Musick-al note # 291
Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God? There are religions in the world that follow other writings and teachings that have been in existence for centuries. There are many preachers in churches today who claim to be following the Lord Jesus yet only use the Bible as a smorgasbord of religious truth by choosing only the verses they desire and negating the rest. Just adding a verse to support a statement does not make it a Biblical truth to be followed. It must not contradict, add to nor omit any other scripture (John 20:30-31, 2 Peter 1:3, Revelation 22:18-19). Jesus said that man’s life depends upon every word that God has given (Matthew 4:4) so we dare not ignore any of His words for fear that we will miss heaven (Matthew 7:21-24, Luke 6:46, John 14:23-24).
Do you read and study to know what God has revealed in His Word? If not, can you honestly say “I believe the Bible is truly God’s Word”? Do you ever compare God’s Word with what is taught and done in your church? All too often, we listen and accept the words of a preacher as truth for they declare that they are true, yet Jesus himself declared that many false teachers are in the world (Matthew 7:15] Man-made traditions and commandments overshadowed God’s Word (Matthew 24:11-13). It can happen today. I suppose that preachers believe that their teaching is truth for their parents followed it and generations before them followed it, but remember what Jesus said about the Jews (Matthew 15:8-9). We must know the Word and observe and listen so we will know whether any teaching or action that is given is supported by the scriptures or not (1 John 4:1). If we fail to study and know the Word of God, we will blindly follow any teaching that we hear and thus place our souls in danger of eternal loss if the teaching is erroneous (Matthew 7:21-23, 15:13-14).
For instance, people have said, “all one needs is to have faith to receive salvation” or “believe that Jesus is God’s Son” to be saved or “say a prayer in faith” to become a Christian. While a person must have faith and believe that Jesus is God’s Son to become a Christian, the New Testament plainly teaches that there is much more to be done. Consider one example of becoming a Christian by following the life of the Apostle Paul. First seen at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60), he approved Stephen’s death, then in his zeal to stop the sect who believed in a risen Christ, he obtained letters of authority of the Jewish leaders to go to other places to arrest any he could find. On the way to Damascus, he met Jesus, was convicted of sin, blinded and led into the city where for three days and nights, he prayed. Was his sins forgiven when he saw Jesus? No. Was his sins forgiven when he prayed those three days? No. When the disciple, Ananias came to him and he received his sight, was he saved then? No. Paul recounted what Ananias told him in Acts 22:16, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord”. When Paul obeyed the Lord’s commands, his sins were washed away and he was a saved person who lived a new life in following Jesus the Christ. Paul in writing to the Galatians said that one enters Christ by being baptized and one becomes a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27). Not by a declaration of faith, not by repentance and not by prayer but by obeying the Gospel one can enter Christ Jesus. To declare another way is the teaching of man, not of God, to be cast away. (Matthew 7:21-23
Gordon Musick
Musick-al Notes 