Nichols, James

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Abilene Christian UniversityDigital Commons @ ACUHerald of Truth Audio Herald of Truth Records2-22-1953Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald ofTruth: What Will You Do With Jesus?James NicholsFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.acu.edu/hot_audioThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Herald of Truth Records at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusionin Herald of Truth Audio by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. For more information, please contact dc@acu.edu.Recommended CitationNichols, James, "Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald of Truth: What Will You Do With Jesus?" (1953). Herald of Truth Audio.Paper 231.http://digitalcommons.acu.edu/hot_audio/231• . , ~· . ~ - " ' r :. - ~ ~ - , ' "' ~ ~ . ~ ' . -. • • ' ~ ' • • • • • • - l . - . . -,' . : . ~ . ~\\II'/ , / ~ ..--- --- .--~ ~ l9hurches of (9~1nst- · ~Salute You with a~ erald of ruth James W. Nichols February 22, 1953 Nearly 2,000 years ago a group of people were called upon to make a decision. The decision did not look like a hard one to make. They were called upon to be a judge between two men. One man had lived a life of wickedness. He was a thief and had been cast into prison. The other man had never done anything to harm anyone. His life had been the life of a physician. He had healed the sick and afflicted. He had given peace of mind to many, yet he had many enemies. So he was carried before the ruler to be tried. The ruler sought to please the people and yet his conscience would hurt him of he had the innocent man killed. So he devised a plan, which he felt sure would please the people and clear his own conscience. He presented both men, Barabas and Jesus, to the people and proposed to kill one and loose the other. Pilate felt sure that the people would never choose to let a dangerous man go free. He felt that the people would be brought to their senses when they compared the men, but he was mistaken. The people chose Barabas, the evil man, and cried for the blood of Jesus, the perfect man. It appears hard for us to understand why the people would choose as they did, but after all these years, men are following in the steps of tho<se wicked men, when they are called upon to make the mo<st important choice. Just as Pilate cried out many years ago, "What then will you do with Jesus?" The same question is being presented to you. Now then what will you do with Jesus? There are two things that you can do. One is to accept him and the other is to reject him. Christ said, "He that is not with me is against me." Matt. 21:30. Therefore, there is no middle line of gray, but black and white. There is no fence that we can straddle, either we accept Jesus Christ or we reject him. And when you reject him, you not only reject him but you accept his counter part. Satan. There are many people today who will reject Christ and accept Satan because they have never stopped to analyze who it is that they accept. They fail to realize that Satan is the father of all lies and everything that is evil and to be abhored comes from him. Every case of sorrow, of heartache, of loneliness is a product of the works of Satan. Every tombstone is a monument to his efforts. The apostle Paul tells us in Rom. 5:12, through the sin of Adam, death passed unto all men. Thus through the temptation offered by Satan to Eve did death reign on the earth. Page 2 . •• WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? Page 3 Stand in the military cemeteries of the world and see the thousand<s of white crosses end on end and you are made to realize a little bit fuller all of the evil that Satan has pressed upon man. It is hard to conceive that a man or a woman will reject Christ and accept Satan, but I have seen men and women, whose cheeks were bathed in tears, stand before the open grave of a loved one, heart broken, then turn away to continue to follow in the footsteps of Satan, the one who causes all the heartaches, loneliness and death of these loved ones. Today you are either accepting Christ or rejecting him. You are either for him or you are against him. Either you believe that he is the son of God or you believe that he is not the son of God. What will you do with Jesus is the age old question ringing through your mind today. In answering this question of what you will do with Jesus, the question must also be asked, "What will you do with his commands?" For Christ said, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life eternal; the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak." John 12:48-50. There are only two things you can do with his commands. One is to obey them, the other is to reject them. Today your life stands as a monument to the obedience of the commands of the Lord Jesus or it stands as a monument of rejection to those commands. Either you are for the Lord or you are against him. If you are for the Lord, you believe in him, you love him, and you will obey him. Christ said in John the 14th chapter, "If a man love me, he will keep my word." I do not see how that a thinking person would refuse to follow after Christ in obedience, when we realize all of the love that Christ gave for us and all of the pain and sorrow and humiliation, and anguish that he had to endure in life that we might be saved from our sins. Now then today you are either showing your love for Christ by obeying his commands or else by your rejection you are showing your lack of love. What will you do with the command to believe? The writer of Hebrews says in He b. 11: 6, "And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God m11st believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him." YOU MAY HEAR THE HERALD OF TRUTH OVER THESE STATIONS A'labama, Anniston WHMA 1410 l:OOp.m. New Orlean• WDSU 1180 l:OOp.m. Philadelphia WFIL 580 J:OOp.m. Auburn WAUD 1230 l:OOp.m. Shreveport KRMD 1340 t:oop.m. Pitts burr: WCAE 1250 3:00p.m. Birmingham WSGN 610 8:00a.m . Maine, Bangor WABI 910 l:OOp.m. Wilkes-Barre WILK 980 6:00p.m. Florence WJOI 1340 9:30a.m. Portland WPOR 1450 9:00a.m. R. I a land, Providence WPJB 1420 l:OOp.m. Gadsden WGAD 1350 l:OOp.m. Maryland, Baltimore WFBR 1300 8:00p.m. S. Carolina, Columbia wcos 1400 1:00 p.m. Greenville WGYV 4:00p.m. Cumberland WDYK 1230 8:00a.m. Florence WJMX 970 !0:30a.m Huntsvlle WHBS 1490 1:00 p.m. Mass., Gardner WHOB 1490 l:OOp.m. Orangeburg WRNO 1450 7:00a.m. Marlon WJAM 1310 9:30a.m. Lawrence WLAW 680 l:OOp.m. 8. Dakota, Aberdeen KSDN 110 !O:lOa.m. Moblll' W.AllB 1480 6:30a.m. S]lringfield WSPR 1270 2:00p.m. Huron KIJV 1340 9:00a.m. Montgomery WAPX 1600 1:00 p.m. Worcester WAAB 1440 2:00p.m. Tenn., Chattanooga WDEF 1170 1:00 p.m. Selma WGWC 1340 1:30 p.m. Michigan, Battle Creek WELL 1400 l:OOp.m. Jackson WTJS 1190 l:OOp.m. Tuscaloosa WJRD 1160 9:00p.m. Bay City WBCM 1440 l:OOp.m. Johnson City WJHL 910 !0:80p.m. Arizona, Phoenix KOY 550 7:00a.m . Detroit WXYZ 1270 1:00 p.m. Knoxville WBIR 1240 l:IOp.m. Tucson KCNA 680 3:00p.m. Flint WFDF 910 10:00 p.m. Memphis WMPS &SO 9:10p.m. Arkansas, Eldorado KDMS 1290 1:00 p.m. Lansing fiLS 1320 l:OOp.m. Morristown WCRK 1460 check eta. Ft. Smith KFSA 950 l : OOp.m. Ludington KLA 1450 l:OOp.m. Nashville WSIX 980 4:00p.m. Hot Springs KTHS 1090 1 : 00 p.m. Mt. Pleasant CEN 1150 2:00p.m. Texaa, Abilene KRBC 1470 l:OOp.m. Little Rock KGHI 1250 1:00 p.m. Muskegon KBZ 850 2:00p.m. Amarillo KFDA 1440 1:00p.m. Sprll\tdale KBRS 1340 6:00}J.m. Minn., Mlnn.·St. Panll~TCN 1280 7:30am. Austin KNOW 1490 I:OOp.m. Calif., Bakersfield KPMC 1560 10:00 a.m. Mankato TOE 1420 2:00p.m. Beaumont KFDM 660 l:OOp.JD. Blythe KYOR 1450 3:30p.m. Mies., Centerville WGLC 1680 8:00a.m. Big Spring KBST 1490 l : OOp.m. Brawley KROP 1300 3:30p.m. Aberdeen WMPA 1240 1:00 p.m. Brownfield KTFY 1300 4:30p.m. Eureka KIEM 1480 8:00a.m. Columbus \fCBI 1340 6:00p.m. Brownwood KBWD 1380 6:30p.m. Fresno KARM 1430 3:30p.m. Greenwood ABG 960 1:00 p.m. Corpus Christl KEYS 1440 9:00a.m. Indio KREO 1400 3:3Q p .m. Jackson WSLI 930 2:00p.m. El Paso KEPO 690 1:00 p.m. Loa Angeles KECA 790 3 : 30p.m. Kosciusko WKOZ 1340 1:00 p.m. Ft. Worth WBAP 570 l:OOp.m. Modesto KTRB 860 3:00p.m. Laurel WLAU 1490 1:00 p.m. Graham KSWA 1330 • : ao p.m. San Francisco KGO 810 3 : 30p.m. McComb WSKB 1250 9:30a.m. Houston KXYZ 1320 8:00a.m. San Luis Obispo KATY 1340 3:30p.m. M looourl, Kansaa City KCMO 810 12:30 p.m. Longview KFRO 1370 l:OOp.m. Colorado, Craig KRAI 1230 5:30p.m. Rolla KTTR 1490 8 : 45a.m . Lubbock KFYO 1340 • : OOp.m. Denver KVOD 630 3 :00p.m. St. Louis KXOK 630 2:00p.m. Midland KCRS 660 1:30 p.m. Conn., Bridgeport WNAB 1450 2:00p.m. Springfield KWTO 560 1:00 p.m. Naeogdoches KOSF 12:~0 1:00 p.m. Hartford WTHT 1230 2:30p.m. Montana, Butte KOPR 680 9:16a.m. Paris KPLT 1490 4:00p.m. Delaware, Wilmington WILM 1450 2:00p.m. Great Falls KMON 660 7:30a.m. San Angelo KGKL 960 l:OOp.m. Florida, Gainesville WGGG 1230 1:00 p .m. Nebraska, Lincoln KFOR 1240 10:30 a.m. San Antonio KMAC 630 9:00p.m. Jacksonville WPDQ 600 8:30a.m. N. Platt KNBR 970 9:00a.m. Texarkana KCMC 1230 1:00 p .m . Leesburg WLBE 790 check sta. Omaha KOIL 1290 5:30p.m. Wichita Falls KFDX 990 2:00p.m. Miami WQAM 560 1:00 p.m. Sidney KSID 1540 9:30a.m. Utah, Provo KCSU 1490 3 :00p.m. Panama City WPCF 1400 1:00p.m. N. Hamp., Claremont WTSV 1230 1:00 p.m. Salt Lake City KUTA 570 7 : 30a.m. Pensacola WEAR 1230 11:00 p.m. Lebanon WTSL 1400 1:00 p.m. Vermont, Brattleboro WTSA 1450 1:00 p.m. Tallahassee WTNT 1450 5:00p.m. Manct. ester WMUR 610 3 : 00p.m. Burlington WJOY 1230 1:00p.m. Tampa, St. Pete WSUN 620 1 :00 p .m. N. Mexico, Albuquerque KOAT 1450 3:00p.m . Montpelier-Barre WSKI 1240 l : OOp.m. Georgia, Atlanta WGST 920 1 :00 p .m . Carlsbad KPBM 740 check sta. Virginia, Charlottesville WINA 1280 9 :15a.m. Augusta WGAC 580 2:00p.m . Clovis KCLV 1240 f :OO p.m. Fredericksburg WFVA 1230 check sta. Brunswick WGIG 1440 1:00 p.m. Los Alamos KRSN 1490 3:00p.m. Marion WMEV 1010 2:00p.m. Cairo WGRA 1300 3:00p.m. Santa Fe KTRC 1400 3 :00p.m. Norfolk WGH 1310 6 :30p.m. ColumbuS WGBA 1460 7:30a.m. New York, Albany WXKW 860 2:00p.m. Richmond WRNL 910 1 : 30 p .m . Dawson WDWD 990 2:00p.m. New York WJZ 770 12:30 p .m . Wasnington, Aberdeen KBKW 14:i0 10:30 p.m. Macon WNEX 1400 1:00 p.m. Olean WHDL 1450 1:00 p.m. Omak KOMW 680 9 :15a.m. Rome WLAQ 670 1:00 p .m . RJchester WARC 950 3:00p.m . Pasco KPKW 1340 3 :30 p.m. Savannah WDAR 1400 1:00 p.m. Saranac Lake WEAV 960 2:00p.m. Seattle KJR 950 3:30p.m. Valdosta WGAF 910 1:00 p .m . Syracuse fVAGE 620 12:00 n . Spokan., ' KGA 1510 3:30p.m. Idaho, Boise KGEM 1140 Z:OO p.m. Washington, D. c. WMAL 630 1:00 p.m. Pocatello KE!O 1440 9:30a.m. N. Carolina, Ashville 'LOS 1380 1:00 p.m. W. Virginia, Beckley WWNR 620 1 : 30 p.m. Charlotte A YS 610 1 : 00 p.m. Twin Falls KTF! 1270 7:30 a.1n. Huntington WHTN 800 8:00a.m. Illinois, Chicago WENR-WLS 890 2:30p.m. Durham TIK 1310 2:00p.m. Parkersburg, Sat. WCOM 1230 5:30p.m. Quincy WGEM 1440 8 : 00a.m. Fayettevllle(Sat.) FLB 1490 1:00 p.m. Wheeling WKWK 1400 1:00p.m. Indiana, Anderson WHBU 1240 1:30p.m. Salisbury c.-SAT 1280 1: oo p .m . Wisconsin, Green Bay WDUZ 1400 5:30p.m. Wilmington GNI 1340 8:30a.m. Bloomington WTTS 1370 1:00 p.m . LaCrosse WKTY 580 4 : 00p.m. Evansville WJPS 1330 10 :15 p.m. Winston-Salem WAIR 1340 l:OOp.m. Madison WIBA 1320 8:00a.m. Ft. Wayne WGL 1250 1 : 00 p.m. N. Dakota, Fargo KFGO 790 1 : 00 p.m. Milwaukee WCAN 1250 2:00p.m. Iowa, Cedar Rapids WMT 600 7:30a.m. Ohio, Cleveland WJW 850 1:00 p.m. Neenah WNAM 1280 8:00a.m. Davenport woe 1420 check sta. Columbus WHKC 610 1 : 00 p.m . WSAU 1400 9:30a.m. Lima WIMA 1150 9:00a.m. Wasau Del Moines KSO 1460 1 : 00 p.m. KSPR 1470 9:15p.m. Sioux City KSCJ 1360 10:30 p.m . Youngstown WBBW 1240 8:30a.m. Wyoming, Casper Cheyenne KFBC 710 12:00 p.m. Waterloo KXEL 1540 5:30p.m . Oklahoma, Ad& KADA 1230 1 OOp.m. Cody KODI 1400 12:00 p.m . Kanaas, Coffeyville KGGF 690 2:00p.m. Enid KCRC 1390 1 00 p.m. Lara mie KOWB 1340 12:00 p.m. Topeka WREN 1250 1:00 p.m. McAlester KTMC 1400 1 OOp:m. Rawlins KRAL 1240 12:00 p.m. Wichita KWBB 1410 3:30p.m. Muskogee KBIX 1490 2 OOp.m. Riverton KWRL 1450 12 : 00 p.m. Ken,. Bowling Green WKCT 930 l:OOp.m. Oklahoma City KTOK 1000 9 30 a.m. Torrington KGOS 1490 12 : 00 p.m. Harlan WHLN 1230 3:00p.m. Tnlsa KRMG 740 2 OOp.m. Worland KWOR 1490 12 : 00 p .m. Louisville WKLO 1080 1 : 00 p.m. Oregon, Eugene KASH 1600 1 00 p .m. Alaska, Juneau (Sat.) KJNO 630 1 : 00 p.m. Maytleld WKTM 1050 4 :16p.m. Medford KMED 1440 7 30a.m. Canada, Trail, B.C. CJAT 610 9 :30a.m. Newport WNOP 740 2:00p.m. Portland KEX 1190 a 30p.m. Toronto, Ont. CKEY 580 9 :16a.m. Paducah WKYB 570 check sta. Redmond KSGA 1240 3 30 p.m. Winnepeg, Man. CKY 580 6:45a.m. Louisiana, Baton Rouge WLCS 910 1:00 p.m. The Dalles KODL 1230 1 OOp.m. Monroe KMLB 1440 2:00p.m. Penn., Johnstown WCRO 12~0 1 00 p.m. All times a re Sunday unless otherwise indicated. Page 6 WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? What will you do with the command to repent of every sin? The apostle Paul tells us in Acts 17:30, "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent." What will you do with the command to confes·s his name. Christ said, "Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven." Matt. 10:32. The apostle Paul says in Rom. 10:10, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteous-ness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." What will you do with the command to be baptized'! Christ said in Mark 16 :16, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." The apostle Peter said in Acts 2: 38," ... Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." You are making a choice today on these commands. You are making the choice to obey them or to rebel against them. What will you do with the commands of Christ? In this decision of what you will do with Christ, we mu·st also consider the question what will you do with the Church. In Matt. 16:18, Christ said, "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Paul in speaking to the elders of Ephesus said in Acts 20: 28, " Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with hi's own blood." Therefore, the church of the New Testament belongs to Christ and when you decide what you will do with Jesus it involves your decision as to what you will do with the Church. There are two things that you can do. Either accept it just as it was established and seek through obedience to the gospel to be added to it by the Lord, as we read in Acts 2. Either you can reject it and accept the works and theories of man, create some man made institution or perpetuate some existing institution. To accept the church a'S established by the Lord is to accept its name as set forth in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the church was referred to as: the body of Christ, the church of God, the church of the firstborn and in Rom. 16:16, the apostle Paul said, "The Churches of Christ salute you." When we accept or use any other names in designating the r eligious group to which we belong, we reject the church of the Lord J esus Christ. In Eph. 1:22-23, the apostle Paul speaking of God and Christ said, "and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? Page 7 be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." And then in the 4th chapter and the 4th verse, the apostle Paul said, "There is one body ... " What will you do with the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, his body. What will you do with its government? You can accept it as ·set forth in the New Testament, maintain-ing local autonomy with no organizational ties of any kind between congregations. These congregations were led by men who meet the qualifications of elders as set forth in Paul's first letter to Timothy and to Titua. What will you do with the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ must be answered by you and by your actions. But last of all in the question, what you will do with Christ the question must afso be asked what will you do with the plan of worship. There are two thinga you can do. You can accept it as set forth in the New Testament by inspired men or you can reject it. You reject Christ's plan of worship when you accept your own means and methods of worship or when you accept that which has been devised by others. The church of the New Te·stament worships God by prayer, by singing, by giving and by commemorating the death and suffer-ing of Christ through the Lord's supper. To add or change or to take away from any one of these acts of worship would be to reject Christ's plan of worship. What then will you do with his plan of worship? But someone aays,he does not see how that by changing any of these we would be rejecting Christ's commandments, or his church or his plan of worship. That should be easy for us to understand. A man invents a machine. The machine is manu-factured. Some other man come:s along, takes the machine and changes it in some manner and it is no longer the invention of the first inventor. A master paints a picture. Another painter comes along and alters the picture. It is no longer the pure work of the master. Christ before he ascended into heaven said in Matt. 28:18, " ... All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth." Therefore, for any man or woman to as:sume authority to change his plan or his commands or his church is to reject his authority. God speaking on the Mount of transfiguration said, "This is my son in whom I am well pleased". My friends, today you will make an important decision to accept him or reject him to obey or rebel against him. to love him or hate him. I would plead with all of my being that you would accept Christ and reject Satan. Accept his commands and reject ·the doctrines and Page 8 WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? traditions of man. Accept his church and reject denominations. Accept his plan of worship and reject the ritual and devices of man. A long time ago Joshua stood before the children of Israel as he neared his death and plead in these words in Joshua 24:14-15, "Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincer-ity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the river, and in Egypt and serve ye Jehovah. And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you thi3 day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the river, or the Gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me, and my house, we will serve Jehovah." I plead with you today choose you this day whom you will serve, whether it be Christ or whether it be Satan. You are either for Christ or you are against him. You are either right or you are wrong. You are either for Satan or you are against him and my prayer is at this time that you resolve that today you will obey the Lord. I will follow after his commands. I want to be a member of his church and obey him. I want to do his will. We work and pray to the end that you will. THE HERALD OF TRUTH-Box 1264-ABILENE, TEXAS 

Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald of Truth: What Will You Do With Jesus?

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Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald of Truth: What Will You Do With Jesus?

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