Welcome to part two of a three-part series on Command, Example, and Inference. The first lesson of our study focused on the Enlightenment. This intellectual movement in Europe believed truth could be known by an application of observation, the scientific method and common sense. The United States government is a product of Enlightenment thought applied to national government. In many ways, churches within the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement are the result of looking at the Bible for facts to be believed,
Christian thinkers in this country, believed this kind of approach to Scripture would lead to a restoration of the gospel, local churches, and the Christian worship of apostolic times. They could be Christians like those in the first century if they were dedicated to imitating what those believers taught and did in the Bible.
Preacher and author Doy Moyer uses the phrases, “Tell, Show, and Imply.” to replace the cumbersome, “Direct Command, Approved Apostolic Example, and Necessary Inference (CENI).” Moyer notes this is the way all communication works. It is not a hermeneutic per se. He makes the point, he would love to learn more about your belief it is a hermeneutic as long as you do not tell him about it, show him anything, or imply any conclusions.
So, let’s apply all this common sense reasoning to three doctrines found within most churches of Christ. Baptism of believers for salvation, Weekly observance of the Lord’s supper, and Congregational singing without the aid of instruments. What do we find and how will we find it?
Congregational Singing: This is the simplest of our case studies. In Ephesians 5:17-21, we are to address one another by singing and making melody with your heart. Colossians 3:16-17, we are to teach and admonish by singing. In that same passage we are cautioned to, “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.”-v17. The idea of looking for the authority of Jesus reaches down to us 2,000 years after Paul lived.
Both passages contain the command to sing. Neither passage mentions anything about playing. There is no verse in the Bible directing a Christian to play an instrument in the worship of the church. How can we, “do all in the name of the Lord.” and do something in the worship of Christ’s church, that neither Jesus nor his apostles mention. At North Second Street, we will not.
Baptism Of Believers For Salvation: This one should be the simplest, but it is not. Just read the passages: Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38; 22:16, Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:27; I Peter 3:21. The commands and examples are overwhelming (baptizing them, he who believes and is baptized, repent and be baptized, arise and be baptized). However our religious neighbors think God chooses the saved and the damned. They think God sends the Holy Spirit to inform them of their election as a better felt than told experience. Therefore, according to “faith only” teaching, after this experience, they are saved by God and since they are chosen, they can never fall away.
Where is the command to have a salvation experience? Do the damned get a message from God informing them they are not among the elect? If these elect are saved before baptism, why did the apostles tell future Christians to: repent, wash(ing) away their sins, believe on the Lord Jesus, and call on the name of the Lord? Why is there no teaching or example of this method found in Scripture? Because it is unknown to Scripture, was unknown to Christians in the first century, and must be understood, “theory first, then Bible.”
Jesus and his apostles are clear. A sinner must believe that Jesus is both Christ and resurrected Son of God. Then they are a candidate for baptism. It is when they submit to Christ by being baptized that a sinner becomes saved, has their sins forgiven, and is born again a child of God (Galatians 3:26-29). God saves those who believe in and obey his Son.
We don’t have time to mention the baptism of infants (how can they have faith?-Hebrews 11:6) or sprinkling instead of immersion (they both went down into the water-Acts 8:38). A lack of time to discuss those subjects also tells me, I am out of space to discuss the weekly observance of the Lord’s supper. Come back for the third (and final!) installment next week.
https://www.north2ndcofc.org/command-example-and-inference-a-case-study-1-3/#5385
https://www.north2ndcofc.org/command-example-and-inference-a-case-study-3-3/
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