The Church: Precious in the

Sight of God

 Eddy Gilpin, Salem, Virginia

 The first definition given by Webster for the word “precious” is “of great value or worth.” Without hesitation, then, this word can be applied to the church in describing how God feels about it. The church is certainly “of great value and worth” to God, a fact which can be seen by many aspects about the church which God’s word reveals.

Doing it the Easy Way

 Glenn Colley, Collierville, Tennessee

 A widely circulated e-mail came to me recently. Some of our students may find this somewhat appealing. It said,

 YOU CAN GET A UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA NOW!

 For a limited time only, diplomas from prestigious non-accredited Universities are available. Diplomas will be awarded based on your present knowledge and life experience.

* No required tests

* No required classes

* No boring books to read

* No interviews required

* No one is turned down.

Imagine the prosperous future, money, and the admiration of all that you will have. Bachelors, Masters Degrees, MBAs, or even a Doctorate (Ph.D.) can be yours. Confidentiality is assured. Call now and receive your university diploma within days!! (The phone number was listed).

 This is amusing and makes a strong spiritual illustration. How many today, even some religious leaders, want to promise heaven to those who don’t obey God’s Word? Such a promise of salvation, as with the promise of a Ph.D. without any work, is a fairy tale and not reality. Throughout history people have tried to water down God’s requirements. Some taught the doctrines of men in Christ’s time, and their worship became vain (Mt. 15:9). Some used their imagination and taught a way different from God’s way and were called “filthy dreamers” (Jude 8).

How many popular religious practices and doctrines can you think of which are attempts to help people “graduate” to heaven one day without fulfilling God’s requirements?

1. To hear some funeral preachers today, a man may go to heaven without being religious at all. He may be active in the community, a good family man, and when he dies the preacher will often say, “he went to a better place.” Isn’t that like offering a degree to someone who doesn’t go to school?

2. The Bible teaches that one must repent and be baptized to have his sins forgiven (Acts 2:38). Some religious groups today sprinkle water on babies and claim such saves them. Babies can’t repent and have nothing from which to repent, but perhaps such religionists figure that they also can’t grow up and reject Christ if we “baptize” them when they are infants. Isn’t that like offering a degree to someone who doesn’t go to school?

3. Again, Acts 2:38 says “. . . 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.” Some today, even in some churches of Christ, are maintaining that baptism practiced in other religions, which is clearly not for the remission of sins, will still be good enough. One popular preacher encouraged people to do what the Bible never teaches them to do—pray the sinner’s prayer for salvation. He then went on to say that such a prayer saves you, and afterwards you should be baptized. That isn’t the obedience Jesus required for salvation, but it makes things a lot easier in one way—we could relax our teaching and evangelism and simply accept false religions as God-approved. But isn’t that like offering a degree to someone who doesn’t go to school?

4. Some of our brethren were baptized according to the scriptures, but have been weak and sporadic in their worship attendance, their giving, and their general involvement. Clearly the Bible requires such of Christians. Their limited involvement shows these folks to have some intention and hope of heaven, but without all the effort and dedication and love. Isn’t that like offering a degree to someone who doesn’t go to school?

We do not earn our salvation in the way we might earn a degree, and yet there are requirements God has placed on us if we are to enter the pearly gates. God’s grace is rich and good and shows us how to please the Almighty (Tit. 2:11-12). Observe:

·        “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).

·        “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

·        “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:33).

·        “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:25-27).

"And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Mt. 7:26-27)  WOT

 

Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs . . .

and Mermaids?

 Mike Benson, Evansville, Indiana

 I confess to being a fan of Robert Fulghum. While I don’t share many of his religious or moral convictions, I do appreciate some of his insightful writing. Many of you will recall his first work, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The following is an excerpt from that volume:

"GIANTS, WIZARDS, AND DWARFS was the game to play. Being left in charge of about eighty children seven to ten years old, while their parents were off doing parenty things, I mustered my troops in the church social hall and explained the game. It’s a large-scale version of Rock, Paper, and Scissors, and involves some intellectual decision-making. But the real purpose of the game is to make a lot of noise and run around chasing people until nobody knows which side you are on or who won.

Organizing a roomful of wired-up gradeschoolers into two teams, explaining the rudiments of the game, achieving consensus on group identity— all this is no mean accomplishment, but we did it with a right good will and were ready to go.

The excitement of the chase had reached a critical mass. I yelled out: “You have to decide now which you are—a GIANT, a WIZARD, or a DWARF!”

While the groups huddled in frenzied, whispered consultation, a tug came at my pants leg. A small child stands there looking up, and asks in a small, concerned voice, “Where do the Mermaids stands?”

Where do the Mermaids stand? A long pause. A very long pause. “Where do the Mermaids stand?” says I. “Yes. You see, I am a Mermaid.” “There are no such things as Mermaids.” “Oh, yes, I am one!”

She did not relate to being a Giant, a Wizard, or a Dwarf. She knew her category. Mermaid. And she was not about to leave the game and go over and stand against the wall where a loser would stand. She intended to participate, wherever Mermaids fit into the scheme of things. Without giving up dignity or identity. She took it for granted that there was a place for Mermaids and that I would know just where.

Well, where DO the Mermaids stand? All the “Mermaids”—all those who are different, who do not fit the norm and who do not accept the available boxes and pigeonholes?

Answer that question and you can build a school, a nation, or a world on it.

What was the answer at the moment? Every once in while I say the right thing. “The Mermaid stands right here by the King of the Sea!” says I. (Yes, right here by the King’s Fool, I thought to myself).

So we stood there hand in hand, reviewing the troops of Wizards and Giants and Dwarfs as they rolled by in wild disarray.

It is not true, by the way, that mermaids do not exist. I know at least one personally. I have held her hand" (83-85).

 

As I read that story, it occurred to me that there’s a message here for our Christian young people. You need to be reminded that:

1) It’s not always necessary to conform to the ways of your peers (Rom. 12:2).

2) At times, Christianity demands that you stand alone (Gen. 39:6-12; Dan. 1:8; 2 Kng. 22-23) and withdraw/separate (Ezra 10:11) yourself from those activities which may compromise your faith (1 Cor. 15:33).

On occasion, you may be tempted to think, “I have to be this way or that way,” when in reality, . . .

3) Neither position may be in keeping with what Christ desires for you and your life (Lk. 9:23; Mt. 5:13-16). To borrow from Fulghum, you can be a “mermaid” despite what everybody else is trying to be.

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him you called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. Tit. 2:14).

 

“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus!”

 

Neil Richey, Lynchburg, Virginia

 A talented twenty-nine year-old preacher was conducting a revival in Philadelphia in 1858. As a result of the young preacher’s message, as well as his oratorical ability, many responded at that meeting. On Wednesday, after the close of the meeting, he was at his farm watching a new machine shell corn. Intrigued by the apparatus, he moved in for a closer look. Tragically, he got too close, his sleeve was caught, and his arm was pulled out at the shoulder. By Friday, the news about the accident had spread, and friends and fellow ministers came to console the family. The young preacher’s father leaned over the bed to hear his son utter his final words: “Tell them to stand up for Jesus!”

George Duffield was present at the time this young preacher was dying. He was so impressed by these final words that he went home and wrote this poem:

 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Ye soldiers of the Cross,

Lift high his royal banner,

It must not suffer loss.

From victory unto victory,

His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished

And Christ is Lord indeed.

 

Some of the most memorable words uttered are final words, and often these words are said to benefit others rather than self. Such was the case with this young preacher. When I consider the final words of those in the Bible, I think about such men as the apostle Paul. Toward the end of his life he encouraged Timothy to “preach the word,” to be watchful, to “endure,” to be a worker, and to fulfill his ministry (2 Tim. 4:2-5). Paul then said there was a “crown of righteousness” waiting for him, and for “all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). He was thinking of others at the time of his death. When the time came near for the Lord to leave His apostles to go to the right hand of His Father, He said, “Let not your heart he troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself , that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn. 14:1-3). The Lord did not want His disciples to be without hope.

We can learn valuable lessons from the young preacher who, in his dying breath, said “Tell them to stand up for Jesus!” Consider these:

 The cost

Anything worthwhile in life is not free. Christianity is not free, for it cost the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). When we choose to stand on the Lord’s side by becoming Christians through our obedience, then there is a cost. Jesus said, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:33). So the cost of discipleship is not cheap. We must be willing to give up all that we have if we are going to stand up for Jesus. In reality, this is a small price to pay when we think in terms of the rewards that are promised if we stand for the Lord.

 The rewards

But the rewards also are numerous. When we choose to stand up for Jesus by obeying the Gospel, then we have . . .

·        . . . the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

·        . . . a companion that will endure with us until the end. Jesus said, “. . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Mt. 28:20).

·        . . . power over Satan (Mt. 4:1-11).

·        . . . a purpose. Jesus said, “. . . Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15).

·        . . . hope for the future. John penned these words, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 Jn. 5:13).

We must stand up for Jesus in all that we do. As Christians, we made that decision before we were immersed for the remission of our sins. Jesus must come first (Mt. 6:33). . . . before recreation and enter-tainment . . . before work and school . . . before family. “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus!”      wot

 

 The famous English poet Robert Browning (1812-1889), in his poem “Rabbi Ben Ezra,” wrote:

 

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand.

 

Can those growing “old along with” Robert Browning, and knowing that “Our times are in His hand” (cf. Psa. 31:15), sensibly say, with hope and joy and a smile, “The best is yet to be”?

Can a dead body live again? Unquestionably it is true that “dust [’aphar, dry earth, clay] you are and to dust [the earth, the ground, the soil, the clods, the dirt] you shall return” (Gen. 3:19; Eccl. 3:20; 12:7), but can there be a resurrection? Can dead chemicals, “houses of clay” (Job 4:19; 10:9; 34:15), come to life?

“The first man, Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) arrived in two stages: (1) God shaped some dead chemicals, dust, dry earth, or clay, into the shape of a human being, as Moses wrote: “God formed the man from the dust of the ground;” (2) then God made that dead body come to life, as Moses wrote: [God] “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7).

Those who are called scientists say that dead chemicals in a primeval muddy swamp, after millions of years, on their own, changed into the first living thing, a creature called an amoeba “a microscopic, one-celled animal” (Webster’s). Modern and post-modern scientists now say:

 

. . . that atoms of elements in a lifeless environment came alive by chance, as unicellular algae, and these plants stayed alive; that specimen invertebrates developed backbones and became vertebrates, by chance; a whole new physical structure appeared and thrived, by chance; that some of the vertebrate mammals became man with all his potential for creativity, appreciation of beauty, verbal communications, and worship.

Up-to-date scientists say that God, if there is a God, made an unnecessary mistake, for God did not think that the dead chemicals He used, dust or clay, to shape a dead human body, would, if given enough time, on its own, change into a living human body. The scientists, with all their research, say that if God had waited long enough He would not have had to perform a miracle by breathing life into the dead human body. Thus the scientists admit that they know more about nature than God.

 II. “The Best Is Yet To Be”

Though the scientists believe that dead chemicals can on their own change into living animals, they do not believe that God put life back into Jesus’ dead body. If He did not, all of life is a dead end street, and this glorious universe ends up frozen, senseless, and cruel. But Christians believe this universe makes sense, and that “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8,16), and they rejoice in reading the testimony of men of old that “the best is yet to be”:

 Job: I know that my Redeemer lives, . . . and after my skin, even this body, is destroyed, then without my flesh I shall see God; whom I, even I, shall see, on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger (19:25-27).

David: While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, “Who knows whether Jehovah will be gracious to me, that the child may live?” but now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me (2 Sam. 12:22-23). . . . As for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I will be satisfied when I awake in your likeness (Psa. 17:15). . . . Weeping lingers over night, but, in the morning, a shout of joy! (Psa. 30:5). . . . God will redeem my corpse from the grave, and he will receive me (Psa. 49:15).

Asaph: You lead me by your counsel, and afterwards you will receive me in Glory. Who is for me in heaven? With you, I want nothing in this world (Psa. 73:24-25).

Malachi: . . . a book of remembrance was written before him for them who reverenced the Lord, and who thought upon his name. “And they shall be mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “In that day when I make up my jewels” (3:16-17).

Jesus: I assure you that many will come from the east and west and sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in heaven’s kingdom (Mt. 8:11). . . . those who have been accounted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more, for they are like the angels, and they are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (Lk. 20:35-36). . . . I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he dies, will yet live! He who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (Jn. 11:25-26).

Paul: I consider that the present day sufferings are not worthy of comparison with the splendor that is going to be disclosed to us (Rom. 8:18). . . . If only in this life we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most pitiable (1 Cor. 15:19ff). . . . Behold! I show you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be transformed, in an instant, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet; for it will sound, and the dead shall be raised immortal, and we will be transformed (1 Cor. 15:51-52). . . . This perishable must put on imperishability, and this mortal must put on immortality. When this perishable has clothed itself with imperishability, and when this mortal has clothed itself with immortality, then the written prediction shall take place, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Where, Death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:53-57). . . . a crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day; yet not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearance (2 Tim. 4:8).

John: And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed from now on are the dead who die in the Lord. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors. Their works go along with them” (Rev. 14:13).    wot

 

Winning Souls

 Keith Hinds, Downey, California

 Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10). Faithful followers of Jesus should always be desiring and striving to win souls for Him. Proverbs 11:30 says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that is wise winneth souls.” Proverbs 10:14 tells us that “Wise men lay up knowledge . . .” Therefore, if we are going to win souls we must possess and use wisdom. James 1:5 says that if we lack wisdom we should pray to God and ask Him to give us wisdom. With that in mind, consider these attributes of a wise soul-winner.

1. The one who is wise knows the truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” We must work hard at studying the truth in order to properly teach others. Paul told Timothy that the inspired scriptures “are able to make thee wise unto salvation . . .” and that they are able to furnish us “completely unto every good work” (2 Tim. 3:15-17).

2. One who is wise lives the truth. We must be good examples to others by living the truth. Jesus, Paul, and many others lived according to the truth as they taught and won lost souls. To live the truth is to obey the word of truth. 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth.”

3. The wise soul-winner knows how to use the truth. We have the example of Philip’s using the truth in winning the soul of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27-39. Notice the wisdom of Philip as he taught the Ethiopian: (1) He knew what question to ask to begin teaching (Acts 8:30-31). He asked, “Understandeth what thou readest?” We need to know what questions to ask in order to determine the student’s interest and level of knowledge. His question led to questions from the Ethiopian. (2) He found out the student’s Bible knowledge and proceeded to teach him from God’s Word (Acts 8:32-34). (3) He was patient and thorough as his teaching led to conversion (Acts 8:35-38).

We should all be active in winning souls for Christ.  Let us realize that the key to growth is the gospel message.  We must know it well and then teach it wisely to others.  We all must be diligent workers in the kingdom of the Lord.   WOT