Cecil Hutson Sermon Archive

December 2, 2007 AM

REACHING THE POSSIBILITIES

HEB 13:20,21

INTRO: Are you satisfied with who you are spiritually? I have thought a great deal about that question recently. Just why the question has occupied so much of my thinking in recent days I am not certain. I think, though, that it may be the coming of the end of a year and the imminent beginning of a new one. Or, it may be that I am growing older and realizing that immortality is not to be found in this physical life ... thus, I need to find ways to encourage others (and, yes, myself) to reach higher with our spiritual goals. For most of the last week I kept thinking about the words "the God of peace...make you perfect..." I know that the word "perfect" does not mean "sinless perfection". Yet, there is some respect in which the writer prays for readers to be complete, mature.

THE U.S. ARMY SLOGAN...
1. "Be all you can be"
  1. the first time I heard that I was most impressed by it
  2. I'm not certain service in the army is the answer to the idea
  3. but I am certain that most of us can be more than we are!
2. Problem: are we satisfied with less than we could be?
  1. it takes dedication and effort to be better than average
  2. excuses for being "average" are easy to make - and sound reasonable
  3. are you o.k. with who you are spiritually?
WHAT OFTEN HAPPENS?
1. We convince ourselves we can be no better
  1. "I'm only human" keeps replaying in the mind
  2. and, yes, we are human ... but does that excuse mediocrity?
  3. Phil 3:14 - have we lost interest in the prize!
2. We become lethargic as the years go by
  1. "it's time for someone else to do it" may be our thought process
  2. yes, others should be stepping up to kingdom tasks needing attention
  3. 1 Cor 9:24 - but we cannot stop running and expect to win the prize
3. We mistake physical age for spiritual maturity
  1. "I've been a Christian all of my life" may be what we tend to say to self
  2. and that can be a great advantage if those have been growth years
  3. Heb 5:12 - but attained age is no guarantee of spiritual maturity!
4. We just grow weary with the complexities of life
  1. "I'm just tired of the struggle" we may find ourselves saying
  2. and make no mistake about it ... life can be a struggle as we encounter every sort of discouragement imaginable
  3. Phil 4:12,13 - are we depending too much on our own resources?
5. We become so busy that we fail to grow toward spiritual maturity
  1. "my plate is so full, and there's no end in sight" is what many of us face
  2. yes, being busy is a fact of western, competitive life - and many of us just keep saying "yes" to more and varied obligations
  3. 1 Ki 20:39,40a - what will we lose because we are "busy here and there"?
THE CHALLENGE TO US?
1. "Take time to be holy"
  1. this may be one of our most needed steps to real maturity
  2. time to pray; time to read; time to meditate; time to serve
  3. "leftovers" of time won't be enough to take us beyond spiritual mediocrity
2. "Speak oft with thy Lord"
  1. we are closest to people with whom we have good communication
  2. if we are not frequent in prayer, true maturity will not be able to flourish
  3. Ps 55:17 - do we recognize this need as did the psalmist?
3. "Abide in Him always"
  1. we tend to let spiritual things be a compartment in our lives - entering the compartment as needed
  2. we must learn to see ourselves living beyond the present physical limits
  3. Phil 3:1-4 - making Jesus our life, not just a part of our life, is the goal
4. "And feed on His word"
  1. somewhere I read "you are what you eat" - no question, diet is important
  2. so many folks want to reach high spiritual goals without proper diet
  3. Jas 1:21 - Ps 1:2,3 - I have little doubt that most of us want to be spiritually mature ... but to be so we must take the time to ingest the word
5. "Make friends of God's children"
  1. do not discount the value of close Christian associations here
  2. most of our worldly associations do not encourage spiritual maturity ... may, indeed, discourage it - we need strong Christian
  3. 2 Pet 1:1 - people of like faith give strength, encouragement, stability and such to each other - make it easier to live in a world hostile to faith

CLOSE: Reaching our spiritual possibilities should be our collective and personal goal. We say we must live in the world but not be of the world (Jno 17:14-16). And that is true. Is it possible, though, that we find ourselves being more "of the world" as we live "in the world"? The admonition of the writer of Hebrews is this: "let us go on unto perfection". There is our challenge.

Cecil A. Hutson

02 December 2007

God's Plan of Salvation

You Must Hear the Gospel

You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

You Must Believe

You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

You Must Repent

You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)

You Must Confess

You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

You Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Sins

Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

You Must Be Faithful Unto Death

Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)

What is the church of Christ?

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised to build a church. In Acts 2:47, Luke tells us that people were being added to that church. Thus, we can conclude that Jesus built His church sometime between His promise in Matthew 16 and Luke’s statement in Acts 2. Indeed, a closer study of the events in Acts 2 reveals that the Lord’s church was established on that first day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection when Peter preached the first gospel sermon. That church is the church of Christ.

A common misconception about the church of Christ is that “The Church of Christ” is its name. It is not. The “church of Christ” is its description. The church of Christ is the church that belongs to Christ, that was established by Christ, that was built by Christ, and that was bought by Christ. It is not our church; it is His church, the Lord’s church. We are not voted into the church by men, and we do not join a church the way some might join a country club. Instead, God adds us to His church when we obey His gospel.

Are those in the church of Christ the only people who are going to be saved? Of course they are! God adds people to His church when they are saved. If you are not in the Lord’s church, then you are not saved. If you are saved, then you are in the Lord’s church. To be saved outside of the church of Christ is to be saved outside of the body of Christ – and that can never happen. Jesus is not just a way to the Father; he is the way to the Father. As Jesus said in John 14:6, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Thus, the real question is not what is the church of Christ, but is rather how do you become a part of the church of Christ? That question was asked in the first century as it is asked today, and the answer remains the same. We are saved and added to the Lord’s church when we obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, we are saved when our sins are washed away at our baptism.

There is one church of Christ. If you are a member of something else or something more or something less, then you are not serving God according to His plan or according to His will. He wants you to be a Christian and only a Christian, wearing only the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the head and the savior of the church, His body.

Want to know more? Here are 10 things everyone should understand about the church, here are some common misconceptions about the church, and here is how God views the church.

What Must I Do?

What must I do? That same question was asked in Acts 2:37 at the end of the very first gospel sermon ever preached. Before we look at Peter’s answer in verse 38, let’s look at some answers Peter did NOT give.

What must I do? John Calvin answers, “Nothing!” According to Calvin, there is nothing we must do and nothing we can do. Each of us has already been personally predestined to Heaven or Hell without regard to anything we do on Earth, and so, logically, according to Calvin, the only answer to the question in Acts 2:37 is “Nothing.” But that is NOT how Peter answered that question.

What must I do? Many preachers today answer, “You must make Jesus the Lord of your life.” But that answer makes absolutely no sense then or now! Peter had just said in Acts 2:36 that “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus was already Lord of their lives! Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, which means he is your Lord and your King whether or not you obey him or believe him. We obey Jesus because he is Lord and King – not to make him Lord and King.

What must I do? Many preachers today answer, “You must pray the sinner’s prayer and invite the Lord Jesus into you heart.” But no one in the Bible was ever told to do that. In fact, Paul prayed after he saw Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), and yet Paul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always (Acts 10:2), and yet there remained something he still had to do after calling for Peter (Acts 10:6). If praying the sinner’s prayer was all that Paul and Cornelius needed to do, then why were Ananias and Peter needed?

What must I do? Listen as Peter answers that question: “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.” (Acts 2:38) That answer has not changed one bit in the intervening 2000 years. If your preacher is telling you something different, then you need a new preacher! “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)

Want to know more? Here is God's Plan of Salvation.

Cecil Hutson

Baptism in the Bible

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Mark 16:16

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

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.

Acts 8:36

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

Acts 22:16

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Romans 6:3

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:4

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

1 Corinthians 12:13

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Galatians 3:27

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Ephesians 4:5

One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Colossians 2:12

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

1 Peter 3:21

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Want to Know More?

Please read this lesson on baptism from our series of lessons on Thought Provoking Questions.

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