During my college days in Atlanta, I picked up a Christian publication one day that was left in a pew after chapel.  There was a poem in that paper entitled “Don’t Quit”.  

I was so impressed by the message of that poem that I cut it out of the paper and kept it nearby for many years after that.  I lost track of it a few years ago when changing jobs and I just recently found it again.  I would like to share it with you.

DON’T QUIT!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit!

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Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out,

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

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Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,  

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worse,

that you must not quit.

John Greenleaf Whittier

“And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season, ye shall reap if ye faint not.” Galatians 6:9

The image of Christ that matters is not in a mud puddle, on a weather beaten wall, in the clouds of the sky, or on an ancient burial cloth.  For the believer the image of Christ should be visible each time we look in the mirror.  When you and I look in the mirror, what is it that we see?

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,………” Romans 8:29.

The song writer Thomas O. Chisholm expressed it well in his hymn;

“O to be like thee!  O to be like thee,  Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art!  Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness, Stamp thine own image deep on my heart.”

The book of Acts records the birth of the New Testament church.  It is a history of the church’s beginning.  The book of Acts is also a book of transition.  It records the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

Some aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work changed during this transitional period.  During the Old Testament period He came upon individuals to enable them to perform certain God ordained tasks and then He departed.

In the New Testament the Holy Spirit would now indwell individual believers, sealing their salvation and making them a habitation of God through the Spirit until the day of redemption.

Because the Book of Acts is a book of history and transition, it is not necessarily a standard for church ministry.

Let me illustrate.  When planning a trip one prepares the vehicle by changing the oil and filters, purchasing new tires if required, checking belts for wear, the battery for life and all the fluid levels, etc.

When departing on the trip and arriving at the first stop sign, one does not repeat the changing of the oil, filters, and tires or the checking of the belts, fluids, battery, etc.  It is not necessary to repeat these procedures every time one stops the vehicle.

Some of the aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry which were recorded during the birth of the church were no longer necessary once the New Testament church was established.

Jesus Christ came teaching, preaching and healing to prove to the Old Testament Jew that He is the promised Messiah.  The New Testament Apostles continued that ministry, enabled by the Holy Spirit, until the New Testament church was established.

Once the church was established the sign gifts (to Israel) of and by the Holy Spirit ceased.  Attempts in the contemporary church to imitate or re-create these gifts today causes confusion in the body of believers and overshadows the practical every day working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer as set forth elsewhere in the Scriptures.

Jesus speaking: 

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

“Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

“He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” John 14:21-24

Jesus continues:

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his  love.”

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:10-14

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18

The only sin that can send anyone to hell is unbelief.  All other sins can be forgiven.  God has made provision for forgiveness of our sin through the substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.  The only sin that will keep one from accessing that provision of salvation and forgiveness in Christ alone is the sin of unbelief.

Is an infant capable of committing the sin of unbelief?  If not, then what is the purpose for baptizing infants?  

No one goes to hell for Adam’s sin.  The only sin that can keep one from accessing God’s grace for salvation and forgiveness is the sin of unbelief (John 3:18).

• No parent wants their child to be unforgiven and separated from God.  Most parents would gladly paint themselves with purple polka dots if their spiritual leaders said it was necessary to keep the child out of hell.  The problem is that the Bible gives no precedent or instruction for purple polka dots or infant baptism.  
• Parents expect their spiritual leaders to give them good instruction, rightly dividing the word of truth.  The Bible is the foundation for all we know concerning Christianity.  Without the Scriptures there would be no basis for Christianity.   Church tradition that violates biblical truth is heresy and is a violation of a sacred trust between the people, their spiritual leaders and God.  
• The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture and He never contradicts Himself.  He is God and He cannot lie.  Christians are supposed to be people of the Book.  That is why Christians need to read the Bible and study it for themselves, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” I John 4:1

He Is Risen!!!