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Are You In or Out?

- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Remember summers running wild in the neighborhood or in the woods? Climbing trees, riding bikes, playing Bionic Man/Woman and the big adventure every summer brought? I had wonderful summers. I drove my mom crazy running in and out of the house asking if I could go to the pool or get a drink or take out a toy to play.

Finally, she would block the doorway and say, “Missy, you are either in or out! Stop running back and forth you’re letting the cool air out and the flies in!”

“But Mom, just one more time.” I’d whine. “Donna wants me to bring out my Princess Leia doll.”

She would sigh and let me in to get the doll. Of course, it would not be long before I was running back in the house.

I found myself yelling the same thing the other day as my daughters and some neighborhood kids were wearing out the back door. In and out they came for drinks and bathroom breaks.

“Girls, you are either in or out!”

Over the past quarter of school, I have been struggling with Debate classes. I am not fond of debating at all. I get all nervous, my stomach hurts and I worry that I cannot do the job. I decided I would begin polling people to get their thoughts on certain debate topics. What I learned is that a number of people claiming to be Christians do not believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. They do not believe in Jonah and the Whale or Noah’s worldwide flood. Yet in the same breath claim Christ as savior. How do you claim Christ and discredit the rest of His word?

You may be sitting there in front of your computer reading this and wondering to yourself: does it really matter to your salvation if you do not think that the flood was worldwide or that Jonah got swallowed and three days later vomited on the beach?

Yes, it does.

As Christians, we are either in or out. You either believe the entire Word of God or you believe none of it.

To say you do not believe in the worldwide flood or the whale is the same as saying you do not believe in the life-giving Blood of Christ on that cross. Where do you draw the line? Is the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin any less fantastic that the story of Jonah, the sun standing still, the wet fleeces, the parting of the Red Sea?

I believe every word in the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. I believe the worldwide flood, the day the sun stood still, the pillar of fire and the wall of Jericho. I believe that God planned a way of salvation for you and I. I believe that Jesus was born in a stable amid the straw and that he grew into a man, a man that was fully human and fully God. I believe that he went to the cross for the sins of all that would accept the blood.

There are many arguments to discredit the Bible. There are scientist and theories galore that give you many explanations. However, all their proof means nothing to me. My belief and faith is not in a theory or an explanation. My belief is in Christ Jesus.

My mom told me something soon after I started to study at Old Bethel. She told me not to lose faith. I thought that it was a strange thing to say to someone in Bible school. However, I understand it now. All the understanding and education is in no way a substitute for faith. There are many mysteries in this world that we were never to understand. Because understanding how the entire world was submerged for 371 days is not how you get to heaven, it’s the faith that it happened because His word tells you.

Hebrews 11:1- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

My question for you is “are you in or out?”