The Cleansing Of Naaman

If The Gospel Be Hidden

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost."  II Cor 4:3.  We are lost without the gospel.  What does it mean to be lost?  We are estranged from God.  We live in ungodliness rather than godliness.  We seek the temporal rather than the eternal.  We are interested in the temporal rather than the spiritual.  But, if we are lost, we will finally be eternally lost.  Rather than dwelling in heaven, we shall dwell in hell.  This is the reason for the gospel.  The gospel is God's message of salvation to all people everywhere.  The gospel reveals the life and death of Jesus Christ.  The gospel has conditions of salvation that must be met by anyone who desires to be saved.  This plan of the gospel includes believing in Jesus as the Son of God.  We must repent of all sins.  Repentance is leaving the way of sin and living life in God.  Christ must be confessed as the Son of God with the mouth.  Upon belief, repentance, confession, we are baptized in water for the remission of sins.  Finally, we live a life of faithful obedience to God.  The gospel is not to be hid, but embraced so that we are saved.

A Little Is Enough

"And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much."  II Kings 10:18.  Whether much or little, the service of Baal was still a violation of God's will.  Elijah, the prophet, had told Ahab, "ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baal."  I Kings 18:18.  A little sin is too much sin.  Our lives must be completely purged from sin.  Our hearts much not harbor even the least amount of pollution.  A little service to Baal was too much service.  The heart does not have room for God and anything else, even in very small amounts.  God wants the full surrender of our lives.  We must not see small sins and large sins.  We must sin as sin.  A little service to Baal brought disaster to Ahab.  Sin in any amount in our life can disrupt our devotion to God.  A little service to the Baal in our life can harm our relationship to the Lord.  Let us give full service to God, and absolutely, no service to Baal.

Remember The Words

"But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Jude 17.  Humans are blessed with memory.  We love to recall special moments and special words.  God wants us to remember.  The Lord Jesus Christ sent the apostles to reveal His will to all of the world.  These chosen men were blessed with God's Holy Spirit who would remind them of what they had been taught by the Lord Jesus, and also, all of God's will for us living in this age.  These apostles spoke by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  God's will for us was completely revealed through them while they lived.  God has not spoken through any other means than the apostles.  Their words which are truly the words of God have been preserved for us in the Bible.  These are the words that we are to remember.  These words are the words of life.  These words are the words by which we are to serve God.  These are the words by which we will be judged.  Let us remember the words which were spoken by the apostles, and reject all other words.

Dost Thou Believe?

"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"  John 9:35.  Jesus had healed the blind man, and because of his faith in Christ, the Pharisees had cast him out of the temple.  The Pharisees were the enemies of Christ.  Today, Jesus Christ still has enemies who do not want others to believe on Him.  The blind man stood by his conviction that he had been healed by the Son of God.  Jesus found the blind man, and asked for a confession of faith.  That is what the Lord wants from us.  Jesus wants us to believe on Him despite what others may say or do.  We must confess Him as the Son of God.  Did not the healing prove that He was the Son of God?  Is there any doubt today that Jesus is the Son of God?  As we believe on Him and confess Him, we have the blessing of salvation.  Just as the blind man washed his eyes in the pool of Siloam and was cured, so when we through our faith are washed in the water of baptism, we are free from sin.  Our deliverance like that of the blind man comes by believing that Jesus is the Son of God.

Where Is My Treasure?

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Luke 12:34.  Jesus speaks of earthly matters.  Many times we only look at what is around us.  We spend our days in the pursuit of something.  We all have different dreams.  If we are not careful, our dreams of earthly pursuits can drown out our heavenly pursuits.  The Lord understands that we need some earthly things such as food and clothing.  But, how much do we really need.  The Lord in His teaching wanted us to concentrate on daily needs rather than needs for tomorrow or even next year.  God wants us to have a treasure in heaven.  If we do, then our heart will be set upon that treasure.  The eternal treasure will be the priority of our life.  In fact, that heavenly treasure will decide how we look at the earthly pursuits.  Heaven in our life must be before all things.  Truly, we will be willing to sacrifice the fleeing things of earth in order to obtain a heavenly treasure.  The heart seeks what the heart truly loves.  Our heart must be right if God will be served, and His promise of heaven will truly ever be ours.

If I Wash Thee Not

"Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.  Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."  John 13:8.  As a demonstration of the humility and care that we should have toward all, Jesus washed His disciples' feet.  Peter was going to object, but Christ taught him that he must submit to the will of Christ.  The great gift of Christ is not the cleansing of feet, but the cleansing of the heart from sin.  To be a part of Christ, we must willingly allow Him to cleanse us from sin through His blood.  When we obey Christ in baptism, we are allowing Him to cleanse us from the sin that separates us from Him.  Jesus shed His blood upon the cross so that we might have the forgiveness of sins.  There is truly power in the blood of Christ.  When we submit to Him in obedience to His will, we become a part of Him.  We share in all of the blessings that come through being made clean by Him.  Jesus seeks not to wash our feet, but to wash our soul.  To deny Him this act of grace is to refuse Him and not be a part of Him.