The Only Gospel

Nor is there salvation in any other.
Acts 4:12

If you testify to others that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only gospel, the only way to God, you are not merely proclaiming your own view of right religion but God's revelation of truth. You do not proclaim the gospel of Christ simply because you know it, because it suits your personality, or because you want to be intolerant and exclusive. You declare the gospel of Christ because it's God's only way for people to find salvation from sin and eternal death.

You proclaim Jesus' gospel as the only gospel because He said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved" (John 10:9). You testify to this gospel because you agree with the apostle Paul that "there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

You're therefore in good company and on solid footing when you testify of God's only way of salvation to those who don't know Jesus Christ.

From: John MacArthur, Truth for Today, A Daily Touch of God's Grace

Insights for Living: Healing, Part One

Healing, Part One
by Charles R. Swindoll

Matthew 9:35

"Have you heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?"

That question, found in a small booklet, has been asked and answered thousands---perhaps millions---of times in our generation. These "laws" have been used by God to introduce His plan of love and forgiveness to countless numbers of people who had no idea how to have a meaningful relationship with Him.

I have a similar question. It is designed to introduce some foundational facts to those who are confused over the painful circumstance they are enduring . . . and how the whole issue of healing applies to them.

"Have you heard of the Five Suffering Laws?"

That question appears in no booklet---but it should! These "laws" will do more to help the hurting and erase their confusion than perhaps anything else they could read. All five are well supported in Scripture. We'll look at the first four today and the final one tomorrow.

Law One: There are two classifications of sin.

1. Original sin . . . the inherited sin nature traceable to Adam, original "head" of the human race (Romans 5:12a).

2. Personal sins . . . individual acts of wrong we regularly commit (Romans 3:23).

Because we all have an inherited sin nature (the root), we commit sins (the fruit).

Law Two: Original sin introduced suffering, illness, and death to the human race (Romans 5:12b).

Had there never been the presence of original sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind would never have known sickness or death. In the broadest sense of the word, all sickness and suffering today are the result of original sin. Literally, the Lord told Adam "in the day that you eat from it, dying you will die" (Genesis 2:17).

Law Three: Sometimes there is a direct relationship between personal sins and sickness.

David testified of such in Psalm 32:3-5 and 38:3-5. Paul warned that some of the Corinthian believers were "weak and sick" and a number of them were dead (1 Corinthians 11:27-30) because they were sinning.

Law Four: Sometimes there is no relationship between personal sins and sickness.

Some are born with afflictions---suffering before they ever reach the age of committing sins (John 9:1-3; Acts 3:1-2). Others, like Job (1:1-5), are living upright lives when suffering occurs. Jesus Himself "sympathizes with our weaknesses" (Hebrews 4:15) rather than rebuking us because we have sinned. Remember, "although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Jesus never committed sins, yet He suffered.

Tomorrow, I'll share with you Law Five and some significant (dare I say, life-changing?) conclusions we can draw from these "laws" of suffering.

Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright � 1985, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

What Does Being "BORN AGAIN" Mean?

What does being born again mean? Do I have to be born again in order to be Christian?

Jesus Christ used the term "born again" in a conversation with Nicodemus, a high-ranking member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, who came to Him by night (see John 3:1-18). When Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know You are a teacher come from God," what he really saying was, "Teach me how I can find God."

Jesus said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Later in the conversation, Jesus also said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

The moment you turn to God, and put your trust in Christ, the sacrificial death of Jesus places you in a right relationship with Him. Literally you find God -- His Spirit makes this truth real to you. And you know that you are born again.

This transformation in us by the Spirit of God is like a second birth. One result is that the law of God becomes written upon our hearts. We become internally motivated by the Spirit to obey Him, and do good to others out of sheer thankfulness to God.

You have to be born again in order to be Christian, as Jesus Himself teaches. You do not become born again by joining a Christian fellowship or a church denomination, or by inheritance. You can be born again because of the sacrificial death of Jesus. It is not repentance that saves you. Rather, repentance is the sign that you have realized what God in Christ has done for you.

From: CBN International Ministries & OMF Literature

What are the Secrets of Miracles in our Lives?

Our physical world seems to be approaching the outer limits of survival through its violation of the laws of the spiritual world. But there is what the writer call a law of miracles. It governs the question of God's willingness to suspend His natural order in order to accomplish His purpose. When He does, the result is a miracle, an overruling of the natural laws through which God usually works.

Jesus Christ introduced a new order of normality ar the Day of Pentecost -- miracles were to be normal, with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus expected His followers to do even greater things than He did (John 14:12). We need to understand the secrets of miracles and act on them.

Firstly, have faith in God. Believe that He exists. Trust Him and expect Him to enter into communion with you, to show you His will and purpose. Next, recognize that God has total authority over demons, angels, circumstances and all of the physical world (see John 14:12). Thirdly, learn God's will in any given moment by regularly spending time with Him. Pray and ask, "Lord, what are You doing in this situation? What do You want to accomplish?" Then agree with whatever He wants to bring about.

Fourthly, take your eyes off the circumstances and the impossibilities. Look upon God and the possibilities. Don't consider that you have no money in the bank, or that the whole world is against you, or that the task assigned to you is impossible. Rather, grow strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Fifthly, be fully convinced that what God has said is going to happen. Such a belief cannot come from human effort. It comes only from depending on God, for "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17). God's help comes when we trust Him, praise Him, and read His Word. Then His Holy Spirit quickens His Word in our hearts, and we hear Him speaking to our spirits: "This is what I am going to do. Believe it!"

Lastly, forgive. Lack of forgiveness is the major hindrance to the working of miracles in the visible world. Forgive all those who have wronged you to the point where you literally feel cleansed of grudges, resentment and bitterness, and you are actually praying for them. Husband, wife, children, parents, friends, officemates, etc. -- forgive them all. For without forgiveness we will wee no miracles.

Psalm 118:6,8

"De Heer is aan mijn kant, ik zal niet vrezen. Wat kan de mens doen om mij? Het is beter om het vertrouwen in de Heer, dan om het vertrouwen in de mens."

Insights for Today: Say It Well

Say It Well
by Charles R. Swindoll

Acts 17:22-31

Paul was a misfit. When it came to a place like Athens, the crusty apostle clashed with the decor.

Made no sense at all. The classic oil-and-water combo. A monotheistic Jew smack dab in the middle of polytheistic Gentiles. Narrow-minded former Pharisee surrounded by broad-minded philosophers. One idol-hating Christian among many idol-worshiping pagans. Outnumbered. Outvoted. Outshouted. But not outwitted.

Those eggheads may have felt superior. They may have looked upon this little runt from Tarsus about like a grizzly views a dirt dauber, but when he opened his mouth and started preaching, they closed theirs and started listening. It wasn't very long before they realized this guy hadn't just fallen off some turnip truck. When it came to communicating, Paul had his stuff together. He was a class act.

The extemporaneous excellence of a message like the one in Acts 17:22-31 makes every preacher's and teacher's mouth water. Un-intimidated by their brilliance, unimpressed with their position, and singularly unprovoked over their opinion of him, the apostle captured the attention of the Stoics and Epicureans by means of a genius game plan. With the confidence and deliberateness of a veteran returning to the heat of battle, the seasoned warrior tightened the belt on his toga and took charge. He covered every base necessary for quality communication.

Ever analyzed his Mars Hill message? Allow me:

• He started with a jolting attention-getter.
  "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects." (v. 22)
• He then used a relevant illustration to amplify his opening remark.
  "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'" (v. 23a)
• Next, he employed an interesting yet brief transition into the body of his speech.
  "Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you." (v. 23b)
• At the heart of his speech, he presented sound theology in clear, easily understood terms.
  "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him." (v. 24-27a)
• He held their attention by making it personal . . . he even quoted from their own literature.
  "though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'" (v. 27b-28)
• He then challenged them with a theological truth woven neatly into Athenian culture.
  "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man." (v. 29)
• Finally, he "drove home" the application ("all everywhere should repent") by a declaration of two inescapable facts (God's judgment, Jesus' resurrection).
  "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (v. 30-31)

Put 'er down, friend. That's quality communication . . . all the ingredients necessary to guarantee edge-of-the-seat interest. The preacher could have gone longer (the speech didn't last two minutes), but the philosophers had gotten enough. Soon as they heard him mention the resurrection, end of Paul's speech. But not end of God's speaking. Some sneered. Others said they'd be back again. A few believed. Typical response. The song had ended, but the melody lingered on.

It's the same today. A mixed bag Sunday after Sunday. Change the particulars and you've got a similar setting in places the world over. One speaks, many listen, some believe. How easy for the spokesperson to be intimidated . . . to think, like Andrew, "But what are these among so many?" . . . to forget that empty philosophy doesn't stand a chance against biblical theology. It's the timeless David-and-Goliath principle---one plus God . . . aw, you know the equation.

But wait. A warning is in order. Before we rush to judgment and claim a pushover victory regardless, let's understand that the strategy calls for quality. It's not as simple as dumping a half-ton load of religious whine, a hodgepodge of verbs, nouns, and adjectives, but preparing the heart, sharpening the mind, delivering the goods with care, sensitivity, timing, and clarity. It's the difference between slopping hogs and feeding sheep.

Occasionally, it's good for communicators to go back to Athens. To blow the dust off those ancient idols in the street and hear again the voice of the preacher as it echoes across that historic wind-swept hill. To look into those dark eyes and to feel again his passion. Then to trace the incomparable heritage of God's mouthpieces down through the centuries.

What a band of magnificent misfits!

If you are one of them, study hard, pray like mad, think it through, tell the truth, then stand tall. But while you're on your feet, don't clothe the riches of Christ in rags. Say it well.

Does God Always Heal the Sick When we ask Him to do So?

During Jesus' earthly ministry He never refused anyone who asked for healing. Therefore we may assume that it is God's perfect will to heal everyone. Jesus knew whether a sickness was caused by evil spirits, unconfessed sin, organic dysfunction or if it was a psychosomatic disorder. Of it was a disease, He would speak to it; if it was caused by a demon, He would cast out the demon; if it was caused by sin, He would forgive the sinner.

God's promises in the Bible are accompanied by a provision -- and this provision must be met before the blessing comes. In healing, the provision is FAITH. On the other hand, one may be full of faith that he will be healed yet he isn't. For instance, the apostle Paul entreated God three times to take away to take away his "thorn n the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are not man's ways. We can only pray that He will bring down his redemptive purpose for the sick.

Others are sick because they constantly disregard the laws for good health. They are not likely to recover until they stop living wrongly. For instance, a former chain smoker told how his night coughs have stopped; he now breathes easier, and his food tastes better.

There are people who enjoyed being sick -- their sickness is used as an excuse not to face up to life. They are not healed because they don't want to be. Others harbor unconfessed sin. They seem holy and righteous on the surface, but are filled with resentment inside. There are still others who are sick because of demonic activity. Prayer for healing will not work for them because the demon has to be addressed and cast out, usually by someone else.

And in certain cases healing does not take place because the individual's spirit and mind are not in a condition where he or she can be receptive to what God offers. Others are so overcome by shock, grief, desolation, or pain that it is impossible for them to focus on the healing from God.

The Bible (see Revelation 21:4) promises that in the age to come, God will do away with every tear from our eyes. All healing will, at last, be complete and permanent.