DEAR CHURCH OF CHRIST MEMBER

“DEAR CHURCH OF CHRIST MEMBER…”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   “Is this you?”
1.    I love God and believe in Jesus. I want to follow Christ and be like Christ
2.   
I believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins, was buried and rose again the third day
3.   
I know that God’s grace saved me by having faith in Jesus Christ
4.   
I pray to God and Jesus every day to help me by His Holy Spirit
5.   
I go to church and take Holy Communion 
6.   
I believe in God and pray to Him 
7.   
I do the best of my ability to try and keep the Ten Commandments
8.   
I believe the Apostles creed and can recite it  
9.   
I believe water baptism is necessary for salvation
10.
I believe I can lose my salvation – that is, there’s no eternal security

 

Congratulations! You’re a Roman Catholic because they
believe that too!

WHAT!!!! I am not!!!!
Here’s the thing – what you believe is contained in the Sermon on the Mount which are the rules for entry into heaven. Christ gave the people all his rules and regulations to set up his kingdom from heaven here on earth.

Absolutely! And what’s wrong with that?
When you read them you will see they are nothing but works. You will note they were impossible to keep! The apostles said “Who then can be saved?” (Matt 19:25). Jesus answers “…with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26). Christ was saying “I am God. I’ll do them on your behalf BUT you will also have to go to the temple and perform animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of your past sins!

So?
Like then, to get into heaven today, you still have to have to keep the Sermon on the Mount rules perfectly!

What! Are you crazy!
No, but here’s the difference, we can believe that Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of the Sermon on the Mount on our behalf.

So what?
This means Christ has done it all for us – perfect works and his perfect blood as payment for all past and future sins. There is no more law for us to do for our salvation and there remains no more sacrifices for sins.  

What about getting water baptised to get saved?
That is a work! Do you believe the verses For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) and “… there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26)

What about the Lord’s supper?
Not to get saved! Paul says it’s only in remembrance of what Christ has done for us (1Cor 11:24-25).

What if I sin again, will I lose my salvation?
Never! If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for you, you have been born again and placed into God’s heavenly family and he will never kick you out! But if you don’t judge yourself regarding your sinning, you will get weak, sick and die, but God will take you home into heaven. Put it this way – you will never kick your children out of the family, right? You might not give them any inheritance, BUT THEY HAVE THE SAME DNA AS YOU! They are in your family forever. Similarly, you are born into God’s family - never to be lost! You now have the same spiritual ‘DNA’ as God! THIS IS HIS LOVE that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us and now we still sin God will not throw us out of his family. You have eternal security.

Well that means I can go and sin my head off then!
If that’s what you want to do, you are not saved! If you are saved you will have a hatred for sin. You won’t want to willingly sin anymore! Jesus Christ the Saviour saved you from God’s wrath in the flames of hell. You will now want to please him won’t you?

Well how am I suppose to love Christ the Saviour?
Paul says to follow him as he follows Christ (1Cor 11:1). Your doctrine for the Christian life is in Romans through to Philemon – Paul’s books to the churches. It’s no longer the works of the Mount Sermon and animal blood, it’s Christ’s perfect works and his perfect blood that gives us eternal security.


Harley Hitchcock


This website’s front page is:
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com


 

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 Australian Bible Ministries, PO Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com