100% Effective Against the Disease

100% Effective Against the Disease

Since the days of Louis Pasteur, mankind has been aware of the relationship between germs and disease. These unseen microorganisms enter into the body and cause us any number of physical problems. It is for this reason that we use various agents to try and kill said disease.

Many times, the cleaners we use to try and sanitize our homes, our offices, and the like advertise how effective they are at getting rid of these unseen, but unwanted, pests. They will say something like, “proven to get rid of 99.9% of all household germs,” or words to that effect.

But is it curious that they never claim to be a hundred percent effective. They always leave themselves that .1 percent of a possibility that there is some super-germ somewhere that will be too tough for even the toughest cleansing agent.

The Bible declares, however, that there is a cleaning agent that is one hundred percent effective. Not effective at getting rid of germs, but rather effective at getting rid of an even worse malady: sin, with all of its spiritual consequences.

cure disease

There is a 100% effective cure for what ails you.

Some might not think sin to be so bad. Used to its ways, they simply accept it as a part of their lives, but while a germ might make you physically ill, or even bring about the death of the body, sin, God tells us, brings spiritual death (cf. Romans 6:23). Concerning our eternal home, Jesus said concerning sin and heaven, “you will die in your sin, and where I go, you cannot come.” (John 8:21) Elsewhere in Scripture we are reminded concerning sin, “those who do such things cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9) Simply put, sin keeps you out of heaven and guarantees a judgment of condemnation before God in the last

What to do about sin? Its touch is corrupting, and everyone is guilty (cf. Romans 3:23). Should we just ignore the problem and hope it goes away? While some might decide to do just so, the rational actor, realizing the enormity of the situation, realizes that there is a solution needed. But what is the solution?

The apostle Paul presented the case, in Romans 7, of a man struggling with sin in his life, wanting to do right, but finding that Spiritually, he fell far short of where he wanted to be. He voices the cry of one who recognizes he needs a solution: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:24)?”

The wise apostle presents the answer to the dilemma in the very next chapter, stating, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2; NKJV)”

The blood of Christ is effective in cleansing the believing saint from all sins. Notice the words of another of the apostles: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7; NKJV)

Notice the amount of sin that the blood of Christ can cleanse from your life, from your soul. It is not ten percent, or fifty percent, or eighty percent, or even ninety-nine-point-nine percent. The blood of Christ, if we are willing to walk according to the Spirit, living our lives by the light of God’s word, is effective in cleansing one hundred percent of all our sins.

There is no sin that God cannot forgive through Christ if we will come to Him for that cleansing. This does not mean that all men everywhere will be forgiven. Just as a cleaning agent does no good in a bottle under your sink – it is only effective when applied; so too with the salvation Christ offers from sin. You must come to Him in faith (cf. John 8:24), you must repent of those sins (cf. Luke 13:3) and you must be buried with Christ in baptism (cf. Acts 2:38, 22:16).

When you have done these things, the sin is gone. As the Scriptures elsewhere say, you have been washed as white as new-fallen snow, not a blot or a stain remains (cf. Isaiah 1:18). It is, in every case, one hundred percent effective.

 

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I Corinthians 10:12 – Heed the Warning

I Corinthians 10:12 – Heed the Warning

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” – 1 Corinthians 10:12

This is a warning many Christians would do well to think about from time to time. After all, God urges Christians to “present (our) bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is (our) spiritual service” and to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (our) mind” (Romans 12:1-2).  He wants His followers to give their entire lives (twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week) to Him through the renewing of their minds.  Christianity is more than just going to church on Sundays.  When Christians start thinking otherwise, they are in danger.

cliff fall

Do you know where you stand? How sure is your foundation?

Throughout the entire Bible, you can read of the problem of sin.  Jesus warned, “If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned” (John 15:6).  The writer of Hebrews warned Christians twice of the dangers of falling away from God through evil, unbelieving hearts (Hebrews 3:12) and willful, unrepentant sin that makes Christ’s sacrifice for sins invalid as far as they are concerned (Hebrews 10:26-31).  This is why disciples of Christ must always be looking out that they are truly righteous in the sight of God and have not fallen away from his ways.

So what is the solution?  The beginning of the answer to this question can be found by examining what Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11.  Satan tempted him the first time, and he said, “It is written…” (v. 4).  Satan tempted him a second time (this time using Scripture taken out of context), and he replied, “On the other hand, it is written…” (v. 7).  Satan tempted him a third time, and he came back with another “It is written…” (v. 10).  Jesus had knowledge of the word of God, and that kept him from being tricked by the deceitfulness of Satan’s temptations and succumbing to sin.  Knowledge of the word of God is the first step (Isaiah 5:13; Hosea 4:6; Acts 17:30).

However, knowledge alone does not solve the problem of sin.  James wrote that “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17).  He went on to say that “one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).  Once again, this is a problem many within the church face.  How many Christians can be confident they have knowledge of the truth of God’s word…and yet do they apply those biblical precepts to themselves?  When a matter is being preached scripturally from the pulpit, how many say “Amen!” in agreement to what is being preached and yet do not practice that truth in their lives?  It is like if you’re sick, and you go to the doctor.  He gives you a prescription, you fill the prescription, take it home, read the instructions, understand them…and yet do not follow them.   Even though you have knowledge of what to do in order to get well, will you well without USING that knowledge?  It is the same with having knowledge of the word of God, my friends.  We must practice what we are taught.  Otherwise, falling away from the faith and back into sin is unavoidable…and eternal hell is that much closer.

Therefore, I’d like to join Paul in encouraging us all to “take heed that we do not fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  Friends, take advantage of every single opportunity to grow in knowledge of the Word.  Assemble with the Church.  Make sure that you are using the knowledge of God’s word you have every single day.  When that happens, you’d be amazed at how quickly a Scripture will come to mind when Satan tempts you to sin, and that will make it that much easier to, like our Lord, command Satan to leave.

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First Century Preaching

First Century Preaching

Suppose it were possible to bring a first century Christian to the assemblies of the church today. Many physical things obviously would be different, but of greater concern would be those spiritual differences. Think for a moment about how different he might find the preaching today from the kind of preaching he heard in the infant church.

first century preaching

What did they preach?

The preaching in the first century can best be described as inspired prophecy. Because they had only the Old Testament, God gave the sermons to prophets who revealed God’s New Testament for men. Read the words of those prophets and think of the differences between those words and those words spoken today.

First century preaching was so plain it convicted those visitors who came to the assembly. Paul described that situation with these words: “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all” (1 Cor. 14:24). Far too many pulpits today resound with “polished messages” which never bring conviction. Far too many sermons are outwardly perfect but would be welcomed in denominational pulpits. There is little that is distinctive, and visitors go away feeling satisfied without ever having been challenged in their beliefs. Our world is not like the NT world.

Paul’s letters to young Timothy give great insight into the clarity of the messages from inspired preachers (prophets) in the early church. In his second letter to Timothy, he defines what it means to preach the word. Read these words carefully. “Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). The King James translates the word “teaching” as “doctrine,” yet many preachers avoid doctrinal preaching. One cannot preach the word without speaking directly to the religious errors in our land. Paul then gives the reason to convince, rebuke and exhort with doctrine. “For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine.” That time has certainly come!

Finally, look at Paul’s words in his first letter to Timothy. In chapter four, he described how inspired preachers taught the truth. He said, “The Spirit expressly says. . .” He described false teaching as doctrines of devils and then specifically described these doctrines. Preaching today often avoids speaking directly about false teaching.

Having described the Spirit’s preaching, Paul told Timothy, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ” (4:6). What does this say about modern preaching? The verse clearly implies that if we do not instruct the brethren, we are not good ministers of Jesus. Our world has changed. Let us speak as the oracles of God!

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Attitude and the Psalmist

Attitude and the Psalmist

As we read through the Psalms it becomes increasingly evident that there is a tremendous difference in the attitude of the Psalmist and the attitude of most people (even Christians) today. In Psalm 56–60 the faithful oppressed and afflicted; tormented and tested; abused, cursed, and neglected, never turns from God, never complains, never gets reacts with wrath or vengeance. Instead he always turns to God, asks His favor, and leaves it with Him.

psalms attitude

How is your attitude in the eyes of God?

What a great lesson for us when we think things are not going as we think they should. We live in a very selfish, greedy, and impatient society. We want, we think, we feel, we wish, and we want it now. When things don’t go our way, when we feel neglected, trou-bled, and rejected, how do we respond? When others take us for granted, abuse us, frustrate us, lash out at us, how does the faithful Christian react? The fact is, we cannot control how anyone acts or what others do, but we can our response. Take it to God, leave it with Him. He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

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What is the Value of a Christian?

What is the Value of a Christian?

The Bible presents a high view of the worth of each individual person. This view is two-fold. First, there is the fact of a person’s being made in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This teaching is reaffirmed in several places in the Bible such as in Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9. Second, that value is reaffirmed in the price that God paid for each person’s life in the blood of Christ. Peter wrote, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Paul wrote, “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Christian Value

God puts great value upon man.

Our worth is independent of any accomplishments that we may make in this life because it is not dependent upon us and our actions. Our value is not measurable in our productivity or goodness. Jesus made it clear that each person is worth more than the whole of the world when He said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

This two-fold teaching of self-worth (being made in God’s image, and being bought by the blood of Christ) shows that each person’s worth is equivalent to God’s worth, which is infinite. This means that each person’s worth is infinite also since it is defined by God and His Son, Jesus.

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