Can one be saved without having faith in Jesus? The answer is "No," because we read in Acts 4:12, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." This sounds very narrow to the majority of earth inhabitants who do not believe that salvation is a possession of only those who believe in Jesus. However, Jesus said in John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
Again, Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." This tells us just how narrow the way to heaven really is. It is confined to those who are in Jesus because they have obeyed the will of the Father.
Listen again to the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." In verse 21, our Lord describes those who shall enter the kingdom of heaven, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."
Jesus goes on to tell why He will refuse some who profess to be His disciples. He said in verse 23, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" We don't have to hear those words of rejection. We simply need to learn of God's will through a diligent study of the Bible and practice all the things we learn from God's word.
I'm so thankful for the New Testament! The New Testament is the most vital book in the world. It's matter, meaning, and message represent the highest of ideas. It is a book of unlimited power and potency. There is an inextinguishable divine fire flaming through it's pages, causing such a spiritual explosiveness that it makes new men while shaking whole nations.
There can be no denying that His transforming truth, God's Last Will and Testament, has indeed changed the whole world. It was intended to do just that. In the New Testament, the supreme subject is Jesus, the supreme object is human salvation, and the supreme project is a purpose for life and a hope after death.
We must understand that the greatest need of our troubled 21st century is a return to the New Testament, for it goes right to the heart of the human problem. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart! The New Testament makes new men. It did this in the first century and it can do it in the 21st century.
Superficially, the 21st century is different from the first, but, fundamentally, it's very much the same. There's the same heart-need, the same heart-cry, and there's the same unchanging, all powerful, all sufficient answer given by the New Testament. That answer of course, is Jesus the Christ! Yes, the New Testament is about a man who is more than a man. It's message and meaning center around a carpenter from Nazareth, but He was much more than a carpenter! He was the Messiah, man's Savior, God with us, and the hope of the world!
Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you 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." Jesus invites all men to come to Him today, as He and the apostles did back in the 1st century. Our homes and our nation will be strong if we sincerely and fully abide in the teaching of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
May we strive to be a shining light, a testament to our love and devotion to Christ, as we abide in His New Testament!
The apostle Peter says that Christians are supposed to be separate from the world. “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14-16). The apostle Paul said, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). God demands and expects His dear children to keep themselves unspotted from the world and to concentrate their efforts in living for Him (James 1:27). The way that we can accomplish this is to transform our mind from worldliness to godliness. Our transformation takes place when we read, study, and understand the word of God (2 Timothy 2:15). Instead of getting involved with things of this world we should be teaching the truth and exposing error (2 Timothy 4:2-4; Ephesians 5:11). If we ever feel that we are suffering some kind of persecution in our life because of our Christianity, then we are doing something right. Paul wrote, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). If we don’t stand for something, then we will fall for anything. Take a stand for Christ; don’t let His death be in vain. We must stay focused on reaching our eternal goal of heaven!
In the recent years we have developed a thrill-seeking culture - a culture moved more by emotional stimuli than careful thought - that affects many facets of our lives. I have not been to a movie in years, but I have seen trailers on TV and digital video, and heard people talk about them. I have noticed many come away more enamored with the thrilling "special effects" while having only a sketchy memory of the plot or story behind the effects. At musical concerts, for the most part, the primary attention is given to special effects to create an emotional atmosphere than to thoughtful lyrics that convey real messages.
I fear this culture is affecting public worship. People are "going to church" - not to be challenged to think on spiritual things - but to be thrilled by the "special effects" generated by preachers and "worship leaders." Rather than songs, clearly worded and sung to praise God and to teach each other - words primarily appealing to the head rather than to the arms and feet - the order of the day is for "special effects" designed to give worshipers an emotional high. Sermons must be jazzed up with verbal and electronic special effects so that the audience can be thrilled rather than informed or convicted in their minds. I am not speaking of the use of visual aids, computer generated or otherwise. Visual aids are great tools when they truly "aid" the listener's understanding, but when used for emotional, thrill and awe value, they are questionable to say the least. I saw a video a while back of a congregation partaking of the Lord's Supper while an electronically produced large cross was "floating" around the auditorium. A little too much - me thinks.
As I read the New Testament I get the idea public worship is to be done from the heart in a solemn manner, glorifying God and seriously reflecting on the words uttered in the songs, prayers and discourses.
Written by: Edward O. Bragwell
The heart of a Christian is freed from having to qualify its love. It does not demand something in return. The Christian's heart is, therefore, a daring heart. Unqualified compassion involves great risk. Good deeds may go unappreciated. Kindness may be mistaken for weakness. Love may not be repaid. Gifts may go to the undeserving, perhaps even to a con-artist.
By doing good for others, we are taking our lights out from under the bushel basket and putting them on a candlestick to give light to those around us. Listen to Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." There are great risks in this life, and even greater risks in the hereafter, if our heart is calloused against the needs of those around us.
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes the judgment scene in which He separates the sheep from the goats. In verse 34, He welcomes the sheep, and in verses 35-36, He tells them it is because of all the good they have accomplished in their lives. Contrast this to what He says to the goats on His left in verses 41-43: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me." In verse 46, He says, "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The obvious thing for us to do, therefore, is to give without asking anything in return. The risk is well worth it because in the end the righteous will go into eternal life.
Nobody likes to talk about death, taxes and that place called hell. Fear of death, hatred of taxes and just plain having no desire to talk about the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15) will top any list of undesirable topics. A lot of people have an opinion about death, everyone has a view on taxes but very few know much about what the Bible says about hell. The knowledge of hell comes only from the Bible. That is because its Creator is the same one that created the “heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
Jesus believed in Hell. He taught a lot of lessons on Hell. “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29). “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
In the Saturday, January 8, 2011 edition of The Gainesville Sun (p5D), a question was posed about who really goes to hell. A grandfather discusses his grandson’s fear of hell by telling him that “very few people are going to hell.” He goes on to say, “Most people who do bad things are actually going to heaven because they don’t realize they’re making mistakes.” The grandfather concludes for his grandson that God is so loving that He could not possibly punish people in hell or that would make Him “an infinitely horrendous ogre.” His question was answered by a rabbi named Marc Gellman that applauded the answers given to the young boy. Gellman concluded that “hell is the place where truly evil people receive the punishment they deserve. Hell is for Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and every unrepentant murderer, torturer or purveyor of cruelty.”
You have to be a really, really bad person to go to hell? You can be a bad person and go to Heaven but hell is for the worse kinds of evil people? Is that what the Bible teaches? Jesus told those in judgment to “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41) and the only thing they did was to do nothing for others (see Matthew 25:41-46). Paul described the following who would be condemned to hell: “fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
When the Lord returns He will come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Jesus declared that even “religious people” will be cast into hell (Matthew 7:21-23). The rich man was in a place of “torments” (Luke 16:23). The parable of the tares (Matthew 13:24-30) concludes with “all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:40-42). There is a lake of fire (Revelation 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8) and it will be filled with all those who reject God’s will.
The horrendous manner of Christ's death bears testimony to the magnitude of what is at stake. Jesus died to give man a choice: Heaven or hell. The grandfather and the rabbi neglected to consult with the one who knows about hell. It is real, it is reserved, it will happen. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Hell is real!
Written by Kent Heaton
In John chapter 17 we can read a short prayer offered by Jesus to God the Father. I say "short," because it only takes a few minutes to read it. This is the best example of prayer we can find in the Bible. In it we can see all the elements we should include in our prayers to God.
In verses 1-5, Jesus prays for Himself.
In verses 6-19, He prays for those closest to Him, the apostles.
In verses 20-26, he prays for others; specifically, His future followers, the church.
Could there be a better model prayer? It was brief, personal, and specific. We should pray for ourselves, those especially dear to us, and for God's people.
Jesus was concerned about you and me and He included us in His prayer. Notice what He said in verses 20 and 21, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."
Let us learn how to pray from Jesus. Let us be brief, personal, and specific, and let us pray often, as He did. Our lives will be much better when we pray and allow God to be part of our everyday life.
