I’m starting a new blog series on Christian church doctrine. First of all, let me say I’m not a biblical scholar or a pastor or anything like that. I’m just an old retired clod hopper who dearly loves the Lord and studying God’s word. I want everyone to feel the passion that I have for God. It consumes me. Our relationship with God is the only thing that matters because it’s the only thing that will last for all eternity. Everything else is just window dressing. God has blessed me by having the Holy Spirit move within my body to confirm he is with me always. The Holy Spirit gave me the ministry of reconciliation years ago by giving me an unquenchable thirst for God’s word, and then the relentless desire and drive to give my testimony of God through the written word.
Matthew 1:22-23 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
That thirst sponsored by God started as a letter-writing campaign to family and friends that eventually evolved into this blog site (www.onemoreforjesus.net). I live and breathe for the honor and privilege of “passively” witnessing for Christ to the nonbeliever on Christ’s behalf. My mantra every day is to save, “one more for Jesus.” I was saved at the age of twelve and indwelt by the Holy Spirit at that time. I was a back-slider for forty years before returning to fellowship with God. Once you belong to God he never lets you go. I’ve been actively serving my God for the last twenty years. Besides blogging, I’ve also leveraged my witness for Christ by distributing Chick tracts and Bibles for the last ten years, primarily to my seven prison ministries in four states. I also hand out Chick tracts wherever I go. Tracts are the cheapest and most effective way I know to reach the most people with the gospel.
Psalm 14:1 – The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.
Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
These Christian tracts contain the gospel message in written form with the sinner’s prayer on the last page. My favorite Chick tract is, “This Was Your Life” but I also distribute, “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” They have hundreds of titles and you can read them all online at chick.com. Millions of nonbelievers have been saved unto eternal life in heaven through Chick tracts. I have saved over one hundred nonbelievers to heaven but my goal is to save many lost souls to heaven, just like it says in Daniel 12:3. I plan to shine in heaven. What qualifies as “many” in the eyes of God? God put the number 1000 in my head as my personal goal. I wasn’t sure if my goal to save 1000 lost souls came from me or the Holy Spirit so I asked God about it in prayer. After several months of praying, God answered my prayers to let me know that saving a thousand nonbelievers to heaven qualifies as “many” in his eyes. God often answers our prayers through other men of God, which is what happened in my case.
Daniel 12:3 – Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
I have a friend in Louisiana who witnesses for Christ and out of the blue he texted me that his personal goal is to save 1000 people to heaven before he dies. We had never shared our personal goals before but God used my brother in Christ to answer my prayers. God let me know through my friend that if I saved 1000 people to heaven it would qualify as “many” in his eyes. That’s all I needed to know. I’m working hard to save nonbelievers and I have a long way to go but at least I have a goal to shoot for that is sanctioned by God. I don’t know what awaits me in heaven but I know it’ll be good because the scriptures say God will give good gifts to his children. A good tree can only produce good fruit and that is true of both God and man. You have a choice to make. If you’re a Christian believer you can choose to either sit on your duff and do nothing, or you can choose to do “good works” for God by saving others to heaven to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave to all believers before he ascended back to heaven. If you do nothing you still get to go to heaven through faith but if you do the “good works” God has planned for you then you will please God, who will give you honor, glory, and riches on the last day. Of course, if you’re a nonbeliever you’re going to hell, full stop! You have my testimony of the truth of God. Will you come join me or not? The Christian material I’ll be covering in this blog series comes from my ongoing study of God’s word, as well as information contained in Willmington’s Guide to the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:14-15 – But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 22:14 – (Jesus) – For many are called, but few are chosen.
What is doctrine? Doctrine is defined as the systematic gathering and presentation of the facts concerning any great body of truth. God’s word, our Holy Bible, is the ultimate truth. The Bible is the doctrine that reveals the coming of Jesus Christ, the son of God, to redeem a fallen world from the clutches of Satan and save man unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus paid the sin debt for all men, past, present, and future by his shed blood on the cross in our place. Each person still has to claim his salvation personally by confessing their faith in Jesus. Salvation is a two-part process. Jesus did his part by dying for us and he patiently waits for us to do our part by accepting God’s grace through faith. The problem is the whole world is under the sway of Satan, the evil one. Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers so they cannot see the truth of God. To the nonbeliever, the Bible is just a book. Nonbelievers are lost unless we witness Christ to them. I’m not willing to let them go. Someone once helped save me and I owe it to God and the nonbeliever to return the favor. You should always pay what you owe.
Matthew 10:38 – (Jesus) – And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 28:19 – (Jesus) – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Every day approximately 160,000 nonbelievers are dying and going straight to hell for the lack of a witness for Christ. I can’t stand it! I can’t save everyone but I can save some. I can save one with God’s help. As believers, we are commanded by God to witness for Christ in his harvest field to save lost souls to heaven through our testimony. God wants us to rip away the blinders covering the eyes of nonbelievers so they can see the truth of God and the light of his word. The scriptures say many are called but few are chosen. Believers are the chosen of God. Why did God choose us? God chose us to give our testimony of him to the nonbeliever so that some might be saved unto eternal life in heaven. If you save at least one person to heaven you’ll receive honor, glory, and riches from the hand of God. How do I know that? Because every soul is priceless to God. How could it be otherwise? 90% of the saints in heaven are there through faith in Jesus alone, never having saved even one other person to heaven by a witness for Christ
Acts 10:42 – And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.
1 John 5:13 – These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Any saint who saves at least one other person to heaven is a warrior for Christ in my eyes and they have my utmost respect. Know this: God wants you to be a warrior for Christ, as I am. I fight the good fight every day. Every morning when I open my eyes the first thing on my mind is, “How can I save one more for Jesus today? It’s also the last thing I think about before my eyes close at night. Come join me. The only weapon you need is your Bible. If you don’t save others you’re just a hollow vessel, an empty suit, and a disappointment to the God who made you. On the last day, when you stand before the bema judgment seat of Christ you’ll have to explain why you didn’t share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers as you were commanded. You have no excuse. Make it a priority to please the God who made you while you can. You won’t be sorry.
2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Biblical doctrine divides light from darkness, right from wrong, and life from death. If we don’t know these things we’re in serious trouble. We are all living out our lives as blind men without God’s wisdom. That’s why it’s imperative that every single person in the world read God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Except for believers, mankind is lost and headed for hell and they don’t even know it. Nonbelievers are dead men walking toward their execution, and Satan is the hangman. Nonbelievers are like sheep waiting to be slaughtered, and Satan is the butcher. Studying the doctrines of the Bible will help to settle believers so that our faith in God is rock solid. Knowing Bible doctrine acquaints us with God’s eternal plan for man and the part we play in it. We need to know Bible doctrine thoroughly so we can edify nonbelievers about God and guide them to salvation by our witness for Christ. You cannot hope to do what God requires of you until you know God’s instruction so read your Bible every day and God will guide you. As God says in his word, if you reject God or follow after false gods you’ll be like the blind leading the blind. What should you do? Study God’s word, plan your good works, and then relentlessly work your plan for the rest of your life. God assures us our work on Christ’s behalf will not be in vain
Luke 6:39 – (Jesus) – Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?
Isaiah 46:9 – Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; for I am God, and there is none like Me.
The greatest thoughts of the human mind must be, “Is there a God?” and, if so, “Who is God?” How we answer these questions in our mind affects everything we do in life and ultimately, it determines our eternal destiny; whether we wind up in heaven or hell. If we don’t get the “who” question right we’ll never answer all the other questions we have about life. There is no way to explain our existence without there being a God in heaven. A man is composed of thirty trillion specialized cells organized into tissues, organs, and complex body systems which is topped off with the human brain; the greatest computer in the universe. Do you really think we evolved from one-cell organisms from the primordial ooze of some ancient sea? No. God made us as we are and he put us here on earth for his pleasure. We don’t make sense without God. We belong to God.
1 Corinthians 8:6 – Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
John 1:3 – All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
The question then becomes, “Which God is real?” No world religion can prosper without the help of powerful spiritual beings, of which there are two; God and Satan. God is the author of both Judaism and Christianity because they define and worship the one true God. Satan has sponsored all the other fake religions and false gods throughout history to hide the truth of God from man so he can take their eternal souls down to the pit of hell forever. How do we know the right God? There are two things only God can do; raise the dead and tell the future; because God is the creator of life and the author of history. The Bible documents God doing both. The evidence for the Christian God Jehovah is overwhelming, whereas there is not one shred of evidence that supports any of the fake religions and false gods of Satan. Jehovah is God’s most common name, appearing 6,823 times in the Bible. It means, “The self-existent One.” Just follow the evidence and you’ll know the truth of God for yourself. You have my testimony.
John 8:36 – (Jesus) – Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He (God) has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
To help us out God has put eternity in our hearts so we know deep down there is a God in heaven and we have the urge to seek him out. We see evidence of this universal belief in God, or some higher power, because every tribe on earth has some idea of a supreme being. Psalm 19:1 says the truth of God is self-evident, so we have no excuse when we stand in judgment before Jesus Christ on the last day. Our God is a triune Godhead consisting of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is a hard teaching which is confusing to believers and nonbelievers alike. It shouldn’t be. There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and co-equal Persons, the same in divine substance, but distinct in subsistence. God is a Trinity, which convinces me even more that our God Jehovah is the one true God of creation and our Holy Father.
1 Timothy 4:13 – Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
John 14:6 – (Jesus) – I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.