Bible Studies
In Mark 4: 20, we see where the productivity of an advancing disciple’s post (after) salvation spiritual life is calculated and indicated by the number of souls that God (1) saves or edifies through his or her individual participation in the Great Commission (2).
It can be a humbling experience for clergy, a parent, or an advancing disciple to discover that THEY can not “save” or “edify” anyone.
Their part in the process is to lead by example and to communicate accurate information (the unadulterated Gospel Message and accurate Bible Doctrine) when given the opportunity (3) to do so.
Pastor-teachers, evangelists, parents, and Bible teachers have a congregation, audience, offspring, or a following that affords them an ongoing opportunity to do so, but with that most frequent opportunity, comes accountability (4).
The “keys to the kingdom” that were given to Peter (5) and to ALL the Apostles (6), are given to each and every born again believer of the Church Age, as well.
These figurative keys, that open the “pearly gates,” represent the unadulterated Gospel Message that every born again Church Age believer has been “commissioned” to preserve and to share with others.
The unadulterated Gospel Message is PRESERVED by keeping it free from all the “additives” that are promoted as necessities to obtain or to retain salvation, but are no more than the products of Man-made religion.
The unadulterated Gospel Message is SHARED through evangelism. Such evangelism can involve large audiences in public settings, or in one-on -one, private conversations.
God is just as interested in the salvation and spiritual edification of the souls that believers interact with on a daily basis, as the ones with whom we gather together with during worship services.
It is during these private conversations that the majority of the “followers” of Christ” are called to participate in the Great Commission.
What would you think of a person who discovered the cure for a widespread, deadly, plague, but kept it to himself? Well, is that not what nominal Christians do when they are given the opportunity to share the unadulterated Gospel Message with an unsaved soul, or the opportunity to share an edifying principle of Scripture with a fellow believer, but remain silent?
Spiritual death is a condition that entered the human environment as of the Fall of Man, separating Man from a relationship with God.
Here in the Church Age, Man has been given the full knowledge of the ONE and ONLY (7) way out of this deadly environment, and into a reconciled, eternal relationship with God.
“The wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6: 23 NASB 2020).”
Like a runner in a torch relay race, one cannot pass onto others something that he or she does not first have possession of oneself. Having received the torch, the runner then continues the race, passing it on to the next one in line.
As Hosea 4: 6 NASB2020 puts it, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” This is why born-again believers are commanded (not an option) to continue to grow in the knowledge (8) and in the application (9) of the Word of the Lord.
This is not for our own edification alone. It is what prepares us to respond to the 1Pet. 3: 15 opportunities that God provides.
End of Part One
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(1) 1Cor. 3: 7 (2) Matt. 28: 19, 20 (3) 1Peter 3: 15 (4) James 3:1 (5) Matt. 16: 19 (6) Matt. 28: 19, 20 (7) John 14: 6 (8) 2Pet. 3: 18 (9) James 1: 22
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