Posts Tagged ‘obedience’
Notes on Things that Accompany Salvation
Hear Believe Repent Confess Be Baptized Obey Commanded Acts 16:31; Hebrews 11:6 Commanded Acts 2:38; 17:30; 26:20 Commanded Acts 10:48 Commanded Philippians 2:12 To come to God John 6:45 To please God Hebrews 11:6 To gain times of refreshing Acts 3:19 Brings joy in heaven Luke 15:7 To be confessed before God Matthew 10:32-33 To…
Read MoreIn Word and Deed
In Word and Deed – Part 1In Word and Deed – Part 2 Text: Colossians 3:12-17 I. There needs to be a consistency between the things we say and the things we do A. “You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?” 1. People understand that it is one thing to talk about something,…
Read MoreCleaning Out the Barn
by Mark McCrary Growing up, this was the job I hated the most (and, hate is not too strong a word). Three times a week I had to clean out the feed room in the barn. That includes everything you think would be included. It was a stinky, unpleasant job. I did it because it…
Read MoreWhat is Malachi 3:16-18 saying?
Question: Hey Jeffrey, Can you please help me understand what’s going on in Malachi 3:16-18? Is this text saying God is pleased with those who think about Him and meditate about Him? Is it saying He rewards those who do so and fear Him? Answer: “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,…
Read MoreWhen God Washed Men’s Feet
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WhenGodWashedMensFeet.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 13:1-17 I. Jesus’ mission was drawing to a conclusion A. It was the night that Jesus would be betrayed B. Judas had already made a deal with the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus C. Jesus had gathered with his disciples to eat one last Passover meal and to give them final instructions…
Read MoreHow much obedience does the Lord demand of me?
Question: Hey Jeffrey, I have a problem understanding the nature of obedience to God’s laws. I read and hear that obedience is required for salvation, but no man (besides Jesus) has obeyed perfectly, so please help me understand the nature of the obedience required to please God and enter His eternal abode. Is part of…
Read MoreNeither of us has been good, but now that my girlfriend is trying to improve her faith, she is pulling away from me
Question: My girlfriend and I have been together for six months. We have a past as well. We are both believers in the Lord and have been for a while. We both have children from past relationships, prior to becoming believers. We are currently struggling with our relationship, in part because we both have backsliding…
Read MoreNameless
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Nameless.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 13:1-10 I. This is a story about two men, who remain nameless. One young and another old. A. Both are prophets. One is a good man and the other is a liar. B. One was selected to carry a message and the other was not. C. One dies, but not…
Read MoreFollowing the Lord Fully
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/FollowingTheLordFully.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Joshua 14:6-14 I. God describes for us the character of various men by referring to them by certain phrases A. Abraham was called a friend of God – James 2:23 1. Because that is how God referred to him – II Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8 2. Perhaps that gives greater weight to…
Read More“May I?” or “Must I?”
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/MayIOrMustI.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Genesis 4:1-12 I. Romans 15:4 A. As we read through our Bibles, it doesn’t take long notice how differently the Old Law is presented in comparison to the New Law. 1. The Old Law contains many regulations that spell out, some times in detail, what a person could and could not do.…
Read MoreFaith in God’s Man and Method
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018Spring7FaithInGodsManAndMethod.mp3 by Raymond Warfel, Jr. 2018 Spring Meeting
Read MoreWill faithful Christians face judgment on Judgment Day?
Question: Hello, I am a member of the church of Christ. Will faithful Christians face judgment on Judgment Day? If yes, is giving an account and being judged the same thing? Answer: Judgment is based on both the good and the bad that we have done. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat…
Read MoreDoes It Make a Difference?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DoesItMakeADifference.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreFully Obedient
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FullyObedient.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreWhat Is the Hardest Command?
by Jefferson David Tant From time to time, we see articles written about love. We remember a lawyer asking Jesus a question, “trying him: Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and…
Read MoreLaw and Legalism
by H. E. Phillips via Guardian of Truth – January 6, 1994 Law is: “A general rule of action or conduct established or enforced by a sovereign authority; as, a law of Caesar; a law of God” (Webster’s Twentieth Century Dictionary, Unabridged). Webster says of legalism: “Close conformity to law.” Law and legalism are not the same.…
Read MoreStand Still and Keep Silent
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/StandStillAndKeepSilent.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Exodus 14:5-31 I. Israel has been freed from the bondage of slavery by a series of miracles from God. A. But even as they were moving out of the Egyptian lands, Pharaoh changed his heart and came after his former slaves with an army. B. The people of Israel found themselves…
Read MoreDoes God Require Too Much?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/DoesGodRequireTooMuch.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreDoes God expect us to do our part?
Question: When Simon helps carries Jesus’ cross in Mark 15:21, does it have any special meaning? I remember a pastor talking about how Jesus told Christians to deny ourselves and take up our own cross (such as in Luke 9:23), but He could not carry His own cross. Simon had to carry it for Him.…
Read MoreFoundations
Foundations – Part 1Foundations – Part 2Foundations – Part 3Foundations – Part 4 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 61 I. When we are teaching others, it is important not to just address the issues raised, but to think about why a person has come to the wrong conclusions. A. When a person claims to be…
Read MoreIs Christianity Rules or a Relationship?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2016Summer3IsChristianityRulesOrARelationship.mp3 by Tommy Peeler God Has a Plan
Read MoreI don’t think my walk with God is going well
Question: Hi, I’m worried about my walk with God, and I don’t think it’s going well. I hardly read my Bible and I always forget to pray. When I do pray I’m worried God is not listening. I know He is, but I can’t shake this feeling. My question is: how can I make my…
Read MoreObeying God
by Dennis Stackhouse On one occasion King Saul had been given a direct command from God to utterly destroy Amalek, including men and women, children and infants, as well as all the livestock (I Samuel 15:3). However, Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of Amalek, along with the best of the sheep, the…
Read MoreWhy do I fail every time I try to serve God?
Question: Dear sir, I am writing from a very small city. I was first called by God on His mission, but I refused it due to my family’s financial situation. Now I am again starting His service, but I am not able to serve it fully. Satan always puts me in places where I always…
Read MoreHow can we not be saved by works, but must do the things God requires of us to be saved?
Question: Hi, I’ve studied some of your material and it is helping me understand better how to improve my relationship with God. I am unclear about three related issues. On the one hand, you say: We are not saved by the things that we do. [How can faith be combined with works?] Yet, on the other…
Read MoreAgainst the Odds
by Gary W. Summers What war tactic has usually proven successful? The ambush. Joshua had used it, at God’s instruction, with great success in the second attack on Ai. Once the men of that city were lured out into the open, by what they undoubtedly considered would be another route of Israel, they were hemmed…
Read MoreGod’s Servant
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GodsServant.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Several passages in the later part of Isaiah discuss the role that a person, referred to as “My Servant” would accomplish on behalf of God. A. As we read through the passages, we need to keep in mind that Isaiah was written before the Babylonian captivity – over 700 years before…
Read MoreCommands in Conflict
by Andrew Hamilton “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will…
Read MoreI know I’m heading to hell, but maybe when I’m 21 I’ll pray to God
Question: To tell you the truth, I’m probably going to hell. Not that I follow Lucifer or any other entity, it is just that, well, I don’t know. I just read your article about sins and all. Some of the stuff you said I can relate to (and I’m not talking about the positive stuff…
Read MoreHow do I please God?
Question: Sir, Please, I want to know more about how to please God. Answer: You learn what God wants by studying His teachings in the Bible. “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the…
Read MoreCommandment Keeping and Boasting
by Edward Bragwell, Sr. via Biblical Insights, June 2014 Jesus declares that hypothetically if we were to keep all his commands, we would still have no right to boast. “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to…
Read MoreShould We be Picky?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/ShouldWeBePicky.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 50:7-23 I. Jesus’ condemnation of the Jews, especially the Pharisees and the Sadducees, is well-known A. Many Christians are rightly concerned that they not fall into the same trap that snared the Pharisees. 1. Often when it is pointed out that we should do things one way and not another,…
Read MoreI prayed to God to change my heart but nothing has changed
Question: I prayed to God to change my heart but nothing has changed my way of thinking or my attitude to show love and not anger. I tried to read the Bible, but I don’t feel anything. Please help. Answer: It appears that you are looking for something outside of you to change you, instead…
Read MoreNotes on Works
We are not saved by the things that we do. God’s grace saves us and not works in which we could boast – Ephesians 2:8-9 Works of the Old Testament Law cannot save, by themselves, because the Law brings the knowledge of sin – Romans 3:20 We are justified by faith apart from works of…
Read MoreBrethren with Too Many Relatives
by Edward O Bragwell, Sr. via Guardian of Truth, April 18, 1985 No, I am not talking about a population explosion. I am not even talking about long-lost cousins that surface when someone starts a rumor that we have come into some money. I am talking about relatives as opposed to absolutes. It is near…
Read MoreWhat Scripture says we have a personal relationship with Christ?
Question: Our preacher says he is about a relationship with Christ instead of rules. I read and liked your article, Shouldn’t we emphasize a relationship with Jesus instead of rules?, but I really can’t find scripture that gives examples of a personal relationship with Christ. Answer: “Relationship” is a broad word. Jesus is my Lord…
Read MoreHow do you humble yourself in front of the Lord?
Question: How do you humble yourself in front of the Lord? Answer: To be humble is the opposite of being prideful. A prideful man only listens to his own desires. He acts in accord with his own wishes. “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the…
Read MoreWe have a new preacher teaching unity in a diversity of beliefs
Question: Our congregation recently has a new preacher. He is related to half the church members and is well-known in the community. But he is very liberal and has admitted to me that he wants to change things at our congregation. He told me “he is about a relationship with Christ, and I am about…
Read MoreThe Lord Knows Those Who Are His
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/LordKnowsThoseWhoAreHis.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Timothy 2:14-21 I. There are always going to be people who will not accept what God says. They’ll quibble over words to get wiggle room for their particular beliefs. A. That is why the Christian has to be a good student of the Bible – II Timothy 2:15 B. You…
Read MoreCan a person go to heaven who doesn’t accept God but believes He exists and is good?
Question: Do you think a person who doesn’t accept God but believes He exists can go to heaven if he is a good guy and help others? Answer: You are asking if a person partially obeys God, picking which commands he would like to follow while ignoring the rest of what God said, can he…
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