Think on These Things: Truth Does Matter!

By Dr. Roger W. Maslin

The subtitle, Truth Does Matter! to Dr. Maslins book, Think on These Things, says it all. Dr. Maslin has drawn on his 40 years as a pastor to guide him in selecting practical and spiritual topics to which he applies the truth of Gods Word. He draws upon both classical and contemporary authors for illustrations and insight. His research ranges from Bible commentaries to websites and scholarly books. He draws it all together in light of the Scriptures. For those who wish to think deeply on important topics, reading Think on These Things by Dr. Maslin is a good place to begin.

Reviewed by:

Dr. H. Hershel Adams

Retired Pastor and Director of Missions

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512719505

Dr. Roger W. Maslin

Roger Maslin was born and raised on a small farm in the Appalachian area of Pennsylvania. He was converted to Christ in the home and soon was baptized in the Chemung River and joined the closest Baptist church. He studied agriculture for four years in high school until his conversion to Christ and his call to preach. He then pursued studying for the ministry at the nearest Bible college. He followed by earning a BA in Bible at Wheaton College, an MA in religion at Baylor University, an MDiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. His pastoral ministry took him to Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida, where he experienced a fruitful ministry at churches in Daytona Beach, Dunedin, and Sanford. He is now retired and lives with his wife and daughter in central Florida.

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Copyright © 2015 Dr. Roger W. Maslin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.0. Copyright © 1996-2012 by the ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

All Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English, 1962 edition by Harper Collins.

Cover image by Thinkstock

Author photo by Cindy Maslin

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-1949-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1951-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1950-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918676

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/19/2015

CONTENTS

Preface

Part 1 Faith Expressions

Chapter 1 The Way Made Plain

Chapter 2 Since Jesus Came Into My Heart

Chapter 3 The Hope Within

Chapter 4 Religion, Spirituality, and Christianity

Chapter 5 The Christian Doctrine Of Meditation

Chapter 6 New Testament Symbolism

Chapter 7 The Face of the Christian

Chapter 8 After This Manner … Pray

Chapter 9 In Jesus Name

Chapter 10 Exploring a Precious Prayer Promise

Chapter 11 And It Came To Pass …

Part 2 Church Practices

Chapter 12 Managing the Masculine

Chapter 13 Preaching a Good Sermon

Chapter 14 Shallow Preaching - Shallow Churches

Chapter 15 Paying the Rent and Leading the Flock

Chapter 16 Basic Biblical Principles for Church Organization

Chapter 17 Syrupy Sermons

Chapter 18 The Church Covenant

Part 3 Important Questions

Chapter 19 What is God Like?

Chapter 20 Burial or Cremation? And the Resurrection

Chapter 21 Who is a Fundamentalist?

Chapter 22 Who Creates a God and Religion?

Chapter 23 What is Aging Like?

Chapter 24 Who is a Hypocrite?

Chapter 25 Why Love the World?

Chapter 26 God Told Me – Really?

Chapter 27 Was The Crucifixion on Friday?

Chapter 28 What is Truth?

Referenced

Acknowledgments

IN HONOR OF

My Son Mark,

Lover of the Lord, God’s Word, Family and Music,

Loyal Helper and Supporter

PREFACE

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

Recently, the distinguished columnist, Charles Krauthammer, published a book titled Things That Matter. His treatise deals with political, scientific, cultural, and international events. My purpose is to deal with religious events and challenge the earnest Christian to think on the true, the lovely, and the virtuous. This often involves discerning and researching what is true and what is false, just as you must do with email forwards.

Beliefs do matter. They affect conduct. The biblical exhortation is to think. It is a good exercise. It enables reason. A favorite theme of some ministers is positive thinking. This has its good points, but is no help in discerning truth from error. For the Christian student, critical thinking demands study from different resources to arrive at truth. The greatest resource of all is God’s Word, and that has to be the final arbitrator, to arrive at truth. So we begin in the spirit of the Bereans, searching the Scriptures daily to determine what we have thought and heard is true.

Let me provide a personal note concerning my own experience. When I retired at 65 years of age, my health broke and I was out of the loop for interim pastorate ministry. I sought other ways to minister including volunteering for Christian ministries. I started my own website on Articles of Christian Faith and Practice. It came to the place where my main ministry became taking care of the family. I still felt unfulfilled. After 80 years of age, with the encouragement of family, I tried writing. The purpose of my first effort was to leave a legacy of faith to my family and friends concerning what I believe, and why I believe it. I am now 90 and still pursuing that vocation. This has not only exercised my mind, but it has given me additional devotional experiences. The more we search the Scriptures, the more we grow as Christians. We acquire beliefs that matter.

When Paul penned these words in Philippians 4:8, it was not in context of his claim to be content in whatever state he found himself in the providence of God. He knew how it was to abound and to suffer need. He never counted himself as fully apprehending all of the things of God. But he determined to press on. That is what I desire for all of us. Truth does matter. So think seriously about the things he has mentioned in this verse.

I have had lots of time to think on these things. It is time that I did not have in a busy pastorate. There were so many unimportant things demanding attention daily. Now I cherish the time to think and to reason, to reconsider my convictions, and even to establish new ones. The inerrant scriptures are still most precious to me. I love the Incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the written Word of God – the Holy Bible. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Part I

FAITH EXPRESSIONS

CHAPTER 1

THE WAY MADE PLAIN

A Simple Explanation of the Salvation Experience

The Bible is the only dependable source of information that tells us how to get to heaven. In Proverbs 14:12 we are told, There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. It is a tragic and terrible thing to be on the wrong road and have the wrong directions when seeking the way to heaven. The Bible is the only book that gives information about the world to come. It is the only book that gives safe directions about how to get to the land of happiness and eternal bliss. You may have heard different words used to describe some aspect of the salvation experience or being saved. I want to dwell on those words to make the way plain.

Conversion: When you hear someone say he was converted, what does it mean? Conversion is a word to describe the spiritual journey from no faith, or faulty faith, to a position of full trust and acceptance of Jesus Christ as the only Savior from sin. It describes coming out of darkness into light, out of spiritual death into eternal life. When this happens the whole person is involved. The intellect or mind is involved. There must be a knowledge of the facts of the Gospel; that Jesus is the only Savior from sin and condemnation; that He died, was buried, and rose again for our justification. The will is involved in that it makes a positive response to the invitation of Christ to come to him. In effect, the will says, I come. I accept the gift of eternal life. The emotions are involved in different ways with different people. Some weep for joy because the burden of guilt has been removed and forgiveness is so great and free. Some may shout. Others may just quietly make the decision to turn to Christ in faith for salvation. The only emotion that is required is that of sincerity. When you say yes to Christ, you have to mean it.

Grace: For by grace are ye saved (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is simply the unmerited and undeserved favor of God. In grace, he withholds the deserved penalty of eternal death for our sins and graciously bestows the gift of eternal life. Grace is contrasted with works, which are of man’s doing but are ineffectual in acquiring eternal life. Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:9). Until a person understands God’s way of salvation, it is the natural inclination to trust in his own doings. This may include doing the best you can, keeping the golden rule, baptism, church membership, and a host of other things. The Bible is clear on this subject: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us (Titus 3:5). And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Faith: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). The Bible defines faith: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is taking God at His word. He said He would save you if you forsake all other ways and trust His Son and His work on the cross. God said it; that settles it; I believe it. Faith is not presumption. To presume is to take for granted without authority. The ground of faith is the Word of God. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). True faith has to have a promise of God to rest upon. Faith is not feeling. It is taking God at His word. It is turning away from self, and looking to and relying on Him. Notice also faith is contrasted to works. Faith is essential and effectual while works, no matter how many, cannot merit salvation. Works are the manifestation of faith. There are a million ways of pleasing God, but not one without faith. Faith does not end with trust in Christ for salvation. It continues and grows. It may be weak at first, but it gets stronger as you continue to depend upon Him and the promises of His word. Saving faith is to believe, to trust, in the finished work of Christ on the cross for salvation.

Repentance: Repentance is often associated with the thought of remorse for some action that may be involved. But the basic thought of repentance is to change. Repentance in the salvation experience is always associated with faith. You can’t have one without the other. They operate simultaneously with regeneration. Repentance, or a change, is exercised in several ways when you decide to trust Christ. You change your opinion of Christ; He is not just a good man or an example, but the one and only Savior from sin. You change your mind concerning sin; it is not something to be ignored or treated lightly, but as something which has to be dealt with. You change your mind about good works and the way to be saved; and you turn to place your trust in Christ and His finished work. It was the message of John the Baptist: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). It was the message of Paul:  …but now God commandeth all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

Born Again: This is the customary expression to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. It is taken from John 3 as Jesus explained to Nicodemus the necessity of being regenerated, passing from spiritual death to eternal life, in order to enter the kingdom of God. The phrase is also used today to distinguish believing Christians — those who are trusting in God’s grace and their faith for salvation — from nominal professors within the Christian community, who do not claim to be regenerated or have any special relationship with Jesus Christ (John 3:3-8). The new birth was dependent upon a positive response to the Gospel (John 3:15-18).

Justification: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Romans 3:28). Justification is the act by which God declares a sinner just and righteous as if he had never sinned. It frees from all the guilt and blame that the law imposes. It is more than a pardon, which just frees one from the penalty but not the guilt. Everyone needs this because, All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In justification, the sinner becomes absolutely spotless before God. His sins have been washed away through the shed blood of Christ and he stands clothed in Christ’s righteousness. Notice again that we are not justified by works of any kind, nor by living a good moral life or by keeping the law and the golden rule. We are justified freely by His grace.

Redemption: Redemption makes it possible for God to act, in freely justifying the sinner who puts his faith in that redemptive act. Redemption presupposes a state of bondage to Satan. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13,14). Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18,19) Redemption is simply the price paid for sin to deliver us from satan’s bondage which He did by dying in our place on the cross. He was the only one who could do that because he was without sin.

Sanctification: Sanctification is both an initial act and a continuous or progressive act which ends with our glorification together with Christ in the eternal ages. A simple definition of sanctification is being set apart for God. This begins when we turn in faith to Christ and receive him as our Savior. Sanctification is a supernatural work. When we are regenerated, or born again, we are given a new nature that grows. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification … (1 Thessalonians 4:3). By faith we receive the indwelling of the Spirit and He makes Christ real to us. Because He is real by faith, we can walk with Him and turn away from sinful things.

Assurance: Yes, it is gloriously possible to know you are going to heaven. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the Son of God (1 John 5:13). Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47). He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36). When you meet God’s conditions, you can claim God’s promise. If you