August 23, 2010

Who Will Be Lost? Who Will Be Saved?

Thinking young man

Anyone who has even a mild interest in spiritual things wants to go to heaven. Do you just want to go, or are you really going? How can we know if we are going to heaven or not?

Many times when one tries to explain who is and who is not going to heaven, charges are made that such a one is judging others. It is of prime importance that we understand who it is that is the Judge, for there is only one (James 4:12). Paul said, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

It does not matter what you or I think. What matters is what He thinks. Judgment will be made according to His word (John 12:48). So what does the word of God say? First of all, it says that many will be lost while only a few will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14). If we want to be among the saved, we ought to find out what His word says about who will be saved and who will be lost.
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April 26, 2010

“Christ Did Not Send Me to Baptize”

Baptism

There is a sharp divide in the religious world over the subject of baptism. Some, including myself, teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. Many others teach that one can be saved before or without water baptism.

Paul made an interesting statement in his first letter to the church at Corinth. Considered independently from the immediate context and the rest of the New Testament, it could easily be used to argue that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Notice what he told the brethren:

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void” (1 Corinthians 1:17).

Paul said he was not sent to baptize. From that, are we to conclude that baptism is not a prerequisite to salvation? Before we jump to that conclusion, let us take a closer look at what the Scriptures teach.
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January 25, 2010

Crucified with Christ

Crosses

Paul told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

These statements Paul made about himself ought to apply to every Christian.
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December 5, 2009

Balm of Gilead

By Deror_avi - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36512852

We sometimes sing the song, “Did You Think to Pray?” In one of the verses, it mentions the “Balm of Gilead.” This may be an unfamiliar term to us. What exactly is the Balm of Gilead? In order to have a better understanding and appreciation for the words we are singing, let us notice what the Bible says about it.
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November 21, 2009

All Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Ephesians 1:3

Paul began his letter to the Ephesians by offering praise to God: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). There are many reasons why God is worthy of all praise and honor; but in this passage, Paul directed our attention to the spiritual blessings we have from Him. We give glory to God because he has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

As Paul continued, he listed some of the spiritual blessings available to us:
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October 20, 2009

The Fourfold Foundation of the Gospel

Cross

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

As Paul wrote to the brethren in Corinth, he reminded them of the fundamental truths in the gospel upon which everything else was built. In the verses above, the apostle mentioned four facts that are “of first importance” to God’s saving message.
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September 17, 2009

How to Overcome

Climbing a mountain

The book of Revelation was written to encourage Christians to endure the sufferings and persecutions ahead of them in order to receive their reward from God. Generally, the sufferings we face today are much different – often less severe – than what they faced near the close of the first century. But one thing remains the same – we must overcome Satan and his devices in order to be rewarded by God in the end.

So how do we overcome? The letter to the seven churches helps answer that question. John recorded, “And they overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Revelation 12:11). This verse mentioned three things they did, and that we must also do, to overcome the devil and his schemes.
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