Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part Two

Following Jesus Without Denominationalism

Accepting The Call Of The Gospel - Part Two

Dear friend, has faith in what Christ did for you on the cross and sorrow over your sins moved you to the point that you have made the decision to change? If so, then you are ready for the culminating act of faith and obedience to the gospel of Christ. To be baptized for the remission of your sins. Baptism is clearly a part of the gospel message that Jesus wanted His disciples to proclaim - Mk 16:15-16 "Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."; Mt 28:18-20 "Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." Peter proclaimed baptism for the remission of sins in his first sermon - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit." Paul related that he was commanded to be baptized "to wash away sins" - Ac 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ Not that there is anything in the act of immersion (the meaning of "baptizo") that merits or earns forgiveness, but it is simply the point of time in which God by His grace unites us with Christ in His death, and by His working in conjunction with our faith raises us to walk in newness of life! Ro 6:3-6 describes baptism as the point in time we are united into the death of Christ at which point we die to sin and thereby raised to newness of life. Co 2:11-13 reveals that in baptism we are buried with Christ and then raised through faith in God's working who makes us alive in Christ by forgiving us of our sins! Dear friend, have you been baptized for the remission of your sins? If not, are you willing to let God cleanse you through the blood of His Son and raise you to a new life?

Those who gladly received the preaching of the apostles were baptized, and the Lord added them to His church - Ac 2:41,47 "On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized." - "while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved." So while in one sense the "commands" of the gospel end with the command to be baptized, there is also the command of our Lord for faithfulness. Jesus wanted His disciples to teach others "to observe all things that I have commanded you" - Mt 28:19-20. Jesus exhorted His church in Ephesus: "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Re 2:10. The need for continued faithfulness is paramount: For believers can develop an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from God - He 3:12 "My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God." For believers can become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin - He 3:13 "You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn." And believers become partakers of Christ only "IF we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end" - He 3:14 Therefore the need for such exhortations as the one given by Paul: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." - 1 Co 15:58

Finally, to fully accept the call of the gospel, we need to receive the "promises" of the gospel. The first as stated in Acts 2:38 is to receive the remission of sins, so that your sins will be forgiven. As stated by Jesus, remission of sins was to be proclaimed among all nations - Lk 24:47-48 "They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened." Faithful to the Lord's charge, the early Christians offered this wonderful promise to those who would heed the commands of the gospel - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ In their epistles, the writers would often refer to this wonderful blessing - Ep 1:7 "Christ sacrificed his life's blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because God was so kind to us." -- Don't you want the assurance that your sins have been forgiven, washed away by the blood of Christ? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Ac 2:38

Jesus had spoken of those who believe in Him receiving the Spirit in a special way - Jn 7:37-39 "On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, "If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say." Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory." Thus Peter offers the gift of the Spirit to those who will obey God - Ac 2:38-39 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live."’; 5:32 "We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to everyone who obeys God." The blessing of having the Spirit in our lives is related to His indwelling. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit - 1 Co 6:19 "You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own." With the aid of the Spirit, we are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh - Ro 8:9 "You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him.", 11-13 "Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit. My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say "No" to your desires." Indeed, the Holy Spirit is an instrumental agent by which the Father imparts strength to the Christian - Ep 3:16 "God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers", 20-21 "I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen." -- Dear friend, God does not expect you to live the Christian life solely by your own strength; don't you wish to receive all of the aids (the Holy Spirit is only one such aid) that God affords His children? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Ac 2:38

The last promise we want to look at is the gift of eternal life. The expression "eternal life" is an interesting one, evidently used in two different ways in the scriptures. It is used to describe the reward of the faithful, received on the day of judgment. Jesus used it this way in Mt 25:46 "Then Jesus said, "Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life."’ Paul, likewise, describing it as gift from God through Jesus Christ - Ro 6:23 "Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord." (See 6:22; also 2:5-8). It is also used to describe the spiritual life we now enjoy by virtue of our knowledge of (or fellowship with) the Father and the Son. Jesus describes it as such in Jn 17:2-3 "And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent." As well as His beloved disciple, John, in 1 Jn 5:11-13 "God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life. But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life. All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life." Thus the gift of eternal life is one that has "promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (to borrow a phrase from Paul)-- Aren't you tired of the shallow life this world has to offer? Don't you wish to receive that "abundant life" that Jesus came to give (see Jn 10:10)? Then heed the commands of the gospel! - Mk 16:16 "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."

These wonderful promises (and there are many more) can be received by anyone who is willing to heed and accept the call of the gospel of Christ. Those who do, will not only receive these blessings, but they will also be added by the Lord to His church, that great assembly of "called-out" ones who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Have you accepted the "call" of the gospel? Have you believed the "facts" of the gospel? Obeyed the "commands" of the gospel? Thereby received the "promises" of the gospel? It is possible that you have only obeyed some of the "commands" of the gospel. Many have believed, repented, confessed, but were never baptized. Because you rarely hear preachers stressing that aspect of the gospel in their preaching. Sadly, I fear that many have reacted to one "perversion" of the gospel (adding meritorious works) by going to the other extreme where they commit another "perversion" of the gospel (taking away a command of God). I plan to discuss the subject of "baptism" more closely in the next lesson, but if you are convinced that you need to obey Christ in this regard, why not do so today?


God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year

Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~