THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

The question of salvation can only be answered by what the Holy Spirit has revealed to man in God’s word. A desire to be saved implies an understanding of one being in a lost state or in a relationship with the Lord that jeopardizes eternal life. Only those who believe and are willing to accept the will of God will find value in the question and comfort in the answer. However, the “god of this age has blinded [those] who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Jesus gave a charge to His disciples to preach the gospel of salvation. In Matthew 28:18-20 He said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Salvation came from the words of men spoken to other men teaching them the words of Jesus. To be a disciple of Christ one must be baptized. Men must continue to obey the words of Jesus after they become Christians. These are the words of Jesus.

The gospel writer Mark records the commission of Jesus in Mark 16:15-18. “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." The disciples did go into the world and preach the good news to all men. When men believed on the words spoken by the followers of Jesus, they were baptized for salvation. If men did not believe, they would be condemned. These men refused the good news of Jesus Christ and the necessity of baptism for salvation. The signs Jesus spoke of in verses 17, 18 are explained in verse 20: “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.”

Luke tells us that Jesus instructed His disciples that “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47). That came about in Acts 2 when the Day of Pentecost came in the city of Jerusalem. Following the sermon by Peter and the rest of the apostles, many in the crowd cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:37-38). Repentance for forgiveness of sins comes about when one is baptized into Christ. On that same day, “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

Peter wrote in his final epistle that being a disciple of Christ requires growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3:18). Salvation is possible today if you follow the words of Jesus (among many more found in God’s word). Are you a disciple of Christ? Have you followed the pattern of the New Testament to become a Christian? The Bible clearly reveals what you must do. Salvation comes from doing the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21). Obey Him today!

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).

The Bible commends the practice of daily meditation on God's transforming truth. “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalms 119:97). “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8). We get out of Scripture in direct proportion to what we mentally put into it. "I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for Your commandments" (Psalm 119:131).

Christ’s Word should dwell "richly" or abundantly in our heart (Colossians 3:16). How precious it is that we can read the Bible and think the thoughts of God, treasuring them up in our mind. The Bible alone is food for the soul (Jeremiah 15:16), and light to live by (Psalm 119:105).

Concentrated thought on divine revelation releases the power of Scripture in our lives. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). We change and direction of our lives when we change the direction of our thoughts.

If you are a professional "worry wart," I have some good news for you! Fretful worrying is where we mentally dwell on, over and over again, our problems. So, congratulations, you have a talent for concentrated thought! Why don’t you shift the focus of your mind and begin to mentally dwell on the promises, precepts and power of Scripture. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9).

Replace worrisome thoughts with the practice of meditation on God’s Word. Compile a list of your favorite verses: “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul” (Psalms 94:19). Set a goal of meditating on a different verse each day. Copy of list of meaningful verses, putting them in the back of your Bible, and then review them regularly. "Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; as for me, I shall be glad in the LORD" (Psalm 104:34).

"Bible meditation is simply prolonged thought directed to a single object of truth. Your mental chambers where thoughts abide are the secret workshop of an unseen Sculptor, chiseling living forms for a deathless future. Personality and influence are molded here" (A.T. Pierson).

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 66:13).

We are watched over by a God whose love for us is the uniquely tender love of a mother for her children. Within the Trinity of God's divine being there is to be found the perfect summation of all of the qualities that were divided between masculinity and femininity at our creation (Genesis 1:26,27). The complementary nature of men and women in our world is a reflection of the perfect communion that exists within the triune personality of God's own being. Thus none of the unique endowments of men and women are insignificant. Each has its counterpart in God's character, and each needs to be taken seriously in our own character and in our own interactions with others. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the matter of love. The familiar texts that speak of God as having a father's love are complemented by those that describe the divine love in motherly terms. The fatherliness of God's love is perfected by its motherliness.

If God loves us with a mother's love, this is more than a theoretical point. In day-to-day practice, we should not fail to have the same kind of love for one another. Even Paul, the strong soldier of the faith, understood the need for tender love. To the church in Thessalonica, he wrote, "But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us" (1 Thessalonians 2:7,8).

A mother is able to touch her children with a special tenderness because she understands them in a special way. God's perfect love for us, of course, is possible because of an infallible understanding of our hearts, and we shall not be able to reach that level of empathy for one another. What we certainly can do, however, is to make a more conscious effort to understand the kinds of things a mother understands -- and to love accordingly. If we seek God, we will seek to love as God loves. In our love and in our dealings with God's children, we will include not only the productiveness of a father, but the tenderness and insight of a mother.

A motivational phrase used by the Shearson Lehman Brothers and adopted by the Internal Revenue Service is "Renewed Commitment". They said about commitment: "Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of intentions. And the actions which speak louder than words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism."

In the business world there is a recognized need for both management and employees to re-dedicate themselves to their jobs and the organization. Why? Complacency is the primary reason. Human beings have a tendency to drift into patterns of behavior where mediocrity is the norm. The "fire" leaves the spirit and the energetic outlook that we once had is no longer there. Things still get done, but not as well. Morale suffers, attitudes become more negative and performance is marginal at best. We just try to get by, not really caring about the quality product of our efforts.

This is a real concern in other areas of life as well. Many marriages fail for the same reasons. Family relationships and friendships drift into stagnation for lack of concerted effort. Children see complacency in their parents' lives and duplicate the behavior in their schoolwork and personal lives. Rather than buckle down and work, we all tend to look for the path of least resistance, stay comfortable and non-confrontational and go through life avoiding anything that would involve substantial work and an all-out effort to succeed.

Nowhere is this outlook on life more prevalent and more dangerous than in our spiritual lives. Dante said, "The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in a time of moral crisis." Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." Jesus warned the church in Laodicea that they would be spit out of His mouth for being lukewarm. (Revelation 3:14-16) In Luke 16:19-31. Jesus uses the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus to teach against indifference. The rich man was not shown to be evil, but he apparently went to Hell for being indifferent.

Our Lord, also, told us that the pathway to Heaven is narrow and that few will find the way. (Matthew 7:13-14) Jesus later taught that He did not come to bring peace, but that He came with a sword. (Matthew 10:34) And the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 and Luke 19 clearly teaches us that God expects us to productively use our gifts and abilities and not just drift through life without taking risks. God despises complacency and we must guard against it.

Commitment is what Christianity is all about. Failure to consciously make a commitment to Jesus and His eternal cause will result in the condemnation of our souls. This is a fact. In John 8:42-48, Jesus says that anyone who does not learn His Word and live accordingly are children of the devil. This leaves no middle ground, no approval for straddling the fence on relevant issues and no room for complacency. We must be committed to our spouses, to our children, to fellow Christians and, above all, to God.

We must be fully committed with all our hearts and minds, relying on this commitment every time we make a decision. We should periodically step back to re-examine our commitments to make sure that our energies are focused as God would have them, and then be willing to change our lives as necessary. Commitment or complacency? It is a lifelong challenge that we must meet every day.

Ä Commitment does not stop with contemplation. It seeks issue in work. (Robert L. Calhoun, 1935)

Ä No man must go to Heaven who has not sent his heart thither before. (Thomas Wilson, 1755)

Ä In each heart, there is a secret garden which God made uniquely for Himself. (Fulton J. Sheen, 1949)