Obeying the Gospel: How (and Why) to Become a Christian

WHEN THE FEELING OF SALVATION FAILS US (NOVEMBER 19)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/feeling-salvation-fails-november-19/

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior" (Titus 1:1-3).

FEELINGS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT THEY...

CONFIDENT IN CHRIST . . . AND CAREFUL (NOVEMBER 18)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/confident-christ-careful-november-18/

"Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward" (2 John 8).

TOWARD THE END OF JOHN’S LIFE, THE CHRISTIANS IN ASIA WERE IN DIRE STRAITS. Threatened with persecution, heartbroken at the doctrinal apostasy that was taking place, disturbed about the prevalence of moral corruption among Christians, and concerned about the complacency of so many churches, the faithful brothers and sisters were hard pressed. And John was concerned about these fa...

EVEN IN CHRIST, WE ARE NOT YET FULLY ALIVE (NOVEMBER 1)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/even-in-christ-not-yet-fully-alive-november-17/

"And this is the promise that he made to us -- eternal life" (1 John 2:25).

WHEN GOD ENTERED THIS WORLD AND TOOK UPON HIMSELF HUMAN FORM, A NEVER-BEFORE THING BEGAN TO HAPPEN. The miracle of the Incarnation was not just that God became man but that in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, God brought into this world a new kind of life. This new life is nothing less than the kind of life that...

OPPORTUNITY TO SEEK GOD (NOVEMBER 16)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/opportunity-seek-god-november-16/

"For this reason every one of your faithful followers should pray to you while there is a window of opportunity" (Psalm 32:6 NET).

GOD GRANTS US THE TIME TO SEEK HIM, BUT THE SPAN OF THAT TIME IS NOT UNLIMITED. Eventually, our time in this world comes to an end; after that, there will be nothing left but the rendering of God’s judgment on the way we responded to His salvation. “Just as it is appointed for man to die once...

THE CHURCH IN SPLENDOR (NOVEMBER 15)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/church-splendor-november-15/

". . . so that [Christ] might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27).

IT IS INTRIGUING TO THINK OF CHRIST “PRESENTING THE CHURCH TO HIMSELF.” The basic image is that of a bride being presented to her bridegroom (as in 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2), but here Christ is pictured as presenting His own bride to Himself. Christ gave Himself up for His bride, in the words of Rich...

THE POWER (AND BEAUTY) OF COMMITMENT (NOVEMBER 14)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/power-beauty-commitment-november-14/

"But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you'" (Ruth 1:16,17).

THERE IS NOT IN THE SCRIPTURES...

THE GOSPEL IS TRUE, BUT WE MUST PAY ATTENTION (NOVEMBER 13)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/gospel-true-pay-attention-november-13/

". . . how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Hebrews 2:3,4).

THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY STRUCK ME. In a recent poll, people in Western Europe who have abandoned religion after being...

NO CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT CORRECTABILITY (NOVEMBER 12)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/christianity-correctability-november-12/

"They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth" (Amos 5:10).

THE PROPHETS SENT BY GOD TO CALL FOR REPENTANCE IN ISRAEL DID NOT ALWAYS FIND A RECEPTIVE AUDIENCE. Israel, desperately in need of a radical return to God, often rejected the pleas of the prophets for a change of heart. Apparently this was characteristic of the attitude of many of them about correction in general. Even when it came to listening to the...

DON’T LIMP! DECIDE! (NOVEMBER 11)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/dont-limp-decide-november-11/

"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word" (1 Kings 18:21).

ELIJAH DID NOT PULL ANY PUNCHES. Challenging the people to choose between the worship of God and the worship of Baal, he mocked their wishy-washy attitude: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions?” Or as...

THE SAMARITAN SYNDROME (NOVEMBER 10)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/samaritan-syndrome-november-10/

"So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children's children -- as their fathers did, so they do to this day" (2 Kings 17:41).

THE PEOPLE DESCRIBED IN THIS TEXT ARE THOSE WHOSE DESCENDANTS WERE KNOWN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT PERIOD AS THE SAMARITANS. Descendants of intermarriage between Israelites and the foreigners imported by the Assyrians in 722 BC into Samaria, the central section of Israel, the Samaritans practiced a religion that was a...

A DECISION ONLY WE CAN MAKE (NOVEMBER 9)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/decision-only-we-can-make-november-9/

"'Return to me . . . and I will return to you,' says the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 1:3).

THE MESSAGE PREACHED BY THE PROPHETS WAS THE MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE. Despite their blessings, Israel had frequently strayed from God, and they needed to turn back. This was not a popular message. Nobody ever likes to be told that they have departed from God, but in Israel’s case, this would have been especially true. Given the privileges of their role in Go...

TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU (NOVEMBER 8)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/take-my-yoke-upon-you-november-8/

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

THE INVITATION OF JESUS IS AN INVITATION TO THE WEARY. The satisfied may find Him “interesting,” if even that, but those who recognize the toll that sin...

HASTENING THE COMING (NOVEMBER 7)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/hastening-coming-november-7/

". . . waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!" (2 Peter 3:12).

THE APOSTLE PETER SPEAKS IN THIS PASSAGE OF SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE TODAY DON’T THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN, IF THEY THINK ABOUT IT AT ALL. The “day of God” is coming, he says, and it will be a day when the present universe will come to an end. Having...

TURNING FROM THE POWER OF SATAN TO GOD (NOVEMBER 6)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/turning-from-power-of-satan-to-god-november-6/

". . . to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26:18).

PAUL WAS AN APOSTLE AND WE ARE NOT, BUT THE MISSION ASSIGNED TO HIM IS ONE WE CAN LEARN FROM. He was given the task of taking the gospel to the Gentiles, and in the...

TESTING EVERYTHING BY THE SCRIPTURES (NOVEMBER 5)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/testing-everything-by-scriptures-november-5/

"Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

THE PROPHETS IN ISRAEL HAD PREDICTED THE COMING OF A MESSIAH. This Messiah or Christ (literally, “Anointed One”) would reign over a kingdom superior to any of the kingdoms of mankind (Daniel 2:44). But Jesus of Nazareth was not the only individual in the first century (or even later) to claim to b...

CHOOSE LIFE! (NOVEMBER 4)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/choose-life-november-4/

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him" (Deuteronomy 30:19,20).

WE ARE ABLE TO CHOOSE OUR DESTINY. If the alternatives are obedience to God (which leads ultimately to life) and disobedience (which leads to death), it is possible to “choose life,” as Moses urged Israel to do...

HENCEFORTH (NOVEMBER 3)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/henceforth-november-3/

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7,8).

A CURIOUS THING HAPPENS AS THE YEARS GO BY AND WE GROW OLDER IN CHRIST. Toward life’s end, we grow weary; the body deteriorates and the toll ta...

SELF MUST BE CRUCIFIED (NOVEMBER 2)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/self-must-be-crucified-november-2/

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it'" (Matthew 16:24,25).

FOR JESUS, THE JOY WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CROSS. The “joy that was set before him” could only be His after He “endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). If we wish to follow Jesus, what will we...

AFTER BAPTISM, WHAT’S DIFFERENT? (NOVEMBER 1)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/after-baptism-whats-different-november-1/

". . . but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance" (Acts 26:20).

IN THIS TEXT, PAUL GIVES US A SUMMARY OF THE MESSAGE GOD SENT HIM TO PREACH. To one and all, he preached that “they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” This preaching called for a chan...

EVERY DEED WILL BE TESTED (OCTOBER 31)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/every-deed-tested-october-31/

"For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

THE LAST VERSE IN ECCLESIASTES GIVES US THE REASON WHY WE SHOULD FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. Reverence and obedience must define the way we live because “God will bring every deed into judgment.” All that we do is going to be tested, not by the trial of any human evaluation, but by the judgment of God Himself. Not wanting to deal...

IN A WORLD OF FUTILITY, HOW SHOULD WE LIVE? (OCTOBER 30)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/world-futility-how-live-october-30/

"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

IN ECCLESIASTES, WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH OUR POWERLESSNESS. Neither the human race collectively nor any of us individually can ever be sure that performing actions “A” and “B” will lead to “C” in this life. It might, but it might not. But if what we do can’t be counted on to give us the...

THERE ARE THOSE WHO PERVERT GOD'S GRACE (OCTOBER 29)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/pervert-gods-grace-october-29/

"For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 4).

THERE WAS AN URGENT PROBLEM AMONG THE CHRISTIANS TO WHOM JUDE WROTE. Having urged them to “contend for the faith” (v.3), in v.4 Jude gave the reason why such a defense of the faith was necessary: it was because “certain people have c...

THE FAITH IS WORTH CONTENDING FOR (OCTOBER 28)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/faith-worth-contending-for-october-28/

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).

JUDE MAKES TWO POINTS ABOUT THE GOSPEL, EACH OF WHICH OUGHT TO IMPRESS US. First, he calls it “the faith.” And second, he says that it was “once for all delivered to the saints.” The faith is not an ever-evolving system o...

EACH MUST CHOOSE (OCTOBER 27)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/each-must-choose-october-27/

"Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve...

THE GOOD CONFESSION (OCTOBER 26)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/good-confession-october-26/

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12).

OPENNESS, TRANSPARENCY, DISCLOSURE. These are words with a very high social value these days. We tend to view them positively (at least as far as other people’s conduct is concerned).

But what about openness with regard to our religious convictions, especially those that might get us...

WHY SAUL, THE RABBI, OBEYED THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST (OCTOBER 25)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/why-saul-rabbi-obeyed-gospel-christ-october-25/

". . . in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith -- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:8...

WHAT WAS WRITTEN IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES (OCTOBER 24)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/written-in-hebrew-scriptures-october-24/

"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:46-48).

THIS STATEMENT WAS MADE BY JESUS TO A GROUP OF HIS DISCIPLES ON THE EVENING OF THE SAME DAY ON WHICH HE HAD BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD. As He appeared...

WE MUST ALL APPEAR (OCTOBER 23)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/we-must-all-appear-october-23/

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

IT IS A VERY SERIOUS THING THAT PAUL SAYS HERE. There is not a single one of us who will not have to account for himself or herself before Christ at the judgment. That accounting will be an absolutely accurate assessment of our life-choices, whether good or...

IF FAITH DOES NOT ACT, IT DOES NOT SAVE (OCTOBER 22)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/faith-not-act-not-save-october-22/

"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead" (James 2:26).

FAITH IS ABOUT AS BASIC A CONCEPT AS THERE IS IN THE GOSPEL. Its importance in our response to God is immense (Philippians 3:8,9). But faith, or trust, is not easy. It requires a good deal of courage. For example, it takes faith to accept whatever the Lord’s commandments are in cases where what He requires go...

CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY (OCTOBER 21)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/christ-in-us-hope-of-glory-october-21/

"To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

ALTHOUGH THE GOSPEL WAS FORESHADOWED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, IT WAS A “MYSTERY” UNTIL GOD FULLY REVEALED IT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. It was not mysterious in the sense of being weird or arcane, but it was a “myster...

IMMANUEL (OCTOBER 20)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/immanuel-october-20/

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).

ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL IS THE INCARNATION. From the Latin for “flesh,” the Incarnation means that God took fleshly form. In order to deal with human sin at its deepest level, God allowed Himself to be born into the world as a human being. In the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God was...

HIS WONDERFUL PASSION AND PURITY (OCTOBER 19)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/wonderful-passion-purity-october-19/

"When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34).

ONE OF OUR GREAT ENDOWMENTS AS HUMAN BEINGS IS THE CAPACITY TO FEEL THINGS EMOTIONALLY. Whatever “emotions” any of the lower creatures may seem to have, these are far below the emotional abilities of human beings. And we are able to feel things the way we do beca...

JESUS IS FAIRER, JESUS IS PURER (OCTOBER 18)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/jesus-fairer-purer-october-18/

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15).

DARKNESS CAN HAVE A DARKENING EFFECT ON US MENTALLY. If you were to live underground long enough, you would almost forget that there is such a thing as sunshine, and when you finally saw it again, you would be exhilarated. In a similar way, those who heard Jesus Christ might have had a hard time putting it into words, but they would have felt...

ACCEPT FORGIVENESS, GROW IN GODLINESS (OCTOBER 17)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/accept-forgiveness-grow-godliness-october-17/

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).

IF WE ARE OUTSIDE OF JESUS CHRIST, IN A LOST CONDITION BECAUSE WE’VE NEVER OBEYED THE GOSPEL, GOD WOULD SAY TWO THINGS TO US. He would say, first, that we need to accept His forgiveness by obeying the gospel. But He would also say that, having been forgiven, we need to start growing in godliness each day.

Th...

APOSTASY WAS FORETOLD (OCTOBER 16)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/apostasy-foretold-october-16/

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

PREDICTIONS OF APOSTASY, LIKE THE ONE ABOVE, ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT. It was a matter of great concern to all of the apostles. The fact that there would occur a departure from the foundational teachings of the gospel was not something they could think about except with a broken heart.

Here...

RESTORATION AS AN ONGOING WORK (OCTOBER 15)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/restoration-ongoing-work-october-15/

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent" (Revelation 2:5).

IN YESTERDAY’S READING, WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RESTORING THE FAITH AND PRACTICE THAT WE FIND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Today, let’s reemphasize the fact that restoration must be an ongoing work. There will never come a time when we can say, “What i...

RESTORATION AS A PRINCIPLE (OCTOBER 14)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/restoration-principle-october-14/

"Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father" (1 John 2:24).

THE CONCEPT OF “RESTORATION” IS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE IN BOTH THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENTS. We can’t read the Scriptures seriously and not see that if we intend to be God’s faithful people, “restoration” must be a work we engage in. God has never — in any age of...

THE APOSTOLIC TRADITIONS (OCTOBER 13)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/apostolic-traditions-october-13/

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

IS “TRADITION” A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING? The word is neutral; it simply means “that which has been received.” So tradition can be good or bad, depending on several things: the source from which it was received, the nature of what has been received, and what is done with it after it is received...

THE APOSTLES (OCTOBER 12)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/apostles-october-12/

". . . built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:20,21).

THE CHURCH OF WHICH CHRIST IS THE CORNERSTONE HAS A SOLID FOUNDATION: THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS. Prophecy was important, obviously, but since it was a gift of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10), it was imparted by the apostles (Acts 8:14-19). So the work of the apostles was primary (1 Corinthians 12:28). It was...

EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH (OCTOBER 11)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/everywhere-every-church-october-11/

"That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church" (1 Corinthians 4:17).

THE THINGS PAUL TAUGHT AS AN APOSTLE, HE TAUGHT EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH. And the statement Paul makes here is like others in the same letter indicating that the order he imposed on the Lord’s work and worship in Corinth did not vary from what he imposed on...