Archives for category: Eternal Salvation
According to THIS scripture, Christianity is probably the ONLY Religion in the World, which Eternal Salvation is NOT based on “Works” (or anything we physically accomplish here on Earth) but rather our Faith that Jesus Christ died for our Sins & then rose from the Grave so that we might be forever eternally Saved.
This coming Easter Sunday, 4/9/23, why not ask Jesus to be your personal Lord & Savior, so you too can have ‘Eternal Life’? Please read, Romans 10:9-10 & perhaps John 14:6, for further info.
This episode of, ‘Frankly Speaking’ was a continuation of the show I did the previous month regarding the topic of, ‘Eternal Salvation – What it Is & What it Ain’t’, with the same guest, Pastor Greg Odiorne of the Merrimack Valley Baptist Church in Merrimack NH. This particular episode was recorded in the Nashua Public TV studio on 1-18-23.
Among the topics included in this show were: the 10 Commandments, and how they pertain to Salvation for those who lived before Jesus Christ; how Jesus ‘moved the proverbial goal posts’ regarding even hating someone the equivalent to murdering them; the presumption that Hell is probably more populated than Heaven; why we are now living in what the Bible refers to, ‘the End Times’; exactly how effective is Ray Comfort’s ‘The Way of the Master’ outreach approach to actually “converting people to Jesus Christ”; what can people expect on Judgement Day according to the Bible; what exactly did Jesus mean when he said that we (His followers) would be doing “greater works” than even himself; why do prayer requests sometimes fail; and lastly, what are the significance of “Crowns” in the Bible?
Perhaps to fully grasp the entire context of Pastor Odiorne’s message on, Eternal Salvation, you may also want to watch and study the initial part of this topic from the ‘Frankly Speaking’ episode we recorded about a month earlier on, 12-28-22.
Incidentally, if you wish to learn more about the Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, or maybe ask Pastor Odiorne a few questions from something mentioned in this episode, please feel free to log onto: http://www.MVBC.org .
Local entertainer Sharon DiFronzo of Screamin Heart Records, sang the intro and outro theme song of this show, “ Comin’ and Goin’ ” .
Okay staunch Christians out there, please weigh-in and let us know what you think about this subject.
Various Christian ministries have devised several hundred, maybe even several thousand, different types of Gospel tracts in an effort to lead others to Jesus Christ. For the purpose of this particular posting, however, I’d just like to focus on two rather “unique” tracts which sort of stand out from all the others like a sore thumb.
One is a Trillion Dollar Bill tract, which at a quick glance, looks extremely similar to a regular American dollar bill — it causes one to take a lengthy second look just to verify that it’s not the real thing. Another interesting tract, produced by the same ministry that manufactures the Trillion Dollar Bill, looks like a thin cardboard coaster used for glasses and cups on a table and this product is called a, Round Tuit.
Both of these products were initiated by Ray Comfort, who has a show on Christian TV called, ‘Way of the Master’, and his website is, LivingWaters.com . One of the individuals in Comfort’s ministry is former TV teen idol, Kirk Cameron, who is very active in many of the TV and internet productions.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with distributing these Gospel tracts. I mean, if one of these things help eventually lead someone to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior — Praise God, what’s wrong with that? But I know at least a couple of Christian leaders who view these as, too much gimmickry to lead someone to the Lord.
I guess I just don’t get it.
Granted, I can fully understand Christian leaders wanting to be as honest and straightforward as possible when it comes to leading others to Jesus Christ or the Word of God. I just don’t see how it could be construed as deceitful or dishonest to publish a short but effective Gospel message on a tract that resembles either a dollar bill or drinking glass coaster. I would hardly put this approach on the same plateau as, lets say, a minister who would either exploit sexual favors from his female congregants or maybe guaranteeing people that they’d be healed of a chronic disease if they’d just join his church.
If someone wrote and performed a Christian song that had a very addicting beat to it, like a lot of Rock and Roll music for example, would most Christians automatically trash it as being too secular or too worldly? Assuming the songwriter didn’t plagiarize someone else’s music — what the heck would the problem be?
Another interesting facet about these Gospel tracts is the message being conveyed on the back side — citing verses like Matthew 5:28 (equating lusting after a woman as having already committed Adultery); or 1 John 3:15 (hating or disliking another individual is like being a murderer in God’s eyes). In other words, a message that would prompt people to study and learn a little bit more about God and His Word (the Bible), before they eventually face Judgment Day.
Granted, the message on these particular tracts won’t lead anybody to Eternal Salvation, per se, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Besides that, if a person wants to make Jesus Christ, “Lord and Savior in their Life”, wouldn’t you want to know absolutely everything there is to know about Him and what He’s all about?
A couple more points, if one of the main purposes of publishing a Gospel tract is to get people to actually read the entire thing — then BINGO, it’s so corny and unique that most people would read everything on it just to see what it’s all about.
Lastly, youngsters absolutely love them. And the best time for anybody to get involved with God and the Bible, is from pre-teens thru maybe 20-somethings. Since the Bible quotes Jesus as saying that his Second Coming will take place like a “thief in the night” and for us to always “be ready”, then I would argue, the younger the better is probably the absolute best time to want to declare Jesus Christ as, Lord and Savior in your life. After reading over either the Round Tuit or Trillion Dollar Bill tracts, they’re ideal to either tape on a school locker or maybe your bedroom wall because they look so cool.
Because of their effectiveness on people — non Christians, in particular — wanting to examine its entire message, I think these tracts are truly a brilliant concept and Ray Comfort might be a marketing genius for coming up with the idea. Could this be a bit of a stretch on my part? Yeah, probably. But I never really viewed people or Gospel tracts responsible for anybody else to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior — God is ultimately responsible to inspire people to follow Him while Christian believers, Gospel tracts, and everything else are just basically seeds planted to help make it happen.
I’d love to hear from some staunch Christians — or even not so staunch Christians — on what they think about these tracts.
One Bad Decision Away From Homelessness 