“I have attended churches that deceived me.”
November 2012 – Grace & Truth Magazine
I am impressed by the truth of the UpLook article entitled “Five Steps To A Fuller Christian Life” (Sep. ’11). I have attended churches that deceived me into thinking that true salvation was determined by my good works. My life was like Paul’s who said that every time he tried to do good, evil was right there with him (Rom. 7:21). Then I started to study the Bible day and night and discovered how important it is to surrender myself completely to God, trust Him, confess to Him and stay close to Him. Thanks for printing the truth. — USA
Please pray for my Bible study with five full-time workers among different tribes. We use your Discover as a ready-made Bible study. We also read and share together our thoughts on the Issues articles such as “Stop Complaining” (Jun. ’11). I also copy the Good News each month, and we discuss it together. And each month I am waiting for the Series on “Brokenness” (Apr.-Nov. ’11). — Myanmar
The Feature articles teaching that believers have two natures (Oct. ’11) are very appropriate. As one article points out, the discovery by a new believer that the old nature is still present can be disconcerting! A different article says that “we are still in the same bodies that our old sinful natures are a part of.” This could be misunderstood as implying that the body itself is sinful; heathen Greek philosophers thought so! The author may have been saying that the body is the instrument through which the old nature acts. But this is also true of the new nature! The fact that, in Scripture, the word “flesh” denotes both the body and the sinful nature can cause confusion, but they are not the same thing! For example, it says that the Son of God “became flesh” (Jn. 1:14) but it certainly is not saying He became a man with a sinful nature! The believer is told, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body to obey its lusts. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield ... your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:12-13). Our salvation results in the power to choose. — USA