It is impossible to believe on the Lord without first hearing the Word of the Lord. Some say, “Just call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved.” Surely it is sinful to teach that the lost man can be saved without hearing the Word of God, the gospel, the power of God unto salvation (John 3:16).
To say that man can be saved without repentance and faith is to contradict God’s plan of redemption laid down throughout God’s Word. To complete God’s plan of salvation as recorded in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Note the questions in verses 14 and 15: “How shall they call on him whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher?” The answer is in verse 17: “So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
If the unbeliever could be saved from judgment by calling upon the name of the Lord only, how then shall we deal correctly with John 3:18? “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already. Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.” Please consider the “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” Too often, men cut away at the Word to make it conform to their own conceptions and personal feelings.
Keep in mind that for a person to be saved, they must first realize they are lost, doomed and in need of a Savior, a Redeemer to forgive their sins and become Lord of their lives. I have heard a person say to someone, “Hey, wouldn’t you like to go to Heaven when you die?” (and who wouldn’t) and they answer “yes.” Then they are told to bow their head and “repeat these words.” I was witnessing to a lady one day when I asked her if she knew the Lord and Savior and if had she been saved. She looked at me and said, “saved from what?” “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matt 15:8).
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “On Saturday, we had a movie afternoon. The children watched cartoons with biblical messages and the youth watched the movie ‘God is Not Dead 3.’ They ate pizza and popcorn and drank sodas. There were 18 young people, 16 children and 16 adults that attended.
“On Sunday, Oscar Lopez preached. He is one of the students at the Bible institute. He did very well, and at the end of the service, he received recognition from several brothers, who encouraged him to continue in service to the Lord. Talking with him, he told me that two weeks ago he had the opportunity to evangelize two nephews who received Christ as their Lord and Savior. I thank God for Bro. Oscar’s spiritual growth and ability to lead others to Christ.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “The following phrase is a truth that you and I know: ‘God answers prayers.’ This week, I am witnessing once again what God does when His people pray. For weeks, I have asked you to pray for Eduar and his family to make their decision for Christ. Yesterday, Eduar confirmed to me that he had made his decision to follow Christ. Glory to God! Now his wife and children are pending.
“I tell you the following so that you will continue to pray for this family. Eduar and Yoly are not married yet. They have already told me they want to get married because they want to live a life that honors God. Pray that they will be able to get their marriage license and we will be able to perform the wedding. Remember that they are newcomers and are arranging their documents. Pray that God will open the doors for them.
“My desire and prayer is that on the Fourth of July we can go to the lake and be able to marry them and baptize their entire family. It would be a wonderful celebration to have both happen on the same day! On the day that we remember the value of freedom, may they also remember that true freedom is in Christ.
“Continue to pray for new people in Ebenezer. We are praying for families with children and new families to come into the presence of God. Pray for the workshop we will begin this month on ‘Gospel Movements.’ May God be glorified.”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a wonderful time of worship on Sunday. Our numbers were up a little more this week, and we had three first-time and several return visitors. We also had a mother and daughter who have been coming for quite a while officially join us Sunday morning.
Some thought they were already members, but now they are for sure. They are a very sweet family, and her other daughter and her parents are already members. I love the way families come together to make up a church family. I believe that is God’s will in building His church.
“Work on the new building is progressing as well as we can expect. It seems like we get a good storm every three or four days, but the weather is warming, the days are lengthening and God’s timing is perfect. So we will just keep trusting Him to meet our every need. We will keep you posted on the progress.
“We thank you all for your prayers and support. We could not do this without you — the mission or the building. Please continue praying for us, Flippin, those we are trying to reach here and for our building. God is answering them!”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “We had a beautiful Sunday evening service. The children’s ministry joined us in worship and the engagement was amazing. We spoke on Mark 4 — ‘Jesus Calming the Storm and our Fear.’ If you would like to hear that message too, please go out to our podcast on Spotify — ‘After the Table.’
“We had an amazing leadership meeting on Tuesday between our Children’s Ministry directors and the future pastor. I am so grateful to see the great strides of growth, both spiritually and physically. This meeting set the tone for the future. It solidified many of the things I have been praying for the last four months. God is so gracious to show me that the roots of this church go deep, and the future growth will be exciting to observe.
“On Thursday night, we did our cross-cultural interchurch ministry called ‘Around the Table.’ We showed up at a laundromat called Quick and Clean, partnering with several local churches. Several were aiding the local community of Springdale by paying for every load of laundry within that three-hour period of time. Other churches served food, and The Table brought board games to teach. We had six tables with four chairs each and were nonstop busy teaching and interacting with these people. We taught these Marshallese children how to play games and interacted with their parents. Several of us had opportunities to share Jesus. Overall, this was such an amazing experience. I am so thankful for the ‘Around the Table’ leadership who were able to pull this ministry off. After Thursday, we received several calls to bring this ministry to other churches.
“Keep us in prayer as God continues to show us direction as well as firming the foundation.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes “This week at Faith Journey, we have enjoyed seeing the beginnings of spring peeking through the cold weather. Spring always helps remind us of new life and rebirth. Through the gospel, God gave us the promise of new life when we trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
“We had an opportunity to help get a men’s Bible study started over the last couple of weeks. We are meeting on Tuesday evenings at The Cabin 3H in Benton. We are studying The Resolution for Men by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Randy Alcorn. We are really looking forward to seeing how God moves in the lives of the men that are coming every week. Please pray for everyone involved. Have a blessed week!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We continue to advance in discipleships with 10 who continue the process. This week, we continued the visitation and went to pray for a young couple who are joining the church and want to be discipled and baptized.
Our goal now is to be able to disciple the greatest number of people so that the Lord, through His Word, will continue to transform them and help them commit to Sovereign Grace.
“On Sunday, a sister joined the praise group and is the first to assume the challenge of serving in our church and also on Sunday. Patty, who is our Sunday School teacher, began with the little ones. The challenge is for them to start reading their Bibles and applying what the Lord reveals to them, so we are developing a series on the importance of the Bible in our lives.
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Last week, I was excited as our new group launched. This week, the group met and everyone was back. It is incredible to see God working through the multiplication of our Connection Groups.
“I’m thankful that softball season has started. Both my daughters play, and I help coach one of the teams. This gives us tons of opportunities to build relationships. We have many families on the edge of coming. Please pray with us that they will.
“Continue to pray as we now have to wait until April 4 for the Planning Commission to meet over rezoning the house we’re looking to purchase.”
