I recently ran across some research on the "Sinner's Prayer" that is practiced widely among many evangelists and denominations. I did some further reading on the subject and found that Wikipedia had what seemed a fair and accurate summary of the history of the prayer. Further quotes here will be from Wikipedia.
The Sinner's Prayer is "prayer of repentance." "Often at the end of a worship service an evangelist will invite those desiring to receive Christ (become converted) to 'repeat after me' the words of some form of a sinner's prayer." The practice has been traced to as "early as the 18th century."
The problem with this is that in order to know how to become Christians and live the Christian life, we need to go back to the 1st century and see what the Bible is telling us and what the early Christians were doing as they had been instructed by Christ and His apostles. It is true that people were taught to repent and call upon the Lord as their Savior. But that isn't all that was taught in being converted. Jesus taught His apostles in Mark 16 to go into all the world and "preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved..." And when Paul was converted in Acts 22 we see that he was taught to "arise, be baptized and wash away your sins." It never was enough to just repeat a confession before an evangelist whether in person or in front of the tv.
Let's just follow the Bible pattern in matters of becoming Christians, living the Christian life, and worshiping together as local churches. Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Witnessing
The word "witnessing" is used a lot in today's religious world. How we might use it differs some from the meaning that we see in the New Testament.
There are lots of references to witnesses in the Bible. In fact, our Lord knew that it would be important that true eyewitnesses be established in the time of Christ. We base our beliefs on these eyewitness accounts because we didn't see it happen; we need facts upon which to base our beliefs. Before Jesus left the earth He told His apostles, "..you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." ( Acts 1:8).
John, in 1 John 1:1-4, talks about the process of witnesses: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concering the Word of Life.......we declare to you." Here is an eyewitness telling us about it.
Luke was not an eyewitness, but he wrote the book of Luke having been given details by the eyewitnesses of Jesus. Luke 1 tells us: "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account..."
The result of all this is to establish our faith. John 20:30,31 says, "and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." We can be very thankful for those who were eyewitnesses and left us the detailed accounts for us to learn of Him and believe.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
There are lots of references to witnesses in the Bible. In fact, our Lord knew that it would be important that true eyewitnesses be established in the time of Christ. We base our beliefs on these eyewitness accounts because we didn't see it happen; we need facts upon which to base our beliefs. Before Jesus left the earth He told His apostles, "..you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." ( Acts 1:8).
John, in 1 John 1:1-4, talks about the process of witnesses: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concering the Word of Life.......we declare to you." Here is an eyewitness telling us about it.
Luke was not an eyewitness, but he wrote the book of Luke having been given details by the eyewitnesses of Jesus. Luke 1 tells us: "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account..."
The result of all this is to establish our faith. John 20:30,31 says, "and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." We can be very thankful for those who were eyewitnesses and left us the detailed accounts for us to learn of Him and believe.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
How do you worship God?
Most people do not write their own obituary, but Joe Blanchard of Florida recently died and left an obit in his own words. Here is what he wanted us to know: "I have never been an outward communication religious man, but have always had a strong belief in the Lord and His power. My communications have been in the duck blind, deer stand, fishing boat and on the golf course." Now I find this quite impressive, just probably not in the way that he intended.
What we must do as Christians is to find out what God wants/expects us to do when it comes to worship. It always mattered to Him. If we go back to the very beginning, we see Abel bringing an acceptable sacrifice and Cain not doing so. All through the Bible God teaches us over and over the importance of doing things His way, and certainly this applies to our worship.
In the New Testament we note that Jesus, right before His death, taught His disciples the importance of taking the Lord's Supper after He was gone, to eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine as a remembrance. We see this being done by the early Christians in the book of Acts. And we see the importance of the church, the gathering of Christians weekly, to worship together and to remember the Lord.
Now back to Joe and the duck blind. Of course it is good to commune with God wherever one is, whether that be a duck blind or in a bath tub. But if that is the limit of our worship to God, we need to go back to the Bible and see what God wants. Our worship isn't just for us; it is for Him also. And we need to do it His way....not just as a sideline to our play, or to our work or to whatever we find ourselves doing. This is not an editorial; this is what the Bible teaches, what God has said to us, and we need to be listening. Have a great week! ........written in love from one who cares.
What we must do as Christians is to find out what God wants/expects us to do when it comes to worship. It always mattered to Him. If we go back to the very beginning, we see Abel bringing an acceptable sacrifice and Cain not doing so. All through the Bible God teaches us over and over the importance of doing things His way, and certainly this applies to our worship.
In the New Testament we note that Jesus, right before His death, taught His disciples the importance of taking the Lord's Supper after He was gone, to eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine as a remembrance. We see this being done by the early Christians in the book of Acts. And we see the importance of the church, the gathering of Christians weekly, to worship together and to remember the Lord.
Now back to Joe and the duck blind. Of course it is good to commune with God wherever one is, whether that be a duck blind or in a bath tub. But if that is the limit of our worship to God, we need to go back to the Bible and see what God wants. Our worship isn't just for us; it is for Him also. And we need to do it His way....not just as a sideline to our play, or to our work or to whatever we find ourselves doing. This is not an editorial; this is what the Bible teaches, what God has said to us, and we need to be listening. Have a great week! ........written in love from one who cares.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
The Word
One of the ways that Jesus is referenced in the Bible is "The Word." It is through Him that we have salvation, and it is His word that was given to the apostles and passed down to us.
The book of John begins with a discussion of the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him...." Verse 14: "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." It stretches our imagination to view Jesus as the person and as the Word. But that is how it is. And perhaps it adds extra meaning to our study of the Bible when we see it as the "Word" of God and coming from the Son, Jesus.
Hebrews chapter 2 gives an interesting perspective on the word: "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?" This is a good summary of how we got the Word, that is, spoken by Jesus, confirmed by the witnesses, the apostles, and by miracles given by the Holy Spirit, all according to God's will.
The Word is powerful; and it saves us. Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift! See you next week.
The book of John begins with a discussion of the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him...." Verse 14: "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." It stretches our imagination to view Jesus as the person and as the Word. But that is how it is. And perhaps it adds extra meaning to our study of the Bible when we see it as the "Word" of God and coming from the Son, Jesus.
Hebrews chapter 2 gives an interesting perspective on the word: "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?" This is a good summary of how we got the Word, that is, spoken by Jesus, confirmed by the witnesses, the apostles, and by miracles given by the Holy Spirit, all according to God's will.
The Word is powerful; and it saves us. Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift! See you next week.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Simplicity
Perhaps we tend to make the matter of being a Christian too complicated. It is possible to over think some things, and I would suggest that this could be the case here.
When we look at the teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 16:16, in a conversation with Jesus, Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then Jesus said, "..on this rock I will build My church.." Thus, we know that Jesus is the foundation of the church..and our beliefs. But Jesus didn't start the church during His lifetime. He told the apostles to do that, to wait in Jerusalem after He had departed to heaven for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. We see these events unfolding in Acts 2 and even the beginnings of the church. Peter was doing the talking in Acts 2:41 when it says that "...those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship..." When we look at this in context we see that people had come into town for the Jewish Passover and stayed over for this new Christian relationship to develop; they were sharing with each other to be sure that no one went without.
The simplicity of becoming a Christian is shown in Acts 8:35 where Philip teaches an Ethiopian nobleman about Jesus. "Now as they went down the road , they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' " We see here that there wasn't any deep doctrine or philosophy taught. Philip just taught him about "Jesus."
A study of the church in the New Testament seems just as straightforward, or "simple." We don't see any complicated formal structure. Each church was independent in the early church; and each church had leaders, elders to guide and protect the church (see Acts 20, 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1), and deacons to help in the work. But simplicity was the order of the early church, far more so than we see in most "Christian" churches today.
Living the Christian life isn't so complicated, but it surely can be difficult sometimes as we fight the temptations of this life. Enough for today. Thanks for reading.
When we look at the teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 16:16, in a conversation with Jesus, Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then Jesus said, "..on this rock I will build My church.." Thus, we know that Jesus is the foundation of the church..and our beliefs. But Jesus didn't start the church during His lifetime. He told the apostles to do that, to wait in Jerusalem after He had departed to heaven for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. We see these events unfolding in Acts 2 and even the beginnings of the church. Peter was doing the talking in Acts 2:41 when it says that "...those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship..." When we look at this in context we see that people had come into town for the Jewish Passover and stayed over for this new Christian relationship to develop; they were sharing with each other to be sure that no one went without.
The simplicity of becoming a Christian is shown in Acts 8:35 where Philip teaches an Ethiopian nobleman about Jesus. "Now as they went down the road , they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' " We see here that there wasn't any deep doctrine or philosophy taught. Philip just taught him about "Jesus."
A study of the church in the New Testament seems just as straightforward, or "simple." We don't see any complicated formal structure. Each church was independent in the early church; and each church had leaders, elders to guide and protect the church (see Acts 20, 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1), and deacons to help in the work. But simplicity was the order of the early church, far more so than we see in most "Christian" churches today.
Living the Christian life isn't so complicated, but it surely can be difficult sometimes as we fight the temptations of this life. Enough for today. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Church Unity part 2
I received a question regarding what is meant by "unity?" Certainly the church is made up of individuals, people who are different in many ways, in how they think, their opinions and ideas, and their understanding of the Bible. But when we look at the teaching of the New Testament, we see that we are still taught to be "one" people.
When Jesus was about to leave this earth, He prayed in John 17 that His followers would be one, "that they all may be one." Jesus knew that there is a natural tendency to divide, to disagree, to argue. He wanted better than that for His people.
Paul said in Philippians 2:2, "fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." This doesn't mean we lose our individuality; it means that we pull together, we work together, and we strive to follow God's word as it has been given to us. But Paul was already seeing trouble when he wrote the first Corinthian letter. Instead of just being Christians and being unified, the people were forming factions. 1 Corinthians 1:12 says some were saying they were "of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas or I am of Christ." This is the attitude, that of division, that Jesus and Paul were trying to head off.
If you look at the history of the forming of denominations you will see that most were created because of disagreement, contention, and strife. This is not what the Bible teaches us as Christians on how we should act. We must work at unity in Christ Jesus. Thanks for reading!
When Jesus was about to leave this earth, He prayed in John 17 that His followers would be one, "that they all may be one." Jesus knew that there is a natural tendency to divide, to disagree, to argue. He wanted better than that for His people.
Paul said in Philippians 2:2, "fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." This doesn't mean we lose our individuality; it means that we pull together, we work together, and we strive to follow God's word as it has been given to us. But Paul was already seeing trouble when he wrote the first Corinthian letter. Instead of just being Christians and being unified, the people were forming factions. 1 Corinthians 1:12 says some were saying they were "of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas or I am of Christ." This is the attitude, that of division, that Jesus and Paul were trying to head off.
If you look at the history of the forming of denominations you will see that most were created because of disagreement, contention, and strife. This is not what the Bible teaches us as Christians on how we should act. We must work at unity in Christ Jesus. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Church Unity
The Bible is clear that the Lord always expected His people to be one, to be unified. It seems only human to want to divide. We see division occur in all aspects of our society; and certainly we see it in the creation of denominations. Even the word "denomination" shows the recognition of division. But it was never wanted by our Lord.
Just before His death, Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17 a rather long prayer calling for unity of His followers. Note John 17:11: "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are one." He says this several times in this prayer, "that they be one as We are one." Unity was very important to Jesus. Shame on us for dividing.
Paul taught about this in 1 Corinthians 1. Note verse 10: "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you , my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.' Is Christ divided?" Division had already started in the early church. It should not be so among us.
One might say, "What is the solution?" The only solution is to follow God's Word, the Bible. We have a great pattern to follow, showing us what the early church was taught to do. We should be doing the same, following that same pattern. Every one of us needs to read, understand , and follow the Bible. Only in doing so are we able to unite in one teaching and one purpose.
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
Just before His death, Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17 a rather long prayer calling for unity of His followers. Note John 17:11: "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are one." He says this several times in this prayer, "that they be one as We are one." Unity was very important to Jesus. Shame on us for dividing.
Paul taught about this in 1 Corinthians 1. Note verse 10: "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you , my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.' Is Christ divided?" Division had already started in the early church. It should not be so among us.
One might say, "What is the solution?" The only solution is to follow God's Word, the Bible. We have a great pattern to follow, showing us what the early church was taught to do. We should be doing the same, following that same pattern. Every one of us needs to read, understand , and follow the Bible. Only in doing so are we able to unite in one teaching and one purpose.
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
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