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Separated Unto The Gospel Of God
Paul's letter to
the Romans centers in the "Gospel of God". "Paul, a bondservant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which
He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His
Son Jesus Christ our Lord..." (Romans 1:1-5.) Paul identifies himself as a
"servant of Jesus Christ...separated unto the gospel of God." As he
begins this great epistle he paused for a moment to emphasize the “gospel of
God.”
Paul
emphasized the PROMISES of the gospel. "Which He
promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures."
(Romans 1:2.) The gospel was ancient from the standpoint of being given in
"promise". The promise of eternal life in Christ was made before time
began. "In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before
time began." (Titus 1:2.) The promises and prophecies of the Old
Testament pointed to the gospel message of salvation through the sacrificial
death of Jesus.
Paul
emphasized the PERSON of the gospel. "Concerning His Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and
declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead."
(Romans 1:3-4.) It was to Jesus that the Old Testament prophecies
and promise pointed. A good example of this is Isaiah 53. Philip began at that
scripture and preached Jesus to the man from
Paul
emphasized the POWER of the gospel. "Through Him we have received
grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His
name." (Romans 1:5.) It is through the gospel that God's grace is
received. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians
2:8-9.) Saving grace results in obedient faith. The sinner must learn God's
will and do it in order to enjoy salvation by "the Gospel of God".
The Christian is one yoked to Christ through obedient faith.
Read Romans chapter
one and be blessed as Paul's introduces the "Gospel of God". “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.” (Romans
1:16) Please obey the gospel to be freed from sin. Obedience includes a
reenactment of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in our baptism.
(Romans 6:1-6; Romans 6:17-18.)
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Charles Box
When
Christ Is Lord
A life controlled by Satan is not really a life at all. It is
merely an existence. When Satan controls: (1) Minds are futile (Ephesians
When
Christ is Lord one puts on the new man. "And that you put on the
new man which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:24.) This "regenerated self" or new
person is God-like. The purpose of your
existence is to be like God, and so you please God by being righteous and
truly holy.
When
Christ is Lord truth and honesty is practiced. "Therefore,
putting away lying, Let each one of you speak truth
with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." (Ephesians 4:25.)
Christians are part of the same spiritual body. Therefore, they must stop lying
to one another and start telling each other the truth.
When
Christ is Lord goodwill is shown. "Be
angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath."
(Ephesians 4:26.) Don't get so angry that you allow yourself to sin. Practice
goodwill toward others by being careful not to go to bed angry.
When
Christ is Lord care is shown to the needy. "Let
him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands
what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need."
(Ephesians 4:28.) God's people must be honest and work hard. Christians must
make an honest living for themselves and also give to those in need.
When
Christ is Lord our speech will be pure. "Let no corrupt word proceed
out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may
impart grace to the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29.) God's people must stop all
dirty talking. There is no place for filthy language or unwholesome talk in
the life of the redeemed. Those who belong to God will be conscious of saying
the right things at the right time and of saying things that will help others.
When
Christ is Lord unChristlike qualities will stop. "Let all bitterness,
wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all
malice." (Ephesians 4:31.) Those who serve Christ as Lord will stop being
angry and bitter at others. There is no place for Christians to yell at each
other, slander or blaspheme. God's people must not curse each other or be rude
to each other.
When
Christ is Lord forgiveness will be practiced. "And
be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in
Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32.) God forgave us because of Christ.
Because Christians have been forgiven and also in order to be forgiven they
must forgive others. Such qualities as kindness, compassion, being
loving and forgiving will always be found in the life of a Christian.
When
Christ is Lord one imitates God. "Therefore be imitators of God as
dear children." (Ephesians 5:1.) Christians are to imitate God. They do
as God does. Christians must imitate or copy God. Remember that you are God's
dear children.
When
Christ is Lord one will walk in love. "And walk in love, as Christ
also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2.) Children of God must walk in
love. Guided by love Christians will love others and sacrifice for them. This
is the result of understanding Christ's love and sacrifice for us.\
To
become a Christian you must hear (Romans
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Charles Box
News
& Notes
1. Prayer List: Stabler
Hospital: Gene Buck. In Need Of Prayers: Lacey Barr,
Malachi Beauchamp, Nikki Bennett, Emily Cain, Gladys Cassady,
Gail Deberry (surgery), Ethel Gafford,
Bobby Godwin (short stay in hospital), Roy Goodwin, Ramona Gravely, Ron Green,
Evan Hartsell, Jimmy Hobbie,
Griffin Huggins, Frank Johnson, Mary Lawrence, Evelyn Lewis, Joyce Massey,
Janice Mullins, Mary Powell, Sybrina Reynolds and
L.D. Sessions. Crowne Health Care: Laura
Ellis, Kathy Johnson, Myrtle Perdue, Bertha Phelps, and Iva
Lou Wright.
2. Please Pray For:
(a) Alan Jackson as he serves in
3. Special Need For
Prayer: Brenda & Willie Herring are expecting triplets. Brenda is
facing several weeks of bed rest. Please pray for her and the babies.
4. It’s A
Boy: Congratulation to Johnnie & Angie Hobbie
on the birth of their son, John Andrew “Andy”. He was born June 30th.
He weighed 4 pounds 14 ounces. He is 18 inches long. Proud grandparents are
Jimmy & Betty Hobbie and Bill & Shirley McMillian.
5. Birthdays: Celebrating birthdays
this week are: July 9th Jerry Barr, July 10th Don
Reynolds, July 12th Katie Harrell, July 13th Mack
Thomas Acree and Gwen Henderson, and July
14th Willie Herring.
6. Thank You: (a)
7. Area Events: (a) July 9-12 – Gospel Meeting – Hickory Street Church of Christ –
7:00 p.m. (b) July 16-19 – Gospel
Meeting – County Line Church of Christ – Jason Hilburn
– Bible Study 10:00 a.m., Worship 11:00 a.m., Singing 2:30 p.m., Worship 4:00
p.m. and weeknights 7:30. (c) July 16-20 – Gospel Meeting – Cedar
Grove Church of Christ – Harvey Starling – 7:00 p.m. (d) September 25-27 – Spiritual Enrichment Forum at Embassy Suites
Hotel – Southern Christian University
8.
The
Necessity Of Sincerity
“The
secret of success is sincerity. Once you
can fake that, you’ve got it made.” (Jean Giraudoux). Sincerity is defined as: honesty of mind;
freedom from hypocrisy. Sometimes
sincerity and insincerity are pretty easy to spot. When a telemarketer calls you in the middle
of supper and says, “I’m sorry if I reached you at an inconvenient time,” you
may doubt his sincerity. Or, when a
televangelist says “All I care about is your soul!” and then drives away in an
$80,000 sports car, which he bought with profits from the “love offerings” that
he had solicited. His sincerity is questionable. Sincerity can only be proven by actions.
The
quotation mentioned above states one truth.
Sincerity is one major key to success in life. In School if one is sincere about wanting to
learn, teachers often recognize it and will be more willing to work them. In Relationships, sincerity is a must. You won’t be successful in love without
it. Jobs are another place in which
sincerity is necessary. Think about any
number of TV shows or movies where a character sucks up to the boss. They are made fun of because they are
insincere.
A
sincere heart is an interesting thing.
Obviously, people don’t always agree with the things you do or say. But people will respect your sincerity, even
when they don’t agree with you. This
allows people to work together more effectively, because sincerity breeds
trust.
Christians
must be sincere. Anyone can fool some
people, but no one can fool God. Do any
of the following scenarios fit your life?
You “care” about other people when they’re around, but then laugh about
their misfortunes with others. When
other Christians are around you, you act and speak like one with a pure heart,
but when no one is around, you view pornography on the computer. If you are one person in public and another
person when no one is looking, who is the real you? We cannot hide anything from God! (Heb 4:13; Psa 90:8).
Take
an honest look into the mirror (Js
-
- - - Darrell
Powell
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It is strange that people stay away from church for trivial
reasons, and then sing, “Oh how I love Jesus.”
Don’t just own a Bible;
read it!
(334-382-3001)