Jesus Saves!!

Jesus Saves

Psalm 100

King James Version (KJV)

1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

² Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

³ Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

⁵ For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

I cannot under any circumstance conceive of a more joyful noise than the praise offered in a sincere and honest utterance of the words used as a title from yet another hymn heard in churches throughout the world that have echoed the TRUTH of the gospel since being copyrighted in 1882. Written by Pricilla Owens and Wm Kirkpatrick at some previous time that copyright was given to John J. Hood, and the hymn placed within the hymnals used both then and now.

Jesus Saves We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Spread the tidings all around: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Bear the news to every land, climb the mountains, cross the waves; Onward! ’tis our Lord’s command; Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Waft it on the rolling tide: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Tell to sinners far and wide: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Sing, you islands of the sea; echo back, you ocean caves; Earth shall keep her jubilee: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Sing above the battle strife: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! By His death and endless life Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Shout it brightly through the gloom, when the heart for mercy craves; Sing in triumph o’er the tomb: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

This hymn echoes words that reflect the power given us along with the duty commanded of us by Jesus of the necessity to proclaim that gospel to every creature, meeting HALF the requirement of that command. Mark 16:15-16 King James Version (KJV) 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. That gospel that must be given to every creature must include ALL of that gospel. As noted by the Psalmist, HIS TRUTH endures to ALL generations. That gospel includes that Christ’s sacrifice is not to be given in vain, that the price paid comes with condition, and that the reason for that sacrifice be preached as well. Luke 24:46-48 King James Version (KJV) 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. Repentance in return for redemption, the message preached by Christ from the river Jordan, to the cross where the grace of that simple message was delivered, remains a critical part of that equation and cannot be removed from it. That critical portion of the equation must be equally stressed to all along with the promise, if we are to assure that the diet being consumed is that intended for us by Him. John 21:12-17 King James Version (KJV) 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. The sheep need to be fed, and will only be fed through the totality of what has been given, and what is in turn required. Those sheep must first be returned to the pasture intended, and will only do so when concern is given to finding them despite their scattering. That return is assured if the voice listened to is that of the only TRUE Shepherd, Christ Jesus, whose blood was given for the remission of sin for MANY. Those MANY include those who hear the joyful sound, and in turn, repeat that joyful sound for it to be heard by as many as choose to hear. It must be heard above the noise made by any attempting to distract from the message delivered by Christ, whose attempts to distort and deny it are doomed to failure, as are those deceived by those attempts. Matthew 28:18-20 King James Version (KJV) 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. All power remains in the hands of Christ Jesus, where placed forever by the Father. That remains a reason for making a JOYFUL noise. The command given to teach those teachable, to reach those reachable remains a duty that may not be ignored. The exhortation  remains that it must be ALL things  commanded, not merely the warm fuzzy that ignores the necessity of the original message, and denies the power of that message, thereby denying the promise along with the warning… two halves of the gospel, equal in importance, equal in strength, equal in power, equal in TRUTH. Jesus Saves! Matthew 4:16-17 King James Version (KJV) 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. One WAY, One TRUTH, One means of obtaining the LIFE  promised. Amen and Amen CMc