PART 4 OF 4 

The Bible

Many in the world view the Bible as a collection of man’s writings with good information. Others say the Bible is just a book of fables. Others say the Bible is important, but we are not to take it word for word. Yet others say the Bible is a very good book but is not sufficient for our times so we need more writings of man to know what to do. Recently Aaron and I talked about the importance of the Bible on our TV program.

• The Bible claims to be from God (2 Peter 1:20-21)!
• The Bible is a discerner of the heart of man (Hebrews 4:12).
• All of God’s Words are important for man (Psalm 119:160).
• The Bible records God’s commandments that all men need to follow (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 14:37).
• The Bible is vital and all sufficient for man’s spiritual survival (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
• The world needs to hear the Bible so they can be saved eternally (Romans 1:16-17)!  

Apostle

The scriptures describe the apostles of Jesus Christ. These apostles had to meet certain requirements and then were to be witnesses to the world of Jesus (Acts 1:13, 21-26). The exception to this would be the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:7-10, Galatians 1:1). Others in the scriptures are referred to generally as apostles [such as Barnabus (Acts 14:4) and James the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:19)] but they were not of this official number designated by Jesus. Apostles were given the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues and miraculous healings (Acts 2:43, 5:12-16). They even had the ability to raise the dead (Acts 9:36-43, 20:9-12). And the apostles were the only ones who could pass on the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-19).

Many today claim that there are modern apostles in the world and they follow these men as though they were apostles. Questions we might ask include: Can they heal like the apostles of Jesus? Can they speak many languages without being taught like the apostles did? Can they raise the dead like the apostles of Jesus? Did they walk with Jesus as the apostles did? And do they teach what Jesus taught? Testing them by what they say is a great way to find out whether these folks are really apostles (Galatians 1:6-9, Revelation 2:2).

Christianity

The world views “Christianity” as a big umbrella with many tents underneath. There are many denominational and non-denominational churches claiming to follow Jesus. There are many churches that include the name of Jesus in their name. There are many religions throughout the world that claim to be following Jesus, yet they all have disagreements on how to follow Him. The Bible is very clear that there is only one way to follow Jesus and there is only one gospel of Jesus (John 14:6, Acts 8:35, 2 Corinthians 2:12). As a matter of fact early Christians were described as those who were of “The Way” (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 24:14, 24:22). This gospel/faith/Way has been available for almost 2,000 years (Philippians 1:27, Jude 3)!

Are you following The Way of Jesus? If not, you need to start your journey by Believing in Him, Confessing that He is the Son of God, Repenting of your sins, and being Baptized to wash your sins away. That is how one becomes a follower of Jesus. If we can help you this morning, please come forward while we stand and sing!