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THE WISDOM OF THE SCRIPTURE

April 4, 1999 PM

Sermon Outline

DONT WASTE TIME!

Eph 5:15-17 & Col 4:5

INTRO: Dad would occasionally say to me, Son, youre sitting on the stool of do nothing, whittling on the stick of do less. Or mom would say, Son quit staring into space and get busy. Both of them recognized that I could be a great time waster ... especially if it involved something that interfered with my agenda. I am not the only person ever afflicted with that disease, however, I would, at this point in my life, like to reclaim all of my wasted time! But, too bad; it cannot be done. The wisdom of the scriptures is simple: dont waste time.

I. DO WE HAVE TIME TO WASTE?

A. We may think we do ...

1. Ive got plenty of time

2. Oh, Ill get around to it one of these days

3. Ill do it in a minute

4. then, I never seem to have enough time

B. Fact: there is a termination point to your life

1. Heb 9:27 it is appointed unto men once to die

2. the moment of conception sets off a biological clock

3. while none knows the span of years that clock will cover, it has a stop point

4. a true wasting of time robs you - you steal from yourself one of your most precious assets

II. WE DONT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ...

A. Making decisions affecting our souls

1. question: Mt 16:26 we need to take care of this

2. if we die out of Christ, we will spend eternity in hell

3. since no person knows with certainty the events of the next moment, one should not waste time here

4. 2 Cor 6:2 says it well

B. Strengthening our marriages

1. at Eph 5:29 is nourish - marriage is a living thing affected by time ... and its passing

2. as with a garden which needs constant nourishing and care, so must a marriage have it

3. neglect the living garden, and it will not prosper

4. husbands and wives must give each other consideration and attention now ... not one of these days

C. Instructing, guiding our children

1. Eph 6:4 is nurture ... doesnt happen accidently

2. times passing affects children, too - The Sculptor

3. if we waste precious time, the time too soon comes when you may not have opportunity to bless their lives

4. the needs of your children arenow

D. Encouraging another

1. either one who is hurting or one who is in some struggle

2. Gal 6:2 its when theres a burden hat help is needed

3. I need to write a note to ... -I ought to take ______ a pot of stew ... ought tos get lost in our time wasting (should haves??)

4. somewhere I read a poem which was entitled Do It Now ... dont we all need to think about that

III. MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME?

A. Consider 1 Tim 1:12,13 with Eph 5:15-17

1. I have often wondered if the fact of the 1 Tim 1 passage did not bear on the advice of Ephesians passage

2. those empty, wasted years - time wasted

3. sad thing ... any wasted time and effects of that waste cannot be retrieved - regrets aplenty

B. But each of us can stop wasting precious time

1. certainly Eph 5:17 gives us needed advice for now

2. we can begin filling each day with those things which are good, needful, helpful

3. Prov 27:1

CLOSE: Will I ever waste time again? Very likely. But I need to make every effort to do now those things which are affected adversely by my wasting time!

Cecil A. Hutson

04 April 1999

God's Plan of Salvation

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) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

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 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 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)

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!

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)