Musick-al Notes

Musick-al note # 231   

     Planned from creation – Titus 1:2, Gen. 3:15, 1 Cor 2:6-7,

     Prepared the Way to save through Christ ­- Ezek 18:3, Rom 6:23, Eph 1:4=5,

         We must conform to the Image of Christ – Romans 8:29

     Provided the Sacrifice – Gal 4:4, Heb 10:5, John 3:16, Heb 2:9

     Redeems by the sacrifice of Christ – Gal 1:4, 4:4, Heb 2:9, 1 Cor 6:20

     Proclaims His redemption by preaching – 1 Cor 1:17-18, Rom 1:16, 2 Tim 4:1-6

     Purifies us in the blood of Christ – Eph 1:7, Titus 2:14, 1 John 3:2-3, Rom 1:16-17

     Presents obedient to Himself – Rev 22:14, John 14:1-3, Eph 5:27, 1 Cor 15:23-24

    We will be with Him in eternal realms – John 10:27-30, John 14:1-3

          Gordon Musick

Musick-al note # 230
Will you be among the number who will contend (argue) with the Lord on the judgment day concerning entrance into heaven? Having passed through life thinking that heaven will be their eternal home, yet be set on the left with the goats, one would certainly want to know why and even contend for a right to enter in. Listen to these in Matthew 7:22, “We have taught in your name. We have cast out devils in your name. Now why are we being separated from you though-out eternity?” We can almost hear them adding, “We have given our lives because of you and your promises. We have gone to other lands and taught others to believe in you and we even suffered ridicule because of you. We helped the poor and the sick and suffering because of you. We gave ourselves to doing good works because of you. Now WHY, Lord, WHY? Why are we going to be cast away? On and on these will go with their reasoning saying, “We called you Lord, lived our lives for you. You said that if we would give only a cup of water in your name we would not lose our reward. But Lord, we have given more! We have given up houses and lands and families and brothers and sisters because of you. Why, Lord, are we to be cast out? We believed we would be able to rejoice with your coming. Now why this?” Innumerable will be the reasons given by those on the left, seeking entrance to the heavenly city.
Listen to the Lord’s answer, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you”. Why? This answer seems so contradictory to the words of the contenders. Can it be that the Lord is two-faced, that He has respect of persons after all, choosing only certain ones to enter in? Such would be a terrible thought indeed – that we serve such a heartless and faithless Master. There is more to this situation than just the above words for the context of these words reveals His saying, “Enter in at the strait gate, for strait is the gate and few will find it.” Again, he exhorted by the parable of the builders, “The wise builder hears my words and does them.” This then would cause Jesus to say, “I never knew you” for they (the contenders) never entered the strait gate. They obeyed only the commands that they wanted to obey and added anything they wished. They called Him “Lord” but did not obey Him. They called him “friend” but as an enemy they taught disobedience and disrespect for His Words by teaching the doctrines of men for others to obey and follow.
How will you stand before the Lord? As a contender or as an obedient child? You are one or the other by your present obedience or neglect and setting the course of life for its final destination. When you stand before the Lord, the Lord Jesus will welcome you if you come to Him in obedient faith, but if you deny Him in this world He will deny you in the last day!
Gordon Musick

Musick-al Note # 229
Being a Christian is the greatest thing that God ever planned for man for it is written in (1Corinthians 2:9-10). “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them us by the Spirit.” This was written to describe the blessings that would be given to those who become Christians. Note what Paul said that he spoke these things which the Holy Spirit had taught (1 Corinthians 2:13).
The person who would refuse to accept these blessings must either not believe that God is giving them or else he does not want them. Everyone should want to be a Christian in order to receive such great blessings. But being a Christian is not just assenting to certain facts. Being a Christian means that one not only believes certain facts but he trusts God who gave the promises and is willing to sacrifice his own will and strives to follow the will of God in obedience to His commands (Matthew 7:21-27). When God tells him to work and serve his fellow man, a Christians will do so willingly and freely because he loves his Lord who died for him (1 Corinthians 15:3).
The crowning hope of every Christian is eternal life with God. All faithful Christians will receive this reward (John 10:28, John 14:23-24). Are you a faithful Christian today? If you want the rewards and the blessings of a Christian, you may do so IF you will obey God’s word to believe in Christ, repent of your sins, confess His name before men, and be buried with Him in baptism for the remission of your sins (Romans 6:17-18). If you love the Lord Jesus who died for you, you will do these things without question. Become a Christian today!
Gordon Musick

Musick-al Note # 228            

       A covenant is an agreement between two entities be it individuals, groups, or companies whether enemies or friends that is agreeable to each.  I speak of a covenant between God who is pure, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent and man who is limited in power, knowledge and length of life on earth.  They are unequal to say the least.  Man has a propensity to sin while God cannot even be tempted to sin.  God has always initiated the covenant relationship with man because He knows what is best for man whom He created in His own image.  

      The covenant with Israel contained the Ten Commandments and with instructions regarding worship and daily living (Exodus 20 through Leviticus 27). Their response was, “All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do and we will be obedient.” (Exodus 24:7)  God also gave many warnings of destruction should they turn aside to other gods and disobey His commands.  He stated that they would be His treasured possession if they obeyed His will and they would be a holy nation of priests to Him. They were given a land and great blessings, even forgiving their sins. Did they continue to obey Him?  Reading the Old Testament shows that they did not!

      The new covenant came through God’s Son, Jesus the Christ.  This covenant called for the love of man by demonstrating the greatest love of all – Jesus death on the cross to take away the penalty of the sins of all men (Hebrews 2:9).  That penalty was death (Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:23).  Being raised from the dead by the power of God, Jesus became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).  To obey Jesus, we must repent of our sins, confess His name before men, be buried with Him in baptism and rise to walk in newness of life.  Thus we enter a covenant relationship with God when we believe and obey the Gospel of Christ.  God washes away our sins and gives us new life when we are baptized.  He adds us to Christ’s church, makes us His child, frees us from Satan and gives us ability to live and serve Him in this life and anticipate an eternal life in His presence.  The faithful will also be separated from His wrath (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10) when Jesus is revealed from heaven to be glorified by His Saints. Will we do His will or devise plans of our own as the Israelites did to our own destruction?

Gordon Musick

Musick-al note # 227                                      

              There are two “roads” or ways of living in this world.  Following Jesus through faith and obedience is the “road” of life and will lead to the salvation.   Doing anything other than this is living in the “broad way” and will lead to destruction.

             There is NO OTHER WAY to have access to God or enjoy salvation for it is ONLY through Christ.  “Jesus said to him, `I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6).  Acts 4:12 says, “And in none other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven given among men wherein we must be saved.”  There are other religions and religious teachers who claim to be able to save people through their religion and their church but Jesus said there is NO OTHER WAY.  Any others who claim they can save men’s souls are deceivers who will be lost and will cause their followers to lose their souls. 

           Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 15:13-14 “But He answered and said, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”  He said this of the Jewish leaders of His day for they were teaching the commandments of men as though they were God’s doctrines.   Religious organizations built by men will not stand and following their teaching will only lead to one’s destruction.  We must follow Jesus, the Christ and do His Divine will if we are to enjoy eternal salvation. 

           Following Jesus we will obey the Gospel by obeying a ‘form’ of the teaching (Romans 6:17-18) that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  We will worship as the New Testament reveals and live our daily lives in accordance to His will.

           Gordon Musick

Musick-al Note # 226
Be like Jesus, our Savior, and our Lord. He was with God, on equality with God, yes He is God. He had greatness, honor, position, enjoyed fellowship with the Father, received worship of the angels and was glorified of all in that home. Love caused Him to come to earth, walk among men, humble Himself to obey God by even submitting to death on the cross. Love so amazing, so divine to give himself for the sinner, the enemy of God, even for those who opposed Him and who crucified Him. Our minds can hardly conceive such love and such devotion yet the apostle exhorts “Let this mind be in you” (Philippians 2:5).
We, with our positions and titles of seeming greatness find it hard to condescend to men of low estate, much less to have the mind of Christ. “Look up to me”, we cry from a heart of pride. “My way must be followed”, we shout presumptuously. “If you don’t like what I do, then submit any way or leave as far as I’m concerned”, our haughty spirit declares. We fear the loss of honor and esteem if we admit wrongs and mistakes. We have a position to uphold and therefore we must be right at all times and if we aren’t, then wait until the people forget. It just doesn’t matter about them, what they think, what they do, what they say, we’ll do what we want to do anyway.
The mind of Christ is in the lowly, the loving, and the humble. In those who know they have sinned and yet do sin but now seek forgiveness. They must be humble in spirit and submit to God and one another because they consider self as nothing. These indeed are and will be blessed of God and will be given great honor in the last day. They have followed Jesus in obedience to God’s Word. Indeed they have the mind of Christ.
Gordon Musick

Musick-al Note # 225
Peter and Andrew were busy in the business of fishing in the Sea of Galilee when Jesus walked by and called them to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-20). He called them to change their occupation from casting nets for the fish of the sea to the greater and higher occupation of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. It is a far greater thing to be able to catch men for the kingdom of heaven than to catch fish for an earthly living or for the modern practice of sport.
When one goes fishing, he prepares for the occasion by making sure his tackle and equipment are ready for he knows that he cannot land a fish without it. He chooses the bait or lures with care and when he arrives at the place he has chosen to fish, he uses all the knowledge he has acquired to be able to catch and land the fish. In order to keep the fish he catches, the fisherman makes sure his stringer or basket will retain the fish he does catch. He is then able to return home with rejoicing for he brings his catch with him.
Here is an analogy that we can use in our working for the Master in catching men for the kingdom of God. When we go out to “catch” men we do not have to be concerned with the “bait” for God has given us the magnificent drawing power of the lifted up Jesus, which will draw men to obey His will (John 12:32). Then we must make sure that our “tackle” is in working order. Our “tackle” is our ability to use the Word of God. When we begin to “fish for men’ we must use the knowledge we have acquired to cause men to see Christ and to believe in Him that they might be saved (John 20:30-31, Acts 4:12). We must teach the Word and nothing else (1 Timothy 3:16 – 4:4). If we are not familiar with the Bible and cannot find the scriptures necessary to teach and cannot direct others in their search for Biblical truths, then our “tackle” is not in proper working order.
After one obeys the gospel of Christ, we must accept and draw them into a close fellowship in the church. The church is God’s appointed place to keep men that are “caught” for eternity. If we fail to “keep” them for the trip home. It will be our loss as well as theirs so we need to work to be sure that we retain those who do obey the gospel of Christ. When we do our work well, catch souls for the eternal home, keep them faithful until the end, we can doubtless go to our eternal home rejoicing with the souls we have caught with the glorious gospel of the Lord.
Gordon Musick

Musick-al note # 224   

      God sent his son into the world that he might redeem man (Titus 2:14).  To that end Jesus gave his life blood for all of mankind (Colossians 1:14).  In Hebrews 2:9, the writer states that “He by the grace of God tasted death for every man.”  Also in Ephesians 1:7 Paul said that “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”  Did Jesus death on the Cross erase sin from the world? No, because we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Are all men saved because Christ died on the Cross?  If so, why then did Jesus speak of some being cast away into eternal punishment? (Matthew 25:46).  Why did he and the writers of the New Testament warn about false teachers and their false doctrines that lead to eternal destruction (Matthew 7:15, 2 Thessalonians 6-11, 2 John 9-11, Galatians 1:6-9, Revelations 22:18-19)?  Obviously, we are missing something that will harmonize these two ideas.

     Two verses concerning sin come to mind.  The first is Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the sin is mine; the soul that sins shall die”. The next is Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  Both of these verses say that ‘if you sin you must pay the penalty of death’!  Sin holds the debt until it is paid.  That payment is spiritual death – separation from God.  God accepted the death of Jesus (who had no sin) for the sin-debt of all men.  We must accept the fact that we still have our sins until we meet God’s conditions for forgiveness to get into Christ.  Those conditions are: we must believe (John 8:24), we must repent (Acts 17:30), we must confess him (Matthew 10:32-33), we must be baptized into Him (Galatians 3:26-27) and we must live faithfully until death (Revelation 2:10, Matthew 24:13).  Please note: Paul was required to be baptized to be cleansed of sin (Acts 22:16).  Everyone who is baptized into Christ will receive the free gift of God which is eternal life.  Everyone wants this gift, but not all are willing to meet God’s condition for pardon which is called ‘obeying the gospel’.  God saves all who will come to Him by His Son (John 14:6, Hebrews 5:9).  Those who fail to obey Jesus’ Gospel will die in their sin to suffer eternal punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). We must preach the Gospel continually so everyone will have the opportunity to be blessed in Christ Jesus.

         Gordon Musick

Musick-al Note # 223            

         The Ephesian Christians had come out of the darkness of paganism into the glorious light of living in Christ.  However, a grave danger existed.  Because of their proximity to the vices of their former life, it was easy to relax and slip back into well-worn ruts.  Paul admonishes with this startling statement: “Stop giving the devil a chance.” (Ephesians 4:27: Williams). Further reading reveals that the moral and spiritual life of the Ephesians Christians was to be bettered by member participation in those things right and proper.   Failure to function properly is to give place to the devil.  If the lives of God’s children are not filled with gentleness, patience, submission, works, forgiveness and other attributes of a Christian, there is always present that danger of lapsing into darkness of carelessness and betrayal.  Failure to remain faithful to the teachings of the Word of God to follow Christ Jesus leaves us open to betraying Him and leading others astray.

         Why give the devil a chance with our children?  Precious jewels have been entrusted into our care.  Shall we handle them carefully and fit them for heaven, or shall we give the devil an opportunity to lead them to hell?  Oh, the anguish of the thought that little boys and girls are growing up without the benefit of real, genuine, Christian parents.  Toys, picnics, families, friends and recreation can never take the place of faith developed by learning the Bible through parental teaching with home studies, in Bible classes and in worship to God.

         Why give the devil a chance with our souls?  If Bible study is good for us, why be absent?  If our presence in worship is necessary to please God and benefit the church, why be away?  If giving blesses the giver and aids others, why be stingy?  If my Lord asks me to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, why should I allow ANYTHING to intervene?  Let us stop giving the devil a chance by committing ourselves wholly to Christ.

          Gordon Musick

Musick-al Note # 221          

          While many of us wear or have worn second-hand clothing or shoes, and drive second-hand cars, we would rather be able to obtain new things for ourselves and our families.  To this end we are always seeking to rise a little higher on the wage scale and some even get a second job to enable their getting new things. This drive within us is natural and helps us to maintain our ambition for greater work.

          In the realm of religion, many people have settled for a second-hand religion with no ambition to do differently.  In no other area of life are people satisfied with second-hand things. Yet in the area of religion you hear people say “If it was good enough for Mother and Father, its good enough for me” indicating that their mind is closed about the subject.  Too much of the Christianity displayed today is nothing more than a second-hand Christianity handed down from the parents to the children and of course there is no freshness, no honor, no glory and certainly no zeal when it is displayed to the world.  Such second-hand religion is obnoxious and hated by everyone who seeks to think and to own valuable things.  Such Christianity can well be paralleled to the people described in Judges 2:10 who came after the generation of Joshua, which “knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.”  Their religion was a second-hand religion and they really knew not the Lord God.  Their ignorance contributed to their down-fall and they did evil in the sight of the Lord.  How much different are they from the children of Christian parents who have no vital faith of their own; who feel cramped and hemmed in because of their parents’ convictions; who attend services only because they have to; who do not enjoy spiritual things as singing, prayer, preaching or partaking of the Lord’s supper?  They laugh, talk, play with the babies or write notes during worship periods; they chew gum and blow bubbles during the communion and use the activities of the church to be with boy-friend and girl-friend.  How different this generation will be by maturity without a knowledge of God, without understanding the Bible, without faith in the Almighty and His Son and without desire to support the Lord’s work (Joshua 2:10-15).  God blesses every individual who has a vital faith in Him.

          Is your religion second-hand, handed down by parents or preacher?  Everyone should follow the Word of God that they might follow the God of the Word.  Build a close, personal relationship with the Son of God that your religion will not be in vain.

          Gordon Musick