8/12/20

EVERY WIND OF NEW TEACHING? by steve finnell

 http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2017/02/every-wind-of-new-teaching-steve.html

 

EVERY WIND OF NEW TEACHING?  by steve finnell

Immature Christians are subject to every wind of new teaching. (Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.) NLV- New Living Translation.

The Christians in the first century believed the apostles teaching on salvation. Which was Faith: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish  but have everlasting life.(NKJV) Repentance: Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. (NKJV) Confession: Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (NKJV) Immersion in Water: Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved...Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.(NKJV)

Would a mature Christian leave the first century church of Christ to place their membership in a church that did not believe the apostles teaching on salvation. Would they have joined The Church of Jehovah' Witnesses, The Baptist Church, The Latter Day Saints, The Methodist Church, The Church of The Salvation Army, The Community Church, The Lutheran Church, the Church of The Masonic Lodge, The Pentecostal Church, The Roman Catholic Church?

The apostle Paul asked the elders of the church to guard against those would trick immature Christians with lies so clever they sound like the truth.  (Acts 20:28-30 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit  has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.(NKJV)

It would appear that over time the elders of the Lord's Church have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Neither Jesus nor the apostles gave multiple terms of pardon for salvation.

FAITH, REPENTANCE, CONFESSION, IMMERSION IN WATER---Just one plan of salvation.

 

 

Restoring New Testament Evangelism by J.C. Bailey

 http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Bailey/John/Carlos/1903/Articles/ntevange.html
 

Restoring New Testament Evangelism

The evangelism of the world is the primary thought set forth in the Great Commission. The apostles of Christ and those who were associated with them took this matter very seriously. The Lord overruled to see that the gospel went out most urgently.

A great harvest took place in Jerusalem and many thousands were added to the church. When Stephen was killed there arose a great persecution against the church and they that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word (Acts 8:4). Today, too often, those who move to new places die spiritually rather than scatter the word. We need to learn to practice the universal priesthood of the believer and do as they did.

God would not permit limitations to be put on this work of evangelism. The gospel was carried to the Samaritans. They were a circumcised people. However, God overruled in a very remarkable way so that the gospel would be carried to the Gentiles. Peter went obediently to the house of Cornelius but when he got there he asked why they sent for him. Not until Cornelius told of the visit of the angel and the message sent by him did Peter realize: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34,35). I know we say that one soul is as important to God as another, but our actions can belie our words.

Jesus said that we are to lift up our eyes to fields that are white unto harvest (John 4:35). When William Carey went to India early in the last century, it took him seven years to make his first convert. How vastly different it is today! There are other countries that are as ripe as India. We need to be alive to these fields as was Paul in his day. Foreign evangelism or home evangelism is not a duty to be performed but to every true Christian it must be a heart passion.

Sixty years ago probably 90% of our converts were made from the pulpit. Probably 90% of our converts are made today by what we call personal evangelism. Paul was alive to this situation so he said; “I taught you publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20). Our method may change but the urgency of the message may not.

In every place where we have a New Testament church it is because someone was interested in Evangelism. This pioneering spirit must not die. History shows that we either carry the gospel into new places or PERISH. Read the Book of Acts with this in mind and then go and do likewise.

J. C. Bailey, 1982, Dauphin, Manitoba

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

Reset? by Gary Rose

 

Interesting question! Would I press “reset”? As I think of my life as a whole, it has been full of surprises; The places I have lived, the work I have done, my goals, accomplishments and of course, my failures. Because of this, I don’t think I would want any surprises when it comes to the life after this life.


But there is more to the question this picture raises than meets the eye. This question raises others: Could I actually be offered a reset button? Who would have the power to control such a thing? Am I actually competent enough to decide what to do? What if my do-over resulted in a terrible outcome?


Ultimately, the answer to the “Reset” question is determined by your worldview. When I think of worldviews, there are really only two of them, for either you choose God’s view of how one should interpret the world or something created by the mind of a human being. As for me, well, I choose God and his will for mankind as revealed through the Holy Bible. The writer to the Hebrews said...


Hebrews 9 ( World English Bible )

24 For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

25 nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own,

26 or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

27 Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,

28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.


God has given us one life to live; there are no do-overs. Since we all have sinned, we all need a remedy for it. Jesus Christ has provided a way to survive the judgment- his own body and blood. We cannot change the past, but with God’s help our future can be blessed beyond our imagination.


Will you seek God and his purpose for your life, or pursue some hair-brained idea like a reset button? Your decision, your fate. What will you do about it? 

 

Ask me and I will help; I am waiting...