Evangelist

Chris Pruitt

Elders

Chuck Claiborne

Leonard Leavitt

Billy Hale

Deacons

Charlie Brown

Richard Kopydlowski

2424 McCarran St.

North Las Vegas, NV   89030

(702) 642-3141

Times of Services

Sunday

Bible Class:  9:00 am

Services:  9:50 am

Services:  6:00 pm

Wednesday

Bible Class:  7:30 pm

    "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1.1). During the first creation week God created all things (Revelation 4.11). On the sixth day God formed from the dust of the ground one who was made in the image of Him (Genesis 1.26). The pinnacle of all creation, the apex of God's creative genius was manifested in the formation of man. "And the LORD formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2.7).

    Upon creating man, and then woman from the rib of man, God provided them with certain commands and instructions. After placing the couple in the garden of Eden, to Adam and Eve God commanded, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2.16,17). Being tempted by the devil Adam and Eve disregarded the commandment of God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God through inspired writers called this "sin". 1 John 3.4: "Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God's law, for sin is the breaking of the law.”
 

    Since then man has continued to break God laws. Whether ignorantly or purposefully, man has  violated the will of God and sinned. That no one has lived in perfect obedience with God's instructions was brought out by the apostle Paul, "for all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3.23). Yes, all are guilty of sin, but not because we have somehow inherited the sins of Adam, for "the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father" Instead, "the soul that sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18.20). Indeed the reason why everyone stands before God as guilty of sin is "because all sinned" (Romans 5.12).

    The consequence of sin is severe. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6.23). As Adam and Eve were separated from God having been cast out of the garden, so also is the sinner cast away from the presence of God. "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59.2).

    From before the foundation of the world God had a plan in mind to bring erring man back into a right relationship with Him (1 Peter 1.20). God is just, and therefore cannot allow sin to go unpunished. To do so would be to go against His own nature. On the other hand God is also merciful. To pass judgment without showing mercy is also against His nature. At the appointed time God sent forth His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Though He was without sin (2 Corinthians 5.21), Christ took on the sins of man. Dying a painful and cruel death on the cross Christ satisfied God's requirement for justice (Isaiah 53.4-6). Therefore through Christ's death on the cross God is able to be both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3.26).

    It is therefore through the blood of Christ that redemption is found, "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by the tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb of God without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1.18,19). This is God's grace, His gift to man -- the redeeming blood of Christ (Ephesians 2.1-9). We can do nothing to deserve, nor earn this grace. Instead God offers it to undeserving man. Yet God has not made this grace available without condition. He has made salvation through Christ obtainable through a set of conditions which He has established. These conditions are outlined within the Bible.
 

Condition 1: Hear the gospel: The apostle Paul wrote that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10.17). It ought to be obvious that one cannot be saved responding to God's offer of grace if he has never heard the offer. Paul puts it this way: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard" (Romans 10.14)?

Condition 2: Believe: That faith is essential for salvation is without dispute. Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins" (John 8.24). Yet believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is not by itself a saving act. In other words one must indeed believe, but not only believe. The second chapter of James provides much insight into the concept of faith. He describes faith as being worthless by itself, "for even the demons believe and tremble" (James 2.19). Faith that is acceptable to God is faith that is followed by works. "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead" (James 2.20). The works that we do is a demonstration of our faith. "But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2.18).

Condition 3: Repent: Jesus warned, "I tell you no, but unless you repent you shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13.3). Repentance is more than a mere feeling of sorrow over the sins previously committed. To be sorrowful is to lead to repentance. Paul remarked, "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance." (2 Corinthians 7.9). To repent means to turn from the lifestyle of sin currently engaged.

Condition 4: Confess. The apostle Paul wrote that "with the heart one believe unto righteousness, and with the tongue confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10.10). But what is it that one is expected to confess? Confession is not made of sins, but of the faith that Jesus is the Son of God. This fact was taught by Jesus Himself: "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, Him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10.32). To confess is to publicly acknowledge that you believe that Jesus is the Christ. Even the Ethiopian Eunuch recognized this need who stated, "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God" (Acts 8.37).
 

Condition 5: Baptism: When the first gospel sermon was preached by Peter in Acts 2, the Jews cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do" (v. 37)? Peter responded in the very next verse, "Repent and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (v. 38). Later in his epistle Peter wrote, "There is an antitype that now saves us -- baptism" (1 Peter 3.21). Not a sprinkling or pouring, but an immersion into water. Baptism is the means by which we are washed by the blood of Christ as it symbolically emulates the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Consider: Rom 6:3-4: "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

When one meets the conditions established by God in His word he enters into a relationship with God. Having had his sins washed away by the blood of Christ he is added to the Lord's church (Acts 2.47; 1 Corinthians 12.18).