| The Bible our Guide |
If we claim to follow Christ we shall want to renounce the weakness and pride of our fleshly nature, and lay it down after the pattern of Jesus' death on the cross:Jesus: "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)Paul: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who . . . humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name." (Philippians 2:5-11) "Our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with." (Romans 6:6) "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." "God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 2:20; 5:24; 6:14)Jesus: "These are the ones who ... washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) By his death on the cross Jesus destroyed the power of sin, and is now perfect and immortal. Those who crucify their old way of life with Christ and seek to follow him, will receive his help to the same end. TRUE BAPTISM If we claim to follow Christ we
shall know that we must obey the command of Jesus, to follow our
faith by baptism:
Jesus: "Permit
it to be so now, for thus it is fining for us to fulfil all righteousness
. . . Then Jesus, when he had been baptized, came up immediately
from the water . . . and suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:15-17)
"He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16) "Unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom
of God." (John 3:5)
Peter: "Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins . . . Then those who gladly received his
word were baptized . . . and they continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
(Acts 2:38,41,42)
Paul: "As
many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
his death. Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into
death." (Romans 6:3,4)
In the Bible, baptism is a burial in water, undertaken by those who have confessed their desire to crucify and bury their former lives, and start again in a risen life with Christ.
If we claim to follow Christ we shall want to follow the pattern of Jesus' life, keep his commandments, remember his death, and keep unspotted from the world:Jesus: "If you love me, keep my commandments." "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another." (John 14:15; 13:34) "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword." (Matthew 26:52)John: "Do not love the world or the things in the world . . . For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16)Paul and Jesus: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes." (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)The Bible therefore encourages true Christians to remember the Lord in a regular Breaking of Bread, and to keep him constantly in remembrance in their lives, waiting always for his coming again.
If we claim to follow Christ we shall know that one day we must stand before the Lord Jesus Christ as our Judge, to receive blessing or condemnation:Jesus: "Every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:36,37)Paul: "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)Daniel: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2)Jesus: ". . . and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18)Paul: "There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust . . . Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come, Felix was afraid." (Acts 24:15,25)Peter: "They (who walk in the lusts of men) will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." (1 Peter 4:5) Those who have understood their duty to God, whether they have accepted it and obeyed in faith, or rejected or neglected it, must stand before the Lord's judgement, for blessing or for rejection. Jesus: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . . . Then he will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:31-41) "It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire." (Mark 9:43-48)The hell fire of the Bible is the destruction of everything which is displeasing in God's sight at a time of judgement. It is also called "everlasting fire" and "the lake of fire".
If we claim to follow Christ we shall look to the time when the earth will be perfected through the work of Christ, and filled with God’s glory:To Moses: "But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD." (Numbers 14:21)The Psalms: "Give the king your judgements, 0 God, and your righteousness to the king's Son. He will judge your people with righteousness . . . Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things! And blessed be his glorious name for ever! And let the whole earth be filled with his glory." (Psalm 72:1,18,19) Isaiah: "They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the
sea." (Isaiah 11:9)
Habakkuk: "For
the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)
Paul: "Then
comes the end, when he (Christ) delivers the kingdom to God the
Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The
last enemy that will be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:24-26)
Jesus: "Then
death and Hades (the grave) were cast into the lake of fire." "Behold
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them
and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes:
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there
shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
(Revelation 20:14; 21:3,4)
Thus the Bible shows how the perfection intended in the work of creation will finally be realised, in the presence of all the true saints of God. |
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