2) That You May Not Sin (Heath Rogers)
3) Are You Getting Better? (Greg Gwin)
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The Value of Bible Study<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Frank Himmel<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years ago I heard someone observe that we too often set aside what is actually more important for what seems more urgent. A ringing telephone illustrates the principle. To be sure, some folks have mastered ignoring telephone rings\u2026to the point that it is hard to get hold of them! But for many, that ring (or notification) demands immediate attention. We will stop whatever we are doing (maybe even worship!) to see who is contacting us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is this perhaps one of the reasons we might let an entire day go by without opening a Bible? We know it\u2019s important, but there is so much else going on that calls for our attention. The morning routine is already rushed, days are full of work, evenings bring more work at home or activities elsewhere, and before we know it the day is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a moment to reflect on the value of Bible study. Surely you will agree it needs to be a part of your day. The Scriptures make us complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). <\/em>Moses told ancient Israel, \u201cMan does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of God\u201d (Deuteronomy 8:3). Without God\u2019s word we are woefully incomplete and ill-equipped for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17).<\/em> In our daily interaction with the world we encounter many influences that seek to undermine our faith. We must fortify it, and hearing God\u2019s word is the primary means of doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasuring God\u2019s word in our hearts helps us not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11).<\/em> It enables us to know what is and is not sinful. It helps us see through temptation. It reminds us how short-lived sin\u2019s pleasure is and how far-reaching its consequences are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The things written are for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4). <\/em>All of us face discouragement from time to time. Bible study cheers us. It reminds us of our hope. It comforts us with accounts of God\u2019s people of old, seeing the struggles they faced and the outcome of their faith. It puts things back in perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not knowing the Scriptures results in erroneous thinking (Matthew 22:29). <\/em>God\u2019s thoughts are not man\u2019s thoughts. We dare not assume that because we see something a certain way, He sees it that way. Men devise all sort of error. God\u2019s word is truth (John 17:17), the truth that makes us free (John 8:21-32).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word of God lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:22-25).<\/em> Men\u2019s judgments and philosophies are constantly changing. Yesterday\u2019s wisdom is today\u2019s folly. This simply proves how little we really know, how foolish we are apart from God. His word, in contrast, is constant. His plan works in all times and places. His way is best. Those who want to adapt the Bible to modern thinking have it just backwards; we must conform our thinking to His timeless revelation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The words of Jesus will judge us at the last day (John 12:48).<\/em> In school, we always wanted to know what would be on the final exam; what do we have to know to pass? To successfully pass through the judgment, we must know God\u2019s will, His plan for our salvation, His requirements for our lives. The only place we can learn those things is the Bible. In the end, God\u2019s approval, not man\u2019s, is what matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Won\u2019t you make a place for at least a little Bible study each day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Via Pathlights,<\/em> January 17, 2016 -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heath Rogers<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world\u201d (1 John 2:1-2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This passage presents some great truths regarding the blessings that we have in Jesus. For one thing, Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. When we sin, Jesus speaks on our behalf before God as we seek forgiveness. He is a merciful and faithful High Priest, sympathizing with the weaknesses which have resulted in our sin (Heb. 2:17-18, 4:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. A \u201cpropitiation\u201d is that which appeases or satisfies. God\u2019s law states that the penalty for sin is death. When Jesus died on the cross, He made a way for God\u2019s righteous law to be satisfied without us having to personally pay the penalty for our own sin (Rom. 3:25-26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While these are great blessings, I want us to notice the instruction which was given prior to these blessings \u2014 \u201cthat you may not sin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n God has made a way for Christians to receive forgiveness for the sins that they commit, but His will is that we not sin. I wonder, how many of us are careless about sin and temptation, feeling as if we are \u201ccovered\u201d if we do sin? God\u2019s grace should never be viewed as a license to sin (Rom. 6:1-2,15). Instead, God\u2019s grace calls us to a higher standard of living (Titus 2:11-12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brethren, let us \u201cawake to righteousness, and do not sin\u2026\u201d (1 Cor. 15:34).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 via Articles from the Happy Hill church of Christ -3-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Gwin<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a challenge for you: Try to find a single place in the Scriptures where the Lord ever encountered a person and encouraged him to stay as he was. You can\u2019t do it, can you? The Lord always encouraged people to change; to become better than they previously were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know, of course, that some were already morally purer than others. For instance, Cornelius was \u201ca devout man who feared God \u2026 gave alms liberally \u2026 and prayed constantly\u201d (Acts 10:2). But then there were folks like the Corinthians who had been immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, and robbers (1 Cor. 6:9-11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, regardless of their existing condition, they had to change. Why? Paul answered that question for us: \u201cThere is none righteous, no, not one\u201d (Romans 3:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are too many people who call themselves Christians who have never gotten serious about making changes and improvements in their lives. They still want to act like they used to act, dress like they used to dress, talk like they used to talk, etc. The heart of the problem may be that we have failed to see ourselves as real sinners. After all, it is reasoned, we aren\u2019t nearly as bad as many others in our society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to stop deceiving ourselves by such useless comparisons (2 Cor. 10:12). Unless the stats have changed, it still remains true \u2014 \u201cthere is none righteous, no, not one.\u201d That being the case, we need to be changing \u2014 improving \u2014 for the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 via bulletin articles from the Collegevue church of Christ, January 29, 2017 1) Hear<\/strong> the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31). Tebeau Street \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Contents: 1) The Value of Bible Study (Frank Himmel)2) That You May Not Sin (Heath Rogers)3) Are You Getting Better? (Greg […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":635,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634\/revisions\/635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The sacred writings are able to give us the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus <\/em>(2 Timothy 3:15). <\/em>That is a wisdom that comes from no other source, and it is the best kind of wisdom to have. Being knowledgeable about money or sports or movies or fishing or any other worldly matter won\u2019t be worth a thing on judgment day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThat You May Not Sin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAre You Getting Better?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent<\/strong> of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith<\/strong> in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized <\/strong>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,<\/strong> living for the Lord; 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
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501
Sunday <\/strong>services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday:<\/strong> 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go<\/a> (Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but back to March 1990)
http:\/\/tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org\/<\/a>
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/audioser.html<\/a> (audio sermons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"