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A Few Thoughts For Your Tuesday
Viewed: 1433
Date: Feb 23 2016 3:41 PM
First of all, I wish everyone a safe night tonight.
Our prayer is for your safety.
Why Are Men Saved
What hinders the redemption of many people? One answer certainly would be the impure lives of many who profess Christianity. Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, these people "say and do not do" (Matt. 23:3). They fail to practice what they preach (Phil. 1:27). Another factor that enters in, when we consider those who are lost, is the inability of many members of the Lord's church to properly teach their neighbors and friends the message of salvation. The apostle Peter was able to speak to Cornelius, "Words by which you and all your household will be saved" (Acts 11:14). Philip, speaking to the Ethiopian nobleman, "Opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him" (Acts 8:35). Are we so conversant with the gospel of our Lord that we can lead searching men to the Savior? If not, we are partially responsible for many who are lost.
But let us look at the other side of the matter. Why are millions of people today enjoying the redemptive joys of salvation in Christ Jesus? Let us cite a few reasons why men are saved.
They Are Saved Because Somebody Cares
One of the saddest verses in the Bible is the lament of the writer in Psa. 142:4, "No one cares for my soul." There is someone who always cares - the Lord Jesus Christ! He cared enough to suffer and bleed and die at Calvary. Depicted in Luke 15 as "the good Shepherd," we find One who searched until the lost sheep was found. While upon earth our Redeemer had compassion upon the wayfaring sinners (Mark 9:36). And, today, He cares for lost humanity enough to urge all men to come to the fountain that flows with the healing stream of God's eternal love. The Bible virtually closes with this thought in Rev. 22:17, "Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."
Because Parents Properly Train Their Children
Solomon mentioned in Prov. 22:6 that bringing up "a child in the way he should go" would generally result in his future loyalty to Jehovah. Paul tells parents to nurture their children, "In the admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4). Blessed indeed is the child whose parents teach him the pure religion of Christ daily. Pity the poor children who never see their guardians reading the Bible or praying to the heavenly Father. Our sympathy is always extended to the offspring of folk who never have learned to place God first in their affections. The most beautiful picture in the world is a family who worships together as the Lord directs. The bulwark of any nation is the home that is founded upon the principles of New Testament Christianity. May more parents realize how imperative it is to instruct their families in the precepts of the word of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Folks Are Saved Because The Truth Is Preached
Jesus forcefully said, " You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Nothing short of the truth will give real freedom to our spiritual beings. We ought to thank God for every loyal evangelist who has the courage to preach "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). It takes great conviction to proclaim the message of salvation in the midst of an unbelieving and impenitent society. But nothing else will unshackle our imprisoned souls. Therefore, we ought to "buy the truth and not sell it" (Prov. 23:23). Regardless of the price we have to pay in turning our backs upon sin and the wickedness of the past in order to embrace the truth - let us hasten to be joyous possessors of that truth!
Because They Ask: “What Must I Do?”
Lastly, men are saved because they sincerely ask, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). Not all men who have had access to redemption have availed themselves of it. Some today stubbornly refuse the pardon which Jesus offers. Such people remain lost in sin due to continuing in their sinful conduct. But salvation can be obtained by all who earnestly and honestly seek for it. In Acts 2:36-41,47, we have a classic illustration of unsaved individuals coming to the Master for the sanctification that He alone can give. A sermon on the risen Lord had convicted them of their guilt. They asked the apostles, "What shall we do?" The Lord answered by the mouth of Peter, " Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” We then read, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls ... And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."
Are you honest enough to obey those same commandments in order to receive the same blessings? If you will, and thereafter live a devoted life as a Christian, one day this joyous salvation will find its ultimate blessing in heaven. Salvation is "in Christ" (2 Tim. 2:10), and Jesus alone is the Savior (1 John 4:14).
We have heard the joyful sound, Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Spread the tidings all around, Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Enon Church of Christ
1366 Enon Road
Webb, AL 36376
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