You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble! It is impossible to go to heaven without a belief in God. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Contrary to popular beliefs, just believing that there is a God is not enough for one’s soul to be saved. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble!” Even those who are against God, even Satan himself believes that there is a God. If belief alone got us into heaven, Satan would be there too! In the Bible we read that Satan is in fact not in heaven. “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41). The demons even tremble; from this we know that they believe God’s existence and they know how powerful He is. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
If just believing that there is an all mighty and powerful God isn't enough for Satan to get to heaven then why would we think that it will work for us? Some people believe that they can just pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to follow. The Bible isn't a buffet, you have to obey every command in the New Testament (James 2:10-11). We, as New Testament Christians, aren't bound by the Old Testament. We don't have to offer animal sacrifices for our sins (Hebrews 10:1-4), we don't have to circumcise eight day old baby boys, we don't have to avoid eating pork. We don't have to do these things for two reasons. One being that the Old Testament laws were written for the Israelites and we are Gentiles. The second is that the Old Testament was "nailed to the cross" when Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins. (Colossians 2:14-17). See also Galatians 4:21-31 and Hebrews 8:7-13. If belief alone can’t save our soul and get us into heaven, then what must we do to be saved? The Bible tells us exactly what we have to do. First we must hear the gospel preached, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). We must believe, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). We must repent, “Then Peter said to them,’Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38). We must be baptized, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). We must live a faithful Christian life until death, “...Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10c). The Bible clearly states that we cannot be saved by belief alone. In order to be saved from an eternity in hell, we must obey the plan of salvation, including the other commands God has given us (i.e. partaking of the Lord’s supper and meeting as a congregation every first day of the week, showing love, being kind, spreading the gospel to others, etc.). We can’t add to or take away from God’s word and make our own way to save ourselves. “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19). We can only be saved if we follow the plan God has provided. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). By Jennifer Odom
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The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ In John 4, we find the account of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus had been talking to the woman while His disciples went into a Samaritan city to buy food (vs. 1-26). At the close of their conversation the Samaritan woman tells Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will tell us all things” (vs. 25); to which Jesus replies back, “I who speak to you am He” (vs. 26). At that point the woman left her waterpot and went into the city to tell others about Jesus Christ (vs. 28, 29).
The woman left what is possibly her only waterpot; she left her means for getting the water necessary to survive. She was in such a hurry to go tell others about what had just happened that she left something that she needs in a place where someone could come along and take it. The woman left, not knowing whether or not her waterpot would still be there when she returned. She left something that is considered valuable to go tell others about the Messiah. She sacrificed something for Christ’s cause. The woman at the well is not the only person that had to leave something to follow Christ. Peter and Andrew left their nets (Matthew 4:18-20). James and John left their boat and father (Matthew 4:21-22). Matthew left all that he had (Luke 5:27-28). They all left things immediately. In Luke 9:57-62 we read of one person saying that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes, another says that he will follow Jesus after he buries his father, and another says that he has to go tell the others at his house farewell before he will follow Him. God doesn’t want us to make excuses for delaying our commitment to Him, He wants us to follow Him immediately. We can take what the Samaritan woman did and apply it to our lives. There will come a time when we will have to sacrifice something in order to continue our walk with Christ. Maybe you’ll have to leave your family to spread God’s word a few hours away or maybe even in a different country. Maybe you’ll have to quit a really good job in order to attend worship services. Maybe you’ll have to endure being frowned upon by your family because you decided to follow the true gospel rather than upholding the false beliefs they may have. Maybe you’ll have to “miss out” on prom or homecoming because of the sinful atmosphere they tend to have. Some of the things that you will have to leave may be hard to let go of but Christ's cause is worth so much more than the most valuable thing on earth. Leaving the waterpot isn’t hard when we think about what Jesus gave for us, His life. What will you leave for Christ? By Jennifer Odom |
AuthorMy name is Jennifer Odom and I've been a Christian since October 2011. I'm a 20-year-old junior at Freed-Hardeman University. I hope to speak at several ladies days, become a music teacher, get involved with mission work, and bring as many people as I can with me to heaven. Stepping in Light is affiliated with the church of Christ. Archives
April 2020
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