What must I do to be saved?

Romans 12:6-8, Paul lists some marvelous gifts that help us be living sacrifices that overcome this world (1-2) who don’t think too highly of self (3). These gifts include such beautiful attributes and actions as proclaiming the gospel (6), service (7), teaching (7), exhortation (8), giving (8), leading (8), and mercifulness (8). Who could fail to see the value of these gifts, on full display and at work in the body of Christ?

That being said, let’s be reminded that the following are not gifts:

• Hypercriticism
• Complaining
• Gossip
• Strife
• Drama
• Outbursts of anger
• Pride and boasting
• Selfcenteredness
• Manipulation
• Grudge-bearing

Too often, these drain the life of a congregation and are a drag on its attempted works. God is not glorified and the body is not edified. In Paul’s discussion about some specific gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14, the word edification repeatedly comes up as rationale for the exercise of those gifts (14:3-5,12,17, 26).  Gifts build up by design.

It’s proper and necessary for us to gauge our actions, to see if we are living as Paul urges the churches of Galatia: ” Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Gal. 5:24-26).

God desires us to find our gifts and place in the body and pursue using them for His glory. The “non-gifts,” He wants us to crucify! They take no talent, but they rob us of peace and joy.

Neal Pollard

What is life all about? The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 illustrates three possible answers.

1. LIVING IT UP! The younger prodigal son rejected his father and “set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living” (verse 13).

2. GRUDGING DUTY. The older brother harshly rebuked his father’s forgiving spirit with “all these years I’ve been slaving for you” (verse 29). His resentful response revealed his true feelings toward his father –the older brother’s obedience was a grudging, ungrateful duty.

3. JOYFUL LOVE. The father gently replied, “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours, but we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; He was lost and is found” (verses 31-32),

One son tried to live it up and one toiled resentfully to make a living. Between the license of the younger, and the legalism of the older, stood the father’s compassion. Between the unrighteousness of the one, and the self-righteousness of the other, stood a father’s mercy. Between wanton pleasure and wounded pride stood a father’s love for both his sons, even though both had rejected his. Both sons were self-centered, each in his own way, and thus both were “dead.” Only the father, who loved unselfishly, understood what life is all about.

Dan Williams

A little girl, when asked to repeat the 23rd Psalm, said, “The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want.” She may have been a little confused about the actual wording, but she expressed a truth that should be the property of every Christian.

There is no blessing so valuable as the ability to lean upon the sufficiency of God, to find in Him all that we want. The firm basis of such trust was brought to Paul’s attention when the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 11 :9).

Consider the unsearchable riches which one possesses when the Lord is his helper.

1. There is a feeling of security that transcends social and financial security. The child of God can be content in all circumstances of life. “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.” (Phil. 4:11).

2. There is a peace that passeth understanding (Phil. 4:7) and floods the Christian’s life with joy that is unspeakable. (I Pet. 1 :8). This peace is greater than all the treasures earth can yield.

3. There is a freedom from fear of all types. “So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?” (Heb. 13:6). Fear of bodily harm and even of death itself is dissipated when we walk with the Lord. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; for thou art with me:” (Ps. 23:4)

4. There is a crown of life that glitters through eternity. “Henceforth there is laid tip for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.” (II TIM. 4:8).

In addition to these wonderful blessings, the Lord promises us what we need physically. Surely, when the Lord is our helper, there can be no want.

– by Billy Boyd

“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory.” The words of this song were written by Eliza Hewitt in 1898. The song remains a favorite almost 125 years later. It is easy to understand why when you really think about the words. That’s exactly what we will do today.

STANZA #1: 

“Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, Sing His mercy and His grace”

The song begins emphatically with the word “Sing.” Notice the verb of the sentence begins the sentence. Twenty passages in the OT begins with the word “Sing.” This is somewhat unusual. Normally when one is seeking to convince another to do something, he begins by trying to establish the case as to why he should do something. Not here. Why? Well, it is not just because we are commanded by our Lord to sing. Singing out is a natural response to the amazing love, mercy and grace of our Lord!

Without His love, mercy and grace, how lost we would be! Lost in this life, and with no hope in the life to come. Paul says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). Paul and Silas could not even contain themselves when imprisoned for the sake of Christ (see Acts 16:25). Are you restraining too much praise for the Lord?

“In the mansions bright and blessed, He’ll prepare for us a place.”

This line of the song is based especially on the passage in John 14 where Jesus offers the apostles comfort by informing them that He is going to prepare a place for them and where He is going, there they may be also.

The word “mansion,” that some older versions use, is not a good translation, but the emphasis of the text is on the certainty of the place or location in the Father’s house. According to Peter, it is imperishable and kept by God for us (see 1 Pt. 1:3-5). Sing!

STANZA #2:

“While we walk the pilgrim pathway, Clouds will overspread the sky; But when traveling days are over, Not a shadow, not a sigh.”

Not all will be well during our pilgrimage here. Dark clouds will come in various forms (see Jm. 1:3). One thing is certain, Satan would love to use trials to discourage us and even derail us on our journey to heaven. He does not want us to complete the journey. He wants us to turn back like a sow to the mud (2 Pt. 2:20-22). He wants us to lose our grip on Christ.

We are reminded that this life is a pilgrimage. There is great encouragement in the fact that all discouragements are headed to a definitive end! (See Paul’s view of life and eternity in 2 Cor. 4:16-5:5.) When the earthly life of the Christian comes to an end, not only will there be no dark clouds, there won’t even be any sign of a shadow. There will be no cause of a sigh in heaven. Sing!

STANZA # 3:

“Let us then be true and faithful, Trusting, serving every day:”

Since we know we are here but for a little while and that better things are in-store, we persevere no matter what comes our way! By persevering I mean what the song means… we remain loyal and faithful to our God! We keep on trusting Him. Everything that He has told us is true and can be and should be completely and whole-heartedly embraced!

So we keep walking the pilgrim pathway! We continue to “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7). We continue on that narrow way that leads to heaven (Mt. 7:13-14). We continue to walk in the light of our Lord where the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from our sins (1 Jn. 1:7). Moses kept going because he was “looking to the reward” (Heb. 11:26).

Even in the darker times, Christians continue to worship their God and serve the brethren and their fellow man. Sing, and serve too!

“Just one glimpse of Him in glory Will the toils of life repay.”

And while it may be challenging for us to keep on going and living for our Lord, that first glimpse of our Lord will be sufficient for all the difficulties we struggled through on this earth.

Two thousand years ago, when people came to understand who Jesus really was, they fell before Him in awe. Yet at that time His appearance was like that of any other man (see Is. 53:2). But some day we will behold our Lord in all of His glory, an image that we do not have the capacity to fully appreciate at this moment. Sing!

CHORUS:

“When we all get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that will be!”

The Scripture indicates that there is cause for rejoicing right now (see Phil. 4:4). Much of that is based on the hope that Christians live with. But the day is coming when our hope will be actualized. That hope will no longer be something that we read about and trust will come, but something that we behold and experience.

The rejoicing on that unending day will be unparalleled. Nothing can take it away from us. There will be no sickness nor death there (Rev. 21:4). There will be no evil individuals there to rob us of our joy or cause us harm or fear (Rev. 21:8)… just peace, joy and thankfulness in the presence of our Lord and those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb!

“When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory.”

Everybody likes the excitement of a good victory. When your team wins, it is fun and exciting. But we are talking about the ultimate victory. The victory over sin, Satan, and death. After you win this victory you will never lose again! In fact, you will never need to fight another battle! And this wholesome celebration will never come to an end and never fail nor lose its glory.

When we all get to heaven. Let’s all go! Let’s keep our bags packed and ready for our departure. Let’s make decisions that lead us and others in that direction. Let’s resolve to walk in humble fellowship with our loving Lord each and every day who truly keeps us singing as we go!

Daren Schroeder

    Before we can talk about anything relative to the Bible, we have to make sure we are using the same definition, that is a biblical definition. You don’t define “baptism” by a modern dictionary. You define it by the Bible; it is a biblical word. So, also, is “miracle.”

    Once God created the world, He used miracles sparingly and always in connection with His spokesman: prophet, Christ, or an apostle. The Lord struck Pharaoh with a great plague, because he took Abram’s wife to be his own (Gen. 12:17). I think that is the first miracle (after the creation and flood) which God performed in the world of men. When God intensified the use of miracles during the plagues brought on Egypt, it began with God working miracles through Moses in front of Egypt (Exo. 4:29-31). When Israel saw the miracles, they believed the message. 

    That is the purpose of miracles: to confirm (strengthen, or establish) the message of God’s spokesmen. This purpose holds true throughout the Bible: 1 Kings 17:17-24; John 20:30-31; Acts 13:12; Hebrews 2:3-4. Since man doesn’t need anymore information from God today, then there is no biblical reason for God to work miracles today. In fact, the Gospel message – the “Faith” – stands confirmed: Jude 3.

    When God worked miracles in man’s world, He practically always worked them through His spokesmen. That is why, in the days of the early church, that God limited the ability to transfer miraculous power to only the apostles: Acts 8:14-18. In that account, Philip (a “servant” of the church in Jerusalem) could perform miracles, but he could not pass on miraculous gifts. Only the apostles could. Other than Acts 2 (when Jews first became Christians) and Acts 10 (when Gentiles first became Christians), there is no example of God sending miraculous abilities on anyone except through an apostle. It was one of their special abilities as members of the Twelve. Since we don’t have apostles in the church today, there can be no miracles today.

    Finally, Paul will explicitly state in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 that miracles were going to come to a conclusion. The context of the discussion was arrogance over the use of speaking in foreign languages (“tongues”). In chapter 12, Paul points out that all miraculous gifts were given by the same Spirit for the one body. In chapter 13, Paul says that love should regulate all our behaviors. In chapter 14, Paul says that miraculous gifts should be for the building up of one another.

    Now, back to 13:8-10… Paul uses three gifts which all relate to sharing divine knowledge with humanity: languages (“tongues”), prophecy, and knowledge. Paul says these are “partial” and will be “done away” and “will cease” when “that which is perfect” comes. What is “that which is perfect”? It is whatever is in contrast with “languages, prophecy, and knowledge in part”. What is that? It is the final, fulfilled revelation of the message from God: the Gospel. By the time the whole gospel was revealed at the end of the first century, with John’s letters and Revelation, then there was no more need for partial knowledge, for tongues, prophecy, knowledge or any other miraculous gift.

    This does not mean God does not work. He does work! He just does not work miraculously. Give all glory to Him when something good happens.

Paul Holland

Like a lot of other folks, I get a good bit of enjoyment from sports, but it is my uninspired opinion that God is really not into sports any more than He cares about crossword puzzles and checkers. However, there are some indications in the Bible that God does have some interest in, of all things, the making of pottery. I invite you to join me in investigating further God’s interest in pottery.

Let’s begin by reading Jeremiah 18:1-4.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

The Lord wants His people to understand this thoroughly, as is clear from verses 5-6. “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the LORD. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’” The Lord’s message to Israel was that He is the Potter and they were the clay. He is the Lord and Master, and they were but clay in His hands, to be used in whatever manner or form He chooses.

Who are we? Are we not God’s spiritual Israel today? We are, and as such, we are to trust ourselves in the hands of our Potter. Also, regarding God’s interest in pottery, let’s consider Isaiah 29:15-16.

Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, and their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?” Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

Please realize that God has no disregard for clay and its importance. His concern is that His people comprehend that He is the Potter and His people are the clay, subject to Him and the design that He may very well have for them.

God is indeed a loving God, but He is not about to relinquish His role as our Maker and our Master to us, His creation. The New Testament version of Isaiah 29:15-16 is found in Romans 9:20-21, which reads, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?”

As in many other matters, Jesus gave us a perfect illustration of a lesson. “And He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will’” (Mark 14:36). Jesus understood that He was on earth to do His Father’s will and not His own, even when He didn’t prefer His Father’s over His own.

The apostle Paul was thoroughly converted to Christ, to the point that he said, “I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me” (Galatians 2:20). He was quick in learning that he was only clay in the hands of the Potter. He said it in a different way in Ephesians 2:10. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Spiritual self-denial is not natural, but it can be learned and practiced until it even becomes desired by those who have grown spiritually. May we all be among that number who can conscientiously sing these words by Adelaide A. Pollard.

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay!
Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.”

Perhaps a fitting conclusion to our study is found in Isaiah 64:8. “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”

Byron Nichols

1. Death – Body still on earth. At the end ALL bodies to be raised/resurrected — good AND bad, see John 5:28-29; Matt 25:46; I Cor 15:20-58 and I Thess 4:13-18 and 5:23.
2. People in heaven – spirits/souls (without bodies) of dead Christians are alive in heaven at throne, Rev 4:2; 20:4-6; Rev 20:11-15. See for clarification Ecclesiastes 12:7.
   11. Absent from body present with the Lord—saved, I Cor 4:16-5:11.
   12. No condemnation (sin condemns) because of Christ, Romans 8:1.
   13. All will have works “judged,” but not their salvation. Already saved by grace. See Eph 2:8-10!
   14. At the Lord’s return we receive a new body, I Cor 15:20-28 and 15:35-58, esp. I Cor. 15:51-53
   15. We will rise to meet him in the air, I Thess 4:17.
3. Judgement –Matthew 25:31-46 is General Judgment (Keeping in mind Deut. 29:29). God doesn’t tell it all here!
4. Condemnation — Lost – judged (condemned), John 12:48-50; See also John 3:16-19.
5. RAPTURE? FALSE teaching – idea that will Jesus’ return to reign for 1,000 literal years from Jerusalem.  B-C-V? NONE!  I Thess. 4:13-18 – The imagined “rapture” passage proves the RAPTURE DOCTRINE is FALSE!
6. TRIBULATION? Jesus said in John 16:33 that we are in “tribulation” as long as we are on this ball of earth. No special tribulation is coming.
7. Jesus can never set foot on this earth again as King, BECAUSE:
8. Jesus reigns forever IN HEAVEN
9. As king.  11:15 and 4:2
10. As priest (after the order of after Melchizedek as Jesus cannot be a priest at all on earth because He is not a Levite, Heb.8 :4 Heb. 7:21; 8:4)by Ivy Conner

    Before we can talk about anything relative to the Bible, we have to make sure we are using the same definition, that is a biblical definition. You don’t define “baptism” by a modern dictionary. You define it by the Bible; it is a biblical word. So, also, is “miracle.”

    Once God created the world, He used miracles sparingly and always in connection with His spokesman: prophet, Christ, or an apostle. The Lord struck Pharaoh with a great plague, because he took Abram’s wife to be his own (Gen. 12:17). I think that is the first miracle (after the creation and flood) which God performed in the world of men. When God intensified the use of miracles during the plagues brought on Egypt, it began with God working miracles through Moses in front of Egypt (Exo. 4:29-31). When Israel saw the miracles, they believed the message. 

    That is the purpose of miracles: to confirm (strengthen, or establish) the message of God’s spokesmen. This purpose holds true throughout the Bible: 1 Kings 17:17-24; John 20:30-31; Acts 13:12; Hebrews 2:3-4. Since man doesn’t need anymore information from God today, then there is no biblical reason for God to work miracles today. In fact, the Gospel message – the “Faith” – stands confirmed: Jude 3.

    When God worked miracles in man’s world, He practically always worked them through His spokesmen. That is why, in the days of the early church, that God limited the ability to transfer miraculous power to only the apostles: Acts 8:14-18. In that account, Philip (a “servant” of the church in Jerusalem) could perform miracles, but he could not pass on miraculous gifts. Only the apostles could. Other than Acts 2 (when Jews first became Christians) and Acts 10 (when Gentiles first became Christians), there is no example of God sending miraculous abilities on anyone except through an apostle. It was one of their special abilities as members of the Twelve. Since we don’t have apostles in the church today, there can be no miracles today.

    Finally, Paul will explicitly state in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 that miracles were going to come to a conclusion. The context of the discussion was arrogance over the use of speaking in foreign languages (“tongues”). In chapter 12, Paul points out that all miraculous gifts were given by the same Spirit for the one body. In chapter 13, Paul says that love should regulate all our behaviors. In chapter 14, Paul says that miraculous gifts should be for the building up of one another.

    Now, back to 13:8-10… Paul uses three gifts which all relate to sharing divine knowledge with humanity: languages (“tongues”), prophecy, and knowledge. Paul says these are “partial” and will be “done away” and “will cease” when “that which is perfect” comes. What is “that which is perfect”? It is whatever is in contrast with “languages, prophecy, and knowledge in part”. What is that? It is the final, fulfilled revelation of the message from God: the Gospel. By the time the whole gospel was revealed at the end of the first century, with John’s letters and Revelation, then there was no more need for partial knowledge, for tongues, prophecy, knowledge or any other miraculous gift.

    This does not mean God does not work. He does work! He just does not work miraculously. Give all glory to Him when something good happens.

Paul Holland

According to the Pew Research Forum in 2017, 70% of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted. That number jumped 19 percentage points in 11 years. In light of its growing acceptance in society, how should Christians respond to homosexuality?

We must not be afraid to call sin what it is. In Romans 1, Paul describes what happens when people reject God and instead pursue all manner of idols, including the idol of indulging the flesh. Ultimately, all sin is a rejection of God as God. We cannot condone, accept, or encourage anything God calls sin. This includes the practice of homosexuality, but it also includes gossip, pride, and rebellion against our parents. Let’s call all sin what it is – not just the sins that we see in others. Though we must identify sin, if we stop there, we stop short of the Gospel message.

We must believe in the powerful, transformative grace of God. Just as all sin is sin, so also God’s grace is big enough to free all people from whatever sins may ensnare them. The devil (and by proxy, the world) would have us believe some sins are inevitable because of our DNA or our circumstances. While both may play a role in what temptations appeal to us, God’s Word makes it clear that He can free us from the slavery of sin.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, we see that people of all kinds of sinful backgrounds populated the Corinthian congregation. However, Paul says these Christians no longer embraced their past sinful identities because they were “washed…sanctified…[and] justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” We must believe God’s grace can change sinners of all stripes!

We must recognize that the answer to all sexual sin is a fulfilling relationship with God. It may be easy to think that the answer to sexual sin is sexual activity within the confines of a healthy, God approved marriage. Unfortunately, this is not true. Sexual sin is not a physical fulfillment problem; it is a heart problem. The only solution to this problem is a relationship with God that reorders the heart and will according to His will.

Paul offers this very instruction in 1 Corinthians 6:12–20. He teaches that the Christian is a member of Christ’s body, is joined to the Lord, is a temple of the Lord, and has been bought by Christ. These are all in contrast to sexual sin. The answer to the problem of sexual sin is joining oneself to Christ. When a person is joined to Christ, his or her life must become focused on using the body for God’s glory.

Only God can define sin. Only God can transform sinners into saints. Only God can satisfy our deepest needs. May we be people who stand for God’s truth and carry His grace to all people, for His glory.

Clay Leonard