Another

GET RICH QUICK

Scheme?

By Bill Roberts

What if you were presented with an offer to get rich quick?  It may have come through the mail or at an “opportunity meeting” you attended.  It might be a chain letter type or a product you could sell through multi-level marketing. If it required very much up front money you probably would not even consider it.  The reason of course, is because you would not believe it.  There have been too many get rich quick offers that have proven to be only schemes.  Now what if you were the one making the offer?  What if you had actually found a way to get wealthy and you wanted to share it with others?  Regardless of how you worded your offer it would be hard to get others to consider it.  Would it not?  Well that is the situation I am in.  I have found something I want to share with others too.  Yet, because of what most people have heard or seen, they are either “turned off” or disbelieve it.  No, it is not a way to get rich quick; at least not rich in money.  For I am speaking of spiritual riches.  In the midst of all the “gospel and spiritual offers”, I have found something genuine; something that has made me rich towards God.  This is something wonderful that really works.  It is a spiritual experience that has brought true peace to my heart and has given me assurance that I am on the right road to heaven.  Not only has this proven out in my life; it is also verified by the Word of God. (KJV Bible)

WHAT IT IS

What I have found was and is: Deliverance from sin and a “power” to live holy and righteous everyday! I know this sounds self-righteous and unbelievable but please read on.  The Bible verifies that Jesus came to “save [deliver] his people from their sins” (Matt. 1: 21). Then Luke 1:74-75 promises us … “that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies [Satan, sin etc.] might serve him without fear; In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.”  That means everyday.  Now I am no one special.  Thousands of others down through time have also found this great treasure.  However, today the majority of people, even among religious folks, seemingly know nothing of this genuine experience of Bible salvation that produces holiness of life. Many have “went forward”, “joined a church”, “got baptized” or said they “accepted Christ”, but have never been really delivered from the power of sin.  Precious heart, real Bible salvation does not leave us to resume the life of sinning in a modified degree, as is so prevalent today.  The Bible clearly and plainly declares: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin” (I John 3:9).  Jesus said, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34). Then Romans 6:17-18 tells us, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Yes friend, the Bible still teaches, “Whosoever is born of God sinneth not” (I John 5:18).  Now we should quote here what the Bible defines as sin and how it is charged to us. “…Sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4). Since we are not under the Old Testament Mosaic law, the law referred to here is the New Testament “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2) or Christ’s words. (See John 12:48)  The New Covenant includes and surpasses all the righteous principles in the Old Testament. Then James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” So we could say that sin is doing what we know is morally wrong or refusing to do what we know is right. It is not a mistake or temptation, but willful transgression. It is disobedience. Our knowledge is involved. A small child for example, could lie and remain innocent. Whereas you and I that are old enough to know better would be found guilty. Now let’s look at how to be absolved from this guilt and how to obtain this greatest treasure human spirits can find.

HOW TO GET IT

This miraculous experience that delivers us from sin and gives us power over it is available to “whosoever will”.  If you desire real peace in your soul and a rich experience with God it can be yours if you will meet the Bible conditions. First of all it is possible only through Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12)  No other name or religion can deliver one from all sin. We could summarize these conditions as repentance and faith. “Repent ye and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). These words are easy to say so let’s elaborate on this. To repent we must have “godly sorrow”. (II Cor. 7:10)  To have godly sorrow we need to see sin in its true perspective and ourselves as God sees us. Sin is not a light thing. The seriousness of sin is not just in the deed but in whom it is committed against. Let me illustrate it this way. If I were to hit my neighbor in the face, the penalty would not be as great as it would if I committed the same deed to our President. The importance and dignity of the office being the difference. There is no higher dignity or any greater one we could offend than God. So it is not just the deed itself that is so serious. Eating a piece of forbidden fruit does not seem as bad to us as  murder or rape but the offense in the garden of Eden, like all sin, was disobedience against almighty God. That is why the penalty for sin is so severe. Telling a so-called little white lie makes one a liar and all unrepentant liars will be cast into the lake of fire! (Rev. 21:8, 20:15) I know these are repulsive thoughts, but friend this is reality.  If we can see sin as it really is, it can help us get to the place of seeing ourselves a little more like God sees us. We can never find this hidden treasure until we can cast our pride aside and admit our true condition to ourselves and to God. It is so easy to justify our selves. There are many people doing things worse than we. Perhaps even among those who are claiming to be Christians. No doubt we have many good points that others do not have.  But these are not the issue now. The issue for us, is to face what we are guilty of; our sins. If we can get to the place of admitting our guilt and realize the seriousness of whom we have offended and what the consequences will be, that can lead us into godly sorrow.  Sorry enough to be willing to quit doing the things we know are morally wrong and start doing the things that are right. That is what repentance is all about. It is a turning from a sinful lifestyle and a turning to a holy and righteous lifestyle. Forgiving any who have wronged us and a willingness to straighten up our past wrongs would also be the attitude necessary when we go to God in prayer. When we know in our heart we have met these conditions, it will enable our faith to take hold that God will hear and answer our prayer for forgiveness. The guilt will lift off us and His Spirit will bear witness with our spirit that we have been accepted. (See Rom. 8:16) So we see that to repent and have faith for Bible salvation is not a light thing either. It is a major crisis in our life. One reason for this is because there is an enemy to our soul that opposes us getting (and keeping) this victorious experience.  In January 1974 I remember thoughts of “could I live it?” “Did I really want to?”, “what would others say?” etc.  The scripture teaches we must press into the kingdom. (Luke 16:16) It is more than just a willingness to give up sinful habits; it is a complete surrender of “our way”. From here on out the way we talk, the places we go or refrain from going, even the way we dress will all be in accordance to the will of God. What a change! (II Cor. 5:17)

LIVING IT OUT

After receiving this life-changing experience we still have our power of choice. When temptations come our way we will have a power to resist if we so choose. (I Cor. 10:13) If we choose to yield to temptation (God forbid) and actually sin we would need to repent of that to get back to God.  I am not talking about “nightly confession”, for if we are truly sorry for sin we won’t still be doing those sins every day. The “ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance” (Luke 15:7) are those who have repented, forsaken sin and are living without sinning.  I am just pointing out that if one were to yield to sin there is still hope if he will again repent. (I John 2:1) Every time we resist temptation it will make us stronger and give us confidence in our experience. Then as we continue to walk in the light we can learn of a “second work of grace” that God has for us called “sanctification” or the “Baptism with the Holy Ghost”. This second experience will cleanse out the carnal nature we inherited from Adam and give us additional power to live holy consistently.  John Wesley revived this vital teaching but mostly today it has been ignored or perverted.  We do not have the space to elaborate on this here but write this publisher for more information. Better yet, visit a true church of God congregation where this truth as well as all other Bible doctrines is still taught. If you would like to find a people that are actually living out what the Bible teaches, you will not be disappointed.  A rich relationship with God can be yours too!!

Gospel Truth & Publications

P.O. Box 142 Jackson Center, OH 45334

               THE END

At the end of a life of smoking,

you’ll find your health went up in smoke.

At the end of a life of gambling,

you’ll find that you are broke.

At the end of a life of drinking,

you’ll find your troubles didn’t drown.

At the end of a life of taking drugs,

you’ll find your mind not sound.

At the end of a life of partying and sin,

you’ll find it’s hell you are in!

                       BUT

At the end of a life lived for God,

You’ll find you’ve had peace while on this sod.

Then instead of an awful sad ending,

You’ll find the joy of heaven, and it’s only…

             THE BEGINNING!

By Bill Roberts

Gospel Truth and Publications