Obeying the Gospel

Gary Henry

5.0 (7)
Christianity
Updated Daily

Why become a Christian? And what is actually required when you do? Gary Henry tackles these questions in Obeying the Gospel. Designed for both the skeptic and the saint, these three-minute, daily episodes explore the initial basics of salvation and the lifelong dedication required to keep our promise to God. Discover why the commitment is worth the cost.

14h ago

What If 'Reason' Were Just a 'Natural' Process? (September 14)

WHAT IF "REASON" WERE JUST A "NATURAL" PROCESS? (SEPTEMBER 14) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/reason-natural-process-september-14/ "Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? . . . To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him" (Deuteronomy 4:33-35). WHEN GOD SPOKE TO ISRAEL ON MOUNT SINAI, SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT HAD NO NATURAL CAUSE. Assuming that what is recorded actually took place, the event was not triggered by any natural event that preceded it — it was the introduction of something “new” or “extra” into nature’s progression of cause and effect, something from outside that closed, deterministic system. I suggest that the operations of our own reason are similar, not that they are divine communications, but that they cannot be explained as the result of natural causes producing natural effects. Many neuroscientists today, of course, dispute this; they argue that what we call human “reason” is nothing more than the brain at work as a physical organ. When science has learned more about the brain, they say, we will recognize that a person never has any thought that cannot be accounted for neurologically and biochemically. Every firing of every neuron is the result of something within nature. Nothing freely decided upon ever comes into the sequence — whatever happens, it was determined materialistically. But think about this comment from Douglas Groothuis: “if materialism were true, we could never grant reasons for holding beliefs since all our brain states would be rigorously determined in a materialistically caused fashion. Thought would be reduced to a mere reflex action on the order of a muscle twinge. But can glorified muscle twinges weigh evidence and reach warranted conclusions?” We ought not to minimize what is required if our reasoning is to be objectively valid. It must be the working of something personal — an independent force not chained to the sequence of physical cause and effect. And in the biblical account, that is exactly the case: we are dual creatures who straddle the physical and spiritual worlds. We have a brain, but we also have a mind — a reasoning faculty that reaches far beyond what the brain (which is its servant) can do. "The validity of our reasoning depends upon the transcendence of reason itself. Reason must stand outside of nature in order for it to give us truth about nature. Our thinking, if we are to regard it as true or false, must be a shot from Something beyond nature, a beam from the Light beyond the sun, a participation in the eternal Logos" (Joe Rigney). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
1d ago

Forgiveness and Transformation (September 13)

FORGIVENESS AND TRANSFORMATION (SEPTEMBER 13) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/forgiveness-transformation-september-13/ "We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). WHEN WE OBEY THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, GOD’S FORGIVENESS OPENS THE DOOR TO OUR TRANSFORMATION. Not only does God want to forgive us of our sins; He wants to repair sin’s damage and rebuild our character, transforming us into creatures who can enjoy a perfect relationship with Him in eternity. The great importance of forgiveness is that it leads to this transformation. Our being molded, shaped, and conformed to God’s character is the main goal of all that He has done (and is doing) in Jesus Christ. A GRADUAL PROCESS. When we are baptized into Christ, we rejoice in the forgiveness of God — but we dare not underestimate the work that remains to be done. The sins of our past, which God has now forgiven, were produced by character traits that must be gotten rid of. These must be replaced by the virtues of God’s character (2 Peter 1:3-11) or else we will continue to live as we used to live. Such a drastic rebuilding of our character does not happen overnight. It takes time. But while there is a need for patience, we also need to be diligent. Our transformation will not take place automatically, by divine decree. We have to embrace the process actively and wholeheartedly, submitting to God’s training for however long it takes. A PAINFUL PROCESS. Most kinds of growth in this world require discipline, and we should not expect our spiritual growth to be any different. When we need chastening, that is exactly what God will provide. “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10,11). A GLORIOUS PROCESS. The gradual, and often painful, process of being transformed into godly creatures is one that we submit to because of its goal: we are on our way to becoming the sons and daughters of God, in the very highest sense. He created us in the first place, and through the gospel He is now re-creating us in the glorious image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Only God could do this, and if we persevere, one day we will see His face (Revelation 22:4). Sin will have been destroyed, and we will have forever to rejoice. "Thus we enter through our heart into the heart of God, who embraces all of history with his eternally creative and recreative love" (Henri J. M. Nouwen). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
2d ago

Salvation by Baptism Only? (September 12)

SALVATION BY BAPTISM ONLY? (SEPTEMBER 12) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/salvation-by-baptism-only-september-12/ "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord" (Acts 11:21). THE “FAITH ONLY” DOCTRINE IS NOT TAUGHT IN THE SCRIPTURES. Merely believing that Jesus is the Christ is not enough to save us from our sins. In the words of James, “As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (2:26). But neither will we be saved by “baptism only.” The person who thinks his only problem is that he was attending services at the wrong church, and that he is now saved because he “got baptized” and the Lord added him to the “church of Christ,” is out of touch with reality. His problem was far deeper than attendance at an unscriptural church. It was the problem of sin — sin in his heart as well as in his actions. And if that problem is going to be corrected, a radical turning (or “conversion”) will have to occur. BAPTISM WITHOUT FAITH? For baptism to result in the forgiveness of sins, it must be an act of faith, or trust, in God (Ephesians 2:8). BAPTISM WITHOUT CONFESSION? Baptism is meaningless if it does not result in a life which confesses Christ — in deed as well as word. BAPTISM WITHOUT REPENTANCE? Like John the Baptist (Matthew 3:7-9), Jesus would rebuke us if we wanted to be baptized but were not willing to repent of the sins that had separated us from God. BAPTISM WITHOUT CONVERSION? In Acts 2:38, Peter told his hearers, “Repent and be baptized.” In the very next chapter, he told another audience in Acts 3:19, “Repent and be converted” (NKJV) or “turn back” (ESV). Baptism is the crucial turning point at which we pass from being lost into the state of being “in Christ” (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12). But if faith without works is insufficient (James 2:14-26), so is baptism without conversion. If we do not walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4), it is to be wondered whether we really did die with Christ when we were baptized. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul wrote that the believers in Thessalonica had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” And today, even if we’ve never worshiped a physical idol, this is what must happen. We must turn to God intentionally, ceasing from our old lives and living as those who are truly “in Christ.” "Conversion may occur in an instant, but the process of coming from sinfulness into a new life can be a long and arduous journey" (Charles Colson). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
3d ago

Trust, the Only Path to Truth, Is Dangerous (September 11)

TRUST, THE ONLY PATH TO TRUTH, IS DANGEROUS (SEPTEMBER 11) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/trust-only-path-truth-dangerous-september-11/ "Commit your way to the Lord" (Psalm 37:5). IN OUR SECULAR WORK AS WELL AS OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, WE FIND THAT “REWARDS REQUIRE COMMITMENT.” If we are so averse to risk that we won’t trust anything enough to commit ourselves to it, we will, wanting mainly to avoid being wrong, never know the joy that could have been ours if the commitment was right. Nothing good comes from the commitment-free life. Commitments are scary, to be sure, but as the saying goes, he who hesitates is lost. We might say, “Well, yes, commitments are necessary, but before we make them, we need to make absolutely sure there is no possibility of our being wrong.” In the real world, however, there are no such scenarios. We never have enough information to be absolutely certain about our decisions, and even if we did, that kind of decision-making would not require any faith. For faith to be faith, there must be some risk, some element of uncertainty. Obviously, we need to be careful in our commitments. Even if complete information is not available, we need to gather all the evidence we can, so that our faith is not blind faith but serious trust based upon consideration of the best information we could get. But to return to our main point, all the good things in life require committing ourselves to them. Hesitancy, doubt, and tentativeness will cut the very heart out of our discipleship to Christ. Distrusting God, we will never get the answers to our questions. In her book on the practice of mindfulness, Kim Davies says, “The foundation of any practice is a certain level of commitment: you have to not only make a clear decision to try mindfulness but also to maintain your practice and awareness.” I agree. And when it comes to godliness, a practice much higher than mindfulness, the principle of “rewards require commitment” is even more true. David said in Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord.” This means counting the cost, accepting the risk, and putting our trust in God. It also means binding ourselves resolutely to the practice of godliness. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it is, in the end, the only way to know if the Lord’s way is good. The path to truth requires trust — the kind of trust that knows what commitment is. "There is no discovery of the truth of Christ's teaching, no unanswerable inward endorsement of it, without committing oneself to his way of life" (J. B. Phillips). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
4d ago

If We’re Not Disturbed, We’re Not Listening (September 10)

IF WE’RE NOT DISTURBED, WE’RE NOT LISTENING (SEPTEMBER 10) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/disturbed-listening-september-10/ "There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, 'He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?'" (John 10:19,20). WHEN JESUS SPOKE, PEOPLE WERE STIRRED. As Eric Hoffer put it, “Jesus was not a conservative.” Even after He was gone, the teaching of His apostles continued to have a disruptive effect. When Paul and his coworkers went to Thessalonica, for example, the city was soon in an uproar. Some shouted, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6). J. B. Phillips once said, “Of all the epithets that could be applied to Christ, ‘mild’ seems one of the least appropriate.” If Jesus is now seen as being tame and temperate, it is because His religion has been legalized. He has become familiar to us. We may believe the gospel is still revolutionary, but we think it is other people (the “wicked”) who should be disturbed by it. “Oh, how society would be transformed if people would just listen to Jesus,” we think. But are we listening? If we’re not disturbed by the “hard sayings” of Jesus (John 6:60), it may be that we’re not paying attention. Like the self-righteous scholars who came to hear John the Baptist preach (Matthew 3:5-8), perhaps we don’t see that what is being said applies to us as much as it does to anyone else. One reason we’re not disturbed by Jesus is that our outward lives are, for the most part, in conformity with His teachings. We don’t feel personally challenged because we think we’ve already made the adjustments that Jesus’ teaching calls for. We’re kind, we help the needy, we attend worship services, and we say thanks before eating our meals — so we feel pretty good about ourselves. But the external aspect of the gospel is easy compared to the harder part, which has to do with the heart. However “nice” my outward life may be, when I measure my heart (my thoughts, attitudes, and intentions) against Jesus’ teaching, I am ashamed. His teaching disturbs me greatly, if I have the least bit of self-honesty. So may we all — every one of us — listen to Jesus with a new attentiveness. We must be disturbed before we can be redeemed. "The teaching of Jesus Christ does not appear at first to be what it is. At first it appears to be beautiful and pious and lukewarm; but before long it becomes a ripping and tearing torpedo which splits to atoms every preconceived notion a man ever had" (Oswald Chambers). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
5d ago

'In the Right Church' and Still Lost? (September 9)

“IN THE RIGHT CHURCH” AND STILL LOST? (SEPTEMBER 9) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/in-right-church-still-lost-september-9/ ". . . you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn’t this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards?" (1 Corinthians 3:3 Good News Bible). THE QUESTION “HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE SAVED?” IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. Paul urged the Corinthians, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). But we need to be careful what standard we use to make this test. Some suppose that salvation is on the group plan and that as long as their names are on the roster of a congregation that is faithful to the Lord, their salvation is assured. Such individuals would say to themselves, “I have obeyed the gospel, the Lord has added me to His church, and I am saved — end of discussion.” But the truth of the matter requires a deeper look. Some of the Christians in Corinth had not grown much since they became Christians. Their conduct showed that their hearts were the same as before they obeyed the gospel. As Paul said, “You are still of the flesh . . . and behaving only in a human way” (1 Corinthians 3:3 ESV). And if they didn’t repent, their salvation would be in jeopardy. The conclusion is sobering: it is possible to be “in the right church” (at least outwardly) and still be lost. Having obeyed the gospel, we certainly need to find a fellowship of faithful Christians to be a part of. Christ does have some requirements concerning the collective (or “together”) part of our discipleship. But while the faithfulness of others will encourage us, merely being attached to a faithful congregation won’t save us. We won’t go to heaven just because we were “in the right group.” Each of us needs to have a sense of personal responsibility. If after studying the Scriptures we realize that the religion we’ve been practicing is wrong, we need to leave that religion. If we find that we’ve been a part of a network of churches whose beliefs and practices are unscriptural, we need to disassociate ourselves. And if the particular congregation we’ve been a part of is not faithful to Christ, we need to worship elsewhere. But even if we’re surrounded by others who are faithful to Christ, the more important question is still about our own responsibilities before the Lord. "Keep us, Lord, so awake in the duties of our callings that we may sleep in thy peace and wake in thy glory" (John Donne). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
6d ago

We Don’t Get to Design the Path to God (September 8)

WE DON’T GET TO DESIGN THE PATH TO GOD (SEPTEMBER 8) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/design-path-to-god-september-8/ "You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors . . ." (Hosea 10:13). TRUSTING IN OUR OWN WAY IS A PROBLEM THAT SHOWS UP IN MANY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. The basic problem is always pride, of course, but pride wears many different disguises. Some of those disguises are so subtle that we don’t see the danger of them. In regard to our relationship to God, for example, we tend to view things as we wish them to be. The existence of God? We may believe there is a God because it makes us feel better. The nature of God? We may envision God in ways that harmonize with our personal preferences. And the will of God? We may feel the need to reinterpret any text that seems unreasonable to us. In all of these things, rather than bow humbly before the objective truth about God, willing to be led by the evidence, we tend to accept only the “truth” that pleases us subjectively. We trust in our “own way.” Yet our track record (both individually and as a species) shows that our own opinions and judgments have not been sufficient to meet the challenges of life in this world. If we’re honest, we have to agree with Jeremiah when he said, “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). The essence of faith has always been trust in God’s wisdom — especially when it runs counter to our own. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9). We are at our wisest when we heed Solomon’s advice: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). The gospel is not a travel brochure showing various journeys to choose from; it offers just the “way of God” (Acts 18:26). The path that leads to God in eternity — the one He has laid out — will often seem narrow and illogical to us (Matthew 7:13,14). But that doesn’t matter. It only matters whether it is, in fact, “the Way” (Acts 24:14). "The question is not whether a doctrine is beautiful but whether it is true. When we wish to go to a place, we do not ask whether the road leads through a pretty country, but whether it is the right road" (Augustus Hare). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com
Sep 7

The Power of Pentecost (September 7)

THE POWER OF PENTECOST (SEPTEMBER 7) View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/power-pentecost-september-7/ "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). IN THE FINAL DAYS OF HIS LIFE, JESUS PREPARED HIS APOSTLES FOR THE WORK THEY WOULD DO AFTER HE ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN. They would be eyewitnesses of His resurrection, and they would be the authoritative proclaimers of His gospel. But He told them not to leave Jerusalem “until you are clothed with power from on high.” This clothing with power began to take place on the Day of Pentecost just a few weeks after Jesus’ ascension. We have a record of it in Acts 2, and that record is crucial to our grasp of the gospel. In Acts 2, we are told that the apostles began to speak of “the mighty works of God” (v.11). Miraculously, they did this in languages they had never learned, but the greater miracle, no less miraculously empowered, was the content of the proclamation: the saving message of Jesus Christ. The act of “speaking in tongues” facilitated the message that day, and it certainly underscored the authority of the apostles, but the emphasis in Acts 2 is on the content of the preaching. We would seriously fail in our appreciation of this text if we were so amazed by the signs and wonders that we didn’t pay attention to the message the signs were pointing to. In his sermon, Peter alluded to God’s promise in Joel 2:28-32: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh . . . [and] everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The subject of the sermon was salvation, so we’re not surprised that the hearers cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter’s reply was clear: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). In other words, as you call on the name of the Lord you will receive that which the Holy Spirit has made possible through the miraculously empowered preaching of the apostles: salvation from your sins. So the power that went forth from Jerusalem that day was not the miracles (those lasted only for a while), but the saving gospel of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 2:2,3). "God hides nothing. His very work from the beginning is revelation — a casting aside of veil after veil, a showing unto men of truth after truth. On and on from fact divine he advances, until at length in his Son Jesus he unveils his very face" (George MacDonald). Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

5

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Why become a Christian? And what is actually required when you do? Gary Henry tackles these questions in Obeying the Gospel. Designed for both the skeptic and the saint, these three-minute, daily episodes explore the initial basics of salvation and the lifelong dedication required to keep our promise to God. Discover why the commitment is worth the cost.

Creator

Gary Henry
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

31
Rating

Clean
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Obeying the Gospel