YOU SHOULDN’T BE AN “INDEPENDENT” BAPTIST?
by: Rick Walter
Revelation 2:6, “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
Revelation 2:15, “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”
I pastor an independent Baptist church. The sign in front of our building warns everyone before they come into the building. I am a Baptist by doctrine. I pastor an independent Baptist church because God hates anything that tries to control the church from the outside.
God hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans were they who tried to conquer the laity of the church. They took control of the church rather than allowing the pastor to be the leader. God hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans. He is against anything that would try to conquer the church. God wants the church to be a self-governing body without any outside control. I am happy that I get to pastor an independent Baptist church, but I have a fear that some of us have taken that philosophy and transferred it to our personal lives. Biblically, I should attend an independent Baptist church, but personally I am not supposed to be an independent Baptist.
John 15:1-5, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
The church is to be independent, but I am not supposed to be. I am to be dependent upon Christ. I fear that many of God’s children who attend independent Baptist churches have transferred that independence to their personal lives. They believe that they, like the church, are a self-governing body without any outside control. They believe that they are not accountable to anyone or anything. Just because God set the church up as an independent body does not mean our personal lives are to be that way. You are not a self-governing body and neither am I. John 15:5 says, “…without me ye can do nothing.”
1. I am to be dependent upon Christ.
Too many people have forgotten that. We live our lives as though we are the church. As a pastor, I guard the church against anything that might try to control it from the outside. Many of God’s people do the very same thing in their lives. They guard their lives against anything or anyone who might try to influence them from the outside, including God.
They decide what is best. They decide what is right and wrong. They decide what God’s will is for their lives. They never ask God for His advice because they are independent Baptists. I go to an independent Baptist church, but I am not supposed to be an independent Baptist.
2. Independence brings death.
The opposite is true of the church. Once a church becomes dependent upon the help of a denomination or other outside control it begins to die. Individually, a person begins to die when they become independent.
John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches…”
My very existence depends upon the vine. A branch cannot live on its own. The branch gets the nourishment it needs from the vine. The life is found in the vine, not in the branch. To make myself independent of the vine is to commit spiritual suicide. I go to an independent Baptist church, but my question is, are you an independent Baptist individually? Have you separated yourself from the One Who gives you life? Are you living outside of His control? Does He have any influence in your life? Do you do what you want to do or what He wants you to do?
3. Death comes slowly.
Go out into the woods in the summer and cut a branch off a tree. The branch has now been severed. It has been liberated from the vine. It is now independent. The branch is still green. It still has leaves on it. It still looks like it is alive, but after just a few days the truth becomes evident. The branch is dead.
Death did not come instantly. It took some time, but death began when the branch became independent of the vine. This is the state of many good people. They have liberated themselves from the Vine, and now death is preying on them. They have liberated themselves from the vine. They are independent Baptists. They are now free to do what they want. They will soon realize that they have sealed their fate. It is just a matter of time and the green branch will be dead. The beautiful leaves will wither and die. The fruit will no longer be produced. The branch has died because it has become independent of the vine. Jesus said that He is the vine and that we are the branches. Some seem to think that they are the vine and that He is the branch. Such is not the case.
4. Death is needless.
There is no need for the branch to die. As long as the vine is alive and transferring nutrients for the branch, the branch can live. The only reason for a branch to die is that it no longer receives the nutrition provided by the vine. As long as a child of God continues to receive the nutrients from the Lord, that person has no reason to spiritually die. The reason that they die is because they have become independent Baptists. They have severed themselves from the Life giver.
Are you dying from a lack of nutrition? Are you cold toward the ministry? Do the things of God pale in comparison to the things of the world? Have you drawn away from the vine? Have you dried up? Are you committing spiritual suicide? Are you not seeing any fruit? Are you seeing no results in soul winning? Have you lost your joy? The branch cannot produce fruit without the vine. We need independent Baptist churches that are full of dependent Baptists. We need the Vine. Without Him we can do nothing.
By the way, He needs us also. Have you ever seen a tree trunk produce fruit? No, the fruit is on the branches. We need Him because without Him we cannot live. He needs us because without the branches there can be no fruit. God has limited Himself to need us. He needs us to be dependent upon Him because He depends upon us to bear fruit. An apple tree without any branches will never produce an apple. A pile of branches on the ground will never produce any either. They need each other. I need Him, and He needs me. I am to be a dependent Baptist and so are you. Are you an independent Baptist? If so – you can change that!
Rick Walter
Pastor
Victory Baptist Church
Winthrop, ME