We Must Return to God

There is a passage found in Luke 2:52 in which we see man described as a three-fold creature:  physical, mental, and spiritual. It says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.“ Jesus the man is described as having these three qualities. He increased in wisdom (mental), in stature (physical), and spiritualness (favor with God).  The central issue in the disturbing moral and ethical decline of America is the great efforts are being expended on man's mental development, great efforts are being expended upon man's physical development, but almost nothing is being done for the development of the spiritual side of man's nature.

Literally millions of young people are reared with little concept of moral and ethical principles, with little knowledge of God's word, and with little God-inspired motivation toward spiritual goals and spiritual behavior. Modern man is brilliant and highly educated, but also self-centered and largely devoid of a control mechanism. Modern man might well be compared to a high-powered automobile, equipped with every gadget, every piece of equipment to go faster on every straightway, every curve, but is unequipped with brakes. If our nation is to survive, we must return to God's way, humbly submitting to his guidance.  The road of license and lawlessness leads only to destruction.

One of the most meaningful passages of scripture ever written was David's first psalm. God inspired David to write this psalm to the individual, but the point that needs to be made is that nations are made up of individuals.  It is not possible to make a nation righteous apart from making the individual citizens of that nation righteous.

He writes in Ps 1:1-6, “Blessed is the nation who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But its delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. And this nation shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever it does shall prosper. The ungodly nations are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.  Therefore the ungodly nations shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Our only hope for America is for people like us to dedicate our lives to the Lord and then to challenge others to come with us as we go God's way.

If you are not a child of God the greatest service that you could do for our nation is to become a Christian and then to live like a Christian through all the years that yet remain in your life. I don’t want to sound as though I am putting our nation above the individual souls of each person in this world. I am not! The emphasis of this article is upon our nation. As individuals we must stand up and be counted on the side of righteousness and truth.  Let our influence fall in the direction of moral responsibility and self-control.  It costs something to be a Christian, but in the long run it costs more not to be a Christian. Only disaster and destruction lie before the individual or the nation who fail to heed God's way of life. So, I plead then that for your own salvation's sake, not just the nation’s sake, because ultimately whatever happens around you, you still have to make it to heaven, therefore, confess your faith in Christ, repent of your sins, and be buried with your Lord in baptism. Then, cleansed, go out to live among men in such a way that others may be inspired to want to come to Christ.  When people look at you, when they hear you speak, when they look at your attitude.  Do they think, "I want what they have."  Or do they think, "What a sorry attitude."  Live your life like the apostle Paul who said in Romans 1:16:  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” So that others will change their lives and in turn change our nation. If you are a Christian who has allowed the world to creep into your life, turn again and walk with the Lord.  You belong to Christ and not to Satan.  Ask God's forgiveness for whatever neglect or whatever overt sin may have crept into your life, then begin to live as a Christian ought to live and to have influence upon others that they too may live eternally with God. 

These are moments of decision. Your eternal destiny hangs in the balances.  As a threefold being mental, physical and spiritual you dare not make the wrong decision. Salvation is too precious, eternity is too long.

Carlos M. Aguilar

With this issue we begin a study on the need for personal evangelism and ways to prepare ourselves to participate in it.

Personal Evangelism:
The Great Need of the Hour

Introduction Peter wrote, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" 1 Pet 3:15. Honesty would compel most congregations -- and most individuals -- to admit to being deficient in the matter of personal evangelism. In places, a shortage of personal evangelism is so critical that it threatens the very existence of the local church.

To be sure, there are a number of congregations which have a handful of members who are genuinely motivated and quite active in trying to reach the lost. This is good as far as it goes, but it tends to make us feel, as a congregation, that "we" are doing better than we actually are. There is a certain euphoria that is produced by having an active nucleus of personal workers -- and this euphoria sometimes makes it difficult to face the truth about our collective shortcomings.

Our shortage of personal evangelism is not only an obvious problem in itself; it is also a means by which the devil seeks to hinder the work of the Lord in general. Our failure to be diligent in rescuing the lost is a failure that causes considerable difficulty for us in other areas. It is a problem that makes other problems worse than they would be otherwise. For very many of the Lord's people today, negligence in teaching the gospel to those around us is one of the ways the devil is hurting us most.

There is a need for evangelism in general. Without Christ, the world is lost. Paul spoke of those "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" Eph 2:12.

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" Isa 59:1,2. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Rom 6:23. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" 2 Thess. 1:8,9.

The purpose for which Jesus came, was "to seek and to save that which was lost" Lk 19:10. The gospel of Christ is God's power to save. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Rom 1:16. But the gospel cannot save if it does not reach those who are lost. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" Rom 10:17. Consequently, Jesus commanded His disciples to teach His word to others.

"Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen" Mt 28:18-20. "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned'" Mk. 16:15,16.

Knowing the value of souls, and knowing the destiny of the lost, we ought to be possessed of a burning passion to reach others with the gospel. "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mt 16:26."

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols" Ac 17:16.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" 2 Cor 5:10,11.

First in a series on personal evangelism

Home and Family:

Make A Happy Marriage

I married to get away from home. Yet today, 23 years later, I have a happy marriage. Let me share my solution with you.

At first it was pretty bad. My husband's every action was inconsiderate - or at least I thought so. How is an unloved per son supposed to act? I gave much  thought to the word "love." Would God expect us to love one another if it is not in our power to do so, or if so will He enable us?

One day I began to realize what God could do for me. I finally faced the fact that I might not feel loved, but why could I not show love to others? From that moment on I began to behave as if I did feel loved. "What will I do for my husband today?" I asked myself.  I began doing little kindnesses. I studied his likes and dislikes and bought treats for his lunch box. I tried to comfort him when he came home tired and harassed. I met him at the door with a smile. I respected his discipline of the children and worked with him.

I tried to speak softly and diplomatically when we had a difference. He began behaving as though he were living with  someone who loved him. And I began to notice a change in my own feeling. He was not at all like I had concluded. He had real depth. And I began to feel a new kind of love for him.

Is that why God admonished us to show love? He had not said to show love if we have love, had he? At the time it seemed that Christians did all the giving and none of the getting. But when I began to obey God by showing love, it was really I who benefited.

Only this week my teenage son said, "All of my friends say that I have it good." 

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you and Dad really like each  other," he said. "You would be surprised how many parents don't get along too hot."

So, my answer to people who are stuck in a marriage that is loveless is, show love

by an unknown Christian wife

Husbands!  This advice is not Just For Wives! RDT,sr

Sentence Sermons

 "You can not escape your responsibilities by evading them.”

 “It is easier to acquire a good reputation than it is to loose a bad one.”

 “ If you ask for God's guidance, don't complain if it is different from your preference.”