No Place Like Home

There is no place like Home. We have arrived back home in Hillsboro after traveling several hundred miles. The ordination service went well and it turned out that I was not only suppose to question the candidate but was also to preach the sermon. I thoroughly enjoyed preaching the sermon. I had not been at that pulpit for over 6 years. Gum Spring Missionary Baptist Church now has 2 very fine deacons.

After the service we went over to my mother's house for a short visit (I took this picture with my cell phone today). My 2 brothers are making good progress on the house. They have gotten a lot done. My mother has been working constantly on the yard. Her father was always a hard worker and loved to clear land and clean fence rows. My mother reminds me of him and she certainly has his gift for it. She has worked slowly but surely and the yard is really looking good. I frankly am amazed at what she has done.

I have prayed more this day than usual. I like it and plan to keep it up. Prayer is power thing. Those of you who read my blog on regular basis are in my prayers. I prayed today for the welfare of my Uncle and Aunts in New England. I have prayed that the Lord will allow me to make a trip up there to see them again. I have such fond memories of each of them and their children. I really would like to see them again. I am planning a trip to New England in June of 2010.

The sermon for Sunday includes John 20:23. Here is a preview of what I will be preaching Sunday.

(23) Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; [and] whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained.
This verse might be easily misunderstood. What does Jesus mean by these words and how do they relate to what Jesus is going to send out His disciples to do. First consider what this verse does not mean. Only God can forgive sin. All sin is against God. Only God can forgive the sins of men. In the model prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Men have the power to forgive those that trespass against them. Jesus said if your enemy hunger feed him. Forgiveness is treating someone as though they had not done you wrong. We can treat people that do us wrong with kindness and that is forgiveness. To forgive is not to forget. Jesus commands that we forgive one another and He only commands those things which we can do. It is not possible to erase ones memory. It is possible to treat someone with kindness who has done us wrong. Jesus is not giving the power to remit sins to His disciples. It should not be thought that the church has the power to say who can go to heaven and who can not. The church has no power to save nor does it have the power to take away the salvation of ones soul.
Jesus sends His Church into the world to make disciples. The process of making disciples involves baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It involves teaching them to observe all things commanded by Jesus. Discipleship requires discipline. The disciple must do the biding of his master. If the disciple will not be obedient to his master then he is disciplined. A master might cause the disciple to be expelled until he repents and comes back seeking forgiveness and expressing a commitment to be obedient to the masters commands.
The disciples will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. Those that are saved will form groups that agree to work together as an assembly or church of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will, with Christ as their head, be obedient to Him as their Lord and master. Those of their group which are rebellious against the Lord's commands will be disciplined by the group. If the rebellious disciple refuses to repent then his sin is retained by the church and they treat that one as though they were not saved, as though they were not a brother or sister in Christ. They do not company with them nor eat with them. In the sight of Heaven their sin is retained and not remitted or forgiven. This does not mean that they loose their salvation. The soul of the saved is righteous and made clean by the blood of Christ. The soul of the saved cannot sin and thus can never be lost. The body or flesh of a saved person does sin and it will one day die because of sin. The person who yields to the desires of the flesh will be chastened by the Lord. When the wayward one repents and comes seeking forgiveness and reconciliation then the church forgives and restores that one to fellowship again. When they remit that ones' sins then the Lord in Heaven also remits or forgives their sins.
Jesus has given his disciples the power to do His work. They will preach by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. They will discipline by the authority of Jesus Christ. Many lost souls have been and will be saved as a result of the work of the church established by Jesus Christ during His personal ministry here on earth.