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Knowing Enough to be Saved…
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)
I DID THE CLASS WORK FOR MY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR YEAR at Stevenson, Alabama, (1951-52) (picture above) and received a high school diploma through the mail from the Homestead High School in Crossville, TN. I attended a class in the morning and worked in my dad’s Hickory saw mill the rest of the day. I took American History through the University of Alabama and did the tests at Stevenson. (I only needed two credits.)
I HAD BEEN WITNESSING TO MY SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER at Stevenson. He was not long out of college and sharp. He was easy-going and respectful of my outreach to him about being saved. One day before class I came in early and we were alone in the room. He said: “Dan, can the heathen be saved before you get there and preach to them?” In those days I knew somewhere between “a lot” and “almost everything.” (The danger of a little learning is that the one who has it may not know it’s only a little.) I answered him,
“WELL, SOMEBODY'S GOT TO TELL THEM HOW TO BE SAVED." I didn’t know what Isaiah and Joel had said. So, I was almost sure that a missionary would have to be there with a Bible in hand before they could be saved. My teacher was kind and let me down easy. At the time, I was satisfied I had answered him well, not knowing I had not answered him at all. A mental fog enshrouded me that helped me to forget it.
THAT WAS ALMOST 70 YEARS AGO, AND I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT that morning many times. Is he still living? Where? Did he ever get an answer to his question and reach out to the Lord? I have wished to sit down and talk with him again for an hour. When I get to Heaven, I’m going to look for him. I hope he’ll be there.
I FINISHED BIBLE COLLEGE AND NEVER CONSIDERED: “What is the minimum one must know to be saved?” Evangelism class never asked that question. We memorized 100-150 verses and prepared to do battle with objections.
I WENT TO JAMAICA TWO SUMMERS WITH A TEAM and we walked 3-4 miles a day giving out Gospels of John, going over 3-4 points of being saved, praying with them, having them to repeat a prayer after us. We had 1,200 professions of faith the first year and 600 the 2nd year. I had learned John 3:16 in the second grade but had not learned that’s all you really need to know to share the Gospel. It’s got all the talking points in it.
SEVERAL YEARS LATER, I was working as a lobbyist for Christian school liberty in the NC Legislature and a much older State Senator, a Methodist farmer from the East Sandhills of NC, quietly asked me the same question in a slightly different way. To myself: “I’m tired of this!” I said to him, “I don’t know the answer, but I promise you I will do some Bible digging and come back and tell you what I find.” I did.
THAT NIGHT I GOT ON MY KNEES AND TOLD THE LORD THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO SHOW ME where to find the answer to the Senator’s question. It was the same question my high school teacher had asked me, and I had been too lazy about digging it up. This time, I had it to do. There were a half-dozen doors of inquiry I could enter, so I began in earnest.
THE FIRST THING I SAW WAS THAT GOD IS A TRINITY; you can talk to either of them and it counts for all three. In Jesus’ prayer in John 17 He made much of the oneness of Him and the Father. Jesus is not only the Savior, He is also the co-creator of the earth and universe. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) WHEN YOU TALK TO THE ONE WHO MADE THE STARS, YOU'RE ALSO TALKING TO THE ONE WHO WENT TO THE CROSS. OK?
IF A MAN IN A REMOTE ISLAND JUNGLE LOOKS UP IN THE SKY AT NIGHT and calls upon the one who made the stars, does it offend God and disqualify the man because he does not know about the Trinity and about Jesus? The man has never been inside a church building and has never had a Bible in his hand and does not know there is such a thing. Is he in trouble with God because he doesn’t know a single Bible verse and doesn’t know a single character mentioned in the Bible? Is he in trouble with God because he is so ignorant and was born in the wrong place and time to know anything?
This is what the man must believe to come to God: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) This is the bare minimum a man must know and believe about God to make a connection with Him.
BUT, WHAT ABOUT THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST? God thinks more highly of that than we do, and we can trust Him to get to that in His own time and in His own way. But the Gospel is NOT the beginning place with God and the heathen who know absolutely nothing about Him. There has never been one human being so far-removed from God that there was no beginning place for him to get to Heaven.
IS HEBREWS 11:6 A GOOD VERSE FOR YOU TO MEMORIZE deep in your soul? It was for me. If I had had that verse memorized, I would have known immediately what to tell my high school teacher and the senator in North Carolina. It’s as important as John 3:16.
GOD EXISTS AND WILL RESPOND TO ANYONE ON THE EARTH who diligently seeks Him. This is what the Bible says a man/woman/boy/girl must know and believe and that’s all they have to know and believe as a beginning place with God. God said so!
PEOPLE IN ALL HISTORY, ALL OVER THE WORLD have been watching the sun come up and set. They have watched birds and insects, many kinds of animals, and have observed how so many things work together to make it possible for human beings to live.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. (Psalms 19:1-3)
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20) If a man will respond in faith to what God has shown him, God is going to do business with him.
FAIR QUESTION! Will God show a person enough to render him without excuse but fall short of showing him how to be saved? NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! If a person will respond to what God has shown him/her, there’s more to follow. Abraham came up with a similar question when judgment was about to fall on Lot and his family. He spoke up to God and gave Him a hard question:
ABRAHAM PLEADED WITH GOD: That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25)
APPARENTLY, IT WAS OK FOR ABRAHAM TO INSIST THAT THE JUDGE of all the earth do right. The man who knows nothing about God, can expect God to do the right thing. A man who knows nothing about the Gospel and nothing about the Trinity will not be fussed at because of his ignorance not of his own making. If he calls on the one who made the heavens, God is going to show that man everything He wants him to know to be 100% right with Him. Can we trust the Almighty God to do that? If we can trust the Almighty God to do that, then the question: “What about the heathen who don’t know God” vanishes into thin air!
THESE VERSES SHOW WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR IN DOING BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalms 34:18)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalms 51:17)
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15)
…the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him….. (2 Chronicles 16:9a)
Sooner or later, John 3:16 is going to come into the picture. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
AUGUST 21, 2019 – WEDNESDAY
A.M. Psalm 119:1-48 P.M. 1 Corinthians 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verse to Memorize:
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)
Song for Today:
The Battle Hymn…(5:26) (First Bapt. Dallas-Choir & Orchestra-June 30,2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2LZ9cVRkDw
You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
Knowing Enough to be Saved…
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)
I DID THE CLASS WORK FOR MY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR YEAR at Stevenson, Alabama, (1951-52) (picture above) and received a high school diploma through the mail from the Homestead High School in Crossville, TN. I attended a class in the morning and worked in my dad’s Hickory saw mill the rest of the day. I took American History through the University of Alabama and did the tests at Stevenson. (I only needed two credits.)
I HAD BEEN WITNESSING TO MY SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER at Stevenson. He was not long out of college and sharp. He was easy-going and respectful of my outreach to him about being saved. One day before class I came in early and we were alone in the room. He said: “Dan, can the heathen be saved before you get there and preach to them?” In those days I knew somewhere between “a lot” and “almost everything.” (The danger of a little learning is that the one who has it may not know it’s only a little.) I answered him,
“WELL, SOMEBODY'S GOT TO TELL THEM HOW TO BE SAVED." I didn’t know what Isaiah and Joel had said. So, I was almost sure that a missionary would have to be there with a Bible in hand before they could be saved. My teacher was kind and let me down easy. At the time, I was satisfied I had answered him well, not knowing I had not answered him at all. A mental fog enshrouded me that helped me to forget it.
THAT WAS ALMOST 70 YEARS AGO, AND I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT that morning many times. Is he still living? Where? Did he ever get an answer to his question and reach out to the Lord? I have wished to sit down and talk with him again for an hour. When I get to Heaven, I’m going to look for him. I hope he’ll be there.
I FINISHED BIBLE COLLEGE AND NEVER CONSIDERED: “What is the minimum one must know to be saved?” Evangelism class never asked that question. We memorized 100-150 verses and prepared to do battle with objections.
I WENT TO JAMAICA TWO SUMMERS WITH A TEAM and we walked 3-4 miles a day giving out Gospels of John, going over 3-4 points of being saved, praying with them, having them to repeat a prayer after us. We had 1,200 professions of faith the first year and 600 the 2nd year. I had learned John 3:16 in the second grade but had not learned that’s all you really need to know to share the Gospel. It’s got all the talking points in it.
SEVERAL YEARS LATER, I was working as a lobbyist for Christian school liberty in the NC Legislature and a much older State Senator, a Methodist farmer from the East Sandhills of NC, quietly asked me the same question in a slightly different way. To myself: “I’m tired of this!” I said to him, “I don’t know the answer, but I promise you I will do some Bible digging and come back and tell you what I find.” I did.
THAT NIGHT I GOT ON MY KNEES AND TOLD THE LORD THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO SHOW ME where to find the answer to the Senator’s question. It was the same question my high school teacher had asked me, and I had been too lazy about digging it up. This time, I had it to do. There were a half-dozen doors of inquiry I could enter, so I began in earnest.
THE FIRST THING I SAW WAS THAT GOD IS A TRINITY; you can talk to either of them and it counts for all three. In Jesus’ prayer in John 17 He made much of the oneness of Him and the Father. Jesus is not only the Savior, He is also the co-creator of the earth and universe. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) WHEN YOU TALK TO THE ONE WHO MADE THE STARS, YOU'RE ALSO TALKING TO THE ONE WHO WENT TO THE CROSS. OK?
IF A MAN IN A REMOTE ISLAND JUNGLE LOOKS UP IN THE SKY AT NIGHT and calls upon the one who made the stars, does it offend God and disqualify the man because he does not know about the Trinity and about Jesus? The man has never been inside a church building and has never had a Bible in his hand and does not know there is such a thing. Is he in trouble with God because he doesn’t know a single Bible verse and doesn’t know a single character mentioned in the Bible? Is he in trouble with God because he is so ignorant and was born in the wrong place and time to know anything?
This is what the man must believe to come to God: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) This is the bare minimum a man must know and believe about God to make a connection with Him.
BUT, WHAT ABOUT THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST? God thinks more highly of that than we do, and we can trust Him to get to that in His own time and in His own way. But the Gospel is NOT the beginning place with God and the heathen who know absolutely nothing about Him. There has never been one human being so far-removed from God that there was no beginning place for him to get to Heaven.
IS HEBREWS 11:6 A GOOD VERSE FOR YOU TO MEMORIZE deep in your soul? It was for me. If I had had that verse memorized, I would have known immediately what to tell my high school teacher and the senator in North Carolina. It’s as important as John 3:16.
GOD EXISTS AND WILL RESPOND TO ANYONE ON THE EARTH who diligently seeks Him. This is what the Bible says a man/woman/boy/girl must know and believe and that’s all they have to know and believe as a beginning place with God. God said so!
PEOPLE IN ALL HISTORY, ALL OVER THE WORLD have been watching the sun come up and set. They have watched birds and insects, many kinds of animals, and have observed how so many things work together to make it possible for human beings to live.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. (Psalms 19:1-3)
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20) If a man will respond in faith to what God has shown him, God is going to do business with him.
FAIR QUESTION! Will God show a person enough to render him without excuse but fall short of showing him how to be saved? NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! If a person will respond to what God has shown him/her, there’s more to follow. Abraham came up with a similar question when judgment was about to fall on Lot and his family. He spoke up to God and gave Him a hard question:
ABRAHAM PLEADED WITH GOD: That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25)
APPARENTLY, IT WAS OK FOR ABRAHAM TO INSIST THAT THE JUDGE of all the earth do right. The man who knows nothing about God, can expect God to do the right thing. A man who knows nothing about the Gospel and nothing about the Trinity will not be fussed at because of his ignorance not of his own making. If he calls on the one who made the heavens, God is going to show that man everything He wants him to know to be 100% right with Him. Can we trust the Almighty God to do that? If we can trust the Almighty God to do that, then the question: “What about the heathen who don’t know God” vanishes into thin air!
THESE VERSES SHOW WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR IN DOING BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalms 34:18)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalms 51:17)
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15)
…the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him….. (2 Chronicles 16:9a)
Sooner or later, John 3:16 is going to come into the picture. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
AUGUST 21, 2019 – WEDNESDAY
A.M. Psalm 119:1-48 P.M. 1 Corinthians 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verse to Memorize:
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)
Song for Today:
The Battle Hymn…(5:26) (First Bapt. Dallas-Choir & Orchestra-June 30,2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2LZ9cVRkDw
You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
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