What must I do to be saved?

Back in June, Rachel and I went to see my brother and his family because his youngest daughter was graduating from high school. You all know that I am an amateur historian and I knew that the Appomattox Court House was not too far from where my brother lives – 80 miles away. So, the Saturday we were there, Tim, Rachel, me, and his youngest daughter all went to see this famous historical site from the Civil War.

“Appomattox Court House” is actually the name of the city where General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee met. The two met in the home of Wilmer McClean. The purpose was for General Lee to surrender the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Grant and the Federal army. It is well known just how merciful Grant was – at the instigation of President Lincoln – with General Lee and the rest of the Confederate officers. Grant did not charge any of the army with treason, which could have brought the death penalty. Instead, he placed them on parole, confiscated their weapons and sent them back home to their families.

One thing that General Lee requested was that – in contrast to the army of the federal government – the Confederate soldiers were riding their own personal horses. Grant let the men keep their horses. Also, General Grant gave 25,000 meals to General Lee’s army because they had gone days without anything significant to eat.

God is merciful.

GOD IS MERCIFUL:

Merriam-Webster dictionary online defines “mercy” as “compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power. A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion.” So we might see that “compassionate” is an adjective for “merciful.”

There is not one Hebrew word that is normally translated “merciful.” The verse that came to my mind as I began this study is from the famous Psalm 23:6: “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That’s the NASV; as you know, the more popular KJV/NKJV has “goodness and mercy…” But the word “mercy” here is the word for “lovingkindness” that we studied last month when we talked about being “good.”

The expression “mercy seat” is found twenty-eight times in the OT. It refers to the top of the Ark of the Covenant where the sacrifice of atonement was performed by the high priest once each year on the Day of Atonement. The expression “mercy seat” is one word and it is related to the verb “to atone” or – more literally – “to cover.” This was the sacrifice which God commanded Israel to perform in order for their sins to be “covered.” Why? Because God is merciful (Deut.13:17; Jer. 31:20).

JESUS CHRIST IS MERCIFUL:

Thankfully, one of the key qualities of Jesus Christ is that He is merciful. The Hebrew writer tells us this in Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

When Jesus healed people who could not pay Him back, He was being merciful. When Jesus fed people who could not pay Him back, He was being merciful. When Jesus taught people who could not pay Him back, He was being merciful.

JESUS EXPECTS US TO BE MERCIFUL:

That is, He expects us to give without expecting anything in return from people who can’t given in return. That’s mercy.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees for not being “merciful” (Matt. 23:23). The description of the Good Samaritan is that he was one “who showed mercy toward” his neighbor (Luke 10:37).  James tells us that judgment will be “without mercy” for those who do not show mercy (James 2:13). In the same context of Jude 21 where Jude talks about the mercy of Christ, he also says that you and I, as mature Christians, need to have mercy in teaching those who are lost (Jude 22-23). Meditate on these two texts: Luke 6:31-36 and Matthew 6:1-4.

Let’s be a beacon of mercy and generosity to those around us, inspired by the abundant mercy we have received from above.

Paul Holland

It is an amazing concept to think of a deity existing in the womb of a woman. But it did happen: “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). The child was to be called “Immanuel, which means God with us” (Matthew 1:23). So God “became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). God was born and laid in a manger one warm summer night, and eight days later he was given the name of “Jesus.” (Luke 2: 7,8,21).

Jesus grew from an infant to a boy, from a boy to a man.  He grew “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). Jesus became “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Now man could see God.

Israel expected Christ to be of noble birth and highly educated; they were not expecting a carpenter from the despised town of Nazareth (John 7:41). Hanging on the cross, executed as a criminal, with soldiers casting lots for his only possession; this was not the image the world was expecting from “God with us.” But his sacrifice for our sins destroyed the barrier between God and man. We look to Jesus for salvation, and in him, we are allowed to see the face of God.

-Dennis Doughty

Christmas Day is  is the most celebrated holiday around the world and especially in the USA. It seems that attitude and demeanor of people improve during this time each year. As universal as the celebration of Christmas is, there are radical and opposite views about it. On the one hand some are saying “We need to put Christ back into Christmas” while others say, “Christ was never in Christmas.” What does God want us to do with Christmas? What does the Bible say about Christmas?

Biblical Thoughts 

First, the word “Christmas” is not found in the Bible. Second, the Bible tells us that Christ was born, but it doesn’t say when that great event happened. Neither does the Bible command us to observe Christ’s birth as a special religious holiday.

During the time when the Law of Moses was the authority for the Jews, God demanded that all males participate in three special feast each year (Leviticus 23). But, when Christ established His law, He removed that Old Law and forbade men and women to bind the observance of special religious holidays. “Now that you have come to know God or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years, I fear for you that perhaps I have labored over you in vain” (Galatians 4:9-11). Later the Holy Spirit guided Paul to explain further, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge (that is to bind these activities) in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” (Colossians 2:16).

Since God removed those special days no one, nor the church as a whole has the right to bind the observance of special days like Christmas. The church is not the authority; the church is under the authority of the Word of God. For the church to promote a public observance of religious holidays, is to bind where God has not bound. It is just as sinful to make a law that God has not made as it is to break a law that God has bound.

Two Major Churches Developed 

(The information below comes from Church History Vol. I – Christ to Pre-Reformation by Everett Ferguson, pp. 252-253 and A History of the Christian Church revised edition, by Williston Walker, pp. 154-155).

For the first three centuries the church Jesus establish in Jerusalem (Acts 2), did not observe Christmas as a religious holiday. Beginning in the second century, the Roman government began a severe persecution against the church, but the church was still growing in number and commitment. Finally, in 313 A.D., Constantine, the Emperor, declared, what is called “The Edict of Milan” which, stated that Christianity was accepted and basically became the religion for the Roman Empire. That may sound like a blessing, but it really was a curse. God’s high standard of doctrine and morality were lowered to the point that the “church” accepted almost everything. They compromised on almost every doctrine which God and the Bible demanded.

One of the events that began to change Christianity was that the Emperor Constantine moved his capitol from Rome to a city he built called Constantinople (Now known as Istanbul). This was much farther to the east than was Rome. As time went on geographically, there came to be a church in the west called “The Western Church” and a church developed in the east which came to be called “The Eastern Church.”  The Western Church was in the western part of the world and became the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Church was farther east and came to be called the “Orthodox Church.” Today we know these churches by the fact that a country’s name is used before the word “Orthodox.” Thus we have the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, etc. These two “churches” began to teach different doctrines which led to their official split in 1054 A.D.

Difference on When Did Jesus Appear?

One of the differences between these two churches is “When did Jesus appear and what does the word “appear” mean?’ Even as early as the second century, some taught that Jesus’ appearance was His baptism, and they celebrated that on January 6^th. The Orthodox Church said that Jesus’ appearance was His physical birth, not His baptism and they believed that occurred on January 5^th.

The Western Church – the Ronan Catholic Church, began celebrating Christmas on December 25^th as early as about 325 – 350 A.D. They came to believe that the birth of the world was on March 25^th, the vernal equinox. Therefore, they believed that the conception of the bright Son (Sun of Righteousness, Malachi 4:2), the Savior of the world was on that day also. Therefore, Jesus would have been born nine months later, which would have been December 25^th.

The date of December 25^th was also influenced by the sun cult, who honored that date with the feast called Sol Invictus, which celebrated the victory of light over darkness and the lengthening of the sun’s rays at the winter solstice. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church set the date of December 25^th to incorporate pagans into “Christianity.”

These two man-made denominations continued celebrating different days and it was not until the sixth century (the 500s) that each of these churches began to accept the other’s date, but for different reasons. Because of the great influence of these two religions, especially the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, that even when men broke away from them in the Reformation Movement, they carried with them the traditions related to special religious days. Thus, Protestant churches continued emphasizing honoring Christ’s birth.

What Is the Individual Christian

To Do About Christmas?

There are some Christians who are adamant that Christians should have nothing to do with Christmas. They go beyond just saying the church should not promote it and say that individual Christians should not participate in any way. They will quote I Thessalonians 5:22, “abstain from all appearance of evil” and say it appears to be evil therefore we should not participate in its observance in any way. This verse doesn’t mean that if something looks like it might be evil, one must abstain. It means that something has to be evil then to be avoided.

Many of them will quote Jeremiah 10:3-4 and say it forbids decorating a Christmas tree. “For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter.”  God is not condemning Christmas trees. The context is God’s condemnation of idolatry. Just because one puts silver or gold trinkets on a tree doesn’t mean that one is worshiping that tree. We cannot take passages out of context to prove a point.

Others are just about as radical in their promotion of putting Christ back into Christmas. They look down on those who observe it as a holiday, without putting religious emphasis in the activities. One extreme is just as bad as the other.

It seems there can be a moderate view to this question. First, one can just accept the fact that it is a great holiday time in which love and joy are spread. Isn’t it possible to just celebrate the Christmas season as one would any other national holiday?

Is It Possible to Honor It as a Religious Holiday?

Romans 14 Paul gives instructions about practices that are one’s own personal opinion (v. 1). He said that those who want to participate in non-sinful practices can do so, but cannot require others to do so. At the same time, those who are opposed to doing those activities cannot forbid others from doing them.

One of the illustrations Paul gave is the person who wants to set aside a day in which he honors God in some special way (v. 5). He has the liberty to do that, but he cannot bind that practice on others. The conclusion one can draw from this is that if someone wants to honor Christ in a Christmas activity, he has the right to do that. All that is discussed in Romans 14 are matters of opinion, not matters of faith where God has legislated.

Conclusion

     The church cannot bind the observance of Christmas with a religious reason because God has not authorized the church to do that. The individual can do as he or she wishes, even observing it as a special day or way to give God honor. What do you want to do with Christmas? It is your choice and does not have to be accepted by others.

May we all promote the love and joy and generosity that this season motivates people to do. But, may those great attributes not just be manifested during the Christmas season, but all year long!

Wayne Burger

Eight years ago, Michael Black of Afton, Wyoming was diagnosed with dementia.  In recent years he has sometimes wandered from his home but each time was located within a few hours a short distance away.  Last month he was missing for more than two days.  He’s back home now, but the way he was found led one person to speculate that he has a guardian angel.

Black was located in Salt Lake City, Utah, about 200 miles from his Wyoming home, having apparently hitchhiked his way there.  Someone saw him at a bus station and offered him a ride to a local rescue mission.  Though it was later than the mission normally stayed open, they agreed to let him come in and stay.

A news crew came the next day to the mission to film guests being served Thanksgiving meals.  Back in Afton, Black’s wife turned on the late-night news and spotted her husband in the news clip.  Early the next morning, Thanksgiving morning, Black was picked up at the shelter and returned to his home.  His wife, Avril, reflected on how things had worked out: “Boy does he have some guardian angel looking after him!”

Is that the explanation of how Michael Black found his way back home?  Are there really guardian angels that watch out for people?

The world may scoff at the idea, but angels are real.  There are many accounts throughout the Bible in which they play prominently.  In Genesis 28:12 we read about Jacob’s dream: “Behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”  We learn from Daniel 6:22 how Daniel survived a night in the den of lions: “My God send His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me.”  Angels are spirit beings who serve the Lord in powerful ways.

But is it true that an angel is assigned to each person who is born, invisibly accompanying them every step of their lives and acting to save them from deadly situations?  That’s the thought developed in the Christmas movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life”.  The angel Clarence rescued George Bailey from death.

The Bible doesn’t teach one guardian angel assigned to each person on earth, but it does say this in Hebrews 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”  That means that angels are (at least occasionally) sent to assist God’s people.  No specifics are mentioned in that passage, but the truth of angelic help is unmistakable.

God to use angels to sometimes help His people shows that our heavenly Father really does care about us.  He sends help in different forms when help is needed.

Come to the light God offers!  Study His word, the Bible.  Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).  Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.

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Timothy D. Hall

You have heard of the expression “cancel culture.” Wikipedia defines “cancel culture:” Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual thought to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is ostracized, boycotted, shunned, fired or assaulted, often aided by social media. This shunning may extend to social or professional circles—whether on social media or in person—with most high-profile incidents involving celebrities. Those subject to this ostracism are said to have been “canceled”.

God’s people have nearly always endured “cancel culture.” You recall that during the days of the prophet Elijah, Queen Jezebel was killing prophets left and right because they were rebuking her for her idolatry and immoralities. The account is found in 1 Kings 18. She even put a price on Elijah’s head.

The Christians to whom Peter writes are being persecuted, “cancelled,” and could potentially face sometime more drastic. Peter writes them to stay faithful to Jesus Christ and His message and he wants to comfort them by stating that when they suffer, they participate in Christ’s sufferings and they will receive their reward.

SUFFERING FROM THE UNGODLY – 1 Peter 4:1-6:

Peter meditates on the sinful lives they had lived before, following the desires of the Gentiles (non-Christians), who live for the flesh and do not care for the will of God. Peter says enough time has been spent living like that.

Christians find sinful behavior troubling. But, those who do not respect Jesus Christ and His gospel are going to pay a high price one day. They will not escape punishment, especially if they abuse God’s children. God will judge the “living and the dead.” God will hold every accountable to His message of salvation (2 Cor. 5:10) and He will not overlook ignorance in this day and time (Acts 17:31), not with the Gospel so widely available now for people to read and study.

THE CHRISTIAN GLORIES IN HIS / HER SUFFERING – 4:12-19:

Peter warns Christians that suffering is not unusual for God’s people. For Christ’s people. Suffering is a part of the Christian experience. It is, in fact, a means of testing their faith and their convictions.

There is a difference between suffering unjustly as a Christian versus suffering justly as a sinner. Peter gives several types of sinners and then warns Christians not to be like them. The word translated “busybody” is related to the word for “bishop” or “overseer;” this word refers to “overseeing someone else.” That is, being a busybody.

When the world mocks the Christian’s convictions, when the world tries to “cancel” their preaching the truth, the Christian should kindly and patiently stand for righteousness and defend his fellow Christian against slander.

Cancel culture may try to silence us, but we will speak boldly for the truth of Jesus Christ. Let’s stand firm in our faith!

Paul Holland

How often do we find ourselves looking down our noses at others, thinking critically of them, without realizing that we are being or doing the exact same thing? The word for that is “hypocrisy” and among the things that Jesus condemns quite often is that of judging others when we are guilty of the same thing.

In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to be careful how we judge. Let’s study Matthew 7:1-6.

DO NOT JUDGE / YOU WILL BE JUDGED – 7:1-2:
The first command, “Do not judge,” is a present, negative imperative, carrying the idea: “Do not start judging,” or “Do not get into the habit of judging…”

As Jesus continues His discussion of the need for His disciples to have a righteousness which exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes (cf. 5:20). He warns them to be careful how they judge. This very paragraph requires judgement, discerning who are “dogs” and “pigs” as well as what is “holy” and “pearls.” Jesus is not condemning all judging. He is condemning hypocritical judgment (ver. 5). He does not want His disciples to judge harshly or without consideration or without love.

As Jesus had said in 6:14-15 that men must forgive if they desire forgiveness from God, here He tells His disciples they must judge by the same standard by which they wish to be judged. Ultimately, God’s word will be man’s judge (John 12:48).

THE ILLUSTRATION – 7:3-5:
“Speck” (ver. 3) can mean a splinter, straw, or piece of sawdust. It is used 6 times, only in this context and its parallel in Luke 6:41-42. “Beam” is also found 6 times, here and in Luke 6:41-42.

Here, Jesus is talking about holding other’s to a standard to which we will not hold ourselves. We see, perhaps, Jesus’ background in the carpentry shop as He refers to specks of wood versus beams (cf. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). One brother has a “speck” in his eye but the other has a “beam.” Jesus warns His disciples to make sure they have their own “beam” out of the eye before they can see clearly to treat their brother’s speck. Notice that Jesus does presume that one brother will help the other to get the speck out of the eye. He simply must get the beam out of his own eye first.

A FINAL WORD – 7:6:
“Dogs” (ver. 6) were not domesticated in biblical times as they are now; these were wild dogs.

Verse 6 continues the discussion about judgment. “What is holy” is what comes from God, everything related to the Gospel, its blessings, promises, commands, and hopes. Jesus might have had in mind the food or meat that was sacrificed according to the Law. In other words, while we should not judge (verses 1-5), we should not randomly and capriciously give holy things to those (dogs and pigs) who do not respect them. The pigs will trample pearls under their feet, because they do not respect them and the wild dogs will tear one to pieces, because they do not respect them. How can you discern whether to “not judge” or to “not cast pearls before pigs?” In the next paragraph, Jesus returns to the theme of prayer…

APPLICATION:
Jesus warns the Jews to judge “righteously” in John 7:24.

Hypocritical judgment is condemned by Paul in Romans 2:1; 1 Cor. 4:5; 5:12 and by James (4:11-12; 5:9).

Jesus will talk further, when He sends out His apostles, about not wasting one’s time and resources on those who will not listen and obey the Gospel (Matt. 10:11-15; see also Matt. 18:15-17).

If we see that teaching someone the gospel is annoying them, it might be a good idea to discontinue the presentation lest we burn the bridge of communication. Pray for a more opportune time.

Paul encourages Christians to teach those in error with humility and patience (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:20-22). We should not criticize in others what we, ourselves, are practicing.

In our journey of faith, let’s prioritize personal growth and extend grace to those around us.

Paul Holland

Recently, dignitaries and world leaders gathered in Paris to attend the opening ceremony of the restored Notre Dame cathedral. Since the fire in 2019, the works of art, relics, icons, and artifacts have been restored, and the famous steeple rebuilt—costing over 800 million dollars. It is an architectural masterpiece but a religious facade.

While watching some of the televised coverage, I could not help but think of Paul’s words on Marrs Hill; “God does not dwell in temples made with hands.” He warned us, “not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man” (Ac. 17:24, 29).

While world leaders came to see and be seen, few will faithfully worship God once back home. Notre Dame will return to being nothing more than a tourist attraction (15-20 million a year), and a shrine to man’s distortion and ignorance of true worship of God. “Thus says the Lord, Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool, where then is a house you could build for me?” (Isa. 66: 1). Christ did not die to provide a place where famous sculptures could be displayed or where tourists could admire the work of great architects. He died to save people, not a steeple.

-Dennis Doughty

First, the Bible: “A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back” (Proverbs 29:11).

You might say one of the essential qualities someone needs in order to go to heaven is the quality of self-control. One of the challenges parents have is to help children learn how to control their emotions as well as their behavior. Parents, of course, have to start by controlling themselves.

But how can you train your children to engage in self-control? Emotions can be so hard to control sometimes, especially for children who do not have the experience. When children experience emotions, what they are feeling is energy welling up inside of them. That energy might come out in uncontrollable energy, or anger, or something else that might not be productive. If you teach your children that this emotion is energy inside of them, it could help them learn how to control it. What are they going to do with that energy?

Of course, children have to learn how to handle little frustrations in life as well as the big challenges. Little frustrations can produce little energy; big frustrations, big energy! With small things, a child can be trained to take deep breaths, even count to 10 or so. They can walk away from the frustration; they can sit down and close their eyes. They might start doing something different. Either way, we are teaching our children that we can respond to our emotions. We might not be able to control whether we get emotional, but we can certainly control what we do with it.

Whatever you do, don’t get into a yelling match or a power struggle with your child. It seems to be that when a parent gets into a power struggle with their child – even a teen – he or she has already relinquished their authority as the parent. It is better to calm down, slow down the interaction, so that everyone has time to think and process what they are doing.

If you train your child to catch the “cues” that suggest an emotional episode is developing (especially relative to anger), you can train her or him how to channel it properly before it is displayed improperly. With older children, you can train them to start communicating with themselves or others about the proper response to make. And, as always, if they do something wrong against someone, they have to be trained to apologize.

Paul Holland

On January 24, 2025, Rudiger Koch plans to emerge from his “home”.  If he succeeds in staying inside his dwelling that long, he will have set a new record for continuously living in an underwater fixed habitat.  The old record is 100 days; his aim is to live underwater for 120 days.

Koch, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer, admits that his task is not too tough.  The custom-made capsule that he currently calls home provides him with most modern amenities.  The 322-square-foot pod is located in the Caribbean Sea just off the coast of Panama and is about 36 feet below the surface.  Videos of his experience show that his life is mostly normal during this period.

An organization called Ocean Builders is behind the experiment, and they say Koch’s feat is “a powerful testament to human ingenuity, resilience, and the boundless possibilities of sustainable ocean living.”  Their long-term vision is to provide undersea dwellings for people without harming the environment, a future where such a lifestyle “becomes a possibility for all.”

Personally, I might sign up for a day or two in such a dwelling, but I don’t believe I would relish it for longer periods.  I’m a land-dwelling creature, and underwater living is out of my element.

Based on information God has revealed in the Bible, I’m already living out of my element.  Though my entire life has been on Planet Earth, God tells me that my life will extend beyond physical life here.  There’s more to come in a place very different from this physical existence.

John testified to this truth in 1 John 3:2: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”  John was speaking of Jesus in that verse, and how Christian followers will be transformed to become like Jesus – the Jesus who was glorified after His resurrection, and who ascended back into heaven.  That’s a very different existence!

Paul agreed with this vision of our future: “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:54).  This agrees with what Jesus said in Matthew 22:30: “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”  We’ll be like “angels of God”?  There’s an exciting thought!

Rudiger Koch knows he will emerge from the sea on January 24 (if all goes according to plan), and his element will return to normal.  You and I don’t know the dates when we will emerge from this life.  If we have been baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27), though, we know that we’ll enter into a habitat from which we will never return.  In fact, we won’t desire to return.  We will know by experience the beatitude found in Revelation 14:13: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”  Here’s the truth: While I live in the flesh, I’m out of my element.  But one day …

Come to the light God offers!  Study His word, the Bible.  Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).  Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.

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Copyright, 2024, Timothy D. Hall