Skip to main content

More Thoughts from an Old Man

In my previous post, I told you what Jesus Christ had done for your salvation and that you have to sin to qualify for salvation. Is there any other response you have to make besides sin? Yes, but first I will tell you what it isn’t.

It is not being good or trying to be good or trying to stop swearing. This is for two reasons: 1) It is futile. 2) “Goodness” is not acceptable to God.

All the other religions in the world say you have to be good. Yes! How successful are they in being good? Not very. It only proves that these are man-made religions.

Here are words that describe man’s response to the sacrifice of Jesus. They are not synonyms, but they all have the same object and the same result. Pay attention:

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). The subject is “all,” the verb is “received,” the object is “Him,” and the result is “children of God.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The subject is “all you,” the verb is “come,” the object is “me,” and the result is “rest.”

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). The verb is “learn,” the object is “from me,” and the result is rest for your souls.

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30). The subject is “all you,” the verb is “take,” the object is “my yoke,” and the result is a light burden.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The subject is “whoever”, the verb is “believe,” the object is “Him,” and the result is “eternal life.”

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). The subject is “you,” the verb is “confess,” and the object is “Jesus is LORD.”

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:10). The subject is “you,” the verb is “believe,” the object is “God raised Him from the Dead,” and the result is “saved.”

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). The subject is “everyone who,” the verb is “call,” the object is “the name of the LORD,” and the result is “saved.”

“And, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). The subject is “all who,” the verb is “obey,” the object is “Him,” and the result is “eternal salvation.”

“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thessalonians 1:8). The subject is “who,” the verb is “do not obey,” the object is “the gospel of our Lord Jesus,” and the result is everlasting destruction.

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). The subject is “God,” the verb is “commands to repent,” the object is “all men everywhere.” Repentance is not an option. It is a command to all men everywhere.

God has appointed a day when He will judge the world with justice.

How can the gospel be obeyed? By obeying the command to repent.

“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38). The noun is “everyone of you,” the active verb is “repent,” the object of the prepositions “in” and “for” are “the name of Jesus Christ” and “the forgiveness of your sins.” In the second sentence the object is “you,” the verb is “will receive,” the the object is “the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a

Lifted Up

In the first thirteen verses of John 3, Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about. It was nonsense to him. When Jesus said verse fourteen to him, Nicodemus finally understood Jesus. Here it is: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…” (John 3:14). The reason it made sense to Nicodemus was because he knew of the event that Jesus spoke of. People who had been bitten by a serpent could look at the bronze snake and did not die. Nicodemus knew the Bible story.   Here it is: “Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyo

Getting Old

This is a post for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100. Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 in October. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of my physical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me. All of us will have to make some adjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower to stay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can live independently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need to have visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if you don’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The more fellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it, but only if friends and relatives can see you often. In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’t do much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get me up, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have