Things You Should Know About the Thief on the Cross
The most well-known thief of all time is one of the thieves crucified beside Jesus. One of the thieves repented and acknowledged his wrong-doing. Jesus said to him, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
NO SUCH COMMANDMENT
The Lord’s church began on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2. The church grew rapidly as thousands obeyed the gospel and were added to the church (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7).
WHY DOES THE CHURCH OF CHRIST NOT USE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Visitors to services of the church of Christ notice that there is no instrumental music in worship. This might seem a bit odd since denominations have pianos, organs, guitars, and drums.
"THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO ME"
I suppose I was a bit gullible in thinking it would never happen to me. I had heard of fishermen falling out of boats and had witnessed it, but I never thought it would happen to me. Why? Well, it would never happen to me because I was always “careful” when fishing from a boat, and “paid attention” to what I was doing.
SOME BASIC FACTS ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
The term “church” is a term that has many different meanings today. Some may use the word “church” to refer to a building. For example, “I’ll meet you at the church,” which means I will meet you at the church “building.” Another may use the term to refer to a specific denomination. A person might say, “In my church, we believe in having women preachers.” The word church, in this sense, would obviously refer to one of the denominations which have women preachers (cf. I Timothy 2:8-13).
WORRYING AND PRECIOUS TIME
Time is a precious blessing not to be wasted. With each tick of the clock, the brief span of time we have in this world is passing. This is why Paul exhorts us to use our time wisely: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). We should “number our days,” making the most of each moment, living life to the fullest (Psalm 90:12).
THE BIG QUESTIONS OF LIFE
For ages man has pondered the big questions of life. Questions such as, where did I come from? Why am I here? And where am I going? These are the questions some of the greatest minds of the ages have attempted to answer.
Do Not Wait For The Kingdom
A few weeks ago a couple of nice gentlemen associated with a religious denomination knocked at my door. After introducing themselves, they got to the point they wanted to discuss: the kingdom of Christ. They insisted that the kingdom would soon be established. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, and I had plans for the day. Nevertheless, I invited the men in and asked them if they would be willing to listen as I shared biblical information about the kingdom. I then set forth the following thoughts:
A “TROUBLING” VERSE
I recently heard a preacher on the radio say that a certain verse was “troubling” for some. The verse he referred to is Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The preacher said that this verse is troubling because it “seems to say that baptism is for the remission of sins.” His understanding was correct. This verse not only “seems” to say, but it actually “does” say that “baptism is for the remission of sins.”
But why would that thought be troubling for some? The preacher explained that he did not believe baptism was necessary for salvation. He said that Acts 2:38 seems to teach that baptism “is” necessary for salvation. Therefore, he said this verse was “troubling.”
However, there is no reason for any person to be troubled by the teaching of this verse. The solution is to accept what it teaches, and then there will be no reason for a person to feel disturbed by Peter’s statement.
Nevertheless, instead of accepting the clear teaching of the verse, some attempt to interpret the verse so that it fits with their view that baptism is not necessary for salvation. One such attempt is made by saying that the word “for” in Acts 2:38 actually means “because of.” If this is true, then the verse actually teaches that one should repent and be baptized “because one’s sins have been forgiven.”
But this interpretation will not stand. The word “for” in this text does not mean “because of”; rather, “for” means “in order to obtain” the forgiveness of sins. Consider the following: Jesus said that He would shed His blood “for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). “For the remission of sins” in Matthew 26:28 is identical, in Greek and English, to “for the remission of sins” in Acts 2:38. If “for” means “because of,” then Jesus shed His blood “because of” the remission of sins? But that cannot be true. Jesus shed His blood “in order” for sinners to receive the remission of sins (cf. Hebrews 9:22).
In addition, after Peter instructed his audience to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, he then urged them: “Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:40). However, if the people were saved already, then there would have been no reason for Peter to urge them to be saved. This shows that the people needed to be saved, and, therefore, “for the remission of sins” means “in order to be forgiven.”
Let us resolve that Acts 2:38 will not trouble us. Rather, let us “gladly receive” the Word (Acts 2:41)!
“PROVE ALL THINGS”
The words above are recorded in I Thessalonians 5:21: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” The word prove means “to test, examine, prove, scrutinize, to see whether a thing is genuine or not” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). In matters of doctrine, then, God has placed the obligation upon all Christians to prove their beliefs and practices. This verse sets forth two vital points:
First, the command to “prove all things” implies that there is a standard by which things can be proved. The standard is God’s Word. Observe Acts 17:11: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Note that the people “searched the scriptures.” Why? The answer is stated in the verse: to see “whether those things were so.” They realized that religious doctrines and practices should not be “verified” by family tradition, opinions, what “the preacher said,” or feelings, but by God’s Word, the Scriptures.
Second, the command to “prove all things” implies that doctrines can be proved to be right or wrong. There is the popular notion today that two people may hold conflicting, opposing views; yet, both views are correct. “After all,” some say, “you have your interpretation and I have mine.” Though the notion that “everyone has the right to his own interpretation” is popular, it will not stand in light of what the Bible teaches. The command to “prove all things” suggests that in matters of doctrine, one may “prove” a doctrine to be right or wrong. Therefore, Truth is not determined by one’s personal, subjective interpretation. One’s interpretation of a verse (or verses) may be wrong.
Friend, when it comes to religious beliefs and practices, can you “prove” yours by the Bible? Since the apostle Paul instructed Christians to “prove all things,” we cannot afford to do otherwise. Don’t rely on what fallible men may say. Prove all things by God’s Word.
