He Shall Be Saved

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."  Mark 16:16.  God has given us the power of choice.  We can be saved or we can be damned.  All of humanity has an eternal destiny.  Our destiny is determined by the choices that we make and the life that we live.  Jesus, having all authority, says that by belief and baptism, we shall be saved.  The gospel tells of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.  We believe that He died on the cross, that He was buried, and that He arose from the dead on the third day.  I Corinthians 15:1-4.  We must then be united with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  The work by which we accomplish that is baptism.  Romans 6:1-6.  Jesus said for us to believe and be baptized.  The only other choice is disbelief.  Baptism washs away sins.  Acts 22:16.  Baptism is a death of the old man, the sinful man.  Romans 6:6.  Baptism saves.  I Peter 3:21.  Baptism can be disregarded, but salvation cannot be possessed.  The choices: belief and baptism or disbelief'; salvation or damnation. 

The Power That Saves

We need to be saved because we are lost.  We are lost because of sin.  Sin is a separator.  "The wages of sin is death."  Romans 6:23.  God has chosen a power by which lost humanity can be saved.  That power is the gospel.  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek."  Romans 1:16.  The gospel is the "good news" of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.  As we hear and believe the gospel, we can be saved.  This salvation is available to anyone and everyone who has the desire to obtain it.  Salvation is acquired through belief.  Belief is a commitment that one is willing to make to the commandments that God has provided.  Belief means that one is willing to repent of sins, confess Christ as the Son of God, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.  The writer of this passage is not ashamed of the gospel because of the power that it provides.  The gospel has the power to cleanse the human soul of all transgression.  The gospel has the power to consecrate the human heart unto God.  The gospel has the power remove all guilt from the conscience.  The gospel brings us to the understanding of God's willingness to redeem and makes us aware of God's grace and mercy.  The gospel rekindles the relationship between God and humanity that has been lost due to sin.  When the gospel is believed (obeyed), we are reborn and hope revives.  Behold, indeed, the power of the gospel.

Of A Truth

Peter had followed the Lord onto the stormy sea.  For a brief time, Peter had walked on the water.  "When they came into the ship, the wind ceased.  Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of God."  Matthew 14:32-33.  Jesus had fed a multitude with five loaves and two fishes and walked on the water.  These actions of our Lord indeed identified Him as the Son of God.  Jesus was not just a man.  He was a divine man.  God had become flesh, and the works which He performed were the proof.  These disciples, having witnessed such works, confessed what their heart believed.  "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  Romans 10:10.  Jesus was worthy of their worship because they knew Him to be the Son of God.  The disciples had no doubt as to who Jesus was.  All of the questions that they had concerning Him were answered in the life that Jesus lived and the works that Jesus performed.  As we believe like them and confess as they confessed, Jesus becomes the Lord of our life as He did theirs.  And one day in the future, the Son of God will confess us before the Father in heaven.

Flee From Idolatry

There are surely those things from which we must flee.  God has warned that the flesh is weak, and so, fleeing becomes a means by which we overcome.  Our admonition, or warning, given in I Corinthians 10:14 is, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, flee from idolatry."  Idolatry had been a grave problem for God's people.  When the Ten Commandments were given, the first one was, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."  Exodus 20:3-5.  They were not to have them, make them, or bow down to them.  God is a jealous God.  God wants to be the only presence in our lives.  Jesus taught that God was to be loved and served above and beyond all else.  Even when this passage was written, idolatry was still a problem or sin that presented itself.  Today is not different.  Idolatry still appears in various ways.  Any physical thing that we own can be a god unto us.  Any pleasure that the world may offer can be a god unto us.  When such is the case, we become idolaters.  Idolatry creates a void between us and God.  Idolatry will rob us of our spirituality.  Idolatry will drive out God from our life.  Idolatry brings sin and infidelity into our hearts.  Idolatry makes us fleshy.  Idolatry will bring God's anger upon us.  Our defense is to flee. 

Worship God

The simple command of worship is penned by John in Revelation 22:9.  "Worship God."  God is to be worshipped by those who are willing to keep His word.  The word provides us with adequate instruction as to what God requires in our service unto Him.  God is to be worshipped because He is the Creator.  All things exist by the word of His mouth.  God is to be worshipped because of His provisions for the welfare of His creatures.  Not only has He provided for us in a physical manner, but also He has provided for our spiritual life.  We are permitted to praise and honor Him because of who we are in our relationship with Him.  We are His children through Jesus Christ.  By word and life we are to magnify the God of heaven.  We offer unto Him our praise because of our redemption from sin and the second death.  We praise Him because of our purging from sin and our removal from the darkness that separates us from God.  We worship God because of His character, His love, and His grace.  Only God is worthy to be praised.  Let us come before Him in absolute devotion and purity of heart.

Now Is The Day

"Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."  II Corinthians 6:2.  The most serious matter that concerns us is our salvation.  Procrastination is one of our worst flaws.  This is especially true with the welfare of our soul.  We must use the opportune time to "save ourselves."  Acts 2:40.  We have been given no promise of future life.  The "convenient season" will only lead us into hardness.  The brevity of life should concern us all.  Delay not till the morrow for the morrow may not come.  Also, we are to mindful of God's willingness to save us.  We can answer His invitation to come at all times in our life.  We can come to Him in the days of our youth or in the declining years of our life.  His door never closes and His desire to save never ceases.  Salvation is such a precious treasure.  Peace comes to those who have acquired it.  Hope is embraced by those who have acquired it.  Why not accept salvation now rather than later?  Why wait to possess the greatest of all possessions?

That I May Know Him

The gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, contain the information that God has given us concerning His Son, Jesus Christ.  As we read and study these four books of the New Testament, we will come to know Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul stated, "That I may know him."  Philippians 3:10.  We must know Christ as the Son of God.  Jesus has made known unto us God.  Our fellowship with God is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life."  John 14:6.  We must know Christ as the Savior of the world.  God has chosen to save sinful humanity through Jesus Christ.  We must know Christ as "the peace that passeth understanding."  Philippians 4:6.  Our peace comes through the forgiveness of our sins and our reconciliation unto God.  We must know Christ as our hope.  Jesus is the source of eternal life.  Christ conquered death as He was raised from the dead.  On a future day, we will be raised from the grave.  We must know Christ as the judge.  We will stand before Christ as He sits upon the judgment seat.  Our destiny will be determined, not only by knowing Christ, but by our living for Christ.  Let each of us grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ so that on that fateful day we may be transformed into His very image.