"For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. . ." Numbers 23:9

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THE MOUNTAIN MESSENGER

FEBRUARY 2004
Volume 1..........................Number 1
Crum, West Virginia

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I JUST DON’T BELIEVE THAT!

By James E. Farley

I was watching TV and the "preacher" on the nationally televised religious broadcast was preaching straight into the camera. A telephone number was flashing at the bottom of the screen, and the preacher said, "If you are a sinner, bow down right now and pray that the blood of Jesus will wash your sins away." Then he offered to help by reciting what he called, "The Sinner’s Prayer" for people to follow.

I called the number at the bottom of the screen and was connected right away to one of the "counselors" on that particular program. I could hear telephones ringing and ringing in the background, and the man was almost whispering when he said something like, "Praise the Lord . . . How can we help you?" I told him that I had just heard the preacher say that a sinner should "bow down right now and pray that the blood of Jesus will wash your sins away." The man on the other end said sincerely, "Oh yes have . . . you done that?" I said, "Well, I would do it, if that is truly what the Bible teaches an alien sinner to do in order to have his sins washed away and be saved."

The man, now with a little confusion in his voice, said, "Don’t you believe that is what you should do?" I again repeated myself to him, "I would believe that with all my heart if that is what the Bible teaches." I then asked him, "Could you give me the Scripture in the Bible where the alien sinner is instructed to pray for the blood of Jesus to wash away his sins?" He now seemed really confused and said something like, "Well . . . uhhh . . . ummm . . . well, what do you think a person needs to do?" I said, "I think a person needs to hear the gospel and believe it," and I referred to some passages like Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6; and John 8:24.

My friend on the other end of the line agreed with me, and asked me if I believed. I told him that I did indeed believe the gospel, and went on to say that, ". . . the Bible teaches that a person must repent of his sins." He interrupted me and agreed strongly, even quoting Luke 13:3. I went on to read Acts 17:30-31 and 2 Peter 3:9 concerning the importance of repentance. He "amened" me. I then said, "Jesus instructs us to confess with our mouth that He is the Christ, the Son of God." I read Matthew 10:32-33 and Romans 10:9-10. He agreed with that too, and I read Acts 8:37 concerning the Ethiopian nobleman’s confession.

I then said, "The Bible also teaches me and you that a person must be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins, or in order to be saved." I immediately read Mark 16:15-16; Romans 6:3-4; and Acts 2:37-38. There was a brief but noticeable period of silence, and then my friend said, "You’re a member of the church of Christ, aren’t you?" I thanked God, then and there, for allowing this man to recognize me, and then said, "Yes, I am a member of the church of Christ." He interrupted me and said, "Well, I just don’t believe that baptism is necessary to a person’s salvation."

At this point, I asked my friend if he had a Bible handy. He said that he did, so I asked him to read I Peter 3:21 for me out loud. I could hear pages rustling until he found the passage, and

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he began to read, "The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us, . . ." he paused and then started again "The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us, . . ." There was some silence, and then he repeated himself yet again, "The like figure . . . whereunto . . . baptism,. . ." his voice trailed off and then I heard the Bible close with a thump!!! With that he said, "Well, I just don’t believe THAT . . .!!!

Here was one who was obviously so prejudiced by sectarian doctrines that he could not bring himself to believe what the Bible clearly says. I Peter 3:21 was contrary to all he had been taught. I simply said to him, "Friend, if you are not willing to believe what the Word of God says, then I can be of no help to you at all." With that he hung up.

Does baptism save us by itself? Or, to put it another way, are we saved by baptism only? Certainly NOT! We are saved by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:5; Matthew 26:28), but is our salvation by the blood ONLY? The fact is, we are saved by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-10)? But is it by grace ONLY? The very passage we’ve cited (Ephesians 2:8-9) says it is "by grace . . . through faith," so obviously it is not by grace only and not by faith only. We are indeed saved by faith, or by believing, but there is only one place in the Bible that has the words "faith only" and it says that our justification is ". . . not by faith only" (James 2:24). The Bible tells us that the Word of God can save our souls, but who would preach or teach that the Word ONLY saves us, before we put it into our hearts and minds and actions? We are saved by many things by grace, by love, by blood, by faith, by works, by the Word of God, by repentance, by confession of Jesus, by baptism, etc., etc., etc. There is even a passage or two that commands men to "save yourselves" (Acts 2:40), but we fully realize that man cannot save himself by himself, right? (Compare Jeremiah 10:23).

The fact of the matter is we cannot hope to be saved until we, by faith, humbly and meekly submit to God’s Will as right, and then obey the Master. A good study for you would to be to study the passages that talk about how we are to be humble and meek and submissive under the mighty hand of God. Consider James 1:21-25; James 4:7-8; I Peter 5:6-9; Romans 10:1-3. Really . . . take the time to look up and read all the passages I’ve listed in this article. Be a good student of the Word of God. Resolve to know the Truth. (John 8:31-32).

Remember the words of Jesus, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21). And again, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say." (Luke 6:46). Remember what the Lord had to say about true love . . . "If ye love me, keep my commandments. . .Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 14:15; 15:13-14). The inspired apostle John agrees with what the Lord says, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him . . . For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous . . . And this is love, that we walk after his commandments" (I John 2:3-5; 5:3; 2 John 6).

What about you dear reader? Do you love the Lord? Do you believe what the Bible says? Have you kept His commandments pertaining to what you must do to be saved? You may contact me with questions and/or comments at the mailing address listed in this issue. You may also contact me by e-mail at: preechkrum@charter.com or you may call me on the telephone at (304) 393-2033. Let us know how we may be of service to you in these most important matters.

James E. Farley -To Contact Jim by email, click here