The Gospel Saves Posts

May 11, 2009 / / Salvation

“Go and Sin No More” (excerpts from John 8:1-12)

Thus Jesus spoke to the woman caught in the act of adultery. Her accusers wanted to corner Jesus through this matter. After all, He had put them on notice concerning the righteous mercy of God and their own unrighteousness. Consider these previous events from the book of John:

  • Jesus drove the money changers and sellers of livestock from the temple.

  • He taught that God did not send His Son to condemn, but to save.

  • A Samaritan woman was given hope.

  • A man was healed on the Sabbath

  • The leadership of Israel was criticized for scratching each others backs while rejecting the truth.

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May 4, 2009 / / Salvation

“Who Desires All Men to be Saved”

Many of the mainstream religious doctrines of our age are based upon the fallacy that God has predetermined our eternal fate. This concept simply is not supported in the scriptures. Paul clearly states in I Timothy chapter 2:1-4 that God desires everyone to be saved.

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April 27, 2009 / / Salvation

Few There Are Who Find It

No matter our religious conviction we share a common destiny.  By the Holy Spirit’s inspiration Paul declared:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Whether we acknowledge Jesus in this life or not, we will stand before Him one day to answer for our life’s activities. 

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April 20, 2009 / / Jesus Christ

“I am the bread of life.” John 6:35

The account of Jesus miraculously feeding five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish is recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. John’s account alone gives us a look into the multitude’s response after they had been fed. The 6th chapter of John tells us that Jesus left the multitude after the miracle and crossed the Sea of Galilee. 

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April 13, 2009 / / Salvation

The Thief on the Cross

One of the most beautiful and encouraging passages in the Bible is Luke 23:39-43.  In spite of the suffering and humiliation we see faith and humility from a repenting thief and mind-blowing love, mercy and grace from our blessed Savior.  It strengthens us because if a thief may enter into paradise with our Lord there must be hope for us!  It is saddening that it is misunderstood and misapplied to say baptism is a useless work and unnecessary for salvation.

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April 7, 2009 / / Salvation

Faith and Works

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works Can faith save him?”  James 2:14

 This question presented in the Scriptures nearly 2,000 years ago remains for many Bible students a point of confusion and contention. What does God really require of those that seek to serve Him?  Is my faith enough, or is there something more?  Should I simply trust in God’s ability to save, or do the works of my life affect whether or not the Lord will redeem me by his grace?          

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March 30, 2009 / / Holy Spirit

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

From the beginning of time on this earth, the spirit has been connected with life. It was the Spirit of God breathed into man bringing him to life (Genesis 2:7). Jesus tells us plainly that it is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63), and James further states that “the body without the spirit is dead.” (James 2:26) If it is the Spirit that gives us life and keeps us alive, what is the significance of Peter’s promise to those who would repent and be baptized in Acts 2:38, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit already gives and sustains us physically (Job 33:4). Thus, there must be more than just physical blessings that God, through the mouth of Peter, was promising.

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March 24, 2009 / / Church

The Apostles, the Prophets, and the Cornerstone

The word of God teems with imagery.  From Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dreams, to Revelation’s well-known apocalyptic symbolism, to Jesus’ many memorable parables (“The kingdom of heaven is like…”), God employs imagery throughout Scripture to reveal His will.  Speaking to the mind’s eye, the Bible’s imagery encourages us to first envision its truths that we might then be enlightened by them.

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March 16, 2009 / / Jesus Christ

The Way, The Truth, The Life

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

To live with God in His realm would be the supreme state of life and fruition of purpose. What could be better than that? To be with Him, accepted into the sphere of His eternal love, would surpass all conditions. This is derived from what Jesus said to His disciples.

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March 12, 2009 / / Salvation

Adam’s Transgression

Theologians have long contended that all mankind is guilty of Adam’s sin. This doctrine is generally entitled, “Original Sin”. One religious group defines original sin as, “a consequence of [Adam’s] first sin , the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.” Western religious thinkers from Augustine forward have regarded this a fundamental Christian doctrine. 

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