Volume XXIII                                       April 23, 2000                                          Number 17

Sick List:  Mike Hicks; Cathy Gott; Luneal Russell; Doris Yeomans; Monie Epperson; Neva Johnson; Bertha Johnson; Crosher Whitehead; and others.  Refer to Assembly for more.

MONTHLY MEAL:  The meal for April is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, at Ann Knight’s pond.  Please bring lawn chairs, drinks, deserts (see Ann or Pat for more information).  The festivities are set to begin at 3:00 P.M.  NOTE:  Have children bring “baskets”.  We thank Ann and Pat for doing this!

NEW MEMBER:  We are happy to announce (somewhat belatedly) that Winnie Capps has placed her membership here at Enon!  We welcome her and all of our new friends.

What Must I Do To Be Saved?  Hear – Rom. 10:17; Believe – Heb. 11:6; Repent – Luke 13:3; Confess – Romans 10:10; Be Baptized – Acts 22:16; Be Faithful – Rev. 2:10.  Are you saved?
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OBEYING THE GOSPEL

IV. IN ORDER TO BE SAVED, ONE MUST FIRST CONFESS HIS FAITH IN CHRIST.

 Although the confession of Matthew 10:32-33 is broader in scope than just the one made before immersion, certainly it would include that one:  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.  If one is not willing to confess Christ, he needn’t expect Christ to confess (know, own) him!  We have a record of some who believed on the Lord, but, like many in our world today, their faith was not sufficient to move them to stand for Him by acknowledging their belief both in word and in deed:  Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:  For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God  (John 12:42-43).  Can you think of a reason strong enough to deny the Lord?  What factor, when fully considered, would warrant such a failure?  People through the years have asked me if it was necessary for them to tell their friends and family about their conversion to the Lord; of course, if they are truly converted they probably won’t have to tell them by word – their actions will show it!  But, the answer to the question is:  YES!!!  What have we to fear?  What could we possibly suffer at the hands of men that would be worse than being denied by Jesus?
 Paul wrote, …with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10).  These brethren had confessed with their mouths their faith in Christ prior to their conversion.  This confession was a step on the road to salvation; not the only step, but a step no less.  When the eunuch was in the process of obeying the gospel, he was asked of his faith.  He did the only thing possible to indicate his faith, he confessed it:  I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37).  We sometimes hear about the “good confession” in the context of a person “being saved”; but if the confession made is “I believe that God for Christ’s sake has saved me (pardoned me, whatever),” and if it is made before immersion, is it really good?  Is it not confessing an untruth?  If baptism saves us (and I Peter 3:21 says that it does), is it good to say that we have been saved already before we are baptized?
 We know that someday all men will confess Christ, for Paul wrote:  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God (Romans 14:11).  Again we read:  And that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11).  The only problem with the confession of which Paul writes in these two passages is that it comes too late – it happens after the door of mercy has been closed.  It is somewhat like a thief being sorry for his crime AFTER HE IS CAUGHT.  There is no doubt that Jesus is Lord now, so to confess it when standing before Him in Judgment is no accomplishment!  The door of mercy is open to all in the Christian Age (cf., II Corinthians 6:2).  If we wait until death, or the final judgment, we will have waited beyond our last opportunity to effectually make that confession.

Tim Smith    1272 Enon Road    Webb, AL 36376
www.geocities.com/fp5699/    http://gradowith.listbot.com    [email protected]

SOME THOUGHTS ON SINCERITY

    We hear much these days about people being sincere and honest – almost always in the context of them also being wrong!  Please do not get me wrong:  I am for sincerity and honesty.  In fact, I always try to be sincere in all that I do, and honesty must be the motivating desire in all that we do.  Duplicity, hypocrisy, and the like have never been the way to please God.
     But, is sincerity enough?  Is it the case that the only thing that really matters to God with respect to our salvation is whether we honestly and sincerely did what we did?  This is a serious issue, as I see it, for we have many teaching that the only thing we really should be concerned about is whether or not we “really mean” what we do in religious service.  We hear men cite: And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him (Colossians 3:17).  The particular interpretation they place upon this verse (and they surely place it there, God didn’t) goes something like this:  1. Everything one does – religious or otherwise – is considered here; 2. If they do it to bring glory to God – regardless of the propriety of the action – it is acceptable to God; 3. We should be thankful for this privilege.  Whereas I would agree that everything one does is discussed in this verse, and whereas I further agree that intent is important, that is about as far as I can go.  Neither here, nor anywhere else, does Paul espouse the doctrine that the why outweighs the what.
    We recall Acts 23:1 wherein Paul said:  Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.  We also recall his actions as a persecutor of the Church, his participation in the murder of Stephen, and etc.  Yet he later still said, of his former sincerity:  And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men (Acts 24:16).  He always did what he sincerely and honestly thought to be correct.  But sometimes he was wrong!  And when he was wrong, he was wrong.  He acknowledged himself the …chief of sinners… (I Timothy 1:15).  His sincerity and honesty did not make his sin acceptable to God.
     Perhaps an illustration will help:  Suppose that you get into your car in the morning, leave for a busy day of errand running, and forget to stop at the gas station.  You go to the drug store to pick up an elderly neighbor’s prescription; you go to the grocery store to buy food for the needy; you take a crippled man to see his sister; all good deeds.  Further suppose that in the process of these things, you learn of a family medical emergency.  It requires that you travel 100 miles through hills and rough country.  You leave immediately, but about half way to your destination you glance down at the gas gauge and notice that you are on the “E”.  What you have been doing certainly was good; what you are doing now is good; you sincerely and honestly intended to get gas; your heart was in the right place – will you arrive at your destination?  Will your good intentions and sincerity and honesty prevent you from running out of gas?
    We should be sincere and honest, but let us also reason properly (I Thessalonians 5:21-22) and accept and do only those things that please God.

Tim Smith    1272 Enon Road    Webb, AL 36376    (334) 899-8131
http://gradowith.listbot.com    www.geocities.com/fp5699/    [email protected]

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MY HOME OVER THERE

As I sit and ponder
My home over yonder
And the rest my tired heart shall know;
New hope does awaken
For when I’ll be taken
With Jesus to Heaven I’ll go!

Days of dark clouds and fear
Often touch our lives here
And we wonder if we’ll survive;
When our hearts are breaking,
The world’s worst we’re taking:
Still in Christ we’ll come through alive!

Sadness, heartache and woe,
All the faithful shall know:
But Jesus endured it before;
He will walk by our side,
Come whate’er may betide,
And lead us to that peaceful shore!

Though in weakness I cry,
‘Neath my burdens I sigh,
My faith is not shaken at all;
I just look to the Lord,
And remember His word,
Next to His, my suff’rings are small!

H. L. Gradowith

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