| July 9, 2000 |
Vol. III, No. 10
|
Another article about a popular error....
The practice of seeking salvation through prayer at the mourner’s bench, while not as widespread as once it was, is still employed in principle by many who believe that the alien sinner must pray to God for his salvation. Salvation by faith alone is just as widespread as it ever was, but the mourner’s bench in revival meetings has virtually disappeared from the mainline denominations.
The following prayer in various forms has often been advocated for the sinner’s use in seeking forgiveness: “Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner needing Your grace and forgiveness. I believe in Your Son. Please forgive and save me.” Many sincere sinners have sought salvation by this route, deceived in thinking that God has appointed it for their salvation. We do not disparage their honesty in dealing with this matter.
The prayer of the publican in Luke 18:13 is used as the Biblical basis for this belief. You recall that he simply asked God to be merciful to him as a sinner, in contrast to the pride, self-righteousness, and evasion displayed by the Pharisee. What was good for the publican seems to many to be good for sinners today. The point that they fail to consider is that the publican’s presence at the Temple shows that this man was an Israelite already in covenant relation with God. He had the right of prayer, and he also had the right idea of prayer as a humble acknowledgment of one’s sins before the Lord. It is a stretch of the imagination, however, to conclude that a sinner not in covenant relation with God today should do as this man did. After all, this man lived and prayed under the Mosaic dispensation which God had made for Israel. Jesus had not died on Calvary; the gospel arrangement operating after the ascension and exaltation of Jesus had not bee activated at this time.
From the beginning of the gospel on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection, it has been made clear that sinners need to believe on Christ and then to repent and be baptized into Christ. “The Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38). No alien sinner was ever instructed to pray to the Lord for salvation but many were taught to do as Peter commanded. No passage exists connecting prayer to the salvation of the alien, but many verses exist teaching what the alien must do to be saved in view of Christ’s death and resurrection, Mark 16:16; Acts 10:48; 22:16.
May all determine to seek the salvation that is in Christ according to God’s revealed will. Only when the lost meet God’s conditions are God’s conditional promises kept. May we all learn the Lord’s will and submit to it in our lives. May we also teach to all who will hear it.
--Bobby L. Graham, Gospel Guide, May, 2000.
In Matt. 16:5-12, the Bible says that when Jesus' disciples had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, "they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, 'Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.' And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have taken no bread.' But when Jesus perceived it, He said to them, O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
As we see, at first the disciples misunderstood Jesus. They were concerned about the fact that they had forgotten to take bread, thus when Jesus used an illustration regarding leaven they naturally assumed He too was concerned about their forgetfulness. Jesus, of course, was not talking about literal, physical leavening. To help His disciples understand His illustration, He reminded them of the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, recorded in Matthew, chapter 14, and of the feeding of the 4,000 in chapter 15. Literal, physical bread was not their problem.
Once they got their obsession with physical matters in proper perspective, they realized the Master was using the term "leaven" to illustrate a spiritual idea. Had they not been obsessed with the problem of having forgotten bread, they would probably have understood His meaning immediately. After all, He had earlier used leaven to illustrate the permeating influence of the gospel of Christ hidden in the heart -- how it spreads and influences others, causing great growth in the kingdom of heaven. See Matt. 13:33.
In Matthew 16, He used leaven to illustrate the danger of false doctrines like those taught by the Pharisees and Sadducees and how those false doctrines can invade and influence even those who have set at Jesus' feet and followed Him. "Beware," He told them, "of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." And once they cleared their minds of the day to day physical problems, they realized His spiritual application: Beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Pharisees and Sadducees are no longer with us, but there are still false prophets and false teachers in the world as Jesus predicted that there would be. We must be wary, study God's word, and continually adjust our own teaching and practice by what we learn there.
–CRJ
The rules at a particular university were such that if the professor were not present in the classroom by 15 minutes past the hour, the class was considered a "walk" and the students were free to leave -- with no penalties for missing a class. The rooms were equipped with the type wall clocks which "jumped" ahead each minute, in a very noticeable fashion. These clocks were also not of the most sophisticated construction. Some enterprising student discovered that if one were to hit the clock with chalkboard erasers, it would cause the clock to "jump" ahead one minute.
So, it became almost daily routine for these students to take target practice at the clock (as it would have it, this particular professor was not the most punctual). A few well-aimed erasers, and lo, 15 minutes were passed, and class dismissed itself.
When the day for the next exam rolled around, the professor strolled into the room, passed out the exams, and told them "You have one hour to complete it."
The professor then proceeded to collect the erasers from around the room and gleefully took aim at the clock. When he had successfully "jumped" the clock forward one hour, he closed the class and collected the exam papers. We've all been in situations where we would like for time to jump ahead and move faster than it does. But, as we get older, we become aware than time is moving quite fast enough on its own, without any help!
"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle..." (Job 2:6)
"Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away....They pass
by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey." (Job 9:25-26)
"For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a
little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14b)
The Bible speaks often about how quickly life passes, not to depress us, but to bring us to the realization that we had better be preparing now for the eternity that lies beyond this life.
If you find yourself watching the clock at work today, wishing the time would pass faster, be careful! It will be gone before you know it.
--Alan Smith, Thought for the Day
Somebody once said, “Many people have everything to live WITH and nothing to live FOR.” How true that is.
Many wealthy people live hollow, meaningless lives. They have more than enough possessions to make life comfortable, but they have little purpose in life to make it meaningful.
It takes decades before some people eventually realize that life lived for mere self-indulgence is ultimately an empty life. A time can come, however, when even the shiniest new car, or the biggest house, or the flashiest jewelry, can’t mask the hollowness of a life without high purpose.
The Bible doesn’t condemn all wealth, and new cars and nice houses are not wrong. But lasting satisfaction doesn’t come from these things or self-indulgence.
On the other hand, people with little to live with may have much to live for. For example, Jesus’ apostles were not wealthy, Acts 3:6, but their lives had real purpose.
The Scriptures assure us that God can bring purpose into our lives, too. He can give us something to live for that is mission from the lives of people whose lives are hollow and without purpose.
It has been said that “a man who has not lost himself in a cause bigger than himself, has missed one of life’s mountaintop experiences that can last the rest of your life -- it can ultimately take you to be with God.
--David Watts via Market St. bulletin, Athens, AL