Musick-al Notes

Another Musick-al note:   #  47                          

                              HERS OF GOD     

      Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.”  Did you notice that little word ‘if’ in verse 17? IF children of God, then we inherit with Christ!  It is not if we are a creature called man or woman but ‘a child of God’.  It is not if we are the children of Abraham. It is not if we are children of godly and saintly parents. There will be no grandchildren in heaven to inherit but only children of God will receive the inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading and reserved in heaven for His children (1 Peter 1:4).  It is ready to be revealed, although we cannot see it, it is still there.

     The question is, ‘are you ready for it’? Am I?  What do we need in our lives to be assured of such a great inheritance?  We must become a child of God for a child of Satan will not inherit.  We must rebel from Satan and obey the Gospel of Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Then what is the ‘Gospel of Christ’? It is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Son (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  How can a person ‘obey’ this?  Paul said in Romans 6:17 that we obey from the heart the form of the doctrine that was given so we must reenact the death, burial and resurrection of Christ by being baptized into Him.  We must die to sin, be buried in water and raised from the water with a new life which God gives to the obedient in baptism. Having been given new life, forgiven of all sin, we must live accordingly (Romans 6:3-12).  Paul stated in Galatians 3:26-29 that we become children of God through faith that is shown by being baptized into Christ for by that act we put on Christ and become heirs according to His promise. In the gospel of John, Jesus affirmed this promise many times (John 6:37, 39-40, 51; 10:27-28; 12:49-50; 14:1-3; 17:2-3).  Jesus said we must be faithful to Him in our living (Matthew 10:22, John 8:32, John 14:23, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, Philippians 1:27, Colossians 3:13-17, Hebrews 2:1-4, and Revelation 2:10). Let us do good to encourage one another so that all can reach the eternal home with God.

                                                                            Gordon Musick

Another Muick-al note:    #  46

        In Hebrews 2:9, the writer states that “He by the grace of God, tasted death for every man.”  In Ephesians 1:7 Paul said “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”  Does this mean that all men are saved just because Christ died on the Cross?  If they are, why then did Jesus speak of some people 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 (Luke 14:22, Galatians 2:4)?  Paul said that even Christians will be lost if they follow false teachers (Galatians 1:6-9).  Obviously we need to study more carefully to understand what is taught so that we harmonize the teaching of the Scripture about the death of Christ.

     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 son 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.  Thank God that He accepted the death of Jesus (who had no sin) for the sin-debt of all men (Isaiah 53:11).  We must accept the fact that we still have our sins until we meet God’s conditions for forgiveness by getting into Christ (Hebrews 5:8-9).  Those conditions are: we must believe (John 8:24), we must repent (Acts 17:30), we must confess him (Matthew 10:32-33) and we must be baptized into Him (Galatians 3:26-27).  Please note: Paul was required to do this (Acts 22:16) even after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus and praying for three days (Acts 9:5-9).  Everyone who obeys the Gospel of Christ will receive the free gift of God which is eternal life. Paul told the Romans that their obedience from the heart was to a form of the doctrine they had received – that is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:17-18).   Everyone wants this gift of eternal life, 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 be faithful in life and preach the Gospel continually so everyone will have the opportunity to be blessed in Christ Jesus.

                                                                                  Gordon Musick

Another Musick-al Note:   #  45

    Peter declares that God’s promises are exceedingly great and precious (2 Peter 1:4).  They exceed the imagination and defy explanations. Yet they are given to man by the One who can bring such to reality.  His promises give us hope, strength and courage to follow His bidding.  Hope keeps our focus on heaven, strength enables us to endure the trials of life and courage gives us stamina to fight the battle for truth.  His promises cause us to know that we can overcome and that we can be His children and be acceptable to Him.

    God’s promises are many and varied, part having to do with this world and part having to do with the spiritual world. Some are unconditional, which He will keep no matter what man does.  Part of God’s promises are conditional, which He will keep if man responds to His bidding, some are joyous to anticipate and others are to be feared. Observe an example of each of the above.  God has promised in Genesis 8:22 that we will have seed time and harvest.  In Matthew 6:33 a condition is placed on the promise of having the things needed for this world.  Forgiveness of sins is conditional and having to do with the spiritual man.  Man must obey God to receive eternal life (1 John 2:25) and God has promised eternal destruction for the disobedient. (Romans 1:18, 32, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9, Matthew 25:46).  In the beginning, He spoke and everything came into being.  The heavens and the earth and all therein belong to the Lord for He created it all.  He urged obedience and declared punishment on the disobedient. He cast out of heaven angels who disobeyed, brought the flood upon the ungodly of Noah’s day, destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, raised up rulers, judges and priests, turned His people into slavery, sent His own Son to die on the cross and raised Him from the dead.  God is able to do as He has spoken.  He has promised life and peace to the obedient.  God now instructs man to obey His son and promises to receive all who come to Him through Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2, John 6:37).  How strange that some will not believe God!  He has proven time and again that He is able to accomplish as He has spoken but man (frail and puny man) twists the Word of the Almighty to suit his own purposes.  By changing God’s commands for the commands of men, corrupts the pure Word of truth by taking away and adding to that Word which frustrates the Will of God and annuls  God’s His great promises.  Shall such be held guiltless?  By no means! (Matthew 7:21-23). God will be the judge and will bring every promise to reality.  If we are in His Son, we do well, if not, how tragic!                                                                Gordon Musick

Another Musick-al note:  #   44          

       There are many things which one can hear that show that some teachers in the broad area of “Christendom” are not teaching the Bible in regard to the church which Jesus built.  When you hear such things as, ‘One church is as good as another’, ‘It makes no difference what you believe’, ‘We are all going to the same place, only taking different roads’, ‘Thank the Lord that we have many different churches’, ‘Join the church of your choice’, ‘There’s nothing in a name’, ‘It sounds so good, how could it be wrong?’, ‘The preacher is so well educated, he must know what is right’, ‘The preacher wouldn’t tell a lie’, and many other such things. You should know that they cannot give a Scriptural chapter and verse for their statements.  We ought to greatly fear when we speak a lie in the name of Christ Jesus.  All the above statements are lies.  There is ONE basis of Truth, which is the Word of God.  Peter said, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. (No message is true unless it is based upon and in harmony with truth, the Word of God.  A teacher ought to give chapter and verse for what he says when he directs the souls of men.  Failure to do so will cause both him and the hearers to fall by the wayside and be lost (Matthew 15:13-14).  No one should dare to teach a false doctrine, either by word or by omission of Scriptural teaching, because teachers will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).  Teaching the doctrines (the commandments) of men will cause those who follow such teaching to worship in vain (Matthew 15:9).  How sad to think that a teacher can lead many souls to Hell (Matthew 7:21-23). There are many warnings in the Scriptures that every man should heed.  Jesus warned His hearers about false teachers (Matthew 7:13-23, 15:7-9, Mark 13:22) and His Word warns against false doctrines (Revelation 22:18-19, 2 John 9-11, Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12). Failing to teach the doctrine of Christ and ignoring the warnings to teach doctrines not in harmony with the Word of God can only end in the destruction of souls.  Please protect your soul by learning and obeying the Truth.                                                                                      Gordon Musick

Another Musick-al Note:   #  43

    “ON THE PLAINS OF HESITATION LIE THE BLACKENED BONES OF MILLIONS, WHO, AT      

              THE THRESHOLD OF VICTORY SAT DOWN TO REST, AND RESTING, DIED.” 

                                (Now read it again slowly and meditatively).

        The scope of the above saying is almost without limit in its applications to life.  It is true in the field of science, medicine, engineering, business, farming and many endeavors.  On the verge of victory, battles have been forfeited, scientists have given up in despair, engineers have been defeated by problems, businesses have failed and crops have been lost.  True, these losses have been in staggering proportions.  The cost has been far above human comprehension.  Yet these things mentioned in this paragraph are all of a temporal nature.

        On the higher level of spiritual living, hesitation is increasingly catastrophic because of the eternity that is to come.  Obedience to the Gospel of Christ is of great importance because it isolates us from the wrath of God (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).  Continued obedience is also necessary for the day of His coming is always imminent (Matthew 24:36).  “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy living and godliness.” (2 Peter 3:11).  The tragedy of all tragedies is for one to lose his soul (Matthew16:24-26) for this is an eternal loss.  Millions are they who have never begun the way to life eternal because they do not know God and His Son (John 17:3). There are those who have ‘heard’ but listening to false teachers, never enter the ‘way’ (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-27). Many begin the ‘way’ but soon draw away after other things (Matthew 13:1-23) and no longer strive for the way of godliness.  The correct decision is to seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and remain faithful in obedience.  We must not neglect God’s gift of eternal life for the pleasures of sin that last only a short time on earth (Hebrews 11:25).  Let us strive to achieve without hesitation the life that is promised in the eternal abode found only in Christ.

                                                                                         Gordon Musick

Another Musick-al Note:   #  42

         How easy to deceive ourselves!  We pretend, play-act, and carry out the appearance of worshipping God and living the Christian life, telling ourselves that all is well until we believe it.  We wonder why others are disturbed because we do certain things or do not do certain other things.  It seems they are always finding fault with something and trying to make our lives miserable.  Why can’t they let us alone to do as we please?  We keep the outward appearance unless we want to do something else.  However there is no apparent relation between the overt acts of worship and our lives because there is no change of the inward spirit of our beings. Outwardly we were obedient yet inwardly we were only doing what seemed good to us (what we wanted to do). We have a form of Christianity but the inward man does not respond to God and is lifeless and without power.. 

        Real Christianity will be ours only when Christ rules our spirits. Such a person should measure everything that he does by placing them before Christ Jesus for His approval.  Would Christ go to this place?  Would Christ do this thing?   Would Christ say these words?  Is my attitude like His?  If the answer is “yes”, then with the fullness of confidence I can do or say or go.  If the answer is “no”, then no matter what others would do or what I might like to do, I must refrain because Christ would refrain.  The joy of service comes to those who really submit to Christ with the inward spirit.   Followers of Christ do not question, “Should I do this or that?”, “Should I attend?”, “How much should I give?” but their lives are spent in serving Christ, doing for Christ, working for Christ, giving for Christ and being for Christ.  They are inseparably connected to their redeemer and they live for Him in every aspect of their life.

                                                                         Gordon Musick

Another Musick-al Note:    #    41

       When one reads carefully James 2:14-26, they will see that faith without works of obedience is dead!  Most of Hebrews 11 clearly shows the same thing. Each of these men who were saved or blessed by faith were blessed WHEN, AND ONLY WHEN, they did exactly what God said. This is not salvation by works of merit, but simply means that one cannot accept God’s gracious offer of salvation except by the means God has appointed.  Any thoughtful reading of Mark 16:15-16, Mt. 28:18-20, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Rom. 6:17-18, 1 Peter 3:21 and any other case having to do with salvation will show that these persons were saved AFTER their faith led them to OBEY.

   Now consider what Paul was saying in Romans 4:4-8, 13-17, 20-25. God saves by His grace (free gift).  There is nothing that man can do to merit salvation.  No man can ever earn salvation by good works, no man is good enough to deserve salvation and no man is rich enough to buy salvation. It is a gift from God (Rom 6:23).  God’s grace has appeared for all men to teach us how to live (Titus 2:11-12) and Paul further declares that one must have faith to receive that grace (Romans 4:16 and Ephesians 2:8).  Faith must be active in obeying God’s commands to obtain His free gift (James 2:26). God has given stipulations as to what man must do to receive His gifts.  He has the right as giver to set any and all regulations for man to receive his gifts.  One of the regulations is “faith” which is seen in repenting of sin, confessing the name of Christ before men, being baptized in water and living in newness of life.  None of these things “merit” or “earn” salvation for the man who does them, but no man can have the grace of God without doing what God has said either.  So James and Paul were really saying the same thing.  James said one must have works to show that his faith was living and Paul said one must have faith that results in obedience to receive the grace (gift) of God (Salvation).

                                                                                    Gordon Musick

Another Musick-al note:      #  39

      My recent ‘notes’ have been on the greatness of God ending with the greatness of His love toward mankind and His hatred of the sin that separates us from Him.  God loved us to the extent of giving His Son, Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty of all sin (Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:23).  What should our response be?  It should cause us to love Him because His gift of grace accomplished what no person can do for himself.  All have sinned (Romans 3:23) with the awful penalty of death (Ezekiel 18:4) but God accepted Jesus’ death in lieu of every person’s death (Hebrews 2:9).  Do you love Him?  Yes!  Then listen to Him and follow Him (John 14:15, 21-24).  We should live a more holy life and strive to present ourselves as followers of this God of love (Hebrews 5:9, 1 John 3:1-3, 4:13-21, Titus 2:11-14).  Declaring our faith before men (Matthew 10:32), we will repent (turn from) of our sins, bury that old life of sin in baptism (Romans 63-4, Acts 22:16) to become a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27) and live as Children of God in the new life in Christ (Romans 6:1-11).  Our worship should be an expression of great joy and happiness with more awe and respect for Him.  We should want to know more about Him, so we study the Bible for His directives in life and pay attention to all that He and his apostles have said to increase our faith (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3, Romans 10:17).  We should have a great zeal for doing His work to spread the Good News, the Gospel of Christ.  Because of His love, He saved us.  Our sins separated us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) but Jesus death made it possible to be near.  He died for all men, was raised to sit at God’s right hand, offering salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that we have this treasure (the Gospel) and through it God is reconciling the world to Himself through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-21).  Followers of Christ want all their family, friends, acquaintances and everyone else to give heed to such a loving God and obey His will to be saved for an eternity with God.                                                                                                                                    Gordon Musick                                 

Another Musick-al note:  # 38

                    # 7 –   KNOWING GOD – THE SINLESS ONE

     This final article of the attributes of God is so frightening that it should cause us great concern.  From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures reveal that God hates sin because it separates man from Him (Isaiah 59:2).  Its evil is so abominable and repugnant to Him that in abhorrence He exacts a tremendous toll in response to it. Those who sin are implicated and suffer the consequences of His anger and wrath. Note the following: Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, Cain became a fugitive, only Noah escaped the flood, Korah, Dothan and Abiram rebelled against Moses resulting in their whole families being swallowed by the earth with 250 being burned and 14,700 followers dying by plague.  Unfaithfulness and rebellion at the border of Canaan caused 603,548 people plus the tribe of Levi to die in the wilderness wanderings and whole nations were destroyed by the Lord.

      These are extreme consequences to be sure and millions have died because God hates sin.  God loved man whom He created and He used extreme measures to teach man to also hate and avoid it.  In Ezekiel 18:4 He pronounced that the result of a person who sins is death.  The only remedy that God has given is found in Christ who died for us (Romans 5:6, 8, Hebrews 2:9).  God accepted Jesus death in lieu of our death. He paid the penalty (Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:15) for all sin.  God still loves man and wants all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9) and sent His Son into the world to save all who will believe in Him (John 3:15-16).

       Jesus offers eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). Obeying Christ allows us to receive all spiritual blessings as children of God (Galatians 3:26-27) and isolated from the wrath of God on the day of Judgment (Romans 8:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).  He also taught that severe consequences follow disobedience and unfaithfulness even today (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23, Romans 6:23). In the Judgment, the wicked will be separated from the good and be cast into the lake of fire for eternal punishment.  Not everyone will enter heaven (Matthew 7:21-27) but only those who enter Christ and stay faithful to the end (2 Thessalonians 1:8, Matthew 10:22, Revelation 2:10).

Gordon Musick              

Another Musick-al note:    # 37

                                              #6 – KNOWING GOD – HIS GREAT LOVE

    God’s love has been displayed, expressed, manifested to us and proven by His actions.  He made the world and all that is in it and has given it all into man’s hand.  The air, earth, all living creatures are for man’s pleasure and use.  He also wants to bless us spiritually.  God’s greatest expression of His love was expressed in giving His Son as seen in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that  whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.  His giving was done even while we were sinners (Romans 5:8), yet Christ died for us to deliver us from eternal death. Such love began with God for God is love and His love was manifested toward us in that He gave His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1John 4:9), thus as Peter said in 2 Peter 3:9, “God is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance”. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) so all must repent or die in sin (Luke 13:3, 5).  God has always desired that men turn from sin to do His will as shown by His words to Cain in Genesis 4:6-8, “If you do well, you will be accepted, otherwise sin will own you unless you overcome it”.  Over and over, again and again, God has sought to bless man whom He created and promised to bless them when they obeyed Him.  God has always taught that people must keep His commandments to receive His blessings nor has He ever turned from those who obeyed Him.  He kept sending Godly men to direct and teach His will to all people, but most turn from Him to selfishness and godless living.  Jesus came into the world to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Even being rejected by His own people, He still promises to give eternal salvation to everyone who believes and obeys Him (John 1:11-13, Hebrews 1:11-13, Hebrews 5:9).

                                                                                                Gordon Musick