Sermons, Videos and Articles of Interest
Brown’s Ferry Rd church of Christ is a Scripturally Sound Non-Denominational church
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WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE SAVED?
Jim Marshall
If a person wanted to find out how one is to be saved or in a saved state, he/she could pick up their Bible and start reading or thumbing through it until they came upon a verse that tells us how to be saved. What if they first found John 3:16 and it states we should be saved by believing, which it does, and they looked no further in the Bible and didn’t bother to search further, that person could believe that is all one had to do was believe to be saved.
After all John 3:16 does state one should be saved if that one just believes. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “grace,” “faith,” “hope,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” or “baptism.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that who so ever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Ephesians 1:7 and 2:5 state that one is saved by grace. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “believing,” “faith,” “hope,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” or “baptism.”
Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
Ephesians 2:5, “Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
Ephesians 2:8 states we are saved by grace through faith. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “believing,” “hope,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” or “baptism.”
Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
1 Peter 3:21 states that we are saved by baptism. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “believing,” “faith,” “hope,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” or “obedience.”
1 Peter 3:21, “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh but a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Luke 13:3 states if we don’t repent we will perish. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “believing,” “faith,” “hope,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” or “baptism.”
Luke 13:3, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Romans 8:24 states we are saved by hope. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “believing,” “faith,” “hope,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” “grace,” or “baptism.”
Romans 8:24, “For we are saved by hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
Romans 10:9 states that we are to believe and confess Christ to be saved. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “grace,” “faith,” “hope,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” or “baptism.”
Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Hebrews 5:9 states we are saved by obedience. Not one other word is mentioned in that verse saying anything about being saved by “believing,” “faith,” “hope,” “grace,” “confessing Christ before men,” “repentance,” “doctrine,” “obedience,” or “baptism.”
Hebrews 5:9, “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him.”
So what are we supposed to do to be saved then? We are to do ALL OF THESE, not just one or two but all. No one person can be saved by just one of these things mentioned here. We cannot leave one single one of these things out of our salvation. If we don’t do these things God has COMMANDED us to do, we will be lost. These are not suggestions by our Lord but COMMANDS. After doing all of God’s commands mentioned here, we are to remain faithful unto death. Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES
Gary McDade
Perhaps one of the best known verses in the Bible for emphasizing the importance of the choices to be made across a lifetime is Joshua 24:15. These words come after settling into the long awaited promised land and urge focusing on God’s will for His people. This right choice had the power to ensure lasting happiness and prosperity to the children of Israel. Joshua affirmed,
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Sometimes choices are between the lesser of two evils, but the choice to serve God yields innumerable advantages. The positive declaration in Psalm 84 is one example. The Psalmist wrote,
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness (v. 10).
Any place in the house of God (which today is the church of the living God, 1 Timothy 3:15) is of far superior value than some prominent position among wicked people. And, one day in God’s presence with His people is better than a thousand spent otherwise.
The reason given in the following two verses fully substantiates the Psalmist’s claim,
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee (vv. 11-12).
Life from a certain perspective is all about the choices made within it. Clearly, the most satisfying and fulfilling life places God and His will at the top of the list.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
RE: God Still Speaks
Dear Editor,
Thank you for giving space in The Dade County Sentinel for those who believe the Bible is the unique way “God still speaks” to everyone today. The apostle Paul commended the church at Thessalonica for their reception of the apostles’ teaching as the Word of God when he wrote, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). In His powerful providence God has made His Word, the Bible, available to all men everywhere “without respect of persons” (Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; James 2:1; and 1 Peter 1:17) “that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).
God has always spoken to man, but He speaks to us today through His Son, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1-2 informs us, “God, who at sundry times [various times, NKJV] and in divers manners [various ways, NKJV] spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds.” Christians are to “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him” (Colossians 3:16-17).
One reason why we urge this is because the Word of God is and will be the standard at the judgment bar of Christ. He said, “He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My Words, hath One that judgeth him: the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48; see also: Revelation 20:12). Those who have become accustomed to adding to and taking away from God’s Word really ought to give thought to the closing warning in the Bible as penned by the inspired apostle John, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).
Prayerfully,
Gary McDade,
Speaker on The Everlasting Gospel
KWN7TV & K-WIN 106.1 FM, et al.
Preacher for the Brown’s Ferry Road Church of Christ
159 Brown’s Ferry Road, Chattanooga, TN 37419
(423) 800-2858
God kept his promise; it was the people who failed. Joshua tells us, “the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers… There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:43-45). Again, we read, “ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (Joshua 23:14).
Not only were they given the land, but David “recovered” it. “David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates” (2 Samuel 8:3). If they never had it, David could not have “recovered” it. Solomon reigned over it. “He had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him” (1 Kings 4:24). Nehemiah affirmed it. “Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous” (Nehemiah 9:7-8).
Stephen believed it. “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran (Haran, hf), And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee… he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him… But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt… Our fathers that came after brought in with Joshua into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers” (Acts 7:1-2, 5, 17, 45).
God gave Israel the land of promise. They were slow to receive it, but for a time they had it all. Their ability to retain it was conditional. Moses said, “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” (Deut. 28:1-2). Twice Moses said, “if.” In this context, “if” means “conditional.” Rebellion and disobedience would have consequences. “Because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God, it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other” (Deut. 28:62-64).
Hugh Fulford
SHOULD UNBAPTIZED CHILDREN LEAD IN THE WORSHIP?
Gary McDade
The question to be answered is “What is acceptable to God in Worship?” Taking a child into the pulpit during worship is a novelty–meaning “new, original, unusual.” Point 1: The logical obligation to prove an innovation in the worship of God rests on the one who introduces the practice. It is not our logical obligation to prove a negative, that being, you should not let the babies appear to lead in the worship of God. The one who takes the under age child into the pulpit in worship is obligated to show us book, chapter, and verse for the practice. The fact that a little child is still in his innocence proves only that the child is innocent; it does not prove the child may lead–or appear to lead–in the worship of God.
Incidentally, if his innocence is what makes the practice allowable, then why are the little girls denied? (This cannot be a quibble–“a slight objection about a trivial matter”–because no biblical proof of the practice which involves little boys has ever been offered. You cannot quibble about an argument that has never been made).
We are to “teach the things which become [befit, ASV, correspond to] sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). “Sound doctrine,” according to the Greek dictionary is “of Christians whose opinions are free from any mixture of error.” “Sound doctrine” always has the clear ring of truth–unquestionable.
Point 2: The Bible teaches Christians–described as “lively stones, a spiritual house, an holy priesthood”–are the ones authorized to offer up “spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” The book, chapter, and verse on that is 1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
The view of those we love in the Lord’s church is “we don’t see any harm in doing this.” And, “we don’t mean anything disrespectful to God in doing this.” However, the same attempt to justify a worship practice is made by those who use instrumental music in the worship of God. “We do not see any harm in using the instrument to accompany the singing in worship,” and “we don’t mean anything disrespectful to God by the practice.” And, we are going to do it because you cannot show us a verse that says, “Thou shalt not use an instrument of music in the worship of God.”
The faithful Christian will uniformly believe and practice 1 Peter 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
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“UNTO WHAT THEN WERE YE BAPTIZED?”
Gary McDade
The miraculous gifts bestowed by the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:17; 2 Timothy 1:6), were observable in the exercise or use of them. Paul’s first visit to Ephesus began with his inquiry, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” (Acts 19:2). He is asking them whether or not they had received any of the miraculous gifts the Holy Spirit gave at that stage of development of the inspired cannon of Scripture when inspiration dwelt first in men, i.e., the apostles, and later in the product of their inspiration, i.e., the completed Word of God (1 Corinthians 13:10; James 1:25). They had not (Acts 19:2b-7).
A list of the gifts under consideration appear in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10: “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” Therefore, the miraculous gifts were nine in number. Paul gave a thorough explanation of the origin, purpose, and use of these gifts in the remainder of the chapter. They were given collectively to strengthen and unify the body of Christ, the church of Christ.
The reply of the twelve men Paul met at Ephesus to his question, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” was, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost,” and let Paul know not only had they not received miraculous spiritual gifts but also they had not been Scripturally or properly baptized. If they had been, they would have been baptized “into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18-20) and, therefore, would have known about the Holy Spirit.
Upon their learning what being “baptized in the name of the Lord” meant, they were re-baptized because their first experience was out of harmony with, not according to, the gospel plan of salvation, and it did not count, it was meaningless. So much can be learned today about those with whom we study by inquiring about their baptism. A time saving and meaningful question always to ask is “unto what then were ye baptized?”
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Other versions of the Scriptures will show the true significance of what Paul had in mind for Timothy (and, by extension, for all Christians of all time). The New King James Version says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God.” The American Standard Version says, “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God.” The New American Standard Version says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed.” The New International Version says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
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“THE PILLAR AND GROUND OF THE TRUTH”
Gary McDade
As a column or support provides a base upon which a building might rest, the church of Christ provides a base, a column or support, upon which the truth rests. The Bible affirms, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar {column] and ground [support] of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).
Jesus Christ, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), gave the definition of “the truth” in John 17:17: “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.” The reason even religious people have been saying for decades now, “The church doesn’t matter” and if it does to some, then which one to “join” is purely a matter of personal choice is because the truth does not matter to them.
Jesus Christ taught in the parable of the seed and the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Mark 4:2-8, 14-20; Luke 8:5-8, 11-15) that the seed is the Word of God. It only germinates as purposed in an “honest and good heart.”
The church of Christ supports the truth, the Word of God in its teaching and preaching—both publicly and privately, both in general via mass media and in person—in its regular assemblies to study the Bible and in the worship of God as the Bible is preached from the pulpit. Everywhere the teaching from the Bible must be sound—that means having a distinct and unmistakable or clear ring of truth (Titus 2:1).
In this present world where “truth has fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14), the church of Christ will be standing for the truth. And, only in this way may the homes within every community, the communities within every state, and the states within the nation have a moral basis ensuring their peaceful existence. There are still millions of people in America who want to live a “quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2), each one who does has no other recourse, no other way to actually have that than to elevate in his and her thinking and daily life a knowledgeable and sincere appreciation for the church of Christ. The statement by inspiration given in Ephesians 3:21 requires the belief and respect from “an honest and good heart” it and the nation truly deserves, “Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
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“TRUTH IS FALLEN IN THE STREET”
Gary McDade
The nature of mankind and the collective governments that both represent and regulate mankind virtually remain unchanged over the vast centuries of human existence. A case in point is 8th century B.C. and the nation of Israel of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote, “For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment” (Isaiah 59:12-15, emphasis added).
The Bible and history shows the nation of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 721 B.C. And, following in their steps was the nation Judah. Jeremiah pled in earnest for them to “execute judgment” and “seek the truth” and upon their compliance, God would pardon the nation (Jeremiah 5:1). God tried unsuccessfully to correct the nation. Jeremiah told them, “O Lord, are not Thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God” (vv. 3-4). The “people loved to have it so” (v. 31). Judah fell to the Babylonians in 606 B.C.
Eighty-four years into the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, about 1012 B.C., 480 years after the children of Israel came out of Egypt, wise King Solomon publicly asked God to forgive His people when they would so sin in the future and would sincerely repent (1 Kings 6:1). His prayer was the solution for a nation that had turned judgment backward and abandoned truth. Solomon prayed, “If they sin against Thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto Thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto Thee toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name: Then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven Thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive Thy people that have sinned against Thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against Thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them” (1 Kings 8:46-50).
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FROM BETHEL TO MAHANAIM TO PENIEL
Gary McDade
These three places in the beginning of the Bible were of great significance in the life of the patriarch Jacob. In obedience to his father and mother, Jacob traveled to Padanaram (Pa’-dan-a’-ram) to seek a wife. When he arrived at Luz he used stones for his pillows and dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven with the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder. The Lord stood above it and said unto him, “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father; and the God of Isaac” (Genesis 28:13). He promised Jacob the land through which he was traveling and to make his descendants as many as the dust of the earth. The promise made to him that all families of the earth would be blessed through him linked him with Abraham and the coming Messiah (v. 14). God also made a promise to him that would be reassuring when he later met up with his brother Esau whom he greatly feared because he had supplanted him from his inheritance. The Lord said to him, “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (v. 15). Jacob renamed that place Bethel meaning “the house of God.”
After twenty years in his uncle’s house, Jacob made his way back to Canaan. Jacob was “greatly afraid and distressed” in anticipation of retribution from Esau who was coming out to meet him with 400 men (Genesis 32:6-7). The location of this meeting is the second place in the title called Mahanaim which means “two camps” because Jacob strategically divided his family and herds into two camps as he approached Esau. “The angels of God met him,” and Jacob said, “This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim” (Genesis 32:1). Jacob would be mindful of his first encounter with the host of God twenty years earlier at Bethel and the promise God made him to be with him and keep him at that time.
The third place is Peniel where Jacob wrestled with “a man,” clearly an angel, “until the breaking of the day.” Jacob would not let him loose until he blessed him. And the angel changed his name from Jacob, meaning supplanter, to Israel, meaning a prince of God (vv. 24-29). Jacob named the place Peniel because he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved” (v. 30). Clyde Woods observed, “Out of this struggle emerged a spiritually greater and more mature patriarch, and one can only conclude that this result represents the accomplishment of the divine purpose in the incident. Thus, the event was designed as the climactic point in Jacob’s spiritual education (Living Way Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 1, Genesis-Exodus, (1972), p. 86).
“A NEW KING WHO KNEW NOTJOSEPH”
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GOD GAVE US HIS WORD TO PROVE US
Gary McDade
The Bible is the most amazing book in the world. It alone claims, and sustains the claim, uniquely to be from God. It contains all of God’s revealed Will for all of mankind and for all time. There exists today no source for divine guidance beside or in addition to the Bible. How crucial, how vital to the eternal destiny of a child is the reading and teaching of the Word of God in the home. It is very probable that more children are being taught to speak a foreign language in the home than are being taught the Bible. A text at the beginning of the Bible urges its place in the home. Moses wrote,
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Moses touched on God giving His Word to prove His people. Again, he wrote,
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. Deuteronomy 8:2, emphasis added. (Cf. also 8:16).
After reading one more passage on this subject meditate on whether or not you are passing God’s test. Deuteronomy 13:3-4, “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him.”
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“RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A NATION:
BUT SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE”
Gary McDade
Remember Kim Davis, Rowan County Kentucky Court Clerk, who was jailed briefly in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses for same sex marriages? Judge David L. Bunning, Federal U. S. District Court Judge, ruled January 2, 2024, that she must pay $260,104 in fees and costs and $100,000 in damages to the homosexuals that sued her. Associated Press said, “Davis was released only after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. Kentucky’s state legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.”
Many Bible readers will begin reading the Bible through starting with the first of the New Year and will read Genesis 18-19 where the hot displeasure of God is evoked by homosexuals. The practice itself is prohibited in the Law of Moses in Leviticus 18:22 and in the New Testament of Christ in Romans 1:24-32. And, the last book of the Bible condemns such whoremongers to eternal hell fire (Revelation 21:8). American society may be ignorant of or indifferent to Bible teaching on the subject of homosexuality and may even ridicule and castigate those who love God and His Word, but the Word of God still and forever affirms that “righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
What we are seeing is the United States of America officially punishing its citizens for honoring God and His Word. Kim Davis can appeal the decision if she financially is able, otherwise it is very likely that “individuals who are unable to pay court-imposed assessments often face dramatic penalties that can lead to escalating and inescapable cycles of debt, extended periods of probation and parole, drivers’ license suspension, and repeated, unnecessary incarceration.”
Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City State since 2013, recently blessed same sex marriages in the Catholic Church. He is leading 1,200,000,000 people—including 71,000,000 in the USA–into a disgusting and damnable lifestyle long covered up by the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. Righteousness is not easily achieved and most nations are destroyed for its absence. The hard truth of Psalm 9:17 is knocking at the door of the Unites States of America, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” “Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jeremiah 5:29-31).
”BLESSED IS HE THAT READETH”
Gary McDade
In the last book of the Bible there is a stated blessing for reading it. An abbreviation of the passage is “blessed is he that readeth” (Revelation 1:3). While this truth applies specifically to the book of Revelation, wisdom shows it to be true throughout the Bible. For example, the king was to read it every day.
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).
The preceding verses are a catalogue of the sins of Israel which may have been avoided were the king to have read and applied the law of God in his life.
The Bible is designed to promote and assure an understanding of God’s will for people everywhere today. The apostle Paul affirmed, “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:2-4, emphasis added). As then, so today, the magnificent blessings the Bible contains are reserved only for those who read it.
“Give attendance [heed, ASV; attention, NKJV] to reading” (1 Timothy 4:13a).
The Bible will keep you from sin;
Sin will keep you from the Bible.
You can stay out of hell,
But you can’t get out of hell.
“HE LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE”
Gary McDade
Mark from Jacksonville, Florida wants information on the verse about Jesus leading the captivity captive. He said, “I certainly would enjoy hearing from you, and I appreciate your time.” His is a good question, and I thought everyone might also enjoy hearing discussion on the subject of “He led captivity captive.” We thank Mark for the request.
The New Testament passage to which we are referring is Ephesians 4:8, “Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” The apostle Paul is here quoting from Psalm 68. The first verse of this Psalm of David says, “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him.” An understanding of the meaning of “He led captivity captive” begins right here with the concept of the great God standing victoriously above His enemies driving them out and away from Him. The wicked perish at the presence of God and the righteous are glad. The righteous rejoice and sing worthy praises to God. A recital of blessings and power which flows from God benefiting the people and destroying His enemies leads down to verses 18 and 19, “Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” Psalm 68 appears in Book 2 of the 5 books within the Psalms and communicates the idea of “Wondering Worship” (Psalms 42-72).
In Ephesians, the “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” has bestowed upon all the faithful “grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (4:6-7). The reference to His ascension up on high has the reader looking to the throne of God where Christ sits exalted as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Acts 2:32-36; Revelation 11:15). His victory over sin by His sacrificial death on the cross has brought salvation to the world. Thereby, “He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”
The “gifts” is a reference to miraculous spiritual gifts imparted by the laying on of the apostles hands (Acts 8:18) and placed under their direct supervision by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). These gifts were vital to the evangelization of the world and edification of the church prior to the time the completed New Testament was available. The all-encompassing “gift” is salvation from sin in Jesus Christ. Paul put it plainly, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:16-18). Christ has led those under captivity to sin into captivity to Him.
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“HE THAT OBEYETH NOT THE SON
SHALL NOT SEE LIFE”
Gary McDade
Perhaps no verse in the Bible is better known and greater appreciated than the beautiful John 3:16:
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, like so much of Bible teaching, the context in which it is set so often receives not the respect it demands. Before the third chapter of John closed, Jesus said,
He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Since so many want to be saved without going to worship, becoming a member of the church, fully obeying the gospel including being baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins, giving weekly of their means into the church treasury, and a full array of expressions of faith taught in the Bible, John 3:16 is accepted and John 3:36 is repudiated.
Will those in the denominations continue to practice and support personally and financially religious systems that—and there is no nice way to say this—defy the Lord Jesus Christ on the subject of obedience? He has said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
Unclassified passages requiring obedience include: 1 Samuel 15:22; 2 Kings 18:12; Psalm 18:44; Proverbs 30:17; Jeremiah 3:13, 25; 7:23; 9:13; 11:4, 7-8; 12:17; 17:23; 18:10; 26:13; 32:23; 35:14; 38:20; 40:3; 42:6, 13, 21; 44:23; Daniel 7:27; 9:10-14; Haggai 1:12; Matthew 7:21-23; Acts 5:29; Romans 1:5; 2:8; 6:12, 16-18; 10:16; 16:25-27; Galatians 3:1; 5:7; Ephesians 6:1; Philippians 2:12; Colossians 3:20, 22; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 3:14; Titus 3:1; Hebrews 5:9; 11:6; 13:17; 1 Peter 3:1; 4:17; Revelation 22:14.
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“HAVE YE NOT READ?”
Gary McDade
7 times during His personal ministry Jesus asked this question. In each instance He is showing the value of reading the Bible to promote a vital understanding of God’s will. Let’s quickly review each of these occurrences with the awareness of how important to our hope of eternal life believing that which is written is to us. The apostle John affirmed, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (John 20:31).
Matthew 12:3
“But He said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him?” (See: 1 Samuel 21:1-6).
Matthew 12:5
“Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?” (For example: Leviticus 24:5-9 and Numbers 28:9-10).
Matthew 19:4
“And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female?”(See: Genesis 1:27).
Matthew 22:31
“But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying…?” (See: Exodus 3:6).
Mark 12:10
“And have ye not read this Scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner?” (See: Psalm 118:22).
Mark 12:26
“And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?” (See: Exodus 3:6).
Luke 6:3
“And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him?” (See: 1 Samuel 21:1-6).
Although many centuries have intervened and people everywhere have become adept at rationalizing into oblivion what Jesus said, reading the Bible remains the surest way to cut through it all and “have life through His name” (John 20:31).
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“THEY FOUND FAULT”
Gary McDade
Very much like people of our time, the Pharisees and “all the Jews” found fault with Jesus Christ and His disciples because they did not conform to their long-standing traditions and practices. With them their criticism was not religiously washing hands, cups, pots, brass vessels, tables, “and many other such like things” (Mark 7:1-23). With us it is not recognizing the creeds and theologies that have emerged especially over the last few hundred years and reverencing their creativity in taking liberties with the Bible.
The faithful have always respected the Bible. Consider the Thessalonian brethren, “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-13).
Jesus told the hand-washing Pharisees that Isaiah prophesied of them and their hypocrisy. He quoted from Isaiah 29:13 and told them they honored God with their lips but their heart was far from Him. The trends of Isaiah’s time impacted the whole nation, prompting Isaiah to observe of them, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward” (Isaiah 1:4). The Jewish nation of Jesus’ day, like wayward Israel of old, were hypocrites prompting the stern rebuke from the gentle Savior, “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9).
Today people taunt members of the churches of Christ because we don’t use instrumental music in worship, embrace every misguided charlatan in the country, accept women preachers, make them feel good about their bogus religious inventions, “and many other such like things ye do.” Stand firm Christians, and “let not then your good be evil spoken of” (Romans 14:16). Whereas they are like “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” may we continue “speaking the truth in love,” and “may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:14-15).
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The rich young ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). Jesus did not say, “Nothing… because very soon now it will all be done for you!” The people on Pentecost asked that question (Acts 2:37). Peter did not say, “Nothing… it’s already been done for you!” Saul of Tarsus (who became the apostle Paul) asked the question (Acts 9:6). The Lord did not say to him, “Do not worry, Saul… everything has already been done for you.” Rather, Jesus told him to go into the city of Damascus, “and you will be told what you must do” (emphasis mine). We need to follow the story of Paul’s conversion and see what he had to do to be saved. We need to know that the word “must” is still in the Bible and that there is a divine plan from God that all who would be saved must follow! The Philippian jailer asked this question (Acts 16:30). Paul and Silas did not say, “Nothing, good friend… it’s already been done for you.” He and his family were told what to do, and they became obedient to the word of God “the same hour of the night” (Acts 16:31-34). Complying with the answer to this all-important question was not something to be delayed! It was a matter of urgency!
In addition to preaching on this question, I try at least twice a year to address it in my “Hugh’s News & Views.” Several of my readers are not New Testament Christians. They have never done what the Bible teaches one must do to be saved. Some of them have been deceived by false teachers and false doctrine and think they are saved, but according to Bible teaching they are not saved. Like the apostle Paul, I want to be “innocent of the blood of all men” (Acts 20:26). I want to do all that I can to help people understand what they must do to be saved and motivate them to do it! How, then, does God save a person?
God saves a person by His grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” – God’s unmerited favor toward all mankind and one’s trusting, obedient faith! (Ephesians 2:8).
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“THE LAST DAYS”
Gary McDade
Those who imply they know more than the Son of God believe they can predict when the second coming of Christ will be. They look to “wars and rumors of war”—a phrase applied only to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7, Luke 21:9) in the Bible. Men like David Jeremiah affirm the United States has “a biblical mandate to stand with Israel” (Christianity Report.com 10/11/2023) because Israel remains “God’s chosen people.” Certainly, the United States or any other democratic country may stand with whichever allies they choose politically, but none are under any sort of “biblical mandate” to do so. They erroneously claim the land of Israel is the Promised Land and forever belongs to Israel. John Hagee is dusting off his lessons on the king of the north and the kings of the east from his longtime wresting of the Scripture in Daniel and Revelation 16:12. Lately, they are saying all the signs are pointing to the war in Israel proving we are in the last days, WWIII is about to happen, and the world will very soon come to an end.
Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Israel lost both their national status as “God’s chosen people” and heirs of the Promised Land when they committed themselves to the worship of idols in violation of commandments 1 and 2 (Exodus 20:1-6). Joshua made plain they would forfeit forever the land when they did so (Joshua 23:14-16). Their favored nation status was irretrievably forfeited when they crucified their Messiah (Matthew 21:28-44).
Most religious people today never examine how the phrase “the last days” is used in the Bible. If they did, they would not be so easily convinced by the doomsdayers and prognosticators so prevalent now. Briefly put, “the last days” refers not to the few days immediately preceding the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. “The last days” references the entirety of the Christian age which began with the establishment of the church of Christ in A.D. 33 and will continue to the second coming of Christ. That is the way it was referred to by Isaiah (2:2), Micah (4:1), Peter (Acts 2:17), Paul (2 Timothy 3:1), and James (5:13). The apostle Peter cleared up any potential for confusion about “the last days” when he wrote 2 Peter 3:3-8, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The world has been in “the last days” since the first century.
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REBELLION AT THE TOP
Gary McDade
“Speak to us O Lord, speak to us in words we can hear and understand, for the cacophony of chaos has overwhelmed our ability to receive your guidance and discern a direction.” This is the opening of the prayer led October 18, 2023, before the United States House of Representatives by the first female Chaplain appointed by that body back in December 31, 2020.
Margaret G. Kibben, Presbyterian Minister and retired Rear Admiral, was also the first woman to be appointed Chief of Chaplains for the USN and the USMC. During her time with the Marines her job was doctrine writer for the Religious Ministry of Marine Corp Combat Development at Quantico, VA.
The 433 members of the United States House of Representatives is the most powerful legislative body on earth. Chaplain Kibben just voiced a desire before all of them for God to speak audibly due to the inability of Holy Scripture to eviscerate the “cacophony of chaos” present in our society that “has overwhelmed our ability to receive your guidance and discern a direction.” If God is the author of the Bible and it is incomprehensible to provide divine guidance, then the question is: on what basis would Chaplain Kibben believe God’s spoken words to be any more understandable than His written words?
Something can happen when the Word of God is rejected on the woman’s place in God’s scheme. As a reminder, the Bible is clear in 1 Timothy 2:8 when it says, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” The context of this passage beyond doubt is prayer. Three verses later the Bible adds, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” No woman stands before a mixed audience of men and women to lead in prayer without violating this divine directive.
This is what happens when God’s Word is rejected: people want something else from Him. To do so puts them in the place of God. The Bible was written so everyone can understand it (Ephesians 3:4). Isaiah by inspiration of God observed long, long ago, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). America is walking in darkness because God’s Word is not being respected. There is “rebellion at the top.” The church of Christ is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Its divine mission is to preach and teach God’s truth—His written Word—that all may be saved (John 8:31-32).
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ISRAEL AT WAR, AGAIN
Gary McDade
Since Israel declared its independence as a nation in 1948 sixteen wars have been fought to retain its status as a nation. They are: The War of Independence (1947-49), Sinai War (1956), Six-Day War (1967), War of Attrition (1967-1970), Yom Kippur War (1973), Operation Litani (1978), First Lebanon War (1982-1985), Security Zone Campaign (1985-2000), First Intifada (1987-1993), Second Intifada (2000-2005), Second Lebanon War (2006), Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009), Operation Pillar of Defense (2012), Operation Protective Edge (2014), 2021 Israel-Palestine Crisis (2021), and Israel-Hamas War (2023). The last 8 of these wars (Lebanon was an interlude) have been with Hamas.
Charlatan opportunists from very near the beginning of Israel’s independence have written millions of books capitalizing on Israel’s misery and duping gullible people into believing they have special insights into Israel’s future. Virtually all of them are premillennialists. Well-known names are John F. Walvoord, Hal Lindsay, Tim LaHaye, John Hagee, and David Jeremiah.
The Bible proves all these men to be charlatans. (1) Israel lost its favored nation status when she crucified Christ (Matthew 21:28-46). (2) Jesus knew He would be rejected by the Jews (Isaiah 53:1-12). (3) Jesus kingdom, the church, was never intended to be a physical, material kingdom but a spiritual one (John 18:36). (4) Jesus’ kingdom is His church (Matthew 16:18-19; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28; Revelation 1:9). (5) The church was planned by God from eternity past (Ephesians 3:10-11). (6)The church of Christ today is the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). (7) Today Christians—not Jews by physical descent—are referred to as Jews by an inspired apostle (Romans 2:28-29). (8) All Israel will be saved by the same means as all gentiles will be saved and that is by the new covenant which contains the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 11:1-36, esp. vv. 27-28; Hebrews 8:6-13; Romans 1:16; 6:1-18). (9) No signs forecast the second coming of Christ (Matthew 16:27; 24:36-44; John 5:28-29; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 2 Peter 3:10-12; Revelation 1:7).
The real problem Israel confronts today is the same problem Israel confronted in the first century. Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3).
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APPROVING THINGS THAT ARE EXCELLENT
Gary McDade
Mediocrity has no place among God’s people. True, it is the guiding principle of some and is popular and contagious, but it is the antithesis of Christianity. Christianity is a challenging religion. Consider a passage from which the title comes:
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11).
Key words of emphasis are “abound,” “approve,” “being sincere and without offence,” and “being filled.” “Approving things that are excellent” means evaluating a number of good things and selecting to adhere to or advance those from among them that are excellent. Brother J. W. Shepherd said of this verse, “If we distinguish between the things that differ, it is for the sake of approving what is excellent. In this process we are not merely to distinguish the good from the bad, but the best among the good. This is a true description of Christian wisdom, love growing continually richer in knowledge and spiritual discernment” (A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles by David Lipscomb, Gospel Advocate Company, 1939, p. 160).
The Lord designed the church of Christ to aid the Christian in this challenging requirement. Look at the structure of the church from the beginning in Ephesians 4:11-12, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Apostles and prophets are the inspired offices in the church; their work closed with the completion of the New Testament. Today, Christians must benefit from the work of the evangelists, pastors or elders—who guide the flock and watch for their souls—and teachers.
Every Christian needs help in “approving things that are excellent,” and the church is essential in providing that specialized help, guidance, and encouragement. “The perfecting of the saints,” “the work of the ministry,” and “the edifying of the body of Christ” simply cannot be done without Christians being active, loyal, and dedicated members of the local congregation of God’s people. Christianity is not a spectator sport or phenomenon where the members sit back and watch. It demands full participation and unswerving commitment to Christ.
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WORLDLINESS IN THE CHURCH
Michael Stock
I never thought much about Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?“ until I did a deeper study in the book, His Cross and Christian Ministry.” In it Carson writes about “the person who is a Christian and who is assured of heaven but who is living a life indistinguishable from the world.” While I do not agree with all the statements Carson makes, this one really stuck out in my mind. I never really thought about someone being able to be a Christian and worldly and still having salvation. I understand well the transition from worldly to being a Christian, and I know it’s not an instant process, but this is not what Paul is talking about. He is talking about people who make no effort to grow and people who are followers of people instead of Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:1 “that they are infants in Christ.” The idea he uses for infants is not a positive term such as innocence but instead the view of those who, by choice, remain naive. They show no desire to grow; in that aspect, they have little to no value to Christ or His church.
I believe this problem has only escalated since Paul’s time.
Being in the mission field has made me more aware of this problem because there are not many congregations of the Lord’s church around. I have witnessed many people being led astray by false teachers, and people follow them blindly down the road of destruction. Even in America, when I return to visit congregations, I have seen many congregations that choose not to have elders but instead depend on one person to lead them. In most of those situations, the members usually only desire to listen but rarely want to study or learn for themselves. Worse than this, I have seen far too many congregations of the Lord’s church over the years who have been led astray by elders who are either not qualified or refuse to take a stand against false teachings.
Somewhere over the years, and I don’t know if we can pinpoint an exact time, but “churches” have become more about making people feel good, drawing bigger crowds, and not wanting to offend anyone. Somewhere along the way, we have taken our eyes off the cross and the Messiah and put our salvation in the hands of ordinary men. We have forgotten Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 3:11: Jesus is the foundation we build upon. No other foundation can withstand the judgment of God. 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
Another point Paul makes in 1 Corinthians is that, as Christians and especially ministers of Christ, we have an accountability to God to study and know His Word. Paul does an excellent job reminding us that the work we do matters. It does not matter about self-gratification, but it matters if our work will stand the test of time. If we only care about self-gratification or self-recognition, our work will quickly fade away. This can be related to my earlier observation of elders who do not take a stand to protect the flocks and the integrity of the Lord’s church. As servants of Christ, we must stand firm in the gospel of Christ. Our first obligation is always to honor Christ. Paul instructs the Corinth church to take action against false apostles, but sadly, too many congregations of the Lord’s church have fallen away for this very reason. When we plant new churches, this is one of the first lessons we must teach. When we train leaders for the future, we must instill in them the idea that someday, at some time, they will have to take a stand for the truth. Unfortunately, that is a reality for all who choose to be Christians. Titus 2 is one of my favorite chapters because we are reminded that our Great God and Savior will return for His faithful followers no matter how bad things seem. I believe verse 15 is one of the most powerful lessons for Christians; Paul reminds us that we still have an obligation, “Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Christ has not yet returned, the work is not yet done, and we must continue laboring diligently for the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 4:1–6, the leaders never took a stand against false teachings, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Paul also reminds us of our limits. Under the new covenant, we have gained much freedom from the Old Testament laws, but we must not forget that we are still bound to Christ’s law. Paul warns everyone to understand the limits. Too many people take liberties under the idea of honoring Christ; that is just downright sinful. A few examples that come to mind are women’s roles in the church, the qualification of elders, how we worship, or even when we worship. Who’s our brother in Christ? These are all things we must study within God’s Word, and if we choose not to examine them or ignore them, we will understand the message of Matthew 7:21-23 too late. The world would have looked at those people in Matthew 7 and praised them for how righteous and godly they are, but Christ says, “I never knew you.” Paul said in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” I believe this is the same idea he is telling the Corinth church. The world must change for Christ. It is not our obligation to try and change Christ for the world.
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THE RELIGION OF ISLAM WAS CONCEIVED
BY MUHAMMAD IN THE 7TH CENTURY A.D
Gary McDade
The religion of Islam began with Muhammad in A.D. 622 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad reverse engineered his religion from the 7th Century A.D. back to Ishmael who was born in 1889 B.C. and died in 1752 B.C. Muhammad came along about the time in history when the Roman Catholic Church began its rise to political and religious power.
Muhammad had at his disposal the entire Old Testament and New Testament. He is the one who chose to create a religion supported by the prophecies of Abraham’s son Ishmael. Moses wrote what was said to Ishmael’s mother Hagar, the Egyptian, “And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction” (Genesis 16:10-11). Muhammad laid claim to this promise when he founded the religion of Islam.
And, it is here that the story of the religion of Islam begins in Genesis 16. The next verse in Genesis 16 prophetically describes what Ishmael’s descendants would be like for all time. Bear in mind Muhammad in the 7th century A.D. laid claim to this promise as well what was just stated in verses 10-11. Genesis 16:12 says, “And he [Ishmael] will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Guy N. Woods commented on Genesis 16:10-12 this way, “Such is the divine description and disposition of Ishmael and his posterity, a disposition of character and conduct that continues to be characteristic of this people to this day” (Biblical Backgrounds of the Troubled Middle East, Gospel Advocate Co., 1991, p. 19).
A conscious choice was made by Muhammad to design a religion the chief traits of which would be “wild men” with their hand against every man and every man’s hand against them. Brother Woods observed, “Millions of Mohammedans live in our land, there are more Mohammedan mosques (places of Moslim worship) on American soil than there are churches of Christ in all the Arab world. It is indeed a sobering thought that they are converting us at an infinitely faster rate than we are them!
“And He (Christ) said to them (the apostles), Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
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A Window To The Heart
Matthew 12:34
Gary McDade
A window to the heart, according to Jesus, is the mouth. Christ had the ability miraculously to know what was in man (John 2:25). Without miraculous powers to discern hidden perspectives, the tangible, objective presentation of the contents of a person’s heart is communicated in his and her words. Under the heading, “A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit” the New Testament affirms “a window to the heart” is the mouth. Hear what Jesus said in this connection,
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matthew 12:33-37).
If the saying, “Clothes make the man”—going as far back as Homer in The Odyssey—has any merit, then undoubtedly the words the man uses define him. Three observations from the text cry out for emphasis. One, good or evil come from the heart. Two, an accounting will be made in the day of judgment by God for not only the usual words used by a person but even for the “idle words” (from the Greek word avrgo,j useless, barren words uttered in leisure). And, three, eternal justification or everlasting condemnation are awarded the speaker based upon whether his words were good or evil.
When the people in our lives, family, friends, and all others, look into our hearts through the window of our words do they see good or evil? The divine charge is, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6).
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“Keep Thy Heart”
Proverbs 4:23
Gary McDade
The reason for the study is because left alone or left untended the human heart leads one astray from the approval of heaven. Jeremiah, the prophet, wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). The trend in his time which was not unlike today was, “Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:11-12).
Did they regret their thoughts and actions when the Babylonian army subjugated the whole land, destroyed the temple of God, and carried them away to Babylon?
The book of Proverbs is wisdom literature. Every fool has the right to reject its teachings. However, wisdom shouts,
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
The word “keep” here from the Hebrew nasar is a verb meaning “to guard, watch, watch over, keep, to preserve, guard from dangers, guard with fidelity, to be kept close, blockaded,” and as a participle means “watchman.” Do so—not with some effort but—“with all diligence.” Why make the effort? “For out of it are the issues of life.” The Hebrew word translated into English “issues” is the feminine noun tosa’ot and is found in English in only 2 places in the Old Testament. Here and in Psalm 68:20, “He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.” Issues of life, and issues of death. These “issues” involve everything from the time life is granted until the time life ends in death.
How circumspect every person should be then to train his and her heart to embrace the sentiment and determination affirmed by King David when he wrote, “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11).
“Give Me Understanding”
PSALM 119:33-40
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Gary McDade
The fifth section of the twenty-two sections in the 119th Psalm contains insight into the will of God integral to becoming a Christian and living the Christian life today. The New Testament enjoins, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Please, read carefully and introspectively this brief section of the longest chapter in the Bible.
Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way.
Stablish Thy word unto Thy servant, who is devoted to Thy fear.
Turn away my reproach which I fear: for Thy judgments are good.
Behold, I have longed after Thy precepts: quicken me in Thy righteousness.
The widely-known Hebrew scholar Franz Delitzsch wrote of the 119th Psalm, “In our German version it has the appropriate inscription, ‘The Christian’s golden A B C of the praise, love, power, and use of the word of God;’ for here we have set forth in inexhaustible fullness what the word of God is to a man, and how a man is to behave himself in relation to it” (Keil & Deltizsch, vol. 5, pp. 735-736). And, “A twenty-two-fold string of aphorisms [figure of speech meaning, a concise, terse, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle] by one who is persecuted for the sake of his faith” (ibid., p. 727). Understanding comes by studying this Psalm.
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IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HEART
Gary McDade
The book of wisdom teaches, “Keep thy heart with all diligence: for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). In an overarching sense the meaning of life and the hope of eternal life emerge from within the human heart. The antediluvian world was destroyed because every though of man’s heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). Bear in mind this condition existed even though God’s pronouncement following the creation of His world was, “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10, 12, 14, 18, 21, 25). God created a good place for man. Yet, even after the flood God observed, “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). Thus, the underscoring of the essential need for each person to “keep thy heart….”
For anyone ever to be saved today he and she must have “an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15). From the parable of the sower Jesus taught the seed is the Word of God, and for it to accomplish the purpose for which God sent it (Isaiah 55:8-11), the heart into which it is planted must have the qualities or characteristics of both honesty and goodness. Perhaps that is why in our world of billions of souls only a few million are Christians. The disciples once asked Jesus, “Lord, are there few that be saved?” (Luke 13:23). This question was raised after they had been sent out on the limited commission (Luke 10:1ff.). Beyond doubt they had observed for themselves they were living in what Jesus Himself described as a “faithless and perverse generation” (Luke 9:41). Christ’s answer to the are-there-few-that-be-saved question shows Him bringing the answer about the strait gate, the shut door, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, and the thrusting out (Luke 13:24-28).
The Bible always is its own best interpreter. A definitive look into what is meant by “an honest and good heart” may be examined within the book of Psalms. In reading the following text you might think of it as a personal examination of your heart:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24.
Only a person with “an honest and good heart” is serious about communicating such an open and personal investigation of his and her inmost thoughts, words, and actions by Him who knows everything about him and her and possesses the will to stand corrected in the presence of God Almighty. Only by having “an honest and good heart” may anyone be led by God “in the way everlasting.”
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The apostle Peter urged Christians to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and to be ready always to give an answer to every one who asks us for a reason of the hope that is in us, and to do so with meekness and fear (respect) (1 Peter 3:15). I can give a host of biblical reasons for being a member of the one spiritual body (church) of Christ of which we can all read in our New Testaments and of which I am indeed a member. But no one can give a scriptural reason for being a member of the Catholic church or any of the multiplicity of protestant denominations and sects that dot the religious landscape today for none of them existed in New Testament times!
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“THOU SHALT WORSHIP THE LORD THY GOD”
Gary McDadeOccasionally we encounter a person who demands a “thou shalt” or a “thou shalt not” from the Bible or they are antipathetic toward hearing about something they should do or not do that is in the Bible. God is demanding worship from His creation—and always has—and the statement of Jesus in this connection from Matthew 4:10 puts it in a way with which even the most resistant to Bible teaching cannot argue. Worship is something “thou shalt” do.
The late brother James Watkins once told of a lady who said to him the Bible does not say we are to worship on Sunday night, to which brother Watkins replied, “The Bible does not say we are to worship on Sunday morning either!” A person who believes he or she must be forced to bow in worship to God is a person who has missed the meaning and essence of what it is to worship God.
It is a matter of attitude or disposition toward God whether or not people worship Him. Long, long ago Micah addressed this very point when by inspiration of God he wrote,
What Does the Lord Require?
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:6-8).
Those who have a problem with what Jesus said in Matthew 4:10 have a problem with their love and adoration of God Himself. A sufficient test to see is from Psalm 122:1 which states, “I was glad when they said, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” The person constantly searching, grappling for the minimum requirements for worship to keep him out of hell simply is not there yet in regard to love and adoration of the Almighty
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THE CHURCH IN CRISIS MODE
Victor Eskew
Many churches are seeing attendance numbers shrink year by year. The churches are “growing older,” meaning that the elderly make up the population of the church. The younger generation is no longer helping to fill the pews. Very few churches are growing, that is, adding to their number by means of genuine conversions. Those that appear to be growing are only swelling, that is, adding members who have left other churches. Churches are not vibrant and thriving. They appear to be going through the motions as they do the bare minimum.
Many members are complacent or spiritually depressed. Leaders do not exhibit the qualities of urgency and eagerness which it comes to “getting the work done.”
What’s the cure? This the question that has plagued the minds of many. Leaders read books. They go to workshops. They try to find new programs. They seek to mimic the efforts of man-made religions.
A Bible solution would be for every member of the church to commit to seeking and saving the lost. This was the mission of our precious Savior (Luke 19:10). This means we must “get out of ourselves” and go out and find others. We must talk to others. We must study with others. We must debate with others. We must answer the questions others have. We must defend our faith. We must come to a better understanding of the Scriptures. We must be maligned. We must be persecuted.
If every member of the church converted two or three people a year, we would have an entirely different problem on our hands. We would be concerned about our growth instead of our decline.
I know this sounds way to simple. Too, it is not what people want to hear. It is certainly not what Christians want to do.
They want the simple.
They want their needs met.
They want a program that appears to “work miracles.”
Dear friends, there is no magical program. There is a field out there. There is seed that needs to be sown. Then, there is a harvest that needs to be reaped. It is a matter of working, laboring, and toiling in the vineyard. We must trust in the promises of God. If we will sow, God has promised that we will reap.
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6). “But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
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“CHARGE SOME THAT THEY TEACH NO OTHER DOCTRINE”
Gary McDade
The instructions Paul gave to Timothy include the exclusivity of doctrine. The practice of excluding or not admitting other things to be taught is the point of Paul’s charge to Timothy here. In His matchless wisdom God has already given “all things that pertain to life and godliness” in His holy Word, the Bible (2 Peter 1:3). A concise defense of the all-sufficiency of the Bible appears in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
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, throughly furnished unto all good works.
If this divine instruction was heeded, there would never have been any substitution of so-called clinical baptism or death bed sprinkling in the place of baptism, immersion, ever suggested or practiced. People in the 21st century would not have the opportunity to point back to this practice that emerged in the early centuries after the establishment of the church of Christ and urge its practice today because of its ancient appearance.
If this divine instruction was heeded, there never would have been a so-called Nicene Creed (Council of Nicaea, A. D. 325) which focused on a few points of doctrine and subjugated other essential points of doctrine to a non-essential status such as is done on many websites operated by churches of Christ today under the heading of “What We Believe.” The world would never have known The Catechism or the array of manuals, disciplines, and confessions of faith that stand as barriers to the prayer of Christ for unity among all believers by means of His Word, not man’s (John 17:20-23).
If this divine instruction was heeded, there never would have been the use of a mechanical instrument of music in the worship of Christians. Ample guidance and instruction had already been provided concerning the music of the church in the New Testament. (Cf. Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; Hebrews 13:15; and James 5:13).
Even more sobering is the truth on this point as succinctly stated by the Savior when He said, “Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matthew 15:13).
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THE WAY OF SALVATION
Gary McDade
Our Lord brought salvation to the world (John 3:16; Matthew 18:11; Luke 19:10) and spoke of it as the way. Today “the way of salvation” is found by using the Word of God as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). In sharp contrast to the popular beliefs of people today who may be heard to say, “Christianity is a relationship NOT a religion” and “you want Jesus to be your personal Savior” and He becomes “your personal savior by accepting Him into your heart” and “salvation is a feeling and NOT a fact,” “the way of salvation” has indelible marks or traits by which it may be found, appreciated, and those who walk it ultimately may be rewarded with eternal life. Let’s note a few of them.
An Unmistakable Way
The Messianic prophet foretold of this way, “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isaiah 35:8).
A Unique Way
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). The apostles of Christ affirmed, “This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11-12).
A Narrow Way
Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
A Dangerous Way And An Identifiable Way
The inspired historian recorded the setting, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2). Paul reflected, “And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished” (Acts 22:4-5).
A Controversial Way
Again Luke, the inspired historian, informs, “But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7). And, once more, “And the same time there arose no small stir about that way” (Acts 19:23).
A Way Of Worship
The apostle to the Gentiles insisted, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets” (Acts 24:14).
In Conclusion
Friend, are you reading your Bible daily (Acts 17:11), and is it lighting “the way of salvation” for you? (Acts 16:17).
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“THINK ON THESE THINGS”
Gary McDade
Since Christians are in a spiritual battle with the devil for control of their thoughts, the good things Christians are to think about are their weapons with which they wage war with the devil (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Christians hereby are “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Attributes of Christian character emerge from a few lists of them on the pages of the New Testament. Perhaps it will be helpful to see these and to review them from time to time.
The Beatitudes
“And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:1-16).
The Fruit of the Spirit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-26).
“Think on These Things”
“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:4-8).
The New Man
“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:1-17).
The Exhortation
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-24).
The Christian Graces
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-11).
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IF THEY DON’T KNOW, THEY WON’T GO
Gary McDade
The study of eternal life in the New Testament shows by definition that a knowledge of God and Christ are essential. The closest passage to a definition of eternal life is John 17:3.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The word “might” in the sentence admits of the possibility of knowing God and Christ on the positive side, but it also admits of the possibility of not knowing God or Christ. The sad reality is that most of the billions of people in the world today will never even have a chance to know God and Christ. The best efforts of churches of Christ to reach the world with the gospel really are meager—tremendous effort is being set forth by some within the church, yet by comparison the challenge of reaching 8,000,000,000 people is insurmountable. Jesus prepared His disciples for that in Matthew 7:12-14, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
The golden rule passage, Matthew 7:12, purposely was given in the preceding quotation to preface the shock of the many being lost eternally. A Christian has as part of his and her DNA you might say looking out for the spiritual need of others, among many other kindnesses. We want to be saved from eternal hell ourselves, therefore, we want to extend the possibility of salvation to others—if we are a normal, spiritually healthy Christian. Whatever else is thought about life eternal this one truth stands out incontrovertibly certain, “If they don’t know—how to get to heaven—they won’t go.”
No less than 16 times in the 26 verses of John 17 Jesus points to the words, the truth, the knowledge, the declaration He made—the New Testament of Jesus Christ—as that which must be known for a person to have eternal life. If our husband don’t know, he won’t go; if our wife don’t know, she won’t go; if our children don’t know, they won’t go; if our family don’t know, they won’t go; if our dearest friend don’t know, they won’t go; if our neighbor don’t know, they won’t go; if the world don’t know, they won’t go. That’s the reason why Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). We don’t have to go far. Let’s start at home!
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PRAYER
(Note: For sometime, I have intended to write on the subject of “Prayer”—not so much concerning the conditions of acceptable prayer or for whom and what we should pray, etc., but to encourage all of us to a more effective prayer life. Admittedly, this week’s essay is much more personal than most. Please do not take anything I say in the wrong way. I have nothing of which to boast when it comes to prayer. And I am well aware of what Christ said about praying to be seen of men and the need to pray in secret. I am not writing to call attention to myself, but to encourage all of us to a richer, fuller prayer life. I hope that what I say will contribute to that goal).
Prayer is humanity’s avenue of approach to God, our means of access to Him, communion with Him, conversation with Him. Most earnest, thoughtful people at some time in their lives, either literally or figuratively, are driven to their knees in prayer to their concept of God or some Higher Power. Prayer is a special privilege of Christians. Christ became the mediator between God and man and “gave Himself a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2:5-6), making possible our reconciliation to God (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:14-16), and opening the path to fellowship with God (Ephesians 2:19-22). We come to God through Christ, and Christ alone (John 14:6). Prayer is directed to God in the name of Christ (John 14:13-14) because He “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews 7:25) and He is our constant Advocate before God’s throne of grace (I John 2:1).
Prayer is hard work! It requires time, effort, and self-discipline. Routine, ritualistic prayers such as those prayed at mealtime, while good, will never result in a truly spiritual-minded and spiritually mature child of God. We must discipline ourselves to spend extended time with God in private, personal prayer. Christ is our example in this. Though the divine Son of God, He nevertheless realized the importance of communing with His Father in prayer. “And when He had sent the disciples away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there” (Matthew 14:23). “And in the morning, having arisen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed into a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). “And it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). If Christ needed such time in prayer with God, do we not need it?
I am no paragon of prayer (or of any other virtue or practice), but prayer is an important and essential part of my daily life. I typically get up early in the morning. I have a cup of coffee, eat a light breakfast snack, and before I turn on the TV or open my I-phone or I-Pad, I spend time with God in prayer. I thank Him for the rest of the past night and for another day of life on His earth. I pray for my children, grandchildren, and other family members, loved ones, and friends, naming each one of them. I thank God for sparing my life to the age of 85, for being patient and longsuffering with me, giving me time and opportunity to repent of the sins of my youth, not willing that I should perish, and to come to a deeper level of spiritual maturity. Whatever your sins may be (and we all sin), name them and confess them (lust, covetousness, greed, pride, egotism, arrogance, haughtiness, self-centeredness, materialism, a salty tongue, a desire for recognition), and ask for God’s help and strength not to continue in them.
In my daily early morning prayer I thank God for His grace and mercy, His power and greatness, His love and kindness, His care and guidance. I thank Him for His cleansing by the blood of Christ (I John 1:6-10). I ask Him for strength and wisdom (wisdom from above as opposed to earthly wisdom, James 3:13-18) to walk with Him “this day” in faith, hope, and love, to manifest the various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, naming each of them, pausing on each one and reflecting on how much I need that particular trait in my life (Galatians 5:22-23). I ask for help to demonstrate the graces enumerated by Peter, again naming each of them and how I want to show each one of them in my life (II Peter 1:5-7). I ask God for help to be kind, humble, gentle, gracious, thoughtful, wise, discerning, non-judgmental, not self-righteous, yet firm and strong in the faith. I ask for help and strength to be free of fear, worry, and anxiety over the aggravations, irritations, and “bumps” that come with everyday life, to be free of pessimism and negativism, and instead to be joyful, cheerful, optimistic, and positive. Praying for these things on a daily basis has made a difference in my life, and it will make a difference in your life. But you must have the discipline to do it—to start doing it (if you have not) and to stick with it (once you begin or if you have stopped)! The path of mental and spiritual laziness and the neglect of prayer will not take you to where you want to ultimately be! “Pray without ceasing,” i.e., do not leave prayer behind, do not leave it out of your life (I Thessalonians 5:17).
Long before the death of my wife, she and I developed an ever evolving list of people and entities (Christian schools, congregations) for whom we prayed on a regular basis. Since her death I have continued this practice. The list is divided into two sections: 1) Family and Friends; 2) Older Preachers and their Wives who are struggling with health issues, emotional issues, financial issues, etc. (I have now expanded this part of the list to include younger preachers and their families who are struggling with these matters). Each list has now become so long (Family and Friends, approaching 200; Preachers and Wives, over 100) that I use one night each week to pray for one segment and another night to pray for the other segment. I call every person and entity by name. I ask God to bless them physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. (Don’t ask me to explain the finer differences between some of these; I am simply trying to cover all the bases of their needs, because I know they are struggling in many areas of life). In my praying I am in no hurry. I count it a privilege to pray for others, but I also pray for myself that God will bless me physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.
As I said in my opening note, please do not take any of what I have said in the wrong way. I am not a perfect example in anything that God desires of me and would have me to be. I am still “a work in progress,” and will be until the day I die. I simply call attention to a practice that over a period of years I have developed and tried to persist in. I would encourage all Christians to develop an effective prayer life. Read the Scriptures to learn about prayer and about how to pray. Pray the Scriptures (e.g., the fruit of the Spirit, the Christian graces, so many of the Psalms, so many of the Proverbs, etc.)! Find a quiet place and begin the wonderful habit of daily communion with God. It will wind up being the best part of your day!
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving (don’t overlook the “thanksgiving” part, hf), let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6).
“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (I Peter. 5:6-7).
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
“Lord, teach us to pray” – not only how to pray, but to actually pray! (Luke 11: 1).
Hugh Fulford March 14, 2023
the only ones going to Heaven” by Keith Camp
Well, finally since the Bible study was about how a person is saved, I turned again to the chalk board to write the Bible passage 1 Peter 3:21 (see also Mark 16: 15-16; Acts 22:16). As I was quoting that passage, the denominational preacher interrupted and said, “I don’t believe that!”I stopped and said, “That, my friend, is the fundamental difference between you and me.” Then pointing to the Bible passages that I had written all around the circle on the board, I said, “I believe and teach ALL that is said by and about the Lord and His will….But you, like others in denominationalism, don’t.” I shaded in another 15 percent of the circle.
The denominational preacher left the Bible study angry, muttering, and complaining that I was “divisive”.” I wish now that I had thought to ask him if he thought Jesus, the apostles and the Christians in the Bible believed that their “little group were the only ones going to Heaven.”
Do you suppose they thought “that everybody who didn’t believe and practice their convictions” were going to Hell? The following Bible passages tell me they did: John 8:24; Romans 10:1-4; Galatians 1:6-9; Acts 17:23-31. Is that circle too narrow for you?
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). That’s a little group to be sure, but it is the only group going to Heaven (cf., Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24).
Is your faith and practice the will of the Father? Are you sure? “And the Bereans were more noble….searching the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11)
WHAT IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST?
Gary McDade
Have you ever seen what happens when you “google” the church of Christ? The top search says:
What denomination is Churches of Christ?
They identify themselves as being nondenominational. The Churches of Christ arose to prominence in the United States from the Restoration Movement of 19th-century evangelism by groups who declared independence from denominations and traditional creeds. [Bolded emphasis in the original, gm].
If this is what our community knows about the churches of Christ, then we can work with that. The late William Woodson taught a senior level course at Freed-Hardeman when he was chairman of the Bible department on the restoration movement. (I was privileged to be a student in that class). He made a fine point in this connection. He said we should not capitalize the “r” and the “m” in restoration movement because it was not like the centuries earlier Reformation Movement which set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The restoration movement was an independent realization in a variety of geographical locations and by a large number of people throughout Europe and here in America that a return to the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice in matters religious was the original intent and function of the New Testament itself. Therefore, the New Testament makes no allowances for a movement separate from the New Testament as would be formalized by referring to the restoration movement as the “Restoration Movement.” Woodson urged this is a distinction that makes a difference. For example, those connected with the restoration movement went to great lengths to avoid the mistakes of others such as Martin Luther who pled with his followers not to call themselves Lutherans, which plea was wasted on them.
Therefore, by consulting the Bible the inquisitive student finds the word “church” and “churches” appear in total 112 times. Each of these times the Greek word translated “church” means “those called out of the world,” and it is translated “assembly” 5 times, 2 of which refer to the church. Observe, the church is the church even when not assembled together (Acts 14:27)—the church assembles to worship God (Hebrews 10:23-26). So, the church of Christ is a dominant New Testament theme simply by virtue of the many references to it.
Further study shows the church of the New Testament was built by Christ (Matthew 16:18-19; Ephesians 2:20), purchased by Christ (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25), headed exclusively by Christ (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18), subject to Christ (Ephesians 5:24; 1 Peter 3:22), saved through Christ (Acts 2:38, 41, 47; Romans 6:23), and accountable to Christ (Colossians 2:19; 1 Peter 4:17). The church of Christ is the means by which God is glorified throughout all ages (Ephesians 3:21).
And, perhaps most important in connection with the title question, the church of Christ is one body not many (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 12:12-14, 18-20, 25; Ephesians 2:16; 4:4; Colossians 3:15). The church of Christ cannot be divided into 2, 20, 200, or 2,000 different groups and retain the favor of God (Matthew 12:25; John 17:20-23; 1 Corinthians 1:10), that is, all such division of the body of Christ or church of Christ is sinful. N.B. Hardeman once said, “I would as soon be the man who thrust the spear into the crucified body of Christ, as the man today who has injected into His spiritual body, the church, that which has divided it asunder.”
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“WHY DO YE THESE THINGS?”
Gary McDade
The apostles preached the gospel and pled with their hearers to obey it. Today, we follow their example preaching the gospel and pleading with hearers to obey it. Identifying with the work of these special representatives of Christ provides motivation for the church today to follow them as they followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
On the first missionary journey of the apostle Paul, he and Barnabas met with grave difficulty in preaching the gospel in Asia Minor at a place called Iconium. The details are given in Acts 14:1-4, but Luke summarizes the danger into which they fell in the words, “And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: And there they preached the gospel” (vv. 5-6).
Their method—preaching the gospel—did not change even though their lives were placed in danger because of it. When they healed the man cripple from his birth who never had walked, the Lycaonians wanted to praise them and sacrifice to them as they had to the pagan gods of the Greeks, but Paul and Barnabas reacted aggressively. “They rent their clothes, and ran in among the people crying out” (v. 14).
Paul and Barnabas earnestly pled with their audience, as sometimes today we must plead with those with whom we study the Bible, “And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things?” (v. 15). They reasoned that they themselves had to restrain from succumbing to the temptations of the world around them in order to obey the gospel. They turned from the “vanities” or empty beliefs and practices so prevalent in the world to the “living God.” And, by describing the benevolence of God “scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them” (vv. 15-18). Yet, while their persuasion was sufficient to restrain the people from sacrificing to them, it did not keep them from being negatively influenced by the viscous Jews to stone the apostle Paul, whom they drug out of the city, “supposing he had been dead” (v. 19.
While terminating their mission and returning to their current home base of Antioch in Syria might reasonably have been the appropriate action to take under these circumstances, this is not the route taken by Paul and Barnabas. They gave abandoning their mission to preach the gospel never a second thought. The inspired historian tells us, “Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed” (Acts 14:20-23).
In order for us today to advance the cause of Christ, with discernment sometimes we should find ourselves asking those we encounter who are absorbed in the immorality of the world and the rebellion against the Word of God by the religious world the same question Paul and Barnabas asked the Lycaonians, “Sirs, why do ye these things?”
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HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THIS?
An impactful statement was made in the past that once heard is hard to un-hear and that with good effect. It has been said, “When a Christian does not attend a service of the church he/she is casting a vote to close the doors of the church building.” Arenas and entire stadiums are filled to capacity today with sports enthusiasts and music lovers, yet when the suggestion is made to fill the church building with worshipers of God it makes folks squeamish and skeptical. Appealing to the fleshly, carnal mind with enticing activities catches on like fire in a powder keg; spiritual needs of people are addressed from the spiritual realm the open door to which is the Bible, therefore, few find the attraction. Jesus Christ said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:26-27).
WAKEUP CALL
The World Video Bible School Newsletter stated that of the world’s 8,000,000,000 souls 190,000 die every day placing them outside the reach of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. 7,700,000,000 of the world’s population live outside the Unites States. The Unites States has more money than 99% of those countries, yet multiplied millions of people in the United States have never heard the gospel preached one time.
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“THE GOOD GROUND”
Gary McDade
The church of Christ is as unique as its founder and builder, Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20; Hebrews 12:2). His mission into the world was to “seek and to save the lost” (Matthew 18:11; Luke 19:10). The mission of the church is identical with His mission (Matthew 28:18-20). The mission is called “evangelism” because “evangelism” means to spread or broadcast the good news of the gospel that a Savior has come and made provisions for the salvation of all lost souls for all time. The means of salvation or the seed of the kingdom is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). All the hearts of all the people for all time across the centuries and down to today are classified into only four groups by the Lord Himself in Luke 8. Everyone is represented in His list. Jesus said, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. [1] Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. [2] They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. [3] And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. [4] But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:11-15).
Attention is invited to “the good ground.” The character and content of their hearts is “honest and good.” Both qualities must be present for the receptive person to “hear the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Beyond doubt the rarity of the hearts of men described by “the good ground” accounts for the low numbers of converts to Christianity today. The receptive heart must be both “honest and good” for the seed, the Word of God, to germinate, take root, and grow in influence and benefit to the recepient.
A Word Study of Kalo,j
In the KJV the word “honest” translates the Greek work kalo,j. Beginning Greek students looking to rapidly build vocabularly recognition contrast the word kalo.j meaning “good” with kako.j meaning “bad or evil.” See both words so translated in Hebrews 5:14. The first word appears in the Greek New Testament 95 times, the second 46. Kalo.j is translated “honest” 5 times in the KJV in Luke 8:15; Romans 12:17; 2 Corinthians 8:21; 13:7; and 1 Peter 2:12. In an effort to understand more deeply what an “honest” heart is 7 Greek dictionaries or lexicons will be presented. Perhaps the one most familiar to everyone is Joseph Henry Thayer where at page 322 he defined kalo.j as “good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well-adapted to its work.” G. Abbott-Smith has “in reference to use, of that which is well-adapted to it’s ends, good, excellent” reflecting the scholarship of Thayer (p. 228). Wilbur Gingrich has “good, useful, free from defects, fine” (p. 106). The colaborative work of William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich translating from German the adaptation of Walter Bauer’s lexicon has “in a noble and good heart” for Luke 8:15 as also appears in the NKJV (p. 401). In the unabridged work of Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott “honest” is “in a moral sense, beautiful, noble, honorable” (p. 870).
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The church faces, with increasingly heavy efforts, the tide of liberalism and permissiveness, the desire to turn the church into a denomination like others; compromise of the basic and fundamental truths in order to “go along to get along.”
The church began on the first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ (Acts 2). It was prophesied there would be a falling away (1 Tim. 4:1-3). History reveals that such actually occurred. The church became so changed that it was unrecognizable by New Testament standards. There were changes in government, doctrine, worship, terms of entrance, nearly all of the identifying characteristics of the church. It evolved eventually to the time of the first pope (606 A.D.), and the period of Romanist domination of the Western world.
During what Rome calls the “Golden Age of the Church,” the period when the papacy had such power, dissent toward Rome would arise from time to time, but would be persecuted out of existence. In the late 1400s and early 1500s, came what is called the “Reformation Movement.” It was led by such men as John Wycliffe, Tyndall, Luther, Knox, Calvin, and others. They were not the first to attempt to break the Roman yoke, but they were more successful because there was also economic, political, and military rebellions against Rome operating at this time in history.
The attempts of the Reformation Movement only splintered people religiously. There was not a return to the Biblical concept and pattern of the church. What was produced is what we now identify as “Protestantism” —all the multitudes of denominations. Instead of an allegiance to the pope, people began following other men and human doctrines.
In the later 1700s and early 1800s, there were serious efforts made, not to start something new or reform what existed, but to restore the church as revealed in the New Testament. Men named Stone, Campbell, Smith, Scott, and scores of others were leading figures in this effort. They chose to “speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent.” This is a reasonable paraphrase of the apostolic admonition to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).
The result was that the Gospel preached by the apostles was heard again. The seed of the kingdom was sown. It produced the only thing the Gospel will produce, namely, Christians who make up the church of which Christ is founder, Savior, and head. These efforts prospered, but not without many hardships and problems. Problems may well have been expected since this concept of returning to the Bible as a standard ran against the creeds that otherwise dominated religion.
Even within the movement to restore the church, there came problems. Division took a deadly toll with the introduction of human innovations for which there is no divine authority, such as the missionary society, the use or mechanical instruments of music in worship, and other imitations of denominationalism. The work has been hindered, but not stifled.
In our time, the church still faces, with increasingly heavy efforts, the tide of liberalism and permissiveness, the desire to turn the church into a denomination like others; compromise of the basic and fundamental truths in order to “go along to get along.” As with Israel, the desire to be like the nations around us has caused many who once were stedfast in the faith to turn and digress into liberalistic apostasy.
We wish to concern ourselves with the attitude we should have toward the past, the early restorers, their work, and their message. Today, according to the loving liberals, they are called old-fashioned, out-of-date, old fogy, irrelevant. Those who still respect them are “knuckleheads.” It is said these ancient men of the past restored form and doctrine (which is even now being denied in many quarters, claiming the New Testament is not even our pattern), and we must restore the proper spirit. One seldom witnesses such judgmental snobbery! Those who talk in such fashion are often heard to mouth “love, love, love.” If ever there existed an element of people who seemingly know little to nothing about genuine love and what to love, and who practice love less than anybody, it is that element of people who talk it incessantly and viciously attack anybody who does not adopt their liberalism. To them, love is but an emotion, a sentiment, that will permit and tolerate everybody to “do their own thing,” God’s will notwithstanding.
These rank liberals have been bitter in their attitude of the great students of the Bible who led the early efforts of restoration. They hold anybody in contempt who does respect them. They clamor for a new message for our new age. To restore the faith of the first century is to them an absurdity. The faith God revealed must be updated, we are told, and revised, and reinterpreted to fit our times, according to these wiser-than-God “scholars.”
We often hear them call for a “restudy” of positions taken by the early restorers. This is always a timely call lest we become followers of men rather than God. A restudy of the Scriptures is obviously overdue among them, however. Truth has nothing to fear in investigation. The problem created by those who say we must restudy is that they change for change’s sake. If we do not change our views from the views of those who came before us, we must necessarily be in error. But the thinking person will know that if they believed truth and we believe truth we will believe alike. If the early restorers were right in some matter and we are right in the same matter, there will be no difference. The idea that there must be a difference or we have not sincerely restudied is ridiculous and intellectually absurd on its very perverted face.
There are benefits involved in restudying everything. Every generation must be taught everything. We must make the faith our own rather than simply have a borrowed faith from others. But does this demand that there be variance between our convictions and those of the past? Certainly not, if we both follow the Scriptures!
By restudying, we see the timelessness of their message and the Scriptural basis of their plea. We can learn from their learning without making them our authority. Contrary to the “wise men” of academic training from the theological schools, they were truly scholarly, although few, if any, now in the “Christian schools” really consider those righteous men of the past to have been “scholars.” Only these “wise men of today” are to be considered “scholars,” even if they do not believe a thing the Bible teaches.
From the study of their work we can detect trends, drifts, as well as the honorable goals they had in mind. We can partake and learn from their courage, integrity (an ingredient too often lacking in the liberal mind), their spirit of dedication and sacrifice. We see how they met the attacks of those who opposed Biblical preaching. We see how they encountered the denominational world. Instead if ridiculing their spirit, if more today had the same spirit the church would be far stronger and better informed doctrinally and more consistent in practice. With the spirit many have today who seek to uproot and change just to have something new, nobody would have been able to bring the church and the truth of the Gospel to their generation. The pygmies are barking at the giants.
There is always a danger of letting men of the past become the authority. There are some who have evidently done this. When trying to prove some point, they cite some man rather than Scripture. But never have I heard a faithful brother use these men other than to cite their view with respect to their learning, never as the final word or authority. Faithful brethren do not do that. Christ is the authority (Matt. 28:18-20). We have preached that consistently. There is nothing that faithful brethren believe or do simply because some giant of the past contended for it. We recognize the necessity of divine authority for all that is said and done. We would that all who profess to be restorers would ever have this same attitude toward authority.
While liberals denounce the restorers of yesteryear, others who have appreciation for their work of the past are misusing them to further their own ends. The goal of some of their “restudiers” is to find endorsement from the past for some new innovation they wish to foist upon the church today. They wish to secure the dignity and stature of respectable men to their digression and apostasy. It is a strange approach to Scripture that says we must find and do something new and different, or we have not really studied. We must be aware of the mania that possesses some for change, regardless of which way and toward what. Some cull words and works of restorers dealing with other issues in an effort to make it appear they would have “gone along” with the new wave of digression they persistently propagate. This is basically dishonest, but this is no problem to a liberal, and is about what you can expect from people who have denied the New Testament is a pattern and are determined to “do their own thing.” They lie when they claim they stand where restorers stood. They abuse and misuse what those men of the past said and did.
Finding it impossible to crush the influence of sound doctrine and sound thinking of the past, some seek to make the restorers their partners in their unauthorized ways. I predict that in coming years one will hear more and more appeals being made to adopt some new twist on the grounds that some prominent men of the past so thought. I would only respond, “So what!” What if somebody did think some faulty way? Probably their words are being misrepresented anyway. But even then, that would not prove anything except this is what somebody thought. Scripture is still the basis for the standard and this is that for which they contended as well. Is it not strange that once having denounced the early restorers as lacking scholarship and lacking the “broad view” that some wish to cite the same men they denounce to further their own inventions of heresy?
The positions taken by early restorers are being misused to try to make it appear they held unbiblical views regarding inspiration, the acts of worship, the oneness of the church, the plan of salvation, the purpose of baptism, the work of the church, etc. They have forsaken the need for Biblical authority and follow the majority thought —what some “modern scholar” has decreed, some unity push contends. (These present-day unity efforts are not efforts to produce unity. Unity is founded on acceptance of truth. These efforts are for the purpose of creating fellowship in spite of division). Some already have the church involved in secular education, recreation, entertainment, sports, becoming not much more than another religious clan with social aims and community acceptance. They seek salvation from depression, boredom, secular ignorance, physical disease, material poverty, rather than salvation from sin that Christ brought (1 Tim. 3:15; John 17:17; Rom. 1:16; James 1:21).
In Jesus’ day there were those who attempted to equate human opinions and tradition on a par with “thus saith the Lord” (Matt. 15:1-3, 9). There be those today who attempt similar things by equating whatever view some restorer had with divine authority. Restoration preaching is not the proclamation of human opinions or what somebody thinks, whether current or in the past. It is the proclamation of the Gospel as revealed in Scripture. New Testament preaching produced the church. Our preaching is restoration preaching in that it is to put back in its original order the church that New Testament preaching produced. We might, for classification sake, say New Testament preaching was originating preaching and our preaching is restorative preaching, but it is the same message. Only the difference in time allows for the difference in classification.
In the early days of what is called the Restoration Movement, there was no appeal to what men thought, what men wanted to do, nor what pleased men. Their thought in searching the Word of God was to learn what God had to say. Can we be honest and do less? Any preacher today who does not make his appeal to the Word of God has no business in the pulpit. But does this mean there will be absolutely and necessarily a dramatic difference between what those of the past preached and what we preach? As the early restorers preached the apostolic Gospel, and we preach the apostolic Gospel, we will be preaching the same as did the apostles. This is what we are supposed to do.
We respect the early restorers and are leery and weary of those who search their works hoping to find support for their digressive innovations and hobbies. We respect the noble men of the past, but never cite them as authority. Nor shall we flippantly cast aside their learning in favor of the foolish, liberal, trite, shallow, inconsistent emptiness being heard among those who are more clergymen than preachers, more school puppets than true teachers of truth.
Restoration preaching is book, chapter, verse, “thus saith the Lord,” divine authority undergirding it all, the “old paths” plotted by the ancient landmarks of inspired truth. Let us beware of the sly, subtle, charismatic servants of the devil who would abandon Scripture, misuse the restorers, and lead the church further into apostasy.
2720 S Chancery St.
McMinnville, TN 37110
A Burning Fire, Vol. XII, No.4
Article in Seek The Old Paths S.T.O.P.
BAPTISM IN THE PLAN OF SALVATION
Gary McDade
Why do preachers from the church of Christ teach so much about baptism? Baptism stands between the sinner and salvation (John 3:5). In baptism the old man of sin is crucified with Christ and the obedient believer is “raised to walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). At baptism the believer is added to the church of Christ, the body of the saved ones (Acts 2:38, 41, 47). Is the simple truth that Jesus Christ commanded and commissioned His proclaimers to go, teach, baptize, and teach enough to validate those efforts?
Why do preachers from the denominational world reject and ridicule baptism for the remission of sins? Baptism for the remission of sins is not supported by their creeds (Matthew 15:9). Baptism is misapplied within their creeds to serve their designs and not Christ’s (2 Peter 3:15). As servants of the devil, they like to stay dry (Matthew 12:43-45). It is the simple truth their preachers are leading multitudes to do evil and the people “love to have it so” (Exodus 23:2; Jeremiah 5:31).
Belief And Baptism
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).
Repentance And Baptism
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:37-38).
Belief, Confession, And Baptism
“And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:37-38).
Hearing, Belief, And Baptism
“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (Acts 18:8).
Belief And Baptism
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).
Baptism Saves
“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
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THE GREAT DIVIDE
Gary McDade
There stands a “great divide” between the church of Christ as presented in the New Testament and denominationalism (formerly known as Protestantism). And, the key difference is whether the Bible authorizes all beliefs and actions or only condemns unauthorized, non-allowed, actions. As you know, the “father of modern denominationalism” is Martin Luther (1483-1546). He saw the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church and the Reformation Movement was launched. However, he wanted to retain practices like infant baptism, so to retain those practices he originated the philosophy, “We may do whatever is not condemned in the Scriptures.” In view of the fact that all denominations, and now even among many churches of Christ, Luther’s philosophy is preferred over and above the Bible typically today allowing instrumental music in worship and women leading in worship, a statement from history about Luther’s philosophy proves the source of “the great divide” today.
“Luther returned from Wartburg to Wittenberg in the early part of 1522, when efforts were made to get him to drop infant baptism and make the Reformation thorough. But while translating the Bible, at Wartburg, he had determined to retain whatever practices it did not forbid. At first he had no little struggle on the subject of infant baptism. On other subjects he had been forced, against his will, step by step, to abandon the fathers, the councils, and Catholic tradition, being driven to it by the Scriptures. But when he found no authority in the Bible for infant baptism he assumed a new attitude. At that point he had a fiery contest with himself as to the true key of Biblical interpretation, and he deliberately chose the negative turn. That is, he determined to abide by what the Scriptures did not forbid, instead of by what they enjoined. He saw at a glance where his rule of interpretation on other subjects must inevitably lead him on this point. And he dared not venture one step further in free thought, for fear of invoking a complete revolution. To take one step more was to let infant baptism go and the State church with it. But this was not the kind of a church Luther wanted, so he dismissed the whole matter as a very inopportune question. Thus it appears that he was willing to do as a positive duty to God whatever the Scriptures did not prohibit, as in the Supper, when asked, ‘What scripture have you for elevating the cup?’ to which he indignantly replied, ‘What is there against it?’ By the same answer he might have justified the offering of masses for the dead, auricular confession, purgatory, infallibility of popes, and any other unauthorized thing practiced by the Catholics, but which the Scriptures had not positively forbidden.” (J. W. Shepherd, The Church, The Falling Away, And The Restoration, (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate Company, 1923, rev. ed. 1973), p. 115.).
The choice Luther made in the sixteenth century has been made down through the centuries up to today and not only in denominationalism but also now in many churches of Christ. The use of instrumental music in worship and women leading in worship are justified today on the basis of “the Bible doesn’t condemn it.” Some of the churches allowing women to lead in the worship have voted not to allow a woman in the pulpit. Their position purely is misogynistic, which is the very charge they raise against the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:8-15! Paul was writing by the commandment of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:37); they are speaking from the “deceit of their own heart.” (Jeremiah 23:26). It’s hard to imagine the feminists in those congregations, before whom they have bowed the knee, letting the elders get away with it. It is probable that before long even these congregations will have women in the pulpit. Certainly, there is nothing in their erroneous view of how the Bible teaches to keep them from it.
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THE VALUE OF REGULAR BIBLE READING
Unlike many other books, the Bible is not one to be read one time and then laid aside and never read again. The Bible is a gold mine of spiritual treasure that requires constant digging. It is to be read over and over. Its sacred contents will never be exhausted. Regardless of how many times one reads it, better understanding, new insight, and greater appreciation will be the results.
The Scriptures are to be read in the public gatherings of the church. Paul exhorted Timothy, “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine (teaching)” (I Timothy 4:13). This referred to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. The Book of Revelation was to be read in the public gatherings of the respective seven churches of Asia (to whom the book was originally addressed). “Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
But the Bible is not just to be read “at church.” The Bible exists in mass distribution and is available to all who will avail themselves of its marvelous teaching. To the saints in Ephesus Paul wrote: “[H]ow that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (God’s eternal plan for man’s redemption through Christ, hf) (as I wrote before in a few words, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:3-4). The Ephesians were exhorted, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). The Bible sets forth God’s will for all mankind. It can be understood. But it will require regular reading and diligent study on our part. A sobering thought that I have entertained for many years is that when one stands before the judgment bar of God and is condemned because he did not know and do the will of the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23), he will be haunted by the realization that he had a Bible in his home, it contained the information that he needed in order to be saved, but he never read it, never really studied it, never made any effort to really understand God’s will… and now he is lost! What a tragedy!
Psalm 119 is a beautiful description of the power and value of the word of God. Read through this Psalm—the longest chapter in the Bible—to see what God’s word can do for you. Here are few examples (verse reference in parenthesis).
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to Your word” (9). “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (11). “Your testimonies are my delight and my counselors” (24). “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies” (59). “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (89). “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life” (93). “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Is it for you?, hf) (97). “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (103). “Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way” (And without a knowledge of God’s word, one is susceptible to every false way and whatever comes down the religious pike!, hf) (104). “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (105). “Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way” (128). “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (the uninformed, hf) (130). “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever (160). “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (165).
The entire Psalm is filled with such glowing tributes to the word of God and its benefit to a person’s life. Read through this Psalm carefully and prayerfully, and resolve to appropriate to your life (and the life of your family) the beautiful benefits of God’s word.
The King James Version of II Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to show thyself approved to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” But the word “study” in this context is not meant so much in the sense of study as one might study a manual of some sort or as a student might study a subject in school. Rather, as other English translations show, it carries with it the idea of “being diligent” or “giving diligence” to making oneself approved of God. It is used in the KJV much in the sense of what a person means when he says, “I want to study on that matter,” meaning, “I want to reflect on that matter, I want to consider that matter from several different angles” Of course, in giving diligence and “studying” how we can be approved of God, it should be obvious that a knowledge of God’s word is necessary and that knowledge can only come from reading and studying the Bible.
The word of God, engrafted and implanted in a person’s heart, is able to save that person’s soul (James 1:18). God’ word is able to build up a Christian and make him strong in the faith, giving him an eternal inheritance (Acts 20:32). God’s word is milk for the newborn babe in Christ by which he can grow and become a mature child of God (I Peter 2:1-3). It is solid food for the more advanced child of God (Hebrews 5:12-14). The tragedy is that many who have been Christians for decades are still spiritual babies, needing the milk of God’s word and are unable to digest the meat of the word! (A future issue of these “News & Views” will address the subject of “Ignorance” and its damning consequences).
Jesus said (quoting from Deuteronomy), “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). Sadly, many people are feeding their bodies and starving their souls! I refuse to do that!
Christians are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). One of the chief ways we do that is by being a regular reader of the Scriptures. Learn to enjoy spending time reading the Bible. Develop a “taste” for the word of God. Turn off the television, the I-Pad, the cell phone, the radio, the video games. Pick up your Bible (I personally prefer a physical, print copy in which I can underline words and phrases, write in the margins, etc.) and begin slowly, carefully, and prayerfully reading it. You will be wonderfully rewarded for doing so.
Hugh Fulford
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VAIN WORSHIP
Gary McDade
A church of Christ here in Chattanooga that has believed and teaches there are Christians in all denominations for many years announced last Sunday they are going to be incorporating instrumental music in their Sunday morning worship service. And, they publicly published their view of Scripture on the music of the church. Their preacher with the 100% backing of their eldership has affirmed that the New Testament does NOT call for singing in worship. Most of the listeners to the preachers/elders position know better, but all sit silently by and accept this false statement as truth without objection. Why this false statement is made is because they know the New Testament does NOT call for instrumental music in worship, and the goal of the special pleading is to justify the use of instrumental music in worship by placing the use of instrumental music and congregational singing in the same category, that is, opinion or church tradition. The preacher even said those who advocate the use of singing unaccompanied by a musical instrument are saying those who do not agree with them are going to hell. This is said in an attempt to prejudice the listeners to reject congregational singing in worship. Does anyone think this statement provides the setting for an objective evaluation of whether or not to use instrumental music in worship? Churches of Christ in our area should know the prejudice these people have against those of us who have never used instrumental music in the worship of God. Their position is a grave insult to the body of Christ.
While they are and will continue to add to the Word of God by adding the instrument of music to the worship, the position they have taken that the New Testament does NOT call for congregational singing is false and will be refuted if we can find just one passage that supports congregational singing. We have nine!
MATTHEW 26:30; ACTS 16:25; ROMANS 15:9; 1 CORINTHIANS 14:15; EPHESIANS 5:19; COLOSSIANS 3:16; HEBREWS 2:12; HEBREWS 13:15; JAMES 5:13.
Bear in mind, we know these erring brethren know of the existence of all these verses, but not one member of the church there will acknowledge a single one of them because their leadership has already declared they do not exist and will never be allowed to enter the discussion of whether or not to incorporate instrumental music further into their worship. It is their own published position which states, “There is no New Testament support for the use of congregational singing in the worship of God.” The preacher was clear that to attempt to bring in any Scriptural evidence showing otherwise is rebellion against the preacher and the eldership. He even misapplied Hebrews 13:17 on obeying the elders as proof of their right to bring instrumental music into the worship. The misapplication of Hebrews 13:17 is beyond question a twisting of the Scriptures with its accompanying consequences (2 Peter 3:15) because Hebrews 13:17 does not have even the remotest application to instrumental music in worship. In fact, just two verses earlier in the context singing unaccompanied was enjoined by the inspired writer!
In the New Testament offering the sacrifice of praise to God, “that is the fruit of our lips” is what is commonly referred to as singing and “with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:15). This is mentioned to illustrate that God is pleased with overt acts specified by the New Testament and that some acts are in the category of Christian worship. Therefore, appeals to some sort of subjective emotional worship by those who advocate the use of instrumental music in Christian worship is out of harmony with the plain teaching of the New Testament. Acts regarded as worship must be authorized of God to be permissible in Christian worship or else they constitute what Jesus called vain worship. (Matthew 15:9). The members in the offending church are going through a period of coaching, coddling, compromising, and convincing that in the end will only result in vain worship.
Published by tiftonia
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on April 17th, 2022