What must I do to be saved?

My homeroom teacher had a poster on her wall that said, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said.” One lie often leads to more lies, as the offender seeks to cover his or her tracks. People lie for many reasons:

• They don’t want to offend.

I love your new hairdo.

• They stand to gain financially.

It still runs like new!

• They hope to entrap or ensnare.

One time won’t hurt.

• They want to avoid confrontation.

I didn’t see what happened.

• They get a thrill from getting “one over” on others.

People also lie to cover their tracks. Solomon hints at this in Proverbs 10:9, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” The latter part of the verse implies that the man lacking integrity tries to hide his misdeeds. Solomon knows, at one point or another, the truth will come out.

I can’t help but think of David here (see 2 Samuel 11–12). Though he had a heart that sought God, in his sin with Bathsheba, David lacked integrity. He tried to cover his tracks; first, by trying to send Uriah home, then by murdering him when he refused to go. David had the opportunity to repent at the words of Nathan the prophet. Yet, terrible consequences followed his sins.

The way of integrity is much easier than the way of sinning and lying to cover it up! The person of integrity doesn’t have to worry if someone is observing them when they don’t know it. The person of integrity doesn’t have to blush when answering questions about where they’ve been or what they’ve been doing. Doing the right thing when “nobody is watching” (an impossibility, since God is always watching, Proverbs 15:3) has countless benefits. Walk in the way of integrity, Solomon says, and your steps will be secure.

Clay Leonard

In Matthew 19, when Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce, He quoted from God’s law in the book of Genesis and Jesus defines for us what God has always intended relative to marriage (19:4-6).

Now, some people say, “Well, Jesus did not speak against homosexuality Himself.” That is true; yet Jesus also commanded us to obey His apostles and His apostles spoke against homosexuality on several occasions: Romans 1:25-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

Since we are here in 1 Corinthians 6, I want you to notice the further context. Apparently some of the Corinthian Christians were under the assumption that because their spirits had been saved by the blood of Christ, then they could do what they wanted to do with their bodies – even engaging in sexual behaviors that God would otherwise forbid (6:13-20).

Our bodies are not our masters. We are not to identify ourselves primarily in terms of our sexuality. We are spirit beings but our bodies belong to Jesus Christ and we are to glorify God in our bodies, which means, among other things, we cannot use our bodies to do sinful things because that affects our spirits as well, which is most important.

Our society wants to say that “self-actualization” – being true to yourself, especially in sexual terms – is the highest good we can attain. But that’s not what Jesus teaches. Our highest good is serving God and that can only be done in the way that God has commanded. And keeping our sexual aspect under control and submissive to the teachings of Christ is a part of that.

Observe 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

Jesus tells us that truth makes us free (John 8:32) – His truth, His spiritual realities. When we deny God’s reality in this world, we become slaves to the fake. We confuse our brains and our spirits.

When we become Christians, we become new creatures, the old things have passed away, all things become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17. We recognize a truth that has been truth even before we became Christians, we just didn’t recognize it: The spirit is what is most important and the spirit must be subservient to God and His word.

We simply cannot love ourselves and our sexual identity above what God has told us in His word. Always remember and never forget that “self love” is sinful: 2 Timothy 3:2.

HOW TO RESPOND TO SOMEONE WHO IS CONFUSED ABOUT GOD:

Basically, you respond to someone who is confused about God’s work in the sexual area in the same way you respond to someone engaged in any other sin:

1) Be humble and recognize that you also have some type of sin that you struggle with: Galatians 6:1-2.

2) Be patient as the individual works through their confusion: 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

3) Review with them what God’s word has to say.

4) Don’t over-react to children who might not have the typical interests that a little boy or a little girl might have.

5) Understand and also explain that a boy / girl can have a close relationship with a boy / girl and not be gay / lesbian – just like David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1; 19:1; 20:17; 2 Samuel 1:26).

6) It’s also okay for an individual not to have an interest in the other gender to the extent that he or she does not want to get married.

7) While we know for sure that homosexuality is not caused by some kind of “gay gene” – there is no proof at all – it is also true that we do not know how much our genes influence our choices versus the environment influencing our choices.

8) Nothing causes a man to murder or a man to engage in homosexual behavior. Those are still choices and we are accountable to God for the choices we make.

Our society is confused. The Christian can and should be a voice of reason, love, and patience as he or she shares the truth from God’s word.

Paul Holland

Tertullian was a late second century Christian. Born in the north African Roman providence of Carthage. Some writings suggest that his father was a Roman Centurian. After his conversion to Christianity, He writes that “Christians are made, not born” (Apol., xviii).  His many writings, in both Latin and Koine Greek, defended Christianity against both Judaism and Paganism. During a time of persecution, he wrote perhaps his most famous quote, “”the blood of the Christians is seed” (Apologeticum, 50).

Tertullian opposed infant baptism, believed that laity could baptize, and defended the Lord’s Super as a “symbolic” event. As Christianity continued to rapidly spread across the Roman world he wrote, “Yet we fill your cities, islands, camps, your palace, senate, forum.  We have left you only your temples.”

While many of Tertullian’s writings have been lost, many have survived the centuries.  He is seen as a true defender of the basic teachings of the apostles, during a time of the early apostasy of the church. There has never been an age, a time and place, when we have not needed to defend the teachings of the New Testament. Paul said, “I am appointed for the defense of the gospel” (Philippians 1:16). Let all Christians, you and me, let us all not be afraid to speak up and defend the truth of God’s word.

-Dennis Doughty

What would the congregation say about their preacher after he left? What would the church say about the missionaries after they returned home? What about area congregations and Christians – how would they characterize the work of certain ministers? What kind of impact do we as preachers leave on people when our time working together comes to an end?

When we study 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, we see the kind of impact that Paul, Silas, and Timothy had on their Macedonian brethren. Their reputation was based on observations about the local congregation and the spreading of that news around the area. Preachers and teachers will be judged both in this life and on that Great Day. As those who humbly point people to the Savior, we know that people will observe our lives and our teaching and share those things with others. That is okay. What was noticeable about Paul, Silas, and Timothy and what can we learn about it today?

First, the brethren noticed that their ministry could be characterized by work. The work of the preacher was not a passive one as they had to labor among the brethren (cf. 1 Thess. 2:9). If the preacher is lazy, everyone will know. Second, the brethren recognized that the missionaries were partners with, not lords over the local church. The work of ministers of the gospel is not one of supremacy but servitude, not of position but partnership. Third, their work in Thessalonica was obvious because of the change in the congregation as the members turned from sin to serve God. This change was not in service times nor window dressing; this change was evident in the way the church conducted itself. The change, repentance, was seen in their lives. The work of ministers is not in tinkering with auxiliary matters; it is in delivering a life-changing message week in and week out. Fourth, they preached a message of hope. The gospel, by its nature, condemns man in his sin and illuminates the wrath to come. But, the gospel, by its nature, gives man great hope. When the preacher descends from the pulpit walks away from the podium, or stands up from the kitchen table, he may have delivered a message about sin, but he should certainly leave that place showing people the hope we all have in Jesus.

Trent Kennedy

Rick Brumback

That is what Jesus did for us! And, Jesus said that is the greatest love that one could possess. In John 15.13, He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” So, we see from this passage that to lay down our lives for another takes “great love” on our part. Do you have it? Let us consider for whom we might pay the ultimate price.

Would you “lay down your life” for your husband or wife? Now, that might be an “easy” one. I would think that we all should answer that one in the affirmative.

Would you “lay down your life” for your children? Once again, that might be another “easy” one. Surely, any loving parent would do that! So, once again, we would probably answer “yes.”

Would you “lay down your life” for another family member like a brother, sister, uncle, cousin, etc.? Now we may be getting to the point of a tougher decision. But, would you do it?

Would you “lay down your life” for one of your friends? Would the fact that some are closer to you than others affect your decision? What about the more distant ones? Would you die for them?

Would you “lay down your life” for the person in the pew near you? What about those whom you do not know very well? What about those who might not see things exactly the way you do? Would you do it? Would you die for a brother or sister in Christ?

Would you “lay down your life” for a nosey neighbor? For a drunkard down the street? For an inmate in the local jail? For a hitchhiker walking through the city? For someone who killed a person you love? For anyone who is unloving? For a sinner? That is what Jesus did! Oh, to be more like Him!

Think about it!

Kevin Williams

Previously we took a brief look at three of the most valuable ancient Bible manuscripts we have today: (1) The Vatican, (2) The Sinaitic, and the (3) Alexandrian. Today we will consider some basics as to how manuscripts in general are dated and how accuracy is determined since there are variations.

DATING MANUSCRIPTS

An important question in this study is: How do we know how old the manuscripts actually are? While only general dates can be ascertained, it might be surprising that we can indeed date them within a general span of time (perhaps within a few decades or so). Here are just a couple factors used to determine the age of an ancient Bible manuscript:

1. The type of material it is written on. Since writing materials changed through the years, this helps us identify a general time period.

1. The writing style used gives us more precise information since there are so many aspects to this… capital or lower case letters, whether there are spaces between words or not, how many columns are used, division of paragraphs, the simplicity or complexity of the letters, and much more.

HOW ACCURACY OF MANUSCRIPTS IS DETERMINED

This is a little simplistic but should give you a better idea of how this procedure works.

1. The older manuscripts are generally preferred over the younger. Since older manuscripts  are in closer proximation to the original writing, it has likely been copied fewer times, thus will generally contain fewer mistakes. Please note that this is a general rule and does not alway hold true.
2. The shorter manuscript is generally preferred over the longer. Scribes were more likely to insert extra words rather than take them away. This was normally an accidental part of copying the text. A scribe might read the text and then turn to write it and accidentally insert additional words that flow with the thought or perhaps fit in with something he has just written. On other occasions the scribe might mistakenly believe he is correcting a error in the text and actually create his own.
3. Manuscripts are compared with one another. This is especially beneficial with early manuscripts that were written close to the same time. In doing so, many times errors in the text are easy to identify.

Here is a simplistic example of issues that textual critics have dealt with (this is merely a fabricated example for teaching purposes). Let’s suppose we are working with the three following groupings of a total of eight manuscripts, and we are seeking to determine the original wording.

1. Manuscript No. 1 reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God.”
2. Manuscript Numbers 2-5 all read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
3. Manuscript Numbers 6-8 all say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God at creation, and the Word was God.”

Now, how would you determine what the original text says? What do you suppose happened with some of the manuscripts you believe to be incorrect? Why can we not necessarily just count which rendering has the most number of manuscripts? What very significant piece or pieces of information have not been provided concerning these manuscripts? If you are unable to figure this out, take a look back at this lesson.

Daren Schroeder

The famous movie star, Bette Davis, at the end of her career, was asked what her favorite line was from her many movies. She said it was from the movie Cabin in the Cotton. In this old black and white film, the youthful Miss Davis told a handsome young suitor, “I’d love to kiss you, but I just washed my hair.” This line helped launch her career.

Words are magical.  When they are connected just right, mixed and matched with precision, they can bring laughter or tears. Words captivate the heart, convey great thoughts, and leave lasting impressions.  A single sentence can change a life, affect history, or launch a career.  Great words become inscriptions that engrave themselves into one’s soul.

Christians must understand the power of their words. Each sentence must be measured, “quick to hear, slow to speak” (Jms. 1:19) as they can dissolve anger or stir up wrath (Pr. 15:1). The tongue “is a fire” that can praise or curse (Jms. 3:6,10). Solomon marveled, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Pr. 25:11). Your words will be remembered long after you are gone.  Choose them wisely.

– Dennis Doughty.”