WHATCHU TALKIN BOUT WILLIS?

I grew up when Diff'rent Strokes was a popular television show. That's no big deal unless your last name is Willis. To this day I still hear those famous words popularized by Arnold: "Whatchu talkin bout Willis?" Usually they are uttered by someone looking at me as though I may have never heard it before. Yeah, right! Well this blog is what I (Willis) am talkin bout...my thoughts, observations & opinions. Enjoy...



Thursday, October 05, 2006

Where is baptism?

So I get an email - The Christian Standard Online Newsletter. In it is an announcement about four new church plants. I love new churches so I pick the first one, Hope Community Church, and check out their website. I scan around and locate their "Beliefs." As I flip through the pages I come to "Salvation." I know I shouldn't have looked, but here is what it says:
5. ABOUT SALVATION
We believe people are made in the image of God, to be like Him in character.People are the supreme object of God’s affection, and the pinnacle of His creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This “sin” separates people from God and is the root cause of many of the problems we face in life. The penalty for our sin is eternal separation from God. We believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin, and by this to give us eternal life. This salvation is a free gift by God's grace. (But this gift, although free, is not cheap— for it cost God the life of His own beloved son). A person is restored to a relationship with God, or, “saved”, only by faith in Jesus' finished work on the cross, and if this faith is real, it will produce repentance—which is a change of mind concerning sin and everything not pleasing to God—that results in a total change of actions and deeds. We believe that repentance is not optional, but necessary proof that one has true biblical faith.

Okay, so where is baptism? Unfortunately I'm not surprised. At least they didn't give some compromised innocuous double talk drivel about baptism that is so common on "our" websites these days. Here is a sample from another Stadia church plant in Ashveville, NC: Our faith journey begins when we give our lives to Jesus Christ, and we express our commitment and unity with Christ through baptism by immersion. I don't know which is worse - double talk or complete ommission. I hope this isn't typical of their church plants.

1 comment:

Soren said...

Spineless, gutless, pussilanimous, pussy-footing fence-straddlers!

Arrrrgh!!!!!

"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." James 3:1