Prayer
List
Faith Balzen
is scheduled to have foot surgery April 10th.
Mark Morris
has been diagnosed with cancer in his kidney and lungs,
Lisa Gaston
has been released from the hospital and is home.
Dale Brown a
friend of Kerry and Carla King is in hospital.
Don Boyd’s
cancer has returned.
Thomas Mako is in the
hospital with pneumonia and blood clots.
Don
Hickerson’s brother-in-law Louis Horn is recovering from a stroke.
R’Cella
Gibbs, a friend of Frank Rhoden is in the hospital.
Andy LeDane,
Eddie Griffin, Florene Griffin, Jimmy Griffin, Jerry and Betty
Harris, Don Hickerson, Lester and Billie Phillips, Dan Tucker, Mary
Jean Turner, Armanda family, Jack and Diane Arnold, Ronnie Brown,
Betty Clark, Doris James, Gary Hickerson, Bobbie King, Dan LeDane,
Carol Moore, Beryl Miller, and Della Price.
Serving in
the military:
Faith Balzen,
Cody Blomstedt,
Travis Counts, and
Dakota
Smitherman all are in the U.S..
Let us pray
for our country and government leaders and those who are in harms
way, military and civilian personnel.
“The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much…
Fellowship
is after morning worship services. Everyone is invited and
encouraged to attend.
The Elders
would like to thank everyone for preparing the grounds and building
for our Spring Meeting.
The Men’s
Business meeting is next Sunday April 9th after evening
worship services. All men are invited and encouraged to attend.
Pantry
Item: Spaghetti Sauce
April 9nd
Prayers: Morning: Robert Courtney – Charles Counts
Evening: Jerry Harris – Kerry King
Scriptures: Don Harrington
WAY DIDN’T
JESUS SAY “HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT AND IS BAPTIZED NOT SHALL BE
SAVED?
By B.J.
Clarke
Jesus
said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…(Mk.
16:16). This truth is “ungetaroundable” for those who would deny
the essentiality of water baptism. Just as 2 + 2 = 4, so likewise
does Belief + Baptism = Salvation. It is not just he that believeth
that shall be saved. Rather, it is he that believeth and is baptized
who shall be saved. Furthermore, it is not just he that is baptized
who shall be saved, but rather he believeth and is baptized who shall
be saved (Mk. 16:16).
But what
about the latter part of the passage where Jesus says, “but he that
believeth not shall be damned?” Opponents of the necessity of
baptism will sometimes say, “If baptism is so important to our
salvation, then why didn’t Jesus say, “He that believeth not and
is baptized not shall be damned?” They will argue that since Jesus
only mentioned not believing as a condition of being damned, that
believing is the only condition of salvation. The answer to such a
quibble is seen in both a scriptural and practical way. In John
3:18, Jesus said, “he who does not believe is condemned already.”
Hence, if a man is an unbeliever, he is lost. Jesus didn’t waste
words. In all of the time I have been preaching, I have never yet
had someone walk into my office and say, “I don’t believe Jesus
is the Son of God. Would you please baptize me?” Jesus didn’t
say, “he that believeth not and is baptized not shall be damned”
for the simple reason that if a man doesn’t believe, he will never
desire to be baptized. His unbelief is sufficient all by itself to
damn his soul. For example, Jesus didn’t say, “he that believeth
not and repenteth not shall be damned,” because if a man doesn’t
first believe, he will never be lead to repentance. If I say, “he
that eateth and digesteth shall live, but he that eateth not shall
die, “it is not necessary for me to mention digestion in the latter
part of the statement, because if a man doesn’t do the first thing
(eating), he will never do the second thing (digesting). Likewise
Jesus knew that if a man didn’t do the first thing (believing), he
would never do the second thing (be baptized). In short, the
teaching of Mark 16:16 show us that it takes one condition to damn
our soul, but there are at least two conditions (Believe + Baptism)
necessary to the saving of it.