A Few Bible Thoughts For Your Day

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Date: Jun 14 2016 2:22 PM

Hey everybody,

I hope things are going well for you all. Before I give the Bible thoughts for the day, I wanted to invite you all to our VBS. It will be June 23-25. On the 23rd and 24th it will be at 6:30 P.M. On the 25th it will be at 9:00 A.M. If you would like for your children to participate, please send me an email with their names and ages so that we can have a good idea of how many will be attending. I plan on this being a big success.

And now, here are a few thoughts for your day.

What Must I Do?

Years ago, a written record of a radio sermon by a famous preacher was handed down. The subject was: "The Process of Salvation!" The last paragraph was indeed shocking: "If you are not saved, God pity you, for there is nothing you can do. God must do it all." What a terrible perversion of Scripture! The book of Acts, the record of conversions in the first century, certainly teaches otherwise.

When people on Pentecost were convicted of sin and cried out for salvation (Acts 2:37), they were certainly not told that there was nothing they could do! God told them, 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 ... Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (v. 38,41). They wanted to know what to DO, and when they were told, they DID it.

When the Lord appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, Saul asked, "What shall I do, Lord?" And Jesus replied, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do" (Acts 22:10; 9:6). Saul knew there was something he had to do, and so did the Lord! The Lord Jesus sent Ananias to Saul to tell him, "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). In every account of redemption, man was active and not passive. Remember the words of Jesus, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

Let us analyze each of the words in this biblical question, "What must I do to be saved?" (from Acts 2:37; 16:30; 22:10).

What - proves there is action on our part, as there is something necessary for sinners to be saved.

Must - shows the essentiality of the action. It does not say may, can, ought or might do. It is an imperative.

I - proves that it is personal, and not inherited, or done by proxy by someone else on our behalf.

Do - states clearly that God, with all He has done for our salvation, requires an active response on our part.

To Be Saved - teaches clearly that the actual cleansing emanates from God (1 John 4:14; 1 Tim. 2:4), and a "feeling down deep in my heart" is not the source of salvation. When we do what God commands, the salvation comes from Him, not from some "warm, fuzzy feeling inside man."

What We Must Do To Be Saved

Be Lost and Know It: "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). But some are lost and do not know it. The elder brother in Luke 15, for instance, and the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 18 were lost, but refused to recognize it.

Desire to Be Saved: Some are lost and do not really want to be saved, due to worldliness, apathy or materialism. Felix and Agrippa match this category, as well as the rich young ruler of Mark 10. When men are "lovers of pleasure" (2 Tim. 3:4), it is hard to get their attention (2 Tim. 3:4).

Be Humble Enough to Obey: Some folk would rather argue with the Bible than to obey its commands. Remember Naaman, the leper, in 2 Kings 5? He argued with God's plan for his cleansing, and he remained a leper until he humbly did what God told him. Christ will only save those who obey (Heb. 5:9).

Persevere: It is not enough just to repent and be baptized into Jesus Christ, thus becoming a child of God (Gal. 3:26-27; Rom. 6:3-4). The Christian then must also "continue steadfastly" (Acts 2:42) in the things of the Lord thereafter.

Have a great rest of the week!

Mitch Robison

Enon Church of Christ

1366 Enon Road

Webb, AL 36376

[email protected]

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