Good morning, welcome to Scher Foundation Baptist Church.
Let's all stand and go to number 423.
Let's take our song books and go to number 423.
Joy to the world.
Page number 423, joy to the world.
Sing these Christmas hymns until the Lord is morning.
♪ Joy to the world ♪
♪ The Lord's come ♪
♪ Let her keep your seed ♪
♪ On that second, on that last ♪
(indistinct)
Amen, let's go to number 432.
Continuing with the Christmas hymns,
angels from the realms of glory.
♪ Angels from the realms of glory ♪
♪ Wing your flight o'er all ♪
♪ (indistinct) ♪
You see at this moment, have your evangelists on,
come give us some announcements.
- Welcome to Shul Foundation Baptist Church,
the first service in the month of December.
So raise your hand if you need a bulletin
and Usher will hand one to you.
Let's look at the verse of the week,
1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 13.
The Bible says for by one spirit,
are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bound or free
and have been all made to drink into one spirit.
Of course, this verse is referring
to the spiritual baptism when you first got saved.
And we are by one spirit,
all being baptized spiritually into the body of Christ.
So let's look at the inside page.
Please give us a follow on YouTube, Facebook, Rumble and X.
Surveys time Sunday morning at 11.
Sunday afternoon surveys at four.
And Wednesday night Bible study at 7 p.m.
And this coming Wednesday will be in Judges,
chapter number nine,
talking about Gideon's son Abimelek
and how he started a rebellion
and how he was punished by the Lord.
So please join us on Wednesday night.
We have someone in today at 1.30 p.m.
and Saturday morning at 10.30 a.m.
and Salvation and last week's attendance
is below for you to see.
And we are having some lower number
because of the sickness and the weather.
So just pray for people that will be healthy
and pray for the winter weather.
Just give us safety
because we know how winter is here.
A lot of snows and black ice and car wreck
and things like that.
So, and I do want to hand out one baptism certificate
for Hunter, where is Hunter?
Hunter.baptist.
December 21st in two weeks is our Christmas service.
And I have a sign up sheet on that front table over there.
So please look at,
I mean, it's covered by Eliwood's Bible right now,
but I mean, the sign up sheet is over there.
So please check it out.
And there might be some,
well, we'll probably have the Christmas service regardless,
but my wife's due date is on the 21st.
But we know that the due date are never accurate, right?
We'll see how that goes.
But just plan on having the Christmas service
on December 21st.
And then Christmas Eve service will be December 24th.
So please join us for that.
Sowinging Marathon.
Yesterday we had a blast.
The Evansville scouting trip went really well.
We have 11 sowingers and 19 salvations.
Praise the Lord for that, and I'm just thankful for people who drove 10 hours yesterday.
So again, we had fun and the dinner was great.
Discussion was great.
We have a two and a half hour dinner discussing some very controversial issues.
But anyway, it's pretty bad because people are staring at me like, what?
Yeah.
Great fellowship.
The next event is the Winter Wonderland.
That's the last Saturday of the year.
We'll meet here at 1 p.m. and then we're going to go out for summoning during the afternoon
and then we're going to meet for dinner together.
And then please help us with the cleaning of the church building right after the afternoon
service.
December preaching schedule is for you to see if you want to know how to be saved or
needs to be baptized.
I'll show myself after the service.
Let's play from the backside, no birthday coming up this coming week.
So that's all the announcement.
Let's sing one more song from the binder and then we'll take up the offering.
Let's take our binders and go to another Christmas hymn.
O come Emmanuel.
O come the son of the nephew.
This moment we'll have ushers come up and get ready for the offering.
Brother Matthew, pray please for the offering.
We'll be in Revelation Chapter 21 this morning, Revelation Chapter 21.
If you need a Bible, raise your hand, I shall give one to you while you turn there and begin
reading the chapter, Revelation 21.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven, the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea.
And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them.
And they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
For the former things are passed away.
And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
And He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.
And He said unto me, It is done.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give unto them that is the thirst of the fount of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things.
And I will be his God, and he shall be my Son.
But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers
and adulterers and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone which is the second death.
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven
last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride and
the lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that
great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
Even the glory of God in Herolite was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper
stone clear as crystal, and had a wall great and high and twelve gates, and had the gates
twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of
the children of Israel.
On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the
west three gates, and on the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof,
and the wall thereof, and the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the
breadth.
And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs, the length, and the breadth,
and the height of it, and he measured the wall thereof a hundred and forty and four
cubits, according to the measure of a man that is of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto
clear glass, and the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner
of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth
an emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysalite, the eighth
beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysalis, the eleventh ajacent, the twelfth an amethyst,
and the twelve gates were twelve pearls, every several gates was of one pearl, and the street
of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass; and I saw no temple therein, for the
Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God delight in it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings
of the earth do bring their glory and honor unto it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all
by day. For there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations
into it. And there shall in no wise enter into anything that defileth, neither whatsoever work
with the domination, or maketh a lie. But they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Brother Brett, could you pray for us in service? Amen. Please pray for me as well since I'm having
a sore throat, so hopefully I can survive this sermon. So you are in chapter 21 of the book of
Revelation. Let's look at verse number one. The Bible says, "And I saw," that's talking about the
apostle John, "and I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth
were passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Jump down to verse
number nine. The Bible says, "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, 'Come hither, I will show thee
the bride, the Lamb's wife.'" Now this morning I want to preach a sermon about the Baptist Bride
Doctrine. Okay, now the title of the sermon is the Baptist Bride Era. The Baptist Bride Era. Now who's
familiar with this doctrine of the Baptist Bride? All right, yeah, you know, this doctrine is also
known as the Landmark Theology or Heritage Theology. Now personally, I knew the basics, but you know,
due to some, you know, personal reasons, I did some more research on this theology. So the Baptist
Bride theology, often called the Baptist Bride Doctrine, is a teaching held by some ultra-separatist
Baptists that only certain churches, specifically those independent lineage traceable Baptist
churches, constitute the true Bride of Christ. In this position, only members of those Baptist
congregations will be part of Christ's Bride at the marriage supper of the Lamb, whereas all other
Christians, even though they are saved, they are declared to be in a lesser status, merely a wedding
guest at the marriage supper of the Lamb. So a Baptist Bride then is an extreme Baptist who
believes that the Baptist Church is the Bride of Christ, that all the other Christians make up
the family of God, but are not part of the Bride. That's their theology in its nutshell.
But let me just be clear that we are not Baptist Briders. We do not hold to this weird theology,
and personally I think the Briders are more like a cult. However, not everything that the
Briders hold is bad. I will talk more about it in this sermon. So just to talk about this doctrine
in plain terms, they believe only certain Baptist churches are the true churches. They say only
members of those churches will be the Bride of Christ. Others can be saved, but they are just
family. Friends of the Bridegroom or wedding guests, not the Bride. So why does this matter?
Because it divides God's people into first class and second class Christians. This doctrine also
asks church membership and also baptism on top of the simple faith in Christ to be part of the
Bride of Christ. And this also goes beyond what the Bible clearly says about the church and the
Bride, okay? Now the purpose of the sermon is not to bash Baptists, because we are we are Baptist,
right? But unfortunately, many Baptists give Baptists a bad name, such as the Rachmanites
and the Briders, okay? So point number one, I want to talk about the historical background of the
Briders, the history behind it. Now my first two points are pure information, and I will give you
some verses in my third point, okay? So the roots of the Baptist Bride doctrine lie in the 19th
century movement within Baptist churches known as Landmarkism, also known as the Landmark Baptist
movement. Landmarkism began around 1851 in the American South when the Southern Baptist pastors
led by figures like J.R. Grave reacted against what they saw as liberalism and an ecumenical
compromise in their convention. So at a meeting in 1851 they adopted the Cotton Grove resolutions
which articulated the core ancient landmarks they believe must now be removed. So the term
landmark comes from you know Proverbs 22 verse number 28. The Bible says that remove not the
ancient landmark which thy fathers have said. Okay so they take this verse to teach their brighter
doctrine. Now I think that most writers do believe like us in a sense that they believe there has
always been Bible-believing Christians outside of the Roman Catholic Church but they just took it
way too far. Okay but the quote unquote landmark movement started in the 19th century. So I do want
to clarify that you know I'm not saying that those churches began in the 19th century but the
movement of the brighter doctrines started in the 19th century because many writers would actually
agree with us that there are the you know there has always been a group of Christians outside of
Rome okay. So we have key early landmark leaders such as J.R. Grave, A.C. Dayton, J.M. Pendleton,
Ben Bogart as well as other people. Their central claims were you know again number one that only
Baptist churches are the true New Testament churches tracing their lineage back to Christ
ministry or John the Baptist. Number two, the true church is a local visible institution.
They reject the idea of a universal invisible church which we also agree. Again I will talk
more about it later to clarify that point. Number three, Baptist churches have been there in every
age by an unbroken succession also known as church perpetuity. They claim they can trace the lineage
physically while we believe that we can trace the doctrine. Number four, only these true churches
comprise the kingdom of God and will collectively form the bride of Christ. You know obviously I
disagree with that claim. So in practice, you know those landmarkers or those briders,
they will forbid those pulpit affiliation with non-baptists. They'll also reject alien baptism,
that is any baptism not performed under the authority of those true Baptist churches,
so they claim. And they will close their communion to anyone outside of their own membership. So
over time, this brighter doctrine spread among certain IFB circles, as well as missionary
Baptist associations, especially those with the landmark heritage. And it goes hand in hand with
the idea of Baptist successionism, you know, popularized by works like the Trail of Blood.
Basically, they were claiming that we can trace everything physically, okay? Now, you know, personally,
I will address each of their claim later, but not every claim is bogus, although I do disagree that
only the people who are baptized into those, you know, into those specific churches are viewed as
the bride of Christ, okay? Obviously, that's, you know, weird. And I, you know, kind of believe that,
they believe that as a result of a knee-jerk reaction of the liberalism as well as the
ecumenical movement, okay? So, so point number one is the historical background of the Briders. Point
number two, key beliefs of the Bride of Theology. Key beliefs of the Bride of Theology. Number one,
only certain churches are the true churches. Only local Baptist congregations that can trace an
unbroken history back to the New Testament are considered legitimate churches. Landmark Baptist
teach that Christ Church was founded during his early ministry. Some say when when Christ called
out called out the apostles after being baptized by by John the Baptist and that such churches
have continued in every generation since outside of the Roman Catholic and the Protestant lineage.
In their view groups that deviated from the New Testament practice like practicing infant baptism
or or lacking proper baptismal succession cease to be true churches and Proverbs 22 verse number 28
is cited symbolically as a call to maintain this historical continuity. Okay now I will get into
some of their proof texts later but I do agree with this position for the most part. Okay I just
don't think that we can physically trace our church lineage all the way back to John the Baptist. Okay
however we can trace the doctrines because the Bible teaches that salvation is by grace
through faith and it's everlasting life. Okay so we can definitely trace that okay and I do agree
with you know and I also agree with them on the fact that the Roman Catholics were not the original
church. What they are teaching is kind of like Catholics because you know because the Catholics
will claim the apostolic succession while the brothers will claim baptismal succession. Okay
so again you know seems to me like a Catholic light. Okay so the first belief is only certain
churches are the true churches. Number two, there's no universal church only the local church.
Breiters deny a universal body of Christ composed of all believers. They insist that only the only
church is a local Baptist body of believers and any reference to the church in the Bible is talking
about a specific local congregation in their theology. There's no present mystical union of
all Christians into one church body. The concept of the church is exclusively local. I also agree
with them on this position that the word church means a congregation since not all believers are
physically congregated together. However, I do acknowledge that there will be a universal
assembly when we get to heaven. Now, I'll give you some verses later about it. That's just my
quick comment on their theology. I think some writers are just like normal Baptists,
but they just go too far, maybe as a knee-jerk reaction. Number three, a bride of Christ
preserved only for the Baptists. Only members of those true Baptist churches will compose the bride
of Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb. All other believers, while saved and part of God's
family or his kingdom, are thought to be excluded from the bride status. They teach that the true
Baptist churches make up the kingdom of God and therefore maintain, constitute the bride of Christ.
All other Christians are merely friends at the marriage of the Lamb. So in other words when
Christ, the bridegroom, is united with his bride, also known as the church, only those who are
baptized into and faithful to a proper Baptist church will actually enjoy the honor of the bride,
whereas all other saved people will be present only as wedding guests or servants.
And then we have some extreme briders. They will claim that only the Baptist will be raptured,
you know, though that's not a universal claim among all all briders. But, you know, personally,
this is just unscriptural and very divisive. Now I will get into the key text later, but
the Bible clearly teaches that all saved people are part of the bride, okay? And number four,
scriptural baptism as entry to the bride. Writers teach that being born again makes one a child of
God, but does not place one into the bride. So they belong to be Christ's bride. A believer must
receive scriptural baptism immersion administered by a proper church and join a true Baptist
congregation. Any baptism done outside of the landmark Baptist circles, even a baptism of a
believer by another evangelical church, is considered alien baptism and also invalid.
Thus if a Christian from another sect joins a brighter church, they would insist on rebaptizing
them with proper authority. By their thinking, only those baptisms, down by the authority of their
church, puts one into the body and bride of Christ. That's also why they would do the close
membership and even the close communion. Only those within those true Baptist fellowships
are part of the body of Christ and fit for the Lord's Supper Fellowship.
Now, you know, if you know the Bible, they cannot find this requirement at all, right?
I will personally recognize any baptism from a legit church that's right on salvation, okay?
Number five, strict separation from quote, unquote, untrue churches. Baptist brides are fiercely
separatist. They will typically forbid inviting non-Baptist minister to preach, will not accept
letters of transfer or baptism from non-landmark churches unless those churches share the same
lineage or faith and often have their own fellowship separate from other Baptists.
Church membership is viewed as a top priority. Being a member of a landmark Baptist church
is second in importance only to a person's salvation. This overemphasis on the local
church leads to viewing other faithful Christians with an outright denial of their legitimacy
as churches. But again, I probably would not let non-Baptists preach behind this pulpit either,
but their position of the extreme church membership is just unbiblical and that's
why I said, you know, they are kind of like a cult. Okay, so how about with John chapter 3,
John chapter 3. So in essence, the bride of theology creates a two-tiered system
of the believers. We have the elite bride, those faithful Baptists in those proper churches,
and then we have the lesser class of the saved. Those are the family or friends of the bride.
Okay, so I said point number one, the historical background of the briders. Point number two,
the key beliefs of the bride of theology. Point number three, refuting key brider proof text.
Refuting key brider proof text. Now the number one text they will use is John chapter 3, look at verse
29. John chapter 3 verse 29, the Bible says this, he that had the bride, now this is John the Baptist
saying this, he that had the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom,
which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, this my joy
therefore is fulfilled. So here John the Baptist called himself the friend of the bridegroom.
Who is the bridegroom? Jesus Christ. Now the bridegroom will say that John wasn't in the bride
because he called himself the friend of the bridegroom. That's why some saved Christian,
they are only friends. They also believe that all the Old Testament saints were not part of
Christ's church, thus they were not part of the bride just like John the Baptist. But when viewing
this you know scripture, we must understand the context. John the Baptist was being humble because
John the Baptist, he was a forerunner of Christ and he did not want to overshadow Christ. Okay,
let's look at the verse before and after verse number 29. Look at verse 28. The Bible says this,
"Eat yourselves, bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him."
So John identified himself as the forerunner of Christ. He, you know, he did not want others to
treat him as Christ because he was not the Christ. Look at verse number 30. "He must increase, Jesus
must increase, but I must decrease." Okay, so John the Baptist, he was being humble. Okay, nowhere in
this passage says only the Baptist or part of the bride. John simply was saying that he was the
friend, you know, that he was a friend of Christ. I think it's really a leap of faith, you know,
it's a giant leap to, you know, take the scripture and say that all non-Baptists are not part of the
bride, only friends. Okay, this verse simply shows John's special role, not a doctrine of a second
class Christians. By the way, can you be your husband's wife and also be his friend? Absolutely,
right? This verse nowhere even indicates that the Baptists are the only bride and just all
the other Christians are merely friends. Why not both? And this verse never says that Baptists are
the bride, and I think it's pretty funny that they will claim to trace back their heritage all
the way back to John the Baptist, but then they think John the Baptist was not part of the bride
because in their mind the church hasn't started yet. You know, it's kind of weird, right?
Turn about to Psalm 22. Psalm 22. And they also claim that the Old Testament saints,
they were not part of the bride because they were not part of the church. They, like, you know,
most Christians believe in the so-called church age, but that's not biblical either. Okay?
You know, in Psalm 22, look at verse number 22. Psalm 22, verse 22. The psalmist said this,
"I will declare my name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation where I praise thee."
So here we see the word "congregation." Let me read to you Hebrews 2, verse number 12.
This is a quotation of Psalm number 22. Hebrews 2 12 says this, saying, "I will declare my name
unto my brethren in the midst of the church where I sing praise unto thee." So the Bible defines
church as a congregation that proves during the time of Psalm, at least, there is a church,
because church means congregation of the believers. Go to Acts chapter number seven.
Acts chapter number seven. The whole thing that the church started during the Pentecost
is not a biblical concept. Acts chapter seven verse 37. Acts seven verse number 37. The Bible
says this, this is that Moses, by the way, Moses was in the Old Testament, "which said unto the
children of Israel, a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto
me, him shall you hear." This is he, Moses, that was in the church, in the wilderness, back in the
Old Testament, with the angel which spoke to him in the Mount Sinai and with our fathers who received
the lively oracles to give unto us. So who was the "pastor leader" of the church that is in the
wilderness? Moses, right? And the Bible says this is the church in the wilderness that proves there
were churches back in the Old Testament. Go to Ephesians chapter number three. Ephesians chapter
number three. See? No mental gymnastics. No theology classes. Ephesians chapter three, look at verse 21.
Ephesians chapter three, verse 21. To me, you know, this verse is a powerful verse. Ephesians chapter 3, verse 21 says this,
unto him, be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages. World without end. Amen.
That proves that the churches of Christ have been there throughout all ages. There's no such thing as
a dedicated church age, right? There are churches back in the Old Testament. The Bible even said
that in Psalm, also during Moses time, that's way back in, you know, way back in the Old Testament,
right? Yes, you know, the local New Testament church started at Pentecost. The New Testament
church started in the New Testament, but the church by Jesus Christ is throughout all ages.
So to claim that the Old Testament saints were not part of the church is false. Okay,
turn the book of the Bible to Revelation 19. Revelation chapter number 19, look at verse number 6,
Revelation 19, verse number 6. This is another proof text of theirs. The Bible says,
verse number 6, "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth.' Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him, for the marriage supper of the lamb
is come, and his wife, the bride, had made herself ready. And to her, to the bride, was granted that
she could be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints.' Verse number nine, 'And he said unto me, 'Write, blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the lamb.' And he said unto me, 'These are the true saints of God.'
Now the bride's will say, 'The wife,' in verse number seven, 'are the Baptist.' But then we have
the called, in verse number nine, 'are other saved people who are just guests.' Did you see that?
Verse number seven, 'His wife had made her ready.' These are the bride, these are the Baptist.
But then verse number nine, 'Write, blessed are they which are called,' those are the wedding guests.
Henceforth, you know, they were reasoned that a bride does not need an invitation to her own
wedding, so those called must be outside of the bride, okay? So here's the problem. Even if
those called is a separate group, you have to make a lot of assumption to say that, you know,
those called are those people who are saved, not part of the bride. You cannot derive a doctrine
from silence. But I also don't believe that these called is a separate group.
I believe the Bible is saying that the Lamb's wife are the called. Those are the chosen people,
that's all say people. I mean, if you just read verse number seven, eight and nine,
I mean, it's pretty clear the bride, his wife, are also those people who are called under the
marriage supper of the Lamb. But even if it's a different group, where does it say only the
Baptist or the bride? Either way, they are known for deriving a doctrine from silence. Furthermore,
what is the Lamb's wife wearing? What is the bride wearing? The fine linen, which is the
righteousness of the saints. Whose righteousness? Jesus Christ. So if all saved people have Christ
righteousness, then all saved people are part of the bride then. That also includes Old Testament
saints, right? And the Bible says, you know, saints in general, not a specific group of saints,
all saved people are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. I mean, the Bible is very clear, okay?
So the bride is not a local Baptist church. The bride of Christ is not a group of landmark Baptist
churches. The bride of Christ is not only the faithful field, okay? The bride of Christ is not
those people who are baptized into a certain sect. It's all the redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
Go to Revelation 21. Look at verse number one. Revelation 21, verse number one, the Bible says
this, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away and there was no more sea. And I just saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Now, people have confusions on this
passage because here the Bible seems to indicate that a city, New Jerusalem, is the bride.
But notice in verse number two, the Bible says that the city is prepared as a bride. Did you see
that? And we just look back in chapter 19 that the bride is the safe, right? Now jump on to verse
number nine. And the Bible says this, "And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had
seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show
thee the bride, the lamb's wife." Verse number 10, "And he carried me away into the spirit to a great
and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
God, having the glory of God. And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a
jasper stone clear as crystal." Now, you know, here people will say here the Bible is very clear.
We have an angel showing John the bride, you know, in verse number nine, but then in verse 10,
but then in verse 10, he's showing John this, you know, this city, the city of New Jerusalem.
So is the city the bride? Okay. Now, I believe that the city, New Jerusalem, is positioned as
the bride because it is the eternal home of the bride. But this verse is not saying that
the city is marrying Christ because the Bible uses similar metaphors such as Israel is compared
as God's wife back in the Old Testament. Jerusalem is, you know, the city Jerusalem is called a
daughter. Babylon is called a harlot, but obviously it's talking about the people in those cities,
not a city itself. Okay, so again, people, you know, people were confused with these verses,
but you know, New Jerusalem houses the bride. That's why the city is positioned as the bride,
not that the city is marrying Christ, but the people in the city are the bride of Christ,
okay? That's what I believe, okay? Look at verse number 12. "And had a walk great and high,
and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." I believe they represent the Old Testament
saints. So apparently they were the bride too, because they were in the city that houses the bride,
right? Look at verse number 13. "On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three
gates, and on the west three gates, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them
the names of the twelve apostles of the land." They represent the New Testament saints. So the
book of Revelation tells us that the bride is composed of all saved people from both the old
and the New Testament, and they will all abide in this New Jerusalem because they are part of the
bride. Turn the Bible to Ephesians chapter number five. Ephesians chapter number five. Look at verse
22. Ephesians 5 verse number 22. Ephesians 5 verse 22. The Bible says this, "Wives, and may yourselves
unto your own husband as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is
the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body; therefore, as the church is subject unto
Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." Now the writers will say chapter
five is about local churches, so each local Baptist church is the bride. And then they will also use
2 Corinthians 11 verse 2, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you
to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Okay, where in this passage
does it say that only a certain group of saved people are part of the wife? Nowhere, right? But
let's keep reading. Look at verse 25. Ephesians 5 verse 25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify it and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." So based on their
theology, Christ only wants to present a certain group of saved people as a glorious church.
Christ only wants a certain, Christ only wants to sanctify some Baptist Baptist. That Christ
only wants a certain group of people to be holy and without blemish. I mean, it makes zero sense,
right? Because Christ wants every single Christian to be holy and without blemish.
It's not about to, it is not about, you know, a certain group, okay? Now I think at this time,
I think it's proper to address the issue of a universal church and how to rightly divide
the Bible because there are some verses in the Bible that do sound like they are teaching the
concept of a universal church. Let me show it to you. Look at verse 25 again, Ephesians 5,
verse 25. "Husband, love your wife even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it."
So here the Bible is saying that Christ loved the church singular and Christ even gave himself,
Christ died for the church, okay? Go to chapter number one. Ephesians chapter one, look at verse
number 22. Again, I will talk about this verse later. I'm just showing you some of the verses first.
Ephesians 1 verse 22, the Bible says, "And hath," talking about God the Father, "had put all things
under Jesus' feet and gave him to be the head of, head over all things to the church singular,
which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." Go to Colossians chapter one.
Colossians chapter one. Of course, we read Ephesians 3.21, "Unto him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages." Colossians chapter one, look at verse number 18. Colossians
chapter one, verse number 18. The Bible says this, "And he is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence."
So those verses seem to teach the concept of a universal church. We have to explain those
because we cannot do away with clear scriptures. That's not the right way to force your interpretation
on a certain passage. But there are also verses that teach us the concept of local churches.
For example, Matthew 18. During the Matthew 18 process, if you have some issue with your fellow
brothers, go to him alone. And if he does not listen to you, take two or three witnesses.
But if he still refuses, tell it to the church. This is obviously not talking about every single
Christian in the whole world. It's talking about the local assembly. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, verse number 2, "unto the church of God which is at Corinth." The Bible attaches location
to the church. Galatians chapter 1, look at verse number 2. Galatians chapter 1, verse number 2.
The Bible says this, "And all the brethren which are with me unto the churches of Galatia." So here
we have more than one church in this region called Galatia. Look at verse 21, Galatians 1.21,
"Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia and was unknown by faith unto the
churches of Judea which were in Christ." So we have some verses that teaches a singular church
talking about the body of Christ, but then we have other verses, you know, they're talking about a
local assembly, multiple churches within certain location, and the Bible does use the word church
and the word congregation interchangeably. So how do we reconcile those two ideas? Turn the Bible
to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. I think the solution is pretty simple,
because we cannot force our view on a certain passage. Jesus Christ died for the church based
on Ephesians chapter number five, right? So Christ died for the church, which is the spiritual, you
know, organism composed of all saved people. And when we go to heaven, all believers will be
assembled in one place. Make sense? So in this definition, all believers are part of the church
and that Christ died for the church and the church is the bride. But this only happens when we get
to heaven. Clear? Because this is not a denomination, not Baptist only, not local
church membership only, not a universal church functioning on this earth, but rather it's a
unified body of believers that is now here spiritually and will one day be physically
in heaven, you know? Because heaven is where the universal church finally becomes
local, right? And you know, personally, if not, you know, obviously you can disagree with me,
I don't believe that Ephesians chapter 5 is talking about a local body but a spiritual body.
Because in order to join the local church body, you have to be saved and baptized. But based on
Ephesians chapter 5, Christ died for the church, meaning every saved person, okay? Including people
who are not part of some local assemblies. That's why I believe Ephesians chapter 5 is talking
about a spiritual universal body that will one day become physical because Christ died for the
church and we know that not every saved Christian are part of the local church. Make sense? Hebrew
chapter 12, look at verse number 22. Hebrew chapter 12, verse number 22. The Bible says,
"But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels." Don't miss verse number 23. "To the general assembly and church of
the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just
man made perfect." So this is talking about one church, one assembly where? In heaven. Make sense?
So the universal church, though it's spiritual right now because not every
saved people are just congregated in one place, but one day this will become local. The Bible calls
it the general assembly and church of the firstborn. That is a universal church physically
in Mount Zion. However, on this earth there are many local churches and not all believers go to
the same church or even go to church, but Christ also died for the church. That's why you have to
write a divided scripture. Makes sense? So even though I, you know, reject the teaching of a
universal church, I do acknowledge the fact that Christ died for the church and one day there will
be a general assembly in the heavenly Jerusalem. So I hope you are following, okay? Because the
church, quote-unquote, you know, the capital C church is a spiritual organism made up of all
believers, the bride, the body, you know, but only fully assembled when you are in heaven. And
churches as local assemblies on this earth are composed of visible, organized, baptized believers.
And since not all believers are baptized, that's why, you know, the word church can have multiple
meetings, okay? And the church still means assembly, just different location, okay?
So go to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Look at verse number 12. 1 Corinthians
chapter 12, verse number 12. The Bible says, "For as the body is one and have many members."
And all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. So let me address
the concept of one body first because some will use this to teach a universal church on this earth,
okay? Because every saved person makes up of the singular body of Christ, correct? But this does not
prove a universal church on this earth. Because, you know, ask yourself this. Does a body have,
you know, does a body have to all be in one place for it to be a body? If an arm is in one room
and your leg is in a different room, is it a body? I mean, it might be part of the body,
but it's only a body when it's completely assembled. And when would that take place?
In heaven, following me. Also, you know, people use this verse to teach a universal church on
this earth. Ask them, "Where do you go to church?" Because in order for them to be consistent with
their theology, they have to say, "I don't have to assemble with, you know, I don't have to assemble
with anyone else because I am the church." That makes no logical sense. You know, you are still
part of the body, but it's only a complete body when it is assembled and that's in heaven. So
again, this does not prove a universal body on this earth, okay? Look at verse number 13. "For by one
spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bound or free,
and have all made to drink into one spirit." Now, brothers often read verse number 13 as water
baptism into local church. That's making you, you know, the body of Christ, teaching that one has
to be baptized into some certain Baptist churches to be considered as the bride. But just think
about this logically. Not every saved person is water baptized. But this verse says we are all
baptized into one body. So this is not talking about water baptism. This verse is talking about
spiritual baptism upon salvation. Let me just read to you Romans 6, verse number three. "Know ye
not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death, therefore
we were buried with him by baptism into death." This is talking about spiritual baptism upon
salvation. We also use this verse to prove the picture of baptism. Turn the Bible to 1 Corinthians
chapter one, 1 Corinthians chapter number one. So in order for someone to be part of the body of
Christ, just be saved. Because the Bible says whether we be Jews or Gentiles, it doesn't say
only the Baptist. And also, if you have to be water baptized into the body of Christ,
man, why did the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest evangelists as well as the apostles,
downplay water baptism? Think about this. Because I baptized more people this year than the greatest
Apostle Paul. So if water baptism makes you part of the bride, then why did the Apostle Paul
downplay water baptism? 1 Corinthians 1, look at verse number 14. 1 Corinthians 1, 14. The
Bible says, "I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say
that I had baptized in my own name, and I baptized also the household of Stephanus beside. I know
not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel,
not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of non-effect." So Christ said that
Christ sent me not to baptize people into the bride of Christ, but to preach the gospel,
further proves that baptism has nothing to do with the gospel. So Apostle Paul was just like,
think about this. Paul was literally saying that his mission is not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel. So I guess Apostle Paul did not support the bride of theology. I mean, I guess Paul only
wanted people to be part of the guest, I mean, at the marriage supper of the land. I guess Paul
missed the memo that proper water baptism performed by those proper churches from the
proper lineage was a doorway into the bride. I guess the greatest Apostle Paul, you know,
must have made the largest group of guests, rather than the Baptist members in the entire
New Testament, right? I mean, I guess Paul was content for his converse to sit in the overflow
section of the marriage supper. I guess Paul should have apologized to the Corinthians for failing to
baptize them into the bride, but he instead thanks God that he did not. Right? Go to Matthew 16,
Matthew chapter number 16, because biblically you are spiritually baptized into the body of
Christ, the family of God, when you are saved. This happens at salvation, not at a church membership.
Water baptism is important, but it does not make some Christians the bride and others the guest.
Okay? Matthew 16, look at verse number 18. Matthew 16, verse number 18. The Bible says,
"And I say also unto thee, thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." They argued that if Christ's church had
ever ceased to exist as a visible institution, then the gates of hell would have prevailed.
Therefore, they claimed history must have always had at least a remnant of true Baptist churches
in every single generation, preserving pure doctrine and practice. Now, I agree with this,
too, because I agree that there have always been a group of Christians who were never part of Rome.
I believe they did not call themselves Baptist back then, but nowhere in this verse says they
are the specific Baptist churches. Because you know what? This verse is fulfilled in this church
because our church preaches the right salvation. Every non-Baptist church that is right on salvation
and is doing the work of God is a fulfillment of this verse. It doesn't have to be, you know,
a quote-unquote Baptist churches, okay? Go to Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19.
And to me, the biggest reputation of this weird doctrine is the fact that there's no bride until
Revelation chapter 19. Think about this. They call themselves the bride, the briders, but there's
nobody who is the bride right now. We are not married to Christ right now. The marriage is
a future event. The marriage supper of the Lamb hasn't happened yet, okay? So if the marriage is
in the future, then nobody can be the bride. So here's the sequence. You are espoused engaged
to Christ when you are saved, but then you have a rapture, which is after the tribulation by the way,
or until you die physically, right? And then, you know, after the tribulation, after the seven
trumpets and the seven vials of the of the wrath of God, I mean, you know, after the fall of Babylon,
and then we have the marriage supper found in Revelation 19. We'll have verse number seven,
Revelation 19, verse number seven. This is, you know, at the end of the seven year end time period,
okay? "Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come."
So the marriage just happened, right? "And his wife, also known as the bride, had made her ready."
This means church membership did not make you the bride. Baptism does not make you the bride.
Succession lineage did not make you the bride because nobody is the bride.
Now, look at chapter 21. Revelation 21. Look at verse number 7. You know, they will ask you,
"Are you a brider?" No, nobody is. I mean, I will be. Revelation 21, look at verse number 27.
Revelation 21, verse 27. The Bible says, "And there shall in no wise enter into it." What is it?
The heavenly Jerusalem. "Anything that defiles, neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or make it a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Notice the heavenly
Jerusalem is positioned as the bride because it houses the bride, right? And the Bible says that
you can enter into the city if your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life. Because if you are saved,
then you will be in the New Jerusalem. The Bible does not say, "But they which are written in the
Baptist Membrero." It says, "They which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Right? So if you are
saved, you will be part of the bride. You will be partaking as a bride during the marriage supper
of the Lamb. Okay? So point number one, historical background of the briders. Point number two,
key beliefs of the bride of theology. Point number three, refuting key bride or proof text.
So what's the conclusion? We need to reject the Baptist bride cult, because a doctrine becomes
cult-like when it creates exclusive spiritual status, special access to God unavailable to others,
a belief that only our group is right with God, a hierarchy where everyone else is spiritually
inferior. Because they literally teach that you can be saved, but you may not be part of the bride.
You will be a guest at a marriage supper, not a bride. Your baptism is not valid unless it
came from the right church lineage. Your church isn't even real unless it's in their line of
succession. Your pastor is not a real pastor unless he was ordained in their lineage. And the bride
and the briders become a spiritual caste system, right? We have the first-class Christians,
the bride, only their church members baptized by their line, and then we have the second-class
Christians, the guest, anyone not in their group, which include John the Baptist, godly believers,
missionaries, and the apostles. And I think, you know, their theology is very similar to all the
other cults like the Mormons, Jehovah's 144,000 versus the great crowd, the Hebrew roots movement,
that only they are the real, like Israel, right? That's why I say, you know, the bride of theology
is cult-like. Because the Bible does not teach a Baptist only bride. The bride of Christ is made
up of all born-again believers from the Old Testament all the way to, you know, you know,
even like during the millennium too, you know, but you know, obviously they don't partake the
marriage supper, but you know, it's all saved people. Jesus Christ loved the church and gave
himself for it. He'll one day present all his, you know, redeemed people to himself as a glorious
bride. And if you're not saved, you're not part of the bride at all. You're not even in the family
of God because you must be born again, okay? So I hope you learn something in the sermon and learn
more about the Baptist bride theology and we are not, you know, a bridal church, okay? So let's close
in a word of prayer. Thank you, Lord, for your word and thank you for just the clear truth in the
scripture. Well, I pray that we'll get as many people saved so that they will be the bride.
They will get to partake in the marriage supper of the Lamb. Well, I pray that we'll just expose
false doctrines and preserve the clear teaching of the Bible in the praise in Jesus' name, amen.
And let's take our psalm books and go to number 221, A Child of the King, number 221. We're going
to stay seated for this song. Sing it out. Thank you, Lord, for this day, Lord. I ask that you
please bless the whole wedding and bless the afternoon service, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for
this sermon, Brother Zong, and thank you for the church, and I ask that you also be a Pastor
Thompson, Lord, and all our other church plants across the nation. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.