“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.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1.22, ESV)¹

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¹Tonight may be the last night of our meeting, but there is much work to be done. First, we must take what we have learned and internalize it and let it dwell in our hearts, and second, we must apply it to our lives.

Let us be blunt. What is the purpose of this gospel meeting if we are not going to practice what we have learned? To learn about God’s will and refuse to seek to better ourselves is fruitless in the kingdom and destructive to our souls!

Therefore, James taught, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1.21-25).

If you are interested in learning more about God’s will and how to apply the gospel to your life, e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.

“And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.” (Deuteronomy 5.1-3).¹

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¹The Law of Moses, also known as the Law of God (Ezra 7.6; 2 Chron. 34.14), was given to the nation of Israel. This was part of God’s eternal plan to bring us to Christ and the cross (Gal. 3.16,  19, 23-25). Once Christ came and died for our sins, He nailed the Law of Moses to the cross (Col. 2.13-14; Eph. 2.13-16). Shortly thereafter His will and testament came into practice (see Heb. 8.6; 9.15-17).

The New Testament was in accordance to the prophecy found within the pages of the Old Covenant (Jer. 31.31-34; Heb. 8.6-9, 13, etc.). Therefore, since Christ has come and died, we are no longer under the Law of Moses, but under the Law of Christ (Gal. 6.2; Heb. 9.15ff). Since we will be judged by His gospel (Rom. 2.16), we must not appeal to Moses for salvation, justification, or authority for what we practice religiously (Matt. 17.1-5; Col. 3.17; Heb. 1.1-2, etc.).

The question might arise, “if we are under the Law of Christ, why the need for the Old Testament?” First, among many things, the Law taught us about sin, holiness, and about obedience to God (Rom 3.20; 7.7-11; Deut. 10.12-13, etc.), and second, the Old Testament was written for our learning (Rom. 15.4) and examples were given that we might not sin against God as those of the past did (1 Cor. 10.6).

Finally, we need Christ, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10.4). The blood of Christ was and is sufficient to wash away our sins (Heb. 9.11-14). Yet, it is only when we comply with the conditions found within the New Testament that we can have our sins forgiven. In His New Covenant, Jesus taught, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16.16).

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

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5.19-21, ESV)¹

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¹Have you ever notice that Paul says “and things like these” in the above text? What exactly is meant by “and things like these”?

First, anything that is contrary to God’s will is included in those four words. Even things not mentioned in the Bible. For example, purposely running the red light. Nowhere are those laws expressed in God’s word, but obeying the government is (Rom. 13, etc.). We must understand that the Bible is not so much a book of “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots”, but it is a book of principles. Consequently, even if it breaks God’s law in principle alone, it is sin and included in “and things like these”. Therefore, Christians must learn to discern between right and wrong to be able to overcome Satan (Heb. 5.11-14).

Too often people put degrees on sin as if there are “acceptable sins”. However, all wrongdoing is sin (1 John 5.17) and whenever one fails to do what he knows that it is right to do, it is sin to him (James 4.17). Simply put, anything contrary to God’s law is included in “and things like these”.

Let us notice some other “lists of sins” found throughout Scripture that would be included in “and things like these”:

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Prov. 6.16-19, ESV)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matt. 7.21-23, ESV). Notice that this includes all works that are seen by us to be “good works”. Yet, if they are not according to God’s word, they are not good works and are included in “and things like these”.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25.41-46, ESV)

“And he said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’” (Mark 7.20-23, ESV)

“They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” (Rom. 1.29-31, ESV; see also vv18-32)

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6.9-11, ESV).

“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them…” (Eph. 5.3-7, ESV)

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” (Col. 3.5-8, ESV)

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Tim. 3.1-5, ESV)

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21.8, ESV)

These are just some of the sins mentioned in the Bible. For everything else, we need to train ourselves in God’s word to be able to discern right from wrong!

If you’re interested in learning more about sin e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905. We can help you overcome sin in your life and learn what true freedom – freedom in Christ – feels like!

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10.37, ESV)¹

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¹Jesus demands preeminence in the lives of His disciples. Sometimes this can be very hard when it comes to our immediate family. In fact, there are many examples of where people have faced opposition from mother, father, son, daughter, etc. because they want to serve Jesus.

Occasionally this writer will study with someone who needs to obey the gospel and yet they choose not to because such would cause issues between them and their family. Who do they love more? Perhaps our extended family is planning a special trip or a family day that would require us to miss worship. We have a decision to make. Who do we love more? At times our families may invite us to visit sinful settings with them. We have a decision to make. Who do we love more? Sometimes our family may ask us to go see an inappropriate movie with them. We have a decision to make. Who do we love more?

While we have responsibilities to our families, followers of Jesus have responsibilities first and foremost to Him. The temptation to satisfy mom or dad can be very appealing; especially when our relationship becomes uncomfortable with them because we expose and oppose their sin. Unfortunately, some family members threaten loss of relationship or even inheritance. These things are sad, but such are the consequences of one who decides to be faithful to Christ (see 2 Tim. 3.12).

No wonder Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10.34-39).

Are you interested in learning more about being a disciple of Christ? Let us help you! E-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.