NEARLY every ordained minister has been questioned by his conscience if not by his members because someone he baptized has apostatized. Why did he leave the church? Did I baptize him too quickly? Did I fail to explain the doctrines of the church? Did I bring him to the foot of the cross?
I have known of some serious splits in congregations because of the falling away of new believers. Some maintained that the minister was at fault because he "hurried them into the tank." Others contended that the congregation never accepted them whole-heartedly into their fellowship. Still others believed that the weakness lay with the new believers themselves.
We cannot deny that on some occasions the eagerness to maintain or increase membership has led some ministers to bring to the baptismal tank some candidates who were unprepared for church membership. The lack of preparation may be a result of insufficient instruction, or it may be owing to the youthfulness of the candidate. Some candidates are not thoroughly convinced of the "testing truths"; others the children may be too young to know what it is all about.
Discovering when a person is ready for baptism is somewhat like trying to discover the right time to be married or to buy a house. Although there may be several "right times," there is also a time that is too soon.
Is giving one's heart to Christ sufficient preparation for baptism? Is baptism the only prerequisite for church membership? Can a person be saved without being baptized, or can he be saved without becoming a member of a church? Apparently "salvation," "baptism," and "church member ship" occupy some common ground, but what is it? Certainly we cannot answer the question "When is a person ready for baptism?" until we have thoroughly understood the relationship be tween baptism, salvation, and church membership.
"Baptism" and "salvation" are not interchangeable. They are not synonymous. But they are a part of a whole, of which "church membership" is also a part. The Seventh-day Adventist Church makes baptism a prerequisite to church membership (with certain special exceptions). The Bible so instructs. But this ordinance was never intended to produce a miraculous change in the life of the new candidate, as some people seem to expect.
Baptism should be one of the outward results of a transformation that has already begun to take place in the life. Nor should it ever be entered into with the expectancy that it will produce, through some kind of sanctified magic, a lifelong conformation to a code of moral or behavioral rules. Even conversion without renewal does not guarantee such a lifelong allegiance to God's wishes.
Neither should baptism be looked upon as the main requirement for church membership. As the doorway to the fold of God, this sacred rite should be thought of as the last of many steps leading from a life of rebellion to a life of obedience.
Perhaps the confusion as to the real intent of true baptism is one of the church's greatest problems today. Baptism should be ad ministered to a candidate by a minister only when both clearly understand the true significance of the ordinance. If ministers or laymen ignore the clear-cut Bible provision for the real intent of baptism, then we do ourselves and our cause a real disservice.
Conversion to Precede Baptism
All who desire to be saved are to receive the benefits and blessings of conversion and baptism. Neither true heart conversion nor baptism is to be ignored, by passed, or minimized. Neither is to replace the other, and the order must never be reversed. True heart conversion should always precede baptism. Salvation begins, not at baptism, but at conversion. It is the duty of the minister to detect and evaluate the depth of a candidate's commitment to Christ his conversion to the best of his ability.
Salvation does not consist of the act of joining a church! It does not even consist of a formal attachment to the remnant church, as much as we might like to think it does. Neither does salvation necessarily occur when there is mental assent to a set of doctrines or beliefs. It is not even saying, "I believe in Jesus," after one has been pressured into doing so to "get someone off his back." Salvation begins with a genuine acceptance of Christ and proceeds by means of His truth and power.
Sometimes we feel that a candidate has been prepared if he has been talked into quitting some evil habit or removing some objectionable items of attire. Such acts of self-denial may take place in the process, but they are not of themselves an indication that the candidate is prepared for baptism. For a candidate to be truly and thoroughly prepared for baptism he must have a living union with Jesus Christ. He must be renewed in heart.
The counsel of the messenger of the Lord is "Salvation is not to be baptized, not to have our names upon the church books, not to preach the truth. But it is a living union with Jesus Christ to be renewed in heart, doing the works of Christ in faith and labor of love, in patience, meekness, and hope." Evangelism, p. 319. "Connection with a church does not take the place of conversion. To subscribe the name to a church creed is not of the least value to anyone if the heart is not truly changed." Ibid., pp. 290, 291. (Italics supplied.)
Jesus Must Be Real
Being fit for church membership involves a personal meeting with the Saviour of mankind. Jesus must be real and obvious in the life. His influence cannot be unidentifiable, hidden, or secret. If He is in the life the new experience will be shared in some way with everyone we meet.
Neither clergy nor laity are to establish qualifications for church membership that God has not ordained. Church membership represents entrance into the family of God and is administered by human beings. It is a privilege and a responsibility that has been granted by God through His representative body here on earth to those and to those alone whose lives have given evidence of being changed by the indwelling Spirit. If this change is not evident, then an individual should not be granted membership or retained in the body of Christ.
It is our responsibility to lead the seeking individual to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, our wonderful Lord. Here the sinner is to surrender in total submission and entire obedience to the claims of Christ his Saviour, with whom he has become personally acquainted. He is to confess his sins to God. He then enters the kingdom of God. There follows a period of time in which the fruitage of conversion begins to be seen in his life. Once this fruitage appears, through his knowledge of the truth and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, he is ready for baptism, and it should be ad ministered without undue delay. Baptism by immersion is the declaration that the new life in Christ Jesus has begun. It is a testimony to the world that Christ now lives within.
Must Be Individually Determined
Baptism is an acknowledgment of an already-changed life. It is an outward sign confirming that something has happened inside. Sometimes this change can take place rather hurriedly, so the time from acceptance until baptism must be determined in each individual case. It is an individual experience. To push a person into baptism is a mistake. To lead him into it is success. If we try to move ahead of the Holy Spirit's leading we are doomed to failure and will be baptizing people who are not ready for baptism. But when we are moving with the Holy Spirit we will establish a true member in God's family. Ministers must be living close to God every day to know when they are moving with the Holy Spirit.
Not all conversions are alike. One has no right to judge the quality of another's conversion or lack of it by his own, nor do the two have to take the same or even similar pathways. But conversion, taking place when it may and in the way it chooses, must be experienced before the rite of baptism.
Sometimes a person is baptized prematurely. This is unfortunate. One way to avoid making such a mistake is not to do anything. In some matters this course might be appropriate, but not here. We can make a dreadful mistake if we fail to baptize a person when the proper time has arrived. I have often said, especially when considering those who may be young in years, that I would much rather baptize a person twice than not baptize him at all. "When they give evidence that they fully understand their position, they are to be accepted." Testimonies to Ministers, p. 128.
Many times people are urged to put off this important step, but the messenger of the Lord says: "There is one thing that we have no right to do, and that is to judge another man's heart or impugn his motives. But when a person presents himself as a candidate for church membership, we are to examine the fruit of his life, and leave the responsibility of his motive with himself." --Evangelism, p. 313.
May God help us not to stand in the way of souls who want to enter in and also to make sure that those we baptize have demonstrated genuine conversion as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.
