Bible Thoughts

May 6, 2001

THE NECESSITY OF IT. "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God. So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God"(Romans 14:11-12).

THE CERTAINTY OF IT. "For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad"(II Corinthians 5:10).

THE UNIVERSALITY OF IT. "But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats"(Matthew 25:31-32). "And reckonest thou, O man, who judgest them that practice such things and does the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?"(Romans 2:3).

THE IMPARTIALITY OF IT. "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works"(Revelation 20:12). "And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear"(I Peter 1:17).

THE INDIVIDUALITY OF IT. "And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works"(Revelation 20:13).

THE THOROUGHNESS OF IT. "Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God"(I Corinthians 4:5). "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ"(Romans 2:16).

THE FINALITY OF IT. "Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels...And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life"(Matthew 25:34, 41, 46).

A MESSAGE FROM AN APOSTLE. "Seeing that these things are thus to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"(II Peter 3:11-12)

The problem of Isaiah persisted even in the days of Jesus Christ. The above quote by the Lord was being applied to those of his day, even though the prophet spoke such many years before.

"Creed" refers to a "statement of the essential beliefs of a religion." Add the word "human" and it refers to something that originated in the mind of some man. Religion has long been plagued with human creeds that serve as a source of trouble and division.

All Christians have a creed. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ(the New Testament). When it comes to religion, every item to be believed, every practice to be performed, and every act of worship to be offered to God is found in this perfect book(James 1:25). The completeness of the articles of belief can be realized as man is furnished "everything that pertains to life and godliness"(II Peter 1:3). In fact, it is so "perfect" that when one subtracts, adds, or perverts what God has revealed, shipwreck is made of one's faith(II Timothy 3:16-17).

Human creeds may be found as confessions of faith, church manuals and disciplines, prayer-books, latter-day revelations, claimed direct communications from heaven, and whatever man's fertile mind may produce. Such creeds add nothing constructive to God's revelation. They only serve to subvert the souls of those who would follow such human devices.

Ponder on this: If a church manual(statement of faith) contains less than the New Testament, it is unworthy of belief. If it contains more than the New Testament, it is not worthy of being accepted. If it contains only the New Testament, it is not a human creed--it is the New Testament. This eliminates the need for human creeds.We need the revelation of God--but only that revelation. We encourage you to study and follow the New Testament. It will supply all you need to believe, teach, and practice to please Jesus Christ.

The Lord had a job for me one day, but I had so much to do;

I said, "Lord, you get somebody else, or wait till I get through,"

I don't know how the Lord came out, no doubt he got along:

But I felt kind of sneaken like, I knew I'd done God wrong.

One day I needed the Lord, needed him right away,

But he wouldn't answer me at all, and I could hear him say,

Way down in my accusing heart, "Child, I've got too much to do,

You get somebody else: or wait till I get through."

Now when the Lord has a job for me, I never try to shirk:

I leave what I have on hand; and do the Lord's good work,

And my affairs can run along; or wait till I get through,

For no one else can do the work, God has marked out for you.-Author Unknown

When the Holy spirit says a thing is necessary, it must be accepted. When a condition is expressed by which we are to receive a blessing, it is unbelief to say we can get the blessing without complying with the condition.-Annual Lesson Commentary(Gospel Advocate Publication).