Looking for souls like Cornelius

     If you are not familiar with the conversion of Cornelius and his household, please read Acts 10 and 11. I will point out some of the wonderful qualities this man possessed that aided him in becoming a Christian.

     We are told that Cornelius, even though he was not saved, believed in God and prayed often (Acts 10:2). Though these qualities did not automatically save him, they were essential for him to seek God on His terms. Thus, when the Lord told Cornelius to send for Peter so he could hear how to be saved (11:14), he did not get upset. Too often people allow pride to stand between them and salvation. Cornelius could have closed his mind and decided that he had done enough to be saved already, but His desire for righteousness was earnest.

     Another quality that aided Cornelius was his humility. When Peter came to Cornelius, he immediately fell down to worship him (10:25). Though Peter told him that he should not be worshipped (verse 26), Cornelius’ humble disposition is evident. This attitude was key for Cornelius and his entire household (10:47-48) to carefully listen to and obey Peter’s instructions.

     Also notice how Cornelius desired for others to hear the message of salvation. We are told that when Peter came, Cornelius had many people gathered for the apostle to teach (10:27). What a delight this must have been for Peter! What teacher of God’s word wouldn’t light up with joy when they find many people assembled and ready to learn? This is as true today as it was for early Christians.

     Cornelius’ example shows why it is critically important to pray for those seeking the truth. Not only will our prayers help them directly, but that same aspiring Christian might be encouraged to bring others to their studies too. Those earnestly longing for salvation will want others to be saved as well. If you are not a Christian, please consider Cornelius’ example and earnestly seek the Lord.

                                                                                                                                                                                   Chuck  

“Lovers of pleasure”

The apostle Paul told Timothy that perilous times were coming. “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than loving God,” (II Tim. 3:2-4).

Such people were described as “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (verse 5).  How can a person retain a “form of godliness” if they love pleasure rather than God? This situation is where someone will serve God as long as that service does not conflict with anything else they like.

Keep in mind that these pleasures are not inherently sinful. These pleasures might just being things that are fun, exciting or thrilling – sports, playing games with friends, going to concerts, etc. The issue is that these people become more passionate about their fun than they are about God and thus only have a form of godliness.

Faithful Christians love the Lord and do not just want to appear godly – they want a genuine relationship with Him. From an eternal perspective, sacrificing our relationship with God in exchange for a little more time spent playing sports, going fishing, visiting friends, etc. makes no sense!  We should not see God as the ultimate fishing buddy – we should our relationship with Him as something far greater than any earthly pleasure. If we put Him first, there will be no conflict between loving God and earthly activities.   

In closing, consider this illustration. A married man is leaving work, but his friends try coax him to spend time with them at the bar under the pretense of “working late”. A man with a strong love for his wife will not hesitate to choose her every time because there is no comparison between the choices. And so it is with God’s people. His faithful children will seek true godliness and reject having just a form of godliness every time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Chuck  

It’s all about authority

 Does God really care how we accomplish what He wants us to do? Do the ends justify the means in spiritual matters? Many people today toss Biblical authority aside because they feel that certain Biblical truths do not matter or are less important than others. They are not unique – the Bible is full of people who thought this way too. Let us look at these examples to see what we can learn.

Logically, we can only know God’s opinion on anything from on His word. For example, God does not care whether we eat meat or only vegetables. Both are acceptable to Him (I Cor. 8). A person cannot know this without seeing it in His word. “Feeling” that God will accept something is not the same because it cannot be proven.

Some brethren in the first century thought that it did not matter how widows were taken care of, so long as they were looked after. How did they know this conclusion was acceptable though? In I Timothy 5:16, brethren were told that using money from the church treasury to take care of widows was wrong if that widow still had family members who could care for her. There was obviously a proper way to care for these women. The ends did not justify the means.

Consider the subject of church discipline. A church could choose to ignore the sinful behavior of a member and hope that behavior would stop. What if that erring brother does stop sinning and repents? Was the church right to remain silent? Not according to I Corinthians 5. There are many ways to do things for the Lord. However, the scriptures are clear that we are wrong if we lack His authority!

Too many religious groups today justify their actions based on results. A common strategy, for example, is to use free food to draw people to church events. Some people have certainly become members of these groups because of that first invitation. Did these religious groups stop to consider what our Lord says about this strategy though? Jesus Himself gives an answer in John 6:26.

It can be difficult to say that something was not done properly when good things result from it. We need to remember, though, that we care how things are done because the Lord cares how things are done. The point is to avoid sin! Consider Philippians 1:15-18. Paul said some preachers were sinful yet had some success in converting people. The apostle rejoiced for the converts but still did not approve of the sinful preachers. Regardless of how many converts they made, these sinful preachers were still not approved in God’s eyes.

Paul’s example clearly demonstrates that the ends do not justify the means even when there is some success. People need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I will not do things that are scripturally inappropriate – going to a bar, for example – to try and teach them. We need to remember how powerful our example can be (I Tim. 4:12). Doing things for God in our own way might work in the short term, but we are compromising our teaching by not consistently following only God’s word. We also need to remember that we are potentially hurting our example to all the other people observing the situation.

How things are done plainly matters to God. It also matters to Christians who want to respect God’s authority. When we think with our emotions and not with our heads, we run the risk of establishing our own righteousness rather than seeking righteousness through Christ (Rom. 10:1-3).  Make sure you consider what God says about something rather than just assuming it is okay. Paul made it clear: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Col. 3:17).  It is all about God and His authority.

Chuck                                                                      

Motivated but not wasteful

     When Jesus sent out His disciples in what is often referred to as “the limited commission” (Matt. 10), He clearly told them to shake the dust of their feet and move on if people did not receive their words (verse 14). There are some valuable lessons to learn from this.

Do not focus on those who do not want it

 It is so easy to lose our desire to tell others the good news because so many people do not want it. But our Lord does not want us to focus on those who reject it. If we do, we are no longer working for Him. Though Jesus knew that many would reject Him (Matt. 7:13-14), He still came and made salvation available to everyone. Christ did this because He does not want any to perish (II Pet. 3:9). We must remember that because Jesus made salvation available to everyone, everyone needs to hear the gospel message. Do not neglect sharing the word with those who may be interested because you wasted time with someone who clearly did not want it.

Do not force people to listen

Some religious radicals believe their “god” wants them to kill those who reject him. Christ wants us to love all people (Matt. 22:39).  We demonstrate that love by offering the lifesaving message. If people reject it, we move on and hope that the seed we planted will grow in the future. It is not our place to get angry or give ultimatums. Our weapons are not carnal (II Cor. 10:4). We carry the sword of the spirit, which is the soul-saving word of God (Eph. 6:17; Rom. 1:16).

Do not forget to move on

Consider our original passage.  Jesus told his followers to shake the dust off their feet as they departed. In other words, they were to leave and continue teaching. God’s people never stop teaching because there are many more doors of opportunity. One neighbor says no, but there are others. One coworker says no, but there are others. The key is to not grow weary in well-doing (Gal. 6:9).

This bulletin points out two facts. You either need to obey the gospel or need to share it. May we all do what is needed to follow Christ!

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chuck            

Plenty of motivation

There is no question that Satan would like God’s people to keep the gospel to themselves. This is why Christ admonished His followers to not hide their lights under bushels (Matt. 5:15). Saints should not find joy in having the light and keeping it to themselves.  Rather, there are many reasons why children of God should seek out opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Here are a few to consider:

They are commanded

Those who make it their aim to please God know that they must walk by faith (Heb. 11:6).  This entails both listening to God’s word and doing what it tells us (Rom. 10:17; James 1:22). Jesus plainly stated that we ought to spread the good news (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19-20). We should be honored that Jesus has invited us to share His message! Indeed, those who love the Lord will keep His commandments (John 14:15).  This alone is plenty of motivation for Christians to seek and teach others. But there is more.

They are aware of the terror of the Lord

Before becoming Christians, we all find ourselves guilty of sin and have no way to directly deal with it (Eph. 2:12). The thought of losing our souls and enduring eternal punishment is part of the reason we each became Christians. Recall what Paul wrote: "knowing therefore , the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (II Cor. 6:11). Because we know the awful fate that awaits those lost in sin, we too should be motivated to share the gospel message with those around us. But there is more.

They had people that helped them

Recall Jesus’ lesson about extending mercy because we each received mercy (Matt. 18:23-35). As Christians, we should appreciate those who took the time to teach us. It should also remind us of the importance of sharing that message with others. We might be the last person with an opportunity to give the good news to a person! This, too, is plenty of motivation to teach others. But there is even more.

They have joy in planting and watering God’s word

No one enjoys telling bad news. However, the gospel is fundamentally good news – it explains a way out of the sin we would otherwise be ensnared by!  It is hard to keep the story of Jesus Christ and salvation to ourselves (Acts 8:4). We get a thrill out of sharing God’s word. Imagine how we will at harvest (Luke 15:10). We should also be heartened to know that we are only tasked with planting and watering as God will give the increase (I Cor. 6-9). Thus, we should be motivated to know that we can share the word with everyone and not worry over who might receive it. But there is even more.

They know it helps them get stronger

When we share good news with someone else, we then share in their joy when they receive it. Students are not the only ones who benefit from lessons as the teacher must also study and prepare. When we are told that when we teach, we also teach ourselves (Rom. 2:1). This is exactly why saints are told it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). We should thus be motivated to share the gospel with others as we know we will receive joy in return. But there is even more.

They know the laborers are few

We know that sharing the gospel is an important task. With so few available to share it, we should be motivated to get to work (Matt. 9:37-38). God’s people want to be useful in His kingdom and are full of zeal (Titus 2:14).

Having discussed all of these points, how can God’s people not be motivated to go and teach the gospel?

                                                                                             Chuck