“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.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1, ESV)¹

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¹Faith is defined or described differently by many people. Since the Bible is our standard, we must accept how God describes faith. First, it is assurance or confidence in God’s promises (things hoped for), and second, it is a conviction of things not seen.

Consider all the things we have not seen: God, Jesus, all Bible characters, the flood, the ark of the covenant, the resurrection of Jesus, miraculous healing, and on and on we could go.

Faith that has been establish upon the evidence of the Scriptures (Rom. 10.17), will be assured of what God has promised those who seek after Him and believe as truth things which we have not witnessed ourselves (See also Hebrews 11.2-3).

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb. 11.6, ESV).

The man that has faith is the one who pleases God, draws near to Him, and is commended by Him (cf. Heb. 11.2).

If you're interested in learning more about faith, 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!

“…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Tim. 4.2, ESV)¹

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¹Paul told Timothy to “preach the word”. Unfortunately, people do not like to hear God’s word. In fact, to keep people coming, many preachers and pastors preach jokes, funny stories, or feel-good-motivational-speeches instead of the word of God. Sadly, people leave having heard nothing more than fluff and “positive preaching*”.

Yet, Paul charged Timothy to preach the word “in season and out of season”; in other words, when they like it (Acts 2.37-41) and when they do not like it (Acts 7.51-60). Mixed with preaching is “reproving, rebuking, and exhorting, with complete patience and teaching”. Interestingly, notice that there are two negatives (reproving, rebuking) and one positive (exhorting) included in preaching. One such reason is because God’s word is meant to prick us in the heart to do better (cf. Acts 2.37). Therefore, these things are necessary for our growth in the word (Acts 20.32; 2 Tim. 3.16-17; Eph. 4.11-16).

However, if we are not built up in the faith then we will no longer want to endure sound teaching, and having itching ears we will accumulate for ourselves teachers to suit our own passions (see 2 Tim. 4.3-4). For example, imagine a man who loves to smoke going to ten different doctors until he found one who will tell him that it is OK to smoke. He is simply seeking a doctor that will suit his evil lust. Paul says that once that happens men will wander from the truth into fables or myths.

If you’re interested in learning more about the truth of God’s word and avoiding religious error and myths, e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.

*This writer does not believe there is such a thing as “negative and positive preaching” as we are often told to “refrain from so much negativity from the pulpit”. If one was to distinguish between the two, both are necessary for the growth of the saint. However, every sermon that presents God’s word and causes a soul to repent of sin or remain faithful is positive. We ask: “Where’s the negativity in that?”

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16.16, ESV)¹

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¹There are at least five different views of Mark 16.16. Let us examine them all.

View #1: “He who believes and is baptized will not be saved.”

• Those who believe this view: Atheists, Muslims, Jews, etc.
• Why? Because they do not believe in God or the Bible.
• Problem with this view: There is a God and His majesty and existence is seen in the creation of this world (Psalm 19.1; Rom. 1.19-20).

View #2: “He who does not believe and is not baptized will be saved.”

• Those who believe this view: Universalist [one that claims all will be saved].
• Why? Ultimately, because they cannot believe in a God that would send anyone to hell.
• Problem with this view: God says some will be saved and others will be lost: Matt. 7.13-14, 21-23; Rom. 6.23, etc.

View #3: “He who does not believe and is baptized will be saved.”

• Those who believe this view: Catholics, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc.
• Why? This view means infant baptism. They believe babies are born in sin and therefore they must be baptized to be saved (where’s the Scripture?).
• Problem with this view: The Bible says one must hear (Rom. 10.17), believe (John 8.24), repent of sins (Acts 2.38), and confess Jesus (Rom. 10.9-10) before one may be baptized. Can a baby do any of that?

View #4: “He who believes and is not baptized will be saved.”

• Those who believe this view: Baptist, Methodist, Lutherans, etc.
• Why? They do not believe baptism is necessary for salvation. However, they believe salvation is by “faith alone”.
• Problem with this view: Jesus said baptism is essential in Matt. 28.18-20. James said we are not saved by “faith only” (James 2.24). Since Jesus requires faith (John 3.16), repentance (Luke 13.3), and confession (Matt. 10.32-33), then one cannot be saved by “faith alone”.

View #5: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

• Those who believe this view: Those who believe Jesus, the Son of the living God.
• Why? Because they want to listen to Jesus (Matt. 17.5), obey Jesus (Luke 6.46), and be saved by Jesus (John 14.6).
• Problem with this view: None. This is the only view that quotes Jesus. The truth is, salvation and forgiveness of sins is found in baptism in the name of Jesus (Acts 2.38; 22.16; Gal. 3.27, etc.).

If we our honest with God’s word, we can see that Jesus’ words are truth and are in opposition to the views of the religious world. This raises the questions, "Which view is a lie?" and "Have you believed a lie?"

What is your view of Mark 16.16? Let me know. If you’re interested in learning more about the different views of Mark 16.16 e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.