Do You Remember Your Forgiveness?

by Larry Rouse
www.cvillechurch.com

It is remarkable what some people can remember. Years ago when I lived in Lincoln, Nebraska I ran across a man who, when he heard that I grew up in Alabama, anxiously wanted to talk with me. Over dinner at a restaurant he relived almost every play of every Alabama football team that played under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. This man never lived in Alabama, but for whatever reason he knew more about that period of Alabama football than anyone I had ever met, even amongst those I knew in Alabama. However, when it came to talking about the Bible, my new found friend had forgotten the few things he had known about the Bible and had no interest in discussing that subject.

Over the years I have been perplexed by a growing problem that I have seen in some churches. Just like my friend in Nebraska, Christians have things they get excited about and cannot wait to discuss, but when it comes to foundational themes of Christianity they seem to have no interest. Why is this so?

The apostle Peter addresses this issue in the first chapter of Second Peter. After Peter explains the healthy steps of growth in a Christian’s life, he mentions some who did not add to their faith the components of self-control, kindness and brotherly love. Why are these people not growing? Peter through the Holy Spirit looks into their hearts and proclaims “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” (2 Peter 1:9)

What does the thought of your own forgiveness provoke within you? King David wrote the 51st Psalm with a powerful memory of a time in his life where he lay crushed by sin and separated from his God. After committing adultery with the wife of a good friend, he then had that friend murdered at the hands of Israel’s enemies through his instructions as King. He thought he had covered up this sin for over a year. Through the agony of a guilty conscience and by having his heart opened by the rebuke of the prophet Nathan, David was crushed and turned to God with his whole heart. What did his forgiveness mean to him? Hear his words, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:7-11)

The very essence of our relationship to God, of our praises to Him and of our evangelism to others, lies in a heart that overflows with thankfulness of what God has done for us. What greater thing has our God done for us than our own forgiveness through the blood of His own Son? What is the measuring stick of God’s love for us? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Do you remember that you have been forgiven? The truth is that your life will proclaim what is in your heart. David knew that once he found forgiveness and had the firm assurance of his relationship with God, that he could not help but talk to others. “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.” (Psalm 51:12-13)

The next time you assemble with Christians you should not keep hidden within your heart the great news about what God has done for you. “I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly. Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.” (Psalm 40:10-11)

Satan is pleased when churches are filled with men and women whose hearts are hardened and cold, whose religion is nothing more than an outward pretense. There is a better way, and that way begins by asking ourselves some hard questions about our own conversion and about the present condition of our hearts. Would you, too, like to have the joy of your salvation restored within your heart? Begin at the cross and let the knowledge of what God has done for you melt your heart and your will into a humble, but fervent, disciple of the Lord.

Jesus said this to Christians who had forgotten their forgiveness: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Do you hear Him knocking?

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Are There Many Ways To Heaven?

by Mark Larson
www.cvillechurch.com

“We’re All Trying to Get to Heaven, Just Taking Different Paths to Get There.” How often have you heard that statement? Too often, it has been said by people who want to legitimize most any religious belief or practice. Rather than examine the different religious beliefs that people have by the Scriptures, most people prefer to show “tolerance” and not interfere with what others believe the religion of God or the truth in religion to be. In American society where freedom is trumpeted, the philosophy is: “Everyone is free to worship the God of their choice and the religion they like best.” Unfortunately, respect for freedom has been taken to the extreme by most people. Rather than question the existence of the many different religious groups and denominations that we have, people accept religious divisions as a way of life in America.

If Many Paths to Heaven Are Possible, Then Jesus Died on the Cross in Vain!

Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6). If any path to Heaven will do, then Jesus needlessly died on the cross for our sins. The Bible clearly teaches that only through Christ can one have access to God in Heaven (Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:18; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25). Even though there are many different religions in the world, only the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ will lead a person to Heaven.

Not All “Christian” Beliefs and Practices Will Lead to Heaven

Many people in America agree that only through Christ a person may go to Heaven. Yet, at the same time, these same people believe there are many different beliefs and practices that people may have to express their “Christianity” that will all lead to Heaven! For them the motto is: “Preach the man, not the plan.” What they mean by this expression is that the only important issue is that people believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. What people happen to believe about other matters and practices in religion is of no real consequence to them, so we need not be concerned. The belief that all so called “Christian” paths lead to Heaven usually comes from the “Can’t we all just get along” philosophy in the desire for unity.

Belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is at the core of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-4). However, the Lord made it clear that no one can go to Heaven by following beliefs and practices that are contrary to the Father’s will (Mat. 7:21-23). Some paths that people choose in religion definitely do not lead to Heaven (2 Pet. 2:1-3). Just because a religious group or teaching makes the claim to be of Christ, does not make it so. All religious teachings, including those associated with the name of Christ must be tested by the word of God (1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11). Contrary to popular belief, what a person believes and teaches does matter! (Gal. 1:6-9).

Would You Take Any Road to Travel to Your Destination?

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus does not speak of many ways that lead to life, but only one “narrow” way of truth. It is amazing that people do not understand this principle in religion, yet in travel most everyone does. Imagine being on a road trip and you stopped to ask a man for directions to Nashville and he told you “Take any way you want to. It doesn’t matter which way you go. Any road you choose will lead you to it.” You would wonder if the man was mentally unstable, dishonest, or just “pulling your leg!” Not all roads will lead to Nashville or to our final destination in travel. Neither do all roads in religion lead to Heaven.

Religious Paths Invented by Men Do not Lead to Heaven

When a person comes up with their own way to get to Heaven and does not take the one “narrow” way that God has given, the place he or she will end up is not Heaven, but Hell. The Bible warns against coming up with our own way to Heaven: “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Prov 14:12). People will take many different paths invented by men (e.g., religious creeds, traditions, popular opinion or philosophy, worldly wisdom, family customs, etc.), yet not one of these will lead to Heaven. It does not matter how sincere people are in their moral and religious convictions. If the path they have chosen to take to Heaven is the wrong path, it will still lead to “the pit of destruction” (Mat. 15:12-14).

Only the Path of Truth Will Lead to Heaven

When we listen to the truth, believe in its message, and obey it, we then know that we are on the right path that leads to Heaven (Eph. 1:13; 1 Pet. 1:22). By continuing in God’s word, which is truth (John 17:17), we can be set free from our sins (John 8:32) and have the hope of eternal life. Only through faithful obedience to the words of Jesus (law of Christ as revealed in N.T. - 1 Cor. 9:21) may a person have confidence in going to Heaven after this life is over (John 12:48).

The Path to Heaven Must Be Chosen

Most people believe, that in “the end,” they will somehow be received up into Heaven by virtue of “the fact” that they are “good” people who want to be saved. Rather than choose a particular path to get to Heaven, they just assume that Heaven is their home and hope for the best.
The Scriptures teach that no one can enter into Heaven by good morality alone, no matter what the standard of good a person may have. Everyone needs to obey the gospel to have their sins forgiven and be saved: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Even a devout and generous man like Cornelius still needed to obey the gospel to be saved (Acts 10:1-2, 48; cf. Acts 2:38). Everyone needs to obey the truth to go to Heaven, no matter how “good” a person may be.

Furthermore, no one stumbles into Heaven by chance or accidentally! Instead, the path that leads to Heaven must be chosen on purpose and traveled upon deliberately throughout life: “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things (i.e., vs. 4-9), you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (2 Pet. 1:10-11). After obeying the gospel (i.e., Acts 16:31ff; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 2:38), every Christian must stay the course, remain faithful, and continue on the path of truth to the end in order to go to Heaven (Heb. 3:12-14; Rev. 2:10).

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Why I Left the Baptist Church

by Larry Rouse
www.cvillechurch.com

In the fall of 1973 I had no intention of leaving the church in which I was raised. On the contrary, I had recently publicly professed my faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized on the same day. I could well be described as “on fire” for the Lord. I was quickly received and surrounded by men and women who wanted with all their hearts to reach others with the gospel. Both in social settings and in door-to-door efforts I was taught and shown by example how to share my faith.

I began studying the Bible on my own for the first time in my life. I was greatly encouraged in this by others in the Baptist church who also expressed great confidence in the Bible as the perfect, complete word of God. They encouraged me to memorize scripture, to quote scripture, and, above all, to follow the scripture, even above what a man or a church might want. I truly had learned the nature of a living faith as expressed by Jesus when He said: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

There were issues that I began considering as I looked at the current state of what was broadly called “Christianity.” Jesus clearly pointed to a definite, clear path for all of those who trust in Him to follow (Mt 7:13-14). Our Lord, in the very night He was to be betrayed, prayed to the Father about each of us that would later come to believe in Him. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me (John 17:20-21). When I read the Lord’s words, uttered in the very shadow of the cross, I became determined that I would not be the one that would cause another to turn away from the Lord. These words plainly show that unity can come only from a complete commitment to the Lord.

Anyone who looks at the religious world can easily see that most of the effort of men in the name of God is done to be seen by men and out of loyalty to men and the denominations they build (Gal 1:10, Mt 15:13-14). While my knowledge of the Bible was limited, I decided to test my own practices and be open to new things by focusing on God’s word and not on men. “The Lord will not lead me wrong” was often in my thoughts as I looked at the scriptures. I was not afraid to be challenged by His word!

One Sunday morning, as I was driving from the Baptist College, Samford University, to my parent’s house, I heard a lesson from a preacher concerning the Lord’s Supper. While I was in the Baptist church, I had never partaken of this memorial of the Lord. The lesson on the radio described passages that I had read, concerning how Jesus instituted His supper and how He wanted every disciple to partake of it (Mt 26:26-28; 1 Cor 11:23-25). As the preacher continued, he showed the significance of Sunday, the first day of the week, in the regular assemblies of Christians (1 Cor 16:2). The Holy Spirit recorded how one church partook on the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 10:16). As I drove my car, I also wrote down these and other passages of scripture to examine later. I became convinced that I should partake of the Lord’s Supper on every first day of the week.

That very day I faced a dilemma. The Baptist church where I attended was not offering the Lord’s Supper that Sunday. How was I going to resolve this situation? Rather than point to inconsistencies of others, or make up some hypothetical situation to justify myself or “my church,” I simply tried to obey the Lord. That day I viewed the lunch I ate at my parent’s house as a private partaking of this supper of the Lord. I was soon to see that this sincere effort was not the way to follow these instructions of Jesus. It would not be long, however, before I would find a proper way to remember Jesus as He had instructed.

After attending a semester at Samford University, I had enrolled at the University of Alabama and was in the process of visiting several churches. On a Wednesday night I decided to visit the University church of Christ. I sat in the back of the auditorium and heard a class taught by their campus minister, Ron Gholston. This class would plant a seed that would change my life.
Brother Gholston began with the great commission of Jesus as recorded in the book of Mark. “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). The teacher likened this verse to a math equation (1+1=2). He proceeded to make this point. “Suppose someone decided to be baptized but did not have a personal faith in Jesus. Would they be saved? It is like taking one of the “1’s” away from the equation. When that happens then you cannot have the proper result. A person who does not believe but is baptized cannot rightly expect salvation.”

I fully agreed with brother Gholston, but was surprised at the next point he made. “What about the person that believes but is not baptized?” He gave the same illustration with the equation (1+1=2) but then made a point that I had not considered. Was baptism an essential step in salvation?

Over the course of that class I came to see passages of scripture that I had never considered. The preacher made a similar point with the equation illustration (1+1=2) on another passage of scripture. ”Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). He began to make the point that whenever you find baptism and salvation (or forgiveness) in the same context, that baptism always precedes salvation (1 Pt 3:20-21). This point made a deep impression on me.

As a Baptist, I used the “4 Spiritual Laws” tract. In this tract I taught others to seek the forgiveness found in the blood of Jesus shed on the cross (Rom 3:23; 6:23). I urged them to receive Jesus as their Savior by saying the “sinner’s prayer,” being a fruit of genuine faith and repentance. This is what I had been taught and this was what I had seen practiced in the Baptist assemblies.

Brother Gholston continued in his class to give the example of the conversion of Paul. After the Lord had struck Paul blind, we find that Paul now came to believe in Jesus and obediently follow His instructions (Acts 9:1-6). I heard many sermons in the Baptist church describing how Paul was saved at that point. I could read in my Bible how Paul in Damascus was fervently praying and fasting before the Lord (Acts 9:7-11). I had considered Paul’s prayer as positive proof that he was now saved.

There was one more scripture to be presented in the class that would deeply move me and cause me to reconsider earlier teachings I had received as a Baptist. When Paul, in his own words, describes what Ananias said to him, it became crystal clear to me about the point in time that Paul was saved. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Paul had prayed and fasted for three days and still was not forgiven! He needed to be baptized!

The next week I spent a considerable amount of time in Bible Study and reflection. I privately talked to brother Gholston and came to see that there were some real questions about my own baptism. From the Bible I learned that it is possible to be immersed in water for the wrong reason and, as a result, that baptism not be acceptable to God (Acts 19:1-6). Rather than be unsure about my stand, I was baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of my sins (Acts 2:38).
This was just the beginning of my journey with the Lord. I knew that I needed to stand for the undenominational Christianity that the Lord had prayed for (John 17:20). From that point on, I have sought to be a part of local churches that would stand with the Lord in keeping the great commission He gave (Mark 16:15-16; Mt 28:18-20).

Since that time I have continued the same process of examination and standing. I since have often thought about Paul and the reasons he left the religion in which he was raised (Phil 3:4-11). Are you standing in God’s righteousness alone?

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Receive Jesus as Your Savior

by Mark Larson
www.cvillechurch.com

Many religious people, with good motives, seek to save the lost by getting anyone they can to receive Jesus as their Savior through prayer. The so called “plan of salvation” often goes something like this: “Pray the following prayer and receive Jesus as your Savior: Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus. You said in Your Word: "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved" (Rom. 10:9). I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. Your Word says, "...with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:10). I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth Jesus as my Lord. Therefore, I am saved! Thank You, Lord!”

Is this the Gospel plan for salvation? Is that all that is required of God to become a Christian? As popular as this doctrine may be, we need to look to “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) (not just Romans 10:9-10) to gain understanding of the truth on what exactly is the plan of salvation.

What Does it Mean to Receive Jesus as Your Savior?

Only two times during His ministry did Jesus speak about the importance of “receiving” Him (Mark 9:37; John 5:43) and in both cases Jesus gives no instruction to pray. For example, Jesus rebuked the Jews for their willingness to believe in false teachers or false Messiahs, but not in Him: “I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him” (John 5:43, NASB). “Receive” (from lambanoo) in this context means to receive, accept, admit, or come to believe (See Thayer & Friberg Lexicons). “Receiving” Jesus, in this sense, is certainly important to a person’s salvation (e.g., John 8:24), yet never does Jesus (or His apostles) teach that one must pray to receive Jesus as their Savior in order to be saved.

If a person truly wants to “receive Jesus,” then that person will also receive the sayings or teachings of Jesus: “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). Being saved or entering into a right relationship with the Lord is not based on our faith in Him only, but also by our acceptance or belief in the words of Jesus. If, indeed, we believe in the words of Jesus (which would include the words which He gave His apostles – Eph. 3:3-5), then we will obey them. Those who truly believe in God’s word and accept the Scriptures as the actual words of God will perform the works of God (1 Thes. 2:13).

“Receive My Sayings”

Those who are quick to quote Romans 10:9-10 as the plan of salvation neglect much of the doctrine of Christ. Yes, Jesus did say (through the apostle Paul): “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9), but that is not all that He said! If we truly want to receive Jesus and not reject Him (John 12:48), then we must take heed to all that Jesus said on how to be saved. True believers in Jesus receive all of His sayings, not just a few.

Jesus also said that in order to be saved, we must repent of our sins: “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Through the apostle Paul, the Lord tells us that repentance leads to our salvation (2 Cor. 7:9-10; cf. Acts 17:30; Rom. 2:4-5).Thus, repentance is as critical to our salvation as belief in Christ and our confession of Him.

Jesus, furthermore, said that in order to be saved, we must be baptized: “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). To become one of Jesus’ disciples, a person must be baptized into His name: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mat. 28:18-19). To become a disciple of Jesus means to become a Christian (Acts 11:26). No one is a Christian until he or she is baptized into Christ. In fact, no one belongs to the Lord’s church until he or she is baptized into His name: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ ... Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them... And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:38, 47, NKJV; cf. 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18).

Every single person, as recorded in the book of Acts, who received the sayings of Jesus to become a Christian was baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38-41; Acts 8:5-13, 35-38; 9:18; 10:48; 16:31-33; 18:8; 22:16). There is no record in the Scriptures of anyone “praying to receive Jesus as their Savior” to become a Christian. Can you name one?

Jesus is Savior to Those Who Are “in Christ.”

If you really want Jesus to be your Savior, it will not come by praying a prayer. To partake of “all spiritual blessings in Christ” (Eph. 1:3), you need to be “in Christ” or enter into fellowship with Christ where salvation is found. The way to do that is to be baptized into Christ: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4; cf. Gal. 3:27).

Isn’t Romans 6:3-4 just as true as Romans 10:9-10? If not, why not? Receive all of Jesus’ sayings and you will, in truth, “receive Jesus as your Savior.”

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A World Without Jesus

www.cvillechurch.com
by Larry Rouse

Imagine a world without Jesus. John Lennon encouraged that in his song Imagine. “Imagine there's no Heaven, It's easy if you try, No hell below us, above us only sky… Imagine there's… no religion too.”

If there were no Jesus then there would be:

1. No morals – Without God we are no better than animals, doing as we wish. (Rom 1:19-32)

2. No justice – Many wicked men would escape accountability if there was no judgment day. (Psa 73:12-17)

3. No love – The love of God that provided the gift of His only Son for us would be a cruel lie. (Rom 5:6-8)

4. No meaning to life – The atheist, Robert Ingersoll, said, "Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities.” Now hear the words of Jesus (John 10:10; 14:1-6)!

Is all of this just a matter of imagination? No, there is strong evidence for the Jesus revealed in the Bible. Why not look anew at the Bible today?

Please use our online resources at www.cvillechurch.com or e-mail me at larryrouse@cvillechurch.com.

You may listen to our daily devotional recorded messages at (434) 975-7373.

The Foundation of Spirituality -- Honesty

by Larry Rouse

Why does the preaching of the gospel seem not to be effective in our society today? We know that God’s word has not changed, nor has its power (Rom 1:16). We are assured by God that His word will never return to Him void, but will always accomplish the purpose for which He sent it (Isa 55:11). Today, with this present generation, as it has in past generations, the word of God is able to expose hearts and allow men to choose light or darkness (Jn 3:19-21). This choice depends upon the kind of heart a man possesses.

When Jesus described the kind of heart in which the word of God would be received and would prosper, He described it as “good and honest” (Lk 8:15 KJV). Will a man choose light or darkness, honesty or dishonesty? If a man decides that he “hates the light” then God will let him “believe a lie” and will not do anything further other than the presentation of His word (2 Thess 2:10-11).

We must fight the temptation to be dishonest

The battle for honesty lasts a lifetime. God emphatically warns the Christian to guard his heart and to keep it pure. “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds” (Col 3:9). God has plainly told us: “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence” (Psa 101:7).

The nature of man has not changed. Without continual exposure to the word of God, men’s hearts will be pulled back to self-justification and blindness (Prov 16:2; Jer 17:10-11). Why do men prefer dishonesty? Psychologists suggest that men tend to make up the reasons for their behaviors after they do them, and that their “reasons” and behavior usually have nothing to do with each other.

King Saul was a prime example of a good man who gave in to dishonesty to his own destruction. Do you remember the various explanations that he made to Samuel when he was confronted about his direct disobedience to God’s command (1 Sam 15:3, 15, 20-21)? “I was going to sacrifice them! No, wait, it was the people that did it!” Finally, after a spiritual wrestling match, Saul admits his sin, but without true repentance! Saul thought that his outward confession without a changed heart would put him right with God. In this he had deceived himself! This pattern would remain throughout Saul’s life.

We must recognize dishonesty

God’s love will lead us to look to the good in others. Indeed, we want to believe the best about others and not be quick to judge another’s actions without sufficient evidence. Nonetheless, the Bible is filled with warnings concerning those who would deliberately mislead us and the kind of tactics they will use to accomplish this task. “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Eph 4:14). “”These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (Jude 16).

It is a difficult thing for good and honest Christians to see the deceit and manipulation from those who have a hidden agenda to pull others into their circle. Flattery is first used to gain a closer association and trust. Then lies are told in secret to inflame emotions and close minds (Prov 18:19). Finally, these men succeed in having their new disciples cut off association with their former brethren without so much as talking about these newly discovered “differences” over an open Bible (Gal 4:16-17).

A commitment to honesty will keep us from these “closed door decisions” that result in one “cutting and running.” Instead we will openly discuss and test those who have beliefs that they say are of God (1 Jn 4:1). Also, we will not accept testimony about the personal actions of another without first giving that person a chance to defend himself (Prov 18:17; Mt 18:15-17)!

Pride always leads to dishonesty

Those who do not know God cannot stand to look at themselves honestly. The driving force behind pride is the desire to be recognized and have praise because we wish to appear to be something that we are not. “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal 6:3). Those that follow this path must wear a mask. They must fight to “keep up appearances” and work to tear others down so that they can receive this vain and temporary recognition of men. There is a better way to live your life!

God’s forgiveness allows us to be honest

God sees me as I am, and, in spite of that, He loves me and seeks my best. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). God sees the darkness of my sin and has provided a sacrifice that will wash away my sins and restore my relationship with Him (Rom 3:23; 6:23). What do I need to do? I need to be honest! I must see my own sin and make no excuses. The love of God must move me to change my heart in repentance that will result in a changed life. I then will take the final step in water baptism, yielding my body to a burial and resurrection like the Lord’s (Rom 6:3-5). I now am the Lord’s, not because I am perfect, but because I am forgiven and have yielded my heart to Him (Acts 2:38-39).

The Christian life is characterized by the forgiveness of God. Rather than run from my shortcomings, I can now run to God for a greater sight and to seek His help in growing to be something more in His service. I come to love the truth, to love bold and honest preaching because it allows me to see what God already sees and what I need to know. Most of all, I am thankful that God’s word is able to penetrate my heart when it drifts into dishonesty and point me back to Him. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb 4:12-13).

Be honest. Are you genuinely serving the Lord with all of your heart (2 Cor 13:5)?

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Prov 28:13).

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E-Mail: larryrouse@cvillechurch.com