Glass Street church of Christ

site last modified
February 26, 2008

HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT…?

by Randy M. Meyer

Have you ever heard anyone say, “Did you hear about what happened to ‘Larry’?” Or have you been concentrating on a task and overheard “Have you ever heard the one about…?” If you are like most people, your ears perk up as you listen with anticipation to what will be said next. You purposefully listen to hear the answer to each of these questions. However, do we listen as intently if the question posed is “Have you heard about Jesus?” or “Have you ever heard what one must do to be a faithful servant in Christ’s kingdom?”

Our society has been slowly attempting to erode any reference to God, Christ or a divine code of conduct from our daily life. It is evident by society’s actions that Christ is becoming a low priority in their lives. It has been suggested the “In God We Trust” should be removed from our money. Courts have upheld removing the “Ten Commandments” and abolishing prayer from our schools. As a result, it is found to be strange when someone openly discusses Christ. We say we are a “Christian society”. In order to be a Christian, one must be a follower of Christ but still our society, in its attempts, never wants to hear any reference to Christ. Nevertheless, to be a follower of Christ Jesus, we must first know what He has required through a study of the teaching that He has given us through the Bible.

Most individuals are able to recite John 3:16 in the “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” However, do you realize in order to believe in Christ, one must hear about Him? How can we hear and learn about Christ if we are too ashamed to even hear any reference to Him?

We have been given several examples in the book of Acts of those who believed and became followers of Christ but only after they had first heard about His life, death and resurrection. In Acts 2:14-36, the Jews heard the teaching of Peter revealing unto them the Old Testament prophesies of Christ which were fulfilled by His resurrection from the dead. The Ethiopian eunuch heard such message of Christ’s death and resurrection with the assistance of Philip in Acts 8:27-35. Also, in Acts 0:34-43, Peter taught the same message of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to a man named Cornelius. In each of these examples, the individuals were seeking God’s word to “hear” about our Savior. In addition, they heard about the great sacrifice that Christ gave for us before they believed and obeyed.

Do you have a desire to hear the story of Christ and his sacrifice for your sins? It is only after one had heard and understood the good news of God’s Word that one can truly believe. Do you have that desire? If you have an appetite to hear more from God’s word about our Savior, we warmly invite you to attend one of our worship assemblies or contact us to participate in a Bible correspondence course of individual study.