Thursday Evening Blog with Pastor Williams
Posted on June 19th, 2006 by TADCCBLOG
Pastor Williams will be active on this blog site THURSDAY from 8:30 to 9:30pm. Please suggest topics or questions for discussion.
Filed under: Live Blog on Thursday
8 Responses to “Thursday Evening Blog with Pastor Williams”
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Pastor Williams,
I get criticized for not attending church on a regular basis – in fact I have not been in over 20 years. In my opinion, if you live your life by the Golden Rule, everything will be fine. I don’t think one has to be “seen” in a house of God in order to be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. It bothers me that people get on me about this when my response to them would be that I am upholding the greatest lesson taught by Jesus.
Going to church does not save you. Having a personal relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus Christ constitutes salvation. And the Golden Rule will manifest itself through obedience to the word of God. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together is the word of God. Psalms 133:1 “How good and how pleasant it is for brethen to dwell together in unity.”….Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalms 23:6) See you in Church!!
On a day to day basis you spend time in things of the world. How can you sustain a Christian lifestyle or call yourself a Child of God not being around people that keep you encouraged and on the right path. The people in the church help sustain you.
Do you consider yourself a Christian. If so you must know that the Golden Rule is not enough. It sounds like you are speaking in theory. In reality, my experience is that it is almost impossible to live the Golden Rule without the help of fellow believers gathered in Church for the singular purpose of serving God. Picking out one principle, the Golden Rule, does not mean salvation. There are a lot of morally good people not saved.
Thank you for the comments to my blog. I really believe that being a moral person will get you into heaven. And I also believe that unless a person decides on their own to do what is morally right, surrounding yourself with people who do what is right will not help.
Dear Anoymous,
The bible says in John 3:16 that we must believe in Christ to have eternal life. So along with living this ‘morally good’ life, we must also accept Christ as our personal saviour. John 14:6, Jesus says that ‘I am the way the truth and the light, no man can come to the Father but by me,’ so again, the only way to be accepted into the Kingdom of God is by accepting Christ and his teachings and by following God’s word, which is the Holy Bible. And the bible teaches that the church is the body of Christ. That is why that is important to be connected in fellowship with other believers because we are all members of the body of Christ. This important instruction was given in Hebrews 10:24-26
24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
As the verse 25 reads, we should not forsake or abandon fellowshipping with other believers because being surrounded by Believers helps us to become deeper rooted and grounded in our faith. We can encourage and exhalt one another. The Bible says that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Therefore, if we are not hearing God’s word and if we do not surround ourselves by people who believe in God’s word and follow his teachings, then it is likely that we do not have faith in God, because we are not surrounding ourselves and feeding our sprits with things of God.
God’s word provides instruction and teaching for those who want to enter the Kingdom of God. We must follow and obey his teachings and pray for his grace so that he will lead and guide our steps.
I pray in the name of Jesus that the Holy Spirit will convict your heart and bring you into the knowledge of Christ Jesus as your personal Saviour.
You are right, it is a person’s choice on how they decide to live, but each person must realize that there is always a consequence to that decision.
Dear Anonymous,
Looking back at your postings, I can see that you profess hope in Heaven. I wonder what this place is that you call “Kingdom of Heaven” and “heaven.” If you really believe that it is the Kingdom of Heaven, then you must realize that a Kingdom has a King. This King has set up conditions for admittance into His kingdom. These conditions are not negotiable. Earlier, ANW quoted what Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” This includes even those who consider themselves to be moral. You see, if we could be saved through our own efforts at being moral, then for what reason did Jesus Christ die on the cross? It is through faith in His death and resurrection that we receive eternal life. Paul explains concisely in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
Dear Anonymous,
It seems that you have missed an important lesson that Jesus taught during your 20 year hiatus. Or maybe you have forgotten the lesson taught to you during your childhood. Which ever the case I would like to call your attention to Luke 18:18-30 where Jesus himself addresses this very same issue of a certain ruler. The Bible states that the ruler had kept the commandments from his youth up. He was “morally” good, yet Jesus advises him that his moral position would not merit him eternal life. He advises the young man to sell all his worldly possessions and FOLLOW CHRIST. Following Christ will first lead you to church. In church you will learn to seek God’s plan and will for your life. He would not want you to sit idly, while there are many souls to be witnessed to and need to hear the WORD of GOD from the BIBLE. I challenge you to attend service out of dedication and not obligation and watch the difference it makes spiritually in your life.
Christ advises the young man that riches (material gain, wealth) will not make it into heaven. Further, when you have relationship with Jesus he will send the Holy Spirit to comfort and keep you. As Paul warned the Galatians in Gal 3:1-5, you will receive the Holy Spirit not by your works and following “moral” LAWS, but by hearing the faith and Gospel of Jesus Christ. It will be extremely difficult to hear when you are not in the presence of God, thus you must attend services regularly. And I know a great ASSEMBLY where you can come, worship, and listen to the READ/SPOKEN WORD of GOD!!
God be with you and direct your path.
Anonymous,
Christ Jesus our Lord said that those that endure unto the end shall be saved. How can we say that we have endured when we drop out for twenty years. To know the Lord is to love the Lord and to desire to be with Him. We as believers are members in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-15). I cannot walk without my feet. My feet are a member of my body. Likewise, if you are a believer then you too are a member of the Body of Christ. Each member in the Body supports the other members in the Body. The eyes see, the ears hear, the tongue talks. Each member has his part to play in the Body of Christ.
There are two things that would allow a person to be absent from the church for twenty years; either personal hurt or bad teaching.
Give your heart to the Lord and let Him forgive you and create the destiny and purpose that He has for your life.