Introduction
This work had it Genesis many years ago when a so-called �Adult Book Store� opened in town. Many, if not most, of the older citizens of the town were aghast. They felt it a horrible tragedy that such a business should spring up in conservative Galesburg. Most of us preached against the establishment. One minister went into the store, bought a magazine, and then sued the store for selling him the magazine.
Many hailed his actions. �At least he is doing something!,� was the general consensus of much of the town. Others argued that he had overstepped his place. �He knew what he was buying when he went in there!,� these people argued.
I though it best then, and the passing years have only strengthened this opinion, that the issue should be scrutinized by the Guide Book of the Word of God. From that study came these pages.
Recent events in town have caused me to once again re-examine the issue. A local tavern has been sold to a man who has decided to open what he calls An Adult Cabaret. It has always seemed somehow strange to me that the appellation of Adult has been established as the correct term for things which cause those of their majority years to act in such an adolescent manner.
That being so... I received a call a few nights ago from a lady who wanted to mobilize the clergy, and any others she might find, to lend their support against the establishment of this cabaret to the City Council. I cautioned her that this was not a question of political action or legality. Legality was all on the side of those who wished to open the establishment.
This was a moral issue. As such it becomes the duty - and the heavy privilege - of men and women of faith to speak out concerning this type of establishment. Tactics, and the manner of speaking out, are examined in this article. I have updated this only slightly from the way it was written over twenty years ago.
One thing that has changed in the past decades is the increasing ghettoazation of the Christian message. We are told, often with Storm Trooper gentleness, that we can have no say in public policy if our rational is based on faith. This reasoning flies in the fact of the history of the nation. Had the churches not taken up the cry of abolition we might have seen many more years of that travesty of justice, slavery. The churches spoke firmly and fearlessly about this moral injustice.
Therein, the idea of moral injustice, remains one of the bailiwicks of the churches of Jesus Christ. We have the example of the prophets of old. We have the command from no less than our Savior, in Matthew 5:13, to be a salt in the culture around us. We are to leaven, as it were, the culture of even this day with the precepts and principles of God.
We also have our own civil rights as citizens of this nation, to speak out on issues about which we care. The New McCarthy�s will attempt to stop our voices if they view them as hostile to their own. This is simply politics as usual. A for instance is The Americans United For the Separation of Church and State who, with each election of late, it seems, have sent threatening letters to many churches charging those churches with legal action if they choose to pass our certain �voter�s guides.� They consider this to be politicking on the part of the churches.
I wonder how many Labor Unions or professional associations, this group has also threatened. Very few, would be my guess. Although, the prohibition against one would seem as strong as against the other. By the way, although these organizations would seem to tilt toward the liberal side as much at the churches would tilt toward the conservative, I would not back any effort to still any of these voices.
If we are to have freedom of speech, as our constitution suggests (not withstanding the efforts of voter suppression groups such as above) that we should, we must not allow that freedom to be diluted toward any group - whether or not we agree with that group and its stands. The gag order placed around the neck of the corporate churches is in reality a noose which could be tightened around the throat of any group which those in power might choose to silence in the future!
Still, caution might be well placed. We can still be active as individuals even when the tax codes are used to take away our freedoms as church bodies. But, this is outside the scope of this article. The purpose I wish to address is simple: What is the duty of the various churches toward society at large? Are we to serve as political pundits or as prophets of God? Is our core message to be secular or Spiritual? Let�s take a look.
THE MISPLACED MISSION
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:46-48
THE MISTAKES
Many of the problems encountered in this endeavor, much of the misunderstanding which has existed between the church crowd and many others in the community - especially many of the younger persons, can be traced to some false concepts on the part of some of the clergy as to what it is that the Church of Jesus Christ is to be doing in the world of sin. This, as well as what the Scripture, Itself, has to say about the very nature of man, need to be examined.
A large group of modern mankind has made use of the �off� knob in the radio of his mind and soul when it comes to thing religious. Partly is this so because too many of us, who are supposedly entrusted with the Message of God, have used our own intellect rather than submit to the clear teachings of the God Who created us!
It is high time, really well past time, when the church that names the Name of Jesus Christ would return to a reliance on the Word of God as THE Authoritative and FINAL Word. Way too many of us have been involved in the dark ages style of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, self-aggrandizing mental exercise of re-thinking the veracity of the Scripture and redefining the goals of outreach (Whatever that term is supposed to mean!), that the hold on the real meaning of evangelism as a purpose for the churches very existence has been lost.
The base purpose upon which all other actions must find footing if they are to exist within the Churches which Jesus founded, must be evangelism! We are to minister to one another so that we may more effectively go out from the walls of the Church meeting house and engage real-world people with the real-world Message that Jesus Christ died to save sinners!
Evangelism, simply stated as a goal of His Church is nothing more - and defiantly nothing less!, than taking the Person of Jesus Christ out of the Book, the Bible, and inserting Him into the lives of men and women who live in the world around us. That is our purpose.
Now must come the real question as to how we do, and do not, go about this action. I believe that there were mistakes made during the present controversy.
The Mismatched Morality
The first mistake that I see is that of the mismatched morality. Basically the church crowd made an attempt to put the morality of Jesus Christ into a place where it simply did not fit.
In his book Basic Evangelism (Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; 1958), C. E. Autry makes the observation that, �Man does not become a sinner because of acts of sin, but he commits acts of sin because he is a sinner by nature.� This should be Introduction to Theology 101! It is not high level theology to understand that man is a lost creature who carries a load of sin.
Yet, here were members of the clergy attempting to close this store so that the evil it represented would be eliminated form the city. The reasoning seemed to be that by removing the external influence the internal man would be spared the effects of sin.
Jesus Christ knew better than this. He said, in Matthew 15:19-20, �For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; These are the things which defile a man...� Over and over the Scripture teaches that fallen man, on his own, is an evil, spiritually speaking, creature from the inside.
David, the Sweet Psalmist of Israel, was forced to admit the fact of his own sinfulness. �Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.� (Psalm 51:6) He was not here ascribing any immorality to his mother or father; he is simply admitting that he was born a sinner. He did not become one on the account of any vile acts he may have committed. He committed the acts because he was a sinner. As a matter of fact, by placing his sinfulness at the time of conception, he admitted that it was part of his complete makeup as a human being.
Indeed, Scripture makes it quite clear that man is born with a nature which is disposed towards sin. Listen to the words of the writer of Proverbs. �A high look, and a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked, is sin.� (Proverbs 21:4) Look at this. Part of it is easy to understand. A high look and a proud heart are, of course, manifestations of a person who is guilty of the sin of pride.
But, plowing?!
How could any endeavor as necessary to mankind as plowing be considered a sin? Well, it�s not. Notice that the writer does not call plowing a sin. He says that the act of plowing is sin to the wicked. The point being made is that the general act of living, and doing those things that one must in all of life, is sin to the fallen man simply because he lives in a state of sinfulness.
Even those acts which we would call good, God would call sin because they are carried out by a person who has not accepted Jesus Christ as is Savior. The point is made that unregenerate man is a sinner. He can not clean up his act without first becoming a true Christian.
Romans 3:10 says, �As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one.� This moves the discussion further along. If there is none righteous it must follow that all not born again are wicked. That being so, even in a simple act, such as plowing a field, one would stand guilty as a sinner. Simply stated, this means that mankind is incapable of good apart from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
This does not mean that an unsaved person may not do an act whose outcome is good - or at least apparently so. What it does mean is that God would not count even this act as good because it is an act done by a person who is a sinner.
Now, if all are unrighteous, all are incapable of good, all are short of the glory of God, then it must follow that all are incapable of living the morality of Jesus Christ by their own works even if the external influence to do evil were removed. People will sin because it is their nature to sin. The nature of Jesus Christ does not fit them. The morality of Jesus Christ does not fit them. The religious people, in this instance, were guilty of a mismatched morality.
The Inverted Gospel
I believe that another mistake was that of the Inverted Gospel. Or, as the old saying goes, they got the cart before the horse.
One thing is certain. About this there can be no doubt or discussion. The religious people involved were fighting an evil. Their cause was completely just. They were just trying to do what they perceived to be the best possible thing for the people of the town. Define an evil. Engage the evil. Destroy the evil by whatever means necessary. This was the, apparent, operating agenda of the clergy and others engaged in this controversy.
However, it would have been much better if they had spent the time and effort in presenting Jesus Christ as the crucified Savior.
In the presidential election of 1964 Barry Goldwater made the observation that, �You can not legislate morality.� The history of the ensuing years has shown the truth of that contention. The Great Society of Lyndon Johnson was an honest effort, by honorable men, to alleviate hatred and poverty. Instead, as we look back we can see that these problems have only gotten worse. The best remedies of the minds of fallen men are tainted with the sin nature that will lead to destruction.
What was needed by the Great Society leaders, and the workers against this book store, was not a solution but an alternative to the morality and lifestyle of sin.
That alternative is Jesus Christ
The Apostles knew this. In the Book of acts we constantly see them making their world a little better - one person at a time, as they preach the Gospel Message that Jesus Christ died to save sinners.
You may study the entire Book of Acts and you will find the same pattern, but we will take and overview look at just a few chapters (8 - 11) as we search for the Biblical example.
In Acts 8:5 we find Phillip going to Samaria to preach the Gospel message to the people there.
In Acts 9:29 we find that Paul, soon after his conversion experience, returned to Jerusalem. This is the same city that he had left just shortly before. Then he was set to persecute the Christians. Now he is set to preach to them.
In Acts 9:31 we find that Paul edified the churches.
In Acts 9:33 we see Peter healing in the name of Jesus. This was not just to show the power of Peter as a healer. This act of healing had a purpose which was to show the power of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus was being preached as a requisite for salvation. While others might make a case for divergent religious views, Jesus was shown as The Way, The Truth, and The Life (see John 14:6). His power was displayed as a means of convincing men to repent.
In Acts 9:42 we see the case of Acts 9:33 continued to an even higher court. Dorcas was dead. In the power of Jesus Christ, Peter raised her to life. As we continue through the rest of the chapter we see that the outworking of these miracles was that many believed!
In Acts 10:36 we find Peter traveled to Caesarea to preach.
In Acts 11:19 we find Stephen traveling to several cities to preach.
It is not until Acts 11:27 that we find any hint of the Social Gospel. Money is solicited to be taken to the saints at Jerusalem. However, even here, note that this was a case of Christians helping Christians. As we look back at Acts 11:19 we find that the Gospel of Christ was first preached before the request for the offering was made.
What we find in the Book of Acts is example after example that the Bible method is to take the Savior to the world and not just the acts of Christianity by themselves. First Christ, and then the social gospel in action.
We ought to take the cup of cold water of Matthew 10:42. That is, also, a command. But, how important it is that we follow the example of the apostles and of Jesus, Himself. We must first offer that Water that can cause a man to cease from thirsting again (John 4:14). Any other way is to offer an inverted gospel which is a perversion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are dealing with eternal issues when we confront people with the Gospel. It is short sighted to simply say, �Here. I�ll make things easier for you today.� We must never ignore the fact that a good Tuesday meal is a poor trade off for a Christless eternity!
If we use the acts of Christian charity as a means of presenting the Gospel, that can be quite useful. However, the case here was totally predicated on eradicating the book store with little effort shown to preach the Message that Jesus Christ died to save sinners.
The Kingdom Under a Bushel
A strong argument could be made that the actions of the clergy and others as to their opposition of the Adult book store was an attempt to advance the Kingdom of Christ. I am sure that this is the defense that will be offered when (if!) This paper is (ever) discussed. However, the intent to do a thing and employing the correct methodology to assure achieving that aim, are not always one and the same. More simply: Doing something is not the same as doing something right.
In the previous section we discussed the Biblical manner of spreading the Gospel. The Bible, to use a sports analogy, is our play book. Following this football analogy, if a football player were to run contrary to the way the play has been diagramed to be run, he will run away from his blockers. The purpose of those blockers is to protect the runner from those who would keep him from progress toward his goal. By ignoring the game plan, the player would be jeopardizing the situation and might well lose yardage.
Curious that any would attempt to advance the Kingdom of Christ by disregarding the battle plan of that Kingdom.
Besides this, we must consider just where it is that the Kingdom of Christ does exist. This, in itself, is too large of an area to fully consider in this paper. The Kingdom of Christ includes the hearts and lives of the redeemed, the churches, indeed the universe itself. However, we are able to pin-point one area which Jesus said was not part of His Kingdom.
Jesus, standing in the court of Pilate, said, �...My kingdom is not of this world...� (John 18:36) He did not mean that His authority, as God, was limited in any sense in this world. What He alluded to was the fact of sin in this present world system. A look at Genesis 3:17-18 will reveal that even the physical world lies under the curse of the sin of Adam. Ephesians 2:2 goes so far as to assert that Satan is the �prince and power of the air,� meaning this present world system.
The book store is part of this world system. With that no one can argue. That being so, the closing of this book store, even if the deed be noble (and I believe it would!), will not serve to advance the Kingdom of Christ.
Advancing the Kingdom of Christ involves people changing their allegiance from that of Satan to that of Christ.
One does not become a citizen of another nation, even on this earth, by merely visiting that nation. He must first renounce his citizenship in the old nation and apply for citizenship in the new nation. Conversely, one does not advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ by merely attacking the devices of Satan. That may be good; but, more must be done. One must advance the Kingdom of Christ by leading people into that Kingdom through salvation in Jesus Christ.
Salvation is not a matter of what we see or do. It is a matter of our relationship with Jesus Christ. John 3:36 says, �He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.�
The Kingdom of Christ must not be hid under a bushel of actions. It must be made to grow in the hearts and lives of men and women, of boys and girls. If this could be done there would be no need to sign a petition and prosecute in a court of law. Men would naturally shun the book store and it would shut up by itself - of its own accord. More than this - Jesus Christ would be magnified and God would be exalted.
The One Sided Favor
I also believe that the ones who were involved in this controversy were guilty of expecting a one-sided favor from the political state.
Although the meaning has been perverted by some, the United States Constitution guarantees a freedom of religion. In doing this the Constitution simply acknowledges that fact that Christians will practice their faith.
Were it only so that this faith placed upon us were acted upon by those who name the Name of Jesus Christ.
In Chapter Ten of the Book of Acts we see an interesting event. An angel is sent to Cornelius. Rather than giving the plan of salvation, the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter in order to hear the story of Jesus. At first glance this seemed strange to me. After all, the angel was already there! Why did he not talk with this man? Then I remembered that this was a holy calling that hade been given to men. We are entrusted with the story that Jesus Christ died to save sinners.
We have every right as Christians, whether or not the Constitution would acknowledge this right - but, it does!, to witness to others about the saving power of the death of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary! More than that, we have this as a duty to our Sovereign Lord and our fellow man!
For the most part the political state also allows us tax-free use of our church properties. This is only reasonable in light of the fact that each church is an outpost of Heaven upon this earth. Temporal powers are allowed use of their embassies; it is only right and proper that the Embassy of God be allowed the same consideration.
But, this is not the reason that the political state has refrained from taxing the church properties and ministries. The stated purpose has been so that the state not interfere in the conduct of religion - the obverse of the so-called Wall of Separation. The early American architects of our political system realized that the power to tax was the power to control. Thus, they refrained form taxing religious bodies. It is part of the following through, on the side of government, of the first amendment freedom of religion clause.
How ironic that there are now groups which seek to deny churches, and church people, the constitutional right of free speech by invoking these very tax codes as punitive measures against those churches.
Still, when the church asks for money to, for instance, run a church-supported school system, or to have laws to protect its membership from that very thing from which Christ has said that He will shield the Christian, then the church is asking what she ought not be willing to accept: State interference in the affairs of religion.
If the Kingdom of Christ is not of this world, then we should not expect the world to protect it. To even ask for that protection is to give to the world a false view of Christ - a view that He would be so weak that even His church feels He must have help!
Two things this does not mean. First because a person is a Christian does not mean that he has given up his rights as a person who hold dual citizenship - the Kingdom of Heaven and this temporal nation. As such it is right and proper that we be allowed to, for instance, expect to procure vouches from the government so that we may send our children to Christian schools.
That money, although confiscated via taxation, is ours. It is from us that this money has been taken. To be able to purchase the product of our choice is only proper. This being so only as long as that portion not used for the education of our young be returned to the public coffers. This is also only right and proper.
And, second, none of this is to say, of course, that people of faith ought not to carry forth the teaching of Christ into the general population. That is, after all, our mission as Christians. That this may influence the body politic to the effect that laws may be passed which may be favorable to the morality of Scripture may be the outcome of this influence. Such outcome is good, proper, and within the scope of our political system of competing views. It is also desired as long as we keep our eyes to the effort to win souls to salvation in Christ as our primary mission. This remains the first mission of the church.
How, the can the church member be shielded from an evil influence such as an Adult book store? The answer is within the God given mission of the church and its people.
THE MISSION
God did not leave His people to wander and question their way through this world. He has given us rules, in His Word, to follow so that we may find the proper way to conduct ourselves and our affairs in order that He would be glorified and we would be drawn closer to Him.
The Bible is like the �Owners Manual� for a car. Both were produced by the architect of the mechanism. God, as our Maker, knows what it is that will make us function most efficiently and happily. He has given us these secrets in His Word to us - the Bible.
No pastor, or church, that follows the Biblical examples need worry about failure. God has created us for success. It may not be a success that man will recognize as such; but we can not be a failure when we are in the will of God. He will recognize our efforts. Nothing could be better than, or even compare with, that!
If one should fail to live up to Godly standards we may pray for them and, finally turn them over to God. To do more than this is to step outside the guidelines which God has given us. This is not to say that a straying brother may not be reasoned with as to that fault. He may be steered back toward God. But, to expect the state to help us in this work of God is to evidence a very low opinion of the power of Almighty God.
What, then, is the mission of the church? That mission was given by no less than Jesus Christ when He said:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 29:19-20
Teach
The first marching order of the church is that she teach all nations. But, teach them what? The church should be about the business of teaching people about Jesus Christ. Jesus, Himself, said, �Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me...� (Matthew 1:29)
Jesus wants all to learn of Him - to find out Who He is. There are many who have felt this way about themselves throughout history. To them we must ascribe an exalted personal sense of ego. This is not so with Jesus. The reason that Jesus would have us to tell the story about Him is explained in Acts 4:12: �Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.�
If any are to experience salvation from their sins, peace with God, and a real purpose in this life, they must obtain it via the Cross of Jesus Christ. There is no other way! This has been, and continues to be, the message of the evangel.
A good life will not save a person; neither will the closing of a book store lead a man to Salvation. At least not in and of itself it will not.
Too many churches, and church people, have majored on acts and deeds and have left too little time for the Message that Jesus Christ died to save sinners. This point has been missed with an alarming rate of regularity in the past, and sadly this appears as though it will continue as a trend into the future.
The very first thing in the mission of the church has been missed. That is the reason why so many other things fail to fall into place. If the first page of a ledger is wrong then the entire book will be off.
We need to put first things, first. The very first thing is to lead souls to Jesus Christ and the salvation that is in Him.
Baptize Believers
There is also much that the church should be doing for those who have responded to the Gospel Message and have received Jesus Christ as their Savior.
We do not have space in this paper to discuss the entire doctrine of baptism. Suffice to say, for now, that baptism is for those who are already born again. In the eighth chapter of Acts, verses 36 and 37, we see a conversation concerning baptism between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch asks, �What doth hinder me to be baptized?� The reply of Philip was, �If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.�
Those who have been born again ought to identify with the death of Jesus by being baptized. Further, they ought to unite with a local church at this time. Part of that purpose of baptism is to show unity with a Christian brotherhood of believers. This indicates a need for individuals to become members of a local church.
This should be a church where Christ is preached and His Gospel Message is proclaimed and practiced.
The ministers, and other church members, should seek to lead the converts into this decision. This is good for the converts as they begin to fellowship with other believers; in this they will become stronger Christians.
This is also good for the church membership as a whole. As the church membership sees the new members joining into the fellowship, they will tend to be greatly encouraged in their own work for the Lord.
But, most importantly, this is the revealed plan of God for His children. As such this plan should be followed for the reason alone, if for no other.
Make Disciples
After the Christian has been baptized and united with a local church, he should continue to be led into discipleship. The baptizing and the church membership are part of the discipling process. A Christian should be led to be a disciple.
I hear your question: Isn�t a disciple one of the group of twelve which followed Jesus? Well, yes and no. Yes; these twelve were disciples. No; this is not all of those who make up disciples.
A disciple is simply a follower of, as Webster puts it, a teacher or a school. Any person who has been born again should want to learn more of Jesus. This is what a disciple will do.
The church leadership must teach the church membership about Christ. As one learns more of Christ he will be led to become, even more, a follower of Christ. As he becomes more of a follower of Christ he will begin to reach out to others with the Message of the Savior. In this way the process becomes ongoing as it starts again.
This is how the church is to live. This is how the church is to grow. This is how the church is to cure the social ills about it. We are to bring people to Jesus. We are to lead these new converts to fellowship with other Christians. We are to teach the new converts to lead others to the Lord.
This is the state in which each Christian should continue. Finding and following the Word and Will of God should be our goal as Christians.
This is our mission as a church body. What, then, is our message?
THE MESSAGE
The Message of the church ought to be Jesus Christ. That, of course, is apparent. But, what do we say about Him. Shall we say that He was a great teacher? This, of course, He was. But, He was more than a Great Teacher.
Shall we say that He was a great leader of men? This, of course, He was. But, He was more than a Great Leader of Men.
We should properly say that His is now a Great Teacher and Leader of men. But, He is more!
What was it that our text said?
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. - Luke 24:46-48
We are called to be witnesses. The only question would be, Of what are we called to be witnesses?
We are to bear witness to the Gospel Message which has the power to save a person from his sin and to allow him fellowship with God.
We are to point people toward Jesus Christ as a Savior, not simply a leader to yet another cause. Jesus did not come to this earth to simply give guidance. John 14:6 says that He came to BE the Way. Salvation does not lie in the following of a set of rules; salvation comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Morality, and rules, may come from this relationship. They do not, of themselves, lead to this relationship.
He Suffered, Died, and Rose Again
We, those of us who name the Name of Jesus, are to bear witness that Jesus went to the cross with the express purpose of being crucified. Our text makes it clear that this was no accident that He went to the cross. It behooved Him, we are told, to go to that cross. This was something which He wanted very much to do.
Luke 19:10 gives the purpose for which Jesus came into the world. These are His Own words: �For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.� He suffered for sins which He had not committed. He died so that we might have eternal life.
We could not come to God on our own. We were sinners. We were not capable of good. Jesus died so that we would have a way by which the debt for our sins could be paid. In his book The Theology of Evangelism (Broadman Press; Nashville, TN; 1966), C. E. Autry makes this observation, �The demands of God�s justice required the redemptive acts of Calvary.�
Three classes had, and still have, a stake in Calvary and the events which took place on that hill. First, there was man. Man was sinful and had no way to do good or to approach God.
Second, there was God. God was (is) just and His justice demanded that the debt of sin be paid. This presented a dilemma; God is also a God of Love. He Love cried out for a way of escape for the doomed and lost sinner.
This brings us to that all important third player in the drama of Calvary, Jesus Christ. Jesus had never sinned. He was under no penalty for, or from, sin. He had no sins of His Own for which to die. But, Jesus ascended the cross and said, in effect. �I want to die in your place and accept your penalty for sin.� By doing this He made it so that you, or any person who simply accepts His offered pardon, do not have to be a sinner. You can be free from your sin nature which so completely drags you down from any chance of salvation or fellowship with God.
There was now only one thing which stood between God and man. That one thing was man, himself. In the Garden of Eden man had voluntarily turned his back on God and united with Satan. God would not force man to renounce his citizenship in the Kingdom of Satan. But, He did give to man that option.
Repentance and Remission
You, all of mankind, now has this offer of free salvation.
First, however, there needs to be the renunciation of that union which exists with Satan. Man needs to repent of his sinful nature. By doing this on his part man would be in position to receive remission of all of his sins. He would be free from his sin, and free to have fellowship with God.
How to go about this? Simply accept the salvation which Jesus offers because of His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He did all the work. We have nothing to do except to trust Him and His Work.
That is the message that this church wants to take to you.
Have you repented from your sins? Are you in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ?
We want you to give your sins to Jesus. Today! Let Him take them on the Cross. Let Him come into your life and lead you to true Christian morality.
He rose from the dead and He wants to raise you to a new life in freedom with Him.