Month: September 2012

Know Who, What, and Why You Believe!

Kevin J. Conner in The Foundations of Christian Doctrine says believers need to know:

  • “WHO they believe.
  • WHAT they believe, and
  • WHY they believe it.”

He further explains that all religions are founded on doctrines and that the “teachings received, believed, obeyed, and continually practiced determine:

  • Character—what we are.
  • Behavior—what we do.
  • Destiny—where we go.

Strong character is determined by strong beliefs, and clearly defined doctrine makes for clear cut convictions.”

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Four Purposes of All Scripture

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

  1. Doctrine – What is right?
  2. Reproof  – What is not right?
  3. Correction – How to get right?
  4. Instruction – How to stay right?

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A Word on Tolerance

“Tolerance” is one of the prevailing attitudes in the world today. Everyone wants to do his or her own thing. There is political tolerance; tolerance of sexual orientation; and tolerance of different ways of thinking. There is also religious tolerance that says, “It doesn’t matter which religion you follow. We are all worshipping the same God.” The cry seems to be, “Accept me as I am!” In witnessing it is good to accept people as they are, but we cannot leave them there to perish. We should be always mindful that we are trying to pull others up to our level of spiritual understanding, rather than being pulled down to their lack of understanding.

Throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles encountered people with various levels of spiritual understanding and development. What did they do? Did they say, “It doesn’t matter. We all serve the same God. You believe what you believe, and I’ll just believe what I believe”?

They identified the person’s spiritual development and “began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). We find people where there are but refuse to leave them there. Cornelius. Disciples of Ephesus. Lydia. Apollos.

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The Message is for You, Dummy!

A pastor was troubled by one of the Deacons in his church. This man was lazy and refused to live correctly. The pastor, hoping that the Word of God would bring about a change in the deacon, preached a sermon designed with him in mind. As the deacon left the church, he commented to the pastor, “Pastor, you really told them today!

One Sunday only a few members showed up at church. As usual, the deacon was present. The pastor thought, “I’ve really got him today!” and proceeded to preach a message with the deacon in mind. As the deacon left, he said, “Oh, pastor, you really told them today!” The pastor couldn’t believe it.

Finally it happened. It rained so hard that no one showed up for church, except the deacon. The pastor was so excited. Today the deacon would know that the message was for him and he would hopefully respond accordingly. The pastor began preaching with great enthusiasm. He preached against all of the shortcomings of the deacon. As the deacon left the church that day, he said to the pastor, “Oh, pastor! If they had been here, you would have really told them today.” Many times people allow the preaching to go over their heads and hit their neighbor instead. Our response is, “This is for someone else. It is not for me!”

Here’s a revelation: the message is for you, Dummy!

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Are You Almost or Altogether Persuaded?

“King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds” Acts 26:27-29.

  • To almost be clean is to be dirty.
  • To almost believe is to doubt.
  • To almost tell the truth is to lie.
  • To almost win is to lose.
  • To almost be right is to be wrong.
  • To almost be straight is to be crooked.
  • To almost be saved is to be lost.
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