Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church

"Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Six Years"

1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501

April 15, 2018

Newsletter Number 665

Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                         Brother James Thomas, Song Leader

Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com                                             Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com

"A Church Seeking To Please God In Prayer, Song, Preaching, And Worship."

Please Join Us As We Pray For:

All of Our Military, Their Family’s & All the Civilian Workers in The Middle East, Zee Mink Fuller and Family, Her son’s Bryan Armstrong and Hunter Hackie, Daughter Shannon, and Brother Philip & Sondra Thornsberry, Johnnie Stephens, Alecia Stephens, and children, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, Buckie Thompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry & Martha Mollette and Her Family, Tyrell Loyd, Bonnie, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Adcock, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Lee & Mary Mollette, Wendell Henderson, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Archie Griffin, Donna Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy Fails, Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Linda Hughes, Donna Jones, Gina, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, The Harris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Sister Ann McSwain, Elaine Sparks, James daughter’s mother-in-law, Danny Hammond, Jim and Linda Meier, Ronnie Elam, Bonnie From Ohio, Brother Dan Sullivan the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

From Our Pastor:

Be Careful to Maintain Good Works.

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." Titus 3:8

Paul here is telling young preacher Titus to be careful and to maintain good works. I know there are multitudes of people who believe that good works is a part of our salvation, but the scripture debunks that thinking. Good works has nothing to with the accomplishment of our salvation but has multitudes to do with our Christian living after we are saved. It never fails to cause me to pause when I see how some Christians are acting, talking, or conducting their life as a believer in Jesus Christ. It is like they forgot how they were saved, so let remind them. "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:7 – 9 If you go to chapter one you will also be reminded that God chose you to be His child before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:4 You also need to be reminded that salvation is a gift and not earned. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23 Now I said all that to say this, God has given to all of us who are saved the greatest gift known to mankind, "…wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Eph. 1:6 That acceptance is Him accepting us (sinners) as His own beloved children, what a privilege! So, if you are saved, really saved by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, then you know what an honor it is to be saved. With all this being said, we need to understand our part, it is our part to "be careful to maintain good works". This is a downfall of a lot of Christians, they either have not been taught how to maintain good works or don’t care. How sad if it is the latter, how sad that God did so much to make you "accepted in the beloved" that in return you cannot return to God a hint of the grace He has given to you. Some people say that this passage is to preachers and pastors, folks, that is a very lame excuse in laziness. We all as Christians owe God, we owe God everything, even our life if it is required. Millions of believers have died very awful deaths for the God they love. We are without excuse if we fail to maintain good works for God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Any true believer in Jesus Christ ought to ashamed by not attending church, the church is the pillar and ground of truth. 1 Tim. 3:15 Albert Barnes wrote "This shows that Paul supposed that the doctrines of the gospel were fitted to lead people to holy living;" and he is exactly correct, the doctrines of the scripture ought to lead us to holy living. But, if it does not then something must be wrong. Either God has not truly saved you or you are not being "careful to maintain good works" Christians that do not attend church is not walking in the light as He is in the light, they are failing God and not maintaining good works. Paul also used the word "careful" that word means - to exercise thought that is, be anxious – to maintain good works. But there are so many who can’t even gather enough spiritual strength to pick-up the word of God and read it. They can’t drag themselves out of bed early enough to attend and be a part of the church. There is a reason this is so important, Paul goes on to say, "These things are good and profitable unto men." That is to you, the church, and others around you. You are not a good example of God’s saving grace if you are not a member and active in a local church. If you are not "maintaining good works" you are failing God and being an unfit witness of the salvation, that He has blessed you with. By "maintaining good works" means you are working everyday to bring glory to God, God has a reason in saving you from eternal hell and you need to figure it out and bless the Lord in your life. Folks, none of us are perfect, and maintaining good works is a daily struggle, but the fight is worth it. Read the word, learn the doctrines, and live like you owe God something, because you do!

Moses Or Jesus Christ

By: Curtis Pugh

Some professing Christians desire to put themselves under the Old Testament law of Moses. To attempt to please God and achieve righteousness by trying to keep Moses' law is, according to Paul, to fall from grace. His words in Galatians 5:4 are these: "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." Grace provides eternal life. In 2 Corinthians 3:9 Paul calls the law "...the ministration of condemnation." In Romans 8:2 he calls the law "...the law of sin and death." In the next verse in that chapter Paul wrote: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Christ accomplished "what the law could not do," as that last verse says.

John 1:17 tells us "...the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." There no grace to be found in Moses' law! Not only that, but the law was added because of sins and was only temporary. In Galatians 3:19 God says, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made..." That "seed" was Jesus the Messiah. He came. With His coming and the attendant ministry of John the Baptist the law of Moses ended. Jesus said in Luke 16:16 "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached..." And in Romans 10:4 Paul wrote: "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

Again we are told of the temporariness of Moses' law in Hebrews 9:10 which says that the law: "...stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." That "reformation" was the work accomplished by Jesus Christ. Paul made this clear in Ephesians 2:15 where he wrote that Jesus Christ, "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances..."

So it is that Paul sums up the matter of the Christian's relationship to the Old Testament law of Moses. He wrote in Galatians 5:18, "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (3) Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: Colossians 4:2 – 3

Church News:

Happy Birthday to Sister Martha Mollette Thursday April 19th.