Who hasn’t watched the animated movie about a fictional reindeer named Rudolph? Rudolph was created by Robert L. May in 1939. He worked for Montgomery Ward in Chicago at that time and was given an assignment. From this assignment has eventually developed the animated movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Burl Ives narrated as Sam the Snowman and sang “Silver and Gold,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

This may be my wife’s favorite Christmas movie, and I must admit that I also enjoy it and the music. I would recommend it for all ages.

1 – The song “Silver and Gold” refers to silver and gold decorations on the Christmas tree, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. However, as I listened to the song, I was reminded of something Jesus said.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Silver and gold are not evil. It is not a sin to own silver and gold, just as having a lot of paper money or cash is not evil or sinful. Actually, God says that it is the love of money that is evil, not the money.

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Maybe we should ask ourselves this Christmas season and any other time, ‘what do I treasure most?’ Are all these materialistic things my silver and gold, or is my relationship with God my silver and gold?

There is not a thing wrong with having possessions, but do we own the item, or does it own us? Are we a slave to our cell phone or television, for example, or a slave to Jesus Christ?

Also, consider that Jesus wants all who are part of His body to lay up gold, silver and precious stones as works that glorify Him, and not wood, hay and straw that are of no value.

“Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

This Scripture passage has nothing to do with our sins. All who have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus have been forgiven of all our sins, past, present and future. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Jesus is telling us in this passage (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) that He wants to reward us for the work we do for Him and in His name. He also says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

Matthew 6:19-20 is also assuring us that our salvation is guaranteed and permanent since it is kept in Heaven by the power of God. In other words, Jesus makes it clear that we can never lose our salvation when He says, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one” (John 10:28-30).

2 – Rudolph’s nose saved Christmas in the movie because it provided light through the storm so Santa could deliver all the toys to the boys and girls.

Another point that came to mind is that Jesus is the light of the world. When we put our faith solely in Him, He guides us to the Father. While we are on earth, He also guides us through all of life’s storms and keeps us safe in Him. The apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:10-16 that he (Timothy) was aware of all the things that happened to him (Paul) and that the Lord rescued him (Paul) from them all.

What a shame that men would rather walk in darkness than in the light. The thief loves the darkness of night so he can more easily steal what others have. The beer halls and liquor joints enjoy peak business in the hours of darkness, as do the red-light districts of immoral activities. The following verse is so true.

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

Notice that there is condemnation for those who refuse the only light that can save them from an eternal hell. If only we would turn to the true Light.

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life'” (John 8:12).

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

3 – The last thing I would like to elaborate on concerning the movie is the island of misfit toys. These were toys in the movie that did not work for one reason or another. They were broken, left on an island, and forgotten.

A lot of people can easily identify with these broken toys left all alone. They are broken in body. They are broken in spirit. They have been rejected, even by their families. They are alone and seem to have nowhere to turn. King David felt the same way.

“I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel” (Psalm 31:12).

“Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psalm 69:20).

Yes, even though David was a king, he had some really low points in his life, some even of his own doing, but what does God tell him?

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite [regretful] spirit” (Psalm 34:18, insert mine).

In the first century, there was no cure for lepers. Instead, they had to leave their families and could be around no one, so others would not be infected. All they had to look forward to was the agony of the disease, extreme loneliness, shame, scorn, and death. No one, not even their family, would ever get close enough to touch them. Can you imagine suffering the rest of your life with no human interaction? They could never hold their wife again. They could never hug their children. But Jesus “put out His hand and touched him.”

“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3).

Most everyone has been broken in one way or another at some time in their life. Many, right now, are broken and hurting. Cling to Psalm 34:18, and call upon the Lord Jesus. He does care.

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite [regretful] spirit” (Psalm 34:18, insert mine).

Often our brokenness is caused by sin in our lives. Even if we don’t feel broken, we all are sinners and have sinned against God. Come to Him now, broken or not, and you will have a new life.

“Come now, and let us reason together,’
Says the LORD,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

Jesus told the remaining eleven apostles in Acts to take the Gospel to Jerusalem, to all Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth when the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Holy Spirit did come, as recorded in Acts 2. After Jesus gave them these instructions, He was taken up to Heaven while they looked on. They then returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Prior to Pentecost, Peter addressed a crowd of about 120 of Jesus’ followers to say they needed to replace Judas Iscariot. I personally believe that this is another of Peter’s “jumping the gun” moments, and they should have waited. Jesus already had a man chosen to replace Judas, who would arrive on the scene in Acts 7:58.

My reasons for this are:

• This is typical Peter.
• They had not received the Holy Spirit at this time and were not in His will.
• Jesus chose each and every apostle and was quite capable of choosing the replacement for Judas.
• Who will be an apostle is Jesus’ call, not theirs. They were usurping His authority.
• Jesus chose Paul to replace Judas: Acts 9:15; Galatians 1:15-17.
• Matthias is never heard from again.
• Just because it is stated they chose Matthias to replace Judas doesn’t make it so.

When speaking of the Gospel, some feel that the Gospel of salvation by grace alone can only be found in Paul’s letters. This just isn’t true. Salvation has always been by grace alone whether we’re reading the Old Testament, the Gospels, Acts, Hebrews, or the letters of John, James, or Jude. The only ‘work’ ever included and accepted in the doctrine of salvation has always been the work of Jesus on our behalf. From Adam and Eve to today’s generations, salvation has always been by grace, not works.

So, my point is, can we use the book of Acts to share the Gospel? Absolutely! The most familiar verse in Acts is probably Acts 16:31 which says, “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'” Can we use any passages prior to chapter 16? We certainly can.

God has dealt with mankind through different methods, but always through grace, in other words, different dispensations. We are currently in what is called the age of grace (although it’s always been about grace) or the church age.

Some believers, as I mentioned earlier, believe that we can only use Paul’s letters for the true Gospel of grace. For example, they believe that the Church did not begin at Pentecost and there is no need for water baptism. Let me be very clear about water baptism. Water baptism is important, and every new believer should be baptized (immersed in water), if at all possible, but it CANNOT, WILL NOT, AND HAS NEVER saved anyone. If you recall, the thief on the cross, that became a believer in the Lord, was in no position to be baptized.

The following article from gotquestions.org will be very helpful in understanding what I’m saying. What is mid-Acts dispensationalism? What is the Grace Movement, and is it biblical? | GotQuestions.org

The last sentence of the article from gotquestions.org states, “While we disagree with them on water baptism, the role of the law before the church age, and the exact start of the church age, we consider mid-Acts dispensationalists to be our brothers and sisters in Christ.” I feel the same. Though we may disagree, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Assuming you read the article from gotquestions.org, I would like for us to walk through several passages of Scripture in the book of Acts and see firsthand that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is alive and well in this wonderful book written by Luke.

While we use Ephesians 2:8-9 as a guide, let’s take a look at several passages in the book of Acts to see if they follow the same teaching.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Call On:

Acts 2:21

“And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

Peter quotes a prophecy for the last days taken from Joel 2:28-32. What they were experiencing at Pentecost was a sampling of the fulfilling of this passage in the Tribulation. To call on the name of the Lord is certainly not inconsistent with Ephesians 2:8-9.

Thru Jesus:

4:12; 5:31-32

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Acts 2:21, 4:12, and 5:31-32 are all clear that salvation is through Jesus Christ, so again, there is no disagreement with Ephesians 2:8-9. Also, if you will read John 14:6, you’ll see that God makes this clear through another apostle (John) that Jesus is who we call upon to be saved, and there is no other way.

Repent:

Acts 3:19; 17:30; 20:21

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

This is stated in Peter’s second sermon to his Jewish brethren. Some may say this isn’t for the Church, that repentance is for Israel (think John the Baptist) and faith alone is for Israel.

What does ‘repent’ and ‘converted’ mean? Repent simply means to change your mind, and to be converted is to change directions. In other words, “change your mind and go to Jesus.” Isn’t this what God demands of all mankind to be saved?

Israelite or Gentile, we must all change our mind about what we believe and go to Jesus, i.e., repent and be converted. Again, this is totally consistent with Ephesians 2:8-9.

Believe:

Acts 10:43; 11:17; 13:38-39; 15:7-9; 16:31; 18:8

“To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

To be born again, I must believe in Jesus, that He died for me, was buried for me, and rose from the grave for me. He is the only way I can spend eternity with God in Heaven, so I will follow Him.

“Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8).

I also included this verse because of the last five words, “hearing, believed, and were baptized.”

Hearing: If we are not willing to listen, we will never know how to be saved.

Believed: Without belief in Jesus as our Savior, we will never be saved.

Were baptized: The Corinthians referred to in this passage were baptized AFTER they believed and were saved. Water baptism is important, but it cannot save anyone.

Turn:

Acts 14:15; 26:18

“and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them'” (Acts 14:15).

“to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18).

Notice that Acts 14:15 emphasizes that we “turn from these useless things to a living God” and that Acts 26:18 emphasizes that we turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

We must turn FROM these things TO God. This is repentance and being converted. We change our mind about what is keeping us from Christ and instead turn to Him.

Faith:

Acts 14:27; 20:21

“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

The book of Acts is for both the Jews and also to the Greeks (Gentiles). The message is the same for all and has never changed. Salvation has always been by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html