by Mike Benson

QUESTION: "I've heard you say that a person must 'obey the gospel' in order to be saved. Could you please explain what you mean by this? How does a person go about obeying the Gospel?"

ANSWER: I appreciate this thoughtful, Bible question. Please study the following:

1. The gospel is defined as the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

2. Those who fail to obey the gospel will be eternally lost. "And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Romans 10:16; 1 Peter 4:17; cf. Matthew 7:21-23; Hebrews 5:8,9).

3. An individual obeys the gospel when he obeys a FORM of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became the slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:17,18). Baptism is a form of the death, burial, and resurrection. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3,4).

If I can be of further assistance, please contact me here at Forthright.

by Richard Mansel

Suffering has touched all of our lives and often in unalterable ways. We mourn for the loss of our loved ones. We mourn for lost moments and stolen memories.

Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross writes that the second stage of grief is anger. We direct that anger at whomever is responsible. Having no one, God is most often blamed. Leslie Weatherford writes, "People get a lot of comfort from supposing that their tragedies are the will of God. One can bear a thing if it is God's will. It is hard to bear if it is a ghastly mistake and not the will of God."

God created us in a world without sin and suffering. God's love for man led Him to allow us freewill, which Adam and Eve utilized and brought sin into the world (Romans 5:12). When sin arrived, suffering and death became almost constant companions.

Dr. Richard Rice said, "God maintains ultimate sovereignty over history. But he does not exercise absolute control." God limits Himself in areas that would violate our freewill. When we suffer from sin, God allows us to deal with the consequences, despite doing so with a heavy heart.

We suffer because of our own actions, the actions of others, because of our mortality, and because of the natural course of the world. Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed that we will die. Even if we are alive when Christ returns, we will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51,52).

God set in motion weather patterns which produce good and bad weather and maintain the existence of our world. God allows microorganisms which serve the necessary functions of breaking down waste, disposing of dead animals and building our immune systems. At the same time, they also produce disease. Disease and death exist because our time here in this life is temporary (James 4:14).

We hate the evil, death and suffering of this world. Yet, we enjoy freewill, weather, mobility and technology. All of these produce extraordinary opportunities and blessings despite their dangers. Understanding the big picture, we see that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

God knows we suffer because He has seen it for thousands of years. He also knows because His Son suffered. Jesus lost earthly family members and friends. He grieved just as we do and begged that His own horrific death be removed from His future (Luke 22:39-46). Yet, He yielded to God's plan as we must also yield to the realities around us.

God suffered when His Son died and He suffers when our loved ones die. We know because He loves all of us. As His children, we know the undeniable love God has for us.

God has provided prayer, Scripture, fellowship of the saints and His presence for peace, comfort and strength (Revelation 21:4; Galatians 6:2). He provides ways to endure and the hope of heaven - a place where suffering and death will have been destroyed.

Remember, God is not responsible for suffering. Sin brought suffering into this world. Satan should bear the blame as he is the evil one. To blame God for evil is to blaspheme His name and nature. He is incapable of evil. God does not take our loved ones.

He sent His Son to overcome death. We also now have victory over death. We will rise again. We can go and be in heaven and shed the pain and suffering of this cruel world (John 14:1-6; Revelation 21:3ff). We can be reunited with loved ones and relax in pure safety and bliss. Without suffering, heaven would ultimately not be as sweet.

by Barbara Oliver

The bee stung him right on the thumb! He just brushed it off, puffed a little smoke on it, and went on with his lesson.

This past weekend, I participated in a short-course for beekeepers. Two mornings of classes, and two afternoons in a bee yard actually working with the bees. That's where the instructor got stung. In fact, he got stung about four times that day! He said he was used to it and it didn't bother him. Me, I stayed securely wrapped up in my white coveralls, bee-veil, gloves, and rubber bands around my ankles so they couldn't crawl up my pant legs!

Bees are hard workers. In fact, they get a little cranky when there is not enough pollen and nectar to keep them busy. At least that is what we beekeepers think when we have to look into their hives during a slow spell. They can be mighty testy. But we risk their displeasure for a taste of their sweet product - honey!

Honey is on my "favorite foods" list. As early as Genesis, honey has been a part of human history. Israel instructed his sons to carry "a little honey" to Pharaoh (Genesis 43:11). Manna tasted like "wafers of honey" (Exodus 16:31), and the land of Canaan was said to be "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 33:3). Proverbs recommends eating it, but in moderation (Proverbs 24:13, 25:27). And Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would eat "curds and honey" (Isaiah 7:15). Of course, we all know that John the Baptizer dined on locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

Bees are fascinating. As soon as the little bee crawls out of her cell, she turns around and cleans it out, getting it ready for a new occupant. Then she starts taking care of all the little eggs and larvae, making and feeding them "bee bread". After a stint as housekeeper, she flies out of the hive as a forager, bringing back pollen and nectar. She works so hard that, eventually, she wears her little wings out.

Bees live a dangerous life, full of threats within and without the hive. Beetles, moths, mites, mice and ants take a deadly toll on the colony itself. Spiders, wasps, birds, toads and lizards attack them in the fields. Even fish will occasionally grab them! They make more honey than they can eat - which is a good thing for us - and they work until they literally drop dead!

Every bee in the hive has a purpose. And each bee lives its short life performing the work it was meant to do.

It reminds me of our Christian life. We need to be involved in good works from our earliest days. And we can never "retire" from the Lord's work. Like the life of a bee, our work may change, but work we must! And after we have worked our little wings off, we can still fly away home!

by J. Randal Matheny

The Earth has rotated on its axis at the same speed since creation, I suppose. But we feel Einstein's relativity of time, since some of us would solemnly affirm that the days are shorter, the years go by more quickly, and there just isn't time enough to do what's needed.

We want to get to the Center of things, near the heart of God.

But we feel like we're on a merry-go-round, hanging on for dear life, about to be slung off by the centrifugal force.

Everything seems to work against us. Push us away. Obscure our goal.

It's too much fun, too fast. Even a day set aside to remember the cost of our freedom (Memorial Day in the USA) gets lost in travel and television and tasting the goodies.

No time for thinking, for thanking, for visiting, for praying. For being.

So where do we go from here?

We don't go. We stop.

Just as Jesus did. He stopped for the blind men (Matthew 20:32). He stopped to bless little children (Mark 10:15-17). He stopped to climb the mountain to be with the Father (Mark 1:35).

Jesus was not driven. He was drawn to the cross by the will of the Father. And he knew where to stop along the way.

So we may need a full stop as well.

A full stop to consider the blessings of freedom, the cost of liberty, the responsibilities of citizenship.

A full stop to breathe deeply the air of life, to see the beauty of our surroundings (even though we may consider them otherwise), to acknowledge the presence of others close by.

A full stop to ponder a word of Scripture, to chew our food, to relish being alone with God.

A full stop to consider the consequences of my habits, to hear myself speak, to look in the mirror.

We don't need more time. Nor more do. Nor more go. Little less do we need more fun and games.

We need more stop. More slow.

Maybe the tortoise knew more than he let on. He did, after all, win the race.

by Peter Mostert

The Bible, which speaks of good news, is a collection of books or writings that were written over a period of 1,500 years. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (starting with Genesis), and John wrote the last (Revelation) in AD 96.

Throughout the Bible a unique thread of hope is interwoven — Jesus was the promised hope of the Old Testament, He came to earth and died for all, and is coming again on the last day to retrieve the faithful, as recorded in the New Testament.

The Bible is important to us as our source of hope — Jesus will be returning for "me" and "my" loved ones. The hope that we have in Christ as our Savior, however, is not wishful thinking, nor an unrealistic expectation, a "pie in the sky" as some may say. Our hope is an anchor of the soul, secure and steadfast (Hebrews 6:19-20).

Our hope is a feeling of confident expectation that will be realized when Jesus returns. It is an intangible that many people cannot understand; but for those who have hope, it is the major source of comfort, and those who hope place their trust in God.

There are two major reasons for having such a hope:

The first is in Jesus. He is our hope — He defeated Satan and death by His resurrection from the dead and is now preparing a place for us in heaven. He is also our advocate, able to overcome any charge set before us by Satan, the accuser.

The second is the Bible. The Bible, God's Word or Divine Communication, is the story of man's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, and his redemption through Jesus. The Bible is not just a book, to be compared to Shakespeare, Homer, Plato, or others. There is no other book like it in continuity, circulation, translation, survival, teaching, or influence. It is the only book that is truly a universal manual for all people everywhere, any time, and in any culture.

The Bible can be believed today — not in part, but the whole. From Genesis to Malachi, Matthew to Revelation, God's Word is inspired — not someone's clever imagination or interpretation!

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 35, p. 29.