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"Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
Psalm
119:105
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WHY MANY
CHRISTIANS MAY BE LOST!!!
Salvation depends on forgiveness, not just the
Lord’s forgiving us, but also our forgiving others. First, just
what is forgiveness? It is a decision you make to let go of your
choosing revenge, or desire to get back at the one that has hurt
you. It is deciding to allow God’s love for you to dominate your
life, and overlook any wrong done to you.
The first big obstacle you face is yourself. Human
nature does not want to forgive, but rather, wants some form of
vengeance. The greater the harm done to you, the greater this
desire. It is essential you remember that anger can cause you to
sin. In Ephesians 4:26 Paul writes, “Be ye angry, and sin
not…”We need to be very careful that we do not allow our
anger at another to cause us to sin by not allowing ourselves to
forgive.
If for no other reason, we must learn to forgive
because of two things. We have Biblical examples that this is
important, and we have Biblical commands that we must forgive.
Luke 23:34 “Then said
Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do.”
Acts 7:59-60 “And they stoned Stephen,
calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord,
lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he
fell asleep.”
Note that in both the case of our savior and the
first Christian martyr, these people responsible for their
deaths, did not first repent, nor did they ask for forgiveness.
Forgiveness comes from the heart of the person being mistreated.
Matthew 6:12-15 And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. For if
ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 18:21-35 Then came
Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith
unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until
seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven
likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his
servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought
unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch
as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his
wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be
made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee
all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with
compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But
the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants,
which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and
took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou
owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and
besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee
all.And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he
should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what
was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord
all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called
him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all
that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou
also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had
pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered
him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto
him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you,
if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their
trespasses.
Mark 11:25-26 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye
have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven
may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not
forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven
forgive your trespasses.
Luke 17:3-4 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother
trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he
repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against
thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to
thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
· We have
the example of both Jesus and Stephen, the first Christian martyr
, forgiving those that had not asked for forgiveness. Therefore,
we should forgive even those that do not repent and ask our
forgiveness.
Our Lord was very clear that we will not be forgiven
if we do not forgive. Note these words: 1) But if ye
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses. 2) And his lord was
wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay
all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly
Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not
everyone his brother their trespasses, and 3) But
if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven
forgive your trespasses.
· Some use
Luke 17:3-4 to argue that one MUST ask for our forgiveness for us
to be required to forgive them. This passage is addressing the
restoration of fellowship between the one that hurt another and
the victim of that hurt. As God’s word has already commanded, we
are to forgive no matter what, this is speaking of the
restoration of fellowship. No matter how often one hurts us, we
are to restore that fellowship if they repent and ask.
Notice that God forgives us “as” we forgive others.
Note the language of Matthew 6:4, KJV “And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”. Another
version renders it, ERV “Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven
those who did wrong to us.” Do you think you might have
committed a sin against God, and not realized it? Do you believe
you must ask forgiveness for that sin to be forgiven? Remember,
God forgives as we forgive. If you want to know all your sins are
forgiven, then you must forgive anyone that sins against you.
That is God’s word.
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Feature Two: an article by R. C. Oliver
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Facts
Concerning the Church
Light
February,
1955
When
we open our Bible to study it, we are immediately challenged with
such statements as: “Jesus answered…Upon this rock I will build my
church,” again, “The Lord added to the church daily such as should
be saved,” and again, “Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself for it.” Indeed, it was “purchased with his own blood.”
Please read: Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:47; Ephesians 5:23; and Acts
20:28.
Christ
built his own church; he loved it; and he died for it. When we
read such authenticated documents concerning the church we are at
once struck with the importance of the church in the divine plan
of the ages. Neither would we dare minimize its importance in this
plan, for it is written: “To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God. According to the eternal
purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” --Ephesians
3:10-11. From this we may learn that from the depth of the eternal
past God had included the church in His plan, and its place and
purpose in this plan demand our most careful study. What then is
the origin, the history and the destiny of the New Testament
church?
Nineteen
hundred years (now nearly two thousand years ago, ed.) the
church of Christ was established, not in the city of London,
England, nor Wittenberg, Germany, nor Rome, Italy, but in the city
of Jerusalem, Palestine. A complete, though brief account of its
establishment is given to us in our Bible in that book called the Acts
of Apostles, in its second division.
Though
the church knows no national boundary, for its message is
addressed to the whole world yet while the church was confined to
the city of Jerusalem, and before it had spread unto “all Judea,
and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth,” it was as
much the universal church then as it has been at any other time in
his history. The idea therefore, that the church must be in every
nation under heaven in order to be, in truth and in fact, the true
church is simply the figment of some wild and unfruitful
imagination.
Soon
after the church had been established in Jerusalem we see it
spreading out into new territory, and before we reach the end of
the apostolic age we find it had carried its message to every
creature under heaven, for it is written: “And you, …hath he
reconciled …to present you holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith
grounded and settled, and be not moved away from
the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which
was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I
Paul am made a minister;” Colossians 1:21-23.
Like
most everything else peculiar to the Lord’s church, its method of
evangelization was, and is, a very simple one: starting out from
Jerusalem the early Christians went everywhere
preaching Christ, When enough people in a given community had been
converted to enable these preachers and teachers to establish a
local congregation in that community, they would then instruct
these new converts to assemble together on each first day of the
week which is also called “the Lord’s day” –Revelation 1:10, to
publicly worship God, Please read Acts 20:7 and compare 1
Corinthians 16:1-2.
The
organization of the Lord’s church, not unlike its method of
evangelization, is also a very simple one. It has but one head
which is Christ. –Colossians 1:18. Each local congregation, being
a complete unit within itself, is subject to no other
congregation, yet is joined to all others by that invisible bond
of Christian love, and when fully organized has elders to oversee
and deacons to serve. –Act 14:23 cf. Philippians 1:1. At no time
in its history has the Lord’s church ever recognized such officers
as: Popes, Cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, archdeacons et
cetera; these all had their origin at a much later date than
when the true church was organized, and they came in as a result
of the great apostasy of which we shall now speak in particular.
In the
Lord’s church no one has ever, by divine right, been recognized as
“lord” over another. –See Matthew 20:25-28 cf. 1 Peter 5:3. But it
was at this very point that trouble soon arose in the church, for
certain ambitious men who cared more for preeminence than for the
Lord’s body soon led the people off into a terrible apostasy.
Even in
the time of Paul he saw this danger and wrote: “Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this,
that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock. Also, of your own selves shall men
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”—Acts
20:28-30. Also in 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul writes: “Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience
seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and
commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created
to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know
the truth.”
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Feature Three: Sandy's Women's Corner
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Editor's
Note: You can read weekly articles from Sandy at the following Web
site: abiblecommentary.com "Blog for Christian
Women"
Recently, a little girl in the
kindergarten/first grade class was a little early getting there on
Sunday morning. She visited up and down the hall with the other
classes and then went back to her classroom. Someone came to check
to see that all the teachers were there, and this little girl was
“supervising” the other students that had arrived. Her remark was,
“don’t worry, I’ve got this”. And she did.
I think back to when I was a little girl, coming
home from worship on Sundays, lining my dolls up on the stairs, and
“teaching them what I had learned in Bible class that day. I wonder
how many children do that today. I think about all the children,
not only in our congregation, but in congregations we have
worshiped with in the past, that miss Bible class because their
parents won’t stay or get up an hour earlier to get them there.
There were two children in my Vacation Bible School class last
summer that told me they want to come, but their parents won’t
come.
I know that many people use as an excuse not to
attend Sunday school that it is not commanded. I agree. It is not
commanded. But consider the origin of the Sunday school.
According to Britannica.com, it has been around
since the 1700’s. A man named Robert Raikes, a newspaper man in
Gloucester, England became concerned about the children. Many were
working in factories six days a week, and he believed that they
could be saved from a life of crime if they had some basic
religious education on Sundays. In 1780, the first Sunday school
began with ordinary people teaching children in their homes.
The idea of Sunday school “has been the foremost
vehicle for teaching the principles of the Christian religion and
the Bible.
In the 1600’s the Puritans, according to
learnthebible.org., had Sunday morning and evening worship as well
as a Thursday morning lecture. Mid-week meetings began as prayer
meetings with Charles Finney and D. L. Moody. Moody had noon prayer
meetings to coincide with his preaching campaigns. In the
mid-1900’s , prayer emphasis meetings mid-week became common. By
the end of the century, these prayer meetings became opportunities
for teaching or preaching.
None of these additional services or gospel
meetings, vacation Bible schools, campaigns, etc. are commanded.
They are, however, blessed by the Scripture. Following Pentecost
and the establishment of the church, the believers were “day by
day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their
homes” (Acts 2:46). “And every day, in the temple and from house to
house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is
Jesus” (Acts 5:42). “And let us consider how to stir up one another
to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the
habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you
see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
The church of our Lord has, over the years,
looked for ways to better meet the needs of the members and overcome
the challenges faced through the centuries since the Lord’s church
began. Nothing is more evident than the adjustments that had to be
made when we were hit with the pandemic and forced to isolate away
from family, friends, and fellow Christians. Our elders and
preachers acted with our needs in mind, as well as adhering to the
commands of Scripture. Sunday school and other teaching
opportunities have met needs through the years in edifying the
saints.
Why do we look for ways to not put the Lord
first? Why do we complain when Christmas or some other holiday
falls on Sunday? Sunday is the Lord’s day. Every day belongs to the
Lord, and we should consider it an opportunity to worship Him
whenever we can. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”
(Matthew 6:33).
Making excuses not to participate in
opportunities to worship God really have nothing to do with the
fact that there is no command. Truly, it is a heart problem. “For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew
6:21).
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Feature Four: Honor to Whom Honor
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We live in
troubled times, and I fear the government is likely to turn against
the church in days to come. While we have a number of men helping
congregations with these changing times, one man stands out in my
mind. That is Brother Matt Vega. He addresses Polishing the
Pulpit lectureship every year and shares with the those attending
what has happened and what is on the agenda with the Supreme Court
that affects the church. I appreciate so much his
knowledge and his willingness to share this information.
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Feature
Five: Bible Question
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Can a
child of God be lost?
The Bible teaches that a Christian can be lost.
Consider Peter’s writing in 2 Peter 2:20-21.
For if after they have
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and
overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the
beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known
the way of righteousness, than, after they have
known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto
them.
Also, Paul wrote in Galatians 5:4 Christ
is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by
the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Certainly the Bible teaches us a Christian may fall
from grace. They may violate God’s commands for the Christian, fail
to forgive others. (Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.)
Another possibility is that they abuse the Lord’s
Supper. (1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body.)
We should always strive to be obedient children to our
Father in heaven. His intent is to save us and our Lord paid an
enormous cost to be able to do that. He does insist that we be
obedient, however.
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A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the
jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old
daughter to answer the phone. "Mommy can't come to the phone to
talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."
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