August 1, 2022

Rejoice by Gary Rose



In this world, forgiveness is often very difficult to obtain. Fact is, many people will never forgive you, no matter what you say or do. For Christians, however, things are different; if we truly repent of our sins, we ARE FORGIVEN, period.


This is by no means a matter of small consequence. Forgiveness of ALL OUR SINS is something that we can rejoice in- and should. I really like the way the Apostle Paul discusses his own situation in the book of Philippians, where he says…



Philippians 3 ( World English Bible )

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.

2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;

4 though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more:

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

6 concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.

7 However, what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.

8 Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death;

11 if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

13 Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you.


God’s forgiveness extends far beyond just someone like Paul; it is for everyone that has ever existed and truly repented. No matter how small the matter or how large, Jesus has paid the price for everyone, period.

Paul exhorted the Philippian Christians to rejoice and they should have. The thing is that this admonishment applies to us all. Today, pray about your own life and if something is wrong ask for forgiveness. You can count on Jesus to be there for you because he cared enough to die for you. If you are not a Christian, become one ( Acts 2:14- 41 ).


REJOICE, THERE IS HOPE!

Baptism and the Blood of Jesus by Ken Weliever, The Preacherman


https://thepreachersword.com/2020/05/15/baptism-and-the-blood-of-jesus/#more-16296

Baptism and the Blood of Jesus

Years ago in Guidepost magazine, Paul Harvey wrote about his baptism:

“The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into its depths and rose again, I knew something life-changing had happened, a cleansing inside out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain, contradictory Paul Harveys; just one immensely happy one. I felt a fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit and afterward I cried like a baby. The change this simple act has made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable.” As the old song says, ‘He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.’”

The Bible specifically speaks of such a man who underwent the same life changing experience. His conversion story is recorded in today’s Bible reading, Acts 22. He was an unbeliever who became a believer. A persecutor who became a preacher. An antagonist who became an apostle. He was Saul of Tarsus who became known as Paul, “a minister of Christ.”

What happened? When? And how?

The events surrounding Saul’s conversion are recorded in three chapters. Acts 9, 22, and 26.

From them we learn that he was bent on persecuting Christians and doing many “things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” While on the way to the city of Damascus, Saul saw Jesus in a “heavenly vision.” Many claim Saul was saved on the Damascus road. Yet, he was told to go into the city and there he would “be told what to do” (Ax 22:10).

Saul, who had been blinded, prayed and fasted for three days. Then God sent, Ananias, a devout man” to preach Jesus to one of his fiercest opponents. At the conclusion of the sermon, the preacher asked and challenged:

“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Ax 22:16).

For some reason, baptism is a controversial subject in the religious world. Yet, every detailed account of conversion in Acts includes baptism. Pentecost (Ax 2:38-42). The Samaritans (Ax. 8:12-13).The Ethiopian Treasurer (Ax 8:38). Cornelius (Ax 10:48). The Philippian Jailer (Ax 16:33). Lydia (Ax 16:15) And the most detailed, Saul of Tarsus (Ax 22:16).

It’s worth noting, that the often repeated sinner’s prayer is no where found in the Bible. Sinners were saved after hearing the gospel. Believing it. Repenting of their sins. Confessing Christ. And being baptized “for the remission of sins” (Ax. 2:38).

The expression in today’s text, “wash away your sins” relates specifically to the blood of Christ. In Revelation 1:5, John writes that Jesus “washed us from our sins in his own blood.” Sins are not cleansed by the water. But by the blood. However, it is in the act of baptism that God applies the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins.

Jesus’ shed blood on the cross is essential to our salvation. Consider what the Bible says about its power.

(1) The blood of Jesus justifies.

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Rom. 5:9).

The word “justify” means to “make righteous.” While all have sinned, those justified can appear before God as though they had not sinned. Why? Because they’ve been justified by the blood when their sins are washed away in baptism.

(2) The blood of Jesus redeems.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7).

The word “redeem” referred to purchasing the freedom of a slave. People in the first century were familiar with the buying and selling of slaves. They were bought with silver and gold. But slaves of sin are released from Satan’s bondage by Jesus’ blood when they’re baptized.

(3) The blood of Jesus reconciles.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ…that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross…”(Eph 2:13,16).

To “reconcile” means to “change one’s condition. W. E. Vine says, it is used to describe the bringing together of two parties who are estranged from one another. Sinful people who are separated, alienated and estranged from God can be reconciled by the blood of Jesus when they’re immersed in water.

Justified. Redeemed. Reconciled. Cleansed. That’s what Jesus’ blood does when we’re baptized.

An old hymn asks, “What can take away my sin?” The repeated answer? “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Why are you waiting? Arise. Be baptized. And wash away your sins.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

Micah, the Messiah, and the Little Town of Bethlehem by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Micah, the Messiah, and the Little Town of Bethlehem

From Issue: R&R – August 2022

Confusion Over the Christ

The crowds murmured while the critics lurked in the shadows. Complaints, compliments, and confusion over the Man from Galilee spread among the Jews at the Feast of Tabernacles like political opinions circulate today on social media during election time.

  • “Some said, ‘He is good’; others said, ‘No, on the contrary, He deceives the people’” (John 7:12).
  • In response to Jesus’ question, “Why do you seek to kill Me?” The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” (7:19-20). Yet others said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill?” (7:25).
  • “[S]ome of them from Jerusalem said… ‘Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?’” (7:26).
  • The officers (whom the Pharisees and chief priests sent to arrest Jesus) came back empty-handed, saying, “No man ever spoke like this Man.” Yet, the Pharisees arrogantly responded, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed” (7:46-48). “Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee” (7:52, NASB).
  • “Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words [of Jesus], were saying, ‘This truly is the Prophet.’ Others were saying, ‘This is the Christ.’ But others were saying, ‘Surely the Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?’ So a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him” (7:40-43, NASB).

The hard-hearted, egocentric Pharisees and chief priests did not know the Old Testament as well as they professed. They chided the common people for their ignorance of the Law (7:48) and then contemptibly challenged Nicodemus to “[s]earch and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee” (7:52, NASB). Yet, the prophet Jonah was from Gath Hepher of Zebulon (2 Kings 14:25; Joshua 19:10-13), which is in Galilee. Furthermore, in the desperate, dark days of Assyrian dominance in Galilee in the late eighth century B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 15:29), the prophet Isaiah foretold of the everlasting Prince of Peace coming as a “great light” in “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali…in Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 9:1-7). Who was this “great light”? Jesus of Nazareth, Who “came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet” (Matthew 4:13-14). Indeed, in one sense, the greatest Prophet of them all, the Messiah, came “out of Galilee.”1

Bethlehem of Judea—“The City of David”

In another real sense, the “commoners”2 were right, too. “Scripture said…that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was” (John 7:42). David may have dwelt in Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem once he became king and conquered the Jebusite city (2 Samuel 5:6-7), but it seems most any Jew knew that David’s heritage was in Bethlehem.

This Bethlehem was not the Bethlehem of Zebulon (Joshua 19:15; in Galilee), but the Bethlehem of Judah, also known as Ephrath or Ephrathah.3 People of Bethlehem were known as “Ephrahthites” (Ruth 1:1-2; 1 Samuel 17:12). David’s great grandfather, Boaz, “came from Bethlehem” (Ruth 2:4; 4:11). David’s father, Jesse, was an “Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah” (1 Samuel 17:12,15; 16:1,4). Prior to his 33-year reign in Jerusalem, which became known as “the city of David” (2 Samuel 5:7-9), David himself referred to Bethlehem as “his city” (1 Samuel 20:6). In this sense, even Luke referred to Bethlehem of Judah as “the city of David” (Luke 2:4).

Why did Joseph and Mary travel all the way from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem of Judea? To be registered in the Roman census (Luke 2:1-2). But why Bethlehem? Because “all went to be registered, everyone to his own city” (Luke 2:3), and Joseph “was of the house and lineage of David,” and Bethlehem was “the city of David” (Luke 2:4,11,15).

The Star of Bethlehem

In about 1,400 B.C. God used a non-Jewish, Mesopotamian soothsayer named Balaam to prophesy to the Moabites about, among other things, how “a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17). Some 400 years later, this prophecy had an “immediate” application in Israel’s great King David. But 1,400 years later, Balaam’s prophecy would have its remote application and ultimate fulfillment in “the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16; cf. Isaiah 11:1,10; Revelation 5:5). [And He has the greatest of all scepters—having “all authority…in heaven and on Earth” (Matthew 28:18).]

Amazingly, one of the first signs of the coming of the long-awaited Messiah was the appearance of “His star” (Matthew 2:2,9), which “wise men [or “magi,” NASB] from the East” followed all the way to Judea (Matthew 2:1).4 The wise men stopped in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). But Herod, the ruthless king of Judea, knew nothing about these things and inquired of “all the chief priests and scribes…where the Christ was to be born” (Matthew 2:4). What these men knew was the same thing the crowd knew 30-plus years later in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7): The Messiah was to be born “[i]n Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:5-6).

The Dark days of Micah

What “Scripture” is this that says “the Christ comes from the town of Bethlehem, where David was” (John 7:42)? Who was this prophet who wrote that “a Ruler” will come from “Bethlehem, in the land of Judah” (Matthew 2:5-6)?

His name was Micah and he was from the country town of Moresheth (about 20-25 miles southwest of Jerusalem). Micah himself refers to the town as “Moresheth Gath” (1:14), likely implying that for a time, it “had fallen under the power of the neighboring Philistines of Gath.”5 Micah lived during the same period as other eighth-century prophets, including Amos (1:1) and Hosea (1:1), who prophesied to the Northern Kingdom, and Isaiah (1:1), who prophesied along with Micah in the Southern Kingdom. It was “in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” that Micah received “the word of the Lord” (Micah 1:1). These three kings reigned a combined 56 years (from about 742-687 B.C.). “Jotham…reigned sixteen years…and did what was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 27:1-2). Hezekiah, though not perfect, was also a great king, one of the greatest in Judah’s long history, serving for 29 years (2 Kings 18:1-20:21; 2 Chronicles 29:1-32:33). Sandwiched between these two rulers was the cowardly, repulsive King Ahaz, one of the worst, most wicked kings in Judah’s history, reigning for 16 dark years. Among other things, he “sacrificed to the gods of Damascus,” “burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel,” “shut up the doors of the house of the Lord,” and overall, “encouraged moral decline in Judah” (28:23,3,24,20).

Sadly, whether during the reigns of wicked or righteous kings, the people of Judah, like their northern counterparts (Micah 1:5-13), mostly “still…acted corruptly” (2 Chronicles 27:2). Repugnantly sinful behavior was especially characteristic of those in positions of authority. But the mighty prophet Micah did not hold back. He was given “[t]he Word of the Lord” (Micah 1:1), and as a good steward of the Divine revelation, he let the “high and mighty” have it.

I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Now hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity. Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money (Micah 3:8-11).

“[H]er rich men are full of violence” (6:12). Speaking hyperbolically, Micah professed, “The faithful man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with both hands—the prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire; so they scheme together” (7:2-3). In short, they “hate good and love evil” (3:2).

Tragically, Jerusalem was a repugnant center of spiritual disease (as was Samaria in the North). The courageous prophet Micah boldly confronted all manner of abusive leaders and prophesied of their eventual demise. “For behold, the Lord is coming…. The mountains will melt under Him…. I will make Samaria a heap of ruins” (Micah 1:3,4,6). And “Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins” (3:12). Indeed, the brutal Assyrians conquered Samaria in 722 B.C. And though Jerusalem was spared for a time following the fearless prophesying of Micah and Isaiah and the righteous reforms of King Hezekiah (cf. Jeremiah 26:18), the capital city of the Jews would fall calamitously at the hands of the Babylonians in 587 B.C., approximately 100 years after Micah pronounced the Lord’s judgments.

Hope…And Honing In on the Hero

But not all is lost. There is Hope from Heaven. A Hero is on the horizon. Yes, God and His faithful prophets have condemned sin from the beginning,6 but the story never ended there. Even as Adam and Eve were lurking in the midst of sinfully-minded blame games (Genesis 3:11-13), God boldly announced to the devil His gracious plans to save humanity through “the Seed” of woman, Who would deal a crushing blow to the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). “Since the world began,” God “spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets” about the Hope, the “horn of salvation,” Who would save His people from sin and its fatal consequences (Luke 1:67-70).

Remarkably, the Bible writers did not speak in mere broad generalities about the coming Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, God announced that the Deliverer of humankind (and the sinful mess that humanity made) would be a male descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, and David.7 Notice the spectacular specificity of the prophets! The Messiah, Who would bless “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3), would come from Abraham (not his brothers Nahor or Haran). The Savior would come from Isaac (not Ishmael, and not Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishback, or Shuah, the other sons of Abraham—Genesis 25:2). He would come from Jacob (not Esau, the father of the Edomites). He would come from Judah (and not one of the other 11 sons of Jacob, not even Levi, the father of the Levitical priesthood). The ultimate “anointed One” (i.e., Christ) would come from the anointed King David (and not the other sevens sons of Jesse—1 Samuel 16:1-13; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 23:5-6). And from where did the greatest king in Israel’s history hail? Not Hebron, Jerusalem, or Jericho. Not Dan, Bethel, or Beersheba. And not Bethlehem of Zebulon (Joshua 19:15). Not anywhere in all of Palestine except from “the little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2)—the town of Bethlehem of Ephrathah.

Micah’s Messianic Prophecy

Micah chapter 5 begins with a doom-and-gloom statement seemingly about the siege that Sennacherib’s ruthless Assyrian army would lay against Jerusalem and King Hezekiah.8 Hezekiah (the most powerful “judge of Israel”) would be openly insulted by Sennacherib’s spokesman, the Rabshakeh, who would come to the door of Jerusalem, shouting taunting words of mockery in the Hebrew language for all to hear.9 In the words of Micah, Assyria would “strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek” (Micah 5:1).

Though the household of David in Hezekiah’s day would face humiliation,10 “the true Israel will come forth triumphant.”11 How? Because “the One to be Ruler in Israel…shall come forth” (Micah 5:2). The One long-awaited descendant of Abraham and David was coming (Matthew 1:1). And though His presence on Earth would still lie in the future, the Messiah, Micah testified, already had a past!His goings forth are “from of old;” “from long ago” (NASB).12 How long? Micah said, “From the days of eternity” (5:2, NASB).13 But that must mean that the Messiah is…God. Indeed, as Isaiah, Micah’s fellow 8th-century prophet in Judah, said, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

According to Micah and Isaiah, God Himself would step out of the splendors of heaven to be the Prince of Peace, the Ruler in Israel.14 And where would He first make His appearance? Centuries before the Messiah’s birth, the prophet Micah gave us one more piece of the puzzle. Micah (and only Micah) precisely revealed the place from which the Messiah would come forth: the little town of Bethlehem in the region of Judea.

The scribes and chief priests in King Herod’s day (Matthew 2:4-6) knew of the Messianic nature of Micah 5:2. The elitist Pharisees, as well as the “commoners,” knew it some 32 years later (in John 7). And yet, though the Messiah stood in their midst, most missed, ignored, or refused to accept the amazing, fulfilled fact that Jesus was born just five miles down the road in Bethlehem of Judea—just as Micah, the proven inspired prophet (cf. Jeremiah 28:9), promised He would 700 years earlier.

Endnotes

1 Jesus grew up in Galilee and remained in this region during much of His ministry.

2 The “crowd” whom the Pharisees claimed did “not know the law” (John 7:49).

3 Which is “the name either of Bethlehem itself or of a district in which Bethlehem was situated” [Ernest Masterman (1996), “Ephrath; Ephrathah,” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Electronic Database: Biblesoft)]. Moses wrote that after Jacob’s wife Rachel died, she was “buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)”—Genesis 35:19; cf. 48:7.

4 From where did these men receive such knowledge? How did they know that one particular “star in the East” indicated the Messiah’s entrance into the world? No one can know for sure, but it seems they had Divine direction, perhaps similar to what they later received in Matthew 2:12.

5 “Moresheth Gath” (1996), Fausset’s Bible Dictionary (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

6 Genesis 2:17; 3:8-19; 4:5-15; 6:3-8; Luke 11:49-51; 2 Peter 2:5.

7 Genesis 3:15; 12:1-4; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; 49:10; Isaiah 11:1,10; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 23:5-6.

8 Cf. 2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36-37.

9 “[T]he Rabshakeh said… ‘What confidence is this in which you trust? You speak of having plans of power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Now Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt…. [G]ive a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them!… Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land, and destroy it!”… Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?… Do not listen to Hezekiah’” (2 Kings 18:19-31).

10 As well as Babylonian captivity roughly 100 years later.

11 Homer Hailey (1993) A Commentary on the Minor Prophets (Religious Supply), p. 208.

12 The Hebrew term qedem literally means “ancient time, aforetime” [Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs (1906), The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, studylight.org/lexicons/eng/hebrew/06924.html]. It is used of God in Deuteronomy 33:27 and Habakkuk 1:12 where the term is translated “everlasting” or “eternal.”

13 This Hebrew word (olam) often refers to “for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore” (Brown, et al., https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/eng/hebrew/05769.html). Often it is used in reference to the eternality of God, including in Micah 4:7 where the prophet referenced the Lord’s eternal reign.

14 Cf. John 1:1; 20:28; Philippians 2:5-11.


Published

 

“Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40) by Roy Davidson


http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/065-besaved.html

“Be saved from this perverse generation”
(Acts 2:40)

Peter described his generation as perverse. The basic meaning of the Greek word [σκολιός] is crooked, not straight. Figuratively it refers to something different from what it ought to be. It describes behavior that is depraved, degenerate and immoral.

Is our generation depraved, degenerate and immoral, different from what it ought to be? “We know that ... the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). Peter’s appeal is certainly still applicable: “Be saved from this perverse generation!”


Are we part of this crooked generation?

We were born into it and we share responsibility for it. None of us is what we ought to be, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2).


How can we be saved from this crooked generation?

Salvation is possible by the grace of God through Jesus Christ: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Through Jesus our sins can be forgiven. When Peter’s hearers asked, “What shall we do?” he replied: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).


We must repent to be saved.

To repent is to be sorry for our sins, turn away from a life of sin, and put God first in our lives by doing His will from day to day.

Jesus came to call sinners to repentance (Mathew 9:13). He said that everyone must repent or perish (Luke 13:3). He said that “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).


We must be baptized to be saved.

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

Peter said, “Every one of you” must be baptized. Jesus gave His followers the assignment: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:15, 16).

Christian baptism is a burial. We are buried with Christ in baptism (Colossians 2:12). The Greek word for baptism means immersion. Many people think they have been baptized, when they were never “buried with Christ.” Their so-called baptism was not an immersion.

Christian baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Many people’s baptism is not valid because - although they were immersed - they were not baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness comes through the sacrificial death of Jesus, who “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5). Our sins are washed away at baptism (Acts 22:16).

Through baptism we are united with the death of Christ: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3, 4). We are saved at baptism because it is a participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Spiritual rebirth occurs at baptism. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5).

To believers who had been buried with Christ in baptism (Colossians 2:12) Paul wrote: “God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13, 14).

Thus, God saves us from this crooked generation by grace when we are born again by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

During the summer of 1961, after graduating from university, I participated in two evangelistic campaigns in western Canada. We worked one month at Salmon Arm, British Columbia and one month at Edmonton, Alberta. One Saturday at Salmon Arm, brother and sister Armstrong invited our group to spend the day at their summerhouse on Shuswap Lake.1

They told us about their conversion to Christ. They lived in California where brother Armstrong sold insurance. He was a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, a professional association of people who sell at least a million dollars’ worth of insurance each year.

Since they had been active members of a Baptist church for many years, brother Armstrong was greatly annoyed when members of the church of Christ suggested that he was not yet a Christian because in the Baptist church he had not been baptized for the remission of sins.2

To prove them wrong, brother Armstrong decided that when they went to their cabin in Canada for a holiday the next summer, he would make a thorough study of what the Bible says about salvation. He studied at a table in front of a big window with a view of the lake and the mountains.

Sister Armstrong said she remembered the day, after they had been studying for two weeks, when brother Armstrong suddenly sprang up from the table and started pacing back and forth.

His Bible was open to Acts 2:38. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

He picked up his Bible, read the verse again, laid it down, and started pacing some more. Then he exclaimed: “That is exactly what it says! Be baptized for the remission of sins!”

He had known that verse from memory for years, but had never really noticed what it said.

The next day they drove 700 kilometers to the nearest church of Christ they knew about, so they could be baptized into the body of Christ. There were congregations much closer, but they did not know about them.


Christians shine as lights in this crooked generation.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:12-16).

To work out our salvation does not mean that we earn our salvation but that we are to elaborate or flesh out our salvation, to develop it to its intended fullness. This is not easy “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” We need God’s help! He works in us when we hold fast the word of life. At baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Paul describes this unfolding process: “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

Our calling is “to shine as lights in the world,” to “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.”


“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”3

The gospel of Christ calls everyone “to be saved from this crooked generation.” “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Forgiveness of sins is available through faith in Christ. We must repent and dedicate our lives to God. When we are born again spiritually by obeying God’s command to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, He transfers us out of the darkness of this crooked generation into the kingdom of His Son, into the church of Christ.

With God’s help, we then work out our salvation with fear and trembling to become blameless children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Amen.

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Footnotes


1 Shuswap is an H-shaped mountain lake in British Columbia with a shoreline of 1000 km.

2 Evangelical churches do not baptize for the remission of sins as commanded in Acts 2:38. They practice believer’s baptism by immersion, but only as a symbol of having been saved already, not as a requirement for salvation. They believe salvation is by faith only although James 2:24 teaches otherwise.

3 Luke 8:8.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
http://www.oldpaths.com

"A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD" The Church And You by Mark Copeland








 

https://executableoutlines.com/topical_series/closer-walk-with-god/cw_11.html

"A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD"

The Church And You

INTRODUCTION
  1. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, as we continue in our service and walk with God, we do not do so alone
  2. A wonderful blessing we have in Christ is being members of His body, the church
  3. When we properly understand:
    1. What the church is, both in its universal and local sense
    2. What our responsibilities are toward the church
    -- Then we can better utilize this blessing to help us remain faithful in our lives as disciples of Christ
  1. WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
    1. THE WORD "CHURCH" REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SAVED...
      1. As we are saved, the Lord in heaven Himself "adds" us to His church - Ac 2:47
      2. As His "church" (a word meaning "assembly" or "congregation"), we are members of God's "household" or "family" - 1Ti 3:15
    2. THE WORD "CHURCH" IS USED PRIMARILY IN TWO SENSES...
      1. The UNIVERSAL sense: all the saved throughout the world
        1. It is used in this way in passages like Mt 16:18; Ep 5:23; Col 1:18
        2. In the "universal" sense:
          1. There is only ONE church - Ep 4:4; compare with Ep 1:22-23
          2. Christ is the head; individual Christians are members of His body - 1Co 12:27
          3. There is NO EARTHLY ORGANIZATION; what organization there may be is spiritual in nature - Ep 2:19-20
          4. The universal church never meets as such; it has no "officers" except Jesus Christ and the original apostles and prophets
      2. The LOCAL sense: the saved in one particular locality
        1. It is used in this way in passages like 1Co 1:2; Re 1:11; Ro 16:16
        2. In the "local" sense:
          1. There are MANY churches - cf. Ga 1:2
          2. There is to be EARTHLY ORGANIZATION within each local church
            1. Ideally, each church has elders (also known as bishops, pastors) and deacons - Php 1:1 (described more fully later in this lesson)
            2. But churches may exist temporarily until such men can be appointed - cf. Ac 14:21-23
          3. Local churches meet regularly; and Christians have responsibilities in connection with their brethren in the local church
  2. RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
    1. WE SHOULD "JOIN OURSELVES" TO A LOCAL CHURCH...
      1. Only Christ "adds" one to the church UNIVERSAL; but one can and should "join" themselves to a LOCAL church - Ac 9:26-28
      2. This enables you to benefit by the association of other Christians, and provides you an opportunity to be of service to them - cf. He 3:12-14; 10:24-25
      3. There are some responsibilities Christ has given you that you cannot fulfill on your own; for example, the Lord's Supper - Ac 20:7
      4. So you need to find and join a local faithful congregation of the Lord (a careful study of the New Testament can help you to identify such today; perhaps a subject for future study?)
    2. WE SHOULD COOPERATE WITH THE "LEADERS"...
      1. In a fully developed local church, there will be "ELDERS" to oversee the people of God
        1. The terms "elder, pastor, bishop, shepherd, overseer" are often used interchangeably, referring to the same position - Ac 20:17,28; Tit 1:5-7; 1Pe 5:1-2
        2. Their qualifications are found in 1Ti 3:1-7; Tit 1:5-9
        3. Our responsibilities to them are as follows:
          1. To recognize and respect them - 1Th 5:12-13; 1Ti 5:17-20
          2. To obey and be submissive when they lead scripturally - He 13:17; 1Pe 5:2-3
        4. Think of them as your "spiritual advisors", as "shepherds"; they are mature, experienced Christian men who are charged by God to "watch out for your souls"!
      2. In a fully developed local church, there will also be "DEACONS" to serve the people of God
        1. These are "servants" who assist the elders in the work of the church
        2. Their qualifications are found in 1Ti 3:8-13
        3. The work they do is a very noble one - 1Ti 3:13
      3. There may also be those who serve as EVANGELISTS and TEACHERS - Ep 4:11
        1. The "evangelists" concentrate their attention on teaching the gospel to the lost
        2. "Teachers" concentrate attention upon edifying the members
        3. Those commonly referred to as "preachers" or "ministers" may do both the work of evangelist and teacher
        4. But whether they serve as evangelist, teacher, preacher, or minister, within the local church they likewise submit to the leadership of the elders
    3. WE SHOULD CONTRIBUTE REGULARLY TO THE WORK OF THE CHURCH...
      1. The work of the church can be divided into three areas:
        1. Evangelism - Mt 28:19-20; 1Ti 3:15; 1Pe 2:9-10
        2. Edification - Ep 4:11-16
        3. Benevolence - 1Ti 5:16
      2. How the local church can raise funds to do its work is illustrated in 1Co 16:1-2
      3. Principles governing such collections were discussed in the lesson, "Our Public Assemblies"
      4. The financial support provided the local church enables it to do much of the work God designed it to do
    4. WE SHOULD DO OUR PART IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH...
      1. We cannot "pay" to have our part of the church's work done for us
      2. A strong, successful congregation is one where every member is doing their part - Ep 4:15-16
      3. There are different kinds of functions we might perform - cf. Ro 12:3-8
      4. What is essential is that we each do what we can with the same zeal and enthusiasm - cf. 1Pe 4:10-11
    5. WE SHOULD HELP KEEP THE CHURCH UNITED...
      1. Unity among believers is very important to Jesus - Jn 17:20-21; cf. Ep 2:14-16
      2. Division is condemned in the Scriptures - 1Co 1:10-13; 3:3-4
      3. To maintain the unity we have in Christ requires certain attitudes and diligent effort - Ep 4:1-3
      4. Here are some things we can do:
        1. Be peacemakers when brethren have disagreements - Mt 5:9
        2. Avoid gossip - 1Ti 5:13,19
        3. Avoid discussion of speculative questions - 1Ti 6:3-5; 2Ti 2:23
        4. Avoid partiality - 1Ti 5:21
    6. WE SHOULD LIVE IN A WAY THAT SPEAKS WELL OF THE CHURCH...
      1. Be an example to others - 1Ti 4:12; Tit 2:7-8
        1. Some people delight in finding Christians who are not living right and use them as an example to attack the church
        2. We are to avoid giving them opportunities to do so - Tit 2:8; 1Ti 5:14; 1Pe 2:12
      2. Christians are not perfect, but we should strive to be an example of what Christians ought to be!
CONCLUSION
  1. More could be said on this subject, but this should suffice to make the point that with the blessings of fellowship within the body of Christ come various responsibilities
  2. God did not intend for us to be "islands unto ourselves", but joined together in Christ where we can encourage one another in an atmosphere of righteousness, joy, and peace - Ro 14:17-19
SOME QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE YOUR THINKING...
  1. Have you let a local church know that you wish to be identified as an accepted, working member of their group?
  2. Do you know the elders, deacons and other members of the church where you attend?
  3. Do you have a sense of what function you provide in the body of Christ, and are you fulfilling it?
  4. If every member of the church were as faithful and active as you in your service to the Lord, what kind of of church would it be?

 Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2022

"A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD" The Christian And Good Works by Mark Copeland









https://executableoutlines.com/topical_series/closer-walk-with-god/cw_10.html

"A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD"

The Christian And Good Works

INTRODUCTION
  1. In a previous lesson we discussed the matter of devotion or worship to God, especially in our public assemblies
  2. One objective of such activities is to stir us up to "good works" - He 10:24-25
  3. In this short but important lesson, we shall examine the matter of "good works" which Christians are to do...
  1. CHRISTIANS ARE TO DO "GOOD WORKS"
    1. DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND THE "PURPOSE" OF GOOD WORKS...
      1. They are not done to "buy" or "earn" our way into heaven
      2. God saves us by His GRACE, not by our WORKS - Ep 2:8-9; Tit 3:4-7
      3. Yet, as God's People, we have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works! - Ep 2:10; Tit 2:11-14; 3:1,8,14
    2. WHY, THEN, ARE WE TO DO GOOD WORKS?
      1. They bring glory to God! - Mt 5:16; 1Pe 2:11-12
      2. They can prepare unbelievers to be more receptive to the gospel - 1Pe 2:12; 3:1-2
      3. They demonstrate the living nature of our faith - Jm 2:14-17
      4. They are necessary if we are to be like Jesus - cf. Lk 6:46 with Ac 10:38
  2. WHAT "GOOD WORKS" CAN WE DO?
    1. SOME GOOD WORKS ARE "SPIRITUAL" IN NATURE...
      1. Telling others of God's grace - 1Pe 2:9-10
        1. We may not all be "teachers" in a formal sense - 1Co 12:27-31; Jm 3:1-2
        2. But all of us can share with others the wonderful grace of God available in Christ Jesus!
      2. Encouraging other Christians - He 3:12-13
        1. We can be a "Philemon" or a "Stephanus" - Phm 7; 1Co 16:15-18
        2. For example, through cards, calls, visits, Bible studies
      3. Restoring weak brethren - Ga 6:1-2
        1. We can be a "Barnabas" (who helped John Mark)
        2. The importance of this work is seen in light of Jm 5:19-20
    2. OTHER GOOD WORKS ARE MORE "PHYSICAL" IN NATURE...
      1. Jesus did not limit His good works to things spiritual - Lk 7:22
      2. Nor did He expect His disciples to so limit their good works
        1. Cf. the "Limited Commission" - Mt 10:7-8
        2. Cf. the "judgment scene" - Mt 25:34-40
      3. Just as some may be gifted in talent and opportunities to "teach", so others are gifted to "serve" in areas of physical service - Ro 12:3-8
        1. Such as "giving"
        2. Such as "showing mercy"
      4. Women can be especially fruitful in this area...
        1. For they often have a more flexible use of their time
        2. Why not be a "Dorcas"? - Ac 9:36-39
CONCLUSION
  1. No matter how we may serve the Lord, "good works" are a MARK OF PURE RELIGION - cf. Jm 1:27
  2. It is also A KEY TO SPIRITUAL BLESSEDNESS (happiness) - Jm 1:25; Ac 20:35
  3. So let's be sure to keep in mind the admonition of Paul to Titus...
    "Those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works." (Tit 3:8)
SOME QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE YOUR THINKING...
  1. What kind of "spiritual" good works are you doing, or are preparing yourself to do?
  2. What kind of "physical" good works are you doing, or hope one day to do?
  3. Who should get the glory when you are praised for good works?
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2022

 

"A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD" Discerning Between Good And Evil by Mark Copeland

 








https://executableoutlines.com/topical_series/closer-walk-with-god/cw_09.html

"A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD"

Discerning Between Good And Evil

INTRODUCTION
  1. In the previous lesson we talked about overcoming sin by:
    1. Understanding the development of sin
    2. Utilizing the help of God to...
      1. Change our desires
      2. Limit our opportunities to sin
      3. Exercise self-control
      4. Seek forgiveness
  2. Assumed in all of this, is that we know or can discern the difference between what is good and evil
    1. Knowing the difference does not come automatically upon conversion
    2. It is an ability that comes with time and "exercise" - cf. He 5:12-14
  3. This lesson is designed to help us develop this ability to discern, so that we might truly have "A Closer Walk With God"

[Deciding what is right and what is wrong is really very simple. It involves asking a few questions about the matter at hand...]

  1. IS IT CLEARLY CONDEMNED IN THE BIBLE?
    1. MANY THINGS ARE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED AS BEING WRONG...
      1. One list of such things is found in Ga 5:19-21
      2. A similar list is found in Ep 5:3-7
    2. FOR THINGS SO MENTIONED, THAT SETTLES THE MATTER...
      1. At least as far as Christians are concerned
      2. There is no room for debate when the Scriptures clearly condemn some practice

      [But not all sins are mentioned by name, for the Bible would be endless if that were true! So another question needs to be asked...]

  2. IS IT SIMILAR TO THINGS CONDEMNED IN THE BIBLE?
    1. IN GALATIANS 5:19-21, NOTICE THE PHRASE "AND THE LIKE"...
      1. When we are uncertain about some matter, we should ask whether it is LIKE any sins specifically mentioned
      2. For example, what about smoking marijuana? Is it not like "drunkenness"?
    2. YOU MIGHT EVEN COMPARE IT WITH THE GOOD THINGS MENTIONED...
      1. Notice those things in Ga 5:22-23
      2. Is the matter in question more like the "fruit of the Spirit" (that which is good) or the "works of the flesh" (that which is evil)?

      [Another question to consider...]

  3. DOES IT HURT YOUR CONSCIENCE?
    1. THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE...
      1. In light of the following Scriptures - 1Ti 1:5,18-19; 3:9
      2. Violating our conscience to the degree it no longer bothers us is a sure sign of apostasy! - 1Ti 4:1-2
    2. THIS MAY HELP US TO BETTER APPRECIATE ROMANS 14:23...
      1. Doing something when you doubt its rightfulness is to violate your conscience
      2. That, declares Paul, is sin!
      3. So an act may be good in of itself, but...
        1. If you think it is wrong (because of incorrect knowledge)
        2. Or have doubts about its rightfulness
          ...then don't do it!

        [Another help...]

  4. WHAT DO MATURE CHRISTIANS SAY ABOUT IT?
    1. THIS, OF COURSE, IS NOT THE ULTIMATE DETERMINING FACTOR...
      1. For mature Christians can be wrong
      2. As they would be the first to admit
    2. BUT HEBREWS 5:14 DOES SAY THAT THOSE WHO BY "REASON OF USE" ARE IN A POSITION TO DISCERN...
      1. This is why the advice of mature Christians can be helpful - cf. Php 3:17
      2. The example of Rehoboam's failure to listen to the advice of older, mature men should teach us something - 1Ki 12:6-20
      3. Paul instructed Titus that the younger should look to those older - Tit 2:3-5

      [Then a question that is often overlooked...]

  5. DOES IT HINDER YOUR INFLUENCE?
    1. BY BOTH EXAMPLE AND WORD, PAUL STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING CONCERNED ABOUT OUR INFLUENCE ON OTHERS...
      1. Notice his concern for how his influence affected the salvation of others - 1Co 9:19-23
      2. He then commands to do likewise, in which we are simply imitating the example of Christ! - 1Co 10:31-11:1
    2. PETER TAUGHT THE VALUE OF A GOOD EXAMPLE...
      1. In helping a wife win her husband to the Lord - 1Pe 3:1-2
      2. What is said of a wife's example would also be true of a Christian's example

      [So we should be concerned as to whether a practice under question HELPS or HINDERS our influence for the Lord!]

  6. IS IT POOR STEWARDSHIP?
    1. THAT WE ARE "STEWARDS" OF OUR TIME, MONEY, AND BODIES, IS EVIDENT FROM...
      1. The Lord's parable of The Talents - Mt 25:14-30
      2. Paul's instruction concerning our bodies - 1Co 6:19-20
      3. His directions for those rich in this world - 1Ti 6:17-19
    2. SOME ACTIVITIES MAY BE HARMLESS IN THEMSELVES, BUT REQUIRE SO MUCH TIME AND ENERGY...
      1. There is none left for the Lord!
      2. This can be true of vocations, hobbies, etc.
      3. We should bear in mind that time is limited and therefore priorities must be set and kept - Ep 5:16; Mt 6:33

      [Finally, we can ask...]

  7. WOULD JESUS DO IT?
    1. REMEMBER THE GOAL OF DISCIPLESHIP...
      1. As found in Lk 6:40
      2. To be like Jesus!
    2. "WOULD JESUS DO IT?" IS THEREFORE AN APPROPRIATE QUESTION...
      1. If you think He would not, it is probably wrong!
    3. THIS MAKES THE STUDY OF JESUS OF PRIME IMPORTANCE IN OUR LIVES!
      1. Studying His life, His examples, His Word
      2. So that we can have the "mind of Christ" - Php 2:5
CONCLUSION
  1. I hope that these seven questions can help in identifying what is good and what is evil
  2. The importance of properly discerning between good and evil is seen in such passages like 2Co 6:16-7:1
    1. Where we are reminded of how blessed we are to be the people of God
    2. And the responsibility to act accordingly, if we wish to have a closer walk with God!
SOME QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE YOUR THINKING...
  1. Do you have some older Christian to whom you feel free to go to for advice?
  2. Do you feel that you usually give enough thought to the effect of your actions on other people?
  3. Are you trying to keep a good conscience in all that you do?
  4. Will you ask, when in doubt, "What would Jesus do?"
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2022