Honest in heart; Noble

Paul traveled throughout the Middle East, preaching the gospel. There's a terrific verse in Acts 17 that talks about a group of people that are called "noble". I would also say that they're honest in heart - willing to learn and discover if a new teaching is true. Here's what's said about them:

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and ^asearched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

These were noble people because they were willing to search the scriptures and find out if what they heard was accurate. I am so impressed by their willingness to act when they heard an impressive message. Most of the people that I know haven't been willing to do that. Perhaps I could preach the message with more power, but the people also need to be willing to "search the scriptures" daily.

The natural result of their actions was the following:

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

It is important to do the actions necessary for believing. Every time those actions are followed, people will know the truth of the message.

Coming unto Christ - necessary to avoid spiritual condemnation

It was fairly common when I was on the mission to teach people about the gospel and invite them to be baptized. A fairly common response to this was, "I don't think so. I wouldn't want to rush into something and then fall away. Besides God is no toy; it's not wise to play around the things of God."

Generally this was just a reason to say no, and it must have been something mentioned in various churches because people used the phrase, "God is no toy" with me dozens of times.

There was one woman, however, who was fairly sincere in not wanting to fall away. It was while teaching her that a thought came to my mind. John 3:16 is quite famous across Christianity. It says,

16 ¶For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonlybegotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife.

Verse 17 is not nearly as famous, and verse 18 isn't well known at all, but these two verses help complete the message the Savior is giving:

17 For God ^asent not his Son into the world to ^bcondemn the world; but that the world through him might be ^csaved.

18 ¶He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that^abelieveth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the ^bname of the only begotten Son of God.^c

It is foolish to say, "I don't want to believe because I will be condemned more if I fall away." The truth is that those who don't believe are already condemned. It is through belief in Christ (and in following Him the correct way) that the condemnation leaves. Christ did not come to condemn, but to save. Likewise, he put his church on the earth in our day in order to help people know how to come close to him and be saved.

I appreciate Jesus' message of salvation.