When a bottle of liquid has a skull and crossbones on it, one should be smart enough not to drink it. If one notices the sign “slippery when wet,” one should be smart enough not to speed that way. If the shark tank has “no hands allowed,” one should be smart enough not to put a hand in there. The point of all this is, we wish that people would learn without having to suffer the consequences of being hard headed. A man may know the risk of picking up hookers, but not learn his lesson until he is arrested, or is a victim of a sexually-transmitted disease (Proverbs 5:11-13). If the word is out, “Don’t send text messages while driving,” man should learn from those words, and not from having an accident.
In Luke 15:11-32, we read of a young man who demanded his inheritance and wasted it after moving far away. This young guy didn’t listen to anything until he was broke, alone, and sitting among the pigs, desiring the slop they ate. Likewise the word of the Lord warns men, but are we listening? (Proverbs 1:20-33, 22:3). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Jesus told a man that he was not far from salvation (Mark 12:34). Jesus also told a man that there was only one thing that he lacked (Mark 10:21). These men were good men, but they didn’t have a relationship with God. They apparently were very close to completion, but not at completion. So, we learn that it is possible to be the nicest person on earth and still be out of fellowship with God (1 John 1:7).
Being nice is a major milestone, but it isn’t enough to get a person into heaven. Jesus said that a person must do the will of God to be able to enter heaven (Matthew 7:21). In other words, one must understand what the law of God demands and be in compliance with the law (Hebrews 5:9). If not, no salvation (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Are we talking about you? Are you a decent person, yet without God? Judging is giving one’s opinion about a matter. The words come from the heart and mouth of the one speaking and not from a law written with authority.
For example, texting and driving is wrong and one isn’t judging if he said that to another person. The law which is a higher authority has considered and condemned texting behind the wheel. So one person warning another is simply reminding people of what the law has said (Jonah 1:1-2, 3:1-4). The same is true when it comes to the word of God. Many of the deeds done by man are sinful (1 John 3:4). Those who study the scriptures recognize this and tell others what is wrong. They aren’t judging! God has done the judging! God has said that something is a sin that it is a violation of His law. So the one speaking is simply informing the offenders what the Lord has revealed (Genesis 39:7-10). So giving our opinion on a matter: that we will never do (Matthew 7:1-2). Telling others what God has revealed in His word: that we will do (2 Timothy 4:1-5). A guy shot and killed a beloved south Philadelphia female grocer because her grandson allegedly stole his gold chain. In malls across America, huge mobs of teens gathered to cause fights. In Istanbul Turkey 39 people are shot dead and about 79 wounded while enjoying New Year’s Eve in a popular dance club.
The year 2016 had a huge class of famous people dying. Politicians, athletes, movie stars, movie producers, musicians, and lest we forget, non famous people. All this has been said to cause us to think about life. If man is able to make it to Heaven, bad things will not exist. So why wouldn’t we want to go where all problems and fears will be non existent? Going to Heaven involves obeying God’s word (Hebrew 5:9; Matthew 7:21, 25:34-40). For man cannot be saved in ignorance of the word of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Bible study is a must! (John 5:39). Our purpose today is to ask you to make this a better year by adding regular church attendance to your life. If you think we’re advising you to doing something that is wrong, we hope you will let us know why our recommendation is wrong. This would be fair for you and also fair for us to know because we believe that church attendance is good for the soul (Hebrews 10:25).
On the website is information about what to expect at the worship service. For those who are already convinced that they need to save their souls, we have printed below what people in the Bible did to get right with God. We do this in keeping with the gospel of Christ which helps men to find salvation by obeying it’s message (Romans 1:16; Hebrews 5:9). If you plan to begin church attendance, we welcome your decision, and hope you will act upon this information. |