5/6/19

"THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER" Ministering Not To Themselves, But To Us (1:10-12)


"THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER"

Ministering Not To Themselves, But To Us (1:10-12)

INTRODUCTION

1. Already in Peter's epistle we have seen several blessings enjoyed by
   the "elect" of God...
   a. E.g., born again to a "living" hope - 1Pe 1:3
   b. E.g., having a joy "inexpressible and full of glory" - 1Pe 1:8

2. As one continues in verses 10-12, he finds that Peter expands upon
   the topic of the "salvation" Christians enjoy as a result of their
   faith (please read)

3. If one takes the time to contemplate upon what is found in this
   passage, he should not fail to be impressed with how privileged we
   are in God's sight
   a. For there we learn that we are the recipients of a gospel that
      was prophesied and has come to us only through the efforts of a
      very distinguished company of individuals!
   b. And in their efforts, they were ministering not to themselves,
      but to us who are now Christians!

[To illustrate just how privileged we are, let's begin identifying
those who have ministered to us...]

I. WE HAVE BEEN SERVED BY "THE PROPHETS"!

   A. WHICH IS THE MAIN THOUGHT OF THIS PASSAGE...
      1. When the prophets prophesied, they were often intrigued by 
         what they revealed - 1Pe 1:10-11
         a. This is because they were inspired or moved by the Holy 
            Spirit, and not by their own will - cf. 2Pe 1:21
         b. Therefore, they often expressed perplexity concerning those
            things they prophesied - e.g., Dan 7:28; 8:26-27
      2. But as pointed out in our text, it was revealed to them that
         they were not serving themselves, but us! - e.g., Dan 12:8-9

   B. CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS POINT...
      1. We who are Christians have been served by such people as:
         a. Moses, Samuel, and David
         b. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel
      2. These men (and many others) spent their lives, and in many 
         cases even gave their lives, in service to you and me!
      3. Yes, these great "heroes of faith" suffered much in their 
         service to God and to us who are now in Christ - cf. He 11:36-38

[Does this not indicate that we must be very special in God's sight?
We who have been ministered unto by the prophets of Almighty God, and
who endured all these things for our sake?

And yet, there is even more...]

II. WE HAVE BEEN SERVED BY "THE HOLY SPIRIT"!

   A. THIS THOUGHT IS ALSO EXPRESSED IN OUR TEXT...
      1. For it was the Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets to 
         proclaim things to come - 1Pe 1:11
         a. It was He who inspired David and Isaiah to foretell the 
            sufferings of Christ - e.g., Ps 22; Isa 53
         b. It was He who likewise moved the prophets to proclaim the 
            glories to follow
            1) E.g., the resurrection of Jesus - Ps 16: 9-11
            2) E.g., His ascension and coronation - Dan 7:13-14
      2. And it was the Holy Spirit who inspired the apostles to reveal
         the gospel - 1Pe 1:12
         a. As Jesus promised He would, in His discourse to His
            apostles - Jn 16:13
         b. As Paul said He did, in writing to the Ephesians - Ep 3:5

   B. AGAIN, CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS TRUTH...
      1. Through His ministry of inspiration and revelation in the
         lives of the prophets and apostles, we have been served by the
         Holy Spirit
      2. Because of His work, we have today the completed revelation of
         God's Word in our hands!
      3. This is in addition to the "sanctifying work" of the Holy 
         Spirit to which Peter referred in 1Pe 1:2

[Do we appreciate the service that the Holy Spirit has rendered for us
throughout the ages?  Is this not an indication of the great value God
must place upon His people?

But there is even another group of distinguished individuals who served
their lives in our behalf...]

III. WE HAVE BEEN SERVED BY "THE APOSTLES"!

   A. THIS WE CAN GLEAN FROM VERSE 12...
      1. "...those who preached the gospel to you"
         a. This is a likely reference to the apostles of Jesus Christ
         b. Who were commissioned to preach the gospel, as recorded in
            Mk 16:15-16
      2. As they carried out this "Great Commission", they considered
         themselves but servants for those to whom they preached
         a. As Paul said, they were but "seed-throwers" and 
            "water-boys" - cf. 1Co 3:5-7
         b. They were serving as servants of Christ - 1Co 3:21-4:1;2Co 4:5

   B. THEREFORE, WE HAVE BEEN SERVED BY MEN...
      1. Such as Peter, James, John, and Paul
      2. Who gave their lives for our sake, to convince the world that
         our faith in their testimony is not unfounded, but that Jesus
         did indeed rise from the dead! - cf. 2Co 11:24-29

[When we take the time to think about those who spent their lives 
ministering to us, we can't help but conclude that Christians hold a 
very high place in God's scheme of redemption as it has unfolded 
throughout the ages!

But before we conclude this lesson, let me point out another noble 
group that has served those who are God's "elect"...]

IV. WE HAVE BEEN SERVED BY "ANGELS"!

   A. VERSE 12 TELLS US THAT ANGELS HAD A KEEN INTEREST...
      1. In things prophesied by the prophets
      2. In things proclaimed by the apostles through the gospel

   B. WHY SUCH A KEEN INTEREST?
      1. They too were involved in the process of foretelling and 
         revealing the salvation in Christ!
         a. E.g., Gabriel's appearances to Daniel - cf. Dan 8, 9
         b. E.g., Gabriel's appearances to Zacharias and Mary - cf. 
            Lk 1:11-19, 26-38
      2. But like the prophets, angels were also in the dark concerning
         the details of coming salvation
      3. And so, the angels were serving not themselves but us! - cf. 
         He 1:13-14

CONCLUSION

1. Our Father in heaven must hold His "elect" (the church) in high 
   regard to have them served by such a distinguished company!

2. To be so privileged should motivate us to praise God for His grace
   and to devote our lives in grateful service to Him and His people

3. But the grace God bestowed toward us reached its peak when addition
   to all these (prophets, the Holy Spirit, apostles, angels) He sent
   His only Son to serve us as well!

   "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
   and to give His life a ransom for many." - Mt 20:28

Shall we not respond with grateful service through faithful obedience
to His Will?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

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Intelligent Design: The Scientific Choice by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3530


Intelligent Design: The Scientific Choice

by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.


Some incorrectly assert that science and religion are incompatible—that religion is based on feeling, and science is based on reason and evidence. Sadly, the contention that religion is based on feeling and not evidence does, in fact, characterize the bulk of the religious world. However, true religion—biblical Christianity—is in perfect harmony with reason and true science. After all, God, Himself, instituted the field of science and commanded His followers to draw only those conclusions that are warranted by the evidence (1 Thessalonians 5:21; cf. Miller, 2012a). The Universe contains countless features that exhibit purpose, intent, and planning—characteristics which imply the necessity of an intelligent Designer, not random chance, which characterizes evolutionary theories. Thus, science supports intelligent design and stands against atheistic origin proposals.
The scientific evidence indicates, without exception, according to the work of Spallanzani, Redi, and Pasteur, that in nature, life comes only from life (see Miller, 2012b). That evidence poses a dilemma for the naturalistic scientist. The naturalist must be able to propose a theory for the natural origin of life from non-life (i.e., abiogenesis) in order to be consistent with naturalism, and yet science indicates that life cannot arise from non-life. So, the naturalist cannot be a naturalist and still be a legitimate scientist! There is no scientific evidence which supports abiogenesis. However, the intelligent design model contends that since life comes only from life in nature, in order to be in keeping with science, there must be a supernatural explanation for the origin of life. The supernaturalist can easily be a scientist without contradicting himself.
Similarly, science reveals that nothing can last forever, since everything is deteriorating and all energy is transforming into less usable forms according to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Science reveals that nothing could spontaneously pop into or out of existence according to the 1st Law of Thermodynamics (see Miller, 2007). Those truths come from the scientific investigation of nature, and yet naturalistic models must contend that the matter and energy of the Universe either always existed or initially popped into existence (before the alleged “Big Bang”). Once again, this proposal is against the scientific evidence. Since science indicates that in nature, matter cannot spontaneously generate or exist forever, unprejudiced reasoning leads to the conclusion that a supernatural source is required to explain the origin of the Universe—an intelligent Designer. Why not argue for the re-instatement of true science into the school system where you are? Intelligent Design is the model in keeping with the scientific evidence.

REFERENCES

Miller, Jeff (2007), “God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective,” Reason & Revelation, 27[4]:25-31, April (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://apologeticspress.org/articles/3293.
Miller, Jeff (2012a), “Science: Instituted by God,” Reason & Revelation, 32[4]:46, April (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1026&article=1760.
Miller, Jeff (2012b), “The Law of Biogenesis,” Reason & Revelation, 32[1]:2-11, January (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1018&article=1722.

Jonah (Part 6) by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1672

Jonah (Part 6)

So we’re finishing up in Jonah today…
I don’t know a single preacher or evangelist that wouldn’t be overjoyed if an entire city of 120,000 repented when they preached, but not Jonah. Today in chapter 4 we’ll see that he is actually angry that God showed mercy, and then he gets angry again when a plant dries up and no longer shades him. Instead of me just talking about it, let’s go ahead and go to the text. (Read Text)
“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
First of all I want you to notice that the writer of Jonah makes it clear to us that everything that happened in this story happened because it was appointed by the Lord. God appointed Jonah to preach. God appointed the storm, God appointed the fish, God appointed the message for the Ninevites. God appointed the plant, God appointed the scorching heat and wind. He even appointed a worm to chew on the plant and make it wither.
I think He might be trying to tell us that God is sovereign and in controlWhat do you think? And also, it’s better to work WITH the One who is sovereign and in control rather than to try and go AGAINST Him?              How good are you at that?
Jonah also was appointed as the agent of God to bring God’s mercy and grace to the people of Nineveh but he wasn’t very happy about doing that. Even though he somewhat reluctantly obeyed Him, God shows Jonah mercy and grace by providing shade, but I personally don’t think he deserve that plant because of his attitude.
When God removes the plant, Jonah is angry… In fact our verse 9 tells us that he was angry enough to die. And the Lord then says to him, 10 … “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
So what’s the point here, and the lesson we need to learn from this?
Well I think it comes here in God’s response to Jonah. God is pointing out to Jonah that instead of being bitter and angry and sulking, he should rejoice and be happy that God cares enough for people to provide a way to save them from themselves and prevent their destruction.
This plant that God provided to shade Jonah was an act of grace, something He did for an undeserving man who had an attitude problem. He was trying to show Jonah that those people in that city also needed His grace as well but
Jonah was more concerned about that silly plant than all those men, women, and children, not to mention the all those animals.
So God causes this plant to spring up and give shade to Jonah, and our text tells us that Jonah was glad. He was happy with this gift from God… But he was unhappy with God’s grace toward the Ninevites. Jonah was ok as long as God showed him favor and grace, but it was quite another thing for God to show grace to others. I wonder how often we do the same thing.
That guy you think is a jerk at work gets a promotion and you don’t… when God shows someone else bit of grace and they get the promotion instead of you do you get angry or celebrate that God showed such an undeserving sinner grace? Or maybe there’s someone you know who seems to have it all… you know… big house, nice vehicles, money never seems to be a problem for them. How do you feel about that? Angry? Jealous? Envious?
I think this little book is showing us that we should not be angry with God because He has blessed others. Instead we should look at it as an opportunity to praise God for His grace and love and ability to show mercy to all of us sinners..
We are all blessed and are recipients of His grace, in so many ways, including material blessings. But what happens when God removes those blessings?
When things are going good it’s easy to praise Him. But what happens when all of a sudden some unexpected bills come due, or sickness strikes us or someone else in our family. What happens when you lose your job, or your barn or house burns to the ground? What happens then? How do you act towards God then?
You see; Jonah’s problem is often times our problem, a problem that we have; we get upset, with the way God distributes His blessings.
Somewhere along the way, Jonah probably thought that he merited or deserved God’s favor and blessings, even His calling. But none of us can merit, earn or buy God’s favor or grace. The word grace means, unmerited favor.
Like that plant that shaded Jonah, many of God’s blessings and acts of grace come to us freely, as a gift of love from God. So many things come without us laboring to earn them, produce them, or make them grow. We may get to enjoy those blessing for a while, but sometimes they disappear
And when that happen we should be more like Job than Jonah. Remember Job; all the bad things happened to him, all that he lost? But he goes on to say in Job 1:21
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised,  What an amazing attitude!
In chapter 2 Job’s wife tells him that he should curse and die for all that has happened, but he goes on to say “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”          The only thing that Jonah seemed to care about his own comfort and getting his own way.
If anything, this little book should cause to recognize that it’s not all about Jonah, or you, or me. It’s not all about us. We need to be looking at things from God’s eternal perspective. He is God, not us.
God provides us with all kinds of things and many times we start caring more about the things and the stuff than we do about the One who provided it. Even the eternal destiny of those who are around us seem less important than our own comfort. We can become just like Jonah… we can care more about our little shaded spot and our own comfort than we care about God’s will and those people around us!
Jonah found happiness and comfort in the thing God provided, rather than in the One who provided it. So God took that thing away to show him where his affections lay. And the result …Jonah got angry and he just wanted to die.
What’s his problem? He’s selfish, self-centered, arrogant, and he’s an idolater who worships and adores himself more than he worships and adores God.
Do you love yourself and what you have, or what you do more than you love God? I don’t care much about what you say you do, rather, what do you actions show or reveal?
Jonah is mad because God didn’t destroy all those people, and he’s mad because his plant died and he had to sit in the sun. He wanted to die because things didn’t go his way. Do you ever feel like that? We have our pity party and stomp our feet because things don’t go the ways we want or think.
That’s when God rebuked Jonah. God gets the last word in, and that’s where the book ends. ‘Jonah wake up and think about what you are saying and thinking!’
What about us, what can you and I take home from this? The reality is if we’re honest; we probably don’t love and care for others the way we should. Nor do we understand God’s amazing grace the way we should.
God used Jonah, not because He couldn’t find a better prophet.
I believe He used Jonah because as God converts the sailors on the ship, and as God converts the people of Nineveh, He was working on Jonah as well. God took Jonah on journey through his own self-righteousness, rebellion, and anger, and through his racist prejudice, all for the purpose of making Jonah the man of God he was meant to be!
This is just as much a story of God’s mercy and grace to Jonah as it is a story of God’s mercy and grace to the people of Nineveh.
You may ask, ”Did Jonah repent?” And my answer is, “Who wrote the book?” I personally believe that the fact that we have the Book of Jonah, shows us that Jonah repented. I believe He wrote it because God did humbled him, and knowing that this book would cast him in a bad light, he really didn’t care how it made him look.
I believe his desire in doing so was to glorify God and show God in all of His glory, and show His grace in all its awesomeness and how even religious people can have a bad attitude.
The book is a revelation to God’s people of His sovereign power and loving concern for all His creatures, including sinners and those cows (4:11).
So I would like to suggest that you should learn to be willing to act when God calls you to do something…even if you find His calling difficult, perhaps even distasteful.
Like I stated in our last lesson, “Sometime it’s just plain easier and less troublesome if we do what God prompts us to do in the first place. Jonah needed to look at things from God’s eternal perspective and we need to do the same Simply put, we save ourself a lot of trouble and grief if he simply obey God from the start rather than choosing to resist Him.
Just as God helped Jonah with his attitude problem, He may also take some strong measures to deal with your attitude.
We also need to remember that God loves everyone of us… even those who have messed up. We have to be careful about condemning another. Rather we should turn them over to God and pray that He will intervene and work on that person’s heart.
And if you don’t have something you think you should have or something you want, there is probably a pretty good reason why God has not given it to you. We have to believe and trust that He will work all things out for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) …. If you don’t believe or recognize this truth, and trust God, you are just going to be just plain miserable.
Based on a sermon by Ken McKinley

Beware of false teaching on baptism! by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/baptism.html

Beware of false teaching on baptism!

Many people believe untruths about baptism. This is because many wrong things are taught about baptism.
Ultimately, the devil is behind false teaching (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). He is a liar and the father of lies (John 3:44). He lied to Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:4) and he fills the world - including the religious world - with lies today.

Some of the devil’s most destructive lies relate to baptism.
Millions of pious people will be lost because they believed the devil’s lies about baptism. How can we know they are lies? By comparing them with the word of God. Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). The bright light of God’s word exposes the devil’s dark lies about baptism.

Lie number one:
Infant baptism is valid.
Because of this lie, many people think they have been baptized because someone else decided to have them christened when they were babies. What happened to them, however, bears no resemblance whatever to the baptism we read about in the New Testament.
Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). When the Ethiopian asked Philip, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (Acts 8:36, 37).
Baptism must be based on faith. A baby is not yet able to believe or make a decision to follow Christ.
Peter said: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).
A baby cannot repent. He has committed no sins of which he needs to repent. Nor can he be baptized for the remission of sins, since he has committed no sins.
If you have only been christened as a baby, you have been deceived. You have not been baptized at all.

Lie number two:
Sprinkling and pouring are valid ways to baptize.
The word “baptism” is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning “immersion”. The context makes this clear. “Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there” (John 3:23). Baptism requires much water.
Paul writes: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death” (Romans 6:4). We were “buried with Him in baptism” (Colossians 2:12). Baptism is an immersion, a burial in water.
If you have never been immersed, you have been deceived. You have not experienced Christian baptism at all.

Lie number three:
Baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins.
How do we know this is a lie? Because we are commanded to be baptized for the remission of sins! “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins’” (Acts 2:37, 38).
Many people do not obey this simple command because they believe another lie, namely, that one is saved by faith only. How do I know this is a lie? Again, because the Bible says exactly the opposite! “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24).
Who shall we believe, God or man? God says we are not saved by faith only. Evangelicals say we are saved by faith only. And because they have been deceived on this point, they also do not obey the command of Peter: “Be baptized ... for the remission of sins.” They think their sins were forgiven as soon as they believed in Jesus Christ and that baptism is not necessary for salvation.
As a consequence, Evangelical baptism, although immersion, is invalid because it is not done for the commanded purpose. Even if you have been immersed, if you were not baptized for the remission of sins, you did not obey the command Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost. You have been deceived. You have believed a lie. You have not been baptized at all.

Lie number four:
Baptism does not wash away sins.
How do we know this is a lie? Because the Bible says exactly the opposite! Ananias told the penitent Paul, who had been praying and fasting for three days: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
If you were deceived by the doctrine of “salvation by faith only,” thinking you were already saved before baptism, you were not baptized to wash away your sins! What you experienced, although it was immersion, was not the same baptism Paul experienced. You have been deceived. You have not been baptized at all.

Lie number five:
Baptism is not necessary for salvation.
How do we know this is a lie? Because Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16), and Peter wrote: “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
Baptism saves because of its relation to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not a cleansing of the body but a cleansing of the soul, a cleansing of the conscience by the blood of Christ and the power of His resurrection.
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5).
Baptism is essential for salvation because God has ordained that our union with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is accomplished through baptism.
When someone says that salvation is possible through faith in Christ without baptism, he may believe in Christ, but he does not believe Christ! Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16) but he does not believe that. In a sense, he is an unbeliever because he does not believe the words of Christ. He does not believe what Jesus says about baptism!
If you were immersed thinking you were saved before baptism, or that baptism was not necessary for salvation, you have not experienced the baptism we read about in the Bible. You have been deceived.

Lie number six:
Spiritual rebirth does not occur at baptism.
Some claim that there are two baptisms, spiritual baptism and water baptism, and that the spiritual rebirth does not occur when one is baptized in water. We know this is a lie because Paul said there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). The water and the Spirit are both involved in the one baptism commanded by Christ.
How do I know? Because Jesus told Nicodemus: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The spiritual rebirth is realized by God’s Spirit when a penitent believer is immersed into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ through baptism. From the watery grave of baptism, he rises to walk in newness of life.
If you think you were baptized by the Spirit, separate from, or without, baptism in water, you have dismembered the one baptism. You have been deceived. What you experienced was not the baptism Christ commanded.

What have we learned about baptism?
  • Baptism must be based on one’s own faith (Mark 16:16; Acts 8:36, 37).
  • Baptism is a burial, an immersion (John 3:23; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12).
  • Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).
  • Baptism washes away sins by the power of the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16).
  • There is one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
  • Spiritual rebirth occurs at baptism (John 3:5).
  • Baptism is essential for salvation (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21).
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise. Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
http://www.oldpaths.com

The snowball effect by Gary Rose



I don’t remember how old I was when I first heard the term “White lie”, but I must have been very young. For those of you who have never heard this term before, I would define it as a very, small modification of the truth, with the intent of not hurting someone by telling them the unvarnished truth. My Wordnet dictionary has a slightly different description:
“1. white lie -- (an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite))”

Frankly, I like my definition better because there is no such thing as an unimportant lie, for even the smallest lie has a tendency to snowball into something enormous. And then I thought of something the Apostle James said…


James 1 ( World English Bible )
Jam 1:13, Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
Jam 1:14, But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
Jam 1:15, Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.


If you know something is even a little bit wrong; do not do it. Because, if you do it once, you will find it easier to do it again and each time you are presented with a choice to sin or not sin, it will become so easy that it will become a habit and eventually destroy you.

If you look closely at the picture, that last “domino” (the big one on the left) is the one that will finally get you, but it could have been avoided if only you had not done the little thing in the first place.

Remember this Gary...