____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ February 25, 2001 ____________________________________________________ The Simple Gospel Obedience: Its Nature and Importance by Ralph E. Price As Jesus delivered His famous ``Sermon on the Mount,'' He said, ``Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!''' (Matthew 7:21-23). Truly Jesus taught the importance of obedience when He taught that only those who do the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of Heaven. Obedience is the act of or an instance of obeying. The word, obey, is defined by Webster to mean: 1) to carry out the instructions or orders of, 2) submit to the control of... (another). Jesus said, in John 14:15, ``If you love Me, keep My commandments.'' To obey Jesus is to obey the Father (Ephesians 6:6). Further, obedience to the Father and to Jesus involves obedience to Christ's apostles as His spokesmen after His ascension into Heaven. Consider Matthew 28:16-20, ``Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, `All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.''' And 1 Corinthians 11:1, ``Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.'' The Apostle Paul also wrote, ``Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle'' (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Hence, we know that adherence to the writings of the apostles is as acceptable and as necessary today as it was to obey their spoken word in the first century. Thanks be to God we have the writings of the apostles in our New Testament today as they were penned under the direction of the Holy Spirit! (Ephesians 3:1-5). Jesus said, ``Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not... done many wonders in Your name?''' and His response to them will be to condemn them as practitioners of lawlessness. The idea being conveyed here is that even with people who were active religiously, their activity was not according to the proper authority, the law of God. The Lord had just said that only those who performed the will of the Father would enter into the kingdom of Heaven. A person may only accomplish that by subjecting his own will to the will of the Father even as Jesus did while He was on the earth. Remember His prayer, Matthew 26:39, ``O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'' In John 8:29, Jesus said, ''...I always do those things that please Him (the Father).'' Those people whom Jesus will refuse at the Judgment are the same as some described by Paul in Romans 10:2-3, ``For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.'' Paul said these people did not submit (recall the definition of obedience) to the righteousness of God, being ignorant of that righteousness. Friends and brethren, knowledge of God's righteousness is a necessary prerequisite to obeying His will! Paul wrote, in Romans 1:16-17, ``For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes... For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ``The just shall live by faith.'' We know the righteousness of God through the gospel. Paul affirmed to the Galatian brethren that the gospel which he delivered to them was given to him by revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:1-12). He told the Ephesians that he had written down this revelation of the gospel so that by reading, people could understand. He further told them that people could be partakers of God's promise in Christ, ``by the gospel'' (Ephesians 3:1-6). Timothy received these Spirit directed words, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, ``All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.'' Further, we read in James 1:22-25, ``But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.'' Each of us needs to continually look into the word of the gospel, notice how it reflects upon our lives and how our lives compare to the righteousness revealed therein, then pattern our lives to change more and more into the image we see when we look into the word (2 Corinthians 3:18). We need to guard against forgetting what is written in God's word as the writer of Hebrews said, Hebrews 2:1, ``Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away,'' and thereby become the forgetful hearer described by James who fails to continue in obedience to the word. The only logical conclusion which can be drawn from the weight of the evidence supplied by these various scriptures is that only those people who gain a knowledge of God's righteousness through reading and/or hearing (Romans 10:17) the gospel as it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures and who then continually submit to such will be permitted to ``enter the kingdom of Heaven.'' In conclusion, Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica of a time... ``when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power'' (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Even as he also said, so do we. 2 Corinthians 5:11, ``Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.'' Dear reader, please do not let yourself be among those who will be so treated by Jesus when He returns. Please decide now to begin the lifelong commitment (Luke 14:28-30; Hebrews 10:38) of living by faith, with a continuing knowledge of and obedience to the gospel of Christ. Begin your commitment now by developing a knowledge of and an obedience to these scriptural teachings: 1. Romans 3:23, ``for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.''; Romans 6:23, ``For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.''; Revelation 21:27, ``But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.'' 2. Matthew 1:21, ``And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'' 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ``For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.'' Matthew 26:28, ``For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'' 3. If we believe these truths and obey Jesus, we can have eternal life in Heaven (John 20:30-31; John 8:24; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10). 4. If we repent of our sins, our sins will be blotted out (Acts 3:19). 5. If we confess Christ, He will confess us before His Father (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:10). 6. If we are immersed in water, in obedience to God, our sins will be washed away (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:3-6). 7. If we faithfully keep the Lord's commands to work and worship according to His pattern, Heaven will be our eternal home (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 20:7; Romans 12:1-2). -- Via Watchman Magazine ___________________________________________ ``Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out'' by Tom Edwards The above title is taken from the words of Moses. He directed it toward the Israelite tribes of Gad and Reuben who wanted to dwell to the east of the Jordan River, rather than crossing over into Canaan for an inheritance. They had agreed, however, to help the other tribes of Israel in their conquest of the Promised Land. But Moses warned, ``But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out'' (Num. 32:23). This admonition causes us to also realize that no matter how hidden or long ago a transgression might be, it will eventually resurface at the judgment day for one to give an account of and pay the penalty for. We must remember that it is not time that atones for sin. Let us, therefore, not deceive ourselves into thinking that it would. Regardless of all the years since the transgression was committed, it remains indelibly written in God's record book and can be blotted out by only that precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:18,19). For when to God ''...a thousand years [is] as one day'' (2 Pet. 3:8) or ''...like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night'' (Psa. 90:4), then what would one's lifetime of, say, 100 years be to the Lord? One-tenth of a day (2 hours and 24 minutes)? Of course, we realize that this is not to be taken literally; but the point is, time is irrelevant to God. It has no bearing on God's repugnance toward sin. Whether one day or a thousand years, the Lord's abhorrence toward a transgression would remain the same and not diminish, nor would His remembrance of it wane or become obscured with time. We need to also remind ourselves that sin doesn't disappear by our simply forgetting about it. Perhaps all the years have caused us to no longer remember the iniquity, but God has not forgotten. Actually, one's sin is not like some type of literal blemish on one's soul that must be cleansed; rather, it is something that remains on record in God's memory until it is blotted out by Christ's atonement; and the Lord will then--for those who will submit to His gospel--''...remember their sins no more'' (Heb. 8:12). For those, however, who will not follow Jesus, their every sin will be exposed by light--even their very motives (1 Cor. 4:5). The verse that follows Solomon's summation of the whole duty of man--''to fear God and keep His commandments''--states, ``For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil'' (Eccl. 12:14). Wicked men sometimes get away with their crimes when before secular judges, but this certainly won't be so when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ and are judged by God's Son Himself, who knows the hearts of all men (Matt. 9:4). So trying to simply wait long enough, forget it, or hide it will not eliminate sin in our lives. The only answer for this prevalent problem (Rom. 3:23) is Jesus Christ. We must, therefore, submit to Him by our faith and obedience, if we want to benefit from His atonement at Calvary and be sure that we won't have sin to find us out. ___________________________________________ News & Notes After being admitted into the hospital last Wednesday, Joe Thompson is now back home; but let us keep praying for him that his health will continue to improve. I'm sure he will appreciate it! This coming Wednesday will be our ``Sing Night.'' Song leaders be prepared! Greetings to all of you who are visiting with us today. If this is your first time, please fill out a visitor's card. We hope to see you again soon! ________________________________________ Avondale CHURCH OF CHRIST P.O. Box 421 1606 Glen Willow Rd., Avondale, PA 19311 (610) 268-2088 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 11:00 A.M. Worship 6:00 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:00 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (610) 925-3567 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://www.mypage.onemain.com/tedwards/avondale ________________________________________