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Romans 10:8-11,13
". . . The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart:
that is, the word of faith which we preach; That if you shall confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that
God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart
man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall
not be ashamed. . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved."
Romans 10:16
"But they have not all obeyed the gospel, For Isaiah says, Lord,
who has believed our report?"
Belief and Obedience are inseparably linked together. Biblical Faith
implies not only trust and belief, but also action.
Matthew 7:21-23
"Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which
is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name? And in your name have cast out devils? And
in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity."
Matthew 7:24
"Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them,
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
. . ."
1 Thess. 1:7,8
". . .the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."
HAVE YOU OBEYED THE GOSPEL??? TRUE FAITH WILL LEAD TO TRUE OBEDIENCE!
Romans 6:17,18
"But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you
have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered
you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness."
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 provides us with a clear and
concise definition:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached
unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; By which
also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of
all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the
third day according to the scriptures: "
HOW DO WE OBEY THE GOSPEL? THE DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION?
READ Romans 6:1-7/Colossians 2:8-12
ACTS 2:38
An ancient proverb "Delayed obedience is disobedience."
Thomas Fuller wrote: "Obedience is much more seen in little things
than in great."
GOD DOES NOT ASK US TO DO GREAT THINGS TO OBEY THE GOSPEL. HE COMMANDS
SIMPLE THINGS:
CORNELIUS AND PAUL believed, repented, were baptized, and received the
Holy Spirit.
James 2:14
"What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith,
and have not works? Can faith save him?"
James 2:19-24
"You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also
believe, and tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without
works is dead. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he
had offered Isaac his son upon the alter? . . . And the scripture was
fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto
him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. You see
then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:26
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also."
Years ago I read of an old Scottish story in which a man inscribed
on the two oars of his row boat, "Faith", and "Works."
A curious passenger asked the old Scotchman, Why do you have the words
Faith and Works inscribed on your oars? The wise Scotchman commenced
to row with only the oar with the word "faith" inscribed.
And the row boat proceeded to go in a circle. Then the Scotchman proceeded
to row with only the oar with the word, "works" inscribed.
Again the row boat went in a circle in the other direction. The wise
old Scotchman then replied. "Faith if it has not works will get
you no where. Then again, works without faith is just as useless. But
only faith and works, put together brings results.
Illustration of the two batches of cookies:
Have you ever tried to make a particular recipe but did not fully carry
out the instructions correctly? The Food might have looked the same,
but it sure did not taste the same.
A young girl once decided to surprise her mother with fresh baked cookies.
She followed the recipe in the cook book but she did not measure the
salt correctly. Her incorrect estimation was about five teaspoons of
salt rather than one teaspoon. As a result the cookies looked great,
but no one would eat them.
Illustration of the Wood Duck:
The Wood Dock makes her nest in old hollowed out trees about forty feet
high. The mother begins talking to her baby duckling while still unhatched
withing the eggs. 24 hours after hatching, the parents call the baby
ducklings from the ground forty feet beneath. They call for their babies
to jump. For a human being, this leap is the equivalent of jumping from
an eight story building. The ducklings who are not obedient to their
parents will all die from predators. Only the obedient ducklings who
take the plunge will live.
All those who become God's True Children Must Take the leap of obedience.
The ducklings who have faith in their Mother take the leap to safety.
But the ducklings who refuse to take the leap of faith, all die. Beloved,
why not take the leap of faith today. For today is the day of salvation.
Tomorrow might be to late.
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