Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

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T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

2. We are not permitted to alter the message; we are to contextualize the message without changing or augmenting it, Gal. 1.8-9.

3. The Church bears witness to Jesus as she goes into the world, with creative freedom, evangelizing the lost by preaching the Gospel of Christ.

II. The Second Element of the Great Commission Is Baptism: We Witness by Baptizing.

As members of the Church we are called to baptize new believers in Christ, that is, to incorporate and establish them as members into the Church.

Confession of Christ must inevitably lead to association with his people. If a professing Christian refuses to identify with God’s people, it might indicate that they have not truly repented and believed. Where there is no commitment to the Church, there is probably no salvation in Christ. All believers are incorporated into Christ’s body through baptism. When we baptize new believers in the Lord Jesus, we introduce them to our faith community, and we must then establish them in the foundational, first truths of the faith, and incorporate them as vital members into Christian assembly.

A. First, we are commanded to baptize new believers into the faith, Mark 16.15-16.

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1. The biblical formula for baptism:

a. We are to baptize in the name of the Triune God, Matt. 28.19.

b. This is tantamount to being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. While some argue that this is different from the triune formula, Paul’s statement in Ephesians 4.5 that “there is only one baptism” suggests that baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is equivalent to being baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ,” or into Jesus Christ. Peter says to Jews of Pentecost in Acts 2.38, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”