It
seems that the approach taken by many contemporary Church ministries toward the Great Commission is somewhat like what former ABC News anchorman Ted Koppel
once complained about with respect to the
Ten Commandments during a commencement address he delivered at Duke University.[1]
Some may remember that he bemoaned the fact, approaching twenty-five years ago
now, that so many people looked upon them as the Ten Suggestions, rather than
the Ten Commandments.
The
way most Churches these days approach our marching orders, the Great
Commission, reflects the same mindset Koppel complained
about. People ignore the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was extremely
specific when He authorized actions to be taken on His behalf.
This means Churches are
authorized to do what falls under their charter
and are not authorized to do what does not fall under their
charter. But few seem to be concerned about that charter these days. Churches
with their Church members are commanded to go. Churches with their Church
members are commanded to make disciples. Churches with their Church members are
then commanded to baptize disciples. Churches have no right to alter that
sequence of events. Around the world, we find the very best Churches
indiscriminately baptizing people without taking any prudent steps to make sure
they are baptizing real disciples.
If a pastor baptizes hopeful converts immediately upon
their profession of faith, if a pastor baptizes hopeful converts without
personally examining their testimonies with the utmost caution, if, for
example, a pastor talks about how “an entire family of four was saved and
baptized,” then I and those with experience carefully listening to sinners about
their conversion experiences can guarantee to you that such a pastor is almost
certainly baptizing people without authorization.
Why
don’t pastors concern themselves with their authority? A pastor is not
authorized to baptize someone just because that individual says he’s converted.
A pastor is not authorized to baptize someone who is not a genuine Christian.
The Bible teaches, and Baptists most assuredly believe, that baptism is for
saved people only. The baptism of the lost is unauthorized. Why, then, aren’t
pastors more careful to conduct their ministries under the umbrella of divinely
instituted authority?
