THE REJECTED SAVIOR
It is so good to have you in our listening audience. It continues to
be my prayer and desire that these studies are beneficial to each and
all. If you have a question that you would like to discuss, please drop
us a line. The mailing address is: White Park church of Christ, Route 1,
Box 502, Anahuac, TX 7754. I gave the address for our Web Site last week
and will give it again at the close of this program. So get you pen or
pencil and paper and be ready to take the address, that you might check
it out in the privacy of your own home. If you see something with which
you differ, please call it to our attention. We would be more than happy
to study these matters with you. Now, to our study for the morning.
In Isaiah 53:3, the scripture reads, "He was despised, and rejected
of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom
men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not." This
passage was written some 800 years before Christ came upon the scene in
the form of the flesh. Yet, we look at His life and we see Him Crucified,
nailed to a cross, between two thieves. Not for some crime which He had
done, nor law that He had broken. Those people committed a terrible
crime, they killed the Son of God. So Peter acclaims in Acts 2:22-24, "Ye
men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in
the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; him, being delivered up by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of
lawless men did crucify and slay; whom God raised up, having loosed the
pangs of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of
it." His whole life was one of being despised, rejected. At the end, He
stood alone before Pilate. Even His own chosen apostles denied Him. Yet
today, people are just as guilty as they were at that time. Oh, they
would not be so calloused as to drive nails into his hands and feet; yet
in many ways, they despise and reject the Son of God. Someone may asks,
"In what way can we despise and reject Christ?"
FIRST, Christ's authority is rejected by many. In Matthew 28:19, we
read, "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth." He
has all authority because he is King, Lord, yea, the Son of God. Peter
states in Acts 3:22,23, "Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God
raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me; to him shall ye
hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall
be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be
utterly destroyed from among the people." At the mount of
transfiguration, the booming voice from heaven stated, "This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear he him" (Matthew 17:5).
And yet, in spite of all these verses, people have come along and set up
various rules of authority. Some admit that they make God's laws. Some
accept the creeds, the disciplines, the manuals written by men. Others
accept the decrees of conferences, associations, and synods. Many accept
the customs of those before them. Some have set up the Church as their
authority. And on and on we might go. As a result of all of these, man
has in most places set aside the authority of Christ Jesus.
The authority of Christ came from His Father in Heaven. He then
promised the apostles that they would be guided into all of the truth by
the revelation given through the Holy Spirit. Hear Christ as He speaks in
John 16:13, "Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide
you into all truth; for he shall not speak from himself; but what things
soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you
the things that are to come." What Christ is saying is that whatever the
Father desired them to know and to do would be revealed to them through
the Holy Spirit. These men thus guided by the Spirit, wrote these things
in the book we call the Bible for following generations to have. And by
God's providence, that message has come to us through what we now call
The Bible, the sacred writings which are able to make us wise unto
salvation. So states Paul in 2 Timothy 3:14-16.
What we are saying is that unless you can find it in the Word, the
Scriptures, then you do not have the authority for doing it, whatever it
might be. We dealt with this point just a little last week in our
lesson. But, so many today have no longer the desire to ask for
scriptural proofs. They seem to not care for seeking authority from God's
Word. It seems good, so do it. Again, I state, if you can do one thing
without authority, then why not two things, why not three, why not four.
In fact, we might as well throw away the Bible. It seems to no longer be
a guide for man. And once again, this is the basic reason for the
denominational division which we see around us today.
POINT NUMBER TWO: Christ's name is rejected by many. In Acts 4:12,
Peter says, "And in none other is there salvation; for neither is there
any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be
saved." Acts 11:26, reads, "and when he had found him, he brought him
unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a while year they were
gathered together with the church, and taught much people; and that the
disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." 1 Peter 4:16, reads,
"but if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him
glorify God in this name." What is a Christian? A Christian is one who is
a follower of Christ, one who proudly wears the name of Christ. A Christ-
follower. A Christian. Agrippa knew that if he obeyed the gospel which
Paul preached to him, he would become a Christian. (Acts 26:28). There
are many in the religious world today who reject the name Christian. Some
altogether, others partially. What are you religiously? Ask that
question, and you receive about as many answers as you ask the question.
Did you not know that there were not different kinds of Christians in the
first century. The New Testament knows no such thing as "some kind of
Christian." There were Christians in Jerusalem, there were Christians in
Antioch, there were Christians in Corinth, in Ephesus, etc., but, they
were just Christians. They were not different kinds of Christians. My
friend, if you are more than a Christian, it took more than the gospel to
make you such. And if you are not a Christian, you should become one and
stop rejecting the name of Christ.
Some might say, "Preacher, that is not important." Ask the husband
if it makes any difference what name his wife wears. And you will see
quite soon that it does make a difference. And yet, men turn right
around, even those claiming to be the bride of Christ, and they wear
other names; some the name of other men; some the name of a day; some the
name of some action; some the name of an organization; and on and on we
could go.
What are you? Do you not think it is important? Have you rejected
the name of Christ? This is a serious matter, my friend.
THIRDLY, how might Christ be rejected? Christ's church is rejected
by many. In Matthew 16:18, Christ states, "And I also say unto thee, that
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates
of Hades shall not prevail against it." Christ promised to build His
church. You will note that He did not say "CHURCHES." He promised to
build "MY" church, to build ONE church. And that He did. In Ephesians
1:22, 23, we read, "and he put all things in subjection under his feet,
and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body,
the fulness of him that filleth all in all." Then in Ephesians 4:4-6,
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one
hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all." How many bodies does Paul say existed at that time??
ONE!! But what is the body? Did he not say that the body is the church.
One does not need to go very high in school to determine how many
churches there should be. And I am not talking about congregations,
meeting in different locations, for that was true in the first century.
The church that met in Corinth, the church that met in Ephesus, etc. But,
they were all of one mind, of one heart, and had all things in common.
Paul said that he taught the same thing in every church. Look up 1
Corinthians 4:17 for that statement. Paul would not preach one thing in
one church; and another thing in another church. Yet, if he came upon
the scene today, he could not preach in most of the denominational
bodies, because they teach different things. That is what makes them
different.
Many in the religious world are rejecting the purpose of the church.
It has been turned into a social, begging organization. It has been made
a fun and frolic body; an eat, drink, and be merry association. Why, we
even hear of Easter egg hunts sponsored by churches. My listening
audience, the church is to save souls, not to entertain the members,
young or old. It is to satisfy the soul, not the flesh. In Acts 20:28,
Paul states, "Take heed unto yourselves, dand to all the flock, in which
the Holy Spirit hath make you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord
which he purchased with his own blood." How needful that the religious
world wake up and understand the purpose of the blood bought body of
Christ Jesus. It is to prepare people to meet an eternal creator, for one
day each one of us shall stand before His presence to give an account of
what we have done while here in the flesh.
Is the blood of one as good as the blood of another? Not when you
consider the blood of Christ Jesus. Neither is one church as good as
another, unless it is the church of Christ, that one bought with His
blood. Are you in Christ's church? Or, have you rejected it.
FOURTHLY, Christ is rejected when His gospel is rejected. In Romans
1:16, we read, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power
of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek." The Gospel or Good News has been given by the God of
the Heavens as His power or dynamite to save the souls of mankind. And
might I add, it is the only thing which will bring about reconciliation
between man and God. When something else is added it no longer is the
saving power. Note the apostle Paul's admonition in Galatians 1:8, "But
though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel
other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema (or
cursed)." Now, isn't that plain and understandable? Paul said if the
message differs from what was given in the first century, it has the
curse of heaven upon it. Can we teach or preach a different message and
it be all right? Not if the inspired apostle is right. And I put my trust
in the inspired word of God rather than the "think-sos" of man today. We
MUST accept this ONE gospel if we would be saved. We must obey this one
gospel. What does the Gospel command of mankind? First, one must hear
that gospel, for faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
(Romans 10:17). Faith will then lead one to ask the question, "What shall
we do?" as asked in Acts 2:37, to which Peter responded, "Repent ye, and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the
remission of your sins..." The Lord then adds the saved to His Body, the
church (Acts 2:47).
Yes, it is possible to despise and reject Christ Jesus. The world is
filled with religious, honest, sincere people who are rejecting Christ's
authority, His Name, His church and His Gospel. Could you be guilty of
rejecting Christ?? May we all have the courage and the disposition to
accept God's Word in its entirety. All of it, nothing more, nor nothing
less.
I promised you at the beginning of this lesson to give you our Web
Site. It is: http://home.att.net/~jackthompson (tidle) You have our
invitation to examine the information presented there. Now, until next
week, we bid you a pleasant good morning.
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