When Paul traveled from Thessalonica to Berea and found some of the Bereans to be more noble-minded than many he had encountered in Thessalonica. In Acts 17:10-11, Luke says, "Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men."
If the determining factor was our eagerness in receiving the word of God and daily searching of the Scriptures, would Luke think you or I to be fair-minded?
2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." 1 Peter 2:2 says, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby..." 2 Peter 3:18 says, "...But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Bible study is important and essential for those who wish to receive God's approval. It is through the revelation we call the Bible that we learn of Christ and how we can receive eternal life. Let us examine the Scriptures daily that we might grow in the grace and knowledge of God.
Many who say they are Christians seem to try to give what they believe to be the minimum service to God. They try to obtain "just enough knowledge," do "just enough teaching of others," have "just enough love," etc. to get by. This attitude is not taught nor approved in the New Testament.
The New Testament stresses and enjoins us doing the maximum, our sincere best. As Christians we're to be spiritually ambitious, and abounding in our service to God. The word abound means "to exist in abundance" or "to overflow." Paul exhorted the Corinthians, "But as you abound in everything; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us; see that you abound in this grace also." (2 Corinthian 8:7). In Romans 15:13, Paul wrote, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
We should abound in love. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9, "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment..." By thus abounding in love, love will be the control and motivation of our lives.
We need to abound in knowledge. The Scriptures teach that we are to add knowledge, increase in knowledge, and grow in knowledge according to 2 Peter 1:5, Colossians 1:10, and 2 Peter 3:18. Without knowledge of God's word, we are blind and cannot see afar off, according to 2 Peter 1:5 and 9. Without knowledge of God, we are unable to walk pleasingly to Him according to Colossians 1:9-10. Without knowledge, we are unable to approve the things that are excellent according to Philippians 1:9-10. We're to strive to possess knowledge to the degree of it being in abundance and overflowing.
Are you abounding in your service to the Lord, or are you trying to do the bear minimum?
Being a Christian is a skill like any other profession. It is not limited to a select group of people who have some special talent which allows them to be faithful while others fail. Christians who are faithful to God, are people who practice their convictions. They work at it. They try to improve. They're concerned about their souls. They analyze their weaknesses, and strive to strengthen themselves in those areas.
2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Thus, Paul admonishes Timothy, and us, to diligently seek God's approval, and to be become skilled in the use of the word of truth. "Rightly dividing the word of truth" simply means to become skilled in its use.
The American standard version translates this passage, "handling aright the word of truth." Handling the word of God properly is dependent upon the principle of practice. We must become familiar with God's word so that we can use it effectively. We must apply the word to new problems, consult it to answer various questions, and use it in defense of the faith. As someone put it, "The way to do that is to just do it!"
We should not be fearful. We will miss now and then, but if we hit home runs every time we got up to bat, there wouldn't be any room for improvement. We can't be perfect by ourselves, but if we practice, God has promised to reward us with perfection in heaven according to 1 Corinthians 15:49-57.
In the meantime, its our duty to practice. Study the word. Meditate on it. Develop a desire to learn more, to understand more. Use the word in everyday situations, apply it to our lives. If we have a true desire to improve at something, we practice. If we want to be good at it, we practice. If we want to go to heaven, we practice.
Faith is essential in order to be saved, but can faith alone save us? According to James 2:14-26, the answer is, "No." In verse 17, James said, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead," and in verse 24, "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." In Acts 10:34-35, as Peter was speaking to Cornelius and his household about salvation, he said, "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him."
Suppose that a rich man tells someone he would give them a new car, and in order to claim the gift they had to buy license tags for it, get insurance on it, and come by his house and pick up the key. Once that person has met those requirements, would he have done anything to earn the car? No, he would have simply fulfilled the qualifications for claiming the gift of the car. The same thing is true of salvation. When we obey the gospel of Christ, we simply fulfill the requirements the Lord has laid down in order to claim the gift of salvation.
What are these requirements, and where can I go to find them? There is no one place in the New Testament where we can find all that God has said about salvation. We must search the Scriptures to determine what God expects of us.
Those requirements are: faith or belief - John 3:16, Mark 16:16; repentance - Acts 2:38, Luke 13:3; confession - Matthew 10:32, Romans 10:9-10; baptism - Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21. One can't leave out any one of these things and still claim the gift of salvation. If I love the Lord, I will not omit anything He has asked me to do. Once I have met all of His qualifications, I know I am saved. In order to maintain that salvation, I must remain faithful to God following the teachings in the New Testament, and this means, according to Revelation 2:10, even if it causes my death. Think on these things, and search God's word to find the truth about them.
The largest room in life is the room for improvement. Self-improvement should be the aim of each and every Christian. We need to look to Jesus as our example. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..." The apostles Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13).
Robert Louis Stevenson remarked, "There is one person whom it is my duty to make good, and that is myself." Oliver Wendell Holmes, famous novelist and poet of the 19th century, wrote, "To reach the port, we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail and not drift, or be at anchor."
No one ever drifted into improvement. It takes a determined effort. There's room for improvement in everyone's life. If you want to improve, you must start with yourself. If you aren't attending all the services of the church, by all means, start doing so. If you aren't studying as you should, start today. If you aren't promoting unity and love among the brethren, don't wait until its too late, start today.
Paul's prayer for the brethren at Colosse needs to be made for all of us who desire to do the will of God. He said, "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy..." (Colossians 1:10-11).
If the Lord came at this present moment to take the faithful home, would He take one who has intentionally been putting off doing right? Would He take one who weekly sheds his Christianity as often as he sheds his Sunday clothes? Would He receive the one who has been bored with short periods of worship, has found teaching others a chore, or visiting the sick an imposition? Would He take the one who must be continually prodded into doing what he ought to do?
I'm afraid that many have no idea what it means to serve the Lord. I'm concerned for those who have relegated the Lord to only a small portion of their week. I fear for those who have become so preoccupied with material things that they have neither time nor energy to be concerned about the wretched condition of their souls.
When we decide to serve the Lord, we need to know what is involved. Our obedience to the Lord needs to be without reservation. It must be complete. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." 1 Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ..."
What about you? Do you have your priorities in order? Is serving the Lord your main interest? Your honest answer to these questions may very well determine where you will spend eternity.
Today, few people take sin seriously. It has become commonplace for comedians to base their jokes and skits on such sins as adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness, and other things which should be taken very seriously by those who desire to go to heaven and escape hell.
Have we, the children of God, heard these types of jokes so much that they have become funny to us? The writer of Proverbs said long ago, "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor" (Proverbs 14:8-9). He's saying that the prudent think seriously about the way they should conduct their lives, and those who joke about sin are fools.
Sin isn't funny; its tragic. It's too deadly to joke about. Sin entered the garden of Eden and separated man from God. Problems, sorrow, suffering, and death often come either directly or indirectly as a result of sin.
The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." If sin is a laughing matter, we should be able to laugh at the grave, don't you think? But one has a very twisted sense of humor if he can stand beside an open grave and laugh. To be eternally separated from God in a burning hell just isn't funny. Neither is sin, which is the cause of this just punishment.
Sin is no joke. Let's remember the terrible consequences of sin when we're tempted to smile at it. Remember, sin is a very short word beginning a very long sentence.
