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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" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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December 23, 1990
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Contents:
1) The Sin of Omission (Tom Edwards)
2) A Sad Diary (via The East Villager)
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-1-
The Sin of Omission
by Tom Edwards
I can still remember a joke I once heard long ago that, though
humorous, can be used today to illustrate an important and serious
Bible truth. The comedian who had told this had been pretending
that he was a sports announcer and was giving the results of some
baseball games around the country. This he did by saying something to
the following effect: "Now here are the final scores for several games
played today across the nation: 5 to 3, 8 to 2, 9 to 6, 3 to 1, and 7
to 4." Yes, he could have been truthful in what he was saying, but that
information was really useless to the listener for it was only part of
what one needed to know.
Even more tragic, however, is that this same lack of information often
happens in the religious realm as well. That old cliche, "A little
knowledge can be a dangerous thing," is certainly applicable when
pertaining to spiritual matters. Just preaching half the truth when it
comes to the plan of salvation will not profit the hearer. An
individual can either be saved or not saved, but how can one be
half-saved? It's true that some people might be closer than others when
it comes to receiving the remission of sins, but until they obey the
gospel, they remain just as lost as the most staunch atheist.
We can illustrate this with a true event that occurred almost 3,000
years ago. God had ordered King Saul (1 Sam. 15) to go and strike the
city of Amalek and "UTTERLY destroy" it -- "both man and woman, infant
and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey" (v. 3). Though
the account shows that Saul did most of what God asked, he allowed one
person to survive: Agag, king of the Amalekites. He also spared "the
best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was
good" -- though he did destroy all that was "despised and worthless"
(v. 9).
God responded to this by telling the prophet Samuel, "I greatly regret
that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following
Me, and has not performed My commandments...." (v. 11). Apparently,
Saul's partial obedience can be equated as nothing more than
disobedience.
Just like king Saul in this example, perhaps the greatest weakness in
the church today does not pertain to the doing of those things which we
should not do, but rather our fault is often in the not doing of those
things which we should. The sin of omission can condemn the soul just
as much as the sin of commission. As James wrote in James 4:17, "...to
him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." This is
why slothfulness, indifference, and procrastination can serve the Devil
so well, for we certainly cannot use any of these vices in serving
God. Anything, therefore, that keeps one from serving the Lord, becomes
a tool of the Devil.
It was a struggle for the Son of God to live upon this earth as a man;
for He was tempted in all ways such as we, yet He never yielded to any
of those temptations, regardless of how strong they had become (Heb.
4:15). As we realize the challenge it is from our own experience in
striving to keep God's commandments and not yield to sinful desires, it
should cause us to appreciate even more the great accomplishments Jesus
made by His life and by His death. While on earth He was able to say,
"I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29). There was
never a time when the Lord disappointed His Father by failing to do
that which was requested of Him; He fully obeyed, even to the utmost
extent of freely offering Himself upon the cross for the sins of the
world (Phil. 2:8). Jesus truly lived up to His own statement in Matthew
4:4 in which He taught that "...Man shall not live on bread alone, but
on EVERY WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Whether it be concerning the steps that lead to becoming a child of God
or how the Christian is to continue living, as that child, by following
in the footsteps of Jesus throughout his life, God's FULL plan must be
taught, believed, and practiced. Only through this means can we guard
against becoming guilty of the sin of omission.
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A Sad Diary
FIRST CALL: We are going to start attending as soon as the baby is old
enough to bring.
ONE YEAR LATER: Yes, we are coming when our toddler stops squirming and
crying.
THREE YEARS LATER: I know you think we are awful about church
attendance, but Jane has trouble in her little Bible classes. She is
just different from the other children, we guess. It is bad to force a
child to go. We'll come later when Jane wants to.
ELEVEN YEARS LATER: The reason I telephoned is that I want you or the
elders to see if you can help us with Jane. She is running around with
the wrong crowd and continually gets into trouble. She won't even
listen to us anymore.
SEVERAL YEARS LATER: Yes, Jane is married. They ran away from
home. Oh, definitely they are both too young, but she stopped
minding us a long time ago. He promised not to stand in her way if she
wanted to attend church services.
TEN MORE YEARS LATER: Well Jane finally married a man that can give her
the best things in life. Yes, she had to divorce the other two fellows.
Jane is upset about something though. The preacher preached a sermon on
marriage and divorce last Sunday, and Jane says she will never go to
church again.
Oh, yes, one other thing, could you tell us where we went wrong with
Jane?
-- via The East Villager
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"'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was
glad.' The Jews, therefore said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty
years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly,
truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am'" (John 8:56-58).
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for,
if
not,
salvation
can
be
lost
(Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet.
2:20-22).
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First published for the Tri-state church of Christ in Ashland,
Kentucky, at 713 13th Street.
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards
tedwards1109@gmail.com
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