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Serving the Bartlett, TN area since 1955 |
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Church of Christ at Ellendale |
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Mike’s Message |
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I continue to hear good things about Billy Sharp’s organizational skills and his effectiveness in improving communication with the congregation. We are blessed to have Billy as one of our elders. A $270 Billion Debt A woman in Columbus, Ohio, mistakenly received a bill from the IRS saying she owed $270 billion in back taxes. They told her she could pay her debt in three installments of $90 billion each. In the spiritual realm, we owe God for His payment of the debt of sin through the death of His Son. That debt we cannot pay with our own resources anymore than the woman in Columbus, Ohio, could pay the debt the IRS claimed she owed. In the beatitude in Matthew 5:5, Jesus taught that we must be poor in spirit in order to be citizens of God’s kingdom. The word for “poor” in the Greek text does not describe a person who is financially strapped, but someone who is totally destitute without a dime to his name. That is our predicament - spiritual bankruptcy. Several years ago in a neighboring town, a member of the church commented about a neighbor of hers: “She is such a good person. If anybody is going to heaven, she will.” There has only been one person who was “good enough” to deserve heaven, and that is Jesus. Since we are all sinners, none of us can buy our ticket to heaven with our own righteousness. The accumulated good works of a thousand lifetimes could not cause us to earn the right to be in heaven for one reason - our sins. Good works and obedience to God cannot earn the right to be in heaven, but they are essential for us to be saved by the Lord’s grace. We cannot be saved by our obedience unless we are perfectly obedient. Why then should we be devoted to obeying God and doing good works? Our obedience provides evidence that we have saving faith. A dead faith, one that is not active in doing good works to God’s glory, cannot save (James 2:14-26). Our wholehearted obedience also proves that our love is genuine. Love without works and obedience is impossible (1 John 3:16-18; 5:3). A working faith motivated by love is necessary for us to receive God’s free gift of salvation (Gal. 5:6). We also demonstrate gratitude for God’s grace and mercy (2 Cor. 5:14-15). An obedient faith is not a perfect faith. Only Jesus had a perfect faith. But a sincere, humble, conscientious, obedient faith is necessary to be in good standing with the Lord. Living by the light of God’s Word daily is necessary for continued forgiveness of all of our sins (1 John 1:7). Light walkers confess the sins they know they have committed, and seek God’s forgiveness and help to turn away from them (1:9; Prov. 28:13). If your life provides evidence that you have saving faith, sincere love, and genuine gratitude for God’s goodness, then your debt of sin has been paid by Jesus. If you persevere in your obedient faith, heaven will be your eternal destiny. |
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Ellendale Church of Christ 7365 Highway 70 Bartlett, TN 38133
Phone: 901-386-5008 Fax: 901-384-9312 E-mail: office@ellendalechurchofchrist.org |
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