Cecil Hutson Sermon Archive

August 5, 2007 AM

CAN WE TRULY AGREE?

1 COR 11:2

INTRO: Over the years of my preaching life, I have preached of the unity for which Jesus prayed in Jno 17:21. His words are familiar: "That they all may be one..." I have devoted myself to the belief that the restoration of New Testament Christianity is possible in the 20th and 21st centuries. In virtually of the home Bible studies in which I have been engaged I have stressed the idea that we can be Christians exactly like those of whom we can read in the New Testament and that the church described in the pages of the New Testament is a possibility no matter the century. Still, religious division exists in what is called "Christendom". And there is the reality of division even among churches of Christ ... and the reality is growing more evident every day. So...

CAN WE TRULY AGREE? IS IT POSSIBLE?
1. Absolutely, yes!
  1. Jesus did not pray for the impossible
  2. God does not ask the impossible of us
  3. so, we must start from the belief that agreement really is possible
2. Consider these scripture references
  1. 1 Cor 1:10 - "...and that there be no divisions among you..."
  2. 1 Cor 4:17 - "...as I teach everywhere in every church"
  3. 1 Cor 11:2 - "...and keep the ordinances , as I delivered them to you"
  4. Phil 4:9 - "those things, which ye have...learned, and received...do..."
  5. 2 Thes 2:15 - "...hold the traditions which ye have been taught..."
  6. 2Tim 1:13 - "hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me"
  7. Jude 1:3 - "...earnestly contend for the faith...once delivered..."
  8. there is no doubt that the admonition of scripture is, "Agree"
SO, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? WHY THE DIVISION?
1. How people view the authority of the scriptures
  1. if people question the authority of scriptures, no basis for agreement
  2. without sound regard for authority of scriptures, anything goes
  3. 1 Cor 14:37 - "...the commandments of the Lord" - if what the writers of the N.T. wrote are the commandments of the Lord, one cannot rationally argue against the authority of the scriptures (cf. Mt 28:18)
2. Ignorance of the scriptures
  1. ignorance of scripture permits an "I'm o.k., you're o.k. philosophy"
  2. in ignorance people can fall into all sorts of systems, beliefs
  3. Rom 10:1-3 - ignorance of God's revealed will resulted in religion which was "not according to knowledge"
3. A preference for feelings before facts
  1. emotions, feelings have a way of making facts inconsequential
  2. "But I feel....," is the beginning of a person's acceptance of, comfort with a course that may not be at all factual - but facts are "cold and hard" - feelings are "warm and fuzzy" ... much preferred by many, many people
  3. Heb 2:1-3 - the revealed word of God, not emotions and feelings, is the basis for agreement - it is objective; it is clear; it is practicable
4. Entrenched biases and prejudices
  1. prejudice will reject truth ... that is a fact demonstrated in life daily
  2. prejudiced folks may be very sincere - still, prejudice usually rejects truth
  3. Acts 19:33,34 - prejudice had no used for gospel truth
5. Indifference
  1. "indifference" often undergirds ignorance – "who cares?"
  2. "indifference" breeds in an environment lacking urgency and interest in knowing ... "indifference" has its slogans ("It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere" - "We're all on different roads leading to the same place"
  3. 2 Cor 5:11 - there is a decided lack of "terror of the Lord"
IS BEING IN CHRIST A GUARANTEE OF UNITY?
1. Some apparently think just being in Christ is all that is necessary
  1. anything else would be a matter of "indifference" - not salvation issue
  2. certainly, being in Christ is essential - there is no salvation out of Christ
  3. Eph 1:3 - all spiritual blessings are in Christ
2. But true unity still depends on human response to the revealed word
  1. 1 Cor 1:10-15 - they were in Christ ... but they were very divided!
  2. and that division was soul endangering - this letter is, in the main, written to address soul endangering division among "in Christ" people
  3. Mt 28:19,20 - it is not enough to just baptize people into Christ ... they must then be taught the revealed word and conform to it!

CLOSE: Do I believe true unity among people in Christ is possible? Yes, I do. However, I recognize the problem areas which are a constant threat to that unity. And, at the risk of being soundly criticized, I will further say the all too often preachers have contributed to the divisions which even now are occurring in the body of Christ.

Cecil A. Hutson

5 August 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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