Author Archives: Clark Bunch

Is Baptism Required for Salvation?

Posted on by

Ron Boatwright wrote this webpage, arguing that without baptism one is not saved, and then sent me an e-mail asking me to read it and tell him what I thought.

From the website:  Jesus says in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned“.  But just as 1+1=2, Jesus says belief + baptism = saved.  One needs help to misunderstand Jesus.  How much clearer could Jesus have said it?  Jesus placed both belief and baptism prior to being saved.

What Jesus said and what Boatwright claims he said are not the same.  Jesus lumps believing and baptism together as almost one single activity – he who believes and is baptized.  What Jesus says next is “He who does not believe will be condemned.”  Not believing equates with condemnation (hell).  In Mark 16:15 Jesus had told the disciples to preach the gospel to every living creature.  Those who believe that message, and are consequently baptized, will be saved.  Rejecting the gospel is what sends non-believers to hell, not refusing baptism.  If this were the case Jesus might have also said “He who believes but is not baptized will be condemned.”  He didn’t say that.  Jesus does not equate belief and baptism as being essential to salvation, but he is assuming belief and baptism are a package deal. Continue reading →

OneCry, A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening

Posted on by

A blogging friend asked me to promote OneCry, and I gave them 2 sentences in the Read & Share posting yesterday.  I feel I can do better than that.

I grew up in a series of small, fundamentalist churches.  We read the King James Bible and abstained from “mixed bathing.”  The men wore pants, the women wore dresses, and no one wore shorts.  And twice a year we ran revival.  I could empathize with Michael Spencer when he described a very similar experience growing up, and got what he meant by evangelicalism and revivalism.  The need for revival is great, but I get a little uneasy when people talk about having one.

The  difference between Revival and Revivalism

There is a certain revival culture that exists among evangelicals, particularly among fundamentalists.  I have come to believe that you cannot “schedule” revival twice a year just because you book an evangelist for a week and meet every night at 7 p.m.  If an evangelist is preaching every night, and you hope to see lots of people walk the aisle and get saved, then that’s not really a revival anyway.  Revival would involve Christians already in the church being spiritually awakened, or recommitting to being about our father’s business.  There was certainly an evangelistic thrust in all of my childhood revival meeting experiences, but every church member was expected to be there every night also.  Maybe that covers all the bases.  If you want to schedule an evangelist to preach for a week at your church, by all means please do so.  But call what it is. Continue reading →

The Read and Share File

Posted on by

It’s been a busy week, even by my standards.  I haven’t been able to read much, but here’s a few tidbits you might enjoy:

While I’m not really interested in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) this article could help anyone blog better; sound advice even if your blog isn’t designed to drive business.

Believers United for Revival invite you to join One Cry.  Declaring a spiritual emergency 2,699 believers have joined the movement to pray for nationwide revival.  —-> UPDATE 

What if we treated our Bibles more like our cell phones?  This has been around for a while, but thank you Paul Wilkinson for the reminder.

About My Father’s Business

Posted on by

One year as the returned home from Passover, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was not with their group.  They searched among their relatives and acquantances, then went back to Jerusalem to look some more.  They found the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple, asking questions and reasoning with the temple priests.  “Why have you treated us this way?” Mary demanded.  She expressed her concern and distress as they didn’t know where he was these past two days.  “Did you not realize that I must be about my father’s business?” Jesus replied.  (The ESV says in my father’s house.)  Of course his parents could not understand what he was talking about.  Luke 2:41-52

Jesus thought it was obvious.  Why were they looking for him?  He must be about his father’s business.

If you came up missing, where would people look for you?  Should we go straight to God’s house, or perhaps the office?  Or the golf course?  Or the bar?  Would we be found visiting the sick and afflicted, giving a cup of water to the least of his children? Or would we be somewhere else?

Look at Christ and consider the example.  We must be about our father’s business.

My Other Blog is now SMILE God Loves You

Posted on by

I recently celebrated four years of blogging, and in that post explained I never meant to have two blogs but it kind of happened.  The clarkbunch.wordpress URL, formerly known as My Other Blog, will now be SMILE, God Loves You.  I will adjust the RSS feed shortly.  The Master’s Table will feature posts on religion and theology; comic strips, inspirational quotes, Our Daily Bread redirects, and other randomness will appear at SMILE.

If you’re in a reader, dropping by The Master’s Table will make this make sense.

Blogging Update

Posted on by

3 Notes of Interest:

1) We’re back from vacation.  The break was welcome, but as always it is good to be back here.  Expect new posts to resume as usual this week.

2) My Other Blog was fun, but I think it’s run its course.  I do have something new planned, but it will take a few days.  More to come.

3) I started a project on the side called Bible Survey.  It’s just not going to happen.  Click this link to see how it was going.  If I delete the blog everything, including the title, will be gone forever.  I would rather give the URL (biblesurvey.wordpress.com) to another user.  If you might be interesting let me know in the comments or send e-mail to jbunch@hotmail.com.  You can pick up where I left off, or preferably wipe it clean and start from scratch.  I hate to see it go to waste, but I’m ready to wash my hands of it.

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.

Posted on by

 ~Earl Wilson

It’s actually not that bad, but it is time for our annual spring break.  We will have limited (more like intermittent) internet access, so I don’t expect to get a new post out during the next 7 days.  Pray for our family while we’re on the road.  I have high hopes for using all the time normally spent Facebooking and blogging on finishing a book.  Happy Trails.

…

The Read and Share File

Posted on by

Let me begin Read and Share File #4 with a couple of site recommendations.  

I got a request a few months ago to write on the side for the Christian Post.  I’m busy enough doing my own stuff, and honestly did not feel well enough informed to offer a significant contribution.  I have been reading Christian Post on a regular basis, however, and find it an excellent source of current events relating to Christian culture.  You can always find them in the blog roll.

I begin each day listening to Our Daily Bread.  They are in the blog roll under “Useful Links” but I just wanted to say again how this short devotion, along with my first cup of coffee, help me get on the good foot.

Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

On Saturday (March 10) Pope Benedict and the Archbishop of Canterbury will meet together for prayer.  Some are looking for the two leaders to find common ground and possibly resolve tensions between Anglicans and the RCC.  Read the full story at the Christian Post.

Sexual Sin in the Ministry, written by Harry Schaumburg at Desiring God.  Less about pornography and sexual sins than about the real problem, dealing with the mind and heart.

The 9Marks blog has a post on The Beauty of Conversion.

And finally in the news of the bizarre category: Lithuania may build the suicide roller coaster.  Several European countries have legal euthanasia, but this ride is designed to give one last thrill… before it kills you.

There’s More Than One Way to Not Share the Gospel

Posted on by

What do Fred Phelps and Joel Osteen have in common?  There’s no punchline, I really am going somewhere with this.

Fred Phelps is the pastor of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church.  You’ve seen them in the news or online protesting military funerals and more recently posting statements of judgment on Twitter.  I’ve never heard him say “Hell is hot and sin ain’t right” but I imagine he would agree with that statement.  Phelps is completely occupied with God’s judgement.  God does hate sin, and the wages of sin is death.  That seems to be just about the only weapon in the Westboro arsenal.  The message is a call to repent.

At the polar opposite end of the spectrum is Joel Osteen.  He has never used the words wrath and God in the same sentence.  Sin, the cross, the blood of Jesus, he quit preaching on those things years ago.  He actually said in an interview that everybody has already heard those things.  Osteen has his, um, church members hold up their Bibles each week, repeat some little mantra, then put them back down while he tells funny stories for another half hour.  He is an excellent speaker – funny, polished, very encouraging – I just wouldn’t call him a preacher.  His message is to think positive thoughts, believe that God wants to bless you, will bless you, and that nothing would please God more than to bless you.  He has a million dollar smile, gorgeous wife, two books on the New York Times Bestseller List, and 50,000+ attendees every week at Lakewood “Church.”  He’s doing much better in that department than Phelps, whose congregation consists mainly of his own family members. Continue reading →