____________________________________________________ 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 23, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Does Belief Imply "Automatic" Repentance? (Tom Edwards) 2) Disregarding God's Plan -- By The Numbers (Steve Klein) 3) Was It An Exaggeration? (Chuck Bartlett) ____________________________________________________ -1- Does Belief Imply "Automatic" Repentance? by Tom Edwards First, let me define "belief" as used in the above question as not being the "comprehensive" saving faith in the Bible, which includes all of what God demands of us, but merely that mental assent that one has toward the deity of Christ. It's a faith that tells the person everything the Bible says about Jesus is true: He is Lord; He is eternal; He is the Savior of the world, etc. But it is also a faith that is limited to merely this mental assent -- and, therefore, without the accompaniment of any necessary actions. This is the faith that many people think is all that is required of them for salvation. But does a faith like that necessarily imply that Jesus really is the Lord in the life of the one who believes such? Does it necessarily mean that this one has automatically repented (and met the Lord's other requirements)? I use the term "automatically" in thinking back of those whom I've encountered who are of the persuasion that one "automatically and simultaneously" repents at the very moment that that individual accepts the truth about Jesus. They go on to say that this is not a work; rather, they show it is just something that takes place in the heart, producing a great change in the person's life that results in a total conversion experience. Concerning even a full mental acceptance toward the deity of Christ and whether that in itself is what makes one a Christian, I'm often reminded of a statement Chuck Bartlett (who preaches in Toronto) had made years ago. He said something to the effect that "Because I believe in Satan that doesn't make me a follower of Satan." What a clear and powerfully instructive remark! Chuck, in his article, went on to point out that this kind of faith that he has in Satan is about the same kind of faith many people have in Jesus. They are merely accepting the facts about Him. And though they might believe it all, without submission to His commands, their faith will remain a "dead" faith that will be ineffectual to save them (James 2:14-26). A faith like that will not make one a follower of the Lord. A couple good Bible examples of individuals who had given mental assent toward the deity of Christ -- but were not saved -- are that which we read in John 12:42,43 and John 8:30-44. In the former passage, we are informed that "many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." These believing rulers remained silent about their belief in Christ because to acknowledge Him would result in their being ostracized from the synagogue. Plus, they were a people more concerned with pleasing men and gaining their favor rather than in pleasing God and gaining His. That in itself indicates that their faith in Christ had not led to their "automatically and simultaneously" repenting. For in true Bible repentance one not only turns from the wrong, but he also turns to the right (to God); and he does this because he is seeking God's mercy, His grace, His forgiveness -- and doing so in order to gain the Lord's acceptance, His approval, etc. But were these believing rulers concerned about obtaining God's favor? Obviously, not. In John 8, Jesus is talking to "those Jews who had believed Him" (v. 31); but He points out to them what being a true disciple is: It is to abide (or continue) in the word of the Lord -- for that is the only way to know the truth and be made free (vv. 31,32). But had these believing Jews "automatically and simultaneously" repented at the initial moment of their belief in Christ? The Lord goes on to point out that His word actually had no place in them (v. 37); and though they had believed, they were seeking to kill Him (v. 40); so, in reality, they still had the devil for their father (v. 44). They're belief in Christ was vain, ineffectual. God's salvation plan is not learned in just one verse. We need to, therefore, examine the Scriptures carefully; and, in doing so, we are made aware of the various "steps" -- and not merely one "step" of believing -- that lead to salvation and eternal life. Belief in the deity of Christ, of course, is the basis that these other steps are built upon -- the steps of repentance, of publicly acknowledging our faith in Christ, of submitting to water baptism for the remission of sins, and of continuing in our faithfulness to the Lord. All these steps must be taken. Repentance, therefore, is just one of the steps toward eternal life. Concerning this, John the baptist told the people of his day to "bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:1). And to a people who were already commanded to believe in the deity of Christ (Acts 2:36), and had accepted the truth about Him (v. 37), Peter further commanded them to "repent and be baptized" (v. 38) so that their sins would be forgiven. Remaining just the "believers" they were in verse 37 would have never been enough to save them from their sins -- even though that belief produced a piercing conviction in their hearts. For repentance and baptism are two of the requirements that must follow that kind of belief; and it is from baptism that one is risen up to "walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3,4), which pinpoints the moment in which a believer actually becomes a Christian. Belief, repentance, confessing of faith in Christ, and baptism puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26,27) and is the means whereby one "makes his appeal to God" (1 Peter 3:21) or, in other words "calls upon the name of the Lord" (Acts 2:21). The calling is not by praying a "sinner's prayer," which nowhere is taught in the New Testament Age for what the non-Christian must do to become a Christian. Rather, one "calls" by submitting to the "steps" that lead to salvation -- steps that follow each other, and not something that takes place all at the same instant. Throughout the Scriptures, we are made aware that a mere mental assent toward Christ's deity will not suffice. Jesus states in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." And furthermore, the Hebrew writer tells us that Jesus "...became to all those who OBEY Him the source of eternal salvation" (Heb. 5:9, emph. mine). So if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the Savior of the world, you do well -- but remember that even the demons have that kind of faith (James 2:19). Let that faith, however, prompt you to repent (Luke 13:5), to acknowledge your faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38), to be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Pet. 3:21), and to be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10; Heb. 10:36-39), and you'll then have the faith that can save and lead to heaven. In conclusion, a belief in the deity of Christ does not necessarily imply that one has "automatically and simultaneously" repented; but repentance is one of the steps to follow that belief, which a person must take on the way to salvation and eternal life. Have you taken that step -- and the ones to follow? If not, why not begin today? What better step in the right direction can a person take then the ones that lead to everlasting life? ____________________________________________________ -2- Disregarding God's Plan -- By The Numbers by Steve Klein The Florence Times-Daily newspaper ran an article on August 28, 2002 headlined "Movin' on up: Church plans 111-acre expansion." The article was written by staff writer Russ Corey, and describes the expansion plans of the Darby Drive Church of Christ in Florence. According to the article, "Dorian Flynn, the church's pulpit minister, said the first phase will include a multipurpose facility and a two-story educational wing...the church plans to build buildings and accessory structure that will total 94,950 square feet." The article also stated that, "The project also includes two baseball fields, a soccer complex, a football field and two tennis courts." At the end of the article, there was brief section entitled "By The Numbers" that gave some interesting numerical facts about the church's project. Here is that section: BY THE NUMBERS 94,950 -- The number of square feet planned for the new church buildings. 1,500 -- The number of seats planned for the new worship center. 111 -- The total number of acres at the Cox Creek Parkway site owned by the church. 534 -- The number of parking spaces planned. 45 -- The acreage planned for Phase I of the construction. 2 -- The number of baseball fields and the number of tennis courts planned for the site. 1 -- The number of football fields and the number of soccer fields planned for the site. What follows are some additional numbers that were not in the newspaper article, but probably needed to be. 3,000 -- The number converted in Acts 2 without ever setting foot in a church owned multi-purpose facility. 5.000 -- The number of men who had come to believe in Jesus in Acts 4 without ever playing on a church softball team. 10 or more -- The number of missionaries that could be supported for one year with the money being used to build tennis courts, baseball fields, football fields and soccer fields. 1 -- The number of Bible verses that say, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God" (2 John 9). 0 -- The number of Bible verses authorizing local churches to build and maintain recreational facilities. The newspaper article also stated that, "The new church was given final planning approval Tuesday by the Florence Planning Commission." Isn't it incredible that a church would do all that is necessary to receive the approval of a human commission, while showing such little concern for finding Scriptural "final approval" from God for their plans? Let us determine to always consult the Scriptures and allow God's word to lead us when plans are being made concerning the work of His church. -- Via the Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, October 27, 2002 ____________________________________________________ -3- Was It An Exaggeration? by Chuck Bartlett The last verse of the last chapter in John, we can find these words, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (Jn. 21:25). Think about all that is recorded in Matthew through John, concerning the life of Christ. In the span of about three and one half years, the personal ministry of Jesus took place. When I study what was written, I see a very busy Savior spending His time actively doing the will of His Father (Jn. 17:4). This meant teaching, praying, and demonstrating who He was and that what He taught was truth, through miracles. Yet, John tells us that there were so many things that Jesus did, he supposed the world itself could not contain the books, if they were recorded. Is that true? The apostle was inspired, and if anyone was aware of much of what the Lord did, while He walked with man, John would know. This causes me to stop and wonder, just how much could be written about us, relating to what we do for the Lord? Would it be a short book? Would it contain observations of an active person or an inactive person? Would books written about us reveal gaps between being active and not? Would your biography, so to speak, be a help to other Christians, or not? We are to let our light shine for Christ (Matt. 5:13-16). We are to be active for the cause of Christ. Jesus made use of His three and one half years. What have you done in the same amount of time? Make use of your time knowing that some day we will give an account for what we did in this body (II Cor. 5:10). Are you learning from Jesus? Let's be found busy when our time is over. -- Via The Jordan Journal, April 8, 1998 ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________