Gerald E. Weston

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Putting Faith in the Bible

Is the Bible the word of God? Or is it merely the writings of delusional men? According to one of today’s most outspoken anti-god crusaders, it’s the latter. One can hear the disdain coming from Richard Dawkins when he declared in The God Delusion:

To be fair, much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents, composed, revised, translated, distorted and “improved” by hundreds of anonymous authors, editors and copyists, unknown to us and mostly unknown to each other, spanning nine centuries (Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 2006, p. 90).

On the surface, Dawkins may sound good to those who have an anti-biblical bias, or are simply ignorant of the Bible, but his facts are not quite correct, and he fails to see the overall picture and the unity of thought found in this remarkable book. So what is the answer to the question? Is the book we know of as the Bible the word of God or the work of men?

I’ll answer this question today on Tomorrow’s World, and give you three reasons you can have confidence in the Bible. And I’ll also be offering a resource to further strengthen your understanding, so be sure to have writing material available on how to receive a free copy of The Bible: Fact or Fiction? And stay tuned, as I’ll be right back!

Evolution or God?

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World. I’m happy you’re joining us today, because you need to know the answer to the question, “Is the book that we call the Bible the word of God, or the work of mere men?” You may believe that it is or that it isn’t, but have you, not just believed, but have you proved the answer to this question for yourself? You need to know for sure, because how you answer this question has a great impact on how you live your life. Is this book reliable? Can you count on its teachings and its promises, such as the promise of life after death?

You need to prove this one way or the other, and I’m asserting today that you can prove the Bible is more than the work of mere men. It’s the work of the Creator of life—the One who knows best how we ought to live our lives, and the One who has a plan for you and for me. To accompany today’s program, we are offering a resource that gives even more information on this subject, so be sure to take down the contact information that will be shown at different times during this program to receive a free copy of The Bible: Fact or Fiction?

Where do we start in proving the Bible? The answer is that we start with whether there is a God who inspired it. To prove the Bible we have to prove God. So:

Reason #1: The Author of the Bible is real, and you can prove His existence

The theory of evolution has become a great destroyer of faith and from a very young age we are bombarded in nature programs and in school with the idea that life wasn’t created, but is the result of evolutionary processes. And individuals such as Dawkins ridicule those who believe in God.

Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is the belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence (“Editorial: A scientist’s case against God,” The Independent, April 20, 1992).

In the mind of Dawkins, belief in God is based on blind faith, but evolution, on the other hand, is founded on factual evidence. However, not all evolutionists share his disdain, but recognize that evolution also requires faith. In a February 13, 1993 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in which the topic under discussion was how to deal with “The New Antievolutionism,” Michael Ruse, a giant in the field of evolution and philosophy, made the following revealing statement:

And certainly, there’s no doubt about it, that in the past, and I think also in the present, for many evolutionists, evolution has functioned as something with elements which are, let us say, akin to being a secular religion (“Speech by Professor Michael Ruse,” ARN.org, February 13, 1993).

Now lest any misunderstand, Ruse is a hardline evolutionist, and he made that abundantly clear in his symposium speech and in his answers to questions presented to him. Yet, he continued with his admissions that evolution is a secular religion:

But I am coming here and saying, I think that philosophically that one should be sensitive to what I think history shows, namely, that evolution…akin to religion, involves making certain a priori or metaphysical assumptions, which at some level cannot be proven empirically (ibid.).

While Dawkins and many others ridicule faith in God as lacking evidence, it would serve them well, as Ruse was trying to explain to those in attendance at the symposium, to look in the mirror and admit their own faith in their Darwinian god.

Now, we cannot prove that God exists by disproving evolution, but frankly, what are the alternatives? If evolution is shown to be a false religion, maybe one needs to look more closely at that alternative.

This brings me to a crucial point of scientific fact. Before evolution you first must have life, and life rising spontaneously is simply impossible.

The Miracle of Life in a Cell

Life evolving from some primordial soup sounds so inviting, a sure thing. Give the right conditions and it has to happen, but does it? How easy is it to put together a living organism, no matter how “simple”?

Michael Denton highlights what all knowledgeable biologists must admit—life is complex beyond belief:

Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small… each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery… far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world (Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Denton, 1986, p. 250).

Now think about that. “The tiniest bacterial cells” are “far more complicated than any machine built by man.” And that, my friends, is no exaggeration. He states further:

The complexity of the simplest known type of cell is so great that it is impossible to accept that such an object could have been thrown together suddenly by some kind of freakish, vastly improbable, event. Such an occurrence would be indistinguishable from a miracle (Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Denton, p. 264).

The next time a news report comes out about finding water on some distant rock, as though that’s all that’s needed for life, consider this statement from evolutionist Bill Bryson in his new book The Body:

You could call together all the brainiest people who are alive now or have ever lived and endow them with the complete sum of human knowledge, and they could not between them make a single living cell… (The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Bill Bryson, 2019, p. 4).

Congratulations to all evolutionists on your unmatched faith. In the next paragraph he refers to life as a “miracle.” Bryson understands that DNA is needed to make our cells, but what is DNA? He says:

Your DNA is simply an instruction manual for making you. (ibid, p. 6).

But how did this instruction manual come to be? Who wrote the code? And get this: It takes protein machines to carry out the instructions to make the proteins. How did the first proteins come into being?

Now if life did not arise by chance, then the best inference is that there is a God of intelligence beyond our imagination and our very existence calls for the question, why? Why do we exist—for what purpose? And would that Creator not give us understanding to that purpose? So where might we look for His revelation? Could it be that the marvelous book known as the Bible is the answer?

Bible Prophecy Fulfilled

[Our first point was] Reason #1: The Author of the Bible is real, and you can prove His existence, and #2: Fulfilled prophecy proves the Bible is the word of God.

It may surprise you to learn that one-fourth to one-third of the Bible is prophecy. And through the words of this amazing book, One claims to be God Almighty, the One who can foretell history in advance. Notice this challenge found in Isaiah 46, and verses 9 and 10:

Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9–10).

Has God through the Bible accurately predicted the future? Yes, He has. Many easy to understand prophecies have already come to pass, such as some found in the book of Daniel.

Shortly after taking the throne of the Chaldean (or Babylonian) empire, King Nebuchadnezzar had an unusually realistic dream. In it he saw an image of a man and Daniel was called to interpret its meaning. Here is how Daniel described Nebuchadnezzar’s image—Daniel 2, beginning in verse 32:

This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces (Daniel 2:32–34).

Daniel then explained that the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and his Chaldean kingdom and that there would be three kingdoms to follow. Notice it in verses 39 and 40:

But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others (Daniel 2:39–40).

History confirms the following four kingdoms:

Babylon

Medo-Persian Empire

Greco-Macedonian Empire

Roman Empire

The descriptions of these four world powers are given greater detail in Daniel 7 and Revelation chapters 13 and 17, but we won’t take time on this program to go into those details. However, in the eighth chapter of Daniel, very specific details are given regarding the relationship between the two middle kingdoms where they are described as a ram and a goat...

The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king (Daniel 8:20–22).

True to this prophecy, Alexander the Great of Macedonia rose up on the Grecian peninsula and overthrew the Medes and the Persians. His empire stretched from Greece to India and south into Egypt. We read further in this prophecy that, upon his death in 323 BC, his kingdom would be divided among four of his generals into four separate kingdoms. Daniel 8:22,

As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power (Daniel 8:22).

While we have past prophecies that we can look to, and there are far more than most people can imagine, there are other prophecies that are happening right now before our eyes. As we have shown on this program numerous times, Daniel accurately describes the time of the end as being a time of great knowledge and transportation explosions. Notice it in 12:4:

But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).

And there are many, and I mean many, prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. After all, the Bible contains one-fourth to one-third prophecy and that is a lot of prophecy.

There is yet another proof of the Bible that I want to give you today.

God’s Ways Work

The first reason we covered on today’s program is:

Reason #1: The Author of the Bible is real, and you can prove His existence

Reason #2: Fulfilled prophecy proves the Bible is the word of God

Now for our third reason:

Reason #3: The proof of the pudding is in the eating

To put it another way, God knows best how we ought to live our lives. Consider this challenge given in the book of Deuteronomy in 30:19:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

That is the challenge set before each and every one of us. But the Bible also reveals something important about our nature—we would rather trust our own judgment than that of our Creator. This point is made in numerous scriptures as well as the recorded history of man, but notice how it is put succinctly in Proverbs 14:12. Where it says,

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12).

God reveals that there are two ways of life. One leads to all kinds of blessings and life. The other leads to trouble ending in death. Man’s proclivity is to choose the latter. So let’s see how the Bible gives us the right way to live.

One of the Ten Commandments says very simply,

You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14).

Now I’ve chosen this one because we might all agree that murder and stealing are not good—at least not good for the other person—but rejecting the temptation to commit adultery not only benefits others, but obedience to this command protects the self. Sadly, many in our world violate this command. Most rational people recognize that adultery is a scourge on society that hurts marriages, children, and individuals who commit this sin. As we are advised in 1 Corinthians 6:18,

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Does anyone disagree that sexually transmitted diseases are only one negative result of sexual immorality? These diseases could be wiped out in a single generation if these intimate acts were confined to faithful, monogamous marriage relations. Yet, human reason allows for people to argue otherwise against all observable wisdom and facts. One could cite many examples of how God knows best, but I want to focus on another example of God’s law as revealed in the Bible, and it’s one that the whole world is currently paying a heavy price for rejecting.

God, out of loving concern, gave mankind laws of clean and unclean meats. He told us what is good for man to eat and what is not. The distinction is first mentioned in the flood account where Noah was told to take animals aboard the Ark, but not all animals were the same. Notice it in Genesis 7:2:

You shall take with you SEVEN each of every clean animal, a male and his female; TWO each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female (Genesis 7:2).

This was centuries before Moses. However, the Bible waits until Moses to delineate the differences between clean and unclean. Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 spell out those differences. The majority of mankind rejects these instructions and the result in one word? Coronavirus.

The year 2020 will go down in history as the year COVID-19 devastated the lives and economies of individuals and nations. Whether the coronavirus came from a “wet market” or from a biohazard lab, the origin is the horseshoe bat. Since the 2003–2004 SARS outbreak, this bat, and the coronavirus it carries, has been studied extensively, as it is believed to be the source of that outbreak. However, even though bats are used in Chinese medicine and at the dinner table in China, these viruses normally have to first infect another animal before they can spread human to human.

Popular Science published an article during the SARS crisis in which it stated the following:

In theory, SARS leapt from a wild beast to a human when it acquired the molecular “keys” to gain entry to our cells, explains [Michael] Lai. To do that, it may have first mingled with a human virus brewing inside another species. A pig, for example, can serve as a genetic mixing bowl when co-infected with two viruses, allowing them to swap genes (“SARS: Where Did It Come From?” PopSci.com, July 2, 2003).

The article goes on to make this remarkable statement:

“The fact that both SARS and most flu viruses originated in southern China is no surprise,” says virologist Michael Lai, who believes that the region’s social customs of catching and eating wild game expose people to animal viruses (ibid.).

Now consider the profound implications of this. The cause of most flu viruses is known and if you stop the cause, you stop the flu. Wild game is not the problem, but the KIND of wild game is. Note that the bat and pig are both listed as unclean according to the Bible. So are camels, primates (such as monkeys), and other exotic foods eaten in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere in the world. Ebola, MERS, the Nipah Virus, the 1918 flu pandemic, COVID-19, and many other diseases are the result of handling biblically unclean meats. While scientists have figured this out, humanity in general has not. We’ve failed to discover God’s revealed truth as shown in the Bible. We think we can reject His revelation and get away with it. So who’s smarter? We will do well to respect God’s instruction book for mankind.

You can prove the Bible to be the word of God. And as we have seen on today’s program:

Reason #1: The Author of the Bible is real, and you can prove His existence

Reason #2: Fulfilled prophecy proves the Bible is the word of God

Reason #3: The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Thank you for watching. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss another Tomorrow’s World video. And if you’d like to get our free booklet The Bible: Fact or Fiction, just click here. See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

God’s True Requirements

Do you feel that your church has left you? That it has moved so far away from what the Bible teaches that you feel as though you are a stranger in a foreign land? Are you seemingly one of the few left who believes in absolute moral truths? Are you out of step with mainstream because you believe God reveals the standards of right and wrong through His book, the Bible? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you are part of a shrinking breed, as modern Christianity moves away from the Bible as its guide.

Dr. George Barna, Director of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, revealed these findings in The American Worldview Inventory 2020 regarding American Evangelicals:

The most startling realization regarding the theological reformation in progress is how many people from evangelical churches are adopting unbiblical beliefs….

Perhaps the most alarming of the shifts is that a majority of adults aligned with an evangelical church (52%) contend that there is no absolute moral truth; in their view, truth is uniquely determined by each individual according to their preferences and circumstances. That perspective equates to most evangelicals believing that the Bible is either not inerrant or trustworthy in its content—or that the Bible is neither completely true nor reliable. That stand is a radical and critical departure from the traditional teachings and biblical reliance of evangelicals. (“American Worldview Inventory 2020 Results – Release #11: Churches and Worldview,” Arizona Christian University, November 10, 2020).

The picture is even more bleak among Pentecostals, mainline Christian denominations, and Catholics. What is happening, my friends? And where is this leading?

[Dr. Barna] surveyed 51 beliefs and behaviors among Christian groups and [he] found that rather than transforming the culture around them with biblical truth, the opposite is happening. American Christianity is rapidly conforming to the values of the post-Christian secular culture.

What we see today is a generation that worships a God of their own image, rather than seeing God as He reveals Himself. And does any rational person think that such an idol of the mind can bring life after death? Perhaps you are among the increasing minority who believes that the Bible is God’s instruction book for mankind. If so, this program is for you. While some claim there is nothing you have to do to be saved, on today’s Tomorrow’s World I’ll give you three biblical requirements as explained from the Bible, so stay tuned.

Drifting Away From Core Christian Beliefs?

A warm welcome to all of you joining us [here today] at Tomorrow’s World, where we help you make sense of your world through the pages of the Bible. On this program we will take a look at where truth and morality are heading in our Western world, and what you should do about it.

The Cultural Research Center released these findings about the state of religion in their American Worldview Inventory 2020:

Evangelicals are embracing secularism: 52% of evangelicals reject absolute moral truth; “A majority (61%) do not read the Bible on a daily basis….” The study found that one-third to one-half of evangelicals in the survey embrace a variety of beliefs and behaviors counter to biblical teaching and longstanding Evangelical beliefs (“American Worldview Inventory 2020 Results – Release #11: Churches and Worldview,” Arizona Christian University, November 10, 2020).

The report looked at four different groups. The second one was Pentecostals and charismatics. Regarding this group they reported that:

Two-thirds [that’s 69%] reject absolute moral truth; 54% are unwilling to define human life as sacred, with half claiming the Bible is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion.

It’s difficult to believe that any individuals claiming to be Christian, no matter which group of Christianity they may be roughly placed into, can reject the Bible as their guide to truth. After all, is it not the Bible that informs us about the life of Christ, from which the term Christian is derived? Either the Bible is true or it’s not. And if it’s not reliable, then why pretend to be a believer in it? But when it comes to what are broadly called mainline Protestants, the report found that:

Sixty percent (60%) of mainline Protestants’ beliefs directly conflict with biblical teaching…. truth and morality are relative; life has no inherent value or purpose, so individuals should pursue personal happiness or satisfaction; and traditional religious practices are no longer seen as central or essential to their Christian faith.

It should be obvious by these results that religion in America and in the rest of the Western world is more and more a feel-good exercise with no transcendent value beyond the here and now. So it should not surprise us that people are living their lives for today only, as shown by the report’s analysis of the state of Catholics in America, [who] were similar to mainline Protestants but even less restrained in behavior:

Today’s Catholics are more permissive than other groups, being most likely to accept sexual relations outside of marriage, lying, speeding, and refusal to repay a loan as morally acceptable behaviors.

If you’re discouraged by what you see happening in your denomination, perhaps it’s time to step back and ask some important questions.

Why have you chosen the denomination or church that you have?
Was it because you were born into it?
Was it because it was convenient to where you live?
Was it because there was a wonderful youth program or choir?
Was it because of friends and associates?
What exactly do you believe and why?
And have you been deceived about what God requires of you?

We’ve all seen the bumper sticker with religious symbols spelling out “coexist.” And yes, we need to be at peace with those who believe differently from us, but can all religions be correct? Do all roads lead to the same destination? Think about that. And fundamentally, has God left it up to each of us to decide right and wrong and how He is to be worshiped?

Let’s be honest with ourselves. More and more people who claim to be spiritual today are forming God in their own image. The Bible is no longer the standard of truth. Spirituality has become an exercise in making you feel better about yourself, and for many, religion is no more than entertainment. The Biblical standards of right and wrong have been subjugated to shifting societal trends.

What does a sincere seeker of truth need to do in this current state of affairs? You can’t change the state of the world, but you can make sure you are personally in line with God.

You may have been told, “There is nothing you need to do other than profess Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior. It’s ‘all been done for you.’” But is that what the Bible really says? The answer is an emphatic “no”! There is more to professing Jesus Christ as Savior than you may have been told, and I’ll prove that to you in the remainder of this program.

For example, do you realize that Jesus, His Apostles, and others, commanded people to be baptized? Yes, baptism is a requirement given by Jesus, and in the remainder of this program I’ll show you why baptism and two other requirements are so important. But for now, let’s begin with:

Requirement #1: Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins

Even Jesus Was Baptized

For far too many, religion is something that we each make up in our own minds. Instead of looking to God to tell us what He expects of us, we see mere men trying to tell God what He should expect of us. But how can this please God if He truly exists? As Dr. Roderick C. Meredith asks in his treatise, Christian Baptism: Its Real Meaning:

If Jesus and the early Apostles do not represent the “standard “ for true Christianity, then what is that standard? (Christian Baptism: Its Real Meaning, p. 2).

There was once a man named Saul who sincerely thought he was doing right, until God struck him down. He was on his way to persecute Christians at Damascus when a blinding light knocked him to the ground. This was the beginning of a dramatically changed life for the man that was later known as the Apostle Paul. What followed three days later is recorded for our instruction. Still blinded from the light, Saul was visited by a man named Ananias, who was commanded to come to him…

And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and [note this] he arose and was baptized (Acts 9:17–18).

Notice that among other things, Saul submitted himself to the humble ceremony of baptism. We also read of a group of several thousand people who followed the traditions into which they were born, but one day they also had their feet knocked out from under them and their eyes were opened. It was on the Day of Pentecost shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus. God got their attention while they were assembled at the temple in Jerusalem. This was when the Apostle Peter preached a powerful sermon to the Jews. They were looking for the Messiah and Peter convicted them that they’d murdered Him. Notice his words and their response in Acts 2, verses 36 and 37:

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:36–37).

How many people ask themselves that critical question: What shall I do? Have you, my friends? Or have you simply gone along with human traditions—perhaps the religion of your parents, your spouse, or your friends—but never genuinely read the Bible for what it says? Notice Peter’s response in the next verse. Here is what he instructed these people who were convicted of grievous sin…

Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38).

This was a clear command to be baptized, that our sins may be forgiven. So why is it, dear viewers, that some think baptism is unnecessary? Do they not want their sins forgiven? We see that Saul, later known as the Apostle Paul, was baptized. We see from that first Pentecost following the crucifixion that 3,000 people obeyed Peter’s command and were baptized. And further, we see that Jesus Himself was baptized, not because He needed sins forgiven, but to set the example for us.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

That’s from Matthew 3:13–15.

Now if Jesus set the example, have you followed His example? Further, we’ve seen that Paul was baptized, that Peter commanded baptism to those present on Pentecost and some 3,000 responded. I could show that Jesus’ disciples baptized more than John the Baptist, that the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized, and there are many more examples like these.

REPENT and Be Baptized!

Baptism is not something you should view as optional. It is found as a command throughout the New Testament scriptures. But should you run out today and dunk yourself in the river? Or is there more to it?

Perhaps you were baptized as an infant. I was told that I was, though, as with most others, I can’t remember it. Is that what Jesus expects of us? The late Dr. Roderick C. Meredith makes this confession in Christian Baptism: Its Real Meaning:

I was baptized as a helpless little infant—unable even to discern my left hand from my right hand, let alone able to grasp the enormity of sin and deeply repent of my sins and accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Was I, then, a true Christian? Of course not!

Perhaps you have noticed a word that is closely associated with baptism, so it’s time to look at the second requirement:

Requirement #2: You must repent of your sins

I know that my parents were no doubt sincere when they had me baptized as an infant, but that is simply not what God expects, as anyone who searches the scriptures may discern. An infant cannot meet this requirement to repent of his sins. The reasons behind baptizing infants is another story based on false assumptions and false doctrines, but that’s a whole different subject that I don’t have time to cover on this program. Again, I don’t say this to condemn anyone, but as an act of love to inform you.

Repentance is found throughout the New Testament, but notice once again Peter’s command on the Day of Pentecost as found in Acts 2:38:

Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

And if that is not authoritative enough for some, notice this command to repent from Jesus at the very beginning of His ministry. Notice it in Mark 1:14–15:

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15).

My friends, have you repented of your sins and have you been baptized? If not, why not? And what does it mean to repent of your sins? Many think they know, but they have never looked into the biblical definition of sin. Notice it in 1 John 3 and verse 4. Where it says…

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4).

Or as the Old King James puts it in a little more archaic language, but in a way that leaves no doubt as to the meaning,

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, King James Version).

Now why is this important? Few realize today how far Christianity has strayed from that of Jesus, the Apostles, and original Christianity. As I wrote in the November/December 2020 edition of Tomorrow’s World magazine, in an article titled “Should You Recite the Sinner’s Prayer?”,

The drunkard or adulterer may recognize his or her need to say a “Sinner’s Prayer,” but does either one realize that turning around and going in another direction also involves turning away from a false Christianity that has sought to change the laws of God (Daniel 7:25) and has effectively turned “grace “ into an excuse to break God ‘s law (Jude 4)? (Tomorrow’s World, November/December, 2020, p. 27).

So far, we’ve looked at two fundamental truths for those who hope to inherit eternal life.

Requirement #1: Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the of sins

And:

Requirement #2: You must repent of your sins

Neither of these negates grace. But as Paul states in Romans 4:15,

Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression (Romans 4:15, King James Version).

No, the law was never intended to forgive its own transgression. One can never obtain salvation by his own efforts at keeping the law since we all fall short, but does that negate the law? Let’s let the Apostle Paul answer that question. Notice it from Romans 3:31,

Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law (Romans 3:31).

Paul went on to say in the sixth chapter and verse 15…

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! (Romans 6:15).

False ministers have twisted the scriptures, confusing the issue and offering a cheap grace, where nothing is required, where Christ has done it all for you. But notice how Paul describes the purpose of the law:

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).

No, dear friends, the Bible is clear. We must repent, meaning turn around and go a different direction. There is much more that can be said on this subject, but I want to give you one more requirement, given by Jesus Himself, a requirement that is almost universally overlooked.

Do You Truly Believe—And HOPE—God’s Kingdom WILL COME?

It’s found at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. These are the words of Jesus Himself as recorded in Mark the first chapter, and verses 14 and 15…

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, [and notice this] and believe in the gospel.”

So here we have a third New Testament requirement.

Requirement #1: Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins

Requirement #2: You must repent of your sins

And the third requirement is:

Requirement #3: Believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of God

How many students of the Bible read right over this, without recognizing its importance? Why would Jesus command us to believe a message about the Kingdom of God? And what is the Kingdom of God?

Many think the gospel is a message about Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, but what was His message for three-and-a-half years prior to his death, burial, and resurrection that He preached wherever He went? Notice Luke 4:42–43:

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent” (Luke 4:42–43, King James Version).

Time and again, Jesus began a parable by saying something similar to this:

“To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?” (Luke 13:20).

People of His day wondered if He would set up His Kingdom at that time, and the Apostles preached the message of the Kingdom of God after His resurrection. Do you know what that Kingdom is that Jesus preached? And do you deeply believe it?

Many concerned citizens see our world going in a bad direction. Some church-goers see their life-long denominations changing to conform to ever-changing social mores. Perhaps you are one of them but don’t know what to do about it. Now might be a good time to step back and ask yourself: Why do you belong to the denomination or the church that you do? Maybe it is time to actually prove from the Bible what to believe.

If you believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, if you have repented of your sins and want to be baptized, we invite you to contact us and ask for a true minister of Jesus Christ to counsel with you about these matters.

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