by Tim Hall

It's a detail about my past of which I am not proud. When I was a teenager, the company I sometimes kept persuaded me to drink beer on two or three occasions. Though that was long ago, I vividly remember my reaction to the taste: Repulsive! "It's an acquired taste," I was told, an affirmation I've heard several times since. Thankfully, I abandoned the stuff before my taste buds were altered.

In his Galatian epistle, Paul wrote to Christians whose spiritual taste buds had been altered. In the beginning, their response to the gospel was enthusiastic. "You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus" (Galatians 4:13,14, NKJV).

When these Gentiles heard about Jesus and His death upon the cross, they saw the "good" in the "news" Paul preached. They were also grateful to Paul for his part in preaching it to them: "What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me" (Galatians 4:15). Paul had preached to them the pure truth of the gospel, and they had happily received that.

Things changed after Paul resumed his journey. Some followed Paul with a different twist on the gospel: A Christian must first be a Jew, submissive to all the regulations of the Law of Moses. Throughout the letter, Paul attacked such thinking as foreign to the truth of the gospel. In Galatians 1:6-9 he wrote: "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

As the Galatians' spiritual tastes changed, so did their esteem of the one who had first taught them. Paul pleaded in 4:16, "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" Like silly teenagers who allow "friends" to turn them against the parents who nurtured and disciplined them, these Christians had turned against Paul. Instead of testing the claims of the Judaizers against the truth of Christ's gospel, they trusted the charismatic and sincere-sounding speeches. What a mistake they made by loosening their grip on the truth!

History's cycles continue to turn. People in all eras and cultures respond enthusiastically to the simplicity of the truth (see Randal Matheny's article from March 22, "These People Can't Exist"). They can see for themselves the concept of undenominational Christianity and the necessity to base beliefs and practices on the word rather than on whims and feelings. Along the way, though, tastes change. What was once repulsive to the taste is made to sound delicious. "We can't practice those things," the deceivers argue. "Such views pose insurmountable barriers to people seeking the truth." And so Christians are persuaded to turn away from those who first taught them God's word. Anyone who tries to speak only truth is viewed as an enemy.

We have long argued that God's word can be understood by the layman. Have we changed our view? Must we now rely on the intellectuals to tell us what God's word teaches? Or is it not still the case that honest students of God's word can discover God's will? "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him" (Psalm 34:8). I have a tongue; I can taste for myself. I also have a functional mind; I can interpret for myself.

by Phil Sanders

Every person you meet or know needs the Lord for many reasons. Those who know the Lord cannot imagine life without Him. Jesus said, "apart from Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Here are some reasons why everyone needs the Lord.

You and your friends need a Savior (Matthew 1:21).

Sin is the universal problem of all men (Romans 3:10,23; 1 John 1:8,10). Not only do we need our personal sins washed away, we also need a new and better life. Jesus came to deliver us out of this present evil age (Galatians 1:4) and to give us new and better lives. In Christ we become "new creatures" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God's plan in Christ is that "you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Without Jesus we have no hope of life beyond this life. He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26). Jesus said, "everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die."

Without Jesus we would stumble around in intellectual darkness, not having the Way, the Truth, or the Life (John 14:6). Jesus gave us an example, so that we can follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).

Without Jesus we would never fully know what it means to love (1 John 4:7-11). Because of him, we know that we are loved and how to love others. Thank God for Jesus.

by Mike Benson

Bob Lewis relates the story of a Christian woman who owned two prize-winning chickens. One afternoon, the chickens worked their way out of her yard and into her neighbor's garden. The neighbor, known for his hot temper, captured both birds, wrung their necks and then threw their lifeless carcasses across the fence into the Christian's yard.

The woman was understandably hurt and considered giving her neighbor a piece of her mind. Instead, she took the chickens home and prepared two chicken pot pies. Whereupon she took one to her neighbor and then apologized for not being more watchful of her chickens.

The man was speechless. The chicken pot pie coupled with an apology filled him with such a sense of burning shame that his whole life began to change.

The Bible says, "...If your enemy hungers, feed him...for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head" (Rom. 12:20).

Dear reader, when you are hurt by another, which do you bestow - pot pie, or a piece of your mind? Give it some thought.

by Barry Newton

If you listen to enough people I will suggest that you will stumble upon both a human answer to this question as well as one from Scripture. While both appear to offer comfort, one answer is misleading and involves playing word games to cover over its inconsistencies. The other deals with Scripture responsibly. Let's survey the landscape of this question.

Can a Christian live with the deep and abiding peace of mind which comes from the assurance of knowing he or she is saved? Or are people doomed to a life of uncertainty mingled with worry and fear?

The first half of the biblical answer requires understanding the basis by which God offers salvation to us. We can grasp just how secure our salvation is by asking the question, "is there any doubt that Jesus will be saved?" Of course not! The absolute beauty of what God has done through Jesus is, those who rely upon the death, burial and resurrection of Christ are incorporated into the body of Christ and are saved on the basis of Jesus, not upon who they have been!/1 The gift of grace involves receiving what you do not deserve! Those in Christ can live with the assurance that if Christ has been raised from the dead to be with the Father, then they will also be raised to life with him./2

The second half of the biblical answer regarding the security of salvation a Christian has before God encounters competition from what appears to be a comforting, albeit human doctrine. Some have claimed that once a person is saved it is impossible for that individual to become lost. On the surface, this would seem to offer continued security to the disciple. But does it? Not really.

In my experience in talking with those who hold to this view, in order to reconcile their doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy with the fact that some have quit following Jesus, they typically resort to claiming that those who end up denying Christ were never really saved. What sort of assurance is this? From that perspective, how can a person really know whether his faith is genuine or not, since from a human perspective this will only become known based upon his final state?

The biblical answer provides certainty throughout life. While Scripture reveals it is possible to fall away from grace by failing to endure or by distorting the message,/3 if someone has responded to the gospel and continues to walk in the light, he can know that he is saved because of what Jesus accomplished through his death!/4

Since this has been a quick survey, perhaps some lingering questions remain. Possibly these can be addressed under two questions. First, if it is true that salvation is based upon being in Christ, then does not this eliminate the necessity of obedience? Second, what happens if I may catch myself sinning? Do I waffle between being saved and being lost?

To this last question, there is a difference between those living under the condemnation of sin and who have been enslaved to sin regardless of whatever good they might also do and those, on the other hand, who have been set free from sin and its consequences in order to serve God, but who might still catch themselves in a sin. While Romans 6:11-23 emphasizes the necessity of casting off sin because at conversion our master was changed, 1 John 1:7 and 2:1 underscore the fact that although those who walk in the light should not sin, if they do sin, Jesus' blood covers it. Salvation and grace are found in Jesus Christ! As Romans 8:1 says, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is equivalent to saying, in Jesus our sins have been forgiven.

To the former question regarding the need for obedience, God has given his people a purpose which ranges from worshiping to doing good./5 Those ungrateful servants who refuse to obediently serve can be cast out./6 Thus, although we can not earn our salvation, it is also true that lazy and worthless servants can be rejected; Christ can cut off those who fail to obey. It would be a grave misunderstanding of grace to think, now that I will receive the salvation I do not deserve, obedience has become irrelevant./7

Can you know if you are saved? Yes! You can live with peaceful assurance if you have obeyed the gospel and have not fallen away from obediently following Christ.

1\ Colossians 1:22,23; Ephesians 2:4-9,13; Titus 3:4-7

2\ 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; 1 Peter 1:3,4

3\ 1 Timothy 5:15; Galatians 1:6; 5:4; Revelation 2:4,5; 3:1-3,15,16; Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:22-29,39; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Corinthians 15:2

4\ 1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:22,23; 2 Timothy 2:11,12; 1 John 1:7

5\ 1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12,13; Titus 2:14

6\ Matthew 25:1-46; Revelation 2:4,5; 3:1-3,15,16

7\ Titus 2:11-14

by Jimmy Jividen

There are many things we do not know. Some things we do not know because we have never investigated — like the average life span of a kangaroo. Some things we do not know because they are beyond the scope of our limited experience on Planet Earth — like the number of galaxies in the Universe. Some things we do not know because they are beyond our limited capacity to know as created beings — the secret things belong to God. We need only to trust Him who does know. That's faith.

God has revealed His will for man in the Scriptures. They are trustworthy, absolute, and objective. They reveal all we need to know for "life" and "godliness". "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:2,3).

We accept the Scriptures at face value. They answer all the big questions about life. We can be sure of the answers because they come from the God we trust.

One who doubts the Scriptures must be miserable. His questions remain unanswered. His doubts make him like "a wave driven by the winds and tossed" (James 1:6). Isn't it good to be sure?

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 41, page 24.