What The Bible Says
“What The Bible Says - Vol. 5 / No. 20”
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What The Bible Says
Vol. V - No. 20 / March 12, 2023
DO YOU FEEL SAVED?
Are you saved? How do you know you are saved? "I know I am saved because I feel it in my heart," many often say. But are the feelings of your heart the proper standard to determine your salvation? We do not use this standard in other matters. No one says of his bank statement, "I know it is right because I feel it in my heart," while they ignore to properly add and subtract from their balance. No carpenter says, "I know the board is 10 feet long because I feel it in my heart" — he checks the board with the proper standard, the measuring tape! But, when it comes to a matter far more important than bank balances and board lengths — salvation — many are willing to trust their eternal welfare to their feelings.
Can you trust the feelings of your heart to tell you whether or not you are saved? The Bible says "No!" "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Prov. 28:26), for "the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23). "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Prov. 14:12). Feelings are subjective, they change from person to person and even within the same person. Truth is objective, it remains fixed and does not change, regardless of the person or the year.
The way you feel about salvation does not change God's truth concerning it, just as the way you feel about math, does not change the truth of it. Whether or not you are saved is an objective fact, not subject to the whims of how you feel from moment to moment. So how can they know they are saved? The Scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5).
You do not have to rely upon your own faulty and deceptive feelings concerning your salvation. The Lord has given "the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation" (2 Tim. 3:15). The knowledge and confidence of salvation can only come from the objective standard of God's Word. God will judge you by His Word, not by how you feel. Jesus proclaimed, "the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). What is your salvation based upon? Many people feel in their heart they are saved because they have "simply believed" in Jesus. While salvation certainly requires faith in Jesus, faith alone does not and cannot save according to God's Word. James wrote, "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only"(Jas. 2:24). Other people have prayed and "asked Jesus to come into their heart" and now they feel they are saved. But nowhere does the Bible teach one must simply pray to Jesus in order to be saved. God's Word teaches to be saved you must: hear the gospel (Rom. 10:17); believe Jesus is the Son of God (Mk. 16:16); repent of your sins (Acts 2:38); confess Jesus (Rom. 10:9; Acts 8:36-38) and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; Mk. 16:16). Those who obey God's Word do not have to guess whether or not they are saved based upon the feelings of their heart. They know they are saved because their salvation is based on the unchanging Truth of God's Word. —Wayne Greeson
CHRIST AND THE LOST
In Luke 15 we read of how Jesus was accused of receiving sinners. The three parables given in this chapter are given by Jesus to illustrate why he received sinners. What we find upon reading these parables is that four different types of lost people are being illustrated:
There are those who are lost in the sense the sheep was lost. This sheep wasn’t lost in the sense that it was dead but it had become lost as the result of no. longer being in fellowship with the shepherd an the flock. In 1 John 1:5-7 we read: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
There are those who are lost in the sense the coin was lost. This coin hadn’t lost its value. It was simply out of circulation. It wasn’t doing anyone any good. Jesus recognizes as lost every person out of circulation. If our blood didn’t circulate no nutrition would reach the cells of our body.
There are those who are lost as the youngest son was lost. We sometimes call him the ‘prodigal son’. He was a waster, not a worker. 2 Timothy 4:10 “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;…” It is obvious this son was lost!
There are those who are lost as the elder brother was lost. His type is seldom counted as lost either by himself or others. However, he is lost because he has no sympathy for others who are lost. He has no joy when those who are lost return.
Not only do these parables illustrate four TYPES of lost people but also four WAYS by which to get lost. The sheep was lost through thoughtless straying. So we drift ever so carelessly away (Hebrews 2:1-3. The coin was lost through the carelessness of others. Thus we have a responsibility to restore those who are lost (Galatians 6:1-2). The prodigal son and his older brother was lost because each of them wanted to have their own way. Instead, our attitude must be that of our Saviour in Luke 22:42 when He spoke to His Father and said, “thy will be done”.
When does the Lord receive sinners? When they hear and believe the word of God (Romans 10:17), repent of their sins (Luke 13:3,5), confess Christ with their mouth (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:10), and are baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). Then and only then can they have the remission of their sins and the hope of heaven. —E.R. Hall, Jr.
***SENTENCE SERMONS***
Staying calm is the best way to take the wind out of an angry person’s sails.
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Kind words take less breath than harsh ones.
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The world needs more warm hearts and fewer hot heads.
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A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
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The danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.
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It’s choice - not chance - that determines our destiny.
"What The Bible Says” is e-mailed twice a month. If you know of others who might benefit from the articles contained in this bulletin, we would be glad to have you submit their e-mail addresses and we will include them in the next mailing. If you are receiving this bulletin and do not wish to continue to do so, please e-mail us with your desire to be removed from the mailing list and you will be removed promptly. Continue to the bottom of this page for further instructions as to how you may contact us.
--- E.R. Hall, Jr.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
For The East Albertville Church Of Christ
meeting at
4777 U.S. Highway 431
Albertville, AL 35950
Sunday
Bible Classes …………..….…………… 9:30 AM
Morning Worship ……..…….….……… 10:30 AM
Evening Worship …………………........ 5:00 PM
Wednesday
Bible Classes …………..………........... 7:00 PM
Radio Program
Sunday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 8:30 AM
Monday - Saturday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 11:15 AM
Website: www. EastAlbertville.org
