About thirty years ago, my wife and I were very close to Ben and his family. Ben was a very moral and religious person at that time. He had a hard time settling down as to what he believed about the Bible and his religious preference. I asked him and his wife if I could come to his home and have an open Bible study with them. They agreed, and a time and date was set.
I looked forward to my appointment with Ben and his wife. I knew, or thought, that they both believed in the God of the Bible, and that they also believed that the Bible was the inspired Word of God. “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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
With great enthusiasm, I arrived for my appointment to study the Bible with Ben and his wife. We started our study in a simple manner because of my understanding that they sincerely believed in God and His Word. We opened our Bibles to the Acts of the Apostles. Chapter One went very smoothly as we read and discussed the Scriptures. Chapter Two also went rather well until we got to verse 37 as it reads, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Upon reading verse 38, I noticed Ben getting red in the face, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” I also told him at that time that Mark 16:16 also fits within the plan of salvation. I read, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be dammed.”
Ben became very angry, and this surprised me because this behavior was not his regular nature. “Baptism hasn’t anything to do with salvation,” yelled Ben. I responded, trying to find equal ground in order to continue our study by saying, “How about believe in God, don’t we have to believe in God?” Red faced, he yelled, “No.” Instantly he repented and said, “Yes, I believe that one must believe in God.” His rebellion at the command to be baptized pushed him into anger and to say something he regretted.
Our study together was this only session, never to be repeated again. You see, hidden within Ben was a great hate for the church of Christ. Further, concealed was a deep-seated loyalty toward the religion and doctrine of his parents and his upbringing. With these veiled beliefs, Ben rejected the truth of the Word of God. Ben’s wife was passive and seemed disinterested during the entire Bible study period. Ben did not believe in the inspiration of the Word because he rejected what the Word of God taught, and that is very sad indeed.
“He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).
