[Biblemat] Walking in the Light (11/11/07)

Sun Nov 11 17:57:52 CST 2007

Walking in the Light

"For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."
"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the
simple." 

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another...."
(Psalm 36:9; 119:130; 1 John 1:7a)

November 11

www.thetfordcountry.com <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> 

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INFORMATION: My WEB Site  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com has just been updated to include the articles and
sermons listed below. All the sermons posted each week to my web site are in
.pdf format.  The PowerPoint charts are also included with ALL the sermons
that are posted to the web site. To access the sermons page, visit the site
and click on "Richard's Page" and then click on "sermons." Please visit the
"Reference Works" links page for updated links to various Bible study
resources. If you are a newcomer to the area or wanting information
concerning the San Juan church of Christ here in Montrose, Colorado, then
click on the San Juan church of Christ Web Site at
<http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org/> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org. Thank
you for visiting my web site and as always, your comments are welcome. 

If you know of someone that would like to receive the "Walking in the Light"
electronic bulletin each week, please send an e-mail message to
<mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com  with their
name and e-mail address and I will add them to the list.

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CONTENTS:

"Calling on the Name of the Lord" (Jarrod Jacobs)

"Individual or Church?" (Jimmy R. Mickells)

"Go and Sin No More" (Richard Thetford)

"Why It Is Necessary To Teach Children Godly Values" (Selected)

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CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD

Richard Thetford

I am sure that our readers have heard people say words to the effect, "If
you are not a Christian, all you need to do is call upon the name of the
Lord, and you can be saved." Some will tell you to say, "Lord be merciful to
me a sinner," or similar things. Their teaching is a misapplication of what
is said in Romans 10:13. The apostle Paul wrote, "For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." What does it mean to call upon
the name of the Lord? Let us read the context of Romans 10 and find out.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the
gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:13-17). 

Please notice that after the apostle Paul says we must call upon the name of
the Lord to be saved, he asks a series of questions that point out what it
means to call upon the name of the Lord. To call upon the name of the Lord,
we must: 1) hear the gospel, 2) believe the gospel, and 3) obey the gospel!
Therefore, calling upon the name of the Lord is a comprehensive thing, not
simply saying the name, "Lord." In Acts 2:21 we read the same phrase. Here,
Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32. Peter shows that the events happening at this
time on the day of Pentecost were a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (v. 16),
and said, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved".

What did he mean? Were they commanded to simply say, "Lord"? No! They were
told to "hear these words" (Acts 2:22). Peter then proves that Jesus truly
is the Son of God (v. 23-35), and said, "Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ"  (Acts 2:36). To "know assuredly" is to
believe. When the people asked what they needed to do to be forgiven of
murdering the Son of God, Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, .... Then they
that gladly received his word were baptized..." (Acts 2:38-41).

Therefore, when one calls upon the name of the Lord, he is simply obeying
God's plan of salvation to hear God's word, believe that Jesus is the Son of
God, repent and be baptized! Is this not simple? Of course, it is! Let us be
about encouraging people to call upon the name of the Lord as the Bible
directs us to do that all might be saved before it is too late (II Pet.
3:9)!

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INDIVIDUAL OR CHURCH?

Jimmy R. Mickells

I was recently given a bulletin with an article in it that asked this
question: ".where does the Bible make a distinction between the individual
member and the church in the work of the Lord?" May we notice together that
the word of God answers this question very clearly? The reason that some
contend that there is no distinction between the two, an individual and the
church, is that they want to practice something for which the church has no
authority. There are differences between what a church is authorized by God
to do and what an individual can do.

In 1 Timothy 5:16, Paul made this statement, "If any believing man or woman
has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened,
that it may relieve those who are really widows." This passage very clearly
makes a distinction between what the individual is to do, the believing man
or woman that has widows, versus the responsibility that the church has, let
not the church be burdened. The church was to help those who were "really
widows." Notice the stipulation that the apostle gave before she was to be
taken into the number. "Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken
into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, well
reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged
strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the
afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work" (1 Timothy
5:9,10). This is the answer to the question above.

As an individual, I can give money to the Red Cross, support the American
Cancer Society, help Alive Hospice, contribute to a political party or
candidate, etc. As long as what I'm doing is not evil, I can spend my money
(given to me by God) in whatever way I deem best. This is not true with the
church. It can only act as authorized by God. He gave her a work to do. Can
the church contribute to the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, etc.?
Absolutely not! Why? It has no authority at all to use the funds collected
on the first day of the week, by free will
offering, to be used for something other than what we read about in the
Bible.

Many churches of Christ today are using the Lord's money to provide things
for members (and non-members) that the individual should be supplying. It is
not the work of the church to provide entertainment, gyms, camps, social
meals, etc. As a parent, I'm to provide these things for my children. I have
responsibilities that I must fulfill and I cannot and should not expect the
church to do what the Lord requires me to do.  Is there a difference between
what an individual can do and what the Lord's church can do? Paul says there
is! Will you accept the answer that is given? We must never be guilty of
involving the church in some work that God has not authorized it to do.
Remember the words of John, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the
doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of
Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not
bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for
he who greets him shares in his evil deeds" (2 John 9-11).

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GO AND SIN NO MORE

Richard Thetford

In the gospel of John we read about the woman who was caught in adultery and
brought to Jesus. Those that brought the woman to Him said that the law of
Moses commanded her to be stoned but what do you say? Jesus told them that
the man among them without sin should cast the first stone. One by one they
departed because each of them knew that they had committed sin. Jesus knew
the woman sinned by committing adultery, but forgave her and then said to
her "go, and sin no more". What can we learn from this? We learn that all
man has sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). We know that
if we are sorry for our sins, a godly sorrow, which works repentance (2 Cor
7:10), confess our sins (1 John 1:9), and be washed in Baptism for the
remission of our sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16), then we can be forgiven of
our sins. The woman was guilty of sin and Jesus said "go, and sin no more"!
Jesus is perfect and righteous. It is only through Him that we can obtain
forgiveness of sin and salvation. We are sinners, and shame on us if we
don't recognize this fact and turn our life over to Christ!

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WHY IT IS NECESSARY TO TEACH CHILDREN GODLY VALUES?

Selected

Children, without teaching and training, do not know about true values,
especially godly ones. They depend on their parents to teach them what is
valuable or not, right and wrong, truth and error, good and bad. Left alone,
kids have a slim chance of becoming knowledgeable about such things. They
need to be taught what will help them be successful in life, and in the
things of God. Why is it necessary for parents to get busy and teach their
children good healthy values? The following are what children will do on
their own:

A child will prefer a shiny penny to an old crumpled 100 dollar bill.

A child will eat dessert and no meat and potatoes if allowed to make his own
choice.

A child will watch cartoons rather than read and learn so as to receive a
solid education.

A child would rather play with puppets than to become acquainted with Jesus.

A child will tinker with wood blocks or dolls rather than get dressed to go
to church services.

A child left alone will not know about the perils of sin or the beauty of
true salvation.

A child will not look beyond this life if not taught about heaven and hell.

When parents do not teach their children healthy moral values, it is
probably because they themselves were not taught when they were young. Or it
could simply be a case of extreme laziness or something similar to that.
Parents - please take the time to teach your children properly about God.

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SERMON

Josiah (with PowerPoint Charts)

Sermons can viewed at my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com

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Meets at:

1414 Hawk Parkway, Unit C
Montrose, CO   81401
(970) 249-8116

 <http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org/> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org

ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE

SUNDAY
Bible Study....................10:00 A.M.
Worship.........................11:00 A.M.
WEDNESDAY
Bible Study......................6:30 P.M.

Evangelist
Richard Thetford

(970) 626-5558

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

Web Site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> www.thetfordcountry.com

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Richard Thetford

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

1491 Canyon Drive, Ridgway, CO  81432

Home: (970) 626-5558

Please visit my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com>
www.thetfordcountry.com

Evangelist, San Juan church of Christ

 <http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org

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