In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made. In him was life and the life; was the light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness: and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light but was sent to bear witness of that Light.That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (John chapter 1 verses 1 through 10 )
And, behold , I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his works shall be. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelations 22; 12-14 )
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. ( Genesis 1:1-5 ) And God said let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ( Genesis 1:26 )
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,and the tree of knowledge good and evil. (Genesis 2: 7-9 )
And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ( Genesis 2:16-17 )
Now I am going to attempt to tie all these scriptures together for a purpose. I drive a long way to work each day and I listen to a lot of different preachers on the radio. One of the things that always jumps out at me is how men can take the simplest statements and get confused. Little kids do this all the time but you would think that well educated adults would know better. I get to hear some of the greatest orators of our time and they know the scriptures inside and out. But the necessity of OBEDIENCE to the Lord seems to escape them.
Jesus told the apostle to go unto all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and he that believest and is baptized shall be saved. ( Mark 16: 15-16 )
Now I don't think that is so hard to understand. It is not even confusing. But I hear these preachers tell thier listeners that to be saved all you have to do is believe.
In Luke the 13 chapter 25th verse Jesus said , When once the master of the house is risen up, and shalt shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door saying , Lord , Lord open unto us; and he shall answer unto you , I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou has taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and Gnashing of teeth, When ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.
They will be gnashing there teeth at the preacher who told them that all you have to do is believe. They will gnash there teeth at the preacher who taught them that to become a child of God all you need to do is pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart.They will gnash there teeth at there parents there brothers there sister who ever it is that taught them that Jesus didn't mean what He said when he said \ldblquote he that believest and is baptized shall be saved. Oh there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth in that great day.
Obedience was all that was required of Adam and Eve to remain in the garden but Satan was already at work and he deceived Eve. And Adam did likewise.Obedience is still required today and will be required tomorrow also.
I was talking with a lady at work the other day who said and I quote "I don't think it matters what you believe everybody has there own interpretation of what the bible says". Well I told her that I hoped she was right and I was wrong . There will be a lot more people in heaven if Jesus didn't mean what he said. But somehow I don't think that will be the case.Oh there will be a great gnashing of teeth in that great day.
She then told me that she believes God Is a God of Love . I had to agree with that point but I also pointed out that God is a Just God and that just as he required Obedience from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden he will require obedience of us in this world.
In Acts on the day of Pentecost the apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. And what did this holy ghost give them to utter? The gospel . And they preached it to men of all nations in there own tongue so that they too might understand . Well somewhere along the way the understanding took hold and they hollered at Peter and said "men and brethren what must we do"? Then Peter who was speaking as the Holy Ghost gave utterance made this simple statement. Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy ghost. ( Acts 2: 38 )
Now how hard is that to understand? Yet the same preachers can quote this verse and still get all confused about what the Holy Spirit gave Peter to utter. Baptism is something they say you need after you are saved to be confirmed or baptism is how you become identified with the local congregation. Then you have some who also teach that baptism is not required at any time. They teach that all you have to do to be saved is to ask Jesus to come into your heart. I call them dry cleaners. On top of all this confusion the method of baptism is also a sticking point. Some say you can sprinkle water on the top of someone's head and call that baptism. But a quick study of the original Greek language used to record the New Testament reveals that Babtizo means emmersion and Rinzo would have had to been used to make sprinkling acceptable. There will be a lot of gnashing teeth in that great day.
These great speakers give some of the best sermons you will hear anywhere and then finish by confussing people on how to be saved. The sad thing is that most of these men are very sincere in there belief. They really love God and are trying to share there love of God with others. The problem is that somewhere along the way somebody else that was confused taught them wrong and they just keep the process going. I bet ole Satan really enjoys this.You know that is his favorite trick to get people to deceive one another. He started with Eve and He wont stop till Jesus comes on judgment day.
This is why it is so important to teach our children right to begin with, as well as anyone else we might have the opportunity to teach. Jesus told the Pharisees in Luke 5:39 No man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, The old is better. The Jews wanted to continue under Moses law because that was the first way they were taught. And today people want to continue in the first way they are taught. Unteaching false doctrine is probably one of the hardest things you can do. But its not impossible.
To be saved you must believe and be baptized. Jesus said that, and if you believe that Jesus didn't mean what he said then on judgment day you will get to find out just what its like to gnash your teeth. The Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end. Jesus was the Word and Jesus is the Word and will always be the Word. He is the Light that shineth on all men and the world knew him not.Although many are called few will be chosen. When the day of Judgment comes and the flames of hell are leaping to receive the souls of those who have not obeyed the gospel there will be a great gnashing of teeth.
Have you been Baptized for the remission of sins . If you were baptized for any other reason then you better reevaluate your relationship with God and know that obedience is still required. Adam and Eve had the opportunity to eat of the tree of life but instead they chose to eat of the tree of knowledge good and evil. Today we have the opportunity to partake of the tree of life which is Jesus. Through him we have the hope of everlasting life in heaven but our obedience is required. Through baptism we share in the death burial and resurrection of Christ.
Tony Jude