Confession is necessary for salvation

 by David Long

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10). 

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12).

What must be confessed? "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him" (Acts 8:35-38).

Baptism is necessary for salvation

 by David Long

"Then Peter said to them,"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3-4).

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27).

"The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21).

Lying

 by David Long

The lying that is going on in our land is shameful and what's even worse is people wanting to hear lies. We need a dose of what the Bible teaches about lying.

1. God hates lying (Prov. 6:16-19; 12:22).

2. All liars go to hell (Rev. 21:8).

3. We need to stop lying (Eph. 4:25).

Who do you serve?

 by David Long

Do you serve God or Satan (Matt. 6:24)? Do you serve sin or righteousness (Rom. 6:16-23)? Do you serve the living God or dumb idols (1 Thess. 1:9)? Do you serve Christ or your own belly (Rom. 16:18)? We are all serving someone or some thing. If we want to go to heaven we must serve God. That begins by obeying the gospel (Rom. 6:3-4). We must stop serving sin and become servants of righteousness. We must stop serving our own selfish desires and start serving Christ. What He wants is what matters, not what we want! 

When things get worse

 by David Long

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:13-7). 

What do we do when things just get worse? We do what Paul told Timothy to do, "continue in the things we have learned and been assured of." We continue in the holy scriptures. Even if it means persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). 

Be careful what you love

 by David Long

"Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet" (2 Pet. 2:15-16). What was Balaam's problem? It was his love for the wages of unrighteousness. He was getting paid to curse God's people. The Bible says that the love of money is the root for all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). Be careful what you love.

Loving the world

 by David Long

We are told to not love the world (1 John 2:15-17). How can one tell they love the world and not God?

1. A materialistic approach to life (Lk. 12:15). Do you put the things of the world over the things of God?

2. Who one's close friends are (Psa. 119:63). Godly people want to be around other godly people not worldly people.

3. What one talks about and the words one uses (Eph. 4:29). 

4. What come first in one's life (Matt. 6:33). 

Are you in love with the world or God? 

Hate

 by David Long

How long can you hate someone? Read Acts 23:12-14; 24:27; 25:1-3, 24. Some people never stop hating someone. They will even hate them after they are dead. Some people will go to their graves hating someone. Hate and bitterness are poisons to the soul. 

Meet for repentance

 by David Long

"Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" (Matt. 3:8)

"But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:20).

What does "meet for repentance" mean? It means "prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God." Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of life. If you haven't changed your life then you haven't repented. The prove is in the pudding! 

Almost persuaded but lost

by David Long

"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:28-29). 

Almost persuaded but lost. To be almost persuaded is to be lost. We can't be almost, we have to be altogether. Here's the hard truth that most people don't want to face: most people are lost and on the road to hell (Matt. 7:13-14). Why? Because they reject the truth for a lie! Are you one? 

God rules in the kingdoms of men

 by David Long

Four times in the book of Daniel we are told that God rules in the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomseover He wills (Dan. 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21). The word "kingdom" refers to "dominion; rule; realm." God even sets over kingdoms the basest or lowest of men (Dan. 4:17). God is in charge of this world and even though we may not like who is in power, I know they are there because of God (Rom. 13:1-2). 

Preach the word

 by David Long

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:1-2). No matter what happens or is happening, preach the word. Whether people like it or not, preach the word. In good times and bad, preach the word. Whether the time is favorable or not, preach the word. Whether it's convenient or in convenient, preach the word. Whether it is welcome or unwelcome, preach the word. 

I serve a risen savior

 by David Long

"but had certain questions against him of their own religion, and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive" (Acts 25:19). Paul affirmed that Jesus is alive. Paul affirmed that because he saw Jesus and talked to Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Is Jesus alive? Yes, He is. How do I know He lives? I know it because the Bible says so (Rev. 1:18; 2:8).  I believe God. 

What people need to hear

by David Long

"And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee" (Acts 24:24-25). Paul told Felix and Drusilla what they needed to hear. Truth hurts but only truth can save (John 8:32). Obey the truth of God's word or be lost.