HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE N.T. CHURCH
- Lesson Five -

INTRO:
Good evening. This is the fifth in a series of lessons on the history of the New Testament church. We will continue the topic of the years following AD 96 – the Falling Away and the Apostasy.

I. We might think that during the time of the persecutions that the church would remain pure and faithful. After all those who became Christians would be putting their very lives in danger. Wouldn’t that be enough to stop anyone with a change agenda from attempting it?
A. That was not the way it was. There was a slow Apostasy, a gradual falling away of the church during this time. Remember that the church grew rapidly and included many who were not Jews. Perhaps some of the cultures brought ideas about religion with them that had influence. We see this today as the word is spread in other cultures.
1. In 175 A.D. some of the writers of the time, Ignatius for example, wrote that there were already those elevating themselves in the church to other offices such as bishops. It was written that a bishop was different from an elder – a bishop was selected to be head over the other elders. They were all elders, which is biblical, but one was the leader if you will.
2. In Ignatius letter to the Smyrnaeans (Smyrna – Rev. 2:8) he lays out the Holy Order: Bishop, Priest, Deacon. “See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. [...] Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the [...] Church. [...] Whatsoever [the bishop] shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.” (St. Ignatius: Letter to the Smyrnaeans; Ch 8)
3. “Let all things therefore be done by you with good order in Christ. Let the laity be subject to the deacons; the deacons to the presbyters; the presbyters to the bishop; the bishop to Christ, even as He is to the Father.” (St. Ignatius: Letter to the Smyrnaeans; Ch 9)
i. Now we have a new label added, “Presbyter”.
ii. Both the bishop and presbyters were elders but presbyter is looked at differently. Presbyter is an elder who is subordinate to a bishop and has administrative, teaching or sacerdotal functions.
4. I’ll quote this from New Theological Movement. “Ignatius put forward the idea of the doctrine of the unity of the person of Christ in two natures, and from this unity of the Christian people within the hierarchy of the Church. As the unity of the single person of Christ cannot be properly defended without admitting the diversity of his two natures, so too (we say by analogy) the unity of the Church cannot be maintained without the diversity of hierarchical vocations within the body.” (From newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com)
i. In Ignatius writings we see the clear imposition of someone between the body of Christians who are all priests, (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10) and Christ who is the head of the body, the church. (Colossians 1:18)
5. About 250 A.D. - they began selecting one man from those bishops around the country to be head of all the area “diocese”. This word was dioíkēsis in ancient Greek meaning “internal administration”. In Latin it became dioecesis meaning “district under a governor”.
6. Jumping ahead a bit. By 606 A.D. - the Catholic Church selected someone to be the universal head of the church.
i. 'VICARIUS FILII DEI'. which is the Latin for 'VICAR OF THE SON OF GOD.‘
7. Even today in the coronation of all popes the tiara is placed on the candidates head with the words:
i. "Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art Father of princes and kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar of our Savior Jesus Christ“.
ii. It was determined that he alone, when he speaks “ex cathedra”, speaks the words of God for he is as God on earth. I am reminded of Hebrews 1:1-2 “1. God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. 2. has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, (not by some man) whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;”
B. Paul painted this picture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3ff – “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition... maybe that’s what he had in mind. We see all kinds of corruption coming in.
1. By 580 A.D. - instruments of music were added to the church worship and rejected.
2. Some 60 years later they were introduced again and accepted.
3. How does error creep in? - It is a slow process but it comes.
i. Even in the face of death throughout these years - the church was slowly digressing from the straight and narrow path that “leads to life eternal”
II. Beside the doctrinal and worship changes in the church, the major changes can be seen in the organizational structure of the body of Christ.
A. The student of church history at this point embarks upon a dark and murky study of the process of apostasy. This apostasy unfolded very gradually.
B. The Rise of the Monarchical Episcopate.
1. The first step which apostasy took in the church was in the corruption of its organization.
2. Presiding Elders were one elder that had preeminence over the others.
i. Elder/Bishop distinction, the word “bishop” came to have reference to a different office. One having greater authority.
3. Metropolitan Bishops were Bishop’s in larger cities who rose to more preeminent status than did those in smaller locations. This is typical of government. The mayor of Cleveland is given more consideration then the mayor of Chardon.
4. A Diocesan Bishop was named over churches within a particular region that were grouped together in what came to be known as a diocese – One of the metropolitan bishops was chosen to oversee that diocese (i.e. all the churches in that region).
5. Arch Bishops, these were Bishops that presided over regions such as – Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, & Rome, five regions. The five men who oversaw these regions were known as Arch Bishops.
6. It is very difficult to pinpoint the first use of the term “pope” since many writings apply this term retroactively. Even the list of popes has seen many revisions over the centuries. The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248 AD) though he was not a universal Bishop.
7. The Bishop of Rome is called the bishop of the Holy See, more often referred to in the Catholic tradition as the Pope. The first Bishop of Rome to bear the title of "Pope" or "Pappas" was Boniface III in 606, the first to assume the title of "Universal Bishop" by decree of Emperor Phocas. It was not without controversy. There had already been one named pontiff and rejected in 588 AD.
8. III John “1 The Elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, 6 who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, 7 because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth. 9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.”
C. This is the timeline
1. 150 AD - One elder exalted himself above the others. Elder/bishop was still one office though.
2. In 200 AD a Bishop became an overseer of the elders and therefore became a bishop of several congregations. This is completely contrary to the word of God. This is when elder/bishop becomes two offices.
3. In 250 AD one diocesan Bishop became overseer of these Bishops that were overseeing multiple congregations.
4. Before long in 300 AD we find one Metropolitan Bishop overseeing other diocesan Bishops and creeds start to replace the Scripture as the authority.
5. In 381 AD we have one Patriarch overseeing Metropolitans and now man replaces the creeds. There were five metropolitan bishops—one in Rome, one is Constantinople, one in Antioch, one in Jerusalem and one in Alexandria. These were the head men of the church.
i. Step #1 - we have a presiding elder. We have an elder who becomes the head elder. Scripture says we should have elders, but does not say to have one that we elevate to being the head elder. The one to whom the other elders speak.
ii. Step #2 - we have the head elder taking on the designation of Bishop. Remember in the Bible bishop, elder, overseer are all one and the same.
iii. Step #3 - is Metropolitan Bishops. Now we have an organizational structure. You know that before long there’s going to be a struggle for power. “I want to be over several congregations so I become the bishop of the metropolitan area. I’m THE man over several bishops and over the elders.”
iv. Before long we have step #4, the Diocesan Bishop. He is over a whole region now. He is not just a metropolis bishop but is over a whole region. I’m sure they did not just announce they were “boss”. There was manipulation and acceptance with perhaps some fighting involved.
v. Then we have step #5 - Arch Bishops.
vi. Step # 6 is the Pope. In 588 AD John the Faster was crowned Pope to oversee the affairs of the entire church. This was rejected. The reason he was rejected, not because of the fact that they didn’t a want pope, he was rejected because of where he came from.
vii. In 606 AD the Bishop of Rome became the head of the church, the pope. This is structural. This is what we’ve dealt with. A council and a certain group of men were trying to take control of all the churches of Christ.
viii. Apostasy is not dead. It’s still alive today. Notice that we have not only changed the structure, but men decided that they were at liberty to change doctrine and ratify doctrine.
6. You might be asking how did this happen? Slowly and gradually because Christians were not watchful and on guard for the “faith once for all delivered to the saints.”
D. With changes in structure and organization also came changes in doctrine!
1. Council’s were setup to establish and ratify doctrine.
i. The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.
ii. The First Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D.
iii. The Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
iv. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.
v. The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D.
vi. and the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 A.D.
vii. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 A.D.
2. All of these thought that they had the power to decree what God’s word did not. The Bible became something that was essentially banned from the common people when they became the clergy and we became the laity. After all how could common man understand the scriptures? Here are some of the changes that were decreed under these councils:
i. The use of special Holy Water in 120 AD. Brethren when we baptize we use the baptistery and believe me there’s nothing special about that water. It’s H2O all the way. There’s absolutely nothing holy about the water. The importance is the action.
ii. Sprinkling for Immersion started to be practiced in 250 AD. It was ratified in 1311 in one of the councils.
iii. Infant Baptism began to be practiced in 370 AD and ratified in council in 416 AD. The scripture says that “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”.
iv. Celibacy, remember what Paul said to Timothy: there are some who are going to forbid marriage. In 313 AD there was a general consensus that priests need to remain unmarried. 1074-Pope Gregory VII said anyone to be ordained must first pledge celibacy. The Church definitively took a stand in favor of celibacy in the twelfth century at the Second Lateran Council held in 1139, when a rule was approved forbidding priests to marry. In 1563, the Council of Trent reaffirmed the tradition of celibacy.
v. The Latin Mass was observed in 394 AD. In that Latin mass the laity could not participate. Only the priests could.
vi. The concept of purgatory was developed around 220 AD and ratified in the 1070 council.
vii. Penance was introduced in 157 AD.
viii. Transubstantiation is a big word to say that the body of Jesus Christ actually becomes the body of Jesus Christ when they pray over the bread. You are literally eating flesh when you eat the bread and drink the blood. That’s the reason that the common man was not allowed to participate because you have to discern the body and the blood. If you spilled just a little bit you were dropping the body and the blood of Jesus Christ and trampling it underfoot so they kept it all to themselves. Even today in the Catholic church they hold a napkin under it to make sure nothing escapes.
ix. Selling of Indulgences was put into practice in 1192.
E. Some of the major doctrinal changes seen during this era are:
1. The Primacy of Peter. When we talk about the Primacy of Peter it is very simple in the sense that the Catholic church believes that upon Peter and upon Peter alone was conferred all of the authority of the church, that Peter became the pope, the father.
i. There are three Bible texts used in an effort to defend this doctrine: Matthew 16:18-20 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”;
ii. Luke 22:31-32 “And the Lord said,“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”;
iii. John 21:15-17 15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
iv. Because he was given the task of guiding the faithful, Peter received supreme authority over all;...." quoted from "The Papacy: Expression Of God's Love," p. 6
v. The Pope became the Head of the Church and Vicar Of Christ. [Vicar: is defined as "One authorized to perform the functions of another; a substitute in office; a deputy, the pope as representing Christ on earth" (Dictionary.com)]
vi. “According to Catholic doctrine, bishops are indeed the successors of the Apostles, and each bishop, from this fact, possesses the right to bind and to loose." (Ibid., p. 25)
vii. "Only the Catholic Church... does not cease to recognize the Bishop of Rome as head of the universal Church, and to honor him as the direct successor of Simon Peter.” (Ibid., pp. 12-13)
viii. "The Pope is the Vicar of Christ; he rules as the visible head of the Church upon earth for the welfare of all the faithful. He is the Bishop of Rome, the Patriarch of the West, the Supreme Pontiff, the Servant of the Servants of God." (Ibid., p. 4)
2. The Scriptures teach that:
i. The Apostles did not have rank established among themselves: - Binding and loosing authority was given to all the apostles - Matt. 16:19 – “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”;
(a) I have to insert something here, please bear with me. (James Burton Coffman) - “This promise, emphatically delivered to Peter here, was also the property of the Twelve and not Peter's exclusively.” (as we will see in a minute under Matthew 18:18). "Bind" and "loose" refer to the power of deciding what was lawful or unlawful to be done in the church or what was orthodox or unorthodox to be believed. That power was (and is) exercised by all the apostles, and the New Testament is the instrument by which that binding and loosing are effected.”
(b) “The objection may be raised that if all the apostles exercised that authority, the words lose their meaning as applied by Christ to Peter in the instance before us. This is not the case. A certain preeminence DID pertain to Peter:
(i) He preached the first gospel sermon (Acts 2:14ff).
(ii) He unlocked the secret of the Davidic kingdom (Acts 2:31).
(iii) He unlocked the secret of HOW people enter the kingdom (Acts 2:38).
(iv) He unlocked the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1ff).
(v) He unlocked the door of return for backsliders (Acts 8:13,22).
(vi) He unlocked the mystery of the new name (1 Peter 4:16).
(vii) He expounded the mystery of the new birth (1 Peter 3:21).
(viii) He revealed the ultimate fate of the earth (2 Peter 3:11-13).”
(c) “These remarkable options exercised by Peter might be said to be his use of the keys, solving, unlocking, and revealing great mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in those important aspects. Surely this does constitute great honor and dignity conferred upon Peter by our Lord by reason of his having been the first to ascertain the holy truth of God in Christ, and then confess it; and the distinctions noted herewith are far more than enough to fulfill Jesus' words without resort to the monstrous notion that Peter was to be made, in any sense, the head of the church, which by its very nature can have only one head – CHRIST”
(d) “The Scriptures make it clear that, whatever preeminence was enjoyed by Peter, it was well within the framework of his stature as a fellow apostle, and not, as some affirm, as a president over the apostles. Thus:
(i) There is not one throne in Christ's kingdom, but twelve thrones.” (Matthew 19:28- “So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”). “
(ii) The Holy City that comes down out of heaven does not have merely one foundation, engraved with Peter's name, but twelve foundations, engraved with the names of the Twelve.” (Revelation 21:14 – “Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb”).
(iii) Peter himself included the rest of the apostles when he admonished men to heed the commandment of Christ, "us the apostles" (2 Peter 3:2).
(iv) Even when Peter opened the gates of the kingdom of heaven on the day of Pentecost, he did so, not alone, but "standing up with the eleven" (Acts 2:14).
(v) When the Jewish high priest moved against the church, he moved not against Peter only, but against the Twelve (Acts 5:17-19).
(vi) Peter's authority was actually equaled by that of Paul (Galatians 2:7,8).
(vii) Peter's dignity was, on occasion, made secondary to that of the Twelve, as when, for instance, he was "sent" by the Twelve as a messenger (Acts 8:14).
(viii) Peter's dignity was no greater than that of James (Galatians 2:9); and, in fact, James is mentioned first. All of the plain words and necessary inferences of the New Testament are at variance with any supposition that Peter's preeminence contained the slightest vestiges of any authority not conferred upon the other apostles also.”
ii. Now for Matthew 18:18 – “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”; All of the apostles, not merely Peter alone, were included in this promise. John 20:23 – “23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”. Here (as in Matthew 18:18) this authority to forgive or withhold forgiveness of sins was not restricted to Peter but belonged to all of the apostles.
iii. Distinctions are warned against in scripture - Matt. 20:25-28 – “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”; 23:8-12 – “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”; cf. 2 Cor. 11:5 – “For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.”; 12:11 – “11 I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing.”
iv. Christ Is Head Of His Church - Eph. 1:22-23 – “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”; Col. 1:18 – “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”; 1 Pet. 2:4-6 – “4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”. - (No "vicar" was appointed on earth!)
v. Christ Is The Foundation Of His Church (not Peter) - 1 Cor. 3:11 – “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”; Acts 4:10-12 – “10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
3. Peter Was Not the 1st Pope:
i. Peter was married - Matt. 8:14 – “14 Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.”; 1 Cor. 9:5 – “5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?”.
ii. Peter refused worship - Acts 10:25-26 – “As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”.
iii. Peter was an elder - 1 Pet. 5:1 – “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:”.
iv. Peter Was Not Infallible - Gal. 2:11-14 – “11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you[b] compel Gentiles to live as Jews?.”. - (No man is! - Rom. 3:23 – “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” ; Gal. 6:3 – “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” ; 1 John. 1:8, 10 – “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.)” )
v. History says the First Recognized Pope was Boniface III, in 606 AD.
4. It has been said the worship of Mary came in around 1200 A.D. – This is known as the Veneration of Mary. However the earliest record of Mary’s veneration probably comes from the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in A.D. 431.
5. Forbidding to Eat Meats—You couldn’t eat anything but fish on Friday. That has been gone since the mid-‘80s or early ‘90s. That was changed by the Pope.
6. Religious Holidays were all brought in at various times.
7. Images were brought into the church buildings.

CONCLUSION:
All of these doctoral changes have taken place. What was the reason? They did not respect what the highest office in the New Testament church was. They did not believe that the gospel was sufficient. They did not believe that burial in water was essential to salvation.

People started to adjust things for many reasons. Purity of life was not essential. Why? Because you could buy an indulgence. The indulgence was: I know I’m going to commit adultery. I know I’m going to commit fornication so let me “buy” my sins so that when I commit them I will have already paid for them. Man became the standard. The church became a religious-political organization. Worship became so ritualistic that it was unbelievable to see the simplicity of where it started. That which was created was a different institution all together from what we find in the New Testament.

What we have noted here today is the pulling away from the one true church and that did not take but a few years to where we can see this departure from the faith—a whole new organization. Why? Because of the next generation, a generation that knew not the works of God and a generation that did not instruct their children as to the words of God. Though there was persecution the church was already working its way into apostasy.

Organizational changes, changes in doctrine made it so that it could no longer be called the New Testament church. It was no longer the church that belongs to Jesus Christ. Now it was something different.

Even today people don’t understand the simplicity of the organization of the church. The reason is because we fail to look at history and see the departure and that’s the emphasis that I’m trying to do here in this study.

If you’re here this evening and you’re not a Christian, the gospel is so simple. It is hard to miss what the Lord said. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be condemned. Do you want to be saved? Do you want to see the smiling face of a Father saying, well done, come on in, or do you want to see the angry face of a Father who says, depart from me ye that work iniquity? Your choice, why not make it today while we stand and sing?

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Reference Sermon
John Cripps