Hi All, Based on the recent posts by E. Lee and Kevin, I have a question to ask: What do we have in common with the non-instrumental group other than baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the Campbell's. It appears to me that we have more in common with the Southern Baptists! At least I do.

IHS, Barry

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

Answers

Barry, you're probably right.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

"have more in common with the Southern Baptists! At least I do."

Barry....that is one of the truest statements I have ever seen you make on the forum.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

Probably the Southern Baptist part...

...as for the rest, he indicates that he and E. Lee hold 'baptism' in common... which I don't think is quite true.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

Brother Robin:

In response to Brother Davis’ post you said:

“Probably the Southern Baptist part... ...as for the rest, he indicates that he and E. Lee hold 'baptism' in common... which I don't think is quite true.”

I just want to say AMEN and AMEN! Brother Davis does not hold “baptism” in common with the doctrine of Christ as delivered by the apostles of Christ and therefore neither does he hold “baptism” in common with E. Lee Saffold.

WE believe firmly that one must be baptized for the remission of sins in order to be in obedience to Christ our Lord and thereby receive the remission of sins as taught by the apostle Peter.

For Peter said:

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38).

Brother Davis, on the other hand has said:

“1) I believe that a person can be saved without being specifically baptized for the remission of sins.”

Thus anyone can see plainly that Brother Davis does not hold to the truth concerning baptism in common the teaching of Christ our Lord and for that very reason he does not hold it in common with those of us who are determined to faithfully follow the doctrine of Christ.

And we just wanted to say amen to you and express our appreciation for your taking the time to make this important difference between us quite clear. And we want to also stress that he certainly does not hold such in common with most of our brethren in this forum who use instruments in their worship.

And we might also point out that he does not even hold a common reason for believing that instrumental music is acceptable in the worship with the majority in this forum who believe it is acceptable. For he believes that instrumental music is not only authorized in the New Testament but that it is COMMANDED as well and those who do not use it are sinning against God for refusing to use it. Even though he is not willing to defend such an absurd position in a formal debate.

For he stated in the “False teachers, i.e. the Instrumental music issue” thread he said the following;

“Yes, the anti-instrumentalists are in direct opposition to Scripture here and are teaching falsely. They are in rebellion against God's clear commands on worship.”

TO which comment Brother Danny in the same thread correctly admonished him as follows:

“First....show us the clear command that instruments are to be used in worship. I want chapter and verse. (And don't bother with the "sing with Psalms" one....as I've already declared my stance on that one.) And please....cite one historical reference.....that indicates that such is a command to use an instrument.”

Thus it is evident that he does not even hold a “common” position concerning instrumental music with our Brethren who use instrumental music in the worship.

So, we recommend that he first take a good look at how much more he has in common with other false teachers such as the Baptist than he has with his Brethren who use instruments in the worship if he is interested in making such needless and useless comparisons. For if he is not going to ensure that his teaching and believing is in common with the teaching of the apostles of Christ (Acts 2:42) then it does not matter if he has anything in common with anyone! Those who turn away from the doctrine of Christ have one thing in common with each other. They are all bound for the judgement without Christ and without hope and are headed into the pits of hell and the fact that they are going in that direction TOGETHER will not save them!

In fact, those who are united against the doctrine of Christ and are therefore not united with Christ are united AGAINST CHRIST. So, we are not impressed with one having more in common with those who oppose Christ than he has with those who are united with him. And we cannot imagine why any Christian would be, can you?

Your Brother in Christ,

E. Lee Saffold

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

Robin,

I didn't mean I held a common view on baptism with E. Lee. I meant with most of the Restoration Movement. The differences in our views are hair-splitting at best, though.

Barry

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

And it all depends what is meant by baptism; spiritual or water.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2001