Freeing the World of Ignorance

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). The bible is full of hard sayings like these but knowing about them does not make them any easier to accept. Some of the teens on Wednesday night found it particularly difficult to understand how simply because one never hears of the gospel than it disqualifies them from heaven.

The context of the verse we can see starts back in v. 22 as Paul is addressing the men of Athens. Apparently while strolling through the streets Paul came across an idol to the unknown god. It is this ignorant worship that Paul tells these men that God no longer winks at.

Having that said on, can safely apply this verse to those who do not know the one true and living God. For just as the men of Athens knew not what they worshiped neither does the lost soul who may never hear the name Jesus or the sacrifice he made for all. Acts 17 only highlights the importance of the Christians duty to spread the Gospel to every one we come in contact with (Matt. 28:19-20).

One man that has continued to be an encouragement to me is Walter Young at the Wesconnett church of Christ in Jacksonville, FL. While on the job with this great man of Faith, he would tell any one that would listen to him about Christ and his church. That is all one can do, tell any and everyone we come in contact with about the saving power of Christ’s blood.

This, however, does not mean all will head our message and warnings. Jesus told the parable of the sower in Mk. 4. This parable explains that not every one will listen or grow in Christ. Even the apostle Paul was rejected. Acts 25:13-26:29 tells of the Gospel message delivered to King Agrippa and ultimately the rejection of eternal life.

Don’t let the fear of being turned down discourage you from teaching the Gospel truth. “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching (emp. ADM 1Tim 4:2)

O Captain! My Captain!

At first glance the book of Ecclesiastes is very negative. It seems that with every turn of the page the preacher is telling us that there is no point to life. With the opening of the book he says that all is vanity, the sun comes up and goes down, each generation works under the sun then dies and the next comes, the rivers run into the sea but the sea is not filled. We read in verse 18 of chapter 1, “for in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” The preacher went so fare as to say in chapter 4 verses 2-3 that it is better to have never lived than to see the evil under the sun. Is this really true what the preacher is telling us, to learn is vanity and even life itself is waste, and to not have been born would be better?

So what is all of this negative talk about? What is the message the preacher is trying to convey to his readers? We learn from the latter part of the book that the whole duty of man is to “fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man’s all” (12:13). When we look at our lives and look at the things we do on a daily basis, how much of our day is spent toiling over things that do not matter rather than spiritual things that do?

The preacher gives a very grave comparison to the man who has everything desirable but does not do good. He says a stillborn child is better than a man that has not been filled with goodness (6:3)! I ask, are we filling our lives and the lives of our fellow man with goodness or are we squandering all with which God has blessed us on ourselves?

Walt Whitman wrote the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” telling of a sailors devotion to his captain. Christ must be our captain, not our co-captain, or just along for the ride in the back seat, but the captain of our soul. We must not just simply do the acts of worship and live a decent life but be so moved by His Word that we, like Jeremiah, could not keep His goodness to ourselves because of it being like a fire in our bones (Jer. 20:9). We must have complete devotion to our Captain, Friend, Brother, Savior, and Lord.

Let not our lives be in vain. Life is only vanity if we fail to fear God and keep His commandments. Let the Captain pilot you!

Our Governing Authorities

Today the United States will enter into what would be a very dangerous time if it were in another country. Today is the Inauguration of the new President, which in many countries, this event is either lead or closely followed by murder, war, political and economic unrest. However, in this Great country this power change happens every four to eight years without incident. This is something to rejoice over.

Many, however, have very strong opinions about the President of the United States, who he should be and from what party he should be. This attitude can be healthy for a republic like we have in the United States. Having said that, one may began to wonder how far a Christian can go with politics and party preferences. We live in a land of freedoms, namely freedom of speech; but just because a Christian lives in a land of freedoms does not mean we should exercise those freedoms.

Paul wrote on the subject of Government on several occasions, and Jesus preached on the matter (Matthew 22:17-21). Let us open our bibles and study the Scriptures to see how a Christian should view and treat governments. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, gave detailed instructions to the readers on the function, authority and proper respect of government. Paul writes:

Rom 13:1-7 ESV Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (2) Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, (4) for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. (5) Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. (6) For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. (7) Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

These words written by Paul so many years ago are still true in the current political climate of the United States. Paul does not mention any political parties or if you agree with policies or laws. What he does say is that we are to respect the government because it is “instituted by God”.

Paul also writes in Titus 3:1 ESV “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,”. Notice that this letter to Titus was written while Nero was Emperor of the Roman Empire and Paul had just been released from prison. Keep in mind the attitude Nero and his government had toward Christianity. Persecution during this period of time in the church was horrific and yet Paul instructs the first century Christians to be submissive and obedient to the government. Try and place yourself in the first century Christians’ shoes, and realize the fear our brothers and sisters must have felt every time they knelt to pray a prayer to our Lord or sing a song in praise. Think of the fear they must have felt every time they reached out to a lost soul knowing it may lead to death in the coliseum.

I challenge each reader to consider his or her own life and ask yourself how you measure up in a free society knowing what others have sacrificed to spread the Word of God under a persecuting Government. Also consider the political climate under which Paul wrote these words. He instructed first century Christians as he instructs Christians today to respect the governing authorities. Paul could have been thinking of Nero as he wrote these words; knowing full well what that wicked king was capable of.

Christian, it is not respectful to bash, joke, or demean Government; this includes the President that gave the oath on January 20, 2009. The Word of God written by Paul is not prefaced with any stipulation on who or what the government is. Consider 1Th 4:11-12 ESV “and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, (12) so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” If every Christians aim is to work hard, live like Christ and “love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 19:19) we can look forward to a peaceful life. Remember, this land of freedom means we are able to live, worship, and preach as Christ has commanded. Many countries in which our fellow Christian brothers and sisters live do not allow these kinds of freedoms.

Rather than complaining, joking, bashing, and poking fun; count your blessings that America still allows Christians to preach and worship as Christ would have us. As long as we live in a country where God’s law is not hindered by government, we can count that as a blessing that those in the first century did not enjoy. Remember Christian, God is our Father, King, and Lord; His Son is our mediator and nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). Take courage knowing that Jesus Christ is our mediator to the creator of the universe, and it is He that gives and takes authority Rom. 13:1-7 and II Tim. 2:5)


---by: Andy McDonald

What Must I Do to be Saved?

There was a jailer in the town of Philippi who asked a most important question. He asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) This is the most important question that anyone could ever ask. After all, what is more important than where one will spend eternity? This Philippian jailer was not the only one who asked this question in the Bible. 3,000 men asked it of Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37), Saul (Paul) asked it of Christ in Acts 9:6. The answer to these questions was all the same. To obtain salvation, one must obey the commands of God. Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) What then is the answer to this most important question? The Word of God says that one must:

HEAR. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God.” (Rom 10:17). It is important to understand that the first step in salvation is to hear the words of God. They testify of Christ and give us eternal life. (John 5:39) We cannot have an obedient faith in God, without first hearing his word, which is recorded for us in the Bible (2 Tim 3:16)

We must then BELIEVE. We must believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that what is says about Jesus the Christ is true. We must believe that Jesus is the son of God. (John 3:16) John says that, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31) We may have life through our belief in Christ and adherence to His teachings. What then, does Jesus command regarding salvation?

That we REPENT of our sins. Christ states in Luke 13:3-5 that unless we repent, we “shall likewise perish.” Paul told the Romans, concerning this very thing, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom 6:1-2) Paul is not saying that Christians cant’ sin, but that, if we have dedicated ourselves to Jesus, how could we continue to go against His word? It is God’s will “that all men (mankind) cometh unto repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Then we must CONFESS. Jesus was very clear in this, in fact he said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” (Mat 10:32) Unless we are willing to confess the good name of Christ among men, we are not worthy to be called Christians. Neither are we worthy of the salvation that Jesus offers. What was the answer then to all these questions and others like them?

Be BAPTIZED for the remission of sins. That is what Peter told the crowd in Acts 2:38. That is what Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:34-39. That is what Paul told the jailer in Acts 16:31-33. In fact that is the answer that the Lord provided to Saul in Acts 9:6 when he was told to, “go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Three days after this event, Ananias came and told him, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16) To make the issue even more clear Peter states in 1 Peter 3:21, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”

This is how the Bible answers the question of “What must I do to be saved?” God has given us His word and all things that pertain to life and godliness through knowledge. (2 Peter 1:3) It is my prayer that you do as the Bible commands, follow the steps that lead to salvation, and know for sure where you will spend eternity. (2 Peter 1:10) Then remain faithful unto death and receive that crown of life. (Rev 2:10)

--Josh Robinson