Churches of Christ -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 20th century
I told you I would do no boasting tonight and I shall do none, but I
will say this: I sincerely believe it is the earnest determination of
the congregation at Chapel Avenue to follow this simple Bible plan, and
I believe I speak the truth when I say that if you can point out to the
overseers of this congregation that they are failing to follow the Bible
on any single item, they will change their practice immediately. That
should be the attitude of everyone who loves the truth, and they will
not embarrass you or rebuff you if you approach them on the question. If
you even _think_ they are failing on some point, they would welcome an
interview and pledge themselves to make any sort of alteration or change
that is necessary to bring the teaching, the practice, and the name of
this congregation into harmony with the Bible plan. If that were not
true, I would not continue to preach for this group except long enough
to do what I could to get them to reform.
Friends, above everything else, I want to go to heaven when I die and I
know that the only way to do that is to follow the Bible; so I still
insist that it is entirely proper and appropriate to emphasize that the
church which follows the Bible is the one that’s right. This simple
test, if faithfully and honestly applied, will eliminate every church in
this town which cannot find its name, its doctrine, and its practice in
the Bible. Are you willing to live up to the claim that you take that
Bible as your one and only guide? If so, just follow this (speaker
refers to outline on the board) step by step, believe that Jesus is the
Christ, repent of your sins, confess your faith, and then be baptized
for remission of sins. Then go on, worshiping God as the Bible directs,
behaving yourself as the Bible teaches, supporting the church which
wears the right name, which is scripturally organized, and which takes
the Bible as its one and only guide.
If, after having been scripturally baptized, you have failed on one or
more of these items, the Bible teaches that if you will repent, confess
your sins and pray for forgiveness, God will surely forgive you. As we
stand and sing the song announced, we entreat you to accept the
invitation of our Lord, who says, “Come unto me and I will give you
rest.”
VI
WHY NOT BE JUST A CHRISTIAN?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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