Just why are you a member of some church? Do you read the New Testament? Does Jesus and his death mean anything to you? Just how important is the salvation of your soul to you? Yes, you are right, this a lot of questions to start an article with, but each question should be of interest to you! You see, we are living in a world that is changing faster than most of us can keep up with; and to say that our heads may be spinning round and round, may be an understatement.
So, let us take the above questions one at a time and slowly think about each one. First, “Just why are you a member of some church?” This really requires a second question: Why are you a member of the church you are a member of? Do you think it makes any difference which church you are a member? Many times people are a member of a church because their parents are members, or a good friend is a member. Here is a good question to think about: Did you become a member of this church because of something you read in the New Testament? Maybe you read where Jesus said: “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) and you believe you are a member of this church. It sure would be the right reason to be a member of this church; and if Jesus did not build this church, it sure would be a good reason not be a member! Therefore, here is a another question: Does truth matter to you?
The second question was: “Do you read the New Testament?” If so, why do you read it? Just what are you looking for when you read it, or are you looking for anything? As you read the New Testament, did you ever read where Jesus said: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Then, as you read more, maybe you read these words of Peter: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth …” (1 Pet. 1:22). If you have both of these passages, did you add the two thoughts together, “free” and “purified?” Just to help your thoughts, the word “purified” (the Greek hagnizo) means: to make pure, to cleanse. To be “pure” and “cleanse” is to be “free” from sin and Jesus said: “the truth shall make you free.” However, is it clear that he meant as truth obeyed will make one free from sin! Did the thought ever enter your mind as you read the words: “the truth shall make you free,” that it required your obedience to the truth?
The third question was: “Does Jesus and his death mean anything to you?” It is hard to think of some reading the New Testament while the death of Jesus means nothing to them. So, as you read the New Testament, did you read that Jesus purchased the church with his own blood? Paul wrote these words when speaking to the elders of the church located in Ephesus: “to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Does this make the church as important as Jesus’ blood? In other words, is the church worth the price Jesus paid for it? Here is a good place to give some thought to another question: Does this make one church just as good as another, or does it make the church Jesus purchased with his own blood better, worth more, than any other church? Before concluding this thought, give a moment to these words: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her” (Eph. 5:25). If you are going to be a member of any church, why not desire to be a member of the church Jesus loves and gave himself for? Keep in mind, Jesus said, “I will build my church!” Would Jesus’ church wear his name or just any name people may come up with?
The fourth question was: “Just how important is the salvation of your soul to you?” Allow me to point out, that these questions are all related. First, they are all related to truth; therefore, our subject: “IF IT IS NOT TRUTH!” I have never understood how anyone can relate to Christianity, and not be interested in truth. In fact, I have never been able to understand why anyone would settle for anything less than truth! “If it is not truth,” just what do you have? Isn’t the salvation of your soul/spirit worth more than the whole world? Remember the words of Jesus: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37). Just how important is the salvation of your soul?
Is the salvation of your soul/spirit worth knowing the truth? Not what someone may have said to you, be it friend, family member, or preacher! Paul expressed the desire of God for you: “(God) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Truth and saved go together!
— Frank R. Williams