Leaves Of Gold
A Call To Return To The Teaching Of The Bible
A ministry of Evangelist James A. Nelson jan23@cox.net
Year IV, No. 1 JANUARY 2010
Master Outlines Number Forty-eight, taken from "The Christian Life Bible", Thomas Nelson Publishers, with notes by Porter L. Barrington
Crowns for Christians
There is a vast difference in the doctrine of salvation for the lost, and the doctrine of rewards for the lived. Salvation is "the gift of God, not of works" (Eph. 2:8, 9). Salvation is received by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ Uohn 3:36). Rewards are according to the works of the believer (Matt. 16:27).
A most revealing Scripture concerning rewards is found in 1 Corinthians 3:8-15-.
(1) Every believer will be rewarded according to his own labor (v. 8). We do not labor for salvation. (2) "We are God's fellow workers" (v. 9)-not for salvation, but for rewards.
(3) The believer is to build on the Lord Jesus Christ, the only foundation (v. 11).
(4) The believer has a choice of two main types of building materials: "gold, silver, precious stones"-eternal materials; or "wood, hay, straw"-temporal materials (v. 12; cf. 2 Cor. 4:18).
The believer who builds on Christ with eternal materials, "gold, silver, precious stones;' will receive a reward. Those who build on Christ with temporal materials, "wood, hay, straw;' will receive no reward. The "wood, hay, straw" works will be destroyed at the "judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10), and the believer will suffer loss,-not the loss of salvation, but the loss of eternal rewards.
Some believers will be ashamed at the judgment seat of Christ (1 John 2:28)-ashamed of their works of "wood, hay, straw:' -\
In the first year of his ministry, a pastor sat at the bedside of a dying friend. As they talked of the home"going of the dying man, tears filled his eyes. The pastor thought his friend was afraid to die, and attempted to speak words of encouragement to him. But the man said, "I am not afraid to die; II am ashamed to die:' He went on to say that Christ was his Savior, but that he had lived for himself, and now had to meet the Lord Jesus Christ empty-handed. His life loomed up before him as "wood, hay, straw:' He was saved but he had few works of apparent eternal value to offer the Lord (1 Cor. 3:15),
48-A. The Crown of Life (James 1:12)- This reward could be called the crown of those who love God. Upon examination of the above verse, we discover that through his love for God the believer finds strength to overcame temptation and endure trials. Paul said, "We also glory in tribulations." Do we today glory in tribulations? We can do so only if the "love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 5:3-5). Without love for God in the heart of the believer, trials can cause him to become bitter and critical; he may lose the "crown of life" (v. 12).
All believers have eternal life (John 3:15,16), but not all believers will be rewarded with the "crown of life." This crown will be given to those who are "faithful until death" (Rev. 2:10). To receive the "crown of life," the believer must love the Lord more than his own life. "For whoever desires to save his life [live for self] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's [live for Christ at all cost] will save it" (Mark 8:35). This reward will be given to those who live for Christ, and endure temptations, in the power of the love of God (1 Cor. 10:13).
48-B: The Crown Imperishable. 48-8. The Crown Imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)-Paul uses the Greek games to illustrate th~ race of the believer. They ran to win a "perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown" (v, young man could compete in the games unless he was a Greek citizen, born of Greek parents. Noi person can participate in the service of the lord for rewards; only those born of God are eligible (I page 1052). \
Just as the athlete must deny himself many gratifications of the body, so the believer must "q [his] body and bring it into subjection" or he will be "disqualified" (v. 27). Hewill not lose his salv~
he can lose his rewards. .
The Greek games had rigid rules for all participants. The New Testament contains the rules for I ~o would enter the spiritual race to win the "imperishable crown."
··(1) The believer must deny himself anything that would weigh him down and hold him back (HI
page 1249). I
(2) The believer must keep his eyes fixed on Christ, not looking to the right or left (Heb. 12:2, pa~ (3) The believer must find his strength in the lord (Eph. 6:10-18, page 1192). l (4) The believer mustplace his all on the altar of the lord (Rom. 12:1, 2, page 1142).
(5) The believer must, by faith, refuse anything that would impede spiritual progress (Heb. page 1249).
Do not be a spiritual spectator. Enter the race and run to win the "imperishable crown." See 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20, page 1210, for Point 48-C: The Crown of Rejoicing.
48-C The Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20)- The "crown of rejoicing" (v. 19) is the soul \ winner's crown. The greatest work you are privileged to do for the Lord is to bring others to a knowledge of Christ as Savior. Much of your joy in heaven will be determined by the souls you have had a part in bringing to Christ. Paul tells the Thessalonian believers that they are his "glory and joy," now and when Jesus comes.
The Bible also gives these reasons for winning souls:
(1) It is wise to win souls to Christ (Prov. 11:30).
(2) It is an attack on sin to win souls to Christ (James 5:20).
(3) It is a cause for joy in heaven to win souls to Christ (Luke 15:10).
(4) Soul winners will shine as the stars forever (Dan. 12:3).
How you can win souls to Christ:
(1) Witness with your life-live so that others may see Christ in you (2 Cor. 3:2; cf. Gal. 2:20).
(2) Witness with your mouth, trusting the Holy Spirit to give power to the spoken word (Acts 1:8).
(3) Witness by tithes and offerings, so that others may preach Christ, and you will have "fruit [reward] that abounds to your account" (Phil. 4:15-17; cf. 2 Cor. 9:6).
God has promised that your labor will not be in vain in the lord (1 Cor. 15:58). The soul winner will not rejoice alone-all of heaven will rejoice with him when he receives the "crown of rejoicing" (v. 19).
48-D. The Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:S-8)-The "crown of righteousness" (v. 8) is a reward. It is not to be confused with the "righteousness of God" which the believer receives when he becomes a Christian; for at that time, the believer is to "become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). This righteousness is imputed to all those saved by grace through faith. The "crown of righteousness" is a reward to be earned by the saved. If the believer looks for, and loves, the second coming of Christ, it will affect his whole life. Look at the dynamic impact this truth had on the life of the apostle Paul. He could say:
(1) "I have fought the good fight" (v. 7; cf. 1 Cor. 15:32. He fought a spiritual battle throughout his Christian life, and won. He never surrendered to the enemies of righteousness (Eph, 6:12).
(2) "I have finished the race" (v. 7). He had a course to travel, and he did not detour the hard places; neither did he look back (Luke 9:61, 62). He finished his course with his eyes fixed on Christ (Phil. 1:6)
(3) "I have kept the faith" (v. 7). He preached the "whole counsel of God" -never betraying any of the great doctrines (Acts 20:24-31). The apostle looked ahead to the "judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10) where the "crown of righteousness" will be given to those who "have loved His appearing" (v. 8). How important it is for the believer to look with a heart of love for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that he may receive the "crown of righteousness" (v. 8).
48·E: The Crown of Glory. 48-E. The Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:2-4)- The "crown of glory" (v. 4) is a special reward for faithful, obedient, God-called pastors. They will receive this reward when the "Chief Shepherd appears." It is eternal it does not fade away" (v. 4). Every believer may share in the pastor's "crown of glory." "He who recelved a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward" (Matt. 10:41). Support your faithful, God-called pastor by praying for him and encouraging him in the work of the Lord. Undergird his ministry with your tithes and offerings (Mal. 3:10), giving freely of your time to the Lord's servin', God will reward you for supporting His chosen servant by allowing you to share in your pastor's reward,
The pastor will earn this "crown of glory" by:
(1) Feeding the church. He is to proclaim the Word of God without fear or favor, and when necessary, to "convince, rebuke, exhort, with alliongsuffering and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:1-5).
(2) Taking the spiritual oversight of the church. A pastor is responsible to God for the message preached to his people. No pastor should preach to please the people; he is to please his Lord (Gal. 1:10),
(3) Being an example to the church. He is not to serve for the reward of money. However, the church is responsible to care for his material needs (1 Tim. 5:18). He is to be a spiritual leader, and riot .l dictator. He is to walk with God by faith. "And when the Chief Shepherd appears, [He] will receive th(' crown of glory that does not fade away" (v. 4).
These studies will continue,
CHAPTER ELEVEN Baptist Doctrine, E. C. Gillentine
The Origin of Denominations
1. The Baptist by Jesus Christ about AD. 30 or 31.
2.The Catholic. Boniface was the first pope of Catholicism. They were driven out from among the Baptists, for their heretical doctrines, in the early part of the third century, after which they formed an alliance with the state under Emperor Constantine the Great, about the year AD. 312. The first General Council was the Council of Nice, held in the year AD. 325. The first universal bishop or pope was enthroned in AD. 606 or according to corrected chronology 610. Boniface III was made pope by Emperor Phocas. The Catholics claim to be the "Mother Church," but, as a church, they were never closer to Jesus than AD. 250 or 251. In the year AD. 756, the pope of Catholicism became a temporal sovereign.
3. Martin Luther was the founder of the Lutheran Church in about A.D. 1525 or 1530.
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4. King Henry VIII, king of England, was founder of the Episcopal Church of England, A D. 1540.
5. John Calvin was the founder of Presbyterianism in AD. 1535.
6. John Wesley was the founder of Methodism in the year AD. 1729.
7. Benjamin Randall was the founder of the Freewill Baptist Church, AD. 1780.
8. Alexander Campbell was the founder of the Campbellite Church, AD. 1827. They try to claim the name of their church to be the "Church of Christ," but have never been able to establish this fact by the Word of God, nor by religious history. To call them the "Church of Christ" would mean there is no other church of Christ and Baptists do not believe that, for it has been proven too many times, by the Scriptures and by history, that Baptist Churches have had a continuous existence from the days of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ down to this present time.
9. The Mormon Church, or Church of the Latter Day Saints, was founded by Joseph Smith in the year AD. 1830.
10. The Hardshell (so-called Primitive) Baptist Church was founded by Daniel Parker in the year AD. 1832.
11. S. F. Breese was the founder of the Nazarene Church, AD. 1885. Out of the Nazarenes have come about seventeen different branches of Holiness, Pentecostals, Assembly of God, Church of God, and all the other brands of Holiness.
12. Charles Taze (C. T.) Russell was the founder of the sect known as Russellism, Rutherfordites, Millennial Dawn, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. This sect had its beginning in AD. 1884.
13. The Congregational Churches seceded from the Church of England AD. 1602.
14. The Greek Catholic Church separated from the Roman Catholic in Europe, AD. 1050.
15. The Dutch Reformed Church separated from the Roman Catholic in Europe, AD. 1050.
16. Convention ism among Baptists was begotten by Andrew Fuller and others in Ketterring, England, A.D. 1792; born in Philadelphia, U.S.A., A.D. 1814; chartered and set free, as a body politic, by the state of Georgia, when they gave them the charter Vll:hich endowed them with the right to "sue and be sued" and made them a "Body Politic," in Augusta, Ga., A.D. 1845. Here is where Convention Baptists committed their first act of "Scriptural Fornication."
There are many other religious denominations, too numerous to mention here for lack of time and space, these are the most important ones. All the above are Protestant churches, except Catholics and Baptists. The word protestant means "a member of one of the branches of the Christian church which separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation;'-The Winston Dictionary. Baptists are not Protestants-they did not come out of Rome-they were in existence before Roman Catholicism. Baptists are the oldest of all churches. Of course, Baptists have protested against the doctrines and practices of Rome all the time ever since Romanism has been in existence, but they did not come out of Rome.
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