“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6.7, ESV)¹

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¹The apostle Paul’s purpose in preaching the gospel was to bring people to the obedience of the truth. We read in Romans, “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Rom. 1.5, ESV) and “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6.17-18, ESV), and “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith…” (Rom. 16.25-26, ESV).

Peter taught, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God...” (1 Peter 1.22, ESV).

It is often said that all one has to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus. However, we learn from these verses that one must obey. Since “the faith” and “the truth” are “the gospel,” then what Luke records in Acts about the priest is that they were obeying the gospel. While there are facts of the gospel (Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, etc.), there are also commands of the gospel. These commands involve not only believing in Jesus (Acts 16.31), but loving God (Matt. 22.37), having a godly sorrow for the sins committed against Him (2 Cor. 7.10), repentance (Acts 2.38), confession of Christ (Matt. 10.32), baptism in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2.38), and faithfulness unto death (Rev. 2.10). If you've done these things and continue to remain faithul then you are like the Priest who became obedient to the faith!

Do you need assistance in obeying the faith? Let us help you! We will study with you whenever it is convenient for you! E-mail Bryan Garlock, message us on Facebook, or text 903.308.4905.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7.1, ESV)¹

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¹Too often people stop with verse one of Matthew chapter seven. It is as if they do not know that verses 2-6 even exist. Jesus’ point is that if we are going to judge someone, we must make sure the log has been taken out of our eye before focusing on the speck in our brother’s eye. That is how we judge with righteous judging (John 7.24). Additionally, God’s word has already made the judgments. Those who teach sinners to obey Jesus are simply restating what God has already stated in His word and has authorization to do so (Mark 16.15; Matt. 28.19; etc.).

Below are some ways people use Matthew 7.1 along with the translation.

• "Only God can judge me" translation "leave me alone so I can sin".
• "You don't know my heart" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "We all sin" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "God knows my heart" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "Don't push your religion on me" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "I thought Jesus said, 'Don't judge'" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "Don't cast stones" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "You are judging" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "God is love" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "That's your interpretation" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "Why do you care?" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "No one likes a Bible thumper" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "Don't talk to me about religion" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."
• "You have a holier than thou attitude" translation "leave me alone so I can sin."

What’s your excuse to continue in sin? If you want to be left alone so you can continue in sin, then God will leave you alone after the judgment.

If you’re interested in learning more about God’s will, we would be more than happy to help you. Our goal is to live righteous lives so that we can properly help you overcome sin in your life too. E-mail Bryan Garlock, message us on Facebook, or text 903.308.4905 to study with us!

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1.6-7, ESV)¹

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¹This writer recently went to a funeral where the speaker claimed that “it does not matter what faith you are as long as Jesus is your Savior” (paraphrased). However, the Bible teaches us the complete opposite. It is sad that this man claims to speak for God and yet he spoke something that God did not say.

Paul, an inspired apostle of Jesus told the 1^st century Christians that there was no other gospel. In fact, he even taught that there is only “one faith” (Eph. 4.5) whereas the gentlemen above spoke as if there are many faiths. Admittedly, while there are many “faiths” as seen in the religious world, God only approves of one. [Note: “the faith” is the same thing in Scripture as the gospel. If there are many faiths, there are many gospels. For a study of this, please contact us.]

Paul continued, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1.8-9, ESV). Notice that he repeated himself and that his words bring serious consequences! It matters what we believe! We cannot just claim to believe one thing either not taught in Scripture or contrary to Scripture and then claim to be a follower of Jesus! If we are following Jesus it is because we are listening to Him and obeying His will on His terms.

Please understand that the world and false teachers will tell you that you can religiously believe and practice whatever you want, but the Bible teaches otherwise. The question is, “Will you accept what the Bible says or will you be like those who believe a lie?” (See 2 Thess. 2.10-12)

If you’re interested in learning more about the kind of faith we are to have to be pleasing to God please e-mail Bryan Garlock, message us on Facebook, or text 903.308.4905.

“The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” (John 12.48, ESV)¹

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¹We must have standards for all we do in life. Standard is defined: “as a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable; ideas about morally correct and acceptable behavior; something that is very good and that is used to make judgments about the quality of other things" (Merriam-Webster). Thus, without standards we would and could not agree on anything and disunity and chaos would follow. For example, the employee policy hanging on the wall at work is the standard by which all employees must measure themselves. If an employee is found lacking in a particular area, his or her employer has the necessary tools to either help the employee improve or if the employee continues to spiral down, terminate them. Therefore, we understand the policy to keep the employee working effectively and efficiently.

Another standard worth mentioning is the handy dandy tape measure. Without it our buildings would be crooked and unstable and our furniture would be uncomfortable to look at and sit on! This is because we would never agree to the length of a piece of wood. One builder might say the length is 10 inches, while another argues the length is 14 inches. Thus, to eliminate disunity and chaos, these builders would have to adopt a standard by which they measure each piece of wood.

In the religious world, the Bible is our standard. With it we measure our faith (2 Cor. 13.5; James 1.25), our maturity in Christ (2 Tim. 3.16-17; 2 Peter 1.3) and our eternal outcome will be measured by our faithfulness (Rev. 2.10). Since God’s word will be the judge, that is, our standard, it would do us well to heed and obey the words of Christ in all things (Col. 3.17). BG

Are you interested in learning more about God's word? Message us on Facebook, e-mail us, or text 903.308.4905.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3.16, ESV)¹

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¹John 3.16 is a verse that is loved by all in the religious world. In fact, it is the gospel (good news) message in a nutshell. Unfortunately, too many people distort this wonderful verse and teach something Jesus does not mean.

First, some teach that one must simply believe in Christ (as in a mental faith that Jesus lived and died for us), and secondly, that this belief (mental faith) is all one needs to be saved. While it is true that Jesus said we must believe to be saved, surely no one would exclude repentance from our sins, confession of our faith that we believe in Jesus, baptism in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and obedience and faithfulness to His will for the rest of our lives (Acts 17.30-31; Rom. 10.9-10; Acts 2.38; Luke 6.46).

Simply put, the believer of John 3.16 is obedient to Christ in all that He commands or he is not the believer Jesus is speaking about!

Will you obey Jesus today?

‘G’od so loved the world, that he gave his

‘O’nly

‘S’on that whoever believes in him should not

‘P’erish but have

‘E’ternal

‘L’ife

That’s the GOSPEL!

If you’re interested in learning more about the gospel, e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.