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WARNING!
Bomb
threats are NOT funny at all; in fact they are quite
serious. Unfortunately,
many live in countries in which the threat of bombing
is very real. When
such bombings occur, many lives are either hurt or
destroyed in their wake – despite warnings which may
have been given.
These are tragic events, yet all too frequent.
From
these tragedies, however, there are some vital lessons
for each and every one
of us to learn about another KILLER that
can potentially destroy ALL of our lives.
Consider
the following imagined scenario…
A
telephone call shattered the daily business routine of
a local office. The
caller announced that a crazed individual had planted
a “time bomb” within the office complex and
that all occupants MUST evacuate immediately in order
to avoid the impending devastation.
"Oh, it’s just a prank call!"
John loudly announced.
Ignoring the warning, he calmly returned
to his work, while discouraging many others from
taking the ALERT seriously.
Sam
and Jim, who worked together, both SAID
"THEY BELIEVED" the caller had
spoken the truth.
Sam quickly BEGAN going through each
office on every floor in an effort to locate and take
with him ALL who would listen to his warning.
Although
Jim readily AGREED with those who were making their
way to the exit, he just SAT there. Jim acknowledged the truthfulness of the warning to
each passerby, BUT- he continued his work
routine together with John and others.
Some responded by conducting a SEARCH for “evidence”
of a bomb, while others HID themselves in closets and
under desks.
A
short time later, a
“saved”
group
emerged a safe distance away and watched as the entire
office complex perished in smoke and flames with the
horrendous blast.
Question:
Why were some saved & others lost? What made the
difference?
The
Answer:
“GENUINE”
FAITH!
Those
who were saved not only BELIEVED
the truthfulness of the message, but they also ACTED
upon the instructions contained within the message.
In other words, they were saved BY
GRACE (the telephone call) THROUGH
FAITH
(the acceptance of the message) WHEN
THEY RESPONDED to the message (by moving out of
harm’s way into a place of safety).
They were SAVED when their faith RESPONDED
with the APPROPRIATE actions – NOT just ANY
action
(hiding in the closet, etc.) but the RIGHT
actions!
Each
and every one of us has to deal with a deadly time
bomb called SIN (Romans 6:23).
The GOOD NEWS is that because of Jesus Christ
we can be saved from sin and live eternally.
The Bible teaches us that we are saved BY
GRACE (the giving of God’s Son for the
payment for our sin) THROUGH
FAITH (our acceptance of the message) WHEN
WE RESPOND in the appropriate manner:
repenting
of our sins
(Acts 17:31), confessing
Christ (Romans
10:9-10) and being
baptized
for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).
The
WARNING has been sounded:
Sin
destroys! The
way of salvation has ALSO been proclaimed!
Will
YOU
heed the Savior’s instructions? (click
here)
God
bless you!
David
A. Sargent
/ M.
Eddlemon
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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