Text: Luke 9:49-50

"And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him,
because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."

This passage is apparently one of the ‘go-to’ verses used by the religious world to try to prove that Jesus taught that we should all “just get along”. These folks would have us to believe that doctrinal differences mean nothing and that all that really matters is that we love Jesus. It is my contention that, although we live in a dispensation of grace and enjoy the freedoms of such, we still have teachings that we are to live by. True Christianity is not a free-for-all where everyone gets to approach God in any manner they desire. Jesus said in John 15:14 “ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you”. Yes, in the context of the verse, Jesus is referring to loving one another as he loves us. However, remember also that Jesus said in John 14:15 “if ye love me, keep my commandments”. World religious organizations would have us to believe that love alone is all we need in order to please God. If this is true then we might as will throw out the rest of the New Testament, ignoring the writings of Paul, Peter, James, etc. The contention that in Luke 9, Jesus is telling us that we are to bury our doctrinal differences is erroneous and here is why:

     The term "birth" will be from verses saying, born of God, born again, begotten, or born from above.

     There are a lot of ideas about the new birth and there is one that is right. I heard a priest say, "It is like being born again." He was wrong. The Bible does not say it is like being born again. The newspapers reported when President Carter was in office, that his sister held some kind of new birth seminar. The persons who attended squirmed around on the floor in a fetal position and finally, after much struggling, stood up born again. Some have tried to affirm that baptism is the new birth. Others believe that the resurrection is the new birth. Then, some believe that it is a spirit birth that happens when a lost sinner believes on Jesus. Probably there are other ideas that I fortunately have not heard.

     And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

     This verse of scripture has the ability to stir the seat of my emotions with fond memories of those saints departed from this life. It moves my heart to grateful praise for the work of Christ in the lives of those who are now with Him. I thank God for the Baptist foundations that Jesus laid in the hearts and lives of my forefathers. And, even more, I bow my knees before Him for the honor He bestows on this generation by allowing them the privilege of carrying Baptistic Doctrines forward in this age of ever increasing compromise.

     "And their works do follow them" permeates through my soul when I visit the grave of my great-great-great Grandfather, Henry McElmurry, whose body lies in a pasture near the Old Ham Schoolhouse close to Zion, Arkansas. He was a Kentucky Baptist, born December 27, 1797, and was married March 7, 1815 in Livingston County, Kentucky. The McElmurrys were listed among the faithful of the Old Salem Baptist Church of Livingston County, which was organized in 1805. She united with the Red River Association in 1808 and with the Little River Association about 1813. Her first Pastor was Daniel Brown, but Willis Champion pastored Her from 1834 to 1874. A history of the church states: "Her pastors for the most part were stern, hard traveling preachers, who served several churches on a once per month basis, and were rewarded for their hard travels and spiritual labors with very little monetary reward.....All down through Her history the ministry and missions of the Old Salem Church has always been to minister to the needs of people both spiritually and mentally, as it is described in the Gospels.....The members have kept the faith and contended for righteousness."

     The term "born again" is a proper Bible term that describes what takes place when a person believes in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour. This article is to set forth this writer's viewpoint and prove by the scripture that the age old Baptist position is correct.

     The expression dealing with the new birth will be referred to in context and considered in English and Greek. John Chapter three is a primary text tor this writing. Jesus is speaking to a man who did not recognize Him as the Messiah of God. In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The expression "born again" is from the Greek ANOTHEN, which means "from above." The following verses and context will prove that this is a spiritual birth from God and is a direct result of repentance and believing.

     This subject I have chosen to write about proved to be both very interesting and very complex. I shall attempt to organize my studies into general areas and then to deal with each area in more detail.

     First, a good working definition of the word "canon" is needed and a concept of how this applies to the Bible. Canon is a word taken from the Greek word "Kanna" meaning any strait bamboo-like cane.  These types of reeds came to be used as measuring devices. Canon eventually took on the idea of a standard to measure various things such as writings and correctness of languages. When applied to religious teachings it carried the meaning of a rule of doctrine; a correct type of teaching as opposed to that which is erroneous or heretical. From all this, the transfer of this idea from the doctrine itself to the collection of books supposed to contain it was not far off. The Greek word "Kanon" is used several times in the N.T. of which Gal.6:16 is a good example.