Daily Reading

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
The Bible is a very big book. Actually, it is a library of 66 different books. There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. These books are all joined together because they have one common theme. This theme is God's plan to save man from his sins through Jesus Christ. The first 39 books, the Old Testament, tell us that "Christ is coming." The first four books of the New Testament tell us that "Christ has come." The last 23 books of the New Testament tell us that "Christ is coming again." In order to understand the Bible properly, one needs to ask five questions as he reads: (1) Who is speaking? (2) Who is spoken to? (3) When is he speaking? (4) What type of language is the speaker using? (5) What are the circumstances or conditions under which he is speaking? If one can answer these five questions correctly, it will help him to understand the Word of God clearly.

Daily Reading

Father in Heaven, we come before You today asking that if any read and understand Your word, they would accept and obey. Father help us as we go from day to day, that we always put You first in our lives. Help us to put others before us that we might be a caring people. Help us to look for that home in Heaven with You Father. Forgive us when we sin and ask to be forgiven and repent of the sin. Bless us today Father. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Daily Reading

Are you following the teaching of God about baptism or the teachings of men? If you have not been baptized according to the teaching of the Word of God, will you not do so today? Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Mark 16:16), repent of all your sins (Acts 2:38), confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37) and be baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26,27). Please let us know if we may assist you in obeying the gospel.

Daily Reading

Some men teach that infants need to be baptized. The purpose of baptism, however, is to remove sin by the blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Revelation 1:5). Do babies have sin? NO! One needs to understand that sin, as defined by the Bible is the breaking of God’s law (1 John 3:4). Infants are not capable of breaking the laws of God or understanding the difference between good and evil. Can a child inherit sin from its parents? NO! Ezekiel 18:20 makes it clear that, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” From the passages above, one can see that babies do not have sin and therefore, do not need to be baptized. A careful and honest study of the Scriptures will help one to understand the truth about baptism. The Bible plainly teaches that baptism is essential to salvation. In addition, one learns from examples of conversion that baptism is immersion in water and that it is for those who are guilty of sin--not for infants.

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Rom 6:4 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.

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Another teaching of man that contradicts the Bible is the idea that sprinkling and pouring are acceptable forms of baptism. This, however, cannot be true since the meaning of the word “baptise” is immerse, dip, or plunge. The Apostle Paul describes baptism as a burial in which one dies to the guilt of sin (Romans 6:1-7). Examples of baptism also show it is an immersion in water. Concerning the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion, the Scriptures state, “And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:38). Pouring or sprinkling water on the Ethiopian’s head would not have required both men to go down into the water. There is no doubt that immersion was practiced here.

Daily Reading

One common teaching of man concerning baptism is that a person does not have to be baptized in order to be saved. Is this what the Bible teaches? Absolutely not! On the day of Pentecost mentioned in Acts 2, Peter said to the people, “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). If a person wants his sins forgiven by God, he must be baptized. Again, the Scriptures teach the importance of baptism through the words Ananias spoke to Saul, saying, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). One can see that without baptism there is no forgiveness of sins. The Lord stated, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). From these passages it is clear that God wants all men to know they must be baptized to be saved.

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Gracious Father, how bountiful is Your provision for my spiritual growth. How foolish of me to think that I need more for developing in godliness than Your grace supplies. O Lord, I long to grow in the image of Christ. I beseech You, remind me and convince me that Your grace is the only sufficient hope. Help me to always study your word so I can grow in Your grace. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Daily Reading

BAPTISM
Many religious people today seem to think that baptism is not very important. It seems strange then that among the last words spoken by Jesus before he returned to Heaven were words concerning baptism. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). The fact is, Jesus spoke about baptism because it is a subject of great importance. It is a matter of spiritual life and death! For this reason, one needs to understand the difference between what man says about baptism and what God says about baptism.

Daily Reading

Sunday, January 27, 2008 The Lord's Day - How should I act. Should I worship God or will I worship the world? only you can answer for yourself.

Daily Reading

Will all good people be saved? The answer is “no,” for even the best people have sinned and just one sin can keep a person out of heaven. John wrote, “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). The only way to remove sin is by the blood of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:5). This is done in our obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We read in Acts 22:16, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” All good people will not be saved. Neither will all religious people be saved. It is not enough to be religious, but one must be right religiously. Jesus said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted” (Matthew 15:13). He also said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Not all good people will be saved. Those who will be saved are those who humbly submit to our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience to His gospel and who ever after live for Him doing His Will. “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:8,9). Dear reader, have you obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ? If you have not, you are lost! Please obey Christ today. “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).