Letters    

 ON SALVATION

Dear D. I.                                                                                                 September 23, 1994

        ...All have sinned and come short, i.e. they fail to meet God's standard. We have broken His law, and the best of men are not worthy to go to Heaven, or to be forgiven for what they have done.

      God could have left us to die in our sins, and to suffer forever in Hell, but instead, He sent His only begotten Son, to be born of the virgin Mary, in order that He could take our guiltiness, our shame, our sins, and our punishment for us. God the Son was incarnated, i.e. He took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. Until He took upon Himself the flesh of man, He could not suffer, bleed, and die for men.

      But, in doing this, our Lord assumed the position of a servant. He who rules all creation submitted Himself as a Son to His Father, and for the first time since He created all things, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

     Although He never sinned, He took upon Himself our sins, and willingly took our just judgment for the things we have done wrong. Therefore, the Father has exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name; that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. This is the reason we worship Him. This is the reason we are called "Christians." Seeing what he has willingly done for us, God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) has provided no other way for men to have peace, purpose, and entrance into the presence of God. Therefore, men who reject Him after he has done all this will themselves be rejected before the court of Heaven.

     D., if you have never repented of your sins, and have never turned from what you know to be wrong, do you have the desire to do it now? If you do, then call upon Him; and may God give you to do it for Jesus' sake. "May God Smile On You."—Bach

OF AN UNBELIEVER

Dear A. N.                                                                                                            June 9, 1987

        ...Last week, I was in Toccoa, Georgia ...where I had an interesting discussion with a man who had a PhD, and who wanted to devise a black theology. In the end he admitted he was still searching for truth, and I recalled how Buddha, shortly before his death, enunciated those same words.

       I told the man that when he said the Bible was racist and sexist, he was prejudiced, and that he sounded like Bishop Tutu of South Africa who said he believed the Holy Ghost was not confined to the Christian church, but spoke through men like Mahatma Ghandi, a Hindu. I told him, the Scriptures were inerrant, and that if he had no final authority, that his opinion was as good as the next man's. The instructor sat down, and let us talk. The doctor admitted he believed the Bible contained the Word of God, but that it was not the Word of God. (How sad!)

TO AN UNBELIEVER

Dear F. F.                                                                                                 November 18, 1992

      ...It cannot be disrespectful ...to warn (you) to flee the wrath to come. ...I love you too much not to set up roadblocks before you. ... If I handle you roughly to get you out of the burning house, and you get angry with me, so be it. If you go into eternity to face Almighty God convinced you are good enough and bold enough to do so, it will not be without my loving protest. ...

Dear J. F.                                                                                                       October 17, 1991

         Weeks have become months as we continue to pray that the Lord will give you a love and a zeal for the things of God. Contrary to what most people think, true religion is not simply becoming involved in church work: it is rather the work of God in our hearts. It evidences itself first by a devotion to God, to His Word, and to His work that appears as hate in comparison to everything, and to everyone else. Jesus said,

    If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. ...So, likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26,33).

    Second, true religion evidences itself by perseverance. Jesus said, "If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31). God often sends troubles into people's lives in order to sift them: will they serve the Lord or not? Solomon says a righteous man stumbles 7 times but rises again. All who are offended by Christ will fall by the wayside to be devoured by Satan (Matthew 13:4; see: vs. 19).

     Third, true religion is further evidenced by love for the people of God. Again, Jesus said, "by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).

     And Fourth, Jesus said, true faith is evidenced by denying ourselves. "Then, said Jesus unto his disciples, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).

     One thing more: in Matthew 11:12, Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." People go to heaven because they must go there. If heaven is not all that important to them, they will never live there. In Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Pilgrim is fearful when he sees lions chained before the gate of heaven, thus signifying we must be in earnest if we would make our salvation sure. Pilgrim grit his teeth, and fought his way into heaven. This pictures the truth that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

     We are your friends. "May God Smile On You."—Bach

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