SHORT SHOTS Vol. I
Short evangelistic articles designed for individual
re-release in various public media by Bible-believing,
evangelizing local churches and Christian organizations.
written by Clyde C. Price, Jr.
(c) 1989 by Clyde C. Price, Jr.
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INTRODUCTION
I offer these articles for use in any media for any
local Christian churches or organizations who hold to the
inerrant Scriptures as their rule for faith and practice,
and who endorse these articles enough to use them. As the
most important part of this endorsement, a condition for use
is that you do not edit out the call to Lordship in the
initial gospel call. If this raises any question in your
mind, please read "TO THOSE WHO READ THIS COLLECTION".
I designed these short pieces primarily as ad-copy for
paid advertisements in weekly local newspapers, although
they could also be used as a feature in newsletters, or as
text for a 30 or 60 second radio spot. Many of them could
be produced separately as leaflet-style tracts with a church
address imprint or stamp. I have taken this slant because I
believe more churches would advertise if they had a source
of evangelistic "ad-copy".
For those who reprint this material, especially in a
newsletter or a glossy tract, I ask you to leave
"--Clyde Price" at the end of the article, on a principle
of accountability.
I here acknowledge my debt of gratefulness to the
ministry of the Navigators for pointing my attention to
certain portions of Scripture. I have not duplicated their
topic headings or materials as such, but the main texts and
the sequence, with a small variation, could be recognized
from the first two sections of the original Topical Memory
System, which used only New Testament references.
(Perhaps this was because military personnel often had
only their Gideon New Testaments.)
I didn't think I needed their permission to quote
Scripture, so I haven't asked for it; but I gratefully
acknowledge that the framework is largely that of a man of
God whom I look forward to meeting, soon after I greet my
Savior. I ask that my use of Dawson Trotman's sequence
be considered an exercise in "not speaking my own word" and
to achieve a balance of selection beyond my own wisdom.
I must bear myself the responsibility for any imperfections
or error in these pages.
For insights into Scripture and its application, I am
in debt to so many, widely known and nearly unknown, that I
can't begin to list them. The Lord Jesus keeps much better
references than I,and He will assign proper credit on that
Day.
Writing these articles I STARTED with the Scripture,
then sought to unfold the meaning, implications, and some
application of THIS bit of God's Word in an attention-
provoking way. At the exhortation of my friend and teacher,
Rev. Ben Wilkinson, I have sought to tighten the immediate
evangelistic thrust of the articles, challenging people to
face the Christ of the Scriptures NOW. In this collection,
I refrained from personal illustrations or reference to
myself. My purpose is to promote YOUR ministry.
While constantly aware of being on the holy ground of
the eternal and infinitely serious truths of God's Word, my
tone is usually colloquial (some have said "smart-alecky"),
usually upbeat, and sometimes sassy or even feisty. This is
for the purpose of provoking ongoing interest, comment, and
reaction. A response of anger to the truths of the gospel
is much better than a reaction of apathy or tolerance.
Gamaliel is never recorded as becoming a Christian. Saul
did.
While being VERY careful about theological content, I
have sought to avoid theological jargon and flat statements
about which Bible-believers disagree. As a Bible-believer,
I clearly present the call to Lordship in the initial gospel
call. I do not believe that anyone who deliberately
WITHHOLDS the title-deed of his life from Christ is truly a
Christian. People who preach Christ as SAVIOR with a
specific option on LORD are selling damnably faulty fire
escapes. A defective seed produces deformed Christians.
PREACH THE WORD! Call people to repentance and faith,
with Christ as Lord over every area of life. If you won't
do that, then for God's sake SHUT UP about religion and go
sell water purifiers or health foods. You might help
somebody that way.
Please USE these articles as PART of your church's
outreach, BUT NOT ALL OF IT. Use them to lubricate and
enhance your other ministries.
Send copies and clippings to acquaintances.
Call attention to your ads in your evangelistic
visitation.
Encourage your members to ask their neighbors and
acquaintances if they have noticed them. This can lead to
many soul-winning conversations.
You could add on a coupon for a Bible correspondence
course. These are available through Source of Light Mission
in Madison, GA 30650 USA, 404-342-0397.
If you have trained counselors on call at specific
times, you could print a phone number for those who need
counseling.
You could ask for those who would be interested in a
discussion-style Neighborhood Bible Study such as those in
the Kunz and Schell series.
You might advertise beyond your local "Jerusalem" as
part of your "Judea and Samaria" outreach.
You can print an upbeat article on the backs of
handbills used for special events or special programs.
It is my conviction that the best way to meet--and favorably
impress--evangelical Christians in the general public, is to
be out in the field doing the work of evangelism.
It is my opinion that forays into the "secular" or mass
media for any purpose should have evangelism as either a
spearhead or as a barbed hook in whatever "bait". The
articulation of a Christian/Biblical world-and-life-view is
a sadly underused variety of "bait."
Even these specifically evangelistic articles, lacking
the "face to face" element, ARE PERHAPS ONLY PRE-EVANGELISM,
but they may scatter some seeds that you can go out and
reap. By the working of the sovereign God, in answer to
your prayers, perhaps many will come to Christ whom we will
not learn about until our Lord introduces us.
May you be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth
with your children in the gospel!
His,
Clyde C. Price, Jr.
Red Oak, Georgia
MAIN TEXT SUGGESTED TITLE/HEADLINE
1. II Cor 5:17 Extra-Terrestrial Invasion
2. Col. 2:6 Does your walk match your talk?
3. Col 2:9-10 Jesus is God
4. John 15:5 Fruits or just Nuts?
5. Phil 1:6 Christians Under Construction
6. Gal 2:20 Church of the Living Dead
7. Mt 4:4 Minimum Daily Requirements
8. Acts 17:11 Check it out in the Book
9. Col 3:16 Does music turn you on?
10. John 16:24 The King's power-of-attorney
11. Mt 21:22 If you believe...
12. I Jn 5:14-15 Don't even pray about it!
13. Jn 14:21 No frivolous commands
14. Jn 15:10 & 14 Joy commandments
15. Heb 5:8 Obedient God
16. I Jn 1:3 "I was there when it happened!"
17. Acts 1:8 The Anointing of Reality
18. I Pet 3:15 Ready to answer
(18 b) "Let's Get Personal."
19. Rom 3:23 Believe the Bad News!
20. Jn 3:19 Conflict of interest
21. Rom 3:12 The Roman Road
22. Rom 6:23 Payday Someday
23. Heb 9:27 Born once: die twice; Born twice, die once
24. Rom 5:12 Don't Blame God
(24 b) "to those who read this collection"
(#'s 25, 26, & 27 are not in the sequence of the Old TMS)
25. Rom 5:8 God proves His love
26. I Pet 3:18 Accept the Substitute
27. I Cor 15:3-4 Of primary importance
28. Eph 2:8-9 (10) What about good works?
29. Rom 3:24 Justify yourself?
30. Titus 3:5 God o' mercy
31. Jn 1:10-12 A family forever
32. Rev 3:20 Guess who's coming to dinner
33. Rom 10:9-10 "Jesus is Lord!"
34. I Jn 5:11-13 Know for certain
35. Jn 5:24 Do you want out?
36. I Jn 5:13 Eternity begins now
Goals and Evaluations for your public relations
Example contract for a covenant group
Afterword
Some "Baker's Dozen" stuff
About the author
EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL INVASION?
Would you believe it if someone told you that an
extra-terrestrial life-force was planting its "seed" in
living human beings and creating from every racial and
ethnic group on the planet an entirely new species of being?
The first chapter of the Gospel of John in the New
Testament states that Jesus of Nazareth existed before His
birth, death and resurrection on earth, that in fact it was
through Him the universe was created, and that all who put
their trust in Him are "born" into the family of God.
This is a "close encounter" of the eternal kind. The
"seed" that germinates this spiritual birth is the Word of
God, the gospel. (See I Peter 1:23)
The apostle Paul speaks of this new-born person as part
of a "new creation" or a "new species of man". He writes,
"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new
creature (OR, "new creation"); the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come." (II Corinthians 5:17 NAS)
People who are inhabited by a powerful Person are in
your midst, seeking to enlist you into their New Creation
family of God.
This does NOT mean that you will be "taken over" by
hostile alien forces. As a matter of fact, this is the
purpose for which you were created. You were DESIGNED to be
a container of the life of God and an intimate friend of
Deity.
Please read more about this in the Gospel of John. The
Lord Jesus Christ, the creator and master of the universe,
calls you to an eternal and abundant life of fellowship with
Him. Heaven will be your true home, and you can "phone
home" any time you want.
Even if you think this is a zany way to get your
attention, we're serious about sharing with you the abundant
life we've found through our faith in Jesus Christ.
We'd like to meet you. Come visit us.
[Clyde Price SHOT01]
DOES YOUR WALK MATCH YOUR TALK?
If at some time in the past you have "gotten saved" or
made any kind of profession of faith in Christ, and you
think, "that's all there is to it", you need to hear
something else from the Scriptures:
If you have truly received Jesus Christ as your Savior
and Lord, you did so by entrusting yourself to Him to be the
supreme authority--Lord, King--of your life because He had
paid the price for you, spirit, soul and body, on the cross
at Calvary. (See John 1:12 and Romans 10:9-10.)
The method of entrusting yourself to Christ, or putting
your faith in Him, by which you received eternal life, is
the same "modus operandi" that God wants you to use for
everyday living.
The apostle Paul wrote,
"As you therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk in Him..." (Colossians 2:6 NAS).
The whole second chapter of Paul's letter to the
Colossians is a key chapter for believers in Christ to learn
about what He has done for them and who they are in Him.
When Paul says "walk", he's talking about a person's
whole lifestyle. Paul is very concerned that folks who TALK
about faith in Christ also WALK in line consistently with
the faith they profess.
If you claim to be a Christian, does your WALK match
your TALK? If you're not a Christian, don't let non-walking
talkers hedge you away from Reality.
We invite you to read the Gospel of John, or any of the
letters of the New Testament, to see what consistent
Christianity is supposed to be.
Remember if you're not a believer that you're "reading
somebody else's mail" when you see promises to believers.
Don't get angry or jealous. Become a walking and
talking believer yourself.
Don't wait. Do it now. Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT02]
JESUS IS GOD
Have you ever heard the phrase, "Jesus is God"?
Did you know that according to the Bible, the Person we
know as Jesus of Nazareth was/is the Creator and sustainer
of the physical universe? You can verify this for yourself
in the first chapters of the New Testament books of the
Gospel of John, Paul's letter to the Colossians, and the
letter to the Hebrews.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christian believers at
Colossae, "For in Him [Jesus Christ] all the fullness of
Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made
complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority..."
(Colossians 2:9-10 NAS).
Human beings were designed to have a special intimate
fellowship with Deity, but sin spoils that intended
relationship. It is only through Jesus Christ the God-Man,
who died on the cross for sinners, that we can find the
fulfillment of our beings. [* optional insert ]
Jesus Christ rose from the dead victorious over all
other forces of the universe to offer eternal life,
forgiveness, and true fellowship with God to all who put
their faith in Him. At least look at the chapters mentioned
above. See what the New Testament itself actually says
about this Jesus of Nazareth.
Apart from Jesus Christ you will always be incomplete
and unfulfilled. Believe what the Bible says about Him, and
put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price Shot03]
[optional insert: Paschal, the French physicist and
philosopher said,"There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart
of each man, which cannot be satisfied by any created thing
but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus
Christ." --end of insert. (Paschal quoted from the 6th
page of "Dear Dr. Van Dusen..." by Bill Bright, Campus
Crusade for Christ, International, n.d. Sorry, I don't have
the source for the original quote. ccp) ]
FRUITS OR JUST NUTS?
There is a purpose for the Christian life apart from
the self-centered concern to escape Hell. God intends that
those who have entrusted themselves to Jesus as their Savior
and Lord should "bear fruit" here in the earth.
The Lord Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the
branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much
fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5
NAS)
We Christians "abide" in Christ the same way we
initially received Him as Savior and Lord, by FAITH. We hear
and believe His word, and obediently order our lives
according to it in the mighty power of His Holy Spirit. This
lifestyle of obedient faith, or faithful obedience, is not
the SOURCE of salvation, but the RESULT of being saved.
The Word of God is a powerful seed, which will grow and
produce the fruit of transformed lives, Christlike
character, and a living, contagious faith. In a sense, the
other people who come to faith in Christ through our witness
and influence are also considered the "fruit" of our lives,
our "spiritual children".
Unfortunately, even genuine Christians are capable of
cranking out efforts in their own strength. Some spiritual
mavericks do things that are pretty "nutty". And also
unfortunately, even genuine Christians can slip into sin.
Nothing done apart from the leading and empowering of Jesus
Christ will endure for eternity. Some Christians spend
their entire lives without ever getting near the"assignment"
that God has for them.
Some Christians worry too much about "Is this project
I'm working on REALLY of God, or is it just of me?" Other
Christians are more concerned with SERVING the Lord than
they are with KNOWING Him. God wants you to set your
supreme concern on walking closely with Jesus Christ day by
day, and He will then give you the things He wants you to
do.
God is much more concerned with what you ARE than He is
with the works that you DO. He wants you to get to know Him
through the truth of His Word in the power and fellowship of
His Spirit, together with His other children.
We invite you to come visit us.
[Clyde Price SHOT04]
[end of 1st file of 7]
[2nd file of 7]
CHRISTIANS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
"Please be patient, God isn't finished with me yet."
Believers in Jesus could wear a big yellow sign, "Christian
under construction."
After being "born again", the Christian baby believer
is responsible to FEED on the "milk of the Word" (see I
Peter 2:2 and Hebrews 5:12-14) and to GROW as a Christian
(see II Peter 3:18).
God Himself is at work in the lives of Christians, at
times providing "crisis experiences" of grace, but mostly
providing a progressive ongoing growth through the everyday
grind of life.
The apostle Paul wrote to people he loved dearly, "For
I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good
work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 1:6 NAS) The phrase "will perfect it" is given
in other versions as "will bring it to completion" or "will
keep on working" until that Day.
Believers in Christ not only escape the well-deserved
sentence of Hell by God's grace, but it is also entirely in
the power of God's grace that we live our daily lives and
grow as persons toward Christlike maturity.
If you are already a believer in Jesus, and not
committed to the ministry of another Bible-believing church,
we invite you to come grow with us.
If you are not yet a believer in Jesus, we urge you to
put your trust in Him. We also invite you to read the
little letter of Paul to the Philippians in the New
Testament. Most folks could read it out loud in ten
minutes. It is some of the most tender and personal
material in the Bible, and it speaks of Paul's love for his
friends and his faith in his Savior, even in the worst of
circumstances. Read it for yourself.
Come and visit us. We're confident!
[Clyde Price SHOT05]
CHURCH OF THE LIVING DEAD
The apostle Paul made several startling statements in
the same breath: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me."
(Galatians 2:20 NAS)
Paul visualized himself up on the cross with (or IN)
Jesus Christ. "I have been crucified with Christ." He
amplifies this thought in Romans 6. Paul considered
himself, in a sense, to be a DEAD MAN.
Paul visualized the Risen Christ as living in his own
body, "and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in
me." He amplifies this thought in Romans 8.
The apostle states his motivation for turning his body
over to Jesus the Son of God: He "loved me and delivered
Himself up for me" as an atoning sacrifice for sin on the
cross. For more detail on this, see Romans 3:19ff.
This does not mean that Paul had condemned himself to
the semi-life of a cosmic zombie. Jesus Christ said, "I
came that they [My 'sheep', My people] might have life, and
have it abundantly." (John 10:10)
Paul's method of experiencing this abundant life on an
ongoing, daily basis, he states simply, "and the life which
I now live in the flesh, I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF
GOD..."
Paul writes here in intensely personal terms some deep
and heavy spiritual truth. We invite you to read the
letters to the Galatians and Romans to get a firmer
understanding of what Paul is talking about. This principle
of the "exchanged life" is one of the deepest concepts in
the Bible. By faith, you give your life to Him, and He
gives His LIFE to you.
Can YOU say the same things Paul said? If not, you
need to put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT06]
MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENTS
Do you eat a good diet? Do you take vitamins? Or do
you exist on Twinkles and Freeters and onion dip?
What do you feed your soul?
Even if you are careful to consume only organically
grown whole foods, the MDR for your spirit is prescribed by
Jesus Christ: "But He answered and said, 'It is written,
"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God."'" (Matthew 4:4 NAS)
God has revealed Himself supremely in the Person of
Jesus Christ. He has revealed Himself in words and language
in a Book, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
In the quote above from Matthew, Jesus is quoting the
Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. The quotation applies
primarily to people who are already in a faith-covenant with
the true and living God. Whether you already have a faith-
relationship with God or not, we challenge you to READ THE
BIBLE, one "book" at a time, with a bookmark. Every page
testifies one way or another to the reality of Jesus Christ.
If nothing else, consider that the Bible has had
tremendous literary and cultural impact through most of
history over much of the world. Anyone who wants to be
truly educated cannot afford to be unfamiliar with the
Bible.
Some people have even found saving faith in the bleak
little book of Nahum. (If you believe the Bad News, you can
FLEE! Sin must be judged; all sin not dealt with at the
cross of Christ must be dealt with in the lake of fire.
Judgment has been declared, the only way out of the "City of
Destruction" is to flee in faith to the cross of Jesus
Christ, where the fire of judgment has already fallen.)
Most of the Bible is more enjoyable. It is a story of
God seeking a people for Himself, and His love for His
people. You can believe everything the Bible says about
Jesus, and all God's promises are true. He is "as good as
His Word." Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT07]
CHECK IT OUT IN THE BOOK
Do you know preachers who get uptight and huffy if you
ask them to back up what they're saying from Scripture?
The book of Acts records, "Now these [Jews of Berea]
were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they
received the word with great eagerness, examining the
Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so."
(Acts 17:ll NAS)
Luke, the human author of Acts, considered that it was
a NOBLE-minded trait for the Bereans to CHECK OUT the
preaching of the apostle Paul carefully against the
Scriptures. At this time, these could have been only what
we call the Old Testament: the Law, the Prophets, and the
Wisdom Writings of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Paul was constantly "dialoging" with people, welcoming
questions and answering them from the Scriptures and from
his knowledge of the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah.
Paul could and did claim APOSTOLIC authority for his
preaching, but Luke--and apparently also Paul--considered it
COMMENDABLE that the Bereans wanted to base their faith on
the Scriptures and not JUST on the assertions of a preacher.
If you are presently under the influence of a preacher
who preaches on his (or her) own authority, and refuses to
be accountable to questions about their Scriptural views, we
would frankly suggest that you GET OUT and find a Bible-
believing church.
This does not excuse any attitude of rebelliousness or
criticism of a God-called Bible-believing pastor. But any
true servant of God will rejoice when people search the
Scriptures for themselves, and even ask questions. We
certainly do. Even if we can't answer all your questions,
we'd like to meet you and talk with you.
We encourage you to read the Bible for yourself, daily,
just like the Bereans. Begin in the Gospel of John.
Find out what the Bible says about Jesus. Then BELIEVE
it.
[Clyde Price SHOT08]
DOES MUSIC "TURN YOU ON"?
Does music turn you on? Do you find melodies and
lyrics flowing unbidden through your mind when your brain is
"in neutral"? Have you ever caught yourself humming a beer
commercial? Have you ever encountered a child who could
sing/recite/mimic a large number of television commercials?
God commands His people to saturate their thinking and
talking with the words and principles of Scripture. One
POTENT medium to convey God's words into our inmost being is
the marriage of the Word with melody.
The apostle Paul wrote, "Let the word of Christ richly
dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing
one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
(Colossians 3:16 NAS)
It would be much easier to make Scripture the "home
base" of our thought-life if we Christians would frequently
and consistently sing Scripture songs and songs based on the
Truth to ourselves, our children and our brethren. And it
wouldn't hurt anybody a bit if we were overheard by our non-
Christian neighbors or co-workers.
An entire book of the Bible is a collection of songs.
The Book of Psalms in an inspired collection of Hebrew
poetry written for singing that expresses every emotion of
the human heart. The lyrics of many traditional and
contemporary songs are either directly quoted or adapted
from the Psalms.
Many people always begin their devotional reading of
Scripture in the Psalms, taking five a day and going through
the entire book in a month. We encourage you to read the
Book of Psalms for yourself.
Somewhere along the line, be sure to read the New
Testament. We recommend beginning with the Gospel of John
or the Gospel of Matthew.
It would probably be good to reduce the use of the Tube
that hypnotizes our families with beer commercials
punctuated by insipidity.
If you turn off the Tube some night and can't think of
anything better to do, try something really out-of-this-
world: sing some choruses, read the Bible, and talk together
with God.
He will be glad to hear from you.
[Clyde Price SHOT09]
THE KING'S POWER-OF-ATTORNEY
If somebody gave you a check for $1 million, would that
make you happy?
God has given to believers in Jesus Christ the
privilege of calling upon Him, using the power-of-attorney
name of Jesus Christ, to honor any and all of the promises
He has made in Scripture.
Even promises made under the Old Covenant are re-
applied for New Covenant non-Israelite believers "in the
name of Jesus" (see II Corinthians 1:20).
The promises of God for the believer could be compared
to an unlimited drawing account, or a pad of purchase orders
for any legitimate area of need. Using the "power of
attorney" of the name of the Son of God "limits" the
supplicant to that which fits within God's intentions
revealed in Scripture, but these are VERY generous.
On the night He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus Christ
told His closest friends on earth, "Until now you have asked
for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your
joy may be made full." (John 16:24 NAS) One purpose that
God has in answering prayers is to give His children
specific things to REJOICE about.
These promises are not just for anybody. To become a
"co-heir" with Jesus (Rom. 8:12-17), you must be BORN
spiritually into God's family (John 1:12-13 & 3:1-19). To
do this, you need to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
Then you can "go over the books" and begin to receive
your inheritance.
We encourage you to read the Gospel of John for
yourself. You will find in it many exciting promises for
believers. We expect you to have questions, and we would
like to try to answer them. Come by and see us.
[Clyde Price SHOT10]
IF YOU BELIEVE...
Some people treat God as if He were a vending machine.
They approach Him when they want some THING, or maybe when
they are in trouble and need bailing out.
Other folks pray frequently, always ending their
prayers with the tag-phrase, "if it be Thy will...", and it
seems that these dear folks are never quite sure WHAT the
will of God is.
The Lord Jesus Christ made a statement, which should be
pretty plain, but over-enthusiastic and not-too-careful
preachers have really stretched this promise out of shape.
He said, "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you
shall receive." (Matthew 21:22 NAS)
This literal translation of "believing" could have been
translated, "if you believe" or "if you have faith". The
Big Question is this: What is it you are putting your faith
IN? What are you believing? If you are believing sincerely
something that's not true, your results are going to be
defective. Your "faith" might produce SOMETHING, but sooner
or later, your faith in anything other than the promises of
God will be disappointed.
Here is the key to this verse: You can BELIEVE the
promises of God which He has made to His children. He
cannot lie, and He has provided GOOD things in the Covenant
He has made with those who put their trust in His Son Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord.
This doesn't justify wild or selfish or destructive
petitions, and God is not obligated to answer those.
But YOU CAN BELIEVE IT when God offers you forgiveness
and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Read all
about it for yourself in the Gospel of John. He has already
promised to give His LIFE to those who ask in faith. Ask
Him right now.
He is as good as His Word.
Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT11]
DON'T EVEN PRAY ABOUT IT
If someone deliberately deposited $1 million into your
checking account, would you start writing checks on it?
God has made many promises in Scripture for those in
faith-covenant with Him through Jesus Christ. These
promises, when rightly understood, can ALWAYS be considered
to be God's will for the believer.
Sometimes believers faced with a decision will say,
"Well, let me pray about that." Some folks genuinely and
sincerely are seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and
others are using religious language as an excuse to put off
action.
God has given many commands about things to do and
things to avoid. We can consider that concerning situations
governed by these commands, we KNOW what God's will is.
Some things are ALWAYS God's will, and some things--
especially deliberate sin--are NEVER God's will. We don't
even have to "pray about it" to learn His will.
God has given believers a tremendously strong promise
in Scripture:
"And this is the confidence which we have before Him,
that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know
that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." (I
John 5:14-15 NAS)
We Christians would profit by disciplining ourselves to
a habit of basing every single request we make to God on
known commandments and promises that we have found in His
Word. He is not a God of fiat. He is the Covenant-keeping
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Christians are the children and servants of the true
and living God. As servants, we need to pray and work for
the furtherance and establishment of our Father's program on
the earth, rather than asking God's endorsement on our own
novel projects for our own purposes. He is not our servant.
We are His.
When we Christians learn to pray in line with the will
of God--that is, in line with the Word of God--heaven and
earth will be shaken by the powerful prayers of the saints.
[Clyde Price SHOT12]
NO FRIVOLOUS COMMANDS
God never gave a frivolous command. We often hear
quoted, "God is love!" (See I John 4:7-17.) God never gave
a command that was not generated by the demands of holy,
righteous love.
If we don't understand or like a particular command, it
is because we do not understand the nature of God's entirely
pure love.
The Lord Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and
keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall
be loved by My Father, and I will love Him, and will
disclose Myself to Him." (John 14:21 NAS)
Some scholars read into this a re-endorsement of all
the non-ceremonial commandments of the Old Testament; others
protest this and insist that this covers only the actual
words of Christ.
Since it only takes two or three hours to read all the
words of Christ in the gospels (in a red-letter edition), we
challenge you to read it for yourself. God was the same God
in the Old Testament, and His nature has never changed.
Taken at face value, THERE IS NO CONFLICT.
The only commands the Lord Jesus ever gave were
generated by His love for His people, and fully consistent
with Love. Anyone who disobeys a command of Christ is not
operating in love.
Do you love Jesus? Don't answer too quickly. Look at
the things He commanded, then evaluate how much you are
obeying Him. The resulting score will tell you HOW MUCH you
love the Lord Jesus.
If you know that you DO NOT love the Lord Jesus, you
are missing out on a friendship with the most exciting,
interesting, and adorable Person in the universe.
Experience the Love you've been missing out on. Put
your trust in Jesus as your sin-bearing Savior and yield to
Him as your risen and living Lord.
[Clyde Price SHOT13]
JOY COMMANDMENTS
The word "commandment" has harsh connotations for a lot
of folks. It seems to conjure visions of some stern, angry
authority-figure who's looking for something to find fault
with.
However, the "commandments" in Scripture, and
especially the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, were given
for a different purpose.
The Lord Jesus said, "If you keep my commandments you
will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's
commandments, and abide in His love. ...These things I have
spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy
may be made full." (John 15:10, 14 NAS)
The commands of Christ revolve around unconditional
love and complete trust. We are commanded to put our trust
in God, and especially to put our trust in Jesus Christ as
Savior and Lord. Then we are commanded to love God
completely and other people unselfishly. Note that trusting
in Christ for salvation is not a politely offered option, it
is a COMMAND. Disbelief or delay is disobedience.
Obedience to these commands produces JOY.
If you are jaded to "religious stuff" and these things
we are discussing seem UNREAL, here's a nitty-gritty
suggestion:
Jesus claimed about the commands to love God and
neighbor that "on these two commandments depend the whole
Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:34-40) In other words,
the Old Testament pictures in terms of human relationships
what a genuine, holy, righteous love will do.
With this in mind, we challenge you to read the book of
Deuteronomy or the Gospel of Matthew or both, and write down
your questions. Then come and see us. We'd like to talk
with you, even before you're finished. We don't boast that
we'll have every single answer, but we'd like to introduce
you to The Answer.
But you don't have to wait. Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT14]
[end of 2nd file of 7]
[3rd of 7 files]
OBEDIENT GOD
The book of Hebrews in the New Testament says some
amazing things about the Lord Jesus Christ, among them:
"through whom [His Son, Jesus Christ] He [God] made the
world," and that at present the Lord Jesus "upholds all
things by the word of His power." Concerning the Deity of
Jesus, "But of the Son He [God the Father] says,'Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever...'"
In view of these statements that Christ is the Creator
and Sustainer of the universe; THE PROCESS of becoming a
human being, living the perfect human life, and becoming
both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice is
MIND-BLOWING.
One statement is especially provoking:
"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the
things which He suffered." (Hebrews 5:8 NAS)
Becoming a human being was the only way God the Son
COULD "learn" obedience, through the experience of becoming
the Father's obedient Son and Isaiah's prophesied Suffering
Servant.
The first ten verses of Hebrews 5 discuss how the Lord
Jesus became the High Priest of the New Covenant. He was
already perfect in Himself as God the Son. Through His
obedience, He BECAME the perfect High Priest AND the perfect
sacrifice, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world." This was the course which He had to run, the
assignment He had to accomplish.
The New Testament book of Hebrews, depending on the
edition, would be about 16 pages or less. We challenge you
to get a good modern translation of the Bible such as New
American Standard, the New King James Version, or the New
International Version, and READ IT FOR YOURSELF. Whether we
are able to answer all your questions or not, we'd like to
meet you and talk with you.
You will find in the book of Hebrews that the crucified
and risen Lord Jesus lives today to be for you the perfect
Prophet and Priest and King.
He's "just perfect for you." Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT15]
"I WAS THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!"
Someone challenged, "Well, how do you KNOW you became a
Christian right then?" And the young man replied, "Because I
was THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!"
An "expert witness" may be called to the stand to
testify about a subject he knows about. Material witnesses
are called to testify because they have PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
about something that has happened. They know about it
because they were "there when it happened."
The apostle John wrote, "What we have seen and heard we
proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with
us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with
His Son Jesus Christ." (I John 1:3 NAS)
Even if someone disagrees with what we teach, or even
rejects the Bible entirely, it's hard to argue with people
who testify that because of Jesus Christ, their marraiges
have been put back together, they've been set free from
addiction to chemicals or illicit sex or a meaningless
materialistic lifestyle.
And we take SPECIAL joy in the children of believers
who have come to love the Lord Jesus at an early age, and
who, because of Him, have been spared many of the pains and
pollutions of the gross sins of the world. Their testimony
of God's faithfulness from the cradle to the grave will have
great impact in the Kingdom.
We invite you to read the Gospel and the Letters of
John to see more of what we are talking about. And come
visit us. We'd like to meet you.
We're able to sing the pop-song, "What a Difference
You've Made in My Life" as a praise-song to the Lord Jesus
Christ. At our church, we have a bunch of folks who are
ready and eager to give their "testimony" about what Jesus
Christ has done for them, and they KNOW, because they were
"there when it happened." It's hard to argue with that.
Put your trust in Jesus. He'll make a big difference
in your life, too.
[Clyde Price SHOT16]
THE ANOINTING OF REALITY
As Christians who are eager to introduce others to the
Lord Jesus Christ, there are often times when talking to
another person or a group of people that we are conscious of
a flow of power coursing along the channel of our witness,
and sometimes guiding us to say things we had not previously
planned to say.
People have remarked about Billy Graham that the most
important factor in his preaching was not his own eloquence,
but that as he preached, people were conscious of the
presence of another Person who was bearing witness to the
message.
After His crucifixion and resurrection, the Lord Jesus
Christ said to His disciples, "But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My
witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8 NAS)
We depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to impel us
out of our easy chairs, to lead us in our witness, and to
give our message an "anointing of Reality" in the hearts of
the people who hear us, the Spirit bearing witness that our
message really is the Truth.
One of the things we routinely ask people to do is
this: read through the Gospel of John, and ask God Himself
to show you if this is the Truth. If you are sincere, He is
already committed to show you.
People who consider "their" religion to be an intensely
"personal" matter, and who resent strangers or acquaintances
who attempt to "force their religion down other people's
throats" entirely misunderstand our motives.
We have been enjoined by our Savior and King and best
Friend to take the Good News of salvation and abundant life
SIMULTANEOUSLY throughout our own neighborhood, and out into
surrounding areas, across our nation and all over the
planet. And even to YOU.
We CAN'T "cram it down your throat", but we do
encourage you strongly: Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT17]
READY TO ANSWER
Have you ever seen somebody wearing a pin that said
"Jesus First" or "Jesus is Lord", and you wondered what it
was they were into? Did you ask about it, or were you
bashful about asking a "personal" question?
If you have any degree of interest at all, PLEASE go
ahead and ask 'em.
The apostle Peter wrote one of the "standing orders"
for followers of Jesus, "But in your hearts set apart
Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." (I
Peter 3:15 NIV)
Of course, we would not dare to endorse in advance
everything said by just anybody who is wearing a Christian
pin, nor to guarantee absolutely that such a person is going
to be courteous. But most people who go to the trouble of
acquiring and wearing a "Jesus First" or "Jesus is Lord"
pin, have already made Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives
and consider His Kingdom to have first priority in their
lives. They (we) put on those little pins IN THE HOPE that
they will lead to conversations with people.
As a matter of fact, you could get started reading the
Gospel of John on your own, and start writing down questions
you'd like to have answered.
More in the spirit of what Peter was addressing, if you
see someone you know is a Christian obviously having a hard
time and yet responding to conditions with a peace and an
inner power that you do not understand, go ahead and ask
'em, "Hey, man, what makes you tick? How do you do it?"
It was a previously given "homework assignment" that they
should be willing and ready to answer your question.
If you are already a Christian, you obviously need to
be able to give your testimony clearly with no notice, and
be able to share the gospel simply, clearly and quickly with
any person willing to listen to you. All right, Christians,
you have your "homework".
And for you who haven't yet trusted Christ Jesus as
Savior and Lord, we encourage you to put your trust in
Jesus; and any questions you have about that, we'll be glad
to try to answer.
[Clyde Price SHOT18]
18 B "LET'S GET PERSONAL"
In using short articles like this as one element of
your local church outreach, it may be that a copy of your
typewritten and mimeographed or photocopied church bulletin
carrying an evangelistic article as a feature COULD have
more impact on people than a beautifully printed glossy
tract.
In the medium of a newsletter, you can link a gospel
"shot" with a clear notice that at THIS location and at
THESE times there are some warm breathing PEOPLE who can be
looked over and talked with. There are people in THIS
church who are seeking to know Christ personally and to make
Him known widely. And THESE are the very people who can
pass this letter along into the hand of somebody they can
look in the eye and grin at.
In my personal ministry, I often use printed tracts.
Before passing them out, I have signed thousands of them by
hand and given my phone number. Sometimes I put my mailing
label or personal rubber stamp with my P.O.Box number so
that there is an open channel back to the "sower".
(Applying this, here's my address: Mr. Clyde C. Price, Jr.,
P.O.Box 667, Red Oak, GA 30272-0667 USA. CIS#76616,3452)
Though so far, few people have gotten back to me that
way, there are thousands of people in metro Atlanta who have
had Clyde Price's personal endorsement of the Good News. I
think this carries more weight than an unmarked piece
professionally printed in another state. This is why I
prefer to write things to be used by LOCAL CHURCHES instead
of just promoting my own ministries and programs. I would
rather be your servant and EFFECTIVE through YOUR
"endorsement" and follow-up, than to be a famous evangelist
with little lasting fruit.
I challenge you to find ways to make your outreach more
personal, even as you expand into more public media.
ccp
BELIEVE THE BAD NEWS!
If you don't believe the Bad News, the Good News isn't
really good news, it's either meaningless or insulting. The
Good News of salvation and eternal abundant life in Jesus
Christ means very little to people who believe that they are
already "good enough" for God, or who think that God is
going to accept everybody.
Many people have a concept of God that closely
resembles a white-robed, nearsighted grandfather/Santa Claus
who loves to embrace unwashed filthy children. In countries
infected with the Santa Claus myth, this confusion may come
about through ascribing to St. Nick several attributes of
Deity, thus making him an idol or false god, and encouraging
confusion with the true and living God.
The God-who-really-is is a holy God who hates and must
punish sin (see Nahum 1:3). And the Bible says clearly,
"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans
3:23 NAS). We're all in the same boat.
If you don't think that you have sinned VERY MUCH,
consider this: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet
stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
(James 2:10 NIV)
Now you know that according to the Bible YOU are a
sinner who needs a Savior. That's the Bad News. Now you're
ready for the GOOD NEWS: "God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us." (Romans 5:8 NIV)
We did not simply make this up. Read the book of
Romans for yourself. You can probably do it in less than
three hours.
One evangelism teacher jokingly proposed this approach
to strangers: Worker-"Are you ungodly?" The surprised
victim would probably answer, "No, I'm not ungodly. What do
you think I am, a heathern?" Zealous workers reply- "Well,
that's too bad. You can't be saved then. The Bible says
'Christ died for the ungodly.' [Rom 5:6] If you're not
ungodly, then Christ didn't die for you." Whether you think
this is funny or not, don't miss the point.
News of the Savior is only good news when you realize
that you need a Savior.
Put your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT19 Clyde Price]
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Among public officials, there is a commonly used phrase
"conflict of interest", and this is a condition which is
either carefully avoided or concealed.
Many individuals, whether "public" or private,
deliberately avoid making a commitment to the Lord Jesus
Christ because they know that some of the things they are
doing and the policies they are following are incompatible
with faith in Christ.
The Lord Jesus gave this evaluation: "And this is the
judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men
loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds
were evil." (John 3:19 NAS)
The word "loved" in this passage is the Greek verb
AGAPAO, usually used to refer to the God-kind of love. This
involves a RELIGIOUS love of darkness, a deliberate
committment on the level of "religion"--whether it's called
that or not--to exalt and practice evil.
In this immediate passage, and in the first three
chapters of John, it is made clear that people who are
genuinely open to the "light" of Truth will be drawn to the
Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you know that you are committed to things which God
will not accept, we call on you to REPENT, and find
forgiveness in the Lord Jesus. Nothing on earth is worth
the alternative of eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth.
If you consider yourself an "honest seeker after
Truth", we invite you to read the Gospel and letters of
John, and ask God to show you whether this is Truth or not.
We confidently expect that you will encounter Reality in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Come and talk with us. We'd like to meet you.
[SHOT20 Clyde Price]
[end of 3rd file of 7]
[4th file of 7]
THE ROMAN ROAD
"I've been doing good things all my life. I've never
hurt anybody. I have a close family and good relationships
on my job. I go to church sometimes, and I don't even cheat
on taxes. Don't you think God will accept me into heaven?"
Sorry, friend, not on that basis He won't. The Bible
has a shocking statement for you, that you may even consider
insulting. But remember, this is from God's Holy Scripture.
The apostle Paul addressed the issue of being "good enough"
by referring to several passages in the Old Testament,
including this one:
"All have turned aside, together they have become
useless; There is no one who does good, There is not even
one." (Romans 3:12 NAS quoting Psalms 14:1ff. and 53:1ff.)
The point is that nobody is good enough by their own
record to meet God's standards (see Matthew 5:48). In the
system of works, God's standard is total perfection, and the
Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who ever made a passing
score.
We challenge you to find a good readable version of the
Bible, such as the New American Standard or the New King
James Version, and read the entire letter of Paul to the
Romans. Depending on the edition, this might be about 20
pages or less.
Pay special attention to 3:23 6:23 5:8 10:9-10
12:1-2. These references have been used by thousands of
Christian witnesses as a brief presentation of the Good
News. This presentation is fondly called "The Roman Road."
(The number before the colon is the chapter. The number
after the colon is the verse.)
You will find that Paul explains the purpose of the Law
(i.e. "the Ten Commandments") is to show us that we are
sinners who need a Savior. Chapter 3 explains clearly that
no one can be made right with God by doing good things or by
being "good enough".
The only way to be made right with God is by trusting
in Jesus Christ as your sin-bearing Savior and your living,
ruling Lord. Then His perfect righteousness is imputed, or
"credited", to YOUR account. THEN your motivation for
"being good" is to please your King, out of gratitude,
because you love Him.
Walk this "Roman Road" for yourself. Entrust yourself
to Jesus. Do it NOW.
Clyde Price SHOT21
The "Roman Road" references from the New King James Version
3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God,
6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to
salvation.
12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
(Some folks add in John 1:12 or Revelation 3:20.)
PAYDAY SOMEDAY
You look forward to getting your paycheck, don't you?
Especially if you really worked hard for it, and most
especially if you have financial obligations that need to be
paid out of THIS check. Hopefully, you have a sense of
satisfaction that you EARNED this money, and in every sense
it is rightfully yours.
The Bible speaks of a "paycheck" which is rightfully
yours, which you have earned yourself with your own actions,
but which you are NOT looking forward to with pleasant
anticipation:
"For the wages of sin is death..."
This "death" refers to an eternity of separation from
God in what the Bible calls "the lake of fire". It also
includes the "down payment" of a physical body subject to
aging and diseases and an environment cursed with the
pollutions resulting directly or indirectly from human sin.
This same passage that tells of our wage also tells of
an alternative to that earned paycheck, and that is in the
form of an unearned, undeserved gift:
"...but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord."
The Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the "wages" of
our sin when He died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice
for sinners. The victory of His resurrection from the dead
promises eternal, abundant, purposeful life for all who will
put their trust in Him as sin-bearing Savior and living
Lord.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 3:23
NAS)
We urge you to read the letter to the Romans and the
Gospel of John for yourself, and then if at all possible,
come by and talk with us.
We warn you that if you have not received the Gift,
that you WILL receive your wages. There's going to be a
Payday someday.
It could be sooner than you think. Don't wait. Put
your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT22 Clyde Price]
[WITH WARM MEMORIES OF DR. ROBERT G. LEE, WHO PREACHED HIS
FAMOUS SERMON "PAYDAY SOMEDAY" MANY HUNDREDS OF TIMES. HIS
WORKS FOLLOW AFTER HIM.]
BORN ONCE: DIE TWICE; BORN TWICE: DIE ONCE
"Well, man, I'll just balance out my kharma some other
time, maybe in my next life." In the last several years, an
increasing number of people from traditionally Protestant
American, European and British-heritage areas have embraced
belief in reincarnation. Some even try to back it up with
twisted Bible texts.
One plain statement that Scripture makes is this:
"It is appointed for men to die once, and after this
comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27 NAS)
Jesus Christ declared the necessity of the "new birth"
through faith in Himself. (Read John 3.)This birth of the
Spirit, or "second birth" is the essential beginning of
eternal life.
This second birth comes about when we have heard the
gospel, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit applies the
work of "new creation" as we believe the message and put our
trust in Jesus alone for our salvation.
All who have this "second birth" through faith in the
Lord Jesus shall be found on Judgment Day to be recorded in
the "Lamb's Book of Life"; and those who have not trusted in
Christ will be judged according to their works and cast into
the "lake of fire" (see Revelation 21).
If you're born twice, you only die once. If you're
born only once, you die twice.
There are no second chances, no balancing out kharma,
trying to "tip the scales", no past or future incarnations.
"TODAY is the day of salvation."
Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."
(John 14:6 NAS) Read the Gospel of John for yourself. This
is the most urgent issue of your life.
Don't wait 'til your next incarnation; you won't have
one. Don't wait 'til tomorrow. For you tomorrow might not
come. Put your trust in Jesus, right NOW.
[Clyde Price SHOT23]
DON'T BLAME GOD
DO NOT BLAME GOD for the sinful things done by other
people (or by yourself), or for the painful things that
happen as an indirect or direct result of somebody's sin.
The apostle Paul explains in his letter to the church
in Rome how sin entered our world. He wrote:
"Through one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all
sinned." (Romans 5:12 NAS)
God created Adam and Eve without sin. They had, at
that point, the ability not to sin; and since they were
responsible moral agents they also had the ability (but NOT
THE RIGHT) to sin.
They both sinned before having any children, and all
their descendants (including YOU) have been born into the
same state of separation from God which they voluntarily
stepped into.
As a result, you were born into a world which bears the
scarring effects of the sins of our first parents and their
children through the millennia.
We cannot simply blame our plight on Adam and Eve. The
Bible charges each of us with specific acts of sin, and
convicts us by showing us the Law which we have broken. We
stand convicted as sinners whose only hope is the Savior
promised to Adam and Eve even before they were evicted from
the Garden (Genesis 3:15).
Read the letter to the Romans and the Gospel of John
for yourself. You will see that God is not the Great Ogre
who has caused your problems, but rather He is the loving
Father who has provided for your deepest needs, and desires
to bring you into His LIFE.
From the same chapter in Romans quoted above, we read
Paul's words, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Rom. 5:12)
Though we had no hope of life, being born with the same
sin nature our parents had, and standing condemned by the
record of our sinful acts; GOD SENT HIS SON to purchase
redemption for everyone who would trust in Him as Savior and
yield to Him as Lord.
Do it today. Put your trust in Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT24]
24B TO THOSE WHO READ THIS COLLECTION:
If you're wondering why I avoid the phrases "Christ
died for everybody" or "Christ died for all sins", my
purpose is to avoid any chance of someone reading into the
message any possibility of universalism.
I John 2:1-2 states that the propitiatory sacrifice of
our Lord was SUFFICIENT for all sin for all time. The rest
of I John explains that only those who trust Him as Savior
and abide in Him as Lord can boast with any confidence that
they "have the Son of God" and the life which is in His
name. John notes that those who SAY they love God without
obeying Him are LIARS.
Christ's death was a payment SUFFICIENT for everyone,
but His REDEMPTION will only be EFFECTIVE for true
believers.
I think it is both safer and more piercing to draw a
CLEAR LINE, and invite the sinner to step over it.
Some would object to my insistence on Christ as Lord AT
THE OUTSET. I can only say that if you have changed
citizenship from the dominion of darkness to the Kingdom of
the Son, you automatically owe your allegiance to the King.
He is the believer's elder Brother and Friend. He is also
our liege Lord. I believe that any gospel message which
omits or short-circuits the crown rights of King Jesus is
damnably defective.
I do not believe that anyone who only wants the goodies
of heaven and deliberately withholds the title deed of his
life from the Lord Jesus can claim to be a real Christian.
If you say, "Jesus is Lord" when He is not your Lord, that
is not a confession of saving faith. It is a LIE.
If you object to this, please DO NOT USE ANY OF THESE
ARTICLES. Such use would then constitute theft of the fruit
of my creative labor, and also fraud in the form of false
advertising. I SPECIFICALLY FORBID the use of these
articles if the call to Lordship is edited out.
Let us seek together to know and to make known our
Lord Jesus Christ, in as many different media as God
providentially makes available to us. May all glory go to
the Lamb who has purchased us His people with His own blood.
Abraham's blessing is extended to us in the New
Covenant. "And in your seed all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." God,
give me MIGHTY seed, in every nation of earth! I call on
You to make good Your promise to do this in the name of
Jesus Christ my Lord.
ccp
GOD PROVES HIS LOVE
Many people do not really believe that God loves them.
They look at the heartaches and tragedies of their lives and
ask how a loving God could "do this" to them.
They fail to realize that many things that occur in
life are the direct or indirect result of somebody's SIN.
God does not take personal responsibility for the
sinful actions of people, or the physical or emotional
consequences of sin.
Instead, He demonstrates His love toward people by
taking an incredibly expensive course of action to deal with
our most basic problem. He gave His Son to be the atoning
sacrifice for our sin, and raised Him from the dead for our
justification.
The apostle Paul wrote:
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8
NAS)
Almost everyone has questions about why God allows the
various kinds of evil and tragedy in the world. Don't wait
until you understand all those questions to put your trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you become hardened in your bitterness, you may not
even be able to respond to the gospel.
The first letter of Peter is written to people who have
been through fiery trials and found that their faith in
Jesus Christ could pull them through. God proved His love
even in their trials. Read this little letter for yourself.
Don't blame God for the evil you've seen. He is the
one who spent the blood of His Son to buy your forgiveness,
and He offers you this incredibly expensive gift freely, IF
ONLY you will put your trust in His Son, The Messiah of
Israel, the Lord Jesus, as your own Savior and King.
Long before you had ever considered Him, He had made
this demonstration of love for sinners, even such as you.
Don't be mad at God; and don't doubt His love. Receive
it by receiving Jesus Christ as your sin-bearing Savior and
risen, reigning Lord. Don't wait. Do it today.
[Clyde Price SHOT25]
[SHORT SHOTS 4th file of 7]
[SHORT SHOTS 5th file of 7]
ACCEPT THE SUBSTITUTE
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for
the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit." (I Peter
3:18 NKJ)
In all the universe and for all of eternity, there is
only one answer for the Sin-problem, "Christ...suffered
once for sins." Jesus Christ died on the cross as a one-
time substitutionary sacrifice for sinners, in order to
cancel effectively the "criminal records" of every sinner
who would trust in Him for salvation.
Jesus of Nazareth is the only human who ever walked the
earth who lived without sin. He "was in all points tempted
as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:16) He had not
Himself earned the wages of sin, eternal death. (See Romans
6:23.) He died, "the just for the unjust", as a substitute.
The Bible teaches that Jesus of Nazareth was/is God the
Son, pre-existent Deity, who created the universe and
invaded the earth which He had created, to live in it as a
man, and to purchase with His blood people from every family
of humanity. (See John 1, Colossians 1-2, Revelation 5.)
We don't understand the physics of it, but He was
raised to life again physically by the power of the Holy
Spirit. He was "put to death in the flesh but made alive by
the Spirit." And He lives today to call you to Himself.
Trust Him now as your Savior and the Lord of your life.
Read the first letter of Peter and the Gospel of John
for yourself. The Lord Jesus died in your place for your
sin so that by faith you might share in His Resurrection
LIFE.
His purpose was "that He might bring us to God." He is
the only one who ever paid the sin-debt. He is the only one
ever to conquer death and the grave. He has the right to
say, "I am the way,...no one comes to the Father but through
Me." (John 14:6) That's what He WANTS, to bring us to God.
Put your trust in Jesus Christ as your sin-bearing
Savior and the Lord of your life. He is your Creator and
Sustainer, and He calls you to be His redeemed one, a member
of His Bride, a sheep in His pasture, and His eternal
friend.
[Clyde Price SHOT26]
OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE
The message which the apostle Paul preached was rooted
deeply in the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Covenant. He
stressed that the mission which the Messiah had fulfilled
had been clearly prophesied in the Old Covenant.
He wrote to the church at Corinth, "For I delivered to
you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He
was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures." (I Corinthians 15:3-4 NAS)
"Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures..."
We read in the prophecy of Isaiah, "Surely He has borne
our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him
stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have
gone astray; We have turned, every one to his own way; And
the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah
53:4-6 NKJ)
"He was buried."
And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the
rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor
was any deceit in His mouth." (Isaiah 53:9)
"He was raised" from the dead.
"When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall
see His seed, HE SHALL PROLONG HIS DAYS, And the pleasure
of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the
travail of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My
righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear
their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:10-11)
The death and resurrection of the Messiah as an atoning
sacrifice for sin was prophesied clearly by Isaiah,
centuries before the star shone over Bethlehem. Jesus of
Nazareth was revealed first as the "Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world." He may return at any time now
as conquering King.
God's salvation in Jesus the Messiah was not a last-
minute emergency operation. It was agreed on by God the
Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit before the
foundation of the world.
That's pretty solid planning. You can put your trust
is Jesus.
[Clyde Price SHOT27]
WHAT ABOUT "GOOD WORKS"?
A lot of folks will tell you frankly that they are
trying to get to heaven by doing good works. Salvation by
works DOES NOT WORK.
Some who say that they are trusting in Christ alone for
salvation disavow ANY "religious" works at all, and have an
unholy kind of Christianity that doesn't affect their
lifestyle at all. This kind of "greasy grace" is also a
poisonous substitute for the gospel.
The apostle Paul gives us the balance between these two
deadly extremes, "For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
(Ephesians 2:8-10 NAS)
The gift of God is free but not cheap. It cost God His
Son. He offers the gift of salvation freely to all who will
receive it by faith in Jesus Christ. This does not make
FAITH the only acceptable WORK. A beggar gets no credit for
reaching out his hand to receive a handout.
Read Paul's letter to the Ephesians for yourself. In
it you'll not only find how humans can get to heaven, but
God's purpose for the entire universe.
There are no "works" or "good deeds" that we do to earn
salvation; and after we have received salvation by grace
through faith in Christ, there are no "works" that we do to
STAY saved. However, because we are now God's children and
His ambassadors and servants on earth, He has some things
which He wants us to do. We do THESE works because we ARE
saved, not to become saved or to stay saved. Our motivation
is our love for Jesus Christ, our desire to please Him.
We want you to get to know Him, and we are positive
that you'll love Him too. Put your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT28 Clyde Price]
JUSTIFY YOURSELF?
Have you ever done something stupid, then given a dumb
excuse for it, and had someone say, "Well, you're just
trying to JUSTIFY yourself!"?
When you justify lines of print on a typesetter or a
word processor, you are putting the print in the RIGHT
PLACE, where it is supposed to be, as the author or editor
intended it.
Being "justified" before God is a matter of coming into
a RIGHT STANDING before Him, without the condemnation of
sin.
Too many people try to justify themselves before God by
pointing to "good deeds" or religious rituals that they have
done. Some trust in their race or nationality, or lodge
ritual, or some other mistaken idea about what it takes to
be "right" before God.
The apostle Paul says that people are "justified as a
gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ
Jesus" (Romans 3:24 NAS).
Trying to follow a list of do's and don't's won't work,
because Paul says in the same chapter, "by the works of the
Law no flesh will be justified in His sight." (3:20)
Read the letter to the Romans for yourself, and also
the Gospel of John. This is the simple, but widely
misunderstood teaching of the New Testament.
People can only receive "right standing" before God
through the redemption Christ Jesus purchased on the cross.
We sinned and earned death; He never sinned, and died, so
that all who put their trust in Him would be "put right"
with God, receive His forgiveness, and have eternal abundant
life as a free gift.
Someone has spelled GRACE as an acrostic: God's Riches
At Christ's Expense.
We receive this gracious gift through faith. Someone
has spelled FAITH: Forsaking All I Take Him.
Receive God's gift. Put your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT29 Clyde Price]
"GOD O' MERCY!"
"He [God] saved us not on the basis of deeds which we
have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by
the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy
Spirit," (Titus 3:5 NAS).
God does not save people "on the basis of deeds...done
in righteousness." The BASIS for salvation is not anything
that we did or were going to do, but entirely in what the
Lord Jesus Christ did: He died for sinners on the cross as
an innocent substitute, and rose again from the dead to give
eternal life to everyone who trusts in Him.
God has chosen to save sinners "according to His
mercy," because He is a merciful and loving God. He is
indeed a GOD OF MERCY. But HE CAN ONLY save those who put
their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is also a
holy and just God who MUST PUNISH SIN: either at the cross
of Christ or in the lake of fire.
As a sinner comes to Christ, the Holy Spirit is working
in the sinner's heart, "making alive" the gospel to the
person, and enabling the person to trust in Christ alone for
salvation. "By the washing of regeneration and renewing by
the Holy Spirit," the Holy Spirit applies the cleansing
blood of Christ to the heart of the new believer and washes
completely clean from all sin. This "regeneration" is also
called "the new birth".
There is a place for "good deeds" in the life of the
believer, but these are as a RESULT of being saved, and NOT
IN ORDER TO BE SAVED. Paul wrote in the same letter,
"Christ Jesus...gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us
from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for
His own possession, zealous for good deeds." (2:14) Paul
says later, "And let our people also learn to engage in good
deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be
unfruitful." (3:14) We Christians are commanded to care
not only for people's souls and their eternal destination,
but also for their practical needs, especially in
emergencies.
We Christians should also not leave out of our gospel
message that the Lordship of Christ over your life will
involve some changes in your lifestyle. Laboring for King
Jesus is more exciting and fulfilling than ruling over any
other Kingdom.
If you who read this are not yet a Christian, we invite
you to read the Gospel of John for yourself, and ask God to
show you directly in your own heart the Truth.
We confidently expect the Holy Spirit to bear His
witness to the message. We would like to meet you and try
to answer your questions.
[SHOT30 Clyde Price]
A FAMILY FOREVER
Do you know of a family that is split, or maybe even
shattered? Have you experienced yourself the pain of
alienation? The Lord Jesus understands all about that.
The first chapter of John teaches that Christ is the
Creator of the universe, and that He became a human being to
live personally among the people He had created for Himself.
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him,
and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and
those who were His own did not receive Him." (John 1:10-11
NAS)
He came as a virgin-born baby to the planet that He had
created for a fellowship-place with mankind, but He was
rejected by His people, betrayed by a very close friend,
accused and convicted in an illegal trial, and executed as a
criminal. He rose again from the dead in victory to offer
forgiveness and eternal life to all who put their trust in
Him.
Maybe "His own" in v.11 refers to the Jewish nation to
whom He was specifically sent in His earthly ministry, and
who rejected Him as their predicted Messiah, or John may
have meant mankind in general.
Some however have received Him, and you should receive
Him, too. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, even to those who believe
in His name, who were born...of God." (John 1:12-13 NAS)
All who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born
spiritually into God's "Forever Family."
We invite you to read or listen to the first chapter of
John, and see if it really says this. This isn't some
strange and weird new teaching. We want to introduce you to
what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ. We trust
that if you examine the Gospel of John with an open mind,
that you will become convinced that this is the Truth, and
that Jesus Christ is the living Son of God.
We are praying that you and many of your family and
friends will "receive" King Jesus into the throne room of
your heart. Just picture your family "infected" with an
"epidemic" of forgiveness, reconciliation, and love.
Put your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT31 Clyde Price]
[end of 5th file of 7]
[SHORT SHOTS 6th file of 7]
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
There is a quote from the New Testament which is used
very commonly in giving the invitation to receive Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord. It has long been used with
children as an invitation verse. In the book of Revelation,
the Risen Christ said,
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears
my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will
dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20 NAS)
Children who hear this and respond to "receive Jesus
into their hearts," often visualize a door opening up in
their chest, and a miniature Jesus coming to live in their
blood-pump.
If these children are not discipled and nurtured and
challenged in their growing-up years, as they get into their
teens or young adulthood, their childhood conversion
experience bears little apparent relevancy to the exciting
adult temptations they are now facing.
Tragically, many who professed Christ as children fall
away from the faith as teens or young adults. Many simply
become "lukewarm" churchgoers and live much the same lives
as their unchurched neighbors.
These words in Revelation were actually addressed to
a professing Christian group which had grown worldly and
"lukewarm." Notice that the word "heart" is not used. This
is an attempt to book a "dinner date." You invite someone
over for dinner when you want to socialize, make friends,
and have a good time. You have friends over for a PARTY.
Instead of opening a door in your chest like
Seethreepeeoh, why not invite Jesus "over for dinner."
You will find that He is a fascinating adult companion.
We suggest that you unplug the Tube, take the phone off
the hook, and curl up with the Gospel of John. Before you
start, ask the Lord Jesus to meet with you and reveal
Himself to you and begin to show you that abundant life
which is a close walk with Him.
It is a GOOD thing to receive Christ as a YOUNG child,
especially in a family that prays together and talks about
the contents and applications of the Scriptures together.
EVERY CHILD OF GOD needs continuous teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in right living. This can only come
as Christians minister the Word to each other.
Keep the love-walk FRESH, walking with your closest
Friend day-by-day. Help the fires burn hotter by fanning
each other's flames. A church dropout is a reproach to God,
but maybe is understandable. (See Rev. 3:16.) A lukewarm
Christian is NAUSEATING.
We warmly invite you either to come to Jesus for the
first time, or to come back to Him. Invite the King of
Kings "over for dinner." He is the most fascinating Person
in the Universe. Let's party.
[SHOT32 Clyde Price]
[Note to all future editors and typesetters: The word in
the 2nd paragraph, 2nd sentence, 6th word is "dis_ci_pled."
Please don't "correct" it. English verb "to disciple" as
equivalent to Greek verb "MATHETEUO". ccp]
PROJECT IDEAS
One project you could do with some expense would be to
publicize a free barbecue or fish-fry (something to EAT) for
anybody in the neighborhood who wanted to come.
Book a Christian singer or group, or an evangelistic
(SHORT) movie, such as "The Gospel Blimp". Announce the
time and date in the local paper AND with handbills door-to-
door in your saturation area. You could omit the press
release if you wanted to focus on the smaller immediate
area.
I suggest four elements for your handbill & ad:
1)Design the handbill/ad as a "Free Ticket" with space
for a) a family street address, b) the names of people in
the family c) church affiliation, if any, d) number of
adults and children coming to the Shindig, e) infants
needing childcare, and f) their reservation number. g) Note
that this is valid for the DOOR PRIZE only if filled out
completely. At the cost of a Big Bear or a camera, you'll
have a lot more tickets filled in.
2) If you do not have unlimited food &/or money, you
may want to ask for RSVP by phone to get a reservation
number to write on the ticket, and at that point reassure
them that there is no charge and no offering will be taken.
You just want to meet them. If you feel that reservations
and numbers are too mechanical, have a "commando squad" with
cash ready to raid a nearby Burger Doodle.
3) INCLUDE VERY CLEAR DIRECTIONS TO YOUR BUILDING. If
possible, meet on the same property where your church meets.
That way everybody who gets there for the food will know how
to find their way back for services. If you are on public
transit, include bus route numbers.
4) Print on the back a clear, upbeat, non-threatening
gospel message.
You shouldn't saturate the area in person with
handbills EVERY WEEK, but several times a year you can plan
special events as an excuse to "blitz" the area: A
watermelon picnic, carwash by the teens, VBS week or
Backyard Bible Clubs, special meetings with a non-local
preacher (ask me if I'm available). ...YOU think of some.
When you give stuff away, try HARD to get their
address, phone number, and names of family members so your
evangelism team can courteously return the visit.
I hope you will continue week by week with ongoing
visitation evangelism, but with periodic (maybe up to
monthly) special events, you can rate feature articles in
the local papers and achieve much greater visibility in your
neighborhood.
PREACH THE WORD!
CCP
"JESUS IS LORD!"
Do you know people who claim to have Christ as Savior
but not as Lord? Do you see any inconsistency between
accepting a free "fire insurance policy" fro Hell, and
deliberately refusing to follow Christ in daily life?
An often quoted passage about salvation was written by
the apostle Paul to the church in Rome:
"If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting
in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation." (Romans 10:9-10 NAS)
If you were to "confess" to the murder of Abraham
Lincoln, you would not be "confessing", you would be LYING.
If you "confess" Jesus as Lord, but he isn't really the Lord
of your life, you are not "confessing", you are LYING.
The same words from Greek, PISTIS and PISTEUO, are
translated into English as faith, belief,trust; or to have
faith, to believe, to trust or entrust.
If you are depending on the FACTS of the
substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and
you confess Him truly as the Lord of your life, then
according to this passage of Scripture you are SAVED.
"Jesus is Lord" is not a slogan to parrot mindlessly.
It is an eternal truth. Jesus Christ IS the Lord of the
Universe, whether you believe it, or LIKE it, or not. And
someday every knee in heaven and on earth and in hell will
bow, and every tongue will admit seriously that "Jesus is
Lord." Voluntarily or under compulsion, this means even
YOU. (See Phil. 2:5-11; and read the entire little letter
to the Philippians.)
We call on you to be certain that you have deliberately
submitted to Jesus Christ as the Lord of your own life. "He
who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who DOES
NOT OBEY the Son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, but the WRATH OF GOD
abides on him." (John 3:36 NAS)
Don't wait until you're forced to bow the knee.
Voluntarily surrender to Jesus.
[SHOT33 Clyde Price]
KNOW FOR CERTAIN
"Oh, I don't think it's possible to know before you die
whether you're going to heaven or hell. Don't you have to
wait 'til it's all over to be judged?" If you wait until
then, friend, it will be too late! The Bible teaches
clearly that people can KNOW for certain whether or not they
are "going to heaven" BEFORE they die.
The apostle John wrote, "And the witness is this, that
God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the
Son of God does not have the life. These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in
order that you may know that you have eternal life." (I John
5:11-13 NAS)
Eternal life is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through faith in Him, we can receive forgiveness from all
our sins, power over sin in our earthly lives, an abundant
and purposeful life here on earth, and knowledge that we
have God's eternal life as a PRESENT POSSESSION.
The apostle John openly announced that his Gospel was a
deliberate work of TRUE "propaganda". He wrote it for the
purpose of PERSUADING people to believe certain facts, and
to entrust themselves to Jesus Christ (the same purpose as
this article).
He wrote, "Many other signs therefore Jesus also
performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not
written in this book [the Gospel of John]; but these have
been WRITTEN THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His
name." (John 20:30-31 NAS)
If you haven't yet trusted Christ, we challenge you to
read our "propaganda", the Gospel of John, and ask God to
show you inwardly whether or not this is true. You can
really KNOW. Entrust yourself to Jesus.
[SHOT34 Clyde Price]
Do you want OUT?
What country were you born in? Have you ever crossed a
border between countries? Do you have the same citizenship
you had at birth?
If you suddenly discovered that you were standing in
the country called "Eternal Death" and realized that you
were its lifelong citizen, would you be interested in
emigrating to the commonwealth of "Eternal Life" and
obtaining citizenship there?
The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has
eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has
passed out of death into life." (John 5:24 NAS)
In the letter to the Romans, especially the fifth
chapter, the apostle Paul explains how every human being
since Adam and Eve has been born into a state of spiritual
separation from God, and as a result of the nature we were
born with and the actions we each have committed, we all
qualify to be citizens in good standing of the State of
Eternal Death.
If you are apart from Christ, you can only await your
physical death and final judgment to assume residence in
your permanent quarters: the lake of fire.
However, the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for sinners on
the cross, and He offers free migration and new citizenship
in His Kingdom for all who will put their faith in Him as
Savior and King. All such spiritual refugees "pass out" of
Death into the new state of Life.
The Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than an
invitation to flee wrath and become a mere Displaced Person
or a ragged refugee. Through the New Birth wrought by the
resurrection of Christ, the Lord Jesus provides a place in
the family of God for you, and status as a co-inheritor with
Himself, IF ONLY you will put your trust in Him alone for
salvation.
We invite you to read the Gospel of John and the letter
to the Romans for yourself. We'd like to meet you and try
to answer your questions. But don't wait.
Do it now. Put your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT35 Clyde Price]
ETERNITY BEGINS NOW
Many people involved in traditional forms of religion
think that no one can know before death whether they will go
to heaven or not; you must wait, they think, 'til you're
judged to find out. This is a dangerous fallacy, because if
you wait until then, it will be TOO LATE.
The apostle John addresses genuine Christians, "These
things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal
life." (I John 5:13 NAS) He did NOT say, "in order that
you may hope to receive it someday." He said to believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ, "in order that you may KNOW that
you HAVE eternal life" and, in fact, have it as a present
and permanent possession.
Eternal life does not begin with physical death.
Physical death only confirms for eternity the spiritual
state a person is already in.
The eternal life spoken about in the Bible begins with
the New Birth, when a sinner, you for instance, transfers
trust from whatever you HAD been trusting, to faith in Jesus
Christ alone to be your sin-bearing Savior and resurrected
King.
You can find in the 4th book in the New Testament, the
Gospel of John, and in the three letters of John near the
end of the New Testament, clear confirmation that we are not
simply making this up. Read them for yourself. This is the
plain, though widely neglected, teaching of the Bible.
If you already HAVE eternal life through faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ, we'd like to meet you. We always enjoy
meeting members of God's Forever Family.
If you have not yet trusted Christ for His gift of
Life, we'd like to have one of our workers talk with you or
write to you and attempt to answer your questions. But we
urge you not to wait.
Do it NOW. Put your trust in Jesus.
[SHOT36 Clyde Price]
[next file is more general and more personal "baker's dozen" stuff.
end of 6th file of 7]
[7th file of 7]
AFTERWORD
These first 36 articles are based on the references in
the original Navigator's 108 reference Topical Memory
System. This first volume of articles reflects on and
hopefully applies all three "packs" of the Wheel and the
Gospel. I added three and left out one.
A military veteran Navigator friend whom I met at
Georgia State University had started on the Old TMS before
it was discontinued, and shared the outline of references
with me, probably in 1971. (Thanks, Joey!) I've been
thinking over these references, more or less in this order,
rather frequently since then, along with the rest of my
studies in the Word.
I have never been formally associated with the
Navigators, nor been to any meeting of Navs, but I
gratefully acknowledge the impact that they have had on my
life and ministry, especially Dawson Trotman's address "The
Need of the Hour". Father, I ask You to convey my grateful
thanks to my brother "Daws" awaiting the day when I can meet
him and thank him for myself.
I'm planning on two more similar volumes dealing with
"Promised Blessings" & "Challenge", and then "Resources" &
"Expected Fruit".
My concept behind sharing in mass media the promises
and commands (and rebukes) addressed to Christians is "Let
him who boasts boast in the Lord!"
Evangelism is the preaching of Good News. Certainly we
must rebuke sin and show the need of a Savior. We also need
to brag about how wonderful our Savior is, how exciting and
fulfilling the Christian life is, and how satisfying it is
to serve our King.
"O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name
together!"
[Here's some "Baker's Dozen"-type stuff from the notebook.
I hope that you enjoy it, and pray that you may find
it edifying and useful.]
GIDEON
I saw on a news broadcast that the Anti-Defamation
League objected to the New Testaments being distributed by
the Gideons, an interdenominational businessmen's
organization, to students near a Gwinett County [GA]
elementary school.
I'd like to point out, first, that the Gideons were not
in the school, but nearby on the sidewalk, passing out the
little Testaments only to the children who came up to take
them voluntarily.
Second, there was no denominational or sectarian
comment in the little books, only the text of the King James
(Authorized) Version of the New Testament.
Third, the presence of the Gideons outside the school
and away from school property does not imply any support or
approval by the school board.
Fourth, while some would consider the school had some
responsibility to protect children from drug-dealers and
kidnappers on or near campus, I ask, is it necessary to
protect children from businessmen who used to be welcomed
into schools with presentation assemblies?
Fifth, the English Bible, especially in the King James
Version, is recognized as a literary masterpiece that has
shaped our language and our allusions since its first
publication to the present. Isn't it historically and
literarily significant to know the source of so much of our
linguistic heritage?
Sixth, although the Supreme Court may have overlooked
this, the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the
FREEDOM of religion, and that the federal government is
prohibited from interfering with its free exercise. The
Federal Government, but not the states, was prohibited from
establishing any religion or denomination as the official
one for the country. The states were free to have
established churches and to require membership in good
standing in order to be an elected official.
"Separation between Church and State" is a provision of
the Soviet constitution, but that phrase does not occur in
the constitution of the United States of America. Whose
constitution are we going by, anyway?
Seventh, why is the Anti-Defamation League upset? If
Doctor Luke was a Hellenistic Jew, the entire New Testament
was written by Jews who had come to believe that Jesus was
the Messiah of Israel. Certainly the ADL disagrees with
this, but there is NOTHING in the text of the New Testament
that defames or denigrates or dishonors Jews or in any way
suggests or justifies anti-Semitism.
I freely confess that I am a believer in Jesus as
Messiah and King, and I accept the entire Bible, a
thoroughly Jewish book, as God's inspired message to
mankind. I am VERY proud of the fact that my father,
C.Cotton Price, is an active Gideon.
In an age when sexual perverts are coming out of the
closet and clamoring for preferential treatment under
affirmative action laws, I refuse to go into the closet
because I am a Bible-lover. The Bible is at least a very
important part of our culture, and should be read by every
person who claims to be educated.
I don't think that responsible and upstanding Christian
businessmen should be treated like neighborhood drug
pushers.
Clyde C. Price, Jr.
Red Oak, Georgia
"STAMP IT"
I.
Thunk-thud,
Thunk-thud,
Thunk-thud.
I spend a lot of time stamping things.
I stamp product information and reprinted health
articles for handouts and bag stuffers so my customers will
know where to come back and buy more good stuff.
I put my personal stamp, or my signature and phone
number or both, on over a thousand tracts, booklets and
Scripture portions a year so that there will be a channel
from the people who receive them back to a living, listening
human being, if they want it.
In fifteen years, I have only had two people ever call
me back from literature I had given out. An old praying
mother needed someone to pick up her middle aged son from
jail, and wanted somebody who had spoken with him about the
Lord. I did it. Another time, a woman wanted to talk to
somebody at 3 am one night. I listened to her, and told her
that God had a way out for her.
For all the thousands of other people who have received
those gospel leaflets and booklets, they have not simply
taken an anonymous fingerprint-free piece of Madison Avenue
propaganda. CLYDE PRICE PERSONALLY ENDORSES THIS MESSAGE.
I hope that's worth something.
II.
God can use His Word in printed form, or broadcast, or
recorded, or any other less personal method. Those other
media are NOT bad, and NOT inferior, and should not be
abandoned or avoided; but the most God-honored medium in
history is tell-a-person.
When I use tracts, I try to give the printed message
along with a spoken "plug": "This little booklet is an
outline presentation about how to have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ" or "...about how to receive
the gift of eternal life." Or, "This is the Gospel of John
from the New Testament in plain English, and [pointing to my
stamp] that's me."
I have spent many hours copying out sections of
Scripture by hand onto bookmarks for love-gifts to people
going on certain kinds of spiritual retreats. I feel that
when I HAND-COPY Scripture FOR another person, that I am
personally endorsing and adopting God's Word as MY MESSAGE
TOO to the other person. The apostle Paul spoke of "MY
gospel". Well, it's MINE too.
I HEARD the invitations to "TASTE and see that the Lord
is good" and to DRINK of the living water that really
SATISFIES. And even though I'm not a celebrity, I'm a
"satisfied customer" and I am eager to give my personal
"testimonial."
The Gospel is GOOD NEWS. Jesus is GOOD. Clyde Price
says so, too.
[I wrote this when I was working in a health food
store. --cp]
"DILUTED"
An introduction to homeopathic remedies said that
the father of modern homeopathy
treated an illness by taking certain herbs or minerals
and DILUTING them.
He concluded that the more DILUTED they were,
the more effective they were.
I strongly suspect that there are limits
to this kind of reasoning,
but I started thinking about
treating people with the Word.
Sometimes a hunk of straight,
undiluted Scripture
is hard for an individual to digest,
especially if he lacks
the required adult enzymes
necessary for strong meat.
Maybe "preaching" the Word involves
rephrasing, illustrating, explaining Truth
--"watering down" without changing content--
into a medicinal solution or "milk"
that the patient can digest.
It feels funny to compare a preacher
to a homeopathic doctor
or a nursing momma.
Clyde Price
BANKRUPTCY
Bankruptcy entails a release of all or certain debts
without the necessary consent of the creditor. In one
sense, it violates the principle of paying back debts when
a person is able to pay (Proverbs 3:28). On the other hand,
the nation of Israel had a limitation on debts such that
every seven years all Israelite debts were cancelled. No
term of payment exceeded seven years, and debts incurred
late in the cycle were still released at the end of the
seven year cycle. This enabled an Israelite of limited
means and perhaps difficult circumstances to make a fresh
start after a maximum of seven years of debt or of
indentured servitude (Deuteronomy 15:1ff.).
This was one of God's gracious provisions for His
people under the covenant of grace. It did not extend
generally to foreigners. For a society which does not have
such a provision, it is not my opinion that Christians
should legislate one. The Lord Jesus Christ teaches that
Christians should lend freely without expecting to receive
anything back in return; this presupposes a readiness to
forgive the debt before the debt is incurred. (Matthew 5:42;
Luke 6:34-36)
In recent times, bankruptcy has become much more easily
obtained and much more respectable, to the extent that many
people who actually could pay back all or most of their
debts are filing bankruptcy under the liberalized loopholes
which allow the filing party to keep most of his or her
personal property and pay back little or nothing to the
creditors. This amounts to stealing.
The assumption of debt directly incurs commitment to
pay it. For a Christian, this involves fulfilling his word,
a very important aspect of maintaining the credibility of
the gospel before the world. (cf. Psalms 15:4-5, the man who
swears to his own hurt and does not change.)
It is my opinion and contention that no Christian
should seek bankruptcy at any time, and especially never
personal bankruptcy. All other possible means of settlement
should be exhausted, and "all things are possible with God."
(Matthew 19:26)
Clyde C. Price, Jr.
[This brief paper was written as an assignment for
Christian Principles of Finance, a course at the Atlanta
School of Biblical Studies, an evangelical and Reformed
seminary and Bible college in Atlanta which emphasizes the
practical training of Christian workers in an urban setting.
Write for a free catalog and schedule to:
ASBS, P.O.Box 150, Avondale Estates, GA 30002 USA.]
WELFARE
The nation of Israel was instructed by God to provide
for the needy of the land by the practice of leaving
"gleanings" in the fields for the poor and the needy. The
fields were not reaped to the very corners, nor meticulously
picked up, and neglected sheaves were deliberately to be
left behind.
This system had several advantages. It required no
government bureaucracy to maintain or administrate it. It
effectively scattered the needy throughout the land instead
of concentrating them in the cities. It put the able-bodied
needy into contact with landowners who could use
agricultural manual labor.
God gave special commands to care for the orphans and
the widows, not to mistreat them and to provide for their
needs. (Exodus 22:22, Deuteronomy 14:28-29)
These concerns are reiterated in the New Covenant as
obligations of charitable action by believers (James 1:27,
I_Timothy 5:3-16), and limited to those who are unable to
work productively (II Thessalonians 3:10).
The welfare system in the United States of America
encourages unemployment of able-bodied people who otherwise
would have to seek gainful employment. It positively
discourages marriage and encourages illegitimate births; and
it encourages concentration of welfare recipients in urban
areas.
If the Biblical concept of poverty is the lack of
sufficient food, clothing and shelter, then only a very
small number of people in this country are in poverty. The
responsibilities which God gave to human government do not
include support of an indigent class of people who find the
dole easier than gainful employment. Welfare in this
country is an unnecessary and unfair burden on the middle-
class tax-paying worker who directly or indirectly pays
almost all the taxes in this country.
Clyde C. Price, Jr.
[This brief paper was written some time ago, before the
explosive growth of the problem of homelessness, which is an
issue different from the one addressed here.
It was an assignment for Christian Principles of
Finance, a course at the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies.]
"HEALTH FOOD NUT"
I'm not a "health-food nut",
really.
I had problems, and looked around
for things that would help.
I found some.
I've cut out and cut down
on some things
and added in a lot of others.
With every meal I take a handful
of pills and capsules and tablets
and none of them "drugs",
and all of them either food or food-stuff.
I've recently found out about
a whole area of foods
that I had been eating
that had been clouding my mind
and sapping my energy.
If I cut them out completely,
it will be VERY hard to eat out
or have dinner with friends,
and I'm sure some people
will call me a "health food fanatic."
Am I a fanatic
because I want a clear mind
and energy to do my work?
Am I a "nut"
because I want to be healthy?
Clyde Price
TAG
Please share this collection widely, and share printouts
or separate ASCII files of either the whole thing or articles
that you particularly like with other people who produce
newsletters, advertisements and tracts.
I shared several of these articles into the message bases
of BBSs before issuing the collection.
If my name and address show up too often, please consider
that, especially in the "extra" material beyond the 36 articles
in the main collection, this is a collage of small pieces I wrote
for separate release.
Although I realize that the compiled and compressed form will
be easier for use by MS-DOS users, I hope that provisions will be
made for "little guys" with smaller-RAM machines, like the ones I
used to create these files.
Other collections include ARROWS and SCRAPS, with SONRISE,
a 31-day devotional "on the way", other collections of my stuff
in the works, and ASCII editions of uncopyrighted Christian
classics being shared primarily through BBSs.
I'm a writer and speaker, a (so-far) unordained Bible
teacher, presently a member of a Bible-believing Presbyterian church,
and graduate of Georgia State University (BA, Journalism, BA Classics)
and of the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies (M.Div.). I'm engaging
in "tentmaking" business enterprises based in the Atlanta area related
to nutrition and energy conservation, and I'm available by schedule
to come and preach/teach/sing/visit, etc.
I'm presently (1990) raising support for a part-time support-staff
position with Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship as a staff writer
helping our workers communicate with each other and their "Adoptive
Families", helping our workers to document their own ministries and to
develop new evangelistic and ministry-training materials.
I would welcome your participation in my praying and giving
"Adoptive Family" in this editorial-documentary-&-"public relations" work
of serving other servants of the Lord. Please write to me directly
concerning my writing ministry with PEF and news about what's happening
in that exciting fellowship of ministries.
I invite you to call or write to find out about other Christian
material available on electronic media, and other news of interest
to Christians who use computers. The Atlanta Christian Technology
Society would like to send you a free newsletter. Just write:
ACTS, P.O.Box 922023, Norcross, GA 30092. The "home" bulletin board
system of ACTS is CrossRoads TBBS (404) 633-8619.
I ask you to PRAY for the continuing anointing of God on my
ministry, the fire my personal walk with Him, and my physical health.
This is not just pious closing talk: I want and need your prayers.
May God bless you richly as you seek to know Him deeply
and make Him known widely. May our Triune God make you abundantly
fruitful in the Gospel!
His,
Clyde.
[end of 7th file of 7]
Index of Preacher's Help and Notes
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