In The Master's Service

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HAVE WE BELIEVED IN VAIN?

Elder R. K. Blackshear (deceased)  From Good Will Nov. 1955

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which ye also have received, and wherein ye stand; By which ye are also saved, if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain." 1 Cor. 15:1,2

Paul very definitely taught in the above lesson that it is possible to believe in vain, and the inference is that there is no salvation in such belief. In writing the Corinthians he stated that he declared unto them the same gospel he had already preached unto them, stating further that they had received it. This being true, they then had no excuse if they were not saved by it. People who know the truth of the Bible will know also that Paul was not talking of eternal salvation in the above lesson but he was speaking of a saving that concerns God's children here in time.

Now let us examine the lesson a little. "Which ye also have received." This not only means as relates to the fundamental principles of salvation, that Jesus is the Saviour of all the Father gave Him in the covenant of redemption, and that all He died for will ultimately be saved in Heaven, but it also means that they had received it as a guide and a pattern for their manner of living here in the world. They had said that it was the truth, and by their actions had said that God's children should abide by it. They did not dispute the authenticity of gospel instruction, and since they had received it as the truth of God they were honor bound to obey it. They were entirely without excuse, and because they were without excuse they were held accountable to God if they failed to obey the gospel.

"By which ye are also saved, if you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain." The Corinthians, together with all God's people who have lived since, were saved and can be saved by the gospel, provided they keep it in memory, and provided they do not believe in means to put it into practice, because it is a known fact that after men are taught they must continue to practice what they are taught or they will forget it to a great extent. Peter said something about somebody forgetting that he was purged from his old sins, and the reason for this forgetting was that he had not obeyed the teaching of the gospel. 2 Pet. 1:9. Then, this being true, the more we practice a thing the more we become habited to it and the easier it is to remember it.

"Unless you have believed in vain." How is it that we sometimes believe in vain? At any time that we believe what the gospel teaches and do not practice it, we believe in vain. That is, if we believe a person should be baptized in order to follow Christ and are not baptized ourselves, our belief is in vain and it will NOT save us from the burden of baptism. Many of God's children who have never been baptized will contend that the church should continue the practice of washing feet in their service, but does their belief save them to the joy found in this humble example and from the condemnation that comes as a result of their disobedience? Certainly not!

If we believe that when we are smitten on one cheek we should turn the other, and then instead of doing this we continually strike back at those we feel have mistreated us, our belief is in vain. The gospel teaches everything we should say and do as followers of Christ, and everything that it does teach is necessary to our spiritual peace and happiness while we live here in this low ground of sin and sorrow.

If we believe that all of our honor and praise should go to the Lord, and then forget this feeling and confer honor upon some preacher or some other brother, our belief is in vain. Our belief alone will NOT save us from trouble and condemnation, nor even from shame, because I have heard men proclaim that men should live moral and upright lives, and then live in violation of this belief and as a result lose their home in the church. If we believe the evident answer to the question Paul asked in the Roman letter, that if God be for us, who can be against us? and then go about trying to wreak vengeance upon those who may have ill treated us, our belief is in vain.

It has been the joy of my soul to believe that God will take care of His people when they strive to serve Him, regardless of what false charges may be brought against them, and in this belief I have found a feeling of calmness in the midst of persecution. I know that God will take care of us if we strive to honor Him, and though we may be falsely accused we should not fear, nor should we try to rectify matters ourselves. Sooner or later God's judgments will be visited upon His people who obey not the gospel, if they have had opportunity to be taught by it.

Let us each strive to gauge our works by the gospel standard, and when we have done this God will preserve and protect us from all harm and danger. Of course, being human, we are all liable to make mistakes and we do make them, and God's mercy is our plea in this case, but we cannot hope to escape the chastisement of God if we willfully disobey the gospel. This means preacher, deacon, and laity. If we say that we believe something let us prove it by what we do, for if we do not, our belief is in vain and the gospel will not save us in this time world.

Let us treat each other kindly and manifest love, and if our brethren mistreat us let us leave their case in the hands of the Lord, for He has said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." There is more joy and peace to be found in an acquitted conscience than can possibly be found in everything we do contrary to the gospel. If we strive for popularity, or for advancement in the kingdom, we will eventually lose more than we can possibly gain with all our strivings. The fellowship and affection, confidence and respect of God's faithful children are the greatest possessions we can ever own on earth, outside of our hope of Heaven, and the only way we can attain these great riches is by living humbly, meekly and Godly, for we can never keep these treasures if we are constantly trying to PUSH ourselves forward in the kingdom of God. Do we as preachers sometimes aspire to be called to some church as pastor? Let us be careful, for the very foundation of our belief is that a man's gift will make room for him, and bring him before great people. If we believe this, then by all means we should practice it and not be guilty of letting it be known that we are available if a church needs a pastor. If we are ever to be raised to the height of fellowship and confidence our brethren MUST PLACE us there, we cannot do it ourselves, and our brethren will so esteem us if we keep them BEFORE us and not BEHIND us.