“Common-Sense Questions a Church-of-Christ Preacher Cannot

Answer”

David Martin

Cannot Answer… Lesson 3

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (1 Corinthians 10:4,5)

5. “If as a Christian I can sin so as to ‘lose my salvation,’ just what sin or sins will place me in such danger? Is it possible to know at what point one has committed such a sin, and become lost again? Please be specific and give clear Bible references.”

Martin’s Unanswerable Questions

Answer:

21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’

22 "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

(Matthew 5:21,22)

Balancing verses: Mk. 3:5; 1 Jn. 3:15; Matt. 23:17,19; Ps. 14:1; Prov. 10:8; 12:15; Lk. 12:20; 24:25; Gal. 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:15; Jas. 2:20; Matt. 12:35,36

Cannot be talking to “unsaved men” because they are not brothers and not in danger but already condemned. (John 3:18)

Answer:

Martin (Baptist) Versus Jesus (Christ)

• MARTIN– A brother cannot

be in danger of judgment

– No specific sins that can cause a brother to lose his soul

• JESUS– A brother can be in

danger of the judgment

– Identified specific sins that can cause a brother to lose his soul

Sam Morris (Baptist) Versus John (Apostle)

• “We take the position that a Christian's sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul....All the prayers a man may pray, all the Bibles he may read, all the churches he may belong to, all the services he may attend, all the sermons he may practice, all the debts he may pay, all the ordinances he may observe, all the laws he may keep, all the benevolent acts he may perform will not make his soul one whit safer; and all the sins he may commit from idolatry to murder will not make his soul in any more danger” (Sam Morris, Do A Christian's Sins Damn His Soul?)

Sam Morris (Baptist) Versus John (Apostle)

• “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15)

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1)

Fellowship With God

•1 John 1:5-10– God is light; in Him is no darkness– In darkness, we lie– Living within the parameters of God’s word– We do have sin; to say otherwise is to lie– To be forgiven, we must confess and repent

•Isaiah 59:1-3– Sin is not a non-issue

6. “If as a Christian I can fall and lose my salvation,’ is it possible to regain it? If so, how? If God takes away my salvation, doesn't that make Him an Indian Giver? How could I ever know for sure that I was saved or lost?”

Martin’s Unanswerable Questions

ANSWER:

Would a man who found his fiancé on a date with another man be an Indian Giver because he took back the engagement ring?

Is It Possible to Regain Salvation?

• It is possible for one to have salvation and then lose it.– “Therefore, since a promise remains of

entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1)

– “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

God an Indian Giver?

Is It Possible to Regain Salvation?

• It is possible to regain salvation after it has been lost.– “Repent therefore of this your wickedness,

and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” (Acts 8:22)

SIMON

Is Simon Lost?

Was Simon Previously Saved?

God an Indian Giver?

Acts 8:13

“Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.”

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16)

Belief + Baptism = Salvation

• It Is possible to regain salvation after it has been lost.– “Remember therefore how you have

received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” (Revelation 3:3)

God an Indian Giver?

Is It Possible to Regain Salvation?

God Is Not An Indian Giver

• When he gives a saved man doom for turning away from Him. (Ezekiel 18:24)

• When he gives a doomed man salvation for returning to Him. (Ezekiel 18:21-23)

• HE IS GIVING THEM EXACTLY WHAT HE PROMISED!

7. After becoming a Christian, are there any sins that will put me beyond the point of no return so that I cannot regain salvation? What sin or sins will put me in such jeopardy, so that, after becoming a Christian, I would be doomed to hell without any recourse? Please be specific and give me clear Bible references.

Martin’s Unanswerable Questions

Answer:

• “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.” (1 John 5:16,17)

8. “If I committed some sin--whether in thought, word, or deed--one minute before a fatal car crash, would I go to hell if I did not have time to repent of it? And, please, don't just say that it's up to God without giving me a specific Bible reference.

Martin’s Unanswerable Questions

Answer:

If David had Uriah killed one minute before David himself died in a fatal chariot crash, would David have gone to heaven since eternal life was not abiding in him (1 John 3:15)? And, please, don’t just say that it’s up to God without giving me a specific Bible reference.

9. Why does the Church of Christ insist that its name is scriptural when it cannot be found anywhere in the Bible? The church is referred to as the church of God eight (8) times in the Bible, but never is it called the church of Christ. The verse they use is Romans 16:16, but it doesn't say church of Christ. Where does the Bible call the church the "church of Christ"?

Martin’s Unanswerable Questions

Answer:

CHURCH OF GODPLURAL (explicit)

“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. . . .” (1 Thessalonians 2:14)

• Was there a church of God in Judea?• Even though we do not find the singular

“church of God” explicitly applied to any church in Judea in the Bible, we know they were there!

Answer:

CHURCH OF GOD

SINGULAR (explicit)

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth.” (2 Corinthians1:1)

• There were churches of God in the first century.• When addressing one congregation, Paul called it

a church of God.

Answer:

CHURCH OF CHRISTPLURAL (implicit)

“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. . . .” (1 Thessalonians 2:14)

• These “churches of God” were “in Christ Jesus”• Therefore they were “churches in Christ” as well as

“churches of Christ.”• Christ owned them.

• They existed and operated “in Christ.”

Answer:

CHURCH OF CHRISTSINGULAR (implicit)

“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

• He purchased the church of God with HIS own blood.

• Therefore, the “church of God” is the “church of Christ” because Christ is the one who purchased it with “His Own Blood.”

Answer:

CHURCH OF CHRISTPLURAL (explicit)

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.” (Romans 16:16)

• Explicitly teaches there were a plurality of churches of Christ.

• Implicitly teaches that local congregations were called “church of Christ.” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 1:1)

• Res: “church of Christ” and is approved designation

My Challenge to David Martin

• Why does David Martin insist that “Rock Solid Baptist Church” is a Scriptural name when he cannot find it in the Bible?

• Where does the Bible refer to the church as the “Rock Solid Baptist Church”?– How can it be rock solid when the Lord nowhere

referred to the church as “Baptist”?• The Scriptures use numerous terms to refer to God’s people,

but “Baptist Church” is NOT one of those terms!

– No literature written prior to 1600 AD mentions the Baptist Church!

Solid Rock Baptist Church—How Solid?

• "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

ROCK or SANDROCK or SAND

ROCK or SAND

• "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

Matthew 7:24-27Matthew 7:24-27

A man who builds his house on the rock (obeys Jesus’ word) stands solid through the storm.

A church that builds upon the rock (obeys Jesus’ word) stands solid through the storm.

A man who builds his house on the sand (disobeys Jesus’ word) falls,

A church that builds upon the sand is anything but rock solid.

One may be a “stone church” in name but actually a “sandy church” in practice!