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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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October 3, 2010
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Contents:
1) Works (Tom Edwards)
2) Religious Freedom (Philip Mullins)
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-1-
Works
by Tom Edwards
Many religious people today, of various denominations, hold to the
belief that salvation is entirely up to God; and to, therefore, try to
do anything to be saved would nullify the grace of God. For in
their thinking, to do anything would be to try to save yourself by
"works." It is, therefore, because of this false notion that many
people reject water baptism for the remission of sins -- even though
the need for it is clearly taught in the Scriptures (Mk. 16:16; Acts
2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Pet. 3:21, and elsewhere).
As we also saw, in last week's article ("Faith -- As Seen in the Bible"
-- http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards15/go/go100926.html), faith must be
coupled with obedience in order to become a valid faith by which one
can be saved. So that also establishes the fact that there are
some "works" that are necessary.
We need to point out, though, that the term "works" (or the idea of it)
is not always referring to the same thing in the Scriptures. For
example, when Paul states in Galatians 2:16, "nevertheless knowing that
a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in
Christ Jesus...since by the works of the Law no flesh will be
justified," what "works" is he talking about?
He calls it "the works of the Law," and he is referring to the Law of
Moses.
Paul is emphasizing this because of the wrong belief that the
Judaizers were teaching: that Christians must keep the Law of Moses,
along with the gospel of Christ, in order to be saved (Acts 15:1,5).
This was one of the false teachings during the time of the early church
-- and that's why we often see, in the Scriptures, faith (the gospel)
in contrast to works (the law of Moses). For notice how detrimental to
their faith this false belief was, according to Galatians 5:4: "You
have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by
law; you have fallen from grace."
So the "works of the Law" that Paul is referring to in these verses is
the Law of Moses, which was abolished by the Lord's death at
Calvary. For it was by His death that He did away with the Old
Covenant and established the New Covenant (Col. 2:14; Heb. 10:9).
This, however, does not mean that a person today is not saved by any
kind of law nor by any kind of work -- which would necessitate
obedience. For notice that in 1 Corinthians 9:21, Paul
refers to himself as "...not being without the law of God but under the
law of Christ...."
This "law of Christ" is the gospel, and James refers to it as being
"the perfect law, the law of liberty"; and he shows in that verse that
the "...one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty,
and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual
doer, this man will be blessed in what he does" (Jms. 1:25). This
is why he also exhorts Christians, a few verses earlier, to "...prove
yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude
themselves" (v. 22).
Consider also Romans 6:16-18: "Do you not know that when you present
yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the
one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience
resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you
were slaves of sin, YOU BECAME OBEDIENT FROM THE HEART TO THAT FORM OF
TEACHING to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin,
you became slaves of righteousness" (emphasis mine).
That "form of teaching" they became obedient to is the gospel,
which involves much more than just believing that Jesus is Lord
-- for even the demons do that (Jms. 2:19,20). But unlike
the demons who believe, faithful Christians are those who have
submitted to God's commands and continue to abide in them (Rev. 2:10).
I often like to think of a statement that a friend of mine, Chuck
Bartlett, made some time back, along this line. He said, "Just
because I believe in Satan, it doesn't make me a follower; the same is
true with Christ." Chuck is showing that just because a person believes
in the existence of Satan (which we all should) doesn't make that
person a follower of Satan. And on that same principle, neither does
merely a mental acceptance of the reality of Jesus make a person a
devoted follower of the Lord. For only faith coupled with
obedience to God's word can do that.
In addition, when people make the blanket statement that we are not
saved by any kind of works, look at the position they put themselves
in, in light of John 6:28,29: "They said therefore to Him, 'What shall
we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and
said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He
has sent.'"
To say, therefore, that we are to avoid "work" of any kind (in regard
to salvation) is to say we should not even believe in Jesus! But
how wrong that would be (cf. John 8:24).
So even believing itself is a work, and that is understandable in view
of Romans 10:17. For "...faith comes from hearing,
and hearing by the word of Christ." It takes work to hear the
word of God -- regardless of whatever method we use to learn it.
I once told the brethren, during an evening service, that if they
didn't believe that hearing God's word was a work, then I'd just keep
preaching until midnight -- or until they changed their mind.
Let it also be pointed out, however, that there are a couple senses in
which we are not saved by works:
First, we cannot simply make up our own works, as in our own man-made
plan of salvation, by which to try to justify ourselves. Paul,
for instance, spoke of those Jews who had a great zeal for God, but
they were ignorant of "God's righteousness" (the Lord's gospel plan of
salvation); and, therefore, they sought "to establish their own" (Rom.
10:1-3). As a result, they were still lost in their sins -- and
even though they were enthusiastic toward serving God (though
wrongfully in their own way).
And, secondly, even after a person submits to God's plan of redemption,
salvation is still not earned nor merited. Rather, it is by God's
grace and mercy, after having met the proper conditions. This often
reminds me of what the Lord states in Luke 17:10: "So you too,
when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are
unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'"
So in summing it up, there are some works by which we cannot be saved
(as we saw with regard to the Law of Moses and with a man-made plan of
salvation). We also noted that even after doing the things (the
works) that God requires of us to be saved, we are not saved by those
works in a meritorious sense. For salvation could never be earned
nor deserved by us. It will always require God's grace and mercy,
regardless of how much we do in our service to the Lord. And in
this latter point, we also realize that there are those works that must
be done -- such as the initial steps in becoming a Christian that
involves hearing the word (Rom. 10:17), believing in Jesus (John 8:24),
repenting of sin (Luke 13:5), confessing our faith in Jesus (Rom.
10:9,10), and being baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts
2:38) -- in order that we can benefit from Christ's sacrifice and,
thus, have our sins blotted out and become a Christian.
In addition, as children of God, we must strive to maintain that right
relationship with the Lord in order that we might continue to have
Christ's atonement applied to our lives. As John writes in 1 John
1:6,7, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the
darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the
light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
When Robert Turner was returning home from a gospel meeting, one of the
other passengers found out that brother Turner was a member of the
church of Christ. He then said something like, "Oh, you are one
of those who believe you need to work out your own salvation."
And Robert responded by saying, "You mean 'with fear and
trembling?'" -- in which he was making an allusion to Philippians
2:12. This verse states, "So then, my beloved, just as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling...."
Here, as well as elsewhere in the Scriptures, the need for faithful
service unto God is clearly expressed.
Therefore, let those of us who are Christians continue in those works
that make our faith an obedient faith and one that is complete (James
2:20-26). For then it truly will be the faith by which we can be
saved -- a faith that is characterized, and made alive, by the works of
righteousness that God has commanded and, by which, He will also be
pleased in our submission to and will honor us for having done so (cf.
John 12:26).
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-2-
Religious Freedom
by Philip Mullins
Worshiping God however we would like to worship Him sounds like real
freedom to man. Yet, the Bible calls it something different. In quoting
from the Old Testament, Jesus Christ said of some of His Jewish
brethren, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is
far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men" (Mark 7:6-7).
Man has always sought to replace God's will for worship with his own
ideas and agenda. The Scriptures refer to this as "vain worship."
Here is an important question for us all to consider on the matter of
worship -- Who is it for? If it is for God whom we are seeking to
honor, shouldn't we worship the way that He wants us to, the way that
is revealed in the Bible? Yet, if we are trying to please ourselves,
then by all means we should tailor our religion to suit our personal
tastes. The problem with this is that God is the one who deserves our
praise. Romans chapter 1 condemns people who worship and serve "the
creature rather than the Creator" (vs. 25).
Freedom comes not by doing our will, but the will of our God. When we
worship our way, we sin, Sin enslaves; it never liberates.
-- Via The Beacon, September 21, 2010
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for,
if
not,
salvation
can
be
lost
(Heb.
10:36-39;
Rev.
2:10;
2
Pet.
2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
201 Rushing Road (at the Hampton Inn), Denham Springs, Louisiana
70726
Sunday services: 9:15 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 4 PM (worship)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
tedwards@onemain.com
tedwards1109@gmail.com
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go (Gospel Observer website)
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/audioser.html (audio sermons)
Directions:
Take the Denham Springs exit (exit 10) off of I-12. At the end of
the exit ramp, turn north. Go about a stone's throw to Rushing
Road. (You'll see a Starbucks, Circle K, and two other gas
stations; with each on each corner.) Turn left on Rushing Road,
and go a little less than 0.3 of a mile. Hampton Inn will be on
the
right. We assemble in its "Meeting Room," which is very close to
the reception counter. Just walk pass the check-in counter; turn
right at the hall. The first and second doors on the left lead to
where we meet.