OUGHT TO’S
Hebrews 10:19-27 Princeton Christian Church 29 July 2021
Many times we find ourselves saying, “I ought to do this, or I ought to do that”? There are always many things that we ought to do, and in fact, need to do. As we look at the Christian life, we find things that we ought to do because we are Christians.
The Christian ought to go to church – Hebrews 10:25-27 – This is a command, not a suggestion, to assemble ourselves together. This is important because it is when we can exhort – or encourage – one another. There is danger in forsaking the assembly. We are in danger of falling into willful sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth.
Someone has said it like this: “He that remembers not to keep the Christian Sabbath at the first of the week will be in danger before the end of the week, of forgetting that he is a Christian.”
As Christians, we are to follow the example of the Apostles as recorded in Acts 20:7 and verse Acts 2:42. READ What they did, they did steadfastly – regularly – uninterrupted. And so, we, as they did, ought to assemble together to worship.
And, then, the Christian ought to support the church. Now, there is more than one way to support the church. Financial support is necessary. See what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:2 – “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper…”
A story is told of a person from a foreign country who was visiting with a friend in this country. He noticed his friend placing an offering in the offering plate during the worship service. Later, he asked his friend: “Do you have to pay to go to church?” His friend explained that he gives 10% of his income to the church for God’s work. Later, they went to a restaurant for lunch and the visitor saw his friend placing money on the table. He asked why he did that. His friend explained – “It is customary to leave a 15% tip for the waiter.” The visitor’s response to that was this: “So, then you think more of the waiter’s service than you do of God’s?”
Earlier I mentioned that there is more than one way to support the church. We can also support the church through the offering of our time and our talents.
! Timothy 4:14 tells us to “not neglect the gift that is in you. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:7 that “every man has his proper gift of God.”
There is the support of one another. We are to suffer with one another; to rejoice with one another. Why is that? It is because we are members of the same body. In that body, there are many members, but one body.
D. L. Moody once had shown kindness to a friend. And the friend expressed that he hoped someday he could repay the kindness to him. Moody replied, “Don’t wait for me. Do it to the first person who comes along.”
Even as I was writing this I received a message from a church member here, asking how I was feeling (after my accident last week). That was an act of kindness that I want to return to that person, but my obligation is also to do an act of kindness to the next person I meet.
As Christians, we ought to gather with fellow Christians and should support the church of Jesus Christ.
And, then, we ought to read the Bible. Paul writes to Timothy (3:15-17) and reminds him that he has known the sacred writings from childhood and that he knows that they give him wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. READ
And, in 2 Timothy 2:15, we are reminded that being in the Word allows us to be approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed because we know how to accurately handle the Word of Truth. As a reader of the Word, we can know what we believe and why we believe it.
Robert Ketchem wrote in one of his writings: The Bible lying on your table at home is much more than you might think. It is not simply a book to find verses to comfort a friend, or a devotional talk, or a text for Sunday’s sermon, or for personal devotions.
The Bible can be and should be, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as you read it, believe it, and obey it. If your reason for not reading it is that you “get nothing out of it” we have to wonder if you are “getting anything out of Jesus too,”
Next, the Christian ought to Pray. We are taught how to pray in the Scriptures. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are told we should pray without ceasing. James (5:16) tells us we should pray for one another. And Paul says in Ephesians we should pray to preserve the saints.
Our prayers have special powers: They are the prayer of gratitude, joy, and adoration. There are prayers of confession and penitence. There are prayers for others. There are prayers for grace.
Finally, the Christian ought to be a soul-winner. Matthew 28:18-20 tells us we are to Go – make disciples; Teach them – Baptize them – Teach them.
Romans 13:11-12: Paul says: “Do this, knowing the time…salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near.”
Christianity should be contagious. A preacher once preached a sermon called “What Kind of Religion Do You Have?” His three points were: 1. Do you have religion? 2. Do you have the catchin’ kind? 3. How many have caught it from you?
The story is told of a little boy who said to his mother, “When I grow up I want to be a church member just like Daddy. Nobody knows whether he’s a Christian or not. “That is a tragedy! The man was so quiet about his salvation that his immediate family never heard him talk about Jesus. He was like a clock without hands; perhaps alright on the inside, but no one could know for sure.
I read this quote: “If you really love the Savior, and your all in Him have found, you’ll be happy for the privilege just to pass the word around.”
The bottom line here is that if your Christianity – your life in Christ is worth having, it is worth sharing.
So, these are some things we ought to do as Christians: go to church, support the church, read the Bible, pray, and share the Gospel with others.
But there are some who have not given their life to Christ and have not begun doing these things. If that is you, there is one thing you must do first.
That is, give your life to Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, confess that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, and be obedient in Christian baptism. Then, now being in Christ, you will begin to do these “ought to’s” we have looked at today.
Others here may have already done the things which are necessary for salvation but have not begun to do the other things we ought to do. Now is the time to accept Christ, and now is the time to begin doing the things we know we ought to be doing for the Kingdom of God.