How are creeds different than publications preachers write?

Sincerely,
Looking At Leaflets

Dear Looking At Leaflets,

Religious publications, commentaries, tracts, and other religious writings are not in and of themselves wrong until a church or denomination turns that document into an essential element of their faith – that is what a creed is.  A creed is someone’s commentary on Scripture that is given equal weight to the Scriptures.

It doesn’t matter whether it agrees with the Scriptures or not – the wording is man-made and, therefore, not exactly as God intended.  A creed draws the lines of fellowship around a human writing.  A creed is a statement of faith that superimposes itself over the Bible.  Now, instead of using the Word of God as the guide for what makes a congregation and a christian faithful – we use a creed to decide what verses and concepts are (and are not) important.  We have no right to do that!  God specifically said that we don’t get to decide what is or isn’t important from His Word; we must take the whole thing, no more, no less (Rev 22:18-19, Ps. 119:160).  If God wanted mankind to use creeds as measures of faith and fellowship – He would have given us one.

My husband was baptized at the age of sixteen by full immersion; however, it was done by the Mormon church where he had made several friends and had begun attending church with them as a youth.  My question is: does he need to be re-baptized?  Thank you!

Sincerely,
Do Over?

Dear Do Over?,

Yes, he does need to be re-baptized because he was baptized for the wrong reasons and by the wrong authority.  People are baptized all the time without being saved.  The word ‘baptism’ comes from the Greek word ‘baptizo’ which means ‘immersion’.  The word ‘baptism’ is the same word that Greeks used when a ship sank to the bottom of the ocean or when someone dove to the bottom of a swimming pool.  In the most technical sense, people are baptized when they take baths, go swimming, etc.  Taking a bath will baptize you, but it definitely won’t save you.

Baptism is only effective when it is done by faith (Col 2:12) and by the authority of Christ (Acts 2:38).  The Mormon church baptizes people based upon the teachings of the Book of Mormon and their prophet, Joseph Smith… not the Bible.  Now, any of our Mormon readers will immediately begin to yell and wail at that last sentence and tell you that it isn’t true.  They will tell you that they baptize people because the Bible says so, but we can guarantee you that if the Book of Mormon said “don’t be baptized” and the Bible said “do be baptized”… they would go with the Book of Mormon’s doctrine.  It is merely convenient for their argument that the Book of Mormon and the New Testament both teach baptism.  Mormons baptize people to put them in the Mormon church, and they do it because Joseph Smith said so.  The Bible teaches that we should be baptized to wash away our sins (Acts 22:16), to put us into the Lord’s church (Acts 2:41), and by Jesus’ authority (Matt 28:18-20).  Your husband definitely needs to be baptized for the right reasons.

I'm really confused now, and I need some help.  Why does the Bible talk about the Pharisees when they are referring to something bad?  Did they do anything bad, or are they bad or anything?

Sincerely,
Not A Pharisee

Dear Not A Pharisee,

The Pharisees were a group of religious teachers that imposed their traditions and opinions upon people.  Jesus condemned the Pharisees for adding to God’s Word and following tradition instead of truth (Mk 7:10-13).  The Pharisees were constantly laying burdens on people that couldn’t be found in the Scriptures (Matt 23:4).  The Pharisees were hypocritical because they pretended to be very righteous people, but it was all a public show done out of pride (Matt 23:27).  The Pharisees are a great example of what is wrong with much of religion.  When we don’t follow the Scriptures, our religion just becomes an act that doesn’t please God.

My question is this: what will happen to Jewish people upon His return who don't believe in Jesus Christ?

Sincerely,
Hebrew Hopeful

Dear Hebrew Hopeful,

Under the Old Testament, the Jewish people were God’s nation (Deut 7:6).  The Jewish nation was warned that if they rejected God’s Son, they would be rejecting God, and God would make a new nation out of those who believed in Christ (Jesus explained this to the Jews in the parable of the vineyard – Lk 20:9-19).  The vast majority of Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, and therefore, they never became a part of Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus’ chosen people are those that love Him and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15).  The Jewish people rejected God because they would rather have had their traditions than God’s Son (Mk 7:9).  Today, Jews would be bound by the same rules regarding salvation as every other person on the planet.

When we are born, are we guilty of sin?

Sincerely,
Not Born Yesterday

Dear Not Born Yesterday,

The teaching that we are born sinful is a Calvinist teaching called ‘Total Depravity’.  Total Depravity means that Calvinists believe that everyone is born completely sinful and depraved.  A totally depraved human is incapable of doing good or pleasing God.  This is completely false.  All babies are born without sin and perfect in God’s sight (even David recognized that his dead child was going to be in heaven [2 Sam 12:23]).  Sin is not a birthright; it is a choice (Gen 4:6-7, Jas 1:13-15).  Humans sin when they choose to do wrong; they are not born in sin.

The false teaching of ‘original sin’ is very common in today’s society.  If a congregation teaches that you are born in sin, they are false teachers. Sin is a choice we make in life (Isa 7:15-16), and all humans are born upright and good (Eccl 7:29).