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| Volume 17 Number 9 September 2015 | Page 8 |
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| Volume 17 Number 9 September 2015 | Page 8 |
Ernest S. Underwood
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God…” “And the wages of sin is death,” so wrote the apostle Paul in the Book of Romans. Jesus came to save man from the consequences of sin. He died on the cross, and then He told man how to take advantage of His sacrifice. The Gospel must be preached. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel…,” said He. He also stated that “Except you believe that I am He you will die in your sins…” He continued by saying, “I tell you No, unless you repent you will likewise perish.” In Matthew 10:32 Jesus Christ said, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” In addition, in Mark 16:16 He stated concerning those to whom the Gospel was to be preached, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
There it is! Saving truth in a nutshell–tough truth! Men have denied one or more of these truths, but their denial has no more changed the truth than one who has cancer, but denies it, changes the truth that he has it.
If one is lost in sin, he must obey from the heart the Gospel that has been delivered to humanity through inspired penmen. What will you do, obey the Gospel and be saved, or listen to denominational preachers, whereupon you deny and reject the precious, saving truth and only to be lost in hell? The choice is yours.
[Editor’s Note: Put so succinctly, the no thrills and concise statement of biblical facts about redemption may seem as though the salvation of souls is of little concern to members of the Lord’s church. Contrariwise, we care a great deal about every soul and are willing to be spent and to be used up in the service of Jesus Christ so that souls can have the opportunity, by knowing biblical truth, to be saved. I for one identify with the sentiment of the apostle Paul and his heartfelt desire for his countrymen to be saved. “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1 NKJV). I feel that way especially toward other non-Jews like myself. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
It’s Easier to Believe in God
Royce Pendergrass
Many people deny the existence of God. The following article by a Christian brother helps put the assertion that there is no God in its proper perspective.
If there is no God, there is no final accounting for all that exists. Mankind has always sought to understand the ultimate origin of the universe, often with a determination that bordered on fanaticism. How did the world and all it contains come to be? How do we account for the vast heavenly expanse of stars and planets? Where does man himself come from? The answer will never be known if the idea of a creator God is rejected. As there has always been in the past, there will indeed be many new ingenious theories to explain origins. But, like their predecessors, these will eventually be rejected as irrational, disproven by a law of science or remain forever as an unproven theory. Without God, man will be forever doomed to uncertainty, left to wonder in ignorance about the beginning of all things.
If there is no God, there are no real moral standards to live by. We speak of right and wrong, good and evil, wise and unwise in the absolute. But if God does not exist, these concepts are just creations of the mind. Any kind of behavior would be justifiable. All morality would be subjective. Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, understood the colossal consequences of rejecting the existence of God when he said, “If there is no God, everything is permitted.” The effects of this belief would be devastating on society. As one wag remarked, “The atheist is a fellow who denies there is a God but who prefers to live among Christians.”
If there is no God, there is no life beyond the grave. If there is no God, there is no immortal existence for man. Life would then be without purpose or meaning. Hopeless despair is the reward of unbelief. All achievements must finally crumble. Life would be swallowed up in nothingness. Happiness is impossible under such an impression. Surely the existence of man is of more significance than the existence of an oak tree.
Fortunately, we have been given ample reason and support to believe in God’s existence. God is! And because He is, we know where we came from, we know how to live and we know where we are going. (Dale Turner of Middlesboro, KY)
I thought he did a most commendable job with the subject. I particularly liked his closing statement that believing in God lets us know where we came from, how we are to live and where we are going. God had a purpose for man when He created him. At the creation “God blessed them [that is, Adam and Eve] and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Since God gave mankind dominion over all living things, mankind was His crowning achievement. He meant for mankind to rule upon the earth over the rest of His creation, and He didn’t mean for men to be idle because “God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).
Just as God had a purpose for mankind to replenish the earth, and just as He gave Him a material job to do, He also gave mankind a spiritual job—that of obeying Him. God placed mankind in the beautiful Garden with only the simple rules of dressing and keeping it and not eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil lest they should die. They sinned, and therefore, sin came upon all mankind. Today, God’s simple rule is still, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). That is man’s purpose, and just as from the beginning, life is easier and has meaning when we love and trust in God.