What is the correlation/connection between water baptism and church membership? I see where Acts 2:41 references both baptism and adding to the church in the same context, but have not found where baptism is clearly required for church membership.
I believe the Bible teaches we are to abstain from wine. However, I have been challenged with Deuteronomy 14:26. This passage deals with those whose journeys are far from the temple. Therefore, they are to take money and purchase what the soul "lusteth" after (?) which includes wine. What is going on? I know other clear statements in the Bible cannot be set aside to "make way" for the idea there are instances people can drink. However, I don't have much of an answer.
I am having a little disagreement with a couple of people, and I am hoping you can settle it. Is it ok for a pastor to use a sermon that he found off the internet? Some people think it is stealing, and makes the pastor look lazy. I think it is NOT stealing because a sermon is about God's word. God's word is not copyrighted, nor is the King James Bible. It was given to us freely, and a man's sermon is worthless without God's word. The people who were disagreed treat God as business. I just think that if the pastor had someone dear to him passed away, I think it is ok for him to get a sermon off the internet as long as he tells his members he found a sermon off the internet that he wanted to share to them and tell them where he got it from, or repeat some of his old sermons. What is your opinion on this?
What is the correlation/connection between water baptism and church membership? I see where Acts 2:41 references both baptism and adding to the church in the same context, but have not found where baptism is clearly required for church membership.
