"And He Died"

Henry Goodyear, a merchant in London, was very much inclined to scoff at the Bible and its teachings. One day his niece persuaded him to go to church "just to please her." Greatly to her grief, the sermon was from the fifth chapter of Genesis. As these verses were read, she could only shrink back into her place. "Why had God permitted such an uninteresting list to be read this day, of all days?"

Mister Goodyear made no comment as they walked home. The only difference was that he was a little quieter and more thoughtful. And yet, with every passing footstep, every tread of his own feet, every throb of his heart, came the refrain, "And he died."

The next morning, busy at his ledger as usual, his pen seemed to trace the words from the Bible, "And he died." Finally, he could stand it no longer, and he reached for his half-forgotten family Bible, and read the words from the sermon again. "All the days of Adam were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died."  "All the days of Seth were nine hundred years; and he died."  "All the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years; and he died." Right to the end of the chapter he read. Wicked or good, the same simple story was told of each, "He lived....and he died."

By this uninteresting list of facts, Mister Goodyear's life was entirely changed. He was living---but he would have to die, and then what?

The truth is, you are not ready to live---until you are ready to die! As the song asks, "Are you ready for that day to come?" Be assured that it is coming and will come! Really, are you ready?" Selected [The Reminder, Vol. 4, Number 9] &

 “BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF CHRIST”

By Bob Myhan

Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wis­dom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect (1 Cor. 1:12-17).

Some have argued that, since Christ did not send Paul "to baptize, but to preach the gospel," baptism is not part of the gospel. But this does not follow.

When the gospel was preached, people were told about baptism, and those who believed the gospel were baptized (see Acts 2:38; 8:12-13; 10:34-48; 16:14-15; 16:31-33; 18:8; 19:1-5; 22:12-16). It does, of course, follow that "to bap­tize" is not "to preach," which is the point Paul was making. In the early days of the church only inspired men could preach the gospel. But anyone could baptize a penitent believer. Therefore, Paul spent his time preaching, rather than bap­tizing.

Paul thanked God that he had not bap­tized many of the Corinthians simply be­cause he did not want anyone to think he had baptized in his own name or by his own authority. Alien sinners are to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 10:48; 19:5). Since some in Corinth were saying, "I am of Paul,” he was reminding them that they had not been baptized in his name. And it was to prevent their thinking this that he had not baptized many of them.

Thus, those who said they were "of Paul" were not "of Paul," because Paul had not been crucified for them and they had not been baptized in Paul's name. It must also be true that those who said they were "of Cephas" or "of Apollos" were not of Cephas or Apollos, because neither man had been crucified for them; nor had they been baptized in the name of either man. Rather, they were all "of Christ" because Christ had been crucified for them and they had been baptized in the name of Christ. It follows from this that, if one wants to be "of Christ,” one must be baptized in His name. Therefore, not merely baptism, but baptism “in the name of Christ” is essential to being "of Christ." &