All Authority belongs to Jesus Christ

 

Another nice short clip from James White. Here is the transcript (emphasis added):

“And when we say Jesus is Lord, we are not simply putting a bumper-sticker on our lapel. We are literally saying that the one who made all things, and holds all things together, entered into his creation, gave his life, died, has risen again, is enthroned in heaven; and he has sent us with a message of hope. But when he sent us to evangelize all the nations, he based it on what he said first. He said, “Therefore go … .” What did he say before he said that? “All authority is given to me in heaven and earth.” [Matt. 28:18-19] We have a basis for defining true authority. The secular world does not. Right now the secular world is tearing itself apart, because it has chosen to rebel against the God-ordained authority that is found in Jesus Christ.”

Agreed! All very nice. But there is a subtlety there that he has not paid much attention to. It is contained in the highlighted bit: “All authority is given to me in heaven and earth.” If all authority is given to him, then there was someone greater than he who gave that authority to him. That tends to mess up his Trinitarian theology of “three coequal Persons”. But there is more to it than that. The scripture he is referring to is as follows:

Matthew 28:

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

According to the words of Jesus, “baptism” is a commandment, it is a requirement for salvation. It is not “optional” (contrary to his “faith alone” theology). Also these Verses:

Mark 16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not [and consequently not baptized] shall be damned.

All of which makes baptism mandatory for salvation, and is contrary to his Calvinistic and Reformed “faith alone” theology. (See further Acts 2:38; 2:41; 8:12-13, 36-38; 9:18; 10:48; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 1:13; 12:13; Eph. 4:5; Col. 2:12; Gal. 3:27; Heb. 6:2; 1 Peter 3:21; no one was converted who was not baptized.) If baptism is a requirement and a commandment (which it is, according to the words of Jesus), and without which salvation could not be administered (according to the words of Jesus), then his Calvinistic and Reformed “faith alone” theology is heretical and false, which teaches the opposite. I trust the words of Jesus more than those of John Calvin.