Mr. Claborn : The abc's of Truth

The answer to the riddle

2006-01-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

Blessings

Blessings are gifts given to us by our Father who is in heaven. Have you thanked him for the many blessings in your life? I think it would be nice if you did. Did you know that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the greatest blessing of all. We are blessed of the knowledge of Jesus and his glorious triumph over death. Christ died so the sins of those that are willing to follow God and his truths would be forgiven. I pray that all those that are seeking the truth will find it. I pray that this blog will help someone on their journey through life. Thank God for his many blessings.

Authority?

2006-01-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

Good job Mr. Claborn. You've got it pretty close. My only question is that you leave out authority; do you think it's necessary? Who has it?-Matthew
1:14 PM

Recently, I have been asked the above stated questions regarding my post on the steps of Salvation. I believe that at times we ask questions to spark arguments, I will assume that the question was asked out of sincerity and a honest heart.

I also will assume the question is regarding the scripture or the authority of Christ, or if this someone questions the authority of the scripture they should be aware of blaspheme against the Holy Ghost. This sin is not forgivable in this world or the next. I will say that if someone teaches against the scripture that is blasphemy, one must honestly with a sober mind reason with his heart to find all truth. We have to remember that Satan is alive and that he himself seeks those that he may destroy. We are tempted at time with bad thought the question is to reason with Satan? Once tempted with ignorance one must turn away and look to God's word for the answer.

I know that if I am to argue with someone according to my thought I should never be able to persuade them. You see I admit that all goodness I have comes from God the father through Christ Jesus my Lord and my Savior. Regarding authority I will just let you decide.

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION UNTO ALL THEM THAT WOULD OBEY HIM. (Hebrews 5:8,9). It seems to me that Christ is given the authority to direct us in salvation. What Jesus wants me to do to be saved I will do.

According to my post regarding salvation it is the Lord God through his word who has authorized Salvation. I will leave you all with this truth.

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain (Titus 3:9).

I also understand that we all are seeking the truth and we all wish one day to become perfect in the eyes of our creator. I would like to add that the church is in power not word. We must continue to not have strife over the simple interpretation of the scripture and we must push forward and continue in our good works. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men (Titus 3:8).

I further along my discussion with these thoughts, If Jesus Christ would have sat on a stump pondering and arguing the interpretation of the scripture with the pharasees, he would still be there today, matter of fact no he wouldn't, because this is sinful and Christ would have never done so. My point is that instead of arguing about these things why are we not out saving souls. I am at fault for this the same way the rest of the world is but, I am willing to make a change. I say we all make this change together. Grace be to all those that follow the truth of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and all those that obey him have eternal life through his death and resurrection.

The Art of Sacrifice: personal and perfectible

2006-01-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

The art of perfection in the life of a Christian is something truly sought after by those that strive to mimic our Lord Jesus Christ. The question remains in my mind should we in fact seek such perfection in the flesh. The truth is that no flesh will glory in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:29). This being true, because this is what the bible teaches, we realize that no man will ever again find perfection in the flesh. Christ died in the flesh to be given everlasting glory in the Spirit and as Christ was raised from the dead those that seek him shall also, in like manner, be risen from death unto life. The question still remains can we as Christians pursue perfection in our walks of life?

Are we willing to die daily to sin? How is it that I can die daily to sin? Haven't I laid to death that old man that walked in sin, through the act of baptism? How can I die daily and live? These are all fundamental questions that we all must ask ourselves while in the pursuit of perfection, which of course is only found in Christ Jesus. The purpose of my writing is to explain to the reader that one must pursue perfection in the flesh. The day that you as a Christian stop seeking perfection in the flesh you have lost hope in the promises of Christ.

I also understand that we as Christians do sin. What does it mean if a Christian sins? What do we do if we sin? These are also questions that must be covered in the following discussion.

We see as we study the scripture one must be willing to sacrifice personal desires or lusts of the flesh to become perfect in the eyes of God. No greater example of such a sacrifice is the death of Christ Jesus on the cross. He was willing to be crucified on the cross so that the will of his father in heaven be done. The will of God was to bring a way of salvation for the lost and to glorify his son with himself! Christ himself pleaded with his father to take away the burden of his own crucifixion yet, knowing that this was the command of his father, Christ died for us all!We as Christians must likewise die to sin, even though we would rather sin, we should not because this is the command of our Lord. When we choose to follow the commands of our Father which is in heaven, we are sacrificing our desires, our wants, and our lusts of life to humbly serve the Lord.

Are you willing to try to become perfect in the way you live? Are you to selfish to give up your lusts of life to follow Jesus Christ? Did you know that the manner of life in which we live, represents what we desire in the life to come. Do you know that you either serve God or Satan? Anyone, who does not live the way that God commands them to live, does not know God. A) God only desires what is best for us. Someone that denies God denies his righteousness and truth.

There is no other way of life that leads to eternal life than life given freely from God. We were created by him and we will die by him. If Christ is the only way to eternal life why would the world deny him? The point is that you either sacrifice and desire the will of God (which leads to life) more than your own will, or you are selfish and desire the will of Satan (which leads to death).

What if I told you that I knew of a way of life that would end world hunger, give everyone a home to live in, and we in the world would all have peace no more war. What if this plan involved giving me all of your money, your time, your trust, and your popularity? So that everyone in the world could be equal, be fed, have shelter, and peace. Oh and by the way since I love the world so much I will give you eternal life. What if I give everyone in the world the same opportunity to except this offer? All I will ask is that you love me in return and that you give me honor where honor is due for doing all of this free of charge. I will also make the promise that if you trust and follow me you will have, in due time ,all that you will ever desire. You will never ever have to worry about anything ever again.

Would you sacrifice your life so that the world may have peace and never go hungry again? God is seeking those that are willing to follow him. Are you willing?Perfection is found in perfect service to God. He that is perfect has taught us how to live. Are we willing to make a change in our lives for the benefit of our father? The answer to this question is up to you.

The true sadness is that many in the world are not willing to give up what they have to serve God. They seldom stop to think that all they have has been given to them by the Grace of God. Do you need to make a change in your life?

If one repents of his sin and confesses Christ as his savior, he may be baptized by water and the spirit of God. So that he may grow in Christ hoping one day to become perfect in the eyes of the Lord. If you are truly seeking to serve Christ and you give yourself to him in total trust and dependence you are in the light. If you sin while you are in the light of truth and you pray to God for forgiveness he will forgive you of all sin. Are you walking in service to the lord. If not you need to make a change in your life.

I invite you to come and worship God with us at the Moulton Church of Christ. Make a change in your life . He is willing to forgive you no matter how old you are. Some will deny that they have sinned at all, they believe that since they are good morally bound individuals they are destined to a better place. The bible teaches that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Are you willing to repent of your sins and confess Christ as your savior? Are you ready to seek the answers necessary to find salvation from the eternal death in Sin?

We all at one point in are lives are given an opportunity to make a change for the better. Christ is offering to all a second chance for eternal happiness. The question is are we willing to except his offer? Are we willing to make changes in our life?

If you truly wish to make a change in your life go to God in prayer. He will guide you unto righteousness he will give you strength and hope. Jesus Christ died so you could have eternal life! This free gift is offered to all that will accept Jesus as their Savior and strive to live as a Christian should live. I pray that you will find a place of worship and begin your life a new! Time draws nearer to an end and many have no idea that their souls are in jeopardy. The only way to speak the truth is to let others hear it. Jesus is the Son of God and those that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Be honest with yourself, be honest with God, go to him in prayer, begin to study the bible, and he will guide you into all righteousness. Those that seek him will find him. My prayer is that all that read this information will find peace in the words of truth!

Please contact our office we have home study lessons for you and your family.
Moulton Church of Christ
597 Main Street
Moulton, Alabama
256-974-1236

Hypocrite

2005-12-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

Hypocrite
n : a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he does not hold [syn: dissembler, phony, phony, pretender]

one who puts on a mask and feigns himself to be what he is not; a dissembler in religion. Our Lord severely rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16).

The Christian should be aware of his daily walk and what his walk Intel's. When we allow ourselves to forget the sacrifice God made on the cross, we forget our stance on life, our call, and our faith. Satan himself lurks on the boundary of reason and lures us into mundane thought and thus we commit treason.

Many today allow their thought to be persuaded by the outside world, we find ourselves being persuaded by music, literature, television, and or athletes. Let alone the persuasiveness of the media, and the snowl ignorance of materialistic importance they put on display twenty-four hours a day.

Children are taught to respect their elders but what happens to the world when these men and women are manipulated by the apostasy in the Church. I am persuaded that if we do not stand firm on the word, that is truth, brought to us by the Holy Spirit of God we are nothing more than death. I live now as a follower of Jesus Christ, if I follow him why do I not suffer as he once suffered. I should be, I want to be, and the bible tells me that I will be persecuted for following Christ. If there is a lack of persecution in your life then one must ask themselves am I standing for what Christ stood for? Do I deny myself the pleasures of this world daily for Christ?

The truth is in the word, I just wonder how many of us truly wish to see it. The Lord said those that seek shall find. Those that are athirst shall have their mouths filled with the fruit of everlasting life. Those that truly seek Christ shall find him. These truths are the word of God.

The word of God is the fruit of everlasting life, Christ was the word in the flesh, he died in the flesh on the cross, was risen from the dead from the power of God, and given a new life in the spirit: an everlasting life to reign as King of all. He that is perfect can commit no hypocrisy, so he that is perfect can say the word. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so, we need his word to live by so that we may live by Grace through faith in faultless service to our Lord Jesus Christ. Deny the temptation of the world and sacrifice your body daily to serve Jesus Christ, refrain from hypocrisy and you shall be given a crown of glory.

The truth according to the scripture: Regarding Salavation

2005-12-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

The most important question man will ever ask is: What must I do to be saved? The ramifications of the answer given are eternal. Therefore, it is imperative one allows the author of man’s salvation (Hebrews 5:9) to give the answer. God has provided man with everything he needs in relationship to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). This knowledge comes through the Bible, which is His inspired Word (2 Timothy 3:16). Since all Scripture is inspired, whether spoken by the prophets of the Old Testament (Hebrews 1:1), Jesus (Hebrews 1:2), or the apostles (John 16:13), one must use all of Scripture to find the answer. No new revelations from God have come since the Bible was completed (Jude 3; Revelation 22:18, 19). Therefore, the Bible is the only source of information qualified to tell man what he must do to be saved. Since the same inspired Word is to be the standard by which man is judged on the last day (John 12:48), it is the final word on man’s salvation.
What does the Bible say in answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” When the rich young ruler asked the question, the answer given by Jesus was: be obedient to God’s law and follow Me (Mark 10:19, 21). Even though the Old Law was fulfilled and taken out of the way (Ephesians 2:15), God still requires obedience as a step in salvation (Hebrews 5:9). Man’s part in salvation begins with a willingness to obey God’s new law, the law of liberty (James 1:25), and a willingness to seek and follow Jesus (Hebrews 11:6). When the Philippian jailer asked the same question, he was told to believe on the name of Jesus and he would be saved (Acts 16:30, 31). Since he was a Gentile and it was unlikely he had ever heard the Gospel, Paul and Silas taught him the Word (v 32), so he could believe (Romans 10:17). When he heard the Gospel and was able to believe in Jesus, he was baptized (vv 33, 34). His belief made him a candidate for the rest of God’s plan. In the same way, when the Jews on Pentecost posed the question, “What must we do?” they were commanded to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:37, 38). The Gospel message preached by Peter and the other apostles had convicted their hearts of the fact they had murdered the Messiah. They were convinced that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Since they had already come to believe in Him, the next step was repentance. Repentance is a change of heart and mind, caused by godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9, 10), which results in a change of life (Matthew 3:8). Until convicted by the message, they had been antagonistic towards Christ and his message. Therefore, the call to repentance was a call to leave their lives of sin and become obedient to the Gospel. The second condition given to them to save their souls was baptism for the forgiveness of their sins. Their belief and willingness to live right had no value as long as sin remained. Peter urged them to be saved (v 40), prompting 3,000 who had believed to be baptized. Notice, even though they believed and were willing to repent, Peter did not consider them saved before they were baptized. Saul of Tarsus received a similar command when he asked the same question on the road to Damascus (Acts 20:10). Jesus instructed him to go into Damascus, where he would learn the answer. The appearance of Jesus convinced him Jesus was indeed Lord. Three days of praying and fasting (Acts 9:9) showed him to be penitent. Nevertheless, when Ananias saw him, he recognized Saul had not been forgiven of his sins. Therefore, the answer to Saul’s question was: “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). Saul’s belief, his time of prayer and fasting and his repentance had all left him in his sin. He would not be forgiven until he was baptized and he could not call on His name without the act of baptism. Notice, if anyone could be saved by saying a “sinner’s prayer” it would have been Saul. Yet, Ananias interrupted his prayers to tell him how to be washed of his sins.
Since God’s Word must be taken as a whole (Acts 20:27), one must take all of these examples together to come up with God’s complete plan of salvation. God’s plan for man’s salvation is the same today as it was in the days of the New Testament! God loves man (John 3:16) and it is His desire all men be saved (2 Peter 3:9), but not all men will be saved (Matthew 7:13, 14). Man must do his part and allow grace to make up the rest (Ephesians 2:8).
Therefore, man is saved by:

Grace – Ephesians 2:8

Faith – John 8:24

Repentance – Luke 13:3

Confession – Romans 10:10

Baptism – 1 Peter 3:21

Obedience – Hebrews 5:9

Work – James 2:24

To receive this salvation, man must hear the Gospel, so he can develop faith (Romans 10:17). He must then believe with all his heart that Jesus is the Son of God (John 3:16). He must repent of his sins (Acts 17:30) and confess Jesus before God and man (Matthew 10:32, 33). Finally, he must be baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins (Mark 16:16) and live faithfully unto death (Revelation 2:10). Living faithfully means he strives towards perfect obedience (Hebrews 5:9) and does the works of God (James 2:24), while relying on God’s grace to forgive him when he sins (1 John 1:7-9).
That, friends, is the answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?”