Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Fine

By Larry Pasley

    The Sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch. The Sheriff asked, "Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don't you see that sign right over your head."
    "Yep," he replied. "That's why I'm dumpin' it here, 'cause it says: 'Fine For Dumping Garbage.' "

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     Sometimes we see things out of context, miss the punctuation or miss the intent of what was said.
    An example is with the little boy who came home from Bible class, excitedly telling his parents that he heard a story about eight people milking a bear. His parents were shocked that he would come up with such a thing. They asked their teacher about it and she said they had been studying Genesis 22. They looked through the chapter and found the problem in verse 23. "And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she also hath borne children unto they brother Nahor. 21 Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram. 22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah. These eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother" (Genesis 22:20-23).
    The little boy had only heard the phrase, “These eight did Milcah bear.”
    Sometimes we do like the little boy, we hear someone say something and only pick up on a certain phrase that caught our attention.
    Another example of this is found in Galatians 3:26-27. Many only hear verse 26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” And they conclude that we are saved by faith only.
    But notice what the next verse says, 27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
    So, when we put those verses together in context, it is saying, “We are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For (because) as many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” We are sons of God because we were baptized into Christ.
    The only time the two words “faith only” are found in the Bible is in James 2:24, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”
    The Bible never teaches that we are saved by faith only, but on the contrary it teaches that we are justified (made right with God) by our works in addition to our
faith.
    Jesus is the source of salvation to those who obey Him, not to those who simply believe in Him. Hebrews 5:9 “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”
    We will be judged, not by our faith, but by what we have done here on earth. Romans 2:5-10  “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who "will render to each one according to his deeds": 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
    May we always strive to be sure we are seeing all God wants us to know about His will for us.

- Larry Pasley serves as a minister with the Jackson Street Church of Christ in Alexandria, LA. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at http://www.JacksonStAlex.com

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