THE SALVATION PUZZLE 1

The Bible has a glorious theme that runs throughout its 66 books. Each of these books is like a piece of the puzzle, that when you place the them all together you can see the "big picture." The "big picture" theme is "The Reconciliation of God and Man through Jesus Christ." Our central figure is Christ and He is the only one that can bring mankind back into a proper relationship with God.

Now, while the act of "saving" originates with God, He does work through agents. Agents are defined as, "a natural force or object producing or used for obtaining specific results" (dictionary.reference.com/browse/agents). The "specific results" that we are trying to obtain is that saving grace. So, some of the action is on God's part (grace), while some of the action is on man's part through agents (faith, obedience). Salvation does require the cooperation of both God and man. I cannot be saved without God and God will not force me to be saved if I am not willing.

I want to look now at what God's Word tells us that saves us. Throughout this article I want you to study this with an open mind and an open Bible. I am not going to give you my opinion about what saves us but what God says saves us. Some of these the religious world will agree while others the religious world will not. Also, you cannot go to just one verse that tells you that something saves you and end your search. This is to leave God's pattern for salvation as an incomplete puzzle. According to Milton Terry in his book entitled "Biblical Hermeneutics" he writes, "general harmony of fundamental doctrine which pervades the entire Scriptures. It assumes that the Bible is a self-interpreting book, and what is obscure in one passage may be illuminated by another. No single statement or obscure passage of one book can be allowed to set aside a doctrine which is clearly established by many passages." I know a lot of words to say one important thing, and that is each of us must read more than one passage in order to find out God's complete message.

Let us examine more that just one or a select few verses and pinpoint the complete message about how to be saved.

The first piece of the puzzle is "belief saves." John quotes Jesus in John 3:16, "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." Now the only problem that so many in the world seem to be faced with is that this is their only piece of the salvation puzzle. But belief is not all that saves us. There is another verse in the Bible that tells us that "belief saves." That verse is found in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Yes, without a doubt belief saves but not belief alone. More on Mark 16:16 later, so we have to search out the other pieces.

Next, is the piece found in Revelation 1:5. The apostle John writes, "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." So the next salvation piece is the that the "blood saves." This is stated in the verse that the blood "washed us from our sins" which is salvation.

This is not the end. But this is to be continued on to the next article. God bless you as you minister the message.

THE NEED IS ERGENT!!!

Today I read that Whitney Houston passed away. She was, by many judgments, the most talented singer ever. I am not ashamed to say that I was a fan in the 80s and 90s. Foxnews.com has reported that she sold more than 55 million records in the United States alone during her career. She had her ups and her wildly spiral of downs. But no matter the ups or downs she did give one of the most amazing renditions of the Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl. On the other hand, according to the Associated Press, she had a very dismal European Tour just recently. With all her positives and negatives, she still remains the highest selling recording woman artist in history. I will continue to pray for her family and friends that are grieving now and will grieve in the future. The funeral for Whitney will be elaborate and many stars will attend. Her influence on music will be sorely missed.

There is nothing that can be done for her spiritually, no matter whether she was a New Testament Christian or not. That is not the point of this article. The point I am trying to articulate is what is recorded for us in Hebrews 9:27, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment," (ESV). I wish that I had the opportunity to sit down with Whitney and teach her the truth about God and His will. But I never was blessed with that opportunity. But this brings up something that needs to be discussed. Who do we know, famous or not, that is not a Christian and with whom we have not shared the gospel? Does this tragic event in our news helped us see the desperate times we are in with those around us?

I would be willing to go out on a limb and say that Whitney was unaware that today was her last. In fact many reports said that she was getting ready to go to a Grammy party on the evening of or the next of her death. Reality must set in for all of us. Today might be my last day on this earth. I cannot see around life's corner. I do not know what is lurking tomorrow. With this tragic death in our minds, I must take every opportunity to preach the word. If your non-Christian neighbor were to die tonight, would you be able to say that you tried to share the Gospel? This is something that only you and God know.

Every opportunity must be placed in the context of James 4:13-15, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" If we do not minister God's message to those around us now, then we might never have the chance. "Today is the day of salvation..." (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Sources

- www.foxnews.com, "Singer Whitney Houston Found Dead" 2/11/12.

- www.ap.org, "Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies", NEKESA MUMBI MOODY AP Music Writer, Feb. 11, 2012.

EASY WAYS TO EVANGELIZE

"It is just too hard to evangelize." This is a statement that I hear from time to time. And for the most part I understand and have felt this way as well. But I am here to say that evangelism is not as hard as people want to make it. The hardest part is to over come your fear of spreading the gospel. I have put together some helpful suggestions to build some confidence the next time you share the gospel with someone.

First, you do not have to necessarily talk directly to someone to evangelize. The mail system, no matter how slow it might be, is a great way to share the gospel. Many people in America send out Christmas cards each year. I would be willing to venture a guess that some of those that you send to are not Christians. This is a wonderful opportunity to slip in a tract about the church or one on the plan of salvation. Also, I have heard of people sending tracts along with their bills. You might never know who would get their hands on that particular piece of valuable information. Even if it gets thrown in the trash, the janitor might pick it out and read it.

Second, financially support a House to House / Heart to Heart (HH/HH) mailing in your neighborhood. This is a wonderful means of getting God's word out. This paper is professionally done in a high gloss and colorful format. Many times mailings are targeted for an entire zip code. The staff at HH/HH can work with you and work within your budget. You can target a neighborhood, entire town, entire county or even an entire state. A congregation can even place all their information on the front page. Depending on how many pieces you mail this is a very inexpensive way of spreading the truth. The HH/HH publication even encourages people to go to their web site for more information on the church. If you are interested in this wonderful piece of evangelistic endeavor go to www.housetohouse.com.

Another great method of evangelism is the Matthew 5:16 method. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." People are all the time watching us. As a Christian, this can be the best way to open up a conversation with someone about the gospel. So many people are hurting in this world. They constantly are looking for a way out of the pain. Most of this pain is spiritual. When they see you shining the light of God in your life, they now have an avenue to finally seek the way to a better life. If you continually shine your light at work, school or in the community people will notice. And don't be surprised if they ask you to pray for them. Again, another way to spread the gospel or evangelize in an easy way.

Many people will say, "I can do these things." You see, evangelism is not as difficult as you might have first thought. As time goes on, I will share other articles that can help you evangelize the world around you. Remember, be a minister with the message of God.