Please turn in your Bible to John chapter 17 and verse 17. John chapter 17 and verse 17. John 17, 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Juan 17, verse 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Please be seated. Please take a seat. I've been excited about this series for a while, and I do have a problem. I like to start series, I don't like ending them. I have a hard time. As I get towards the end, I'm ready to move on to the next one. This one's only eight. I think, unless we have to divide this into two sections. But in recent years, there's been a growing tendency to do away with denominational names in churches. There are more and more churches who use the title community church, or others have chosen names which have no reflection that they're even a church at all. En los últimos años ha habido una tendencia creciente a eliminar los nombres denominacionales en las iglesias. Cada vez hay más iglesias que utilizan el título de iglesia comunitaria. Otras han elegido nombres que no reflejan ni siquiera que sean una iglesia. Now understand, even right up front, The title Baptist is not a denominational title or not a denomination, but I'm using it in a general sense there regarding the idea of having a name attached to the church. This does raise a question on whether denominational names are even important at all. If the church no longer holds to a common core of doctrines which is identified by its name, then it is appropriate for them to drop the denomination name from their title. However, the name of the church oftentimes should be an initial indication of what that church body believes. Esto plantea la cuestión de si los nombres denominacionales son importantes. Si la iglesia ya no se aferra a un conjunto de doctrinas básicas comunes que se identificaban por su nombre, It's appropriate that I remove the denominational name from its title. However, the name of a church must be an initial indication of what created the body of that church. Our church bears the title Baptist in its name. But if we don't know what that means, then that is nothing more than a title of no value. And so over the next several weeks it's my desire to work through this subject so that you are able to know what it means when we say that we are Baptists. Before I continue the introduction, I do want to share with you my personal and my ecclesiastical history. When I was saved, our church was attending a Baptist church. However, I really do have very, very few memories of that church. Antes de concluir la introducción, permítanme compartir con ustedes mi historia personal y eclesiástica. Cuando fui salvo, nuestra familia asistía a una iglesia batista. Sin embargo, tengo muy pocos recuerdos de esa iglesia. Growing up we attended the church that my mom had been raised in and then we moved to a sister church that was at the same fellowship and I attended these two churches from the time I was in first grade until I came here as your pastor. When I was in college my home church decided it was an intentional vote and it was a it was a decision it was It was a pretty heated argument. I can still remember the discussion. And they chose not to add the name Baptist to their name. Al crecer, asistimos a la iglesia en la que mi mamar se había criado. Y luego nos mundamos a una iglesia hermano que era de la misma confraternidad. Asistí a estas dos iglesias desde que estaba en primer grado hasta que vine aquí de pastor. Y mientras estaba en la universidad, mi iglesia local decidió no agregar el nombre Batista a su nombre. These churches were part of the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Church. In the early 20th century, 1939 to be exact, when the United Methodist Church formed, they walked out of the meeting in protest. They were concerned that the schools were denying creation, the virgin birth, and the other fundamentals of the faith, which we will be discussing in the near future in a series of messages. The Church of Tehran is part of the Conference of the Methodist Church. a principios del siglo XX, 1939. Realidad, cuando se formó la Iglesia Metodista Unida, abandonaron la reunión en protesta. Les preocupaba que las escuelas estuvieran negando la creación, el nacimiento virginal y los otros fundamentos de la fe, que discutiremos en un serie de mensajes en el futuro cercano. These churches formed what was initially known as the Methodist Protestant Church and then the Bible Protestant Church. In a desire to not be mistaken as protesting the Bible, they have changed their name to the Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches. And to this day, I remain both a pastoral member or I remain a pastoral member of this group. I've had the privilege of serving as their financial secretary and currently serve on their executive committee. Nuestras iglesias formaron lo que inicialmente se conoció como la Iglesia Protestante Metodista, y luego la Iglesia Protestante Bíblica. En un esa edad, no confundirse con protestar contra la Biblia, han cambiado su nombre por el de Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches. Well, this group does not have the name Baptist in their name, in their title at all. All recent churches adjoined have been Baptist churches. Uniquely, in order to join as a pastoral member, one of the questions you are asked is, do you hold to the Baptist distinctives? for a non-baptist group, right? No. There are more baptists than some baptist churches I know, in reality. While the only churches of this group did not have baptisteries, all baptisms in these churches for the last 50 plus years have been by immersion. Si bien este grupo no tiene el nombre baptista en su titulo, todas las iglesias recientes que se unieron al Ciro Iglesias Baptistas Excepcionalmente, para unirse como miembro pastoral, uno debe aferrarse a los distintivos batistas. Si bien las primeras iglesias no tenían batismos, todos los batismos en esas iglesias durante los últimos cincuenta años o más se han realizado por inmersión. I would love to one day have our church join with this group as they stand what we do. They currently own and operate Tri-State Bible Camp where many of you have attended in the past. Me encantaría que algún día nuestra iglesia se uniera a este grupo mientras se encuentran donde lo hacemos. Actualmente son dueños y operan el campamento bíblico Tri-State donde muchos de ustedes han asistido en el pasado. I give you this really long personal account to explain to you that while my background was not Baptist, I am a Baptist by conviction. I am not a Baptist because I pastor a Baptist church. I am a Baptist because I identify with the Baptist distinctives. Les doy este largo relato personal para explicarles que si bien mi trasfondo no era Batista, soy Batista por convicción. No soy batista porque pastoreo una iglesia batista. Soy batista porque me identifico con los distintivos batistas. As we start this evening, let me list the theological points that make a church distinctively Baptist. In English, the name Baptist serves as an acronym for these points. Not an anacronym. I always get the word backwards, but as an acronym. Al comenzar esta noche, permitanme enumerar los puntos teológicos que hacen que una iglesia sea distintivamente bautista. En inglés, el nombre bautista sirve como acrónimo de estos puntos. B stands for biblical authority. B significa autoridad bíblica. A stands for the autonomy of the local church. A representa la autonomia de la iglesia local. P stands for the priesthood of the believer. P significa el sacerdocio del creyente. T stands for two offices. There's another T coming. T significa dos oficinas. I stands for individual sole liberty. I represento la libertad de arma individual. S, there's two of them too. S stands for saved church membership. S significa membresia de la iglesia salvada. T stands for Back to two again. Two ordinances. T significa dos ordinances. Yes, and S stands for separation of church and state. Yes, significa separación de iglesia y estado. Not in my notes here, but I want you to understand some of these things we're going to get to and say, well, why in the world would we have a position on separation of church and state? Well, it does identify there's a historical context that that arrives from, where you have churches determining we control the state. You believe what we say you believe or you die. Separado de la Iglesia y Estado, saved church membership in the early part of our country. Again, there's historical reason for that. Earlier part of our country, the Puritans, as they came along, they started with a halfway covenant that if your parents were believers, and members of church, then their children could become members of church whether or not they were actually saved. And so it becomes part of the distinctives. And so there's historical reason as well as biblical reason that called for these distinctive elements. The acronym, I know, does not completely work in Spanish, but these are the eight major distinctives of a Baptist church. El acrónimo no funciona completamente en español, pero estos son los ocho distintivos principales de una iglesia batista. Please understand, right up front, I normally leave my notes again. This is going to be fun, isn't it? Did you notice what's missing? There's no mention of, we must use this version of the Bible. We must sing this music. We must sing out of the hymnal or else we're not a Baptist. No, that's not found anywhere in the distinctives. That is not what made somebody a Baptist. Now, I do think that where I land upon some of these others is going to affect that. Don't get me wrong. Over the next few weeks, we're going to take a single letter in the order I just gave you, starting tonight with the B for Biblical Authority. Durante las próximas semanas, vamos a tomar una sola letra en ese orden, comenzando esta noche con la B de It is my desire that we would submit to the authority of the Bible. A doctoral statement of our church opens with the following statement. We believe the Bible, in the original languages thereof, to be both verbally and plenarily inspired of God, that it is a complete and final revelation of God's will to man, and that it is our only authority. in matters of faith and practice. La declaración doctrinal de nuestra iglesia comienza con la siguiente declaración. Creemos que la Biblia, en el idioma original de la misma, es tanto verbal como plenamente inspirada por Dios, que es la revelación completa y final de la voluntad de Dios al hombre, y que es nuestra única autoridad en el asunto Asuntos de fe y practica. We need to start, though, if you would, with a brief discussion on how we interpret the Bible in relation to the church. I do feel bad. I'm giving you a lot of information. It's almost like you're sitting in a lecture at the moment. I apologize. I'm doing the best I can. Necesitamos comenzar con una breve discusión sobre cómo interpretamos la Biblia en relación con la Biblia. Well, the statement above is not unique to a Baptist church. The way in which it is applied, maybe. And I have appreciated the works of Kevin Balter. In his opening of Baptist Distinctives in the New Testament Church Order, he offered the reminder of Baptist hermeneutics, or how we interpret the Bible. Si bien la declaración anterior no es exclusiva de una iglesia bautista, la forma en que se aplica puede serlo. Aprecie el esfuerzo de Kevin Bauer y en su apertura de Baptist Distinctives in New Testament Church Order, el libro, ofreció el recordatorio de la hermeneutica bautista, o como interpretamos la Biblia. Please turn your Bibles to the Book of Acts, Chapter 2. There is a uniqueness in our interpretation that, from time to time, we ought to explain. Un singularidad de nuestra interpretación que debes y cuando debemos explicar. Acts chapter 2, verse 41 through 47. The day that Gladden received his word were baptized. In the same day, there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. Así que los que recibieron su palabra fueron batizados, y se añadieron aquel día como tres mil personas. Y perseveraban en la doctrina de los apóstoles, en la comunión unos con otros, en el batimiento del pan y en las oraciones. Verse 43, And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods apart of them to all men, as every man had need. They, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. There are some important things that are occurring in these verses that we need to understand. First of all, this is the beginning of the church. With the 3,000 souls being added to those who had been gathered in the upper room, we have the beginning of a brand new dispensation, the church. Primero este es el comienzo de la iglesia. Con las tres mil ramas agregadas a las que se habían reunido en el aposento alto, tenemos el comienzo de una nueva dispensación, la iglesia. The church is unique from Israel. It does not replace it and does not have the same government, operations, promises, or even purposes as Israel. Consequently, as Baptists, when we begin to establish the pattern for our behavior in the church, we begin where? In the New Testament. La iglesia es única de Israel. No la reemplaza y no tiene el mismo gobierno, operación, promesas o incluso propósito que Israel. En consecuencia, como Batistas, cuando comenzamos a establecer el patrón de nuestro comportamiento en la iglesia, comenzamos en el Nuevo Testamento. As I have reiterated in our theology class, I'm going to address it again. This does not make the Old Testament obsolete or unimportant. However, our conduct as a church is established in the New Testament with the instructions for the church. Como he reiterado en nuestra clase de teología, y volveré a abordarlo, esto no hace que el antiguo testamento sea obsoleto o sin importancia. Sin embargo, nuestra conducta como iglesia se establece en el Nuevo Testamento con las instrucciones para la iglesia. This brings us to something important, which Balder points out, that is often not illuminated. While we explain that the Bible is our authority, we do not explain how we interpret the Bible. And so, since I have a similar hermeneutic to Balder, I'm stealing his three main points. Let me explain this right here from the very beginning. And looking at everybody getting tired, we may only get this far tonight. We'll see. Eso nos lleva a algo importante que Bauer señala, a que a menudo no se ilumina. Si bien explicamos que la Biblia es nuestra autoridad, no explicamos cómo interpretamos la Biblia. Dado que tengo una hermeneúrica similar a la de Bauer, estoy robando sus tres puntos principales para ayudar a explicar esto al principio. I preach from the belief that the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible. This is one reason why when trying to explain what a word means, I often ask you to look at it in another biblical context. So, how do we apply this position? First, we allow teaching passages to interpret historical passages. The mere presence of an activity in the early church does not mean that the church must continue to do so. Primero permitimos que los pasajes de enseñanza interpreten pasajes históricos. La mera presencia de una actividad en la iglesia primitiva no significa que la iglesia deba continuar haciéndolo. In the passage we just read, I'm going to make this now. You guys have to work a little bit with me. I'm sorry. You guys have to help me. Is this a historical passage or is this a teaching passage? The Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 41 through 47. It's historical, right? Why am I making a big deal of that? Well, we just saw the church engage in many activities. In nuestro pasaje, que acabamos de leer, vemos a la iglesia involucrada en muchas actividades. Verses 4 and 45, and all the beliefs were together and had all things common, and so the processions are good, and part of them to all men as every man in need. Los que habían creído estaban juntos y tenían en común todas las cosas. Y vendían sus propiedades y sus bienes. Y los repartían a todos según la necesidad de cada uno. Histórico o enseñanza? Historical or teaching? Do we live in a commune? We don't do so. Why? Well, we don't currently practice this in the present. While the New Testament does speak of our practice of regular giving, it does not call for us to live in a commune. Actualmente no practicamos esto en el presente. Si bien el Nuevo Testamento habla de nuestra práctica de dar con regularidad, no nos pide que vivamos en comuna. However, the passage also mentions in verse 42 that they continued in the Apostles' doctrine and in fellowship and in breaking of bread and prayers. Will we do that? Pastor, we do verse 42, we don't do 44 and 45. Pastor, look, we need to be doing 44 and 45 because we do verse 42, we do verse 46, we do verse 47. Will we try? Pastor, we need to have, we need to create the Baptist commune, which we almost have at Marinath, I understand that. No, no. Why? These things are found elsewhere in the Bible as being commanded to do. Therefore, we continue to do them, not because of their mere presence here, but because there's further instruction and command on them. Sin embargo, el pasaje también menciona en el versículo 42 que continuaron en la doctrina de los apóstoles en la comunión, el partimiento del pan, y las oraciones. In a practical sense, the historical sections of the New Testament reveal for us illustrations of how the church carried out what she was instructed to do. We're commanded to pray without ceasing. In Acts, we see the church holding a very special prayer meeting for Peter to be released from prison. It was so special that they forgot to look for the answer as Peter's knocking at the door. En un sentido practico, las secciones historicas del Nuevo Testamento nos revelan ilustraciones de cómo la iglesia llevó a cabo lo que se le instruyó. Now, here comes a mouthful. In transparency, there are times when it does become a challenge to discern whether a passage is historic or didactic. And that does sometimes lead to some challenges in some of our areas of doctrine. In transparencia, hay ocasiones en las que se vuelve un desafío diseñar si un pasaje es histórico o didáctico. Y eso conlleva algunos desafíos en algunas áreas de la doctrina. Just for a second. Clear passages are used to elucidate or clarify unclear passages. When a passage is unclear on its meaning and other passages speak to it, the passages that are clear determine the meaning of the passage. And I'm gonna give you an illustration. Segundo, los pasajes claros se utilizan para dilucidar o aclarar pasajes poco claros. Cuando un pasaje no tiene claro su significado y otros pasajes habrán de leer, los pasajes que son claros determinan el significado del pasaje. There are some passages in which there is a wide variety of interpretations. And as a church, we wrestle with these positions. And one such example is found in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 29, where a statement is being made about being baptized for the dead. Un ejemplo se encuentra en 1 Corinthians 15, versículo 29. Se hace una declaración sobre el bautismo por los muertos. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 29. 1 Corinthians 15, versículo 29. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Hmm, why are they then baptized for the dead? It's an obscure reference, which some take to mean that one can earn salvation for someone else after they have died, and it has led many to heresy. Esta es una referencia oscura, que algunos interpretan como que uno puede ganar la salvación para alguien más después de su muerte. Esto ha llevado a mucha energía. While the reference is unclear, and is one that we've offered a number of potential interpretations in the past, there are some things that need to be clear. This is a singular statement that is dealing with the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is not clearly presenting water baptism in the first place. It could be. There's a lot of... And I'm not going to get into all of the... We'd be here for two more days. All the possibilities for this verse. Si bien la referencia no está clara, y es una que hemos ofrecido una serie de posibles interpretaciones en el pasado, hay algunas cosas que deben quedar claras. Esta es una declaración singular que trata con la realidad de la resurrección de Jesucristo y no presenta claramente el bautismo en agua. It's not a reference to our baptism that we observe as one of our ordinances. It does not appear that way. Second, to teach that one can do something to save another person is in direct contradiction with the extremely clear teaching of the rest of the Bible that salvation is by grace alone, in Christ alone, through faith alone, and never, ever by any works of any person. Salvation is God's gift and cannot be earned. En segundo lugar, Enseñar que uno puede hacer algo para salvar a otra persona está en directa contradicción con la enseñanza extremadamente clara del resto de la Biblia de que la salvación es solo, por gracia de Cristo, solo a través de la fe y nunca, nunca por las obras de ninguna persona. La salvación es un regalo de Dios y no se puede ganar. When we come to difficult positions, we then conclude that when there are multiple possibilities of interpretation, only those which are in agreement with the rest of the Bible are sufficient. Cuando llegamos a posiciones dificiles, entonces concluimos que cuando hay multiples posibilidades de interpretación, solo son suficientes aquellos que permanecen de acuerdo con el resto de la Biblia. And I just thought of something. September 26 is a question and answer time, and I have a feeling I better study up because I have a good feeling I'm going to be asking about 1 Corinthians 15, 29 now. Wonderful. Okay, I would offer a warning. Be very careful of using singular verses. out of context to derive a new code of conduct for the church. Make certain that scripture agrees with scripture. One final note, deliberate passages are used to interpret incidental passages. This mentions the word baptism does not mean where I'm coming here to talk about baptism when we do a baptism service. I'm going to go to Romans 6. I'm going to go to a passage that's teaching on baptism, not use this to try and develop a new theology of baptism. So in the example we used here from 1 Corinthians 15, the emphasis of the passage was not on baptism. Therefore, we would need to interpret the passage and understand it from the passages which are designed to teach on baptism. In the final note, the passages of Liberarus were used to interpret incidental passages. In the example we used of 1 Corinthians 15, the emphasis of the passage was not on baptism. Therefore, we would need to interpret the passage and understand it from the passages that are designed to teach about baptism. Having started here, we now look into why the Bible is our authority and what that means for us as a church. Habiendo comenzado aquí, ahora necesitamos investigar por qué la Biblia es nuestra autoridad y qué significa eso para nosotros como la iglesia. We hold to the authority of the Bible. Nos aferramos a la autoridad de la Biblia. John 17, this verse we started in our study. In this verse, Jesus declared the Word of God is truth. It is that which is true, no matter how it is considered. Juan, liturio 17, versículo 17, es el versículo que inició nuestro estudio. En ese versículo, Jesús declaró que la palabra de Dios es verdad. Es lo que es verdad sin importar cómo se considere. We use the Bible because it is the only truth which does not change because it's from the unchangeable God. Now look at 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. We've examined this verse in the past, and it reminds us that the Bible is sufficient for doctrine. What is right? Reproof! What is wrong? correction, how to make it right, and instruction on righteousness, how to keep it right. Hemos examinado este versículo en el pasado. Nos recuerda que la Biblia es suficiente para la doctrina, suficiente. Lo que es correcto, la represión, lo que está mal, la corrección, cómo corregirlo e instruir en justicia. Como mantenerlo correcto. As Baptists, as with any Christians, we hold to the sufficiency of the Bible, and it is our soul and our final authority. However, as Baptists, we take it one step further, and this is where caution needs to be made in explaining. Como Baptistas, como con cualquier cristiano, nos aferramos a la suficiencia de la Biblia y es nuestra única y última autoridad. We believe in and preach the New Testament Church. The Church was not in existence in the Old Testament. God was working with National Israel, not the Gentiles. Therefore, the way the Church operates finds its instructions where? In the New Testament. We're not slaughtering lambs today. Our operation is different. Our worship is unique and is different than from the Old Testament. Creemos y predicamos la iglesia del Nuevo Testamento. La iglesia no existía en el Antiguo Testamento. Dios estaba trabajando con la Nación de Israel, no con los gentiles. Por lo tanto, la forma en que opera la iglesia encuentra sus instrucciones en el Nuevo Testamento. This does set us apart from other Christians who would try to hold to the Old Testament as their form of direction, instruction. In no way are we discounting the instruction of the Old Testament. However, there's no church present there for us to receive instruction on governance. Eso nos distingue de otros cristianos. Cristianos. I'm not calling them unbelievers. Please be careful. All Christians hold to the authority of the Bible. As Baptists, we are looking for instruction in the New Testament. If a church, if a godly Christian looks at the Old Testament and says, well, I'm going to operate the church based on some of these principles in the Book of Exodus, does not make them a non-Christian. If their faith is, I must keep the law, we have a problem. Now we're not dealing with Christians. If their faith is still in Jesus Christ alone, but they believe, you know, my faith is in Christ alone, he saved me, and believe me, but I believe that the church needs to operate with a principle of gleaning. Okay, great, wonderful. They're not unbelievers. I'm gonna disagree with them, but they're not my enemy. Okay, hope I made that clear. Now let's consider the application of the distinctives to our church. Ahora consideremos la aplicación de este distintivo a nuestra iglesia. When we say that the Bible is our sole authority, we mean exactly that. This has often been confused because other Christians and even Baptists have written great creeds and they've written statements of faith. I've already quoted our statement of faith. If the Bible is our sole authority, what's the role of a creed or a covenant Primero, cuando decimos que la Biblia es nuestra única autoridad. Queremos decir exactamente eso. Esto a menudo se ha confundido porque otros cristianos, e incluso los batistas, han escrito grandes credos y declaraciones de fe. Si la Biblia es nuestra única autoridad, ¿cuál es el papel de un credo o un pacto? When we use a covenant or a creed, it is a statement of what we believe the Bible teaches. It is not the foundation of our faith or of our ecclesiology. It simply lets others know where we stand. In reasoning with one another, our appeal is not back, well, our church constitution says. Our appeal comes back, what does the Bible say? This is our appeal. Second, Garlon has the right to determine how he is worshipped. Segundo lugar, solo Dios tiene derecho a determinar cómo se le adora. Vayamos en su Biblia a Hebreos capítulo 8, versículo 3 a 5. Please turn your Bible to Hebrews chapter 8, verses 3 through 5. Hebrews 8, verses 3 through 5. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifice, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have someone also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law. who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make a tabernacle. For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. Hebrew chapter 8, verse 3 to 5, because every high priest is constituted to present offerings and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary that he also has something to offer. Así que, si estuviese sobre la tierra, ni siquiera sería sacerdote, habiendo aún sacerdotes que presentan las ofrendas según la ley, los cuales lleven a lo que es figura y sombra de las cosas celestiales. In the passage, the author is appealing to the example of the Old Testament priest to show the superiority of Jesus Christ. Notice that he reminds the readers that the Old Testament worship is based on the pattern which God established in heaven. Now, for example, the author appeals to the example of the priest of the Old Testament to show the superiority of Jesus Christ. Note that he reminds the readers that the adoration of the Old Testament is based on the model that God established in heaven. Historically, Baptist churches have understood this verse to mean that even in our present forms of worship, we cannot add or detract from what God teaches in His Word when it comes to worship. In Ephesians, we are reminded that Christ is the head of the church. Therefore, he alone has the right to define its nature, mission, constitution, order, membership, ordinances, offices, and worship. These things are clearly delineated in the Bible. We don't have the prerogative to change any of them or to introduce new ones. When we do so, we will be usurping the authority of our head, Jesus Christ. En efecios, se nos recuerda que Cristo es la cabeza de la iglesia. Por lo tanto, Only he has the right to define his nature, mission, constitution, or membership, or renunciation, office, and adoration. These things are clearly delineated in the Bible. No tenemos la prerrogativa de cambiar ninguno de ellos, ni de introducir otros nuevos. Cuando lo hacemos, estaríamos usurpando la autoridad de Cristo. If we want to have a ministry in the church, we need to first make sure that it's biblical, and if it is a ministry that is ordained by God. who would do something in our worship service, we must verify that it's ordained by God. Si queremos tener un ministerio en la iglesia, primero debemos determinar si es bíblico y si es un ministerio ordenado por Dios. Si queremos hacer algo en nuestro servicio de adoración, debemos verificar que sea ordenado por Dios. Singing, giving, praising God, praying, preaching, teaching, the Lord's table, baptism, all find their precedent in the New Testament. Let us be careful that we're not spent so much time examining what works in worldly business that we forget that our sole authority is the Bible. The way we would operate as a New Testament church must find its instruction here in the New Testament. Cantar, dar, alabar a Dios, orar, predicar, enseñar, la mesa del Señor, el bautismo. Todos encuentran su precedente en la Biblia. Tengamos cuidado de no perder tanto tiempo examinando lo que funciona en los negocios mundanos como para olvidar que nuestra única autoridad es la Biblia. La forma en que operaríamos como Iglesia del Nuevo Testamento debe encontrar su instrucción en el Nuevo Testamento. My emphasis this evening has been in our ecclesiology. In the future, we'll come back to a very similar theme. Hmm, wonder why. We're gonna have to look at the individual soul of liberty. Let her ride, she's gotta wait for a while. And you've heard the Baptists and Distinctives declared tonight. You can probably safely assume that's what we're going to be discussing. Mi énfasis esta noche está en nuestra eclesiología. En el futuro, volveremos a este tema y trataremos cómo afecta al creyente individual. ¿Cómo ha escuchado declarar los Distintivos Baptistas esta noche? Probablemente puede asumir con seguridad que se puede encontrar cuando hablemos de libertad de alma individual. Application. Aplicación. One concern that I have that I want to make extremely clear as we close this evening. During the course of study, you may say, but this denomination or this denomination holds this. In this area, biblical authority, I would hope that all Christians would hold to it. Where there's some difference with us is that when it comes to our ecclesiology, our appeal remains to the New Testament. We are a New Testament church. En esa área, espero que todos los cristianos se aferren a la autoridad de la Biblia. Donde hay alguna diferencia con nosotros es que cuando se trata de nuestra eclesiología, nuestro atractivo permanece en el Nuevo Testamento. Somos una iglesia del Nuevo Testamento. There are areas in our study which find agreement in different denominational groups. There are areas that don't. It is not the holding of one distinctive that makes one a Baptist. It is that we hold to all eight of them. Hay areas en nuestro estudio que encuentran acuerdo en diferentes grupos denominacionales. Hay areas que no lo hacen. No es la posesión de un distintivo lo que hace a uno un bautista. Es que nos aferramos a todos ellos. Excuse me. Nor am I attempting in this study to say that this church or that church is wrong. If you're coming tonight to hear, well, pastor's going to blast, oh, he's going to blast this church, he's going to blast, that's not the purpose. That's not what I'm doing this for. I may disagree with some churches in their ecclesiology. That doesn't necessarily make them ungodly heathen. It just means they're not Baptists. That's what it means. Tampoco intento en este estudio decir que esta iglesia o esa iglesia esté equivocada. Puedo estar en desacuerdo con algunas de las iglesias en su eclesiología, pero eso no las convierte en empías paganas. Simplemente significa que no son batistas. All that we're doing in this study is explaining what it means when we say that we are a Baptist. Consequently, since all the studies are needed, I would encourage you to do one of two things. And a lot of people started on the wrong foot tonight. I would encourage you, first of all, don't miss any Sunday evenings. You're going to want them all. Second, in the event of an unanticipated absence, because I know everyone wants to be here every week, listen to the message on sermon audio during the week. If you can, it should be posted there late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Todo lo que estamos haciendo en este estudio es explicar qué es lo que queremos decir cuando decimos que somos batistas. And consecuencia, dado que todos los estudios son necesarios, le animo a hacer una de dos cosas. Primero, no se pierda los domingos por la noche. This evening I will close with this reminder. Everything we do as a church must be done biblically. To have ideas for new things in the church is their biblical instruction. Does the New Testament teach us how we ought to worship God in this way? Let me give you a closing illustration of something newish in our ministry. Please turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 2. Permitanme darles una ilustración final de algo nuevo en nuestro ministerio. Vaya 2 Timoteo capítulo 2, versículo 2. Second Timothy chapter 2, verse 2. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. You may have noticed we have a men's theology class meeting right now. Well, meeting on Friday night, it's not right at this moment. It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of work. Notice, though, that we have a biblical instruction for such a class. It's my responsibility to teach faithful men in the presence of many witnesses. The final goal of this class is not to have taught the class. The goal is that these men will now be able to teach other men also. I don't want to teach the same group of men this same material ever again. I may have to, but I hope I don't have to. Es mi responsabilidad enseñar a hombres fieles en presencia de muchos testigos. El objetivo final de esta clase no es haber enseñado la clase. El objetivo es que estos hombres también puedan enseñar a otros hombres. No se desea volver a enseñar esta clase a este mismo grupo de hombres. Instead, my desire to either teach this class again to new men, or that one or more of these men, I'd like to see two or three old tag team men, would take class notes and start teaching other men, who will be able to teach others also. And again, notice, where is the teaching done? Publicly. It brings me to one final thing. My desire over the years, and it still remains, that there will be one day in the near future when I can bring on a young man to train for the ministry. This will be a man who will be invested in our church and who I will be instructing personally, as you will be working with him. Esto nos lleva a una última cosa. Mi deseo a lo largo de los años y aún permanece de que haya un día en el futuro cercano en el que pueda traer a un joven para que sea incapacitado para el ministerio. I'm hoping that we'll be the first of many who will be trained here, who will then go out and into his own ministry that God has called him to. Fortunately, we've never been able to afford to do this, but I am praying that God will provide us with great abundance so we'll be able to move in this direction in the near future. Again, this method of training meant for the ministry is a biblical pattern we see in the New Testament. Espero que sea el primero de muchos que serán entrenados aquí y que luego saldrá y entrará en su propio ministerio a que Dios lo ha llamado. Desafortunadamente, nunca hemos podido permitirnos hacer esto. This evening I want to, I remind you, one of the reasons we are a Bible church, or a Baptist church rather, is because we hold the authority of the Bible. Will you labor with me to make certain that we keep the Bible as a sole authority for our faith and practice? Conmigo para asegurarse de que mantengamos la Biblia como la única autoridad para nuestra fe y práctica. Vamos a orar. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the opportunity to study your word. Father, we say that we believe that your word is sufficient for faith and practice. We say that we believe it's our final authority. But Father, words are cheap. May we put it into practice. May we, as we look at what we're going to do in a church, come back to your word and may we make certain that what we're doing meets your desire for the church. Give us wisdom. Give us help and instruction as we continue to labor for you. For we ask these things in your son's most precious name. Amen.