and water from a rock.

Yet, in spite of the Providence of the Great I Am, they incessantly whined and complained against Moses and Aaron and longed for the days of captivity. They railed against God over and over, grumbling and asking if there were no graves in Egypt for them.

Sheesh!

So, if you've read your Bible at all or maybe even just watched "The Ten Commandments," you know that God cursed them to walk for forty years just across the Jordan River, within sight of the Promised Land. He decreed that only those who were under forty years of age, save Joshua and Caleb, would ever stroll through this renowned land of "milk and honey."

Now, you might ask yourself why this great and powerful, merciful and loving God would do this to the former slaves of Egypt? Well, the constant rebellion and stubbornness is the obvious short answer. Still, there is a little more to this story than what might be so apparent.

Have you ever sat in a Baptist church, (not only us Baptists, though,) and listened to the old farts shooting down any particular idea that came along just simply because it was new? Oh, no, most would not be so bold as to declare their feelings and prejudice honestly and openly, but if you could see into their heart, you'd know that's exactly and only why they are against it...whatever "it" may be.

"That's not the way our last pastor did it."

"That's not the way grandma and grandpa did it."

"That's not the way mom and dad did it."

"Why do we have to sing those new songs? Why can't we sing something we know?"

"We've always did our order of service this way. Why change now?"

"The deacons have always taken care of that."

"The trustees have always taken care of that."

"I've always sat in this seat."

And the beat goes on and on and on and on!

What are they really saying? They're saying,  "That's not the way we did it back in Egypt!"

We all remember the great Jerry Clowers quote: "A rut is just a ditch with the ends knocked out." We are so very comfortable in our bondage. It is what we are familiar with and the thought of changing the familiar is terrifying to us.

It begins when we are children. We won't to play the same game and watch the same video and sing the same song over and over again. Hypocritically, it makes us adults crazy, but we have retained that childish love for the familiar. Even in our congregations. We want to walk through the door and know exactly what will happen on any given Sunday. We don't like deviation or messing with the status quo. We don't like change!

God, Who knows past, present and future, looking down upon this mutinous host, saw that, sadly, sometimes the only way to move a nation forward is to get rid of the dead weight. It was a sure thing that if the youth of Israel grew up with the negativity and defeatism of their parents and grandparents ringing in their ears, they would do no more than repeat the same process in a vicious circle that must be broken and broken only as God can do.

With each new generation, God gives opportunity for a congregation to be, if you will, born again. Now, I'm not talking about a different Gospel here, I'm merely saying, look at things from a different angle and, perhaps, try a different approach. Accept the fact that different people have different tastes and agree to disagree. As I look around our congregations and see the pride and selfishness that people exhibit. Even those who are of the opinion that they are trying to do right, They clutch with a death grip the things of the past that are dead and gone and stink. Regrettably, it usually is the old who have become so comfortable in their pews that nothing less than their own funeral would move them.

Yes, I miss my parents too! One day, I'll make that final move and see them again. But I can't keep them alive by quenching the Spirit of God. He wants to take us places that we can't even imagine. He wants to take us places where we will have not choice, but to trust in Him.

Are you ready to cross the Jordan to a new land blessed by God? Are you ready for God's great adventure?


Exodus 14:11

And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

Nine and One Half Baptisms

I went to an old fashioned river baptism recently. You don't see many of those, these days.

There were a total of ten baptismal candidates. Though, in my book, it was, at the most, nine and a half.

Why do I say so? Because one lady, who appeared to me to be a fine lady, had been waiting on her "letter" to arrive from her previous church. ("Letter:" that's a Southern Baptist thing, if you don't know.) Suddenly, went to the altar asking the preacher if she could join the church by baptism instead of waiting on her letter. The preacher was pleased with the idea and the congregation even voted in the affirmative.

I suppose her recently converted husband's immanent baptism was on her mind. Perhaps she wanted, in some way, to show some sort of solidarity with him. She gave no real indication of her thoughts or feelings other than saying that she wanted to be baptized again. The pastor remarked at least twice, "There's nothing wrong with that!"

Well, is there? Is he right? One thought, among many, that loomed in my mind which apparently occurred to no one else, was the simple question: "Why?"

Was there some problem with her first baptism? Was it done incorrectly? Was she lost when she was originally baptized?

The very fact that the pastor described at least part of her wish to be baptized as a desire to "join the church" by baptism, begged several unasked questions. That very statement alludes to the old baptist teachings of baptism being the door to the church.

I know enough about Baptist history to know that the Ana-Baptists were so named because of their requirement of rebaptism, but that requirement applied only to those joining their ranks from other denominations. It's a topic for another blog, but, in short, they were dealing with pedo-baptists, papists, sprinklers and those who had been baptized under false authority. (It never seems to occur to most modern Baptists that, although the minister may be the administer of the ordinance of baptism, without the authority of the congregation, it's no more than bathing at home in your tub.)

What if she wants to be baptized again next week? Will the congregation gladly accommodate her? What if another member gets the notion to be baptized again? What if the pastor got the notion to be baptized again, would the church accommodate him?

I wasn't surprised when the pastor cheerfully professed that he had been baptized twice, himself. Sometimes it's hard to kick against the pricks. What I mean is, if he, in the recesses of his mind, somehow realizes that perhaps he was somehow in error, that's the type of thing that usually haunts one's mind. People who are in the wrong always try to bring others over to their unorthodox thinking. As my dad used to say, "You've got me convinced, now convince yourself."

It seems that Baptism, along with the Lord's Supper, have become something completely different than what they were even fifty, let alone, two thousand years ago. They are both thrown around and passed around on a whim without any thought that Almighty God, Creator of the earth, moon and stars, might be even the least bit particular about how we administer his ordinances. If you search nature itself, you'll discover order and structure throughout the cosmos. (That's yet another blog.) Yet, we capriciously chase any idea that throws itself before us.

Now, I'm really not trying to hurt any one's feelings or be insensitive to any one's sincere desire to be closer to God. I'm only trying to point out that there is a wrong way and a right way to do the Lord's work. Again to quote my dad, "If any way will do, then no way will do just as well."

Baptism...Who Needs It?

Alright, all I was trying to do was sell this preacher I know a t.v., when he started in on me. He backed me into a corner. He really didn't give me much of a choice.

He was bragging, I mean, bragging about how he set his pastor "straight" on a certain matter and kept asking me, "Am I right? Am I right?" No, he wasn't right, but I was simply trying to avoid the ruckus I was certain would ensue if I didn't keep my opinions to myself.

He told me that a man had recently been saved at their church, but hadn't yet, for whatever reason, been baptized. His pastor said that the guy shouldn't take the Lord's supper since he had not been baptized. Well, this braggart recounted to me how he told his preacher that "everyone is welcome at the Lord's table," and since the man was saved, he should be welcome also. Jeepers! What a lot of rot!

I tried like the dickens to avoid the turmoil. Still, after being asked if he was right for the fourth or fifth time, I decided to just go ahead and answer him. I've known both of these preachers for years. So, tough if he didn't like my answer.

I asked him, "Would you let a man teach Sunday School in your church if he hadn't been baptized? Would you let him be a deacon? Would you let him pastor your church?" I argued that we wouldn't let the unbaptized fill any these functions in our church. Yet, would we allow them to do something even more important, such as, partake of the Lord's Communion?

I continued that we wouldn't want anyone taking a post in your church who is out of fellowship with the Lord. How could a man be in fellowship with God's will if he hasn't even been baptized?

He seemed a bit stymied as if he had never thought on it that way. Yet, he continued to argue that my view wasn't right, although without any reason why I was wrong.

I finally pulled out the big guns. I knew he had known and respected my dad and I just told him that that is what my dad taught me and it was good enough for me.

Do I think for a moment that this retired Baptist pastor went home, thought it over, swallowed his pride and decided I was right? Do I think for a moment that he went to his pastor and said, "I was wrong. You were right." Not likely.

Many Christians, even, shamefully, Southern Baptists, have reached the stage in our existence where we are so worried about being politically correct, even in God's house, that we think the "bigger" sin is offending somebody and hurting their precious feelings. Actually, the "bigger" sin is to go against the Lord's will and His way. Today, we are more than willing to sacrifice genuine piety for counterfeit politeness.

"I Used To Be A Baptist"

How many times have I heard it? I heard it again the other night.

I was recently chatting with an acquaintance of mine and, in the course of our conversation, he said, "I used to be a Baptist." He continued that he now attended a Lutheran church and furthermore declared that there is "very little difference" between a Lutheran and a Baptist.

I once called a Mormon "800 number" and requested a free gift. (I was curious.) They asked if they could send someone to talk to me, which thrilled me to no end. After several trips to my home, they brought out the big-guns and were accompanied by a couple of guys who told me, "I used to be a Baptist." I wasn't impressed.

At a store where I once shopped, a Baptist lady worked there who had begun attending the local Catholic church. She said she was really enjoying it and recommend it. I suppose she could now say, "I used to be a Baptist."

I know at least a couple of guys who became Methodist ministers who "used to be Baptist." At least one left the Methodists and joined the Charismatic movement. He later began attending a Baptist church that left the Baptists and joined the Charismatics. Sheesh! (I suppose I need a chart at this point.) I don't think he had anything to do with that. I reckon that entire congregation could say, "I used to be a Baptist."

I have friend who says, "I used to be a Baptist." He is now attending a Pentecostal church. He was raised in a Baptist church, but for some reason I've yet to discern, left us for them.

It seems curious to me, but these people seem to wear their previous Baptist experience as a badge of honor. It sort of reminds me of the guy who kept his ex-wife's picture in his pocket so he could occasionally show it off to his pals. He just wanted to prove that he once could get a real girl, I imagine. You know, like bragging, "I used to be married to her."

I don't want to be overly abrasive, but it's just more of the same: people who believe that there is little or no difference between them and us. It's like believing there's little or no difference between cars, brands of ice cream, bosses or wives or women in general. It's absurd to presume they are all the same! My Dad used to remark about people like that, "Any old port in a storm."

God's Church is definitely not "any old port." Yet, it is a shelter in the time of storm. Those who don't want to be bothered with things like study and research to find the truth may land anywhere. Like a butterfly flitting about beautiful flowers only to ultimately light on a pile of poop.

Don't misunderstand, those who will be saved are among every congregation and in every denomination and religion. There is much grace after the cross. Still, we as Baptists should be proud of our heritage and not be so quick to shrug it off. Too much blood has been spilt and, perhaps will be again, to make the mortar that founded the Church of Christ for it to be so easily and flippantly cast aside as nothing more than, to put it indelicately, one of the Lord's concubines.

I really like what one preacher said about it. "Baptist is not a denomination; it's a way of life."

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

P.S. If you leave the Southern Baptists to join the independent Baptists, can you say, "I used to be a Baptist"?

More Trouble for the SBC

I just received the following statements from a Landmark Southern Baptist email group to which I belong. I think it shows the dichotomy that has crept into the SBC over the past few decades. PC is not only taking over our country, it appears to be taking over our denomination. Be afraid; be very afraid!






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The Race for 1st Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention on June 12. On June 12, the Southern Baptist Convention will convene in San Antonio, Texas and will elect a First Vice President. This year two men with very different doctrinal beliefs are running against each other. They are Jim Richards, the Executive Director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and David Rogers a Southern Baptist missionary in Madrid, Spain and the son of the late Adrian Rogers. While both men believe in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures and are actively involved in ministry, their views on the doctrine of the church are polar opposites. Below in their own words are their views of ecclesiology. Based on this I would encourages every Southern Baptist going to San Antonio to vote for Jim Richards. He believes in historic Baptist ecclesiology and will continue to hold the line for conservative Southern Baptists.








David Rogers' View of the Doctrine of the Church: "Regarding my own theological positions, it would be unwieldy to go into much depth here, though I believe the salient matters have been treated a bit more fully at one place or another on this blog throughout the course of the past months. In summary, I am in full agreement with the Baptist Faith & Message 2,000, with the exception of one statement in the section on baptism which would seem to advocate "closed communion." I am also convinced that the Scripture teaches a "continualist" approach to spiritual gifts, which includes the possibility of what many call a "private prayer language." While I certainly believe in the local church, I also see an emphasis on the Universal Church in the New Testament in places that I understand many Baptists see more of an emphasis on the local church. I also see no need to consider as invalid the immersion of a sincere believer due to concerns over the doctrinal position of the administrator of the baptism or the administrating church."








Jim Richard's View of the Doctrine of the Church:
"You see baptism is not a personal issue. It is not about “how I feel about my baptism.” It is not just the sincerity of the candidate. I t is about scriptural authority. The question is whether baptismal authority is individual or congregational. Jesus gave the commission to baptize to the local church. If the commission were given to every believer then any 9-year-old girl who was a Christian could baptize her convert in the backyard swimming pool. Jesus vested the authority to baptize in the church. The Baptist Faith and Message says baptism is a church ordinance. The local church is the custodian of the ordinances. Only a New Testament church can administer scriptural baptism. T here are a few identifying marks of a New Testament church. Are all Baptist churches, New Testament churches? Probably not! Are there New Testament churches that are not Baptist churches? Sure, because what makes a New Testament church is what it teaches, not the name over the door. By the way, one of the identifying marks is that a New Testament church will teach security of the believer."

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist?

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you don't believe in closed communion.

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you preach degrees of Heaven and/or Hell.

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you call the Bible the "word" of God. (I thought Jesus is the Word of God.")

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you allow potential members to join your church on statement from other denominations. (Yes, Independent Baptists are another denomination.)
So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you adopt teachings such as Premillinialism from other denominations like Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists.

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you think that Baptists are "Protestants."

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you hire pastors from other denominations. (Yes, Independent Baptists are another denomination.)

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you leave the Baptists, return to the Baptists and neither you or your fellow congregants think you've done anything worthy of an apology.

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you read and rely on versions of the Holy Bible that amputate great passages and/or aren't yet proven to be reliable.

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you aren't sure if Baptism should only be by immersion.

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you have never read the "Trail of Blood."

So, you call yourself a conservative Baptist, but you've never given any of these any thought whatsoever?

2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.