The Ethiopian eunuch said, “See here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Acts 8:36.

Implied from the question by the eunuch is that one must be prepared to be baptized. Today we want to think about, who is a candidate to be baptized? Is anybody who just walks up off the street a candidate? Is an atheist or agnostic a candidate to be baptized? What about a young child? When are they ready to be baptized?

Who's ready to be baptized? Is just anybody off the street who comes up and says ‘I'm ready to be baptized,’ really ready be baptized? Can you then take somebody off the street, who knows nothing about Christ and dunk them in water and that be baptism? What about somebody who's living an immoral lifestyle? Maybe somebody was a murderer and is never changed his mind on that, maybe somebody who has robbed a bank it is living it up off the funds and is still living in sin, is that person a candidate to be baptized? What about a young child? At what point does a person become ready to obey the gospel? Is just knowing the facts, the five steps in the plan of salvation, and who Jesus is, does that qualify one to be baptized?

These are the questions we're going to consider today from the word of God and think about: Who is really ready to be baptized?

Friend it's true that sometimes people who are not good candidates, who weren't ready, have been baptized. Maybe for example of a young child saw a brother or sister who was ready obey the gospel, and then he thinks ‘well I may as well do that too.’ He hadn't really thought about it before. Maybe he isn't to that maturity point yet, and maybe he doesn't understand fully. But he might think, ‘well they got a lot of praise for being baptized, so I will too.’ Is that person really ready to obey the gospel? Maybe a young person does it to be like other people. Maybe he wants to be like his parents. Maybe he wants to be like some other friend he saw, and so he says ‘I think I obey the gospel too.’ Was he really ready to obey? That's a serious commitment. Was he ready to do that?

You know sometimes I've seen this happen in my own life. You got a large group of kids at camp, and camp's a good thing, learning the Bible is a good thing, teaching them the Gospels a good thing, but you've got a large group of kids at camp and maybe one or two who are really ready do obey the gospel and that causes a domino effect. Where the rest of those really ready? Maybe they were, or maybe it was just they wanted to do peer pressure. They wanted to do what others and were doing as well.

And then I've seen situations like this of people who maybe weren't quite ready to obey the gospel but pressure caused them to. Maybe you've got a husband or a wife who's a Christian and maybe that husband or that wife to make their spouse happy says ‘I think I'll obey the gospel that'll make my wife really happy.’ Well were they really ready? Were they doing it for the right motive? Do they understand what they needed to do to become a Christian?

You know when we think about who's ready to obey the gospel and who is a proper candidate to submit to Christ's teaching on baptism, let's ask some questions that we really need to consider relating to this subject.

Number one: What is faith? Is faith something that is essential to obey the gospel? The Bible says “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10:17. And the Scripture says, “Without faith it's impossible to please God,” Hebrews 11:6. I must have faith in Christ. I must believe to be baptized, Mark 16:16. So if faith is hearing the word of God and having a conviction a belief in Jesus, then friend that's something the individual has to possess. He has to read the Bible for himself. He has to

study the Scriptures. He has to develop his own conviction based on the word of God. It can't be just because somebody said so, or somebody else wanted you to, or because of pressure, or trying to please others. I've got to have, one's got to have, his own faith in Christ.

A second question to consider is: What is baptism? Does a person understand the correct mode of baptism? Do they understand what baptism is for? Jesus said “You'll know the truth and the truth will make you free,” John 8:32. Have they been taught on the subject of baptism? Do they understand its importance? Do they understand the commitment and the change that one is making in their life? If not, then friend there not yet a candidate to obey the gospel.

A third question to consider: What does it mean to repent? Now here's how that relates to baptism, the Bible teaches that repentance precedes baptism. Remember Acts 2:38? They were told when they wanted to know ‘What can we do to overcome the sin of killing our Messiah?’ ‘Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins,’ Acts 2:38. Does a person understand what it means to repent? You know sometimes I think people don't because they are baptized, and that's all good and well, they think and then go right back to living the same way. Maybe they did. But maybe they weren't taught that repentance means I've got a turn from sin. Repentance means I've got a do my best not to go back into that lifestyle, and it's something necessary before baptism occurs.

Another question to consider before one obeys the gospel, the question needs to be addressed: How do you intend to live your life differently? Romans 6:4 says this, “When we come out of the waters of baptism we're raised to walk in newness of life.” How's this going to change your life? What are you going to do differently? Are you going to talk the same? Are you going to act the same? Are you going to be involved in the same things? Or is there going to be a genuine change in one's life that's evident by all who see them?

Another question to consider, and this is especially true as it relates to young people, you know sometimes I talk to people who may as we mention see a brother or sister who is ready to obey the gospel. Maybe this child is five or six or seven and they say ‘I think I need to be baptized too.’ Well let's ask them this: What is sin? Have you ever sinned? Do you realize

right now, do you understand, that without Christ you are lost? They may have an idea of what sin is, but do they understand the consequences and the gravity of it? Are they able to distinguish between good and evil? Do they have that maturity that goes along with that as well?

You know, I remember talking to a young person one time and he wanted to be baptized. I said to him ‘Are you saved right now?’ and he said ‘Well sure.’ Well wait a minute now, if we don't understand ‘Hey I've sinned that's personal. I'm lost. I need Jesus to overcome the sin problem,’ then friend, we're not yet to the point where we're ready to obey God's plan of salvation.

A third question or another question to ask is: Why do you want to be baptized? ‘Well I saw my brother do it, or I saw a friend do it, or it'll make my wife happy.’ No, I want to be baptized because I realize I cannot contact the soul saving blood of Jesus without it, Romans 6:2-4. I want to be baptized to obey Christ, to commit my life 100% to Him, Luke 9:23, and so that I can ‘Be faithful unto death and one day I'll receive the crown of life,’ Revelation 2:10.

You know another question we ought to ask is: Why did Jesus die on the cross? Are you lost at this time? What does it mean to really be lost? And do we understand the seriousness of that commitment?

When we think about obedience to the gospel we want to ask: Do you understand the steps in the plan of salvation? Have you heard the word of God? You've got to have done the understanding, the intellect, and the maturity to process the gospel message. Once you've heard that, do you believe it? Do you really believe? Are you willing to make a lifelong commitment until death that Jesus is the Savior? Are you willing to repent? Would you stand before others and make the good confession? Are you going to be baptized into Christ for the remission of one's sins?

Leading up to baptism there are some things that one seriously needs to consider before he's a candidate to be baptized.

Now let's talk about some of the qualities that are necessary, some traits or characteristics, or qualities that are necessary to obey the gospel.

One for sure is that of maturity. Is the individual who is considering obedience to the gospel mature enough to make that decision? This is what we mean by maturity, in Romans 7:1-4 there is an illustration used unto which my relationship with Christ is like and that is of marriage. Is this person ready to enter into a serious commitment to Christ like unto marriage? Are they ready to make that type of commitment? You know just because somebody reaches the age of puberty, reaches the age of puberty, doesn't mean they're ready to be marriage married. Just because somebody turns 16 doesn't mean they're ready to get their driver’s license. Just because one may turn the legal age of 18, doesn't mean he's mature enough to join the military.

Just because you know certain factors may be there, the maturity also has to be there. You may have a young man is 18 years old and has never had much responsibility, never had much a training in that, are you going to take that 18-year-old person and say ‘You're 18 go join the Army’? Well maybe, but he's likely not mature enough to really follow through with that decision. You know one has to reach a maturity level where some of these things are necessary, where I'm ready to make a lifelong daily commitment to put the Lord first.

Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If any man desires come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” You've got to be ready to make a commitment that I'm going to be ready if I'm called upon to die for the Lord. Revelation 2:10 “Be faithful until death. I'll give you the crown of life.” Friend during the times of the first century when someone became a Christian that was a very serious commitment because the knock may have come on the door, ‘Are there any Christians here?’ If you raised your hand and you signified you were, you could be put in jail and you could be killed for that. Are you ready to die for your convictions to Christ? Is this person ready to be convicted of sin and the consequences that go along with that when we fail to follow Christ and His teaching?

Now another question to consider and this directly relates to someone who may be of the right age and maturity level and that is: Is the person is this person accountable at the age, what we think of as the age, of being accountable for their own actions? Now let's understand there's a time when children are not saved but safe. Here's what we mean by that Matthew 18:3 Jesus said this, “Bring the little children to me and do not

forbid them for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” There's an age and point in time when little children are pure and innocent and their characteristics and qualities are clearly identifiable of someone in the kingdom. They're safe in the arms of God. Ezekiel 28:15 God says to the king of Tyre “You were perfect in all your ways from the day you were created,” listen to this now, “until,” adverb of time, “iniquity was found in you.” There was a point time when the king of Tyre was pure and innocent and right in the sight of God, until he became accountable for his own actions.

Now we know that adults, those who've reached the age of accountability, they do have to give an account of their actions. 2 Corinthians 5:10, “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for the things done in the body.” We ask the question, where does the Scripture teach that there is that age of being safe and there is that age of accountability?

The passage is found in Isaiah 7. Listen to these words in Isaiah 7:16. The Scripture says, “For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good God says the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her Kings.” Now God's making a prophecy there about what's going to happen to the land and to the Kings who are going to take it over. I want you to listen to these words again God says, “There is a time before which a child knows to refuse evil and choose good.”

When we say age of accountability that's what we're talking about. Let me illustrate. Let's say you got a 2-5 month-old baby and that baby is throwing a fit about something. He can't get his bottle, can't find his pacifier, whatever. Now we want to try to teach him. We want to try to help him. We want to try to do what we can. That baby at that age, does he know it's wrong to act that way? Does he know that? When you take even a toddler and somebody steals his toy, got little toddler here we're try to teach him and somebody steals his toy, and he just hauls off and waylays somebody over it, kid next to him. Well that isn't right and that is good, isn't good and we want to teach him proper traits and characteristics. Are we going to say that kid is at the age of accountability? He sinned we better teach him right and wrong and get them in the water? He's accountable for that. He's going go to hell, because he did that? Of course not! He's in an age of learning. He's in an age of training. But he is not to the point where we're going to say, ‘He's ready to refuse. He's at that point where he can refuse the evil

and choose the good.’ He's in an age of learning and being trained but not necessarily accountable for those sins in the eternal aspect of that and so we've got to realize related to that.

Now let's ask another question as it relates to God's plan of salvation, in visiting with someone who may want to be baptized we want to ask them: What do you understand? What do you know about the gospel plan of salvation?

Now let me illustrate it this way. Here's why this is so important, let's say that somebody comes in off the street and they don't know anything about Christ, they don't know anything about the church, they don't know anything about the gospel, but they say ‘Do you folks baptize people?’ And we say ‘Sure we baptize folks.’ He says, ‘You know I never really thought about a whole lot, but I think I probably better go ahead do that just to be safe. Don't know about Christ really, don't know about the plan of salvation, don't know a whole lot, but just as a get out of jail free, just as a safety idea, I think I'll go ahead and do it.’ Is that person ready? Is he a candidate to be baptized?

Must you know certain things before you're ready to be baptized? Indeed the Scripture teaches you must! Ephesians 5:17 says, “Do not be ignorant but understand the will of the Lord.” I've got to have an understanding of God's will as it relates to plan of salvation. You've got to know the truth before the truth can make you free when the John 8:32. When the Ethiopian eunuch said, ‘Here's water. What hinders me?’ was there any condition that Philip laid forth? Absolutely! “If” that's a condition. “If you believe with all your heart you may.” Was it essential before baptism that he understand understood and was able to believe the message of salvation in Christ? Absolutely!

And so, what is a person need to know? Do they know they're lost in sin? Friend I'm I truly believe if people more people realize without Jesus I am lost in sin, I'm headed down the road to hell, and if I don't make my life right with God I might spend eternity with the devil if I die this way, do we really understand the personal responsibility and consequences of our sin? “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. Do we really understand about the Lord's church and His plan of salvation? In Acts 8, when they taught them about Christ, they taught them about the things concerning the

kingdom, Acts 8:8-12. Do people understand you're going to be added to the Lord's church? You you've got to obey the plan of salvation and become a Christian to be right with God.

Then we want to emphasize as Jesus clearly did in the Scripture: Are you willing to change? You know somebody has a problem whatever that problem may be that problem may be lying or stealing or cheating. Let's say a person has a problem with lying and that person says ‘You know, I've got this problem with lying and I think I need be baptized.’ Well that's good that they're thinking about the plan of salvation, but we then say to them ‘Are you willing to repent?’ He says ‘Repent what you mean?’ ‘Are you willing to stop lying?’ ‘You know I've never really thought about that let me think about it.’ Well that person my friend, if he's not willing to change, his heart and his mind and let the Scripture convict him, if we're not willing to repent, then friend we're not a candidate for baptism.

How do we know that? Listen to Acts 2:38 again, “Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins.” Jesus said in Luke 13:3, ‘Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Luke 3:6 John said a certain now listen to this here's a classic example, certain religious elite but looks like everybody else is doing it, they came out to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan. John said this to them, “You brood of vipers!” What harsh language a bunch of snakes in essence. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Then John said this, “Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.” They were going out to do it because everybody else was. And John said ‘You change your life and commit to making this decision before I'll baptize you.’ John refused to baptize them because they would not or had not repented. They were not at the point of doing that before he was going to baptize them. Is repentance a part of something you've been considering before baptism?

Then we surely want to consider this friend, have you counted the cost in obeying the gospel? Wouldn't you argue that anything that is really valuable usually has a cost involved in it? Any of us would agree that anything that's really important has some type of cost associated with that.

Obedience to the gospel will cost you something. It'll cost you time. It'll cost you cost you commitment. It'll cost you sacrifice. It may cost you friends, family, jobs, and other things that one cannot continue in if he is

going to obey the gospel and live true to Jesus. It may cost sacrifice. It may cause persecution. It may mean that some of your friends no longer like you. It may mean that the job that you have where you’re popular and that may not be the case anymore. We’re not saying necessarily, but have you really considered the costs?

Jesus taught us to count the cost, Luke 14:25-33. I'll assure you whatever cost one may incur in obedience to the gospel; it's surely worth it for all that we can receive.

Do you remember Romans 8:18? Paul said this, “I consider the sufferings of this present world; they’re not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Let's say I have to give up on some friends who've got some moral problems that I can't hang around anymore, let's say that the family no longer wants to associate me because I don't do some of the things I used to do, or let's say I receive persecution even serious persecution, and there's a cost to it. Is that cost worth it? Absolutely! If heaven is going to be my eternal home a place where the of sorrow, pain, crying, death, and all these former things that we have here have passed away, Revelation 21:3-4. If I'm going to be with God and Christ for eternity and live a life of service to God and others, then friend that surely would be worth it.

And so, we hope today that you'll think about the things that are required necessary to be baptized. Maybe you're thinking to yourself and maybe you're asking yourself, ‘You know was I really ready to be baptized when I obeyed the gospel?’ If you didn't understand the right things, if the motivation if you didn't do for the right motive, or have the knowledge that God requires, or maybe you didn't change your life and just wanted to do it to be popular, then friend one needs to be immersed into Christ for the correct reasons.

But as we think today about God's plan of salvation, friend we want to make clear what God teaches one must do to be saved. You first have to hear the word of God. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10:17. Have we heard and made a commitment to the message of the gospel? If we have, do we really believe “Jesus is the way the truth and the life no man comes to the Father except by Him,” John 14:6? If I believe Christ is the truth and the life and the way, am I willing to

change my life and repent? Remember Acts 3:19, “Repent and turn again that your sins may be blotted out.” “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish,” Luke 13:3.

Would you make that good confession? The Ethiopian eunuch said, ‘Here's water. What hinders me?’ ‘If you believe with all your heart you may.’ And he plainly said, ‘I believe Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God,’ Acts 8:36-38.

Would you be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins? Listen to how plain Jesus made it. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” Mark 16:16. Peter said “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins,” Acts 2:38. And our Lord said in John 3:5, ‘Unless a man is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

And so as we think about the plan of salvation and who is ready to obey the gospel, friend we assure you we want men and women to obey the gospel. We want them and God wants them to be ready to make that commitment, to understand and know what they're doing, and be of an accountable age, so they can follow that up, so they can follow that great commitment up with being faithful unto death giving God the glory with every day of their life.

Study Questions for: “Baptism Lesson 2: Candidate”

1. What question did the Ethiopian eunuch have in Acts 8:36?

2. What does Romans 10:17 tell us about faith?

3. What must we have to please God according to Hebrews 11:6?

4. According to John 8:32, what will make us free?

5. What were they told to do in Acts 2:38?

6. According to Romans 6:4, we’re raised to walk in the newness of what?

7. According to Revelation 2:10, we should be faithful unto what? Why?

8. What is our relationship with Christ compared to in Romans 7:1-4?

9. According to Luke 9:23, what must we do if we desire Jesus?

10. According to 2 Corinthians 5:10, what will we all do?

“Enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there are who go in by,” Matthew 7:13-14. Jesus here made it abundantly clear that the road that leads to eternal destruction is a wide path, and abroad gate, and many are going down that path. Who is it exactly that is going down that wide path to destruction? Why is it that God is going to send them to eternal destruction?

Welcome to our study of: Who will God punish, and why?

It is true that God is a loving God, 1 John 4:8 “God is love.” It's true that “God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth,” 1 Timothy 2:4.

In fact the Bible says the ‘Lord's not slow concerning His promises as some men count slowness but is long-suffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.’ God is a God of love. He wants all men to be saved. God doesn't want anyone to be lost or perish; however, God being a fair and just judge, Genesis 18:25, it is also the case that God will punish some people out of His fairness and His righteousness. He must do exactly that. So who will God punish, and why will He punish those people?

The Scriptures teach that God will punish those who do not know Him that is those who were not New Testament Christians. Listen to the words of 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, “And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes in that day to be glorified in His saints and be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”

Paul makes it abundantly clear that part of those people who were going to be punished are those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 25 when there was that great separation scene between the sheep and the goats, he said “Those who are going to be punished are those who do not know God they will go away into everlasting destruction.”

When we think of those, who one day are going to be lost, we’ve got to realize it's those who were not New Testament Christians. Friend how important it is that we obey the gospel and become children of God. God does want all of His children to live faithfully and to go to heaven.

To escape punishment you've got to become a New Testament Christian. There's no other way. Peter said in Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Christians are the only ones who have their sins washed in the blood of the Lamb, Revelation 1:3-4. They’re the only ones who have their sins forgiven. Acts 2:38 when Peter preached the gospel he preached “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” If you're not a New Testament Christian you are in that class of people who will one day suffer in eternal torment.

As you notice 2 Thessalonians 1 there are two classes of people: those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those who don't know God are those who have never entered into a relationship with Him. Those who do not obey the gospel doesn't just include initially obeying the gospel-but it is a continual idea. Those who don't live faithful to the gospel every day, not

only will those of never become Christians suffer punishment, but wayward children of God will also be punished in that day. Listen to what Paul said to Christians in 1 Corinthians 10:12. Paul said “Let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall.” It is the case that Christians must be vigilant. We must make sure that were living like we ought to. If we're not careful, we can fall.

Some people of talk the idea that once you become a child of God you can never be lost, once saved always saved. That's just not what the Bible teaches. In fact in Galatians 5:4 Paul said, writing to the church in Galatia, “You who attempt to be justified by law you have become severed from grace,” listen “you have fallen from grace.” You have fallen out of Christ. They cannot be right with God if they don't stay faithful.

Let me give you an example. Acts 8 Simon the sorcerer hears the word of God preached. In verses 12-13 he is baptized. He obeys the gospel and becomes a Christian. He reverts back to his old way very quickly. He sees that through the laying on the apostles hands the power of the Holy Spirit is given. He says ‘I'll give you money if you will give me that power.’ Peter says “Your money perish with you. You thought the gift God purchased with money you got neither part nor portion in this matter your hearts not right with God.” Peter said “You need to repent and pray to God if the evil thought of your heart might be forgiven you.”

What's significant is Peter said “Your money,” listen “is going to perish with you.” Who is in that class of people who will be punished? Christians who live in sin. There is nothing more repulsive the God then a child of His who goes back into the world. It's disgusting in God's eyes. How do we know that? 2 Peter 2:20-22. Here's the grotesque image God chooses to think of when a child of His goes back. “It's like a dog returning to its own vomit or a sow having washed returning to its wallowing in the mire.” What a filthy and disgusting image that is! That's how God feels when one of His children, who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and who's been sanctified and made holy, turns back to the world.

A child of God can so sin as to be lost. If they remain in that sin, they will be a part of that group who one day is going to be punished.

We also know that God is going to punish all the disobedient throughout the ages in that final day. All those throughout the ages that lived in disobedience will be punished. I want you notice what the Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 10:5-6. The apostle Paul says “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” and notice, “and being ready, Jesus is ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” On that final day when all men stand before the bar of God and give an account, those who lived in disobedience will be punished. They'll hear that horrific statement ‘Depart from me you worker of iniquity. I never knew you. Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ This reminds us of the need to obey God. Matthew 7:21 Jesus said “It's not everybody that that looks up into heaven and says ‘Lord, Lord’ that's going there, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” It’s not just enough to name a name. You've got a do what God says. Luke 6:46 as Jesus thought about the Pharisees and their hypocrisy, Jesus asked them this, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do the things which I say?” You can’t just call Him ‘Lord, Lord.’ You've got to do what He says. You have to obey Him. Jesus said “If you love me, if you say you love me, keep my commandments,” John 14:15. He is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. There is a dire need to make sure that I am living obediently to God and His cause.

Who else is going to be punished by God? The Scriptures teach that all the wayward angels, who did not submit to God and who left their proper domain or authority, are also going be punished on that day. Listen to the words of Jude. The scripture says “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode, He, God, has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of that great day as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in similar manners to these, having given themselves over to sexual morality, gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example,” notice, “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” God created these angels. They’re ministering spirits the Bible tells us. Some of them rose up against God and didn't remain under proper authority. God says those angels, on the final day, are also going to be punished.

What's the practical lesson for us? I'm not listening for a voice from an angel. I'm not infatuated with the idea of angels. I know they were God's

servants. The Bible teaches us “Even if we,” Paul said, “or an angel from heaven preached to you any other gospel that we have preached, let him be accursed,” Galatians 1:6. We do not worship Angels. We are not waiting to hear a message from an angel. Angels can and have disobeyed God in the past, and thus we have to listen to the word of God.

Our message today is found in the Bible. Hebrews 1:1 “God who at various times in various ways spoke in times past of the fathers by the prophets,” notice, “has in these last days spoken to us by His son.” I'm listening today to the word of Jesus. John 12:48 Jesus said “He who rejects me does not receive my word has that which judges him. The word that I've spoken will judge him in the last day.” I am going to be judged by the word of God. Don't be infatuated so much with Angels and listening for a message. Some of them are going to be punished, because they did not obey God.

Who else will be punished? The Bible teaches that enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ will be punished by God on the last day. Notice Paul's words in Philippians 3:18-19. Paul said “For many walk of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping that they are enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.” What about the enemies of the cross? Their end is also going to be eternal destruction.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, ‘Who would we identify as an enemy of the cross?’ Anyone who promotes anything other than the simplicity of Christ and His doctrine is an enemy of the cross. False teachers are enemies of the cross. ‘They have itching ears.’ Bible says ‘they’ll heap up for themselves teachers after their own desires and draw many away.’ That's why we've got to preach the word, 2 Timothy 4:1-4. the Bible teaches that those who don't know God and those who do not acknowledge Him as God are also enemies of the cross. Atheist are enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ. Remember the Bible says “The fool says in his heart there is no God.” You can know there's a God. You can look around and see. Those who claim not to believe in God are enemies of the cross. Agnosticism and agnostics are enemies of the cross. An agnostic is someone who really is not sure and doesn't know whether you can know or not. ‘Might be a God. Might not be a God. Who really knows? We just live the best life and hope for the best in the end.’ That is not the mindset Jesus promoted. Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth

will make you free.” Ungodly, immoral people who live in debauchery and sin are enemies of the cross of Christ. They trample and knew the son of God, Hebrews 10:26-29.

There's another class that will be punished. The Bible teaches those who are worldly, that is those whose mindset and goals and hope is set on this world, they're going to be punished in the last day. Matthew 7:13-14 again teaches us most of this world is going down the wrong path that leads to destruction. This world that we live in right now, although there are many beauties created by God, this world is temporary. We must not put our hope on this old world. Listen to what Peter said as he thought about the end of all things. In 2 Peter 3:9 the Scripture says “The Lord is not slack concerning His promises as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat,” notice, “both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore since all these things will be destroyed what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat.” What's going to happen to this old world? Jesus had already said Matthew 24:34-36 “The earth and all that’s in it will one day burn up, will pass away, will cease to exist, but he who does the will of God that's the person who will live forever.”

We must not put our hope on this world. James 4:4 uses very strong language to describe worldliness. James says “Adulterers and adulteresses do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore makes himself a friend of the world has become God's enemy.” You can't have both. Jesus said “You cannot love God and man or earthly riches, Matthew 6:24. The command is do not love the world or the things of the world, 1 John 2:15. God is saying that not just because he despises the world, which is gone after Satan and his devices, but because He wants to warn us not to get caught up in that trap.

Who else is going to be punished on the last day? The Bible also teaches that great enemy of old, Satan himself, is going to be punished in everlasting fire on the last day. Look in Matthew 25:41. The Scripture reads in Matthew 25:41 “Then He, Jesus, will also say to those on the left-hand

‘depart from me you cursed into the everlasting fire,’ notice ‘prepared for the devil and his angels.’ Revelation 20 is a great separation scene again and that old serpent that Dragon of old, is cast into the bottomless pit of fire and brimstone- again a picture of Satan and his eternal destruction.

Friend if we follow the devices of Satan, if we give our heart to his things: his teaching, his worldliness- then we’re going to go where Satan himself will spend eternity. It's not that much fun to follow the devil when you think about the end result. Too many times we get caught up in the here and now and the impulse and immediacy of the fun. When we lose sight of the fact the devil has already lost. You’re on the losing side if you follow Satan. You will be punished forever.

The Bible also teaches that the unjust of this world will be punished by the Father. People who don't deal righteously, people who cheat, and lie and deceive, and steal, the swindlers, the ponzi scheme- people of this world, those who try to trick people, and be a great con artist- the unjust- will also be punished- if they don't change their ways. Notice the words of 2 Peter 2:9. The Bible reads “Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and reserve the unjust under punishment for the Day of Judgment.” Here we’re clearly taught that people who are not fair, just, and righteous in their standards and their judgments will not go to heaven on the final day. And so judges, those who run businesses, those are in places of authority; how we need to strive to make sure that we have just standards and that we follow the teaching of God.

Another class of people the Bible teaches that one day will be punished are the immoral of this world. From the time of Genesis all the way up to today the world has had it. Those of the world who have run immorality, they follow the path of immorality and ungodliness. We have got to make sure, if we’re going to be saved, we avoid immorality.

Now I want you to notice what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Listen to these words. The Scripture says “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor liars, nor extortioners.” Nor will what? “Nor will they inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified which were justified in the name the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God.”

It's clear from this text that those who live in immorality will not make it to heaven. Notice the people mentioned: adulterers (those who take other spouses), fornicators (those who live in sexual immorality before marriage), and notice especially those who do not hold to God's standard of marriage. God’s standard is a ‘man shall leave his father and mother be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh,’ Genesis 2:24. One man, one woman for life. Look at what the text says ‘homosexuals and sodomites will not inherit the kingdom of God.’

Friend the homosexual agenda is often times being pushed down our throat like it's something that everybody ought to except and if you don't accept you're like a racist. Friend, that's not at all a fair comparison. Listen very carefully. The Bible says in no uncertain terms: homosexuals will not go to heaven. That's what God says. That's how clear it is. They will not, if they continue in that lifestyle, inherit the kingdom of God. And so immorality, thieves, murderers, extortioners- those are people who one day sadly will suffer eternal punishment- if they don't change.

Now one more class that we want to look at of people who will be punished, if they don't change, and that is all the complainers and grumblers of this old world will be punished on the final day. Notice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:10. The Scripture says ‘Nor complain as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer.’ He is talking about the Israelites, who throughout the traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land, began to complain and murmur. They saw the miracles. They received the food from heaven. And yet, how did they show God their thanks? ‘What did you know bring us out here to kill us? Oh that we were back by the flesh pots in Israel. We’re tired of this manna.’ When God gave them something different, they began to complain again. God despises those who are not thankful.

Too many times instead of being humbly grateful, we’re grumbly hateful. Are we really doing God right if we complain and murmur and speak against God in a way that's not pleasing to Him and dishonors all that He's done for us? We have got to make sure not complain or murmur. The Bible says this, Philippians 2:14-15, ‘Do all things,’ listen to that ‘all things without murmuring and complaining.’ At times that's hard. It's hard for each of us, because sometimes our human nature takes over. We want to complain and grumble a little bit. That's not what God wants us to do. God says “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ

Jesus for you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17-21. Let's be careful to make sure that we're not in this class of people whose one day going to be destroyed.

What you might be thinking to yourself, ‘What is it then that I need to do to make sure I'm not one of these people who's going to be destroyed?’

First of all, you need to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, the life; no man comes to the Father except by Me.” Jesus is the only way.

Are you sure today that you're a child of God? How do you become a Christian? The Bible makes it abundantly clear to become a child of God; you have to hear God's word. Romans 10:17 says “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

Once you’ve recognized the message of God, the truth of the Bible, and once you’ve accepted that message, then you must believe in Jesus. Jesus said in John 8:24 “Unless you believe that I'm he you'll surely die in your sins.” I've got a believe Jesus is the Savior of the world.

Having believed, I can't stop there. I've got a make that life change known as repentance. Jesus said in Luke 13:3 “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” I have got to change my way of thinking and change my way of acting to God's way of thinking, acting, and way of living.

Then I have got a make that good confession. In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said in essence, ‘If you won’t confess Me before men neither will I confess you before the father who is in heaven. If you will confess me before men, I'll also confess you before the Father who is in heaven.’ I have got to say like the Ethiopian eunuch did “I do believe Jesus is the Christ the son the living God,” Acts 8:36-38.

Then the Bible teaches to be in that class of people, who’s one day going to live in heaven, you must be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins.

Acts 22:16 we have Paul's own accounting of his salvation experience. In Acts chapter 9 the Lord told him ‘now you go into the city and it'll be told you what you must do.’ We turn to Acts 22:16 and the Bible says, Ananias speaking to Saul, ‘Why are you waiting? Arise and be

baptized.” Listen, “and wash away your sins calling on the name the Lord.” Jesus said “He that believes and is baptized will be saved. He that does not believe shall be condemned.”

Then once you've obeyed the gospel, you've got to live faithfully every day. Romans 6:4 the Bible teaches us ‘we come up out of the waters of baptism to walk in newness of life.’ You’re a new creature. You've got a second chance.

If anyone's in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. All is new. I'm getting a second chance and with that the Bible says ‘we must live faithful.’ Jesus said “Be faithful unto death, and I'll give you the crown of life.” You’ve got to seek first God's kingdom. Above all else seek first the kingdom of God, Matthew 6:33.

Make it your life’s aim and goal to glorify God in everything that you say and do.

We ask you today of those two classes, those who are going down the wide way that leads to destruction, and those on the narrow road that leads to heaven-which class are you in?

Are you sure you're on the right path to heaven? If not, we encourage you today obey the gospel. Become a child of God. Live faithfully so that one day you can know for sure ‘I’ve got a home in heaven with all the redeemed of the ages.’

Won't you do that before it's too late?

Study Questions for Topical Lesson 1:

“Who will God punish, and why?”

1. In Matthew 7:13-14, what does it say about the path to destruction?

2. According to 1 John 4:8, what is God?

3. According to 1 Timothy 2:4, what does God want?

4. Who will be punished according to 1 Thessalonians 1:7-10?

5. According to Matthew 25, who did Jesus say would be punished?

6. What did Peter preach in Acts 2:38?

7. According to Galatians 5:4, can you fall from grave/fall out of Christ?

8. According to 2 Peter 2:20-22, how does God view a Christian living in sin?

9. According to Matthew 7:21, who is going to heaven?

10. According to John 14:15, if we love Jesus what will we do?

Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved. He who does not believe shall be condemned,” Mark 16:16.

We welcome you to our study of the purposes of baptism. Why be baptized? What's the purpose behind it? Sometimes we hear people say, ‘Well baptism's something good you ought to do, something that you really need to follow, but it's not essential to salvation.’ Does the Scripture teach that?

Many people hold various beliefs about baptism that the Scriptures just don't teach. For example, some people will say that that baptism is something good to do, a great outward sign, something you ought to do, but not at all necessary to salvation. Does the Bible teach that baptism is something good to do but not necessary?

Others will say that baptism is simply an outward sign of an inward grace, by that by they mean that your baptism is a symbol and a sign that you have received the grace of God and that you are saved. Is that what the Scripture teaches about baptism?

Something some people say, baptism something you ought to do, because Jesus did it and to follow His example. There's no doubt we ought to follow the example of Jesus, but is that all there is to baptism? Then others will say that baptism is just simply a means to be added to any various denomination.

What do the Scriptures teach on the great subject in the Bible of baptism? That's what we want to ask today.

Our emphasis is not upon what's popular, our emphasis is not upon personal opinion, or what others think, or what some great scholars somewhere may say. Today we want to ask this question: “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah 37:17. Or in the words of the apostle Paul, “What does the Scripture say?” on the subject of baptism, Romans 4:3.

We think about this great subject and what God teaches us about the subject of baptism. What are the purposes of baptism in the Bible? Number one the Bible teaches baptism is to save one's soul from eternal loss. I want to direct your attention to a passage in Mark 16.I want you notice what the Bible says in verse 16. In giving the great commission Jesus said, “He said to them,” verse 15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature.” Verse 16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved. He who does not believe shall be condemned.”

Friend I want to ask you to think real seriously about Jesus' words here. I hear people say ‘Baptism is not essential. It's not necessary to salvation. It's a good sign of something you ought to do, but you do not have to be baptized to be saved.’ What did Jesus say right here in Mark 16:16? “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

Now let's just take the different parts of that and see if they're essential. Would you say belief is essential? Well that's what Jesus said too. But Jesus did not say ‘He who believes is saved.’ “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Did Jesus give two conditions that are essential to salvation in this verse? You bet He did! It it's kind of like this it's kind of like saying ‘he who eats and drinks will be satisfied.’ If I eat only, I'm not completely satisfied. If I drink only, I'm not completely satisfied. Both conditions are necessary to receive the desired result salvation is the end result. Christ said “You've got to believe and be baptized to be saved.”

I'll hear sometimes people say ‘Well Jesus didn't say at the end of that verse he who does not believe and is not baptized will be condemned.’ First let's remember what He did say. He did say “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” It would be utterly ridiculous for Jesus to say ‘He who believes, and oh yeah even though you don't believe, if you're not

baptized, you'll be condemned.’ If you don't believe, you're not even a candidate to be baptized. If you do believe, you do have real faith; naturally you're going to follow that up by obeying God's plan of salvation. So the emphasis here, the clear emphasis of Scripture, is that baptism saves one soul.

Why does the soul needs saving? From sin. The soul needs to be saved from the consequences of sin and every accountable adult has to face those. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. I contact the blood of Jesus and its soul saving power, Romans 6:3-4, when I obey God's plan of salvation which includes being baptized to be saved, Mark 16:16.

Now listen carefully there are a host of religious preachers, there are a host of commentaries, there a host of false ideas out there about baptism and a majority of those will say baptism doesn't save. Friend just remember what the Lord said. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” with the truth of these words we say this ‘let God be true and every man a liar,’ Romans 3:1-20.

And so, we think about the importance of baptism in the salvation of one's soul.

Secondly as we think about the purposes of baptism in the New Testament, we also realize that one of the purposes of baptism is it puts one into God's kingdom. It's how I become a part of God's kingdom, God's church, and the saved. Now let me illustrate from the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. If you've got your Bible handy, I want you look in John 3 at Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus here. Nicodemus comes to Jesus with a question. Here's what the Bible says verse 1 of John 3, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said ‘Rabbi we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said him, ‘Most assuredly I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said, ‘How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”

Now friend as we think about this passage and its purpose relative to becoming a part of God's kingdom, we want to ask first: What is the kingdom of God? What's Jesus talking about here? I've got to be born of water to get in the kingdom. What's the kingdom? Friend the kingdom is the church. The kingdom is the saved. The kingdom is the place of refuge for God's people which will ultimately be ushered to Heaven. How do we know that? Jesus spoke about the kingdom in Matthew 16:18-19. Jesus said to Peter who had just said ‘You're the Christ the Son of the living God.’ Jesus said, “Upon that rock I'll build my church, and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom.”

What's the kingdom? Kingdom's the church. It's the saved today. Remember Acts 2:47? “The Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved.” Now friend this is such a significant idea because to become a part of the Lord's kingdom, I've got to be born again. I'll assure you, you want to be a part of that kingdom. For the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:24 that “Christ is coming back and when He returns to the Father He will receive the kingdom unto the Father.” At the second coming of Christ those were taken to be with God are in the kingdom. Now listen again to John 3:5, “Unless,” that’s pretty strong language ‘except,’ ‘if and only if,’ the ‘only way’ is the idea. “Unless a man is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” You cannot get into God's kingdom, which is the church, which are those who are one day going to be with God in heaven, unless you're born of water.

Now Nicodemus was confused a lot like some are confused today. Some will say ‘Well that's natural birth.’ Some will say that means when you're born that happens. Nicodemus said, ‘What do you mean be born again? Lord you want me to go back up into my mother's womb and be born again when I'm an old man? That can't happen.’ Jesus explained, “Unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

We're born again by the word of God which the spirit inspired, 1 Peter 1:22 following. We're born again when we're buried with Christ in baptism, and we're raised to walk in newness of life, Romans 6:3-4.

Now a third purpose for baptism that we find in the New Testament is to get into Christ. Look at your Bible. Take your Bible and look with me in Galatians 3, and I want you to see what the Scripture says about baptism in verse number 27. Paul said, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” What's the purpose? What's one of the purposes of baptism? To get into Christ.

Now why is that so important? Well here's why, Ephesians 1 verse 3 says, “All spiritual blessings are ours in Christ.” So, every spiritual blessing: peace, love, joy, happiness all of God's blessings, they're in Christ, Ephesians 1:3. Now 2 Timothy 2:10 says this, “Salvation is in Christ.” I want you to think about this in your mind, imagine you've got a circle over here and this circle represents being in Christ. All spiritual blessings are here, salvation's here. I'm outside of Christ. How do I get into Christ where salvation is and where all spiritual blessings are? “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” You cannot have Christ, be in Christ, and obtain the blessings that Christ wants to give, without being baptized into Christ. The Bible teaches Romans 6:1-4 and Galatians 3:27 that the biblical way to get into Christ is through baptism.

A fourth purpose in the Scripture for baptism is to remove one sins or to have one sins washed away. Now listen carefully as we say baptism washes away sins reading from the Scripture, as we say baptism is for the remission of sins, we're not saying that there something mystical or magical in the water. It’s simply the answer of a good conscience, 1 Peter 1 and 1 Peter 3:20-21. But friend listen carefully, the Bible also teaches baptism is essential to have my sins washed away.

Now let's preface this by understanding the horrible consequences of having sin in one's life. “The soul who sins shall surely die,” Ezekiel 18:4. “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. “Sin separates a man from God,” Isaiah 59:1-2.

Friend if I can know when the moment in time occurs when sins are removed I can know when I'm saved. Two verses that I want to direct your attention to and both are in the book of Acts. I want you to look in Acts 2, and I want you to look at what the Bible says in verse 38. That's Acts chapter 2 the first gospel sermon is preached to those who killed their Savior. In Acts 2:38 the Bible says “After they asked ‘Men and brethren

what shall we do?’” The Scripture records, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,’ Notice now, ‘for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Why did Peter say repent and be baptized? For the remission of sins. Must one repent to have his sins washed away? Absolutely! Acts 3:19 “Repent and be converted that your sins might be blotted out.” Must one be baptized to have a sins washed away? Absolutely!

I'll often hear people say, as it relates to Acts 2:38, that that word ‘for’ there which the Greek word eis, literally means ‘because of.’ Friend you don't find that word being used that way 99% of the time in the New Testament, and we have an identical syntactical Greek corollary passage which helps us to understand that Greek syntax. Here's what we mean by that. If I can find a passage where that phrase ‘for the remission of sins’ is used in another place, and I can understand it, friend, I can understand it here as well. Let me illustrate from the Scriptures.

Matthew 26:28 Jesus, in instituting the Lord's supper, said “This is my blood of the new covenant shed for many,” listen now, “for the forgiveness of sin,” same as Acts 2:38. Now, question: does that word “for” in Matthew 26:28 me because of this is my blood shed for many because sins are already forgiven? Of course not! That's ludicrous to say the blood of Christ was given because men sins were already forgiven. Same Greek structure in Acts 2:38 one will say that means ‘because of.’ The good thing is I know I contact the blood of Jesus at the point of baptism, Romans 6:3-4. Baptism is for the remission of sins. When one is baptized in obedience to the gospel, his sins are remitted.

Now a second passage helps us to understand that and that's Acts 22, and I want to direct your attention to verse number 16. Now remembering the conversion of Saul, who we know now as Paul, in Acts 9 God told Saul ‘you go into the city and it will be told you what you must do.’ Here is what Paul had to do Acts 22:16 Ananias comes to Saul he says, ‘And now why are you waiting?’ listen now, ‘Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name the Lord.’ Why did Ananias tell Saul of Tarsus to be baptized? ‘To wash away your sins.’ Obedience to the gospel plan of salvation which culminates in baptism is for the removal and for the washing away of sins.

Again, we’re not saying there is something mystical or magical in the water. It's the answer of a good conscience. It’s when God tells me to do it and I obey God by doing what He says. Friend listen carefully, one cannot have their sins removed. The Bible does not say belief is where sins are removed, doesn't say repentance is where sins are removed; it says baptism is the point in time which sins when sins are removed. Are all those things essential leading up to that? Absolutely! But the Bible also says baptism is for the remission of sins. Saul had his sins washed away at the point of baptism in obeying God's plan of salvation.

Now let's mention another purpose that we find in the New Testament for baptism and that is to get into the Lord's church. I want to direct your attention to 1 Corinthians 12, and I want you to look with me in verse 13. That's 1 Corinthians 12. I'd like for you to look in Paul's words in verse 13. The Scripture says, “For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we've all been made to drink into one spirit.” How you get into the body? Now remember the body's the church, Ephesians 1:22-23. How do I get into the body, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? By one spirit, the spirit’s inspired word. We're all baptized into one body.

Now is it essential that I become a member of the church? “The Lord added to the church daily those who were saved,” Acts 2:47. It's the place of the saved and it is the group that is going back to God when the final day comes. Yes it's absolutely essential that I become a member of the Lord's church! I do that by obeying God's simple plan of salvation.

Now friend we mentioned it earlier, but we want to emphasize as well that baptism is part of the purpose of baptism, seen in Scripture, is to receive forgiveness of sin. Acts 2:38 again says Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” If there is ‘none righteous, no not one’ Romans 3:10, and if the Scripture says ‘all have sinned and the soul who sins shall die,’ Romans 3:23 and Ezekiel 18:4. I need forgiveness of sin. God is ready to forgive, Psalm 86:5. God is willing to remove all our iniquity. Hebrews 8:12-13 God said, “I'll be merciful to their sins their lawless deeds I'll remember no more.” God wants to save. God wants to forgive. He gave His Son as a sacrifice. He's made His plan available.

The Bible says we receive the forgiveness of sins when we obey God's plan of salvation culminating in baptism. You cannot argue with it. You can try and try all you want, but you cannot argue with the plain teaching of Acts 2:38. “Repent and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of sins.” If baptism is for the remission of sins, then friend let's believe what God says on that. Let's obey His teaching and let's submit to His will as God wants us to do.

Now we mention another purpose for baptism and it is simply baptism is to become. I become a new creature, and I get a second chance or in the words of Jesus ‘I'm born again.’ 2 Corinthians 5:17 says this ‘If anyone's in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all has become new.” In Christ the slate's been wiped clean. I get a second chance. I get a do over. I get to reboot and try again we might say. How do you get in Christ? Remember Romans 6:3-4? We're buried with Christ. We're baptized into His death, and we're raised to walk in newness of life. Galatians 3:27, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

What's the Christian like when he comes out of the waters of baptism? He's clean. He's whole. He's pure. He's innocent in the sight of God. He's been forgiven of every past sin. The slate has been wiped clean. He gets to do it all over again this time not living for self, not living for sin, and not living for the sensuality of this world. He's now living a life of service and sacrifice to God. Does that mean he's going to be perfect? That's not what we're saying. We all fall short and sin from time to time. We now have the blood of Christ, and we're trying to walk in the light and do what God wants us to do in this life.

As we think today about this first lesson in our series of purposes of baptism, friend we want to ask you to consider your own conversion. We want to ask you to think about your own baptism. When were you baptized? Did you understand what you were doing? Did you understand the purposes of it? Or maybe somebody taught you error about baptism, maybe you were taught baptism was it wasn't essential to salvation, maybe are taught that a host of people are taught this maybe you were taught ‘well I was saved two weeks ago and in two weeks later I'm baptized, to as a sign of an outward confession to be added to whatever religious group.’ Is that what we see in the Bible? We want you to know today that God loves

you, that we love your eternal soul that our motivation in clearly teaching what God says on this subject is for the salvation of people from sin.

If you've been taught error on this subject and you've been taught the purpose of baptism that you don't find in the Bible, then friend all we're asking of you is to get your Bible out, to study these things that to read the Scriptures for yourself to see if these things are true, and if this is what the Bible says. If this is what Scripture teaches, then friend we're pleading with you obey God. Do what God says on this subject.

Now in line with the teaching on baptism, let's also teach those things that precede baptism. To be immersed into Christ for the remission of sins, one's got to hear the message. You can't be saved without hearing about Jesus. “How shall they hear unless someone preaches the gospel?” Romans 10:13-17. You’ve got to hear the word of God ‘For true faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God,’ Romans 10:17. Having heard about Christ, His life, His service, His death, His sacrifice, His resurrection to the right hand of the Father, having heard that, I've got to make a commitment to it. Jesus said in John 8:24, “Unless you believe that I'm He you'll surely die in your sins.” Having believed in Christ, I must be willing to repent. Repentance precedes baptism. Repentance means I've got a turn from sin and turn to God. Luke 13:3 Jesus said, “Unless you repent you'll likewise perish.” I must also make the good confession. Acts 8:36 following Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” I believe Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God.

Having done those things friend we ask you today, have you been baptized for the right reasons with the teaching of the Scripture? Remember Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Do you know the truth? Do you understand it? Have you obeyed it? And are you free from sin free to serve God and give your life to Him each and every day?

Study Questions for: “Baptism Lesson 3: Purpose 1”

1. According to Mark 16:16, who will be saved?

2. Who will be condemned according to Mark 16:16?

3. According to Mark 16:16, must you believe to be baptized?

4. Who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God according to Romans 3:23?

5. According to Romans 6:23, what are the wages of sin?

6. What must a man be born of to enter the Kingdom of Heaven according to John 3:1 following?

7. According to Acts 2:47, who are added to the church?

8. What does Matthew 16:18-19 tell us about the Kingdom?

9. According to 1 Corinthians 15:24, what will Christ receive when He returns to the Father?

10. What must a man do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven according to John 3:5?

By inspiration of the Holy Spirit the apostle Peter said “Baptism does now also save us,” 1 Peter 3:21.

We welcome you to our second study on the purposes in this series on the purposes of baptism.

What's the purpose of baptism in the Bible? Why should one be baptized? There are a host of people who say baptism is not essential and not important. But today we're asking: What does the word of God say on the purposes of baptism in the New Testament?

One of the clear purposes of baptism that we find in the Scripture is simply to obey God. I want to please God. I want to obey Him, and Jesus demands our obedience. Do you remember Matthew 7:21? Jesus said, “It's not everybody who pays lip service but those who do the will of the Father who are going to be saved.”

I want to direct your attention in this series of lessons, as we're thinking about the purposes of baptism; we want to encourage you to get your Bible. Have it ready to look at these verses with us so that you can read it in your own Bible and see for yourself this is what God teaches on this subject.

Would you get your Bible and look with me in Acts 10:48? A purpose of baptism that we find in the words of Peter here is to simply obey God.

Verse number 47 Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Now watch verse 48, “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord then they asked them to stay a few days.”

If baptism is a command of God, can I forsake, can I a reject a command of God and be pleasing to Him? Of course not!

Jesus said, “If you love me,” What? “Keep my commandments,” John 14:15. Luke 7:28-29 certain Jewish elite who rejected baptism also rejected the will of God for themselves. If Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him and if baptism is a clear command of God, then friend one of the purposes is to obey God's commands, to be pleasing to Him, and to honor Him with my life and with yours.

Another purpose that we find in the New Testament for baptism is it's central to the Lord's great commission to His disciples. In Mark 16:15-16 Jesus said “Go into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature.” Matthew 28:18, “Go unto all nations with the gospel,” Jesus said. What did Jesus say next? “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.” So the great commission is God wants all people to hear about Jesus, hear about God's love, and have salvation. What a loving merciful God we serve! “God wants all men to be saved,” 1 Timothy 2:4. “God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son,” that's the power of the great commission and everybody needs that chance to hear it.

Tied directly to the great commission, to go teach the gospel is to teach them how to be saved. It's part of God's great commission in that it is the essence of God's plan of salvation in Christ. How does one get in Christ? How do we have our sins washed away? When I heard about Jesus what do I do to get into Him? “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

Now friend we mention then another purpose of baptism in the New Testament that is when I obey the gospel, I become a part of the spiritual family of God, the spiritual family of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Remember Matthew 28:18? “Go into all the world teach the gospel to every creature, teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I'm commanded

you or all things commanded you.” And so, when I'm baptized, I'm baptized into the name, the power, the authority, and into the family of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God becomes my Father, Galatians 4:1. I can look up to heaven and say “Our Father who art in Heaven,” Matthew 6:9. Jesus our Savior is the one who made the great sacrifice in, and we have the Holy Spirit of truth whose words we follow in this life.

What a wonderful privilege I have to become a part of the family of Almighty God and have all the blessings and privileges that go along with that!

We also mention that in the New Testament we find part of the purpose of baptism is simply to become a disciple or follower of Christ. Do you remember the words again in John 8:31-32? Jesus said, “If you continue in my word you are my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” How do I continue in the word of Christ and become a disciple of His? “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19. ‘Those who gladly received His word were baptized.’ Acts 2:42-47 says “The Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved.”

How do I become a follower of Christ? By doing what Christ says which includes obeying God's plan of salvation as seen in the New Testament.

We also want to mention that baptism is the point which my faith actually becomes active, and I have a saving faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “By grace are we saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God.” Don't get me wrong, we understand without the grace of God salvation isn't even available. ‘By grace are you saved.’ God's grace, His mercy, His favor is what made salvation available. ‘By grace are you saved through faith.’ My faith becomes active when I do what God says to obey the gospel and that includes becoming immersed in Christ for the remission of my sins. “He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” If I hear the words, listen carefully, if I hear the words of Jesus in Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” and I do nothing, do I have an active saving faith? If I hear the words of 1 Peter 3:21 “Baptism does now also save us,” and I say ‘You know baptism doesn't save. It's not that important,’ Scripture says it does. Do I have an active saving faith? When I

obey God's plan of salvation that's the point at which my faith becomes effective and active. It is a faith that will glorify and honor God all the days of my life and will bring ultimately the joy and hope that God wants me to have in this life.

Now let's mention this as well, baptism is how we express our faith. It is an expression of faith motivated by faith. Our faith is embodied in Christ, His death, and His resurrection. Listen to Acts 18:8 “Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized.” Do I believe in Christ? Sure I do! Does that belief motivate me by my faith? Absolutely! Our faith motivates us to actually do something which includes obedience to the gospel of Christ. It's how we show, it's how we act upon that belief in obedience to the Lord and His teaching in the New Testament. So faith in action one believes in Jesus. That faith is put into action and that action that faith of action demands that we obey God's plan of salvation including the teaching on baptism.

In the Bible another purpose that we find for baptism is it is an act of submission to the will of God. I want to direct your attention to Luke 7, and I want you look in verses 29 and 30 with me. This is probably one of the more overlooked verses in the Bible about baptism, and I want you to look in Luke chapter 7 look in verse 29 with me. The Bible says “And when all the people heard Him, heard Jesus, even the tax collectors justified God having been baptized with the baptism of John,” now notice this, “but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves not having been baptized by him.” Listen carefully; a failure to obey God's teaching on baptism is an out and out rejection of God himself. That being true when I submit to baptism, I am submitting to God. I am submitting to the authority of Christ, and I am submitting to the Father of our souls who will ultimately determine our destiny based on the gospel teaching of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Also a purpose of baptism is we express repentance to God when we follow through with God's to commands to be baptized. It's no little incidental idea that repentance and baptism are directly tied together. Remember Acts 2:38? “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” I repent, and then I'm baptized. If I truly repent, if I truly say to God ‘I'm going to turn from sin. I'm sorrowful for my sin. I'm going to turn from it. I'm going to live my life for you.’ What's naturally the next thing to follow? Expressing that repentance by obeying God's plan of salvation, following that up by

being immersed in water for the remission of sins to commit myself to Jesus Christ each and every day.

Now I understand that repentance is prior to baptism, and it's also essential. Luke 3:6 John said to certain Jewish elite who came out “You brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.” If a person’s not willing to repent, he's not ready be baptized. Once we do repent, we must follow that up by submitting to God's plan of salvation in baptism into our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that we can have the hope and joy of salvation.

Now let's also mention that another purpose of baptism, when we're baptized this is how we gladly receive God's word into our lives. It’s not this lip service. Baptism is not just lip service. It is not just saying ‘You know I want to pay lip service to Christ, and I'm going to do this because I go out and say that.’ No, when we obey God's plan of salvation we gladly received His word into our life and we're ready live for Him. How do we know that? Look in your Bible if you would to Acts 2, and I want you to notice what the Scripture says in verse 41. Now the context is they've just heard they killed their Messiah. They are now ready to obey God's plan of salvation. “Men and brethren what shall we do?” The answer is, “Repent and be baptized.” Now those who did that what’d they do? Look in Acts 2:41. “Then those who gladly received His word were baptized and that day about 3000 souls were added to them.”

You know sometimes I hear people talk as though baptism is an ugly thing and the teaching about baptism in the Scripture. They demean the idea that you know it's for the forgiveness of sin. These people here who heard Peter's words “Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins,” when they obeyed God's plan of salvation, they gladly received that. What's that mean? There's a way of salvation. There's a way we can overcome sin. There’s joy. There’s hope. There’s peace. There’s forgiveness. They gladly received that word, and they were baptized.

Friend those today who are looking to please God and not men, they gladly received God's word about baptism. They don't just pay lip service. They really appreciate and understand the joy of becoming a child of God.

Another purpose for baptism in the New Testament is it's the proper response to hearing the good news about the kingdom of Jesus Christ. I want you to turn in your Bible just a few more pages to Acts 8. I want you to look in verse 12. The Bible says ‘But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” When we hear about the kingdom, which is the church, when we hear that there is a Savior ‘His name is Jesus. He'll save His people from their sins,’ Matthew 1 verse 19 to 21, when we hear the power of the gospel, that Jesus saves, that God wants all men to be saved, that you can come to know Him, receive forgiveness of sins, and that you can be a child of God, and have the hope of heaven, when I hear that and when I hear about the church and Christ being the head of there being one body and that church being God saved today, what's the proper response to hearing about Christ and His kingdom? Listen again to Acts 8:12. “As he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ both men and women were baptized.” If I'm going to respond properly to God's message about His Son and His kingdom and His salvation, I need to respond in submission to the will of God and the teaching of Christ our Lord and Savior.

Friend another very important purpose of baptism that we find in the New Testament that is often so overlooked is this baptism it’s how you call on the name of the Lord. Now let me preface this with some of the false teaching that we sometimes find today. Sometimes I'll hear people say that all you got to do to be saved is call on the name the Lord. By that they mean this, they mean all you've got to do is say ‘Jesus I accept you as my Lord and Savior, and I ask you to now come in my life,’ in essence to say the sinners prayer.

Don't get me wrong the Bible says in Acts 2:21 “Whoever calls on the name of the lord will be saved.” But friend wouldn't we be best to let God tell us what it means to call on the name of the Lord? Does calling on the name of the Lord just mean looking up into Heaven and saying the name of Jesus? I know it doesn't mean that! For Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 “Not everybody who looks up into Heaven and says Lord Lord's going there but he who does the will of the Father.” Does calling on the name the Lord mean saying some scripted prayer, a sinner’s prayer, maybe Billy Graham started? You don't find that in the Bible. Let's let the Bible teach us what it means to call on the name of the Lord correctly.

Would you look in your Bible in Acts 22:16? I want you to see from the Scriptures that being baptized into Christ for the remission of sins is how you call on the name of the Lord scripturally. Acts 22 at the conversion of Saul, Ananias now comes to him and here's what he says to Saul, “And now why are you waiting? ‘Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins,” watch this now, “calling on the name the Lord.” What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? Ananias told Saul exactly what it meant. ‘Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins having called on the name of the Lord.’ It's very simple my friend. When God makes a plan of salvation, when God provided the blood of Jesus, when forgiveness of sin is offered, and God sets the terms of pardon, then I call on the name correctly by saying ‘Lord I need saving.’ God says ‘Here's what I've got for you to be saved,’ and I get up and do that. I've called on the name of the Lord correctly when I obey God's plan of salvation which includes baptism to have one sins washed away. Don't buy into the idea that some are saying ‘just say the name Jesus and you're saved.’ Don't buy into the idea of the sinner's prayer that you don't even find anywhere in Scripture like some are saying today. Call on the name of the Lord according to the Scripture, letting the Bible define its own terms means that we obey God concerning baptism, and have our sins washed away just like Saul did in Acts chapter 22:16.

Friend a very clear and powerful teaching that we find on baptism in the Scripture is that baptism is how one accesses the death of Christ. Now let me ask you this: Can you be saved without the death of Jesus? Without the blood of Christ is there forgiveness? Absolutely not! Jesus said, “This is my blood of the new Covenant shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Now if it's true that we must have the death and the blood of Jesus, when do I contact Jesus death and blood? When it is that's when I can know I'm saved right? Look in your Bible and let's see Romans 6. I want to direct your attention to verse 1 through 4. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were,” watch this, “as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The death of Christ, the blood of Christ saves there's no doubt about that. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin, Hebrews 9:22. When does the word of God say I access the death and the blood of Jesus? Romans 6:2-4, “We're baptized into His death; we're buried with Him into the sacrifice Christ made.”

Listen carefully if the Bible teaches at the point of baptism I access the soul saving blood of Jesus and His death, then baptism is not an insignificant matter. Baptism is not a nonessential. Baptism isn't just the outward sign of inward grace. Baptism is essential to reaching the death of Jesus which everyone believes is for the salvation of our soul.

Let's also realize that baptism, the listen carefully now and I don't want you miss this point, I hear so many people say baptism is not essential, baptism doesn't save, you don't have to be baptized to go to heaven, and I even hear sometimes people say baptism does not save. And sometimes people say ‘Well you know we heard what you said in all of this, but you know the Bible never says baptism saves.’

Did you know that God explicitly says baptism saves? Now don't misunderstand what we're saying. If God says in the Bible baptism saves, and He does, how dare we say baptism is not essential. Let me show you from your own copy of the Bible. Would you look in 1 Peter 3:21? That's 1 Peter chapter 3. I want you to look in verse 21 with me. The Bible says, “There is also an anti-type,” don't miss this, “which now saves us baptism not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Now look at it again. Does that verse say baptism now saves us? Well in clear explicit language it says exactly that.

Friend if that's true, then every person who teaches baptism doesn't save, every person who teaches baptism isn't essential is teaching something contrary to the Scriptures.

Second question: If God wanted to make it any clearer that a person has to be baptized to go to Heaven, could He do it any clearer than 1 Peter 3:21? “Baptism does now also save us.”

If God says baptism saves, how dare any person in direct contradiction to the word of God say that it doesn't save.

Friend we want to make sure that it we also realize that from this verse, baptism is how you answer with a good conscience. The Bible says again in 1 Peter 3:21 “Baptism does now also save us, not the washing away the filth the flesh, not as we were cleaning sin off our body.” What is baptism? The answer of a good conscience. What's part of the purpose of baptism? It's how I answer with a good conscience. What's the conscience? A conscience is just simply an echo of the knowledge we provided. If I read the Bible and I see that the Scripture says baptism saves, I answer with a good conscience by obeying the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Friend as we think today about these purposes of baptism, I know some of these things we've taught today may be different, maybe you've never heard some of these verses, maybe the things you were taught are different than what you've heard today. Our challenge is simply this; all we ask of you is for you to get your own copy the Bible just as we've looked at it today in our own Bibles. We just ask you to take what you've heard today your own copy of the Bible, read those verses, study those teachings, and friend if those things are true, obey them because God said so.

Maybe it's different. Maybe you didn't understand that maybe you didn't know what the Bible taught about this friend if that's the case, then you need to be baptized correctly for the remission of your sins so that you can have that hope and joy of living with God forever.

Do you understand God's plan of salvation today? Do you realize there is a Savior, His name is Jesus, and He can save His people from their sins? Matthew 1 verses 19 to 21. Do you realize He lived that perfect life? Hebrews 4:15. He gave His life as a sacrifice for sin on the cross and died there on a cruel death, so that I can have the hope of Heaven. 1 Peter 2:24.

Are you willing to really believe in Him as the Lord and the Savior? Acts 8:36-38. Would you change your life, turn to God, turn from sin and turn to God? Acts 3:19. Would you make that good confession before men? Matthew 10:32-33. Friend, would you be baptized to be saved for the remission of sins and to obey God? 1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16, and Acts

10:48. If you've never done that, friend we want you to know God loves you. We love you. More than anything we want you to obey God and ultimately go to that beautiful place called Heaven.

Study Questions for: “Baptism Lesson 4: Purpose 2”

1.1 Peter 3:21 “_______________ does now also save us.”

2. According to Matthew 7:21, who will be saved?

3. What were they commanded to do in Act 10:48?

4. If we love Jesus, what will we do according to John 14:15?

5. What does Matthew 28:18 tell us to do?

6. According to 1 Timothy 2:4, who does God desire to be saved?

7. According to John 8:31-32, what must we continue in to be disciples of Jesus?

8. Who were added to the church in Acts 2:42-47?

9. How did the Pharisees and lawyers reject the will of God in Luke 7:29-30?

10. According to Acts 8:12, what’s the proper response to hearing the good news?

In Acts 11:26 the Bible says, “They were called Christians first in Antioch.”

Why are there so many Christians in the world today? And more importantly, why should you become a Christian?

Stay tuned as we let God's word answer the question: Why am I a Christian?

Why should someone become a child of God? Why be a Christian? What is it that that motivates and encourages one to want to be a child of God? As we think about this today if you're already a Christian, we want to ask why are you a child of God?

There are some answers that might be given to that would be incorrect to this question. For example, someone might be a Christian because of family pressure. Jesus said in Matthew 10:37, “He who does not love me more than father or mother is not worthy of me.” Maybe someone was pressured by family, or a husband, or a wife, or parents to become a Christian. Friend I can't obey the gospel, become a Christian because somebody else pressured me to do something I wasn't quite ready to do.

Some may have become a Christian because it was the popular thing to do. But Jesus clearly taught that there are many who go down the wrong way but there are few who choose the right path. Did you do it just because it was popular thing to do? Or did you do it because you wanted to become a child of God? Some may have become a Christian simply because it feels right; and while feeling may be involved, we want to combine feeling and truth, John 4:23-24. Apart from a good fuzzy feeling, did you really know the truth? John 8:32

Today we want to offer some reasons as to why a person should become a Christian with the impact hopefully of encouraging, if you're not a child of God, encouraging you today to become a Christian. If you are Christian, encouraging you, motivating you, to greater service in the Lord's army.

Why am I a Christian? Friend, I'm a Christian because I'm convinced from the Scripture it is the Right Way. Christianity is the only right way. Being a Christian means that we recognize it is the exclusive way to get to God. Not through Buddha, not through Hindu, not through Judaism, not through all the world religions today, Jesus said the one and only way to the Father was through Him. Do you remember John 14:6? Jesus said, “I am the way,” listen to the exclusive nature of that, “I am the way, the truth, and the life no man comes to the Father except by me.” Friend there are not a hundred and one ways, there are not 20 ways, there are not two ways, there's one way. Christianity is the only right way to God, the only way. Acts 4:12 Peter proclaimed, “Nor is there salvation in any other for there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Friend a person needs to be a child of God, because if you want to go to heaven it is the one and only way by which you can get there.

But when we think about Christianity as the right way, let me illustrate some of the ways in which it is right. Christianity is right in its origin, in its beginning, in its founding. Who originated Christianity? Well God did. From the beginning God had planned that salvation would be through His Son. Genesis 3:15, “The seed of woman would crush the head of Satan.” Jesus comes on the scene being born of a virgin, Matthew 1:19-21. And to Christians Paul said in Romans 16:20 that “God would crush Satan under

their feet shortly.” It is of the right origin. Isaiah 62:1-2 God said, “My people, when my people are called by a new name the Gentiles will see my righteousness.” Acts 11:26, for the very first time they were called Christians, after Cornelius, a known Gentile, obeyed the gospel. And so, it's right in its origin.

Christianity is right in its destiny. That is Christians are destined to go to Heaven. Now does that mean you can't fall away? That's not what we're saying, but if someone lives faithful the end result of the Christian life will be the reward of Heaven. 1 John 2:25 says to Christians, this is the promise He's promised us, eternal life. “I am the way, the truth, and the life no man gets to the Father except by Me.” The idea is if we go through Him, we can get to the Father. It's right in its destiny, and Christianity is right in its purpose.

What are we here for? What's the Christian life all about? Are we here to serve ourselves? Are we here to live it up? Course not! The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12 verses 13 and 14, “Let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter fear God, keep His commandments this is the whole duty of man.” Our purpose is to love God and to love others, to live a selfless life, and to strive to do good just as Jesus did.

Why be a Christian? Friend listen carefully, it is the only right way to get to God. There are no other alternatives. There are no other side roads. There are no other paths. Jesus is ‘the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by Him.’

Why else should one become a Christian? I'm a Christian because of God's amazing love for me. No one's ever loved you like the God of heaven loves you. Jeremiah 31:3 God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” From before time, God loved mankind. God is love, 1 John 4:8. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “God cares for you.” Why am I motivated be a child of God? Because of God's amazing love for me and for you on an individual level.

Well someone says, ‘Okay I understand people talk about that. I hear that, how do I know God loves me?’ God's love is evidenced in the sacrifice of His Son. How do I know God loves me? “God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus went to the cross to bear my sins

and yours. He bore our sins in His own body upon the tree, 1 Peter 2:24. I can know God loves me more than I can begin to imagine, because He sacrificed His Son. I know God loves me and that's evidenced that's demonstrated in the forgiveness of sins. Jesus said, “This is my blood of the new covenant shed for many for the remission of sins.” When Peter proclaimed, ‘Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins,’ that sacrifice had become available. “God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities,” Psalm 103:10.

I know God loves me, and He loves you and that's evidenced by His providential care of each one of us. Do you remember the words of Psalm 37:25? David said, “I've been young and now I'm old, yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.” Does God take care of His own? You bet He does! That's proof positive of His love. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be given unto you.” It is this this love, the amazing love of God, for me that motivates us to want to live faithful to the Savior. I'm compelled. Paul said, “I motivated by the love of Christ to live every day for Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:14. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” What made Paul live the life of faithfulness that he lived? What made Peter, what made James, what made John face the difficulties that they did and still triumph? God. His amazing love motivated them every day to serve Him.

Friend that's what motivates us that God loves me and He loves you so much. And He's been so giving, and so kind, and so caring to each and every one of us.

Thirdly we're motivated to become Christians because of the power of Christianity. When we talk about being a Christian you're talking about being a part of the most powerful group of people in all the world. Now what do I mean by power? Am I talking about physical might and strength and ability to overcome in that sense? No. We have spiritual power. I have as a child of God these powers. Number one I have the power to overcome the world. James said in James 4:4, “Adulteresses and adulterers and adulteresses do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore desires to be a friend of the world makes himself

God's enemy.” The one who's tied up in the world, he's on the opposite side of God. Yet as a Christian, I can overcome the world. 1 John 5:4 the Bible says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” This is the victory we have even our faith, 1 John 4:4. Jesus said, “You can overcome don't be afraid, you can overcome because I've overcome,” John 16:33. I have the power in this life to overcome this old world which is one day going to be burned up and destroyed, 1 John 2:15-17.

Secondly as a Christian I have the power to overcome sin. Now friend this is something we've all got to understand, “There is none righteous no not one,” Romans 3:10. “All have sinned fallen short of the glory of God,” Romans 6:23. That sin leads to death, “The soul, who sins shall surely die,” Ezekiel 18:4. But the good news is, through Christ I have the power to overcome sin! Can you imagine when they heard for the very first time “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” You mean that sins can be absolutely removed and taken away? Not rolled forward, not based on the blood of bulls and goats which could never take away sin, Hebrews 10:3-4, but through Christ our Messiah, sins can be wiped away. That was the Clarion message that Peter preached. Saul heard it, Saul of Tarsus. Acts 22:16, Ananias came to Saul and he said ‘Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized!’ and listen this, ‘wash away your sins calling on the name the Lord.’ I have the power by obedience to the gospel and contacting the blood of Jesus in baptism, Romans 6:1-4, to access forgiveness and overcome the power of sin.

As a child of God, I also have the power to overcome Satan, the greatest enemy that that ‘roaring lion that active militant aggressive enemy,’ Job 1. That one who desires to have us, Luke 22:31. The murderer and a liar from the beginning, the Bible says I can overcome him. Listen to Hebrews 2:14 the Bible says, “Jesus He through death overcame him who had the power of death and released those who all their lifetime were subject to bondage.” On the cross, what did Jesus do? Jesus overcame Satan and death. The Bible says in Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” Can I overcome Satan through Christ? Absolutely! I can defeat the greatest enemy.

But you know there's another idea. I hope you'll listen real carefully to this, why am I a Christian? I'm a Christian because of the power of Christianity. That power means that I can overcome death.

Ponce de Leon is known in history and mythology for searching for the fountain of youth. He wanted to find this pool, alleged pool, that if a man would bathe in it he could live forever. There is no fountain of youth in some water pool somewhere in the world. But did you know Christianity promises the power to overcome death? Ponce de Leon had to look no further than the word of God to learn that. The Bible says in John 11:24-25 Jesus speaking about the resurrection after raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said “I am the resurrection and life,” listen to this, “he who dies he believes in me and dies,” Jesus said, “will never really die.” Do you want to overcome death? That can only be done through Christ. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, ‘Yes’ says the spirit ‘that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.’” 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 clearly teaches that that death has been defeated. ‘Oh death where is your sting? Oh Hades where is your strength?’ The strength of sin is death. The strength of the law and it goes on to mention all that there, but Christ has overcome them. Death and sin and the Hadean realm has been defeated through Christ.

How do you overcome death? How do you live forever? Matthew 25:46 Jesus said, “The righteous will go away into everlasting or eternal life.” Why am I a Christian? Because of the power of Christianity!

I'm a Christian because of eternity. Let's realize that eternity is real. I may not understand every facet and idea of eternity, but Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that ‘God has put eternity in our hearts.’ I have the idea to understand to some extent that when this life ends, there is going to be a land of forever where there will be no end and time will not exist. Hebrews 9:14 teaches us that we have the eternal spirit of God in that we know that God's eternal. Jesus said in John 17:3 “Restore to me that which we had from eternity.” Thus, the idea of eternal life is something that we recognize to be true according to the Scriptures.

I'm a Christian not only though because I believe eternity is real, but because I know about the two options. I want more than anything to go to Heaven. Jesus said in John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled. Yes, I'm about to leave but don't get discouraged you believe in God believe also in me, and if you believe in me believe also in God. In my Father's house are

many mansions. Were it not so, I would've told you.” Then He said this, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also.”

Don't you want to live in that place? No more sorrow, no more sin, no more death, no more crying, all the former things have passed away. Paul looked at it this way he said Romans 8:18, “I consider that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Why become a Christian? Because of eternity and because of the promise of Heaven in eternity.

Also realize this, I want to be a Christian because of eternity. I realize there is an another option on the other side that's not heaven. I realize that hell is a real place. Jesus said in Mark 9:44 that “Hell is a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Can you imagine a place where there's a continual worm maggot as it were eating on your flesh, and nobody ever turns down the fire? What a horrible place that would be! Revelation 20:12-15 it is described as a “Place of eternal torment.” Matthew 25, “Great weeping and gnashing of teeth.” You remember the vivid story of Luke 16:19-31 where the rich man went to torment. And in that place, he wanted just one drop of water. ‘Give me just one drop of water to put on my tongue. I'm tormented in these flames.’ Can you imagine living in a place like that with no end forever? Time doesn't exist. No way out.

I'm a Christian because of eternity. I realize the two options: either heaven with God or hell with the devil.

Surely in view of that one would want to become a child of God.

Why else should one become a Christian? I'm a Christian, because I also fell in love with the teaching of the Bible. I fell in love with the author of the Bible itself. God is a God of love. “God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” I fell in love with the beautiful style that it is written in, the message of love that God sends about His Son to the world, and no doubt you fell in love with the Bible in that it is from God and the ending pictures Christians as being victorious. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Bible, it's God's power to save, Romans 1:16. If I receive with meekness the

implanted word it's able to save my soul, James 1:21.

The Bible is so wonderful, because it contains everything we need for life and godliness. I don't need anything else to get to Heaven except the Bible, 2 Peter 1:3. And the Bible is something you can fall in love with, because you can know it's from God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God,” listen to this, “may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is all truth, John 16:13. It has the power to set you free. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

Friend I'm also a Christian because of the immense joy being a Christian brings to my life. I don't have to worry about tomorrow. Jesus said, ‘Don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself,’ Matthew 6:34. ‘Sufficient for the day is the trouble therein,’ Proverbs 27:1. As a Christian, I can put my trust and joy in Christ. This is why Paul would say, “Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice,” Philippians 4:4. This is why Paul and Silas in a deep, dark dungeon were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them, Acts 16:25. This is why in the Beatitudes, Jesus will over and over again say, “Blessed.” “Blessed is he who is happy. Blessed is he who mourns. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” That's divine happiness given upon God's children.

I see the great joy being a Christian in the peace that I have as a child of God. The Bible teaches, “We have peace that surpasses all understanding.” Think about that. I can't even begin to understand the peace that Christians can have. In the times of great crisis, in times of great loss, in time of great struggle, we can have peace that isn't even understandable because of who Christ is and what He’s done for us.

Let me mention one of the major reasons that I'm a Christian and that most people in this world are Christians. I'm a Christian simply because of Christ, because of the life that He lived. Think about Mark 7:37. “He has done all things well.” What do you mean done all things well? He went about doing good, healing the sick, feeding the poor, helping those who are in need, making the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and He lived the perfect life. ‘He was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin.’

I’m a Christian because of that that life that exemplary life that Jesus lived. I'm a Christian because of Christ's teaching. “Love your neighbor as yourself. Do good unto all men.” The Bible clearly teaches that we ought to be the kind of people who exhibit the love.

You want to solve a host of the world's problems? Whatever it may be, friend I'll assure you Christ has the answer to that. We're to love our enemies. That solves a whole bunch of problems right there. We're to love one another. That solves a whole another host of problems. We're to feed the hungry and take care of the poor. Look at the good that would do in our world today! Look at the teaching of Christ! ‘No man has ever spoken like this man,’ that's what the critics of Jesus said.

I'm a Christian because of Christ's death on the cross. He was willing to be beaten. Now you think about this, Jesus was willing because He loved me and you, to be mocked, to be beaten, to have stripes laid on His back over and over again, to be to be one who was hit in the face, have that crown of thorns placed on His head, and ultimately Jesus was willing for His hands and feet to be nailed to a cruel Roman cross. That cross to be suspended between Heaven and earth, and there to hang struggling for every breath until He said these words, “It is finished.” Why did He do that? Me and you. Because He loves us that much.

Friend I'm a Christian because of the promises that Christ makes to me as His child that He'll never leave me nor forsake me, Hebrews 13:6, that if I remain faithful unto death I can receive the crown of life 1 John 2:25, that He is going to prepare a place for me, and that He will come again, and receive me to Himself John 14:1-6, and that on that great day those who have fallen asleep in Christ and those who are alive can be caught up in the air with Christ to ever live with Him.

And so we come full circle. And we ask you the very important question again: Are you a Christian? If you're not a Christian, friend we're urging you we're begging you today in view of these principles, won't you become a child of God?

Maybe you've heard the message about Jesus Romans 10:10 Romans 10:17, maybe you believe that Jesus is God's Son John 8:24, and that belief maybe it'll motivate you to turn from sin and change your life, Acts 3:19. Would you confess Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life? Matthew 10:32-33

Would you do what Jesus said to get into the kingdom? “Unless a man is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” John 3:5.

If as a Christian maybe your zeal and in your faithfulness to the Lord is not what it needs to be, friend we hope today that whatever the case your status is that you will be encourage based on the love of Christ to live faithful to God every day and ultimately go to Heaven.

Study Questions for: “Motivational Lesson 10”

1. Where were they called Christians first according to Acts11:26?

2. Who should we love Jesus more than according to Matthew 10:37?

3. According to John 14:6, how do you get to God?

4. What’s our purpose in life according to Ecclesiastes 12:13-14?

5. What kind of love does God have for us according to Jeremiah 31:3?

6. According to 1 John 4:8, what is God?

7. Who cares for us according to 1 Peter 5:7?

8. According to Psalm 37:25, what had David never seen?

9. What does it say about being a friend of the world in James 4:4?

10. Where do the righteous go according to Matthew 25:46?

It's evident from Ephesians 5:25 that Jesus loved the church deeply. The Bible tells husbands “love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.”

Today we're going to think about the love that each person ought to have for the Lord's church, what makes that love so strong, and how do we show that love for the church in each one of our lives.

We hope that you've got your Bible and that you'll be ready to study the Scriptures with us on this wonderful subject.

What exactly does it mean to love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and why do we love the church?

As we think today about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and every Christian having that love for the church, let's realize that Jesus Himself loved the church deeply. Acts 20:28 the Bible says ‘Jesus purchased the church with His own blood.’ How much did Christ love the church? Enough that He gave His life. He gave up His life on Calvary to buy the church and to save the Lord's church. In view of that and as we think about the great love that Christ has for the church, we ask a very practical question today. Why should Christians today love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ?

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Sometimes we hear people talk about the church, and it's not talked about in a very good light. You know it's as though they have to go to church, as though they have to work in the church, or as though the church is really not that important. The Bible teaches that the church is important and that it every Christian ought to love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ deeply.

Now let's notice why. First and foremost, we ought to love the church because the church belongs to Christ and to Him only, He is the sole owner of His church, and if we're a member of the church that means we belong to Christ with all the blessings and privileges that go along with that.

1 Corinthians 3:11 the Scripture says this “No other foundation can any man lay except that which is laid which is Jesus Christ.” He's the foundation of the church. Jesus said ‘I will build my church.’ It belongs to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Him only.

It doesn't carry a denominational name- the Bible teaches that's contrary to the will of God. We're not a part. If we're a member of the Lord's church, we're not a part of some denomination. We're a part of the one body of Jesus Christ. Paul addressed the subject of denominationalism in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 when he said “It's been reported concerning you my brethren by those of Chloe's household that there are contentions among you.” He says, “Each of you says ‘I'm of Paul or I'm of Apollos or I'm of Cephas or I'm of Christ.’” Paul said, “Let there be no divisions among you.” Why do we love the church? Because it is the divine institution divine organism that Jesus Christ built and that it belongs to Him and Him only.

If we're a part of that church, then friend that means we belong to Christ and belong to Christ comes with all the privileges and blessings that go along with that. We have access to God the Father in prayer, Matthew 6:9. We have forgiveness, Acts 2:38. We have the privilege of being a family of God, Ephesians 2:16. Ultimately if we're a member of Christ church and we belong to Him, one day He's going to come to receive His own take us back to the Father-1 Corinthians 15:24.

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Secondly as we think about why Christians should love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ought to love the church because Jesus paid the best sacrifice and the greatest sacrifice ever to establish her. Listen again to the words of Paul in Acts 20:28. Paul is talking to the elders at Ephesus and to these men who are leaders in the congregation there the elders Paul says “Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Christ purchased the church with His powerful blood. When Jesus was, you think about this, when Jesus went through the agony and suffering that He faced, when people mocked Him, when they laughed at Him, when they spit in the face of Jesus, when they placed that crown of thorns on His head and took that rod and beat Him on the head, when Jesus was taken and beaten with that whip- why did He do all that? He purchased the church to buy back to God the saved who would obey His gospel.

Does that not stress to each one of us how important the church is to God? If the church is made up of the saved, 1 Corinthians 12:27, then that expresses how important we are to God. God wants all men to be saved, 1 Timothy 2:4. “God is not slow concerning His promises as some men count slowness but is long-suffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” If Christ purchased the church with His own blood and if the blood of Christ means anything to us, then friend the church is going to be very important to every person who loves God and the great sacrifice He made.

Thirdly we love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ because it is the place of the saved. Now you think about this imagine that you know there's some kind of catastrophe coming, imagine there's some kind of destruction that is headed our way. Imagine it this way. Let's say that you're out in the yard and you hear a tornado siren and that tornado siren gives the warning that a tornado a destructive force is headed right towards you and you've got a basement or you've got a cellar that you can get into- aren't you glad you've got that place? That place you shut the door the tornado comes over and you're not damaged at all. Aren't you thankful for that place of safety where the saved at that time are?

Think about it this way- there is a day of destruction coming. God is going to give a reckoning of all men when He comes, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, and the Bible teaches that the church is the place of safety where all of

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the saved of God's kingdom are. How do we know that? Because of the teaching of Acts 2:47. Remember they have now heard the message for the first time about Jesus. They believe He's now the Messiah who they formerly killed. They're ready to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. Acts 2:38 the Bible tells us ‘those who gladly received His word were baptized,’ watch this in Acts 2:47 ‘and the Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved. Where are the saved put? In the church- the place of safety- God's collection where all the saved are. Not only do we have the privilege right now of being saved and being a member of the Lord's church, but ultimately it is the church that's going to be saved. Ultimately we're going home one day to be with God.

Do you remember the words of Jesus in John 14:1? Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God believe also in me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so,” He said, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself.” When we think about the beauty of heaven and what that's going to mean friend, those who are in the church are going there. Why do we love the church? It's the place of safety, and it's the place where all of God saved are. There aren't any saved outside the church. It is that place where God- not men-put the saved when they obey the gospel.

We also love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ because the church has the power to overcome sin and Satan and hell. I want you to listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 16. As He spoke about His church Peter had just made the statement, ‘you're the Christ the Son of the living God.’ I want you to notice what Jesus says based on that. Jesus said, “And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Christ's church, His plan of salvation, His sacrifice has the power to defeat Satan. Hebrews 2:14 “Jesus through death overcame him who had the power of death.” It has the power to overcome destruction in eternal torment- if we obey the gospel. Listen to Romans 8:1. There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ who has the power to overcome Satan, to overcome the forces of hell, and to overcome sin. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of His Son Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”

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Why do we love the church? Nobody wants to be lost. Nobody wants to go to hell. Nobody wants to be overcome by Satan and sin and live up a life that is so wrapped up and entangled in that. That's not what man wants. We want to be saved. We want to overcome the evil forces of the world. We want peace and happiness and prosperity spiritually and that occurs through the words of Jesus. When He said ‘I'll build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,’ hell's not going to conquer the church. The Hadean realm is not going to conquer the church. The devil cannot conquer the church. If we remain faithful in the Lord's church, we are on God's side and ultimately we will be the victors or those who conquer. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says this, “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We also love the church that our Lord Jesus died for because the church is God's people. God's people love His church because we are the Lord's church. Not loving the church is not loving yourself or other Christians. If I love other Christians and I love myself and want to go to heaven, then I naturally must love the church.

Think about the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:27. Paul said to Christians in Corinth, “You,” talking to Christians, “are the body of Christ and members individually one of another.” Now what is the body? Well the body is the church. Ephesians 1:22-23, Christ is head over the body, His church, which is His body and so the church is the body. Those are used as synonyms in the New Testament. We you are the body of Christ and members individually one of another. We love the church because it's you. Now when we think about the church, please understand we're not talking about the building. The church is not a geographic location. It's not a building. The church is Christians. It's the people. “God does not dwell in temples made with hands today,” Acts 7:48-50. God dwells among His people, and we are the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we say we love the church, we love each other. We love the benefits that come by being a member the church, and we love the head of that church- the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now this is so practical because if I love my brothers and sisters, naturally it's going to be the church as well. They are the church. Hebrews 13:1 teaches ‘let brotherly love continue.’ I'm commanded by Christ love one another. John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give you that you love

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one another.” God wants His people to be filled with love for each other, to care about one another, to look out for each other's interest, and to encourage and help each other to go to heaven in every way. And so someone says, ‘Give me Christ but not the church.’ Wait a minute! The church is made up of the saved. The church is made up of our brothers and sisters in Christ. If I don't love the church, do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? If not, then I stand condemned. According to the words of 1 John chapter 3 and chapter 4 we must love one another and strive to encourage and to help one another.

Then we mention another point as to why Christians love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We love the church because the church's eternal destiny is heaven itself. We've alluded to this passage several times, and I want you to look with me to 1 Corinthians 15:24. That's 1 Corinthians chapter 15 look with me in verse number 24 at the words of Paul as it relates to the resurrection. Paul says, “Then comes the end finality of all things when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule all authority and all power.” Now from this verse we're talking about final coming of Christ, second coming the end of all things, destruction of the world. He says we then comes the end and at the end Christ is going to deliver, take back, the kingdom to the Father.

Now we ask the question- what is the kingdom? Jesus promised it would exist during the lifetime of His disciples. Right? Mark 9:1 Jesus said “Assuredly I say to you there are some standing here today who will not taste death until they see the kingdom present with power.” Some of His first century disciples were promised to see it, Colossians 1:13, tells that it did come into existence. The Bible says that God translated some out of darkness into the kingdom of His Son, and so it came into existence in the first century. What is the kingdom? Well the words of Christ in establishing the church again help us to understand what it is. Jesus said “I say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock I'll build my church,” and then He said this, “and I'm going to give to you the keys of the kingdom.” What's the kingdom? It's the church.

The church and the kingdom are synonymous. We're talking about one and the same. Peter stood up with the 11, preached the gospel, took those keys of the gospel, opened the doors of the kingdom, and the Bible says ‘for the first time the Lord added to the church daily those who are

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being saved.’ Now if the church is the kingdom, and friend we love the church because it's eternal destiny is heaven itself, think about this when Christ comes to claim His own. When He comes to take back with Him to His Father's house those who obey the gospel, it's going to be those in the kingdom. He will deliver the kingdom to the Father. The kingdom and the church are the people. Then we're going to be delivered ultimately to God Himself, and that's the power that's the joy and that's the hope of being a Christian. I love the church because, if I remain faithful unto death Revelation 2:10, I can have the crown of life because the church is going to be with God for all eternity.

Friend let's then shift gears, and let's think about this for just a moment- if we say we love the church, and hopefully we do after thinking about these principles, then the next logical question is: how do we show our love for the Lord's church?

We do that by the following ways. Number one- I show my love and you show your love for the Lord's church by putting it first. Now remember the church and the kingdom are one and the same. What did Jesus say about our priority in the kingdom? Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.’ Friend the church needs to be our first priority. Now let's make that practical. More than worldly interest and pleasures, more than the job, more than money, more than recreation and ballgames, and all those things- the church needs to come first. At all decisions I make, I want to think about the church first and foremost. The question ought never to come ‘Are we going to go to worship today? Are we going to work in the church? Are we going to evangelize today? Are we going to help spread the borders the Kingdom?’ The church is number one priority, that's how I show, and then everything else can fall in line after that- and that's how I show my love for the Lord and His church.

Secondly if I love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, then I'm going to want to spread the borders of the kingdom and tell others about it. That was one of the requests that Jesus left with us. After His resurrection Jesus would say in Matthew 28:18-19 and Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world preach the gospel unto every creature.” We're to baptize of all nations, Matthew 28:18. The early church did that in Acts 8:4 the Bible says those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Thus as a

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Christian, I want to be ready always to tell about Christ, 1 Peter 3:15. And so if we love the church, listen carefully now, we're not going to be ashamed of the church. ‘I’m not ashamed of the gospel,’ Paul said in Romans 1:16. If I love the church, then I want my neighbors to be saved to become a part of the church. Right? Spreading the gospel is one of the ways that we show our love for the Lord's church. The Lord's church the Lord doesn't have any silent partners in His church. We need to be spreading the gospel and telling others about the message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Then friend, as we've already noted, we show our love for the church by really loving one another. Hebrews 13:1 ‘Let brotherly love continue.’ If I love you and let you love me, then we're going to strive to encourage one another. We're going to strive when somebody's down or hurting or in need, we're going to strive to help them. We're going to do what we can to encourage and lift one another up and be built up together, so that we really can live as a family of God together for all eternity.

We also show our love to the church that Jesus died for by giving ourselves to the church. Now when we talk about giving, we're not just talking about financially. Don't get me wrong, the Bible teaches Christians are to give as they've prospered on the first day the week, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. Giving myself to the church requires more than just finances. I want to give my time to the work of the church. I want to give my energy and effort in serving the Lord. I want to give myself in growing to be a better steward and servant in what God wants me to do, and I want to give financially as well to the work of the local church on the first day of the week as God has commanded each one of us.

We can also show our love for the Lord's church by not just filling a pew on Sunday or Wednesday but by actually doing something for the Lord. Working in the kingdom is how we show our love for the church. You know when you think about the idea of being a servant that's what Jesus has called us to do. Mark 10:45 Jesus said the Bible says “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” When you look at the life of Jesus, as we talk about working in the church and Him being our example, when you look at the life of Jesus, Jesus lived the most servant filled life you can ever imagine. Think about all that He was doing. He went out and helped the poor and fed the poor. He

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went out and helped those who we're hurting. He healed those who were sick. He cast demons out of those who were possessed. If anybody ever exemplified working in the kingdom it was the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ-that's the application for me and you.

If I'm going to really love the church, then I've got to not just fill a pew and listen to someone speak a lesson or a Bible class- I've got to be out being busy and working for God.

Jesus said in John 9:4 “We must work the works of Him who sent us while it is day for night comes when no man works.” Now is the time, and now is the opportunity to be working for God. We need to stay busy in His kingdom. The apostle Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:58 Paul said “Be steadfast, immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain.” What we do for God now- that's what's really important and that is that which is not in vain but brings glory and honor to God.

Do you remember the words of Revelation 14:13? The Bible tells Christians ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Yes, says the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.’ As we talk about loving the church by not just sitting there and you know taking up space, here's what that means. It means that I want to tell somebody else about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to be the Lord's silent partner, but we want to go out in evangelize. We want to tell others about the good that is done in the church and how they can be saved. We want to do good in our communities. That's what you know that's what Jesus really did while He was here. He went about doing good. ‘He's done all things well,’ they said of Him in Mark 7:37. How can I help those who are hurting? How can I help the poor who are in need? What can we do to those who are sick? How can we help those who've got spiritual problems and are in need of God? Those are the things that Jesus strove to do while He was here, and those are the things that we need to do as well while we're here.

We want to study our Bible. We want to pray. We want to do what we can to give ourselves to God, and we want to make sure that it every day we strive to be a living sacrifice for the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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As we think about loving the church another important question is needed to be asked and it's this- are you a member of the church Jesus died for? Have you obeyed the gospel of Christ? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I'm He you'll surely die in your sins,” John 8:24. Are you willing to repent of those things in your life that may not be right? Jesus said in Luke 13:3 “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Are you willing to confess and acknowledge Jesus as the Savior? “With the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” Matthew 10:32-33.

Would you do what the Bible says to get in the church? By one spirit are all baptized into one church.

Friend if you're not a member, we're begging you today become a member of the Lord's church and live every day to show that you love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Study Questions for: “Topical Lesson 14: Love for the Church”

1. According to Acts 20:28, how did Jesus purchase the Church?

2. What does 1 Corinthians say about division and denominationalism?

3. According to 1 Timothy 2:4, what does God want?

4. According to Acts 2:47, who are saved? Where are the saved?

5. Who overcame Satan and death according to Hebrews 2:14?

6. How can we have victory according to 1 Corinthians 15:57?

7. According to 1 Corinthians 12:27, what are Christians?

8. What does Acts 7:48-50 tell us about places of worship?

9. What does Hebrews 13:1 teach?

10. Where will the Kingdom, the church, go in the end according to 1 Corinthians 15:24?

The Bible says that ‘the disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread,’ Acts 20:7.

We welcome you today to our study of worshiping God through the actions of partaking the Lord's Supper, and giving.

Today we're thinking about two various aspects of ways that we worship God, and especially as we worship God corporately, together with God's people, and through the action of giving as well, and those ways are through taking the Lord's Supper, and through the action of giving. We're going to focus on what the Bible says on these subjects.

What do we know on the subject of the Lord's Supper, especially? We know that Jesus instituted it in Matthew 26:26-28. Jesus, as at that last supper with His disciples, took that fruit of the vine. He took that unleavened bread. “This is my blood, this is my body.” He said to them, “Do this in remembrance of me.” We know that Christians in the New Testament did partake of the Lord's Supper. We noted in Acts 20:7, the disciples came together on the first day of the week for that purpose, to break bread. We want to learn what we can about the Lord's Supper, so that when we partake of it, we do it in a way that brings honor, and glory, and really worships God.

What do we know about the Lord's Supper? A premier text that deals with the Lord's Supper is found in your Bible in 1 Corinthians 11. Notice 1 Corinthians 11:20-22, we learn that to worship God correctly, through the Lord's Supper, there has to be an attitude of reverence involved. Paul says, “Therefore when you come together in one place,” Paul is condemning them because they're not eating the Lord's supper, “it's not to eat the Lord's supper, for in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, one's hungry another's drunk,” Paul says, “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in, or do you despise the church of God, and shame those who have nothing?” Paul says, “What shall I say to you, shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.” Now there were problems in Corinth, and Paul's dealing with this. When partaking of the Lord's Supper, some got there early evidently, some got there a little later, and instead of waiting on everybody, and doing it together as the body of Christ, others are jumping ahead. You've got chaos. And so Paul says, ‘this is not something we can say is good.’ There ought to be an attitude of reverence. We ought to do it to worship God. I don't show up to get my supper- that's not the idea. I'm not going to get there before others, so I can get a little ahead- that's not the idea, or the mentality. We partake of the Lord's Supper. We do it with an attitude of reverence to worship God. John 4:24, “God's a spirit; those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We remember the Lord's Supper to exalt the death, the burial, and the resurrection, and to honor Jesus Christ. That's why we partake of the Lord's Supper with an attitude of reverence. I want to honor and pay tribute to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ‘Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,’ 1 Corinthians 15:57. I want to remember what Jesus did on the Cross for me. ‘He, Himself, for our sins in his own body upon the tree,’ and so there is a sense of reverence for God, but there's also a sense of respect for others as well. In the first century it must've been a scene of chaos- some getting there early, some getting there in the middle, some getting there late, everybody's taking it ahead of everybody, there's no cohesion, there's no communion, and that's not the idea. It's just chaos. Out of respect for others, we want to do it together. We want to do it in a manner that will promote people growing closer to God,

and respect for one another, and honoring everybody in a situation like unto that.

I want you to notice, not only do we have to have the attitude of reverence and respect, but there are certain definite requirements, when it comes to the Lord's Supper. Notice 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 in your Bible. Paul says, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same manner, He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, this do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” In principle, there are requirements that God has set, and the principle is simply, God has always wanted us to do what He said. 1 Corinthians 4:6 we're very clearly told in the Bible not to go beyond what's written. 2 John 9, some transgressed by going beyond the teaching of Christ. We're not to add to, nor take away, Revelation 22:18-19. And friend, to those who didn't follow what God said- there was always a horrible tragedy in scripture. Think about King Saul. He rebelled against God. He did not obey God's commands. God removed him as king. Not just in the principle are there certain requirements, but in practice as well, there are certain requirements. Let me illustrate. Jesus took bread, and He broke it. He gave thanks in Matthew 26, and each of them partook that, in remembrance of his body, which was given for them. Is there something we need to do as it relates to the Lord's Supper? Sure.

As I take the bread, I need to think about the body of Jesus that was shed on the cross for me. Jesus took the cup, the fruit of the vine, and He gave it to each of them. They divided among themselves. They each drank of the contents, the fruit of the vine. Jesus said, “This is my blood of the new covenant, shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.” When I partake of the fruit of the vine, I need to remember the blood of Jesus that was shed, and so in practice, there are definite requirements. There needs to be the unleavened bread, and there needs to be fruit of the vine. Those are the contents of it. In doing that, we need to remember how Jesus gave up His life for us. Think about what Jesus suffered. He was beaten. He was

spit upon, and he was mocked. He was beat with whips. The crown of thorns was placed on His head. His hands and feet were nailed to a cruel cross. A sword pierced His side, and His body suffered for me. I need to think about His blood, which flowed down from Calvary. I need to think about that blood that saves man's soul, the sacrifice, how we contact that, and the sacrifice that Jesus made for each and every one of us.

When you think about the Lord's Supper, there are some definite requirements that we must meet and partake in, to really give God the glory and the honor.

I want you to notice, there's a sense of regularity to the Lord's Supper as well. Notice 1 Corinthians 11:26, Paul says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death 'til he comes.” How often did they, in the New Testament, in the first century, how often did Christians partake of the Lord's Supper?

Well, here's what we find in our world today. We'll find some in our world today who might take it on Christmas and Easter, or who do it once a year, monthly, or some who do it quarterly. How often did Christians in the New Testament partake of the Lord's Supper? The Bible says in Acts 20:7, “The disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread.” What was the oftenness? 1 Corinthians 11:26, “As often as you eat.” How often did New Testament Christians partake of the Lord's Supper? They came together on ‘the first day of the week.’ Friend, there's no specific week in mind. Every week has a first day, and thus you see the regularity. Every first day of the week.

Let me illustrate it to you this way. Remember Acts 20:7, the purpose for the coming together was to break bread. How often did they come together? 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, they were commanded when they came together, to give, every first day of the week. They were meeting every first day of the week. The purpose for that meeting, along with other items as well, one of those was to break bread. If they're meeting every first day of the week, part of the purpose of that is to break bread. We ought to do as

they did in the New Testament, take of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. Every week has a first day- no specific week in mind.

Let me give you an illustration. It comes from the Old Testament, but it helps us to understand it. Exodus 20:8, God said to Israel, “Remember the Sabbath. Keep it holy.” Now what was the Sabbath? The Sabbath was Saturday. When God said, “Remember the Sabbath,” what did that mean? Did it mean one Saturday a year? Did it mean Passover Saturday? Did it mean two Saturdays? Was it quarterly? The Jews interpreted that correctly, by remembering every Sabbath that rolled around. The Bible says, “On the first day of the week, Christians came together.” Christians today ought to remember the Lord's Supper every first day of the week, when we gather together as God's people, on the first day of the week to worship and honor Him as we're commanded. We ought to with regularity remember the Lord's Supper.

What exactly am I to remember as I worship God in partaking the Lord's Supper? Notice 1 Corinthians 11:24-26, the Bible says, Paul speaking, “And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘Take eat, this is my body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘this cup is the new covenant in my blood, this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.’” How are we to remember the Lord's Supper? Jesus said, ‘When you take this bread, remember my body, which was broken for you.’ Think about all that Jesus suffered, how they beat him, how they slapped him, and how they placed that crown of thorns on his head. The Lord's Supper is a time to reflect. It's a time to remember what the Lord did for you and how much he gave up for you. Remember how much physical pain, torment, and anguish He had to go through.

It's a time to reflect on His sacrifice. The blood of Jesus, from the moment they first began to inflict pain on Him, to when they brought that whip across His back, to when those thorns embedded into His brow, to when the nails went through His hands and His feet, the side He was pierced as the sword pierced Jesus' side, and the blood that flowed. The blood represents the sacrifice of Jesus. During the Lord's Supper, I have an

opportunity to remember, to be motivated by how much Jesus suffered for me, how great His sacrifice is, and what an awesome privilege to remember that, and to remind myself just how important that is to my Christian walk.

As we mentioned, it's also a time for inner reflection. The Lord's Supper ought to cause me to look inwardly to my own life, and make sure that I'm living the way God wants me to. Notice in your Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, the scripture says, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord, but let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.” I want to reflect on the manner. Why am I doing this? Why am I partaking the Lord's Supper? Am I doing it so everybody can see me? Am I doing it to get my ticket punched? Am I doing it to get my bread and grape juice cocktail? What's the reason that I'm doing that? Am I doing it to really honor God? I want to reflect on myself, I want to make sure my life is like it needs to be.

Now friend, please understand, we all realize that we sin, that we fall short, that we do things that we shouldn't, but I want to make sure that I'm trying to walk in the light, that I ask God for forgiveness, that my heart's where it needs to be, that I know I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to do my best to serve God. The Bible says it in another way. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourself, test yourself, and examine yourself to see whether you're in the faith.”

Then of course, I want to reflect on all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me, and how much He's given up so that I could have the hope of eternal life. So the next time you think about the Lord's Supper, and as we think about worshiping God this way- remember, this is something Jesus instituted. It's something that New Testament Christians did every week. There's a certain way that we ought to do that, in reflection of what Jesus did, looking to ourselves, trying to live right, and trying to bring God the glory and honor in everything that we say and do.

Now in this lesson also, we want to focus on another aspect, another way that we can bring honor and glory to God, and sometimes in a corporate way as well, is through our giving to God.

Now let me preface it by saying this, friend, we're not asking you today, for money, that's not our purpose, this is not a session where we're going to beg you for money. We're not going to say, ‘send in a love offering.’ That's not what this is about. When we talk about giving as an act of worship, we're talking about the individual Christian giving to the local congregation that he or she is at, to honor and to reach the lost, and to honor and to worship God, and that's something that the Bible teaches that Christians ought to do, to bring honor and glory to God.

We're to give as we've purposed in our heart. Think about some passages today that teach us on the subject of giving. God doesn't want the leftovers. God wants me to give the best that I have. Giving is something that every Christian ought to do every first day of the week. Now we're not talking about in the amount. No one should ever come over and ask you how much you're giving. Your giving is between you and God. There are some guidelines for that. What are those guidelines?

I want you to see what the scripture says about my giving, and about yours. What does God command? 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, we see that we ought to give every week, and we see how much we ought to give. Not a dollar amount, but there's guidelines there. Look in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. The Bible says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I've given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also. On the first day,” New American Standard, English Standard versions, others will say, “On the first day of every week, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as it may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” You see, God's promised that He's going to take care of me and you. “Seek first the kingdom of God,” and God says, “all these things will be added unto you.” With the excess and the abundance, as I've prospered Friend, I need to factor God into the equation as well. Give as we've been prospered. As God has blessed my life, and as God has blessed your life, I ought to give

back to the work of saving souls, and to bring honor and glory to God through the local congregation.

We also see how often New Testament Christians were giving. There was a collection for the needy saints. We read about that in the book of Acts, and we read about that in Romans. They were going to send money to help them with that effort, and so Paul says to the church in Corinth, as I've been giving order to the churches in Galatia, so you must do also. What do you mean? ‘On the first day of every week that each would lay something aside to help these Christians.’ They were to give on the first day of the week. When we look at their example, we see how the church gave in the first century. What a great example for us today, Christians give on the first day of the week to honor God and to help the Lord's church spread the gospel around the world.

Now let’s move to the book of 2 Corinthians, and I want you to notice some other passages that teach us about giving. 2 Corinthians 9:6 Paul says, “But this I say, he who sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly, he who sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.” When I purpose in my heart, I purpose based on what the scriptures teach, but I also look at what I have, what I need to survive, the abundance and excess that God's give me, and I make a plan and a purpose. Giving is not: ‘Okay, what change do I have in my pocket, how many dollar bills do I have left in my wallet, what do I have today, that I might could out of the leftovers give to God?’ That's not the idea. There's purpose. There's intent and planning to giving. As I've been prospered, I purpose. I make a decision out of what God's blessed me with, when I look at my budget and my finances, when I look at what God has given to me, and how much of an excess I have, out of that- I purpose and make a decision, an intent to give to God regularly out of that on the first day of the week. There's intent in our purpose and in our giving. ‘God loves a cheerful giver.’ I'm not doing it grudgingly. I’m not thinking, ‘Well here comes the plate, I better give something. If I don't give I'm going to go to hell today.’ No, I'm doing it because I want to.

Why do I want to? Well friend, I contemplate, and I think about, and you do as well, how much God's given you. Just stop and think about it for a moment. How much has God blessed you with? Your family, your job, all your sins have been washed away, if you've obeyed the gospel, you have every spiritual blessing in Christ, your name is reserved on heaven's divine roll, you have the ability to overcome and defeat Satan, you can defeat any temptation the Devil may throw your way, you've been given the word of God, you have a Christian family, and the list could go on and on. Look at how much God has blessed me and you. When I think about that, God doesn't have to force me, and I don't do it because if I don't, I'm going to go to hell- I can cheerfully give. I can, as it were, rejoice to give to God, and really that's the motivation for giving. We give because our God has given so much to us.

Remember James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow or variation of turning.” I'm motivated by how giving of a God we serve. I'm motivated by the willingness of Jesus to give himself as a sacrifice. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.” Look at how much God's given us. Look at how much Jesus gave up, and look at how much God has done to take care of each and every one of us. ‘If I seek first the kingdom,’ God says, ‘all these things will be added unto you.’

And so when we think about the purpose behind giving, and the nature of it, we think about that it's a regular action that Christians should indeed participate in, but we also realize that our attitude needs to be right when we give to God. The Bible says this, in Proverbs 23:7, the scripture says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” You're not what you eat, but you are what you think. What I think, that's what I become. I need to have the right thought, and the right attitude. I need to have the attitude of thankfulness. How thankful that I am to God for everything He's done for me! Then I need to realize there's so much more to be gained in giving, than there is in receiving. That's so backward from the way many think today. We think that gaining is by getting, and receiving, and somebody giving us something. That's not true. There's so much more to be gained by

giving than receiving. How do we know that? That's what Jesus said. Open your Bible or notice with me, in Acts chapter 20. I want you to look at the words of Jesus that Paul recounts in Acts 20:35. Paul says, “I've shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak.” Now notice, “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He said, ‘It's more blessed to give than it is to receive.’”

When we give to God, and give to the work of the church, what are we really giving to? We're giving to help saved lost souls; we're giving to do good in our communities. We're giving so that the local congregation can spread the gospel and open doors for evangelism. What greater cause could you give to in all the world, than the saving of lost souls?

Again, please understand, we're talking about a Christian giving to the local congregation that he attends. We're not begging you for money, that's not the idea. We're talking about worshiping God this way.

I want you to just stop and think today. Think in your own life how much you've been blessed. Very likely the case, that God has blessed you beyond measure. A family loves you dearly, a home, roof over your head, and very likely you live in a country that is richer than most countries in all the world. You probably have a car to drive and a job to go to. We have spiritual blessings beyond measure. The grace of God is available for all. Salvation is available. Every spiritual blessing can be found in Christ Jesus. Christians have the privilege of getting down on their hands and knees and praying, ‘Father who art in heaven.’ We have brothers and sisters in Christ who will encourage us. We have the Bible, God's divine message, which is a perfect guide, that'll get us to heaven. When you stop and think about everything that God has given us, friend that ought to motivate us to be a giving people.

We want you to know, more than anything; God gave His son so that we could have the hope of eternal life. Friend, we ask you today, do you believe in Jesus as the son of God? John 8:24. Would you be willing to turn from sin, and turn to God, and repent? Luke 13:3. Would you confess the name of Jesus before men? Romans 10:10. And would you do what Jesus

said? Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Would you be immersed in water to be saved?

If you've never obeyed the gospel, we encourage you to do that today.

May each of us, based on these ideas, worship God in spirit and in truth.

Study Questions for:

“Worship Series: Lesson 2”

1. According to Matthew 26:26-28, what is done in remembrance?

2. According to Acts 20:7, when did they come together?

3. What does 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 say about the Lord’s Supper?

4. According to John 4:24, how should we worship Him?

5. According to 1Corinthians 11:23-25, what does the bread/cup represent?

6. When should the Lord’s Supper be taken according to Acts 20:7?

7. According to 1 Corinthians 11:26, how often should the Lord’s Supper be taken?

8. According to 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, what should our reflection be during the Lord’s Supper?

9. What does 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 tell us about giving?

10. What does 2 Corinthians 9:6 say about giving and the results?

The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:15, "I'll sing with the spirit, and I'll sing with the understanding. I'll pray with the spirit, and I'll pray with the understanding," 1 Corinthians 14:15.

We welcome you today to our study of worshiping God through our singing. What a great subject the idea of worship is. We have the privilege to bring God the honor and glory with our voices by the singing that we do, and we can uplift and laud and magnify the beauty of our God.

As we think about the subject of singing and the music that Christians use in our worship to serve God, this is indeed a very important subject. For as you read the Bible, it's one of the ways Christians, together, corporately worshiped Almighty God. If we're going to worship God correctly today, we need to do it in the way that God has asked us to.

As we think about the subject of singing and as we think about the subject of music in our praise of God, let's begin by reminding ourselves that what we do in worship and how a Christian even lives his life must be governed by the authority of God. Don't we all agree that we need to do what God asks us to? We need to listen to God and obey the voice of God to be pleasing to him. Even Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."

For instance, we think about the subject of worship and as we think about worshiping God in song, let's realize the Bible is our authority for worship as well. Do you remember John 4:24? Jesus said, "God is a spirit. And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." I've got to put my whole heart, soul, mind, and body into worshiping. I also need to worship God in truth. God's word is that truth, and so we want to worship God according to the Bible.

As you think about examples, we want to illustrate the importance of doing this by showing some examples of people who didn't do it correctly to really emphasize and illustrate our need to follow the Bible in worship.

Let me give you an example. There are two men in the Bible by the name of Nadab and Abihu. We read about them in Leviticus 10:1-2. These two priests did not do what God commanded, and they perished because of that. Let me read the story to you, so that you can see what they did and the reason that they suffered like they did. Listen to Leviticus 10:1-2 about Nadab and Abihu. The Bible says, "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron each took his censor, put fire in it, put incense on it." Now watch this, "and offered profane," some versions will say “unauthorized fire, before the Lord." Here's the important thing: "Which he had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." Did they do something God didn't ask for? Sure, they did something unauthorized, which God had not commanded them. Was God okay with that? Did it matter to God their may have been right? Maybe they were doing what they felt was right, but it wasn't according to God. Was God okay with that? Fire reigned down from heaven. God was serious about it. Fire reigned down from heaven and destroyed them. Why? Because they did that, which God did not command.

Think about King Saul in 1 Samuel 15. King Saul gets tired of waiting for Samuel. He's a not a priest, but he's tired of waiting for Samuel, and so he decides to take the authority of the priest upon himself and offer sacrifice. God says, "Behold, to obey is better to sacrifice and to heed, than the fat of rams. For your sin, he says, is as the sin of witchcraft and

rebellion." What did Saul do wrong? He did something he wasn't authorized to do.

Friend, here's what we're illustrating today. What we do in our worship in every aspect, including song, must be based on the authority of our God.

Now, as you think about the New Testament, we need to realize it's our law and our authority today. Colossians 2:14, the Old Testament's been nailed to the cross. Ephesians 2:14-15, the handwriting of requirements which God wrote with his own hand and Moses took down to the people, the 10 Commandment Law, that's not what we're living under today. We're dead to that law, Romans 7:1-4. Today, were living under the new covenant of Christ, Matthew 26:28, which he established with his blood, Hebrews 9:14-17. It is the perfect law of liberty, James 1:25.

When we think about the church and Christians worshiping today, we're looking to the New Testament: Matthew through Revelation. How did Christians worship then? The New Testament clearly teaches that we're only to do that which is authorized. Let me illustrate it to you with several passages. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on Earth." Then he said, "You go make disciples of all nations." He told them how to do that as well. But here's the important thing, who has all authority in heaven and on Earth and in the church? Jesus does. God has given him all authority. If Jesus has all authority, how much does that leave for me and you? None. Christ is the head of the church. He has all authority, and therefore, we must follow His law and His teaching.

In John 2:5, the mother of Jesus illustrated it this way to the servants at the wedding in Cana. She realized Jesus was going to perform the miracle. She turned to those servants and she said this, "Whatever he says to you, do it." That's the mindset and the attitude. Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of," which according to Acts 4:7, means by the authority of, “Whatever we do in word or deed, we're to do all in the name or by the authority of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ.” Revelation 22:18-19 says we're not to add to or take away. I can't put something in that I like. I can't take something out that I don't like. I've got to follow the word of God. "Do not add to his word lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar," Proverbs 30:6. We must only go by the Bible and do what the New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ says.

With that in mind, let's ask this question. What does the New Testament say about singing and music for Christians today? Friend, I want to share with you every passage in the New Testament as it relates to our worship here on this Earth as God's people. Matthew 26:30, the Bible says that ‘Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn, and they went out. They left the Mount of Olives. They sang a hymn.’ Acts 16:25, ‘Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners are listening to them.’ 1 Corinthians 14:15, the apostle Paul says, "I will sing with the spirit, and I'll sing with the understanding. I'll pray with the spirit, and I'll pray with the understanding." Paul taught the Christians there to sing as well. Listen to Romans 15:9, the Bible says these words, "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy as it is written for this reason, I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name." We are to teach one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs singing and making melody in our heart unto the Lord, Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. James 5:13 says, "Is any among you happy? Let him sing psalms." And then of course, Hebrews 2:12, "Saying, I will declare your name to my brethren, In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you."

Friend, as you study everything the New Testament says singing is a very important part of Christian worship. It's one of the ways that we worship God in spirit and in truth. My friend, I hope you'll listen very carefully to this idea. In the New Testament, we do not find an example or authority for singing or music with mechanical instruments of music.

Now let me say that again. In the New Testament, in the worship that you find that is our law today in the examples of Christians, we don't find any mechanical instruments of music in worship. Remember, there's just not any authority for it in the New Testament. We're to do whatever we do in word or deed; we're to do by the authority of Jesus Christ, Colossians

3:17. We're not to add nor take away, Revelation 22:18-19. It's just not found in the New Testament. When you think about this idea, what the Bible does teach, a mechanical instrument of music cannot accomplish.

Let me illustrate it to you this way. Let me mention those two passages, premiere passages again, about singing for the church. They're Ephesians 5:19, let's look at it first. Look at Ephesians 5:19, and I want you to see what is commanded in music and in singing, a mechanical instrument cannot accomplish. Notice Ephesian 5:19, the scripture says this, speaking, here's what Christians are to do, "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Can an instrument teach, admonish? Can it do those things? No, that's not the idea. The other passage is Colossians 3:16 and I want you to notice what it also says on the subject of singing. Colossians 3:16 says this, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Again, a mechanical instrument cannot do that. Now listen carefully. Does the Bible teach that we are to make melody? You bet it does. Where? ‘We're to sing and to make melody in our heart unto the Lord.’ As a man thinks in his heart, what’s the heart? The heart is the thinking organism. Okay, my spirit, my emotion, as well as my intellect. I am to sing, and I am to make melody in my heart to the Lord. That's the way God has authorized us to worship him through singing and through making melody in the heart that man has given.

When you think about the fact that God doesn't anywhere in the New Testament mention mechanical instruments of music, we have to realize, if God wanted that, he would have told us. Hebrews 7:14, "It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah of which tribe Moses spoke nothing." Why couldn't Jesus be a priest of the Levitical order? Well, because he's from the tribe of Judah. Do you see the point that he's making though in Hebrews 7:14? Moses never said anything about anybody from Judah being a priest. What's that mean? Because Moses didn't say they could meant that they couldn't. When Moses said the Levites were to be priests, he didn't then have to go and name all 11 other tribes. When he said the

Levites that naturally excluded everybody else. When God has told us to sing and make melody in our heart and has said nothing about mechanical instruments of music, friend, we need to do what God says.

Let me illustrate it to you maybe this way. I think we can all understand that we need to go by what God says, and when He says something, that's kind of exclusive, right? Let me illustrate it this way to show that we mean what we say, that we don't have to go back and then say you don't do this and don't do that. What God says is what he wants. Let me illustrate it. Let's say that you're going to order pizza. Let's say you call up the local pizza place. Let's say you call up Domino's, and you say, ‘I'd like a large pizza with Pepperoni and black olives.’ ‘Okay, be there in about 30 minutes.’ Wait about 30 minutes, doorbell rings. Somebody shows up. They've got your large pizza. They open it up, and it's got black olives, and it's got pepperoni, but it's also got pineapple, and it's got ham on it. Now what would you say about that? You look at the bill and you're saying, ‘I said pepperoni and black olives. Why is there pineapple and ham on it?’ What would you say if he said, ‘you didn't tell us not to.’ Would he be correct? Of course not. Why not? Because when you said black olives, and you said pepperoni, that excluded everything else. Friend, when God said ‘sing’ and God said ‘make melody in your heart,’ God then doesn't have to go back and say ‘don't pluck a guitar. Don't beat on a drum. Don't bang on bongos. Don't play a flute. Don't play a violin.’ When God said ‘sing and make melody in your heart,’ naturally, that's what God wants. He doesn't then have to go back and condemn everything else.

In fact, did you know that actually, most religious people, even some who started or who have religious groups named after them, most in years past realized mechanical instruments were not approved by God. Let me give you a couple of illustrations. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia says this, the voice of Catholicism says, "The first Christians were of too spiritual a fiber to substitute lifeless instruments or to use them to accompany the human voice." That's what the Catholic Encyclopedia says. The Orthodox Church says this, "The execution of the Byzantine Church by music by instruments or even the accompaniment of sacred things by instruments was ruled out by the Eastern Fathers as being incompatible with the pure

solemn spiritual character of the religion of Christ," -that's Constantine Cavarnose in the Byzantine Sacred Music. Here are some others. John Calvin, who many believed, recognized as the founder of the Presbyterian Church, he said this in his commentary on the Book of Psalms, "Musical instruments, in celebrating the praises of God, would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, the restoration of other shadows of the law, talking about the old law. The papists, therefore, that's the Catholic church have foolishly borrowed this as well as many other things from the Jews. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise, but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostle is far more pleasing to him." Listen to what John Wesley, who many recognize as the founder of the Methodist Church said. John Wesley said, "I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither seen nor heard." Another Methodist commentator, Adam Clark said this, "Music as a science, I esteem and admire, but instruments of music in the house of God, I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music, and I here register my protest against all such corruption in the worship of the author of Christianity." Martin Luther, founder by many believe as the Luthern Church, and the McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia said this, "He called the organ, the ensign or symbol of Baal." It was idol worship to him. Charles Spurgeon, famous Baptist preacher said this, "I would as soon attempt to pray to God with machinery as to sing to him with machinery." He said it's as authorized to use a mechanical instrument to pray as it is to sing. Well, of course neither are authorized, and so, what do we mention all this for?

Friend, we mention this to show that mechanical instruments of music are not authorized in the New Testament. Every passage you read about worshiping God here as the church, tells us to sing. There's not one passage about mechanical, manmade instruments of music that are authorized, and therefore, we want to sing and make melody in the heart as God has told us to in the scripture.

Now, let's shift gears just a moment then, and let's think about if singing and if worshiping God, making melody in the heart is what God wants- how can I improve my singing in such a way that it really brings God

the glory and the honor that he deserves? Friend, I understand not everybody has that beautiful of a voice. Not everybody can sing as beautifully as others can, and so, although we may not all have that beautiful voice that we think of, that's not necessarily a requirement to worship God in song in such a way that glorifies him. How do we do that? Well, friend, you worship God in our singing by participating. I've seen people, maybe you have as well, during the singing of hymns of praise to God, and they just sit there. They don't participate. They don't do anything. They never open their songbook. They never open their mouth. Why not? Well friend, singing, just like any other item is not an option. Is it an optional matter to live for Christ every day? No, that's not optional. Is it an optional matter to try to remove sin from your life, to try to avoid? That's not an option. It's something I've got to do. Is giving an option? No, it's a command. Is praying an, that's something we ought to do. What I'm trying to get across is singing is not an optional matter. It's not if my music is pleasing, if I sing in such a way that everybody think it sounds good- that's not the idea. If I'm going to worship God in song, I have to sing, and I have to participate. Sing one to another. That, in the New Testament language is reciprocal. I sing to you, you sing to me. It's not I sing to you, and you sit there. That's not the way it goes. It's a reciprocal thing by in which we can teach and encourage and admonish one another. If you're sitting there like the proverbial lump on the log doing no singing, my friend, you're not teaching, encouraging, and admonishing, and you're not worshiping God as God would want you to do.

Secondly, as we think about improving our worship through song to really bring God the glory and the praise, then friend, to do that we need to think about the words of the song. We need to mediate on them, and we need to engage our mind. 1 Corinthians 14:15 Paul says, "I will sing with the spirit, and I'll sing with the understanding. I will also pray with the spirit, and I'll pray with the understanding." When Paul says I'll sing with the spirit, that's the spirit of man. That's the emotion. That's our joy, our happiness, our thanksgiving. That's the spiritual side of it, our emotional side of it. But then he says, "I'll also sing with the understanding," Not only do I need to have my spirit engaged, emotion, I need to do it from my whole heart, soul,

mind, and strength. I also need to sing with the understanding. It isn't enough just to mouth those words. I want to think about it. Heaven's going to be more beautiful than I can imagine, and when I sing that song, not only is God praised, not only are others taught and admonished, I'm encouraged and uplifted because I've thought about those Biblical truths, and they reminded me of how wonderful that is.

Friend, if you want to improve your singing, sing as if you're teaching somebody. Sing as if this might be your opportunity to encourage and admonish somebody else. Let's say you've got a visitor come in. Let's say somebody's visiting and they hear our singing. They see the way that we do it with joy and passion, and they're listening to the words. Maybe they don't have their songbook open, but they're listening to the words you're saying. You're singing things that are true to the Bible. They're being taught. They're being admonished by those words, Colossians 3:16. You're actually teaching them by doing so, and so what a wonderful idea that is.

As we mentioned, our singing needs to always be in spirit. You can't sit there with a somber look and no emotion. I'm not saying you're jumping up and down. That's not the idea, but we ought to be excited. We ought to be passionate. We ought to have joy. When we sing songs about the suffering of Christ, it ought to make us think about it. What Jesus suffered, what He went through, and there ought to be an emotion involved with that, not guided my emotion alone. We ought to sing with feeling and emotion as well. God is a spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. My human spirit must be involved in that also to bring God the glory and the honor that he deserves.

The challenge for us today is to, open your New Testament, the law that we're under today, and read every passage in the New Testament about worshiping God here on this Earth. How are Christians to worship God on this side? What did the church do? What did Jesus do? What did the apostles do? What did God command others to do? And you'll find, in every instance, they sang.

Then we encourage each of us to sing in such a way that it brings glory and honor to God. Just think about it. As you think about worship, just think about how much God has done for me and you. Think about the beautiful words of verses like this, "God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life," John 3:16. Look at how much God gave up so that we can have the hope of heaven. God wants all men to be saved, 1 Timothy 2:4. All men includes me and you. He wants us to be saved. We're told to cast all our care upon him. He cares for us, 1 Peter 5:7.

The God of heaven cares deeply for you. So much so, that he sent his son to die a cruel death on a cruel cross so that we could have the hope of eternal life. Have you obeyed the Gospel? Are you a Christian? You might be thinking, ‘well, what do I do to become a Christian?’

Here's what the Bible teaches. You have to hear the word of God. "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God," Romans 10:17. Having heard that message, you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. ‘Unless you believe that I am he,’ Jesus said, ‘you'll die in your sins,’ John 8:24. You must also turn from sin and turn to God. Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you'll all likewise perish," Luke 13:3. Having made the good confession, I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Acts 8:37, you must do what Peter said in Acts 2. Peter said in Acts 2:38, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."

Have you done those things? If not, we beg you today to do that.

May each of us really think about worshiping in God in such a way that the product of our worship will be God is honored and praised by our life.

Study Questions for:

“Worship Series: Lesson 4”

1. What does John 4:24 say about how we should worship?

2. In Leviticus 10:1-2, what did Nadab and Abihu do that the Lord had not commanded?

3. What was the consequence in Leviticus 10:1-2 of not following God’s commands?

4. According to Matthew 28:18, who has all authority?

5. What did Jesus’ mother say in John 2:5?

6. According to Colossians 3:17 how are we to do things?

7. What does Revelation 22:18-19 say we are never to do?

8. According to Ephesians 5:19 & Colossians 3:16, what are we do to?

9. Where are we to make melody according to Ephesians 5:19?

10. According to 1 Timothy 2:4, what does God want?

The scripture says, “God is spirit and those worship him must worship in spirit and in truth,” John 4:24.

We welcome you today to our study of the subject of worship. Worship is one of great things you find in the Bible, as man has that ability and that privilege to humble himself before his maker and to praise and honor and magnify God for the many wonderful blessings and benefits He's given for His children.

In this series of lessons especially, we're going to focus on items or actions of worship specifically that Christians may do in a corporate worship setting. When we go to worship on Sunday morning or Sunday night or when we gather with a group of Christians- what are some of the things that God has given us the privilege to do in our worship? How do we do those in such a way that it brings God the glory and the honor that he deserves?

As we think about the subject of worship, and Christians especially gathering together to worship today, we're going to focus on the subject of prayer. What does the Bible say about prayer? If you've been studying your Bible long or raised in a family where people believed in God or the church, you've probably seen that prayer is a vital part of the Christian life.

I want to focus today on that wonderful subject of prayer. As you think about prayer, Jesus in His own life and ministry illustrated the power of prayer. In Matthew 13:23, as Jesus had been teaching and healing and feeding the multitudes, the Bible says that when Jesus had sent the multitudes away, he went up by himself on the mountain to pray. Jesus realized in His own life the importance of prayer. It is such a vitally important subject and part of the Christians' life. 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Bible says ‘Christians ought to pray without ceasing.’ ‘The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man overcomes much,’ James 5:16.

We want to illustrate some things. We want to share some things from the word of God today that will help us to be better in our prayer life and understand more fully God's plan for prayer.

Let's think first of all about some fundamental Bible teachings that are very simple about prayer.

Prayer is something the Bible teaches that we must be taught how to do. We ought to be taught how to pray by God, by the scriptures, and by Jesus Christ. It's not something that I just wake up one day and naturally know how to do. God teaches me in His word how to pray. Let me give you an example of that. Luke, 11:1 the disciples came to Jesus and they said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples to pray.” Of course you could have no better teacher than the master teacher Jesus Christ on the subject of prayer. I want you to notice something interesting from that text. Jesus' own disciples wanted to be taught by the master how to pray.

Friend, if I'm going to pray the way God wants me to, about the things God wants me to pray, and in a way that'll bring honor and glory to God- I need to be taught how to do that from the scriptures. I want to study Bibles passages that teach us about prayer. I want to see what is that God teaches me to ask for in prayer. I want to see, does the Bible say that prayer is just an opportunity to maybe ask God what we need, or is it more or just as much an opportunity for us to praise and honor and magnify God with our lips? Prayer is a learned trait. Learned from the scriptures and

learned by looking at examples of men and women who've prayed in the way God wants them to.

Another fundamental that we learn about prayer is that when I pray, I need to pray with a firm belief and with a true heart that God will bless us and answer our prayer if it's according to His will. I want you to notice with me the words of Jesus in Mark chapter 11. Jesus discusses this idea of praying with faith or praying with belief. He says this in Mark 11:24. The Bible says, Jesus speaking, “Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them.” Now we understand that that's qualified by praying according to God's will. That if it's God's will and I pray for it, I don't need to think, ‘well maybe God will do this or maybe he can do this or.’ Prayer is not a maybe. It's not something wishful. Jesus taught us to pray with belief. We're praying in faith. “Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10:17. If I pray in faith, I know there is a God. I know that God hears the prayers of His children and that He cares for us and tells us to do that. 1 Peter 5:7 ‘cast all your cares upon Him, He cares for you.’ I know the Bible teaches that if it's according to God's will, 1 John 5:13-16, that He is more than able and willing to do that. When I pray, I need to pray with firm belief. I need to have conviction and faith that God does hear the prayer of his children.

Another fundamental about prayer that will help us to pray in such a way that it really brings glory and honor to God is, we need to pray according to the will of God. I want you to notice a passage from the book of 1 John with me. It's found in 1 John 5:15, as John teaches us something very important about prayer. The Bible says, “And we know that he hears us,” that's God, “whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we've asked of Him.” Now, you'll notice, John says ‘He hears our prayers.’ We know that He hears our prayers. In 1 John 5:14, John tells us why we can have such confidence in that. Look back one verse to 1 John 5:14. How can we have such confidence? This is a confidence we have in Him, notice this, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” There's the idea. How can be confident? How can I have such faith that God's

going to hear my prayer and bless that? If I'm asking according to the will of God.

My friend, here's the contrast to that. Two people stand up to pray. One fellow stands up, and he praises God. He honors God. He's trying to live a good Christian life. He prays to God, “Lord, as I'm striving to seek first your kingdom, please take care of me and my family.” We're talking about food. We're talking about shelter. We're talking about clothing. We're talking about spiritually as well. Another man stands up to pray. That man's a pious man. He's proud in his heart. He thinks that he's the next best thing to being a Christian that you could ever imagine. He prays God, “Bless me, make me wealthy, happy, and healthy, and give a million dollars.” Which of those two men is going to answer the prayer? Which of those two prayers is going to bring glory and honor to God? Well not the man who's asking for a million dollars. Not the man who's asking to be wealthy and all these things. Now God may bless someone in that way- but that's not praying according to God's will. God's never promised that if I pray for a million dollars, he's going to bless me with that.

What has God promised? “Seek first the kingdom of God. All these things shall be added unto you.” I want to pray in a mindset that is according to the Bible. That's why being taught how to pray is so important. Sometimes we pray, ‘Don't let us face persecution,’ when in reality the Bible teaches that I am going to face persecution. “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution,” 2 Timothy 3:12. Why should I pray for something that God says is going to happen? Instead of praying that it won't happen, I ought to pray that God will give me the strength, the courage, and the fortitude of faith to not give in under persecution. This is why James would say, in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him.” One of the things you ought to pray for is the wisdom to know how to discern God's word, to know what to ask for in prayer and to pray according to the scriptures. Let's pray with a mindset of understanding of God's will, for that's the way that we can truly have confidence in our prayer life.

As we think about fundamentals that really bring glory and honor to God, as we worship him in prayer, here's a real important one: When I approach God's throne in prayer, I want to pray with a very humble and contrite attitude. Luke 14:11 Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” I want to have the humility to know that God's the creator. I need God's mercy and grace. Without God I would be nothing. I should stand in awe of the almighty power of God.

Now let me give you an example of this from the scripture. I want to show you a contrast between two men in the Bible. One prayed with a very prideful, pious attitude. ‘I'm better than everybody else.’ One prayed with a very humble and contrite attitude. Listen to the words of Jesus, beginning in Luke 18:10. The Bible says, “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, pious, proud man. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank you that I'm not like other men- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing far off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I tell you, this man, the tax collector, went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” Why? “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Look at the contrast in these two men. Here's a man who says, ‘God, I'm sure glad you didn't make me like everybody else. I'm glad I'm not an extortioner or unjust. Look how good I am. And not only am I good, but I do good. I fast, I give tithe, I pray. I do all these things. I'm really where I need to be, and I'm a good, religious person.’ And then, you've got another man. Then you've got another man; he knew he wasn't. He knew he was in sin just like all of us are. He knew he needed God's mercy. He knew he didn't have a leg to stand on his own. And he just beat his breast, and he said, ‘God, I'm a sinner, I need your help, please bless me.’ Jesus said which of those two went home justified? The one who thought he was right and thought he was it religiously, or the one who prayed in humility and knew he needed God's mercy and God's saving grace? Well naturally you know the tax collector went home justified because of his attitude.

And friend, that brings us to another idea. When we pray, let's not make prayer about us. Let's not use this opportunity to have people say, ‘wow, look at how good they can pray, or look at how religious.’ We don't want the focus to be on me. Jesus said, “Don't pray like the hypocrites.” What do you mean, don't pray like the hypocrites? Let me illustrate that for you. Notice Matthew 6:5. Jesus said, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing the synagogues, and on the corners of the street, here's the reason, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room. When you shut the door, pray to your father who is in heaven and your father who sees in secret, father who is in the secret place, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think they'll be heard for their many words.” Don't have an attitude of, ‘I want this to be an opportunity for everybody in church to see the big words I use, to see how well I can string those words together, to see how eloquent I am, to listen to me and walk away thinking I am really religious.’ That's not what Jesus said. Jesus said it's not about you. Prayer is not about what you want to receive. It's God's reward, and God wants to have a humble, contrite heart, to pray from the heart, and to it not for us to receive the glory, but for God to receive the glory.

Here's another very important fundamental about prayer. The Bible teaches that when I pray, I ought to pray in the name of, or by the authority of Jesus Christ. I'm to be humble. I'm to pray according to God's will. In my prayer, I need to approach God as the Bible teaches through the authority and in the name of His son Jesus Christ. Where do we find that in the Bible? John 14:13-14 Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the father may be glorified in the son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” There's the qualification. There's an “if” there. If- that's a qualification. That's a condition. “If you ask in my name, if you pray in my name.” When you talk about praying in the name of Jesus, we're talking about praying by His authority.

‘God, we approach you through the authority and power and in the name of your son.’ That's the idea. We're giving God and Christ the glory.

I'm praying according to the will of God. When we think about prayer, we also in every aspect of worship, prayer not only needs to come from the heart, and from the emotion- we want to pray with the spirit, and with the understanding. I want to think about what I'm praying. I don't want it be just mumbling or repeating as Jesus said ‘some vain repetition that I'm not thinking about.’ Here's what the scripture says. Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 14:15, ‘I'll pray with the spirit and the understanding and I'll sing with the spirit and I'll sing with the understanding.’ I want to pray with the spirit. That's the emotion, that's the human side. Think about all that God has done for us. Think about what a wonderful privilege it is to be a child of God. I approach God with humility of spirit and recognize that privilege.

I also want to pray with understanding. I want to think about what I'm saying. I want to use the intellect in the mind that God gave me to think about what the scripture's teaching. I want to pray not only just with my emotion, but with truth and with my intellect as well. That's a very important part on the subject of prayer.

Now, as you think about prayer, I believe, I believe most Christians understand the importance of it. I believe we recognize the fundamentals, many of the fundamentals that the Bible teaches about prayer, but breaking that down into something that we take the time to do every day, is sometimes the struggle that we face. Now you answer it for yourself. Do you really pray as much as you want to pray? Or as much as you ought to pray? Do you really take the time to pray like you know God wants you to? And to give God the honor and the glory in your life? Friend, let me mention just real briefly maybe some plans, some guidelines from the Bible that'll help prayer to be more of a practical part of your life.

What can I do to make prayer more practical to really utilize it in my life? Here are some examples. Jesus stands as the prime example of starting your day with prayer. Mark 1:35 the Bible says of Jesus, ‘and in the morning, a great while before daylight, he departed, when to a solitary place, and there prayed.’ What's a practical plan for prayer? Start everyday with prayer. When your feet hit the floor, when you hit the button on the coffee pot, you stand in front of the mirror to see how you look for the day-

remember prayer is just as important as all those things. It is more important than all those things, and it needs to be a part of starting every day. You wouldn't leave the house without brushing your hair or brushing your teeth or dressing nicely or whatever you may do in your morning routine- make prayer a part of that routine.

Here's another plan, a practical idea that relates to making prayer a part of your life, and especially your children's life- Daniel chapter six. It's a great example of how to put prayer in our life. Daniel had been told by the evil king. The command went out. ‘When you hear the sound, you're only to pray to this image that the king has made. Anybody that doesn't do that is going to be placed in prison or is going to face a heavy penalty.’ In Daniel chapter six, ‘when Daniel heard that prayer, Daniel in defiance of the king and in honor of God, with his windows open to Jerusalem, prayed three times that day as was his custom from early days.’ Daniel had been taught at a very young age and had made prayer a good habit. Friend, there's nothing wrong with having a habit of prayer, is there? There are some very good habits that we have, and I want to make prayer a habit in my life. I want to make it a habit in your children's life, a good habit, something that the day doesn't feel right if I don't do that in my life.

Another practical plan for prayer: Prayer ought to be a private time between me and God and where I can communicate to God. Remember Matthew 6:6? Jesus said, “Unlike the hypocrites who want to stand on the street corner and pray the long prayers to be heard of men,” Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, whether it be a closet, whatever it may be, shut the door, and there pray to God.” Prayer is a time to communicate with the father and to give Him the honor and the glory. Psalm 55:17, the psalm said, “Morning, evening, and noon I cry unto you.” There's a good practical plan, pray in the morning. Pray at noon. Pray at evening. All three of those are very important things that the Christian ought to incorporate into making prayer a practical part of his life.

Now, let me mention some things specifically. This list is by no means exhaustive, but let me briefly mention some things that the Bible teaches Christians ought to pray about on a regular basis.

Number one, the Bible teaches we ought to pray for the lost. Matthew 9:36-38. Jesus looked out on the multitudes of people and He said to His disciples, “Pray that the harvest is plentiful, the labors are few, pray the lord of host will send laborers into His harvest.” Pray that the gospel can be taken to the lost. Pray that lost souls can be saved and that men and women can overcome sin and become a part of God's family. Pray to overcome sin and temptation. Jesus taught us Matthew 6 where he taught his disciples in Matthew six, ‘lead us not into temptation.’ Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray, and never lose heart.” Every day, I'm going to face temptation. Every day the devil's going to do his best to defeat me and to lure me. I need to pray for the strength to overcome that.

We need to pray as Christians for forgiveness. Acts 8:22-24 Simon the sorcerer fell into sin. Peter told him ‘Repent and pray, that the evil thought of your heart might be forgiven.” I want to pray that if I have sin my life, God will forgive me. Every time I pray, I want to pray something along those lines. I want to pray for those who are sick and those who are suffering. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the others, let them pray over him. The idea is the prayer of faith will save him. If someone's sick, if someone's hurting, if someone's lost loved ones- I want to pray for God's hand of healing and mercy to be upon them.

As we mentioned earlier, here's another item that all of us definitely need to pray for regularly. I want to pray for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, tossed to and fro by the wind.” I need the wisdom, the ability to take God's truth and insert that in my daily life to know how to apply God's teaching in such a way that it'll help me to live a life that honors God and that brings glory and honor to others as well.

Now here's a thing that we definitely ought to pray for regularly: 1 Timothy 2:1-3, the Bible encourages Christians to ‘pray for kings, leaders, and for all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life, and all God bless.’ I'm to pray for the leaders of our world. I'm to pray for the leaders of our government. I'm ultimately going to pray that they'll obey

the gospel and live according to the Bible. I'm also going to pray that they'll allow Christians to live their lives in such a way that it brings glory to God and that they can reach the lost and save them in a world full of sin.

As we've thought about prayer today, our hope in doing this is that each of us will be encourage to be a people of prayer, and that when we pray, that we'll bring God the glory and the honor because we're praying in faith. We're praying for the things God wants to, and we're making prayer a practical part of our life.

Listen to this beautiful verse about prayer. The Bible says this in Hebrew 4:16. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we might find grace and mercy and help in time of need.” Did you know that through prayer, you can approach God's throne and ask for God's blessings, praise him, and give God the honor and glory?

We hope in your life that you're giving God the honor and glory. If you've never obeyed the gospel and you'd like to learn more about what to do to become a Christian, how do obey the lord's plan to salvation, just write to us or email us, call us. We'd love to help you with that.

As always, we want to encourage every person to live their life in such a way that it brings God the glory and the honor.

Study Questions for:

“Worship Series: Lesson 1”

1. According to John 4:24, how should we worship God?

2. According to Matthew 13:23, what did Jesus do after the people left?

3. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:17, how should Christians pray?

4. According to James 5:16, what overcomes much?

5. In Luke 11:1, what did they want to learn?

6. What does Jesus say of prayer in Mark 11:24?

7. According to 1 Peter 5:7, what should we do with our cares? Why?

8. What does 1 John 5:15 tell us about prayer?

9. According to 1 John 5:14, how will we know He hears us?

10. According to James 1:5, what should we pray for?

In Josiah 13:11 God reminded Israel “I gave you a king in my anger and I took him away in my wrath.” That comment is about one of the worst kings and worst decisions that Israel had ever made- to ask for a king.

Welcome to our study of King Saul and the practical lessons that we can learn from this Old Testament study.

Let's direct our attention to a very dark and dismal time in Israel's history, almost as bad as the time of the judges. This is when Israel asked for a king. We need to realize from the outset of this study that God was never happy with His people's desire to be like the other nations and ask for a king. In first Samuel 8:3-8, the people are now going to approach Eli. They're going to say to him, "Give us a king. We want to be like the rest of the nations. We want a king to reign over us," and he's broken hearted. Samuel is broken hearted about that, because he doesn't know what to say. He approaches God, and God says to Samuel, not Eli but Samuel, God says to him, ‘Don't take it personally. They're not rejecting you. They're rejecting me.’

From the outset, realize Israel already had a king. God was on the throne. He was the greatest king you could ever have. He had not been removed, and He was ruling and reigning in Israel. As long as they followed Him, they prospered. They began to as God, "Give us a king. We want to be like everybody else." Peer pressure had taken in. In fact, when the people asked for this, God warned them that they would rue the day that they had asked for a king to be like everybody else. In fact, to their credit, in 1 Samuel 12:19, the people are going to eventually realize they’ve sinned

by asking for a king. Nevertheless, the people asked for a king and God allowed them to have what they thought they really needed.

There's even a practical lesson to be learned in that. You need to be very careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. The people of Israel did not need Saul as a king. He was not a good king. He did not help them spiritually. He, in fact, further separated them from God and His will. Sometimes in our life we ask for things that we think we need, maybe without even thinking it through. Sometimes when we ask for something and God doesn't maybe give that to us, sometimes we even get a little angry about it. Let's realize God can see and knows what's best for us, and we need to put our trust and hope in Him. Be very careful what we ask for, because you might get it, and it might not be that good for you.

Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a son of Kish, according to 1 Samuel 9:1. He was from the town of Gibeah, which was a city about five miles North of Jerusalem. He was appointed king of Israel around 1090 and he reigned for about 40 years until the year 1050. Saul's death in battle was due to him being severely wounded by the enemy's archers, and of course, a botched suicide attempt an account of Saul's life can be found in 1 Samuel chapters nine through 31, and in 1 Chronicles chapter 10. Now, let's think about Saul. There's some good that Saul did. There are some really bad things that he did, and then there are some really ugly things that we're going to think about, as well.

Let's talk about, first of all, the good in Saul's life. Not everything about Saul was bad; in fact before he was appointed King, Saul had a great sense of humility in his life. 1 Samuel 10:20-21 ‘when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. When he calls the tribe of Benjamin to come near, by their families, the family of Matri was chosen, and Saul, the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him they couldn't find him.’ He's a very humble person. He's trying to live his life according to the will of God and not looking, as it were, for the spotlight. Saul also excelled in physical qualities, in physical stature, in good looks. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 9:2 that he is head and shoulders above everybody else. Maybe he was a really tall, handsome, or a good looking man. Although not an inherent quality of good, there is something that the people saw in Saul in this way. We notice also as the good that he did. The spirit of God initially came upon Saul, and had even worked in him through accomplishing his will. We find that in 1 Samuel

10:6. Saul did much good even in some of the battles he fought for God against the heathen nations. You read about these in 1 Samuel 11 and 1 Samuel 13 through 15. There were glimpses, albeit very short-lived, that Saul had some good things in his life. But friend, the bad and the ugly that he did is what Saul is really remembered for.

What made Saul a bad king? Here's the bad that he did. Saul's first transgression that really stood out in God's mind and that was very visible to the people is that Saul participated in unauthorized worship to God. He officiated in and he offered sacrifices to God contrary to the Lord's word, and he is eventually punished for doing that. As a result, the dynasty of Saul is going to die that day. Listen to 1 Samuel 13:9 to what happened. The Bible says, "So Saul said bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me. And he offered the burnt offering. Now, it happened as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering that Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him that he might greet him. And Samuel said, ‘what have you done?’ Saul said, when I saw that the people were scattered from me and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘the Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal. I have not made supplication to the lord. Therefore, I felt compelled and offered a burnt offering,’ and Samuel said to Saul, ‘you have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God which he commanded you. For now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.’"

Saul really messed up here in the sight of God. He wasn't authorized to offer that sacrifice. Samuel, the Levites, and the others were authorized to do that. He began to listen to what he wanted. You hear the word ‘I’ over and over again. He begins to think about how the people are going to view him. He begins to think about how his enemies will view him. He gets impatient and he offers unauthorized sacrifice and worship to God. Only Samuel was commanded to do that by God, and as a result Saul is going to lose his dynasty when God had a plan to leave him in there.

As you think about this principle and this truth here, let's realize that God means what He says when he sets laws in place. When God tells us how to worship him just as he told Saul how to worship, to wait on Samuel,

to let him offer that sacrifice- when God tells us what he wants, friend, God means what he says. When God tells us that we're to worship Him in a certain way, on the first day of the week we’re to be take the Lord's Supper, Acts 20:7. We're to sing and make melody in our heart, Colossians 3:16-17 and Ephesians 5:19. We're to pray to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, John 14 and Matthew 6. When God tells us how we're to do those things, God doesn't want us to alter, or change, or listen to what might be popular in the world today. God just wants us to do what he says. Saul's first and major blunder was that he did not respect the authority of God on worship.

Then there is the second transgression of Saul, and this was a big blunder, as well. Saul's second sin is that he was disobedient and rebellious to the will of God concerning the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15 God told Saul to completely go in and annihilate all the inhabitants and all the belongings of Amalek. Now, Saul did about 95% of everything God commanded him, yet God still considered his disobedience rebellion. You'll see, Saul wanted to leave the best of the flocks, the best of the gifts, the best of the offerings, and his intent was we're going to save the best and we're going to give it to God. He had even the right heart and maybe the right motive, but he didn't do all that God commanded him.

How did God feel about that? Listen to 1 Samuel chapter 15. Saul's disobedience and rebellion, although his motive may have been good, God considered that something that should not have been done. Listen to 1 Samuel 15:22-23. So Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great the light in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to he or listen than the fat of rams, where rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry, because you have rejected the word of the Lord he also has rejected you from being king.” This was a very serious matter. God told him exactly what to do. Don't leave anything. Wipe it all out from the people down. Don't save anything. Saul's heart is, well, we'll give the best to God. We're going to do this in honor and worship and to give God the glory. God said, that's like you disobeying me even with the right motive was like witchcraft and idolatry. It was disobedience, it was iniquity, and it was transgression.

Let's listen very carefully to the point here. God doesn't need my help. Even if my motives are right, God doesn't need my help. He doesn't want me to change things. He doesn't want me to spruce it up even if I'm doing that to honor and glorify Him. Saul learned the hard way. When God tells

you to do something, do all of it. 95, 97, 99% of what God asks for is not what God wants. God wants us to give our whole heart and our whole life to him. He wants us to obey Him in everything that He said, and He does. Saul lost the kingdom because of this.

We also know about Saul as part of the bad that he did that he was a very jealous person over David. You read 1 Samuel 18 and 19, and a spirit of jealousy begins to overtake Saul. On multiple occasions he even tries to kill or destroy David's reputation and who he is. Jealousy ruled his heart was one of the bad things that you find in Saul's life. It was a big part of his psychological downfall. Don't let jealousy, anger, or revenge rule your life. God wants us to put our trust and hope in Him although things might not may not be perfect in every situation with every person. If my life and my heart is right with God, then God will take care of the rest on that final day.

Now, as we think about King Saul, let's also think about the ugly that he did in his life. One of the ugliest acts in the life of Saul was his murder of the priest of God by the hand of Doeg the Edomite. 1 Samuel 22:6-23. Here we have Doeg, this Edomite who doesn't care anything about God or his people, and you've got the priest who's already told Saul he's not right with God. He doesn't need to be doing these things. Won't permit him to do what Saul wants to do, and so Saul sends in this Edomite to kill the priest of God. This act was done out of envy and jealousy, and it clearly expressed the depth Saul was willing to sink into to keep his power. God's already told him David's going to be next. Your dynasty's out. You're not following me. That's the way it's going to be, because the messenger of God wouldn't let him have power and be the king he wanted to be he thought he would take out the messenger. How evil that was of Saul to try to rule against God and to do things contrary to the will of almighty God.

As we think about Saul's life and as we think about practical lessons, I need to realize that jealousy, anger, and revenge are not things that God wants me to do in this life. I want you to think about a passage in Romans chapter 12 which teaches us that you can't let anger and vengeance and these type of things rule your life. Listen to Romans 12:17 following. The Bible says ‘Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Be loved. Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath for it is written. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a drink. In so doing

you'll heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’ Saul let jealousy and vengeance and a desire for power rule his life to the point that he even has a priest of God murdered by a heathen man. He's in cohorts with the heathen now. This is the depths Saul sank to keep power.

We need to realize that all power ultimately belongs to God. Each of us needs to realize that we're just servants in God's house. We're servants in the kingdom of God. Mark 10:45. Jesus taught us clearly that the son of man did not come to be served but to be a servant and to give his life a ransom for many. When you think about Christ, He's the ultimate servant, and he gives us the example of how we ought to live. Let's let God use us. There are so many people in this world who are hungry for power, and anything that gets in the way, they just seem to knock them down, as it were. That's the mentality of Saul, and friend, it didn't work out good for Saul at all, and it won't work out for people today. Rather than to make it my life's aim to grab hold of power and never let it go, I want to hold on to God. I want to let God be in control, let him have the power, and let God use me as he will.

Another very ugly incident in the life of Saul concerns the Witch of Endor. Saul is now upset again because he's going to be removed as king, and so what he does is he goes to a witch or a necromancer, the Witch of Endor, to seek Samuel's advice. This act is extremely deplorable because it was a clear violation of scripture and what Saul himself had previously stood for. The Old Testament prohibited someone consulting the dead. In Deuteronomy 18:10-11. They weren't to consult the dead. They weren't to use witches or necromancers to do that. In fact, Saul had banished all the mediums and all the soothsayers from the land. We learned that in 1 Samuel 28:3, and yet as an act of desperation Saul communicates with the Lord and with Samuel by the Witch of Endor. We can know that the witch was just simply a hokester because her response when she actually sees Samuel. 1 Samuel 28:12. She allows Saul to do this. Now, God's going to allow it to happen, but when she actually sees Samuel, she's shocked that it happened, as it were. Saul uses a medium, something he himself had been opposed to all his life. The extent he went, the methods he used, and how low he stooped to keep his power is another part of his problems.

Again, we learn that let's use the medium in the way that God has told us today in the Bible, and the Bible is God's word. The Bible is God's

revelation. Prayer is how we communicate with God. God communicates with us through the Bible. Astrologers, soothsayers, mediums, fortune tellers, and spiritists are not something that God has authorized today. Those are people who are looking to take advantage of others. God is the true source of all knowledge, all wisdom, and God holds the future in His hand, and if we put our trust and our hope in God, in His word, that's where real communication from the almighty comes from. Too many people are looking to find some revelation from some other source, or find some message that will bring them hope, and joy, and happiness. Friend, that message is found in the Bible. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, John 14:6. Hope is found in Christ. Grace is found in Christ. We find God's love and mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ, and so rather than looking for another avenue to communicate with God or receive blessing from Him, let's put our hope and trust in God's word, His revelation to man today.

And finally, as we look at Saul's life the last disgraceful and ugly act that he committed was Saul's own attempt to take his life or to be euthanized by another man in 1 Samuel 31 and in 2 Samuel 1. He's still trying to hold on to that power, and yet he goes into battle against the will of God. He is terminally injured by an archer there. He tries to take his own life. He eventually has somebody take his life for him, but again, look at the depths he's going to try to keep that power, to try to do what he thinks God wants him to do, although God's already told him. That's not right.

Friend, the only way to have real happiness and joy, and the only really way to access the power of God today is found in Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Philippians 4:13, Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."

As you think about the practical import of today's lesson and what we can learn from the life of Saul, we go back to the beginning where we noted that we need to be very careful what we do ask for. Israel asked for a king, and God said later, "I gave you a king in my wrath. I've taken away my anger." Saul did not help the people of God. They already had a king. God was on the throne, but they kept insisting we need this so we can be like everybody else. We learn from this that we need to be content with God as king. We need to be content letting God rule over our lives. As you think about Saul, friend, realize that God wants us, just as he wanted Saul, to obey Him. When God tells us how to worship that's exactly what God wants

us to do. When God tells us that he wants us to obey him, let's realize God wants what he says.

Listen to these verses. In Luke 6:46, Jesus questioned the Jewish leaders there when he said, "Why do you call me ‘Lord Lord’ and do not do the things which I say?" Jesus said, "If you're going to call me Lord, the natural conclusion is if I'm your Lord you'll do what I tell you, and yet you're not." Matthew 7:21. Jesus said, "It's not everybody that looks up into heaven and says ‘Lord Lord’ that's going there. Who is? He that does the will of the Father in heaven." Hebrews 5:8-9, Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

Saul didn't obey God. He reaped bad, bad consequences, and so did Israel because of that. Friend, let's learn from Saul that we need to obey God.

We ask you to consider are we really obeying the will of God? Initially have you obeyed the gospel of Christ by becoming a Christian? Friend, the good news is Jesus came to save men from sin, Matthew 1:19-21. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved, Acts 4:11-12. That gift of salvation can be yours today if you obey the gospel. Do you believe Jesus is the savior of the world? In John 8:21, Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I'm he you will surely die in your sins." Do you believe it enough to change your life and repent? The Lord said in Luke 13:3 ‘unless you repent you'll all likewise perish.’ Would you turn from sin and a life of sin and turn to God? Would you make the great confession? Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said that only those who confess sin would be saved. Jesus said, "If you won't confess me before men neither will I confess you before the Father who is in heaven, but if you will confess me before men I'll also confess you before the Father who is in heaven.” And friend, would you be immersed in water to have every sin washed away? In Acts chapter 9:6, Saul was told, "You go into the city and we told you what you must do." Saul Tarsus, you go in the city and we told you what you must do. In Acts 22:16. As he approaches Saul of Tarsus he says, "Saul, Saul, why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the lord." Would you be immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins? Acts 2:38.

As a Christian what we learn from the life of Saul is we need to stay true to God. We need to continue to let his power rule in our own life. Don't

try to grab power for yourself. Don't be power-hungry. Don't try to make a name for yourself or be prideful and have others look at what you do. Rather, stay humble. Let God work through you, with you, and stay true to the teaching of almighty God, and then we can have the hope and joy that every Christian ought to have.

Saul's life started out good. It got really bad, and then it got really ugly. All of it was because Saul quit keeping his life humble, quit trusting God, and lived in rebellion to Him.

May God help each of us to live our lives in such a way that we bring glory and honor to God and that the gospel of Christ rules our lives. May God help us to do just that.

Study Questions for:

“Old Testament Studies Lesson 7- King Saul”

1. In 1 Samuel 8:7, who had the people rejected?

2. According to Hosea 13:11, did God want them to have a king?

3. According to 1 Samuel 12:19, what did the people regret?

4. According to Luke 14:11, who will be exalted?

5. What does 1 Samuel 10:6 say of the spirit of the Lord and Saul?

6. What does 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 tell us about miracles today?

7. What does 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 say of the battle we are in today?

8. According to Ephesians 6:12, what is our war and struggle today?

9. What did Saul do wrong in 1 Samuel 13?

10. In 1 Samuel 15:22-23, what can we learn about obeying vs. sacrificing?