Jump to content
  • Welcome Guest

    For an ad free experience on Online Baptist, Please login or register for free

Baptism and other questions


Go to solution Solved by Pastor Matt,

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Baptism:  Why is there a prerequisite to get baptized?   Some churches won't even consider baptizing you if they don't feel you are ready which sounds ridiculous to me because they don't know your heart and shouldn't stop you from getting baptized.  

John the Baptist said repent and he baptized those who wanted to be baptized and they didn't have to take classes or prove to anyone that they believed in God.

Church Leaders:   Why do some or many church leaders have lofty attitudes as if they are above everyone else?  For example: One church I attended had a pastor that was very nice, I liked him, but I have seen him drop things and wait for someone else to pick it up.  I have seen him watch everyone else clean and fix the church and then tell us what else to do.  Also, at a food gathering in the park while on the line serving ourselves, he has said loudly that he would sure like that piece of chicken knowing that was the only one left and he was about 7th person in line and everyone left it for him.  At another church, I tried to get my little girl into a specific class and the pastor told me that she was too young which I understood but then I remembered another child the same age was allowed in that class, so I mentioned that to him in case he forgot, I mean we do forget things, right? He got angry and was a little disrespectful to me and we never spoke to each other again.

Church cliques:   I noticed that church people are very nice, maybe too nice to believe, and when something goes wrong, they turn their backs on you if you are not part of their "clique."  What happened to what's right or wrong or doing the right thing no matter what?  What happened to honesty and integrity?  

In a way, I'm glad to have seen that because I use to admire Christians who I thought were very devoted to serving God, and I thought I could never measure up to them, until I saw them in action and learned that their Christian attitudes were fake and ugly.  Christian people are no different than non-Christians, as a matter of fact, non-Christian or Christians who don't really attend a church are more sincere.   

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
On 4/29/2021 at 7:40 PM, Mirandavitoles said:

Baptism:  Why is there a prerequisite to get baptized?   Some churches won't even consider baptizing you if they don't feel you are ready which sounds ridiculous to me because they don't know your heart and shouldn't stop you from getting baptized.  

John the Baptist said repent and he baptized those who wanted to be baptized and they didn't have to take classes or prove to anyone that they believed in God.

Baptism is a public declaration of your salvation, and a picture of what happened spiritually to the person saved. It is required because the Lord said to do it: it is an issue of obedience, the first act of obedience for the believer. It isn't required to get saved, but it is required, again, in obedience, once one is saved.  As for why pastors often don't do it til the believe a person is ready, well, I was that pastor once, but realized, using only scripture as my guide, that it ALWAYS immediately followed salvation-it isn't for the pastor to decide if they're 'ready', or understand enough or even if that person truly got saved: if they give biblical testimony of salvation, they should be baptized as soon as possible. If they're not saved, but lied, that will be between them and the Lord-if the pastor has done his due diligence to inquire of salvation, and they give a good answer, he is clean of any deception. 

Church Leaders:   Why do some or many church leaders have lofty attitudes as if they are above everyone else?  For example: One church I attended had a pastor that was very nice, I liked him, but I have seen him drop things and wait for someone else to pick it up.  I have seen him watch everyone else clean and fix the church and then tell us what else to do.  Also, at a food gathering in the park while on the line serving ourselves, he has said loudly that he would sure like that piece of chicken knowing that was the only one left and he was about 7th person in line and everyone left it for him.  At another church, I tried to get my little girl into a specific class and the pastor told me that she was too young which I understood but then I remembered another child the same age was allowed in that class, so I mentioned that to him in case he forgot, I mean we do forget things, right? He got angry and was a little disrespectful to me and we never spoke to each other again.

Church leaders, like anyone, are all different, and at best, are just sinners saved by grace. Maybe that preacher who wanted the chicken doesn't believe he is respected by his church and there is a pattern of ignoring his needs over themselves. I don't believe a pastor should be worshiped, but a church ought to appreciate what he does, if he preaches the word well and faithfully, and they ought to recognize that and even sometimes do nice things for them, because they work at a level most don't even know. As a pastor myself, I have always gone to the potluck table after everyone else, and have many times seen people load their plates with enough food, especially the "good stuff" to feed three people, and my wife and I have had nothing left when we arrive. One my wife only got a piece of ham because someone dropped a piece on the floor, and she cleaned it and ate it. (I didn't have any that time). It seems that either a church worships their pastor, or ignores him, very little in between, which is where it ought to be. Maybe get to know your pastor, be a help to him and his family, see what he actually does, maybe you'll better appreciate him and what he does.

Church cliques:   I noticed that church people are very nice, maybe too nice to believe, and when something goes wrong, they turn their backs on you if you are not part of their "clique."  What happened to what's right or wrong or doing the right thing no matter what?  What happened to honesty and integrity? 

Get your eyes off people and get them on Christ-that is why you're there. If people are mean, pray for them, and you just see to your service to God and men.  

In a way, I'm glad to have seen that because I use to admire Christians who I thought were very devoted to serving God, and I thought I could never measure up to them, until I saw them in action and learned that their Christian attitudes were fake and ugly.  Christian people are no different than non-Christians, as a matter of fact, non-Christian or Christians who don't really attend a church are more sincere.  

 Again, Christians are just sinners saved by grace-not perfect, they have flaws, just like you. Don't be a hypocrite, because I see in your attitude a better-than-them attitude. Get in God's house, and serve HIM. Don't compare yourself to them, compare yourself to Christ. You be about your race, and make yourself a good example to them. 

 

My response is in green in the body of the quote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...