From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Tue Jul  1 04:18:50 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 05:18:50 EDT
Subject: [Biblemat] A) THE WORKS OF JESUS CHRIST
Message-ID: <ce0.312faac3.359b507a@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Tuesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my files.

THE WORKS OF JESUS CHRIST

     When Jesus Christ came into the world He would grow up
to do the works His heavenly Father had given Him to do.
When Jesus was twelve years old He said that He needed to
be doing His Father's business (Lk. 2:49).

     John the Baptist while in prison heard about the works of
Christ.  John sent his disciples to confirm that Jesus was the
One who was to come.  Jesus sent this message back to John: "Go and tell John 
the things which you hear and see:
the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and 
the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the
gospel preached to them" (Matt. 11:4,5).

     The people of Jesus' own country were astonished and 
said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty
works?" (Matt. 13:54).  Sadly, Jesus was unable to do many
mighty works in His own country because of their unbelief
(vs. 58)!

     The powerful works of Jesus Christ were the instruments
used by God to determine whether one would know Jesus as
the Messiah, Deliverer and Savior of the Jewish people.  The
mighty works of the Son of God either brought the children
to faith and repentance or to disbelief and continuance in the
evil works of the world.

     Jesus proclaimed to the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum that if the works He performed in their cities had 
been performed in Tyre, Sidon and Sodom those cities would
have repented in sackcloth and ashes (Matt. 11:20-23).  Thou-
gh the Lord of glory does not walk among us today we have
recorded in the New Testament the miracles and signs of 
Jesus so that we might believe and be saved (Jno. 20:30,31).

     The Jews were told by Jesus that if they did not believe
what He said the believe in the works that He had done (Jno.
10:37,38; 5:36; 14:10,11).  Unfortunately many of them hated
Jesus because of the work that He did (Jno. 11:47-53; 15:24).

     The works of Jesus brought about salvation for all of man-
kind because it proclaimed His Deity.  His works brought Him
to the cross that He might die for the sins of the world.  The
works of Jesus Christ not only saved the Jews who believed,
but they can save even you and me!  ------- Ron Drumm.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/2cd98f91/attachment-0001.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Tue Jul  1 04:19:01 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 05:19:01 EDT
Subject: [Biblemat] S) WHAT WILL WE DO?
Message-ID: <be5.34bc557e.359b5085@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
recent files.  Use to the glory of God.

WHAT WILL WE DO?

     Recent events have left many people struggling.  Some
have lost homes to tornadoes.  Others have suffered from
floods.  Others have lost all they have due to fire.  When inter-
viewed, these people often ask the rhetorical question, "What
Will We Do?"  Facing such serious loss causes people to wonder what they need 
to do next.  When your ordinary rout-
ine is seriously disrupted, you may wonder what your next
step should be.

     There was a group of people in the New Testament who
faced this issue in their religion.  They were active in their
faith.  They served the One, true God of the Bible.  They had
spent time and money to assemble to worship Him.  But, then
they had the spiritual rug pulled out from under them, and 
they were not sure what to do next.

Devout Men: -- "Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, de-
vout men, from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5).  It is
important, as we begin this story, to see that these were good people.  They 
had been raised in faith, serving the God
of Israel.  As devout Jews, they had made the effort to journ-
ey to Jerusalem for Passover and had stayed long enough for
Pentecost.  They were from all over the world.

     These believers had life and religion down pat.  No one
makes the effort to travel for months, be gone from home for
months, give up income and home for months, without a ser-
ious commitment to their God.  They were not lacking in relig-
ion or religious passion.

     Yet, when they heard the commotion surrounding the out-
pouring of the Holy Spirit on the twelve, they were confronted
by a new message.  Peter and the other eleven apostles begin
teaching them that the Man who had recently died on a cross
was actually the promised Messiah.  Using many Old Testa-
ment passages, Peter makes this final summation: "Therefore
let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made
Him both Lord and Christ -- this Jesus whom you crucified"
(Acts 2:36).  Suddenly, as with a natural catastrophe, their
safe, secure religious world was turned upside down.  Every-
thing that made sense to them was gone.  They were confus-
ed, dazed and lost as to what to do next.  So, like people in
similar situations, they asked the question we began with,
"Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart,
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what
shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).  When their way of life was gone,
they asked Peter and the other apostles what to do.  Notice
their answer.  And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgive-
ness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit" (Acts 2:38).  Just as a Red Cross worker would tell
someone where to go for food and shelter, Peter tells these
people what they need to do.  He gives them three steps with
two dynamic results.

"Repent": -- This would have hit this religious audience hard.
Repentance is the process of admitting you are wrong, and
that you need to turn around and go a different direction.
These people could make several good arguments.  They were worshiping the God 
of Abraham weren't they?  They
were worshiping Him according to His rules, weren't they?
They were basically good people too, weren't they?  The ans-
wer to all of these is "yes."  But, Peter tells them they need
to repent.

     They had failed to see Jesus as the Messiah.  The had fail-
ed to see He was God's promised Deliverer.  Instead, along 
with countless other people, they had called on the authorit-
ies to crucify Jesus.  They had sinned without knowing it; but
still, they had sinned.  Now they needed to repent.  They need-
ed to admit their sin and turn back to God.

"And Be Baptized Every One Of You': -- Again, theis would have startled this 
group.  Ceremonial washings (often called
baptism) were for unclean Gentiles, not for good Jews.  But,
Peter tells them they need to be immersed in water.  Just as
a rescue worker is there to help people get the resources they need in a 
crisis, Peter tells them how to get help in their
crisis.  They need to be baptized.

     This is a point at which many people balk.  They think, "I
have been religious my whole life.  I have worshiped God and
been a good person.  Surely I don't need baptism!"  But, imag-
ine a Red Cross worker telling a disaster victim to go to a cer-
tain corner with certain documents and the victim would get
food and water and clothes.  Would the person in crisis argue
Would he say, "I never go to that corner.  I go this way.  Why
should I go there?"  The whole thing is silly.  When you real-
ize your need, you don't argue, you do what you are told.
These people listened, and 3,000 were baptized that very day.
Don't argue, just do what God says.

"In The Name Of Jesus": -- This is a big step.  To do some-
thing in someone's name is to accept that person's authority.
By being baptized in the name of Jesus, they were calling on 
Him to be their Lord and Savior.  They were admitting their 
sin, turning to God in the name of Jesus, and letting Him rule
in their lives.

     Again, theis can be a sticking point, especially for those in
different religions.  They might not want to give up their ways
of their families.  They may not want to cut religious ties with
their past.  These Jews on Pentecost had to do all of that.  By
accepting Jesus, they were leaving their former covenant and
turning their lives over to a new one.  This new covenant 
brought two great promises.

"You Will Receive Forgiveness Of Sins": -- This is the first
great promise.  Once these people had repented and been
immersed in the name of Jesus, they were promised the for-
giveness they sought.  They realized they had helped do a
terrible thing.  They had aided in the death of God's Messiah.
Now, they can be washed free of the guilt of that mistake.  They can receive 
forgiveness of sin.

     What is your great sin?  Maybe it is a secret sin only you
know about.  Maybe it is public, like theirs.  Only you and God know it.  How 
would you like to be free from the guilt of
that sin?  You can do it when you follow those first three steps.  Admit you 
sin and turn (repent), be immersed (baptiz-
ed) in the name of Jesus (by His authority).  Then you can be
free of whatever guilt you carry.

"Receive The Gift Of The Holy Spirit": -- The second great
promise is the gift of God's Spirit.  Every person who surrend-
ers to God in this way is claimed as God's child.  "For all who
are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom. 8:14).  Paul 
explains this further.  When we are baptiz-
ed, we become God's children.  The Spirit is our promise of
this new relationship.

     The Spirit represents God's presence with His people.  God stays away 
when we live in sin and rebellion, even if 
(like these people) we are ignorant of our failings.  But, when
we turn and are baptized into His Son, we are forgiven and re-
ceive His promise of His presence.

What Didn't Happen: -- For those of us who are Christians it
is important to notice what didn't happen on this day.  These
people were not given all the details of what it meant to be 
Christians.  They were not told to go enroll in a theological
training school in order to understand grace and salvation.
That is, they were not given extraordinary tasks to enable
them to be saved.  They were told to put their trust in Jesus'
name, repent and be baptized.  It was that simple.  They were
not asked about their past, their sins, their failings.  They were simply 
invited to be saved by Jesus.

     As Christians we need to recall that the people we convert
will be like these people.  They will be beginners with their own baggage, 
preconceptions and misunderstandings.  All of
those things do not need to be fixed befor they are saved.
The people on this day in Acts 2 didn't stop with the basics.
"And they were continually devoting themselves to the apost-
les' teaching" (Acts 2:42).  As with those believers, people to-
day should study to learn the great truths of the gospel.  They should strive 
to grasp the depths of God's love and His
mercy.  But, to become a Christian, no great tests must be
passed.  Just repent and be baptized into Jesus' name and
let God forgive you and give you His Spirit.

What About You?: -- Are you like these people?  Are you basically a good 
person?  Maybe you are a religious person
with a long background in worshiping God, just as they were.
Maybe you have spent time and energy trying to do what God
wants, just like they did.  Like them, maybe you have kept all
the rituals of your religion.  You have been faithful.

     But, now, like them, you see the need you have missed.
Maybe you never understood the need to repent.  Maybe you
never knew you need to be immersed.  Perhaps you never
fully grasped the guilt free life God promises you.  These peo-
ple asked, "What Will We Do?"  Peter answered and they res-
ponded.  Now I ask you, "What will you do?"  The only thing
remaining is your answer.   ------ David Thurman in Gospel
Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 25, June 20, 2008.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/111efe9b/attachment-0001.html 

From kthomas at dnet.net  Tue Jul  1 10:14:02 2008
From: kthomas at dnet.net (Kenneth E. Thomas)
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 10:14:02 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Subject: [Biblemat] We made the move
Message-ID: <486A49BA.00000B.01792@KENSCOMPUTER>

Dear Bible Matters Subscribers;
 
Mike Hughes reworked the Pekin, Illinois home page so it is now linked to
Kenneth E. Thomas Home Page, My thanks to Mike for all the good work he does
in helping others such as me. We ARe getting settled in to a mobile home we
purchased here in Franklin, NC. See address below. My health has not
improved thus far. My voice is weak most of the time and I find it difficult
to walk or stand, when I sit, I about need assistance to arise!  My wife
Dolores and the brethren have been wonderful to me (us)! Even as I write a
brother is trimming our bushes, Yesterday another brother crawled under the
mobile home to activate two telephone jacks so my computer could get on line
 The Lord is good to us and much of that through His people!   As I feel
like it, I will be contributing to Bible Matters list and writing for some
of the papers the Lord  willing.
 
Love in Christ,
 
Kenneth  E. Thomas
 
Kenneth E. Thomas
221Rolling Acres Trail
Franklin, North Carolina  28734
http://www.geocities.com/kethomas_2000/index.html
Email: kthomas at dnet.net
1 (828) 349-3514 - Home
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/2e96ee6a/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 2734 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/2e96ee6a/attachment-0003.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 289 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/2e96ee6a/attachment-0004.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 33792 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/2e96ee6a/attachment-0005.gif 

From kerux at bellsouth.net  Tue Jul  1 09:27:12 2008
From: kerux at bellsouth.net (Kent Heaton)
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 10:27:12 -0400
Subject: [Biblemat] A>Freedom can only be found from God (Kent Heaton)
Message-ID: <016401c8db86$8f149310$0101a8c0@D2381J91>

Freedom Can Only Be Found From God

(Kent Heaton)

 

Thomas Jefferson wrote, "And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but by his wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever" (Notes on Virginia, 1784). The nature of freedom is relative to what men want to be free from. Our country was founded upon the principles of the knowledge of a Creator and from His hand life is sustained. Belief in God was not ridiculed as in our day. Prayer was not banished nor service to the one true God abandoned. Freedom celebrated in this generation is freedom from the restraints of a loving Creator.

The irony of our freedom is the enslaving power of self. Karl Barth said, "What was called freedom in the European age now past collapsed, and was bound to collapse, because for a long time and at an amazingly deep level it had degenerated into a freedom for godlessness and inhumanity" (Community, Church and State, 1946). The Psalmist declared: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalms 33:12). When a nation turns away from the foundational belief that man is to serve the Creator, society falls headlong into a godless, immoral and self-serving avalanche of destruction. 

Paul shows the course of man's enslavement to self in Romans 1. First he shows how man chose not to glorify the Creator. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21). In the darkness of their hearts, men "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever" (Romans 1:25). Falling headlong into godless acts of homosexuality (vv26,27) they "did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper" (Romans 1:28). When you take a moment to read Romans 1:29-32 you will see the freedom man has found in serving the creature (himself) rather than the Creator (Jehovah God). 

All nations exist by the power of the Creator. "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God" (Romans 13:1). In Hannah's prayer of 1 Samuel 2, she declares the majesty of God's power over all mankind: "The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles, and inherit a seat of honor; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He set the world on them. He keeps the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; for not by might shall a man prevail. Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed" (1 Samuel 2:6-10).

For man to enjoy freedom he must submit to the Creator of the world. This submission is not oppressive (1 John 5:3) but filled with love and grace. The Lord protects us and cares for us. The Creator of the world gave His only begotten Son to give us freedom (Romans 6:23; Galatians 5:1).  Celebrate freedom in the willingness to abide by His care and His rule. True freedom can only come from Jehovah God.



Kent Heaton
207 NE Fourth Avenue
Trenton, Florida 32693
(H) 352-463-6916 (O) 3793
(C) 352-283-3889
www.trentonchurchofchrist.com
NEWLY UPDATED: TRENTON BULLETIN
www.northfloridabiblecamp.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080701/bae7f635/attachment.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Wed Jul  2 04:47:42 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 05:47:42 EDT
Subject: [Biblemat] A) EVOLUTION: A SOURCE OF THE WORKS OF THE FLESH
Message-ID: <c5e.3a44fa3c.359ca8be@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Wednesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

EVOLUTION: A SOURCE OF THE WORKS OF THE FLESH

     I heard a fellow preacher say recently that he was getting
kind of tired with all the discussion about "Intelligent Design"
vs. Evolution.  I know what he means.  For those of us who 
have faith, it seems ridiculous to even have to talk about the
origin of the universe.  After all, it's obvious, isn't it?  So why
spend so much time on it?

     It is not just an academic discussion about "who created
what"?  If it was, then perhaps we could let it go.  But we can't "let it go" 
because there is more to this teaching than
meets the eye.

     Look at the chart (not included in this article) and think
about the impact of the notion that we evolved from some goo that came from 
some other goo.  That teaching has a
purpose: to remove any thought of God from the minds of
those who hear it.  And what happens then?  If God is not real, neither is 
His Word real.  There is no law, no consequen-
ce for breaking the law, no sin.  Paul even argued that "with-
out law there can be no transgression" (Rom. 4:15).

     Don't you see?  If the creation account from Gen. 1 is not
true, then God is not real.  If God is not real, His laws are not
real and I am a law to myself.  I get to decide right and wrong
and there is no consequence for an incorrect choice.

     On the surface, this sounds like a winner.  After all, no
accountability for sin would free us from a lot of guilt and
shame.

     But, setting the Bible aside for a moment, there are at least two 
philosophical and social problems with this view.
First, if we take God and His Word out of the worldview, then
we also take all hope away.  And people who live without hope are pitiable.

     Second, as the chart points out, a Godless world is a wick-
ed world, full of the "works of the flesh" that talks about in
Gal. 5:19-21.  We need to be prepared at all times to "give an
answer" to this devastating teaching, whenever and wherever
it may occur.   ------- David Posey via Gospel Power, Vol. 15,
No. 25, June 22, 2008.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080702/bde2e406/attachment.html 

From kthomas at dnet.net  Wed Jul  2 12:11:19 2008
From: kthomas at dnet.net (Kenneth E. Thomas)
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 12:11:19 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Subject: [Biblemat] Seven Loaded questions
Message-ID: <486BB6B7.000003.02876@KENSCOMPUTER>

Seven Loaded Questions
1). Are there activities that both God and Christ perform that are unlawful
for Church participation? If so what are they?
2). Does the Head (Christ) of the church act differently from the body? If
so when?
3). Are there activities that are commanded equally of all individual
Christians that the church cannot do? If so what are they?
4). Are there activities/approaches required of Christians/the church by God
that are impossible to implement? If so please identify.
5). Does God require the church to act in any way that physically hurts
others? If so please identify.
6). Does God care more for physical facilities than for human beings?
7). Does God care more for plant life than for human life?
The Church And The Individual Christian 
I shall be dealing with the above "seven questions" a brother in Christ
asked to have answered before he could accept the "Christian Only" concept
in "Church Benevolence" from the local church treasury. As I hope you will
see, I will only need to establish one premise to have answered every
question he has posed for us who take a "Limited Benevolence" position. What
is that "One Premise?" It is, "does the New Testament make a distinction
between what an individual Christian may engage in with Christ?s approval
and that which is a collective church action?"
My answer is a resounding, YES IT DOES!" While in some cases what the church
collectively is charged with performing, the individual Christian is also
charged and so they often overlap. However there are occasions when the
individual is charged with a function concerning which the "church is not to
be charged" as is the case concerning certain widows, 1 Timothy 5:16 which
reads, thus: "If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, let her
assist them, and let not the church be burdened (charged KJV), so that it
may assist those who are widows indeed."(NASV)
Purely Individual Action-
Collective Group Action-
Collective Church Action
We have a situation in Matthew 18:15-17 which involves three courses of
action.
One is performed by "purely individual action" and another by "collective
group action" and yet another by "collective church action." Let us read the
above cited passages together. "Moreover if your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you
have gained your brother." "But if he will not hear, take with you one or
two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established. "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if
he refuses to hear the church let him become as a heathen and a tax
collector"(NKJV)
The Church And The Individual Contrasted
1) The church makes its money from the individuals who "...lay by in store
on the first day of each week" (1 Cor. 16;1-2; 2 Cor. Chapters 8&9).
1a) The individual may make his income from any honest labor even from a
business enterprise (Eph. 4:28).
2). A different set of rules determines the work of the church and that of
the individual Christian even though from the same source, which is "the
apostle?s doctrine" (Acts 2:42; John 16:12-13; Acts 15:24). That this is
true all one needs to do is read the case of Ananias and Sapphira who
conspired to claim to have given all proceeds gained from the sale of some
property while withholding some of it. Peter said, "while it was your own
and after you sold it, was it not under your control...?" (Acts 5:4). The
implication being there is the individual?s money and money when given to
the Lord is governed as to expenditure by what the local collective or
congregation is authorized to engage in which happens to be three areas,
Edification-Limited benevolence-support of gospel preaching (Ephesians
4:11-16).. 
3). The individual has a relationship with his wife that the church
collective nor distributively sustains which involves conjugal rights and
even obligations that the church had better not try and fulfill (1 Cor.
7:1-5; Eph. 5:22-33).
This whole controversy boils down to a matter of authority (John12:48;
Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11; Galatians 1:6-10; Romans 16:16-18))Authority
is established by 1). Command, 2). Approved apostolic example, 3). Necessary
inference. Then there is generic and specific authority as well, generic
giving latitude; specific limiting one ?s actions to that which is specified
 Since the apostles were guided by the Spirit into "all truth" (John 16:13).
Since in the Scriptures we have been given "all things which pertain to life
and godliness (2 Peter 1:3); and the New Testament is called "the perfect
law of liberty" (James 1:25), then the sum total of what the first century
congregations engaged in when men guided by the Holy Spirit were present
among them with their approval, forms the pattern for what (not the how)
local churches may engage in today with Christ?s approval, if not, then
please tell me why not?
The idea that "whatever Christ did or whatever the individual may do, the
church collective may do" opens up pandora?s box to the full blown "Social
Gospel" to any thing the church decides to do which is not immoral nor
illegal! With this kind of reasoning churches of Christ could own and
operate with Christ?s approval:
1). A carpenter shop
2). A theme park
3). Hospitals and clinics
4). Operate a golf course
5). Build and operate a gymnasium, Volley ball court or a bowling alley all
for profit and call it New Testament religion.
Not only must we respect what is authorized in the New Testament as church
work, we must respect the "silence" of the Scriptures (1 Peter 4:11; Hebrews
7:14).
Respectively submitted by Kenneth E. Thomas
 
 
Kenneth E. Thomas
221Rolling Acres Trail
Franklin, North Carolina  28734
http://www.geocities.com/kethomas_2000/index.html
Email: kthomas at dnet.net
1 (828) 349-3514 - Home
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080702/632b363f/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 15026 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080702/632b363f/attachment-0001.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 289 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080702/632b363f/attachment-0002.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 16287 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080702/632b363f/attachment-0003.gif 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Thu Jul  3 05:28:29 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 06:28:29 EDT
Subject: [Biblemat] A) THE SUM OF GOD'S WORD
Message-ID: <d03.390ed667.359e03cd@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Thursday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

THE SUM OF GOD'S WORD

     Do you remember math class?  We were taught that in mul-
tiplication the answer is call the product; in division it is call-
ed the quotient; in subtraction it is the remainder; in addition
it is the sum.

     Psa. 119:160 says, "The sum of Your Word is truth, and
every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting."  The
emphasis is on totality.  Everything God says is right.  Every
one of His ordinances is binding.  And the truth about any
subject is determined by adding up all He says about it.

     The principle of adding together all God's revelation is vital in Bible 
study.  It is easy to err if one teaches a conclus-
ion before weighing everything the Scripture says on a topic.
Consider a few examples:

     Some folks act as though Matt. 7:1 says everything there
is to be said about judging: "Do not judge so that you will not
be judged."  They seem to think this verse prohibits any and 
all judgments that one might make about another.  However,
1 Cor. 5:12 requires churches to judge their members with
reference to fellowship.  Jesus Himself said, "Do not judge
according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment"
(Jno. 7:24).  The fact is, there are a number of situations in
which we must assess one's character, postion, or conduct.

     If one reads Jesus' teaching about divorce only in "Mk. 10:
2-12 or Lk. 16:18, he would conclude that divorce is not allow-
able for any reason.  Any remarriage following a divorce would constitute 
adultery.  Matthew's account however, reveals one exception: divorce for 
fornication (19:9).

     When the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas what he
must do to be saved, they replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).  Is that all there is to it?
Many think so.  But whent he Jews on Pentecost asked Peter
the same question, He answered, "Repent, and each of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins" (Acts 2:38).  Further reading in Acts 16 implies
that Paul went on to tell the jailor the same thing.  Neither
Acts 16:31 nor Jno. 3:16 nor any other verse contains all that
God says about salvation.  The sum of God's word is truth.
-------- Frank Himmel via Gospel Power, Vol. 15, No. 25, June
22, 2008.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080703/90aa3051/attachment-0001.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Thu Jul  3 05:28:42 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 06:28:42 EDT
Subject: [Biblemat] S) THE PROMISE AND THE LAW  (2)
Message-ID: <c84.2dd6a1d0.359e03da@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is the second part
of this particular study.  Use to the glory of God.

THE PROMISE AND THE LAW  (2)

The Fulfillment Of the Land Promise: -- After the conquest of
the land and after it had been divided among the tribes, Josh-
ua said, "So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land which He
sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and
dwelt therein...There failed not aught of any good thing which
Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass"  (Jos. 
21:43,45; see also 23:13-16; 24:13).  When Josh-
ua said this he had in mind and was referring to every one of
the promises God had made concerning the land: the promise
to the "fathers," Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

     Further, this included all the land which Jehovah had sworn to given to 
Abraham, sometimes referred to as "the
larger" promise.  Nehemiah said of Abraham and the promise,
"Thou art Jehovah 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 be-
fore Thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land
of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite,
and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it unto his seed,
and hast performed Thy Words;  for Thou are righteous" (Neh. 9:7,8).  This 
should settle the question of whether the
promise has as yet been fulfilled.

     But this is not all.  It is said that David "went to recover his
dominion at the River" (2 Sam. 8:3).  How could he recover it
if Israel had never possessed it?  Later, "And Solomon ruled
over all the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Phili-
stines, and unto the border of Egypt" (1 Kgs. 4:21).  How much more did God 
promise Abraham?  And further, it is said
of Jeroboam II, "He restored (recovered) the border of Israel 
from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah" (2
Kgs. 14:25).

     Here is the combined testimony of Joshua, Nehemiah, and
the writers of Second Samuel, and First and Second Kings to
the effect that God fulfilled the promise made to Abraham that He would make 
of him a great nation and give to his seed
the land from the River of Egypt (not the Nile, but a waddy
which separated Canaan from Egypt) to the River Euphrates.
There is nothing of the promise to be fulfilled, all has been ful
filled.

The Conditional Possession: -- It has been emphasized that
the promise to Abraham and to his posterity that God would
make of him a nation and give to that nation the land of Israel
was an unconditional promise.  God fulfilled it because He said He would.  
But the retention of the land by the posterity
of Abraham was definitely conditional.  When the nation came
to the border of Moab, before the death of Moses, God made
a covenant with the people, a conditional covenant, which should govern their 
continued possession of the land about
to be given them.  "And it shall come to pass, IF thou shalt
hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to ob-
serve to do all His commandments which I command thee
this day, tht Jehovah thy God will set thee on high above all
the nations of the earth" (Deut. 28:1).  Then followed an enum-
eration of the blessings, among which is this, "And Jehovah
will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit 
of they cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground,
in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers to give thee" (vs. 11).

     Turning to the negative, Moses continued, "But it shall 
come to pass, IF (the conditional "if" again) thou wilt NOT
hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God...all these curses
shall come upon thee, and overtake thee" (vs. 15).  Then follo-
wed the curses, among which was this, "And thou shalt be
tossed to and fro amont all the kingdoms of the earth" (vs. 25), "And ye 
shall be plucked from off the land whither thou
goest in to possess it" (vs. 63).  The retention of the land was
conditional: IF they should keep the commandments of God;
but IF they should not, then they should be thrust from off
the land.

     This statement of blessing and cursing was declared to have been a 
covenant: "These are the words of the covenant
which Jehovah commanded Moses to make with the children
of Israel in the land of Moab, BESIDES the covenant which He
made with them at Horeb" (29:1).  This was a covenant of the 
conditions upon and by which Israel should retain the land.
Moses knew they would not keep the conditions, but would
be cast out, for he then spoke of their calling to mind the 
possessed inheritance.  If they did not these things then they
should be cast among the nations whither Jehovah would 
scatter them (30:1).  He likewise knew that some would repent
and return unto Jehovah, whereupon Jehovah would bring 
them back and rejoice over them.  But this return and rejoic-
ing should be conditional: "If thou shalt obey the voice of Jeh-
ovah thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes
which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto
Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (vs.
10).

     It should be carefully noted that those who should return
to dwell in the land would be those who would turn to Jehov-
ah with all the heart, obey His voice and keep His command-
ments and His statutes which are written in this book of the
law.  They should return while the commandments and statut-
es of the law were in force.

     Some eight hundred years or more after this covenant was
made, before their going into the Babylonian captivity, Jerem-
iah delivered to Judah a lesson from the potter's vessel, in
which he reiterated the "If" conditions of God's favor or dis-
favor (Jer. 18:1-10).  He followed the lesson with one by illust-
ration, as he took a bottle and broke it in the presence of the
elders, saying, "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Even so will I
break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's
vessel, tht  cannot be made whole again" (19:1-11).  The cove-
nant was conditional, Israel did not keep the covenant, there-
fore they were thrust out of the land.  They were broken as
a nation, never to be made whole again.  Those who returned
to Jehovah should return to the land during the time of the
law's power, but not as a nation.  The Jews could not be re-
stored now because the law is no longer in force.  For a port-
ion of them to return, in keeping with the promises of God,
the law would have to become of force again.  This would be
to nullify the gospel.  But the remnant has returned, and that
under the law.  Nehemiah repeated the promise God had made through Moses to 
the people (Neh. 1:8,9 from Deut. 30:
1-10), declaring, "Now these are Thy servants and Thy people
whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power and by Thy
strong hand" (vs. 10).  The remnant was brought back between the time of 
Zerubbabel (c. 536 B. C.) and that of Neh-
emiah (c. 444 B.C.), under the law, but never again to be made a nation as of 
old times.

What Then Is The Law?
 -- The promise of the inheritance was
unconditional.  The possession of the land as a perpetual in-
heritance by the Jews was conditional.  The law did not affect
the keeping of the promise of God.  "What then is the law?"
What was its purpose?  It was given to the nation to govern
that nation.  Not in the affecting the receiving of the land nor
God's fulfilling of His promise; but, their continued retention
of the land was conditioned upon their keeping the law and its commandments.

     God has fulfilled the promise; the Jews possessed the land; they broke 
the covenant anf were thrust out.  Those who would, returned as a remnant to 
the land while the law
was still in force.  The law is now no longer in force, the Jews
are no longer a nation, and God has not one thing for them
outside of Christ.  When the Jew accepts Christ as the Mess-
iah and obeys the conditions of the gospel, he loses his ident-
ity as a Jew.  He has no further interest in physical Canaan;
he now becomes a Christian, a "new creature in Christ," look-
ing to a new inheritance, a spiritual, reserved in heaven.  To
teach or indicate a return of the Jews to Palestine is nothing
short of infidelity, for it flatly contradicts all that God has said
on the subject.  Let us be content with what He has said.  We
earnestly desire that our mistaken brethren will see the error
of their teaching and give it up.  (I am hoping that there are 
no "brethren" out there that think the Jews still have a God-
given hold on physical Palestine for the purpose of Christ coming back to 
establish His kingdom there.  I know that the
majority of Protestantism holds to some form of Premillennial-
ism, and I also no that some so-called brethren in Christ hold
to the same idea of Christ's return to establish His kingdom
in physical Palestine.  But such are now few and far between.
JWS).   -------- Homer Hailey in The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 7,
May 1952.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080703/e1553594/attachment-0001.html 

From kthomas at dnet.net  Thu Jul  3 10:59:29 2008
From: kthomas at dnet.net (Kenneth E. Thomas)
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 10:59:29 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Subject: [Biblemat] A Lesson
Message-ID: <486CF761.000015.03892@KENSCOMPUTER>

Can We Reproduce First Century "Christianity" In The Twenty First Century?
That there was a time in the first century when "no differing denominations
existed" is attested to by Edward T. Hiscox in an edition of "The Standard
Manual For Baptist Churches" (Pg. 22). At this same time, the church which
Christ bled and died to bring into being existed as a unique relationship
enjoyed by thousands (Matthew 16:13-19; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:23-25; Acts
2:22-47; Colossians 1:13-14).
"The Seed Of The Kingdom Is The Word Of God"
(Luke 8:11)
A characteristic of any seed is that it will always reproduce an offspring
identical to the parent plant from which it comes. This is true in both the
material kingdom as well as in the spiritual (Genesis 1:11; Galatians 6:7-8)
 The New Testament is the spiritual seed of the kingdom of Christ containing
"all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3; John 16:12-13
James 1:25). A curse from heaven rests upon any who dare to trifle with its
holy contents to alter, to add to, or to take away from (Galatians 1:6-10;
John 12:48; Romans 15:16-18; Revelation 22:18-19). 
There Are Several Things To Consider If We Are To Reproduce First Century 
Christianity" or In Any Other Century.
1). We must have the proper founder: Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:13-18).
2). We must find its place of origin: Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4; Lk. 24:45-49)

3). We must learn its terms of entrance: Faith-Repentance-baptism for
remission of past sins (John 8:21-24; Acts 3:38-41,47).
4). We must learn its organizational structure: Local congregation-Elders,
Deacons and saints (Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1-2)
5). We must learn it proper form of worship: (John 4:23-24).
6). We must learn the lifestyle of its membership: (Titus 2;11-12' Romans 12
1-2).
7). We must learn its mission in the world: (Preach gospel-Edify members-
Relieve needy saints: (Eph. 4;11-16; 1 Cor. 16:1 and others..
8). We must wear the name they wore: "Christians": (Acts 11:26b; Acts 26:28;
1 Peter 4:16)
9). We will need to know its eternal destiny: Heaven, (John 14:1-6; Eph.
5:23-33; 1 Corinthians15:23-24).
I may not have listed everything needed to reproduce the pure religion of
Christ in this or any century but let me sum it up with the following
statement::| If we are taught what first century people were taught and we
believe what they were told that they must believe and we do what they were
told to do, will we not become exactly what they were? What were they? They
were simply Christians nothing more and nothing less. As such, they were
members of Christ?s church and not some human denomination and we can be the
same and entertain the hope of heaven when we die as did first century
Christians (Hebrews 5:9; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Revelation 14:13; 22:14).
 
 
Kenneth E. Thomas
221Rolling Acres Trail
Franklin, North Carolina  28734
http://www.geocities.com/kethomas_2000/index.html
Email: kthomas at dnet.net
1 (828) 349-3514 - Home
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080703/f306b42b/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 12459 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080703/f306b42b/attachment-0001.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 289 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080703/f306b42b/attachment-0002.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 16287 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080703/f306b42b/attachment-0003.gif 

From kthomas at dnet.net  Fri Jul  4 12:57:58 2008
From: kthomas at dnet.net (Kenneth E. Thomas)
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 12:57:58 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Subject: [Biblemat] The Sum of God's Word...
Message-ID: <486E64A6.000003.02684@KENSCOMPUTER>

THE SUM OF GOD?S WORD 
Do you remember math class? We were taught that in multiplication the answer
is called the product; in division it is called the quotient; in subtraction
it is the remainder; in addition it is called the sum. 
Psa. 119:160 says, "The sum of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your
righteous ordinances is everlasting." The emphasis is on totality.
Everything God says is right. Every one of His ordinances is binding. And
the truth about any subject is determined by adding up all He says about it.

The principle of adding together all God's revelation is vital in Bible
study. It is easy to err if one teaches a conclusion before weighing
everything the Scripture says on a topic. 
Consider a few examples: 
Some folks act as though Matt. 7:1 says everything there is to be said about
judging: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged." They seem to think
this verse prohibits any and all judgments that one might make about another
 However, 1 Cor. 5:12 requires churches to judge their members with
reference to fellowship. Jesus Himself said, "Do not judge according to
appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (Jno. 7:24). The fact is,
there are a number of situations in which we must assess one?s character,
position, or conduct. 
If one reads Jesus' teaching about divorce only in (Mk. 10:2-12 or Lk.
16:18), he would conclude that divorce is not allowable for any reason. Any
remarriage following a divorce would constitute adultery. Matthew's account
however, reveals one exception: divorce for fornication (19:9). 
When the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved,
they replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..." (Acts
16:31). Is that all there is to it? Many think so. But when the Jews on
Pentecost asked Peter the same question, He answered, "Repent, and each of
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the of your sins..." (Acts
2:38). Further reading in Acts 16 implies that Paul went on to tell the
jailor the same thing. Neither Acts 16:31 nor John 3:16 nor any other verse
contains all that God says about salvation. The sum of God's word is truth. 
The good article above was copied from Bible Matters and was written by
Frank Himmel, a faithful gospel preacher whom we know and respect for his
good work in the kingdom of Christ. I pray that what I shall add to his good
article will only serve to enhance the point that he makes so eloquently,
that being that we rarely if ever find all of the truth of Christ?s teaching
in any one passage on any given topic, it takes the sum of God?s word to be
sure we have the truth,
You may have noticed If you have watched and listened to the Protestant
televangelist very much at all, that each of them are guilty of failing to
take "the sum of Christ?s word" into account. Even if they happen to cite
the "Great Commission" passages such as (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20;
Luke 24:45-49 (which they rarely do) they will deny what they actually teach
 Why do you suppose this is the case? I suggest it is because of their
Creedal teaching of "salvation by faith only." Not only does the "faith only
 position rule out baptism as an essential, they can?t teach what the New
Testament teaches about the need to repent or to confess one?s faith as
essentials to salvation as the Bible teaches them to be! (Acts 17:30-31; 2
Peter 3:9; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38).
An Actual Event
Once back in the 1960's when working with the church in Brooksville, Florida
as an evangelist we bought radio time and called our program "The Back To
The Bible Program" It so happened that we followed one of the local Baptist
so called "Pastors" on a live broadcast which allowed me to listen to him
and respond immediately to the same audience (hopefully) that had heard his
sermon. On that particular Sunday he announced that he was going to "give
the audience the gospel plan of salvation in a nut shell." He then proceeded
to read from (Acts 16:23-31)
After reading "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you
and your household." (v-31) he said, "now there you have it friend that?s
faith only plus nothing and minus nothing." Well I couldn't let that remark
stand so I came on the radio and remarked, "Friends you have just heard Mr
___________ teach what he called "The gospel in a nutshell" but he stopped
the story too soon and so now I will do a Paul Harvey and give you the rest
of the story." I then read from (v-32-34): "And they spake unto him the word
of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33: And he took them the
same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and
all his, straightway. 34: And when he had brought them into his house, he
set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house."
When you read it all, you can see how the full answer agrees perfectly with
the "Great Commission" passages. Protestantism?s teaching makes the Bible
full of contradictions! It is no mystery as to why the average man on the
street is so hopelessly confused!
Over my 50 years of "preaching Christ" I have encountered many good people
who have given up on religion all together due to such confusion which is
exactly contrary to Christ prayer for unity based on "the apostle?s word"
(John 17:17-21; 1 Corinthians 1:10-12; 3:1-6; Ephesians 4:1-6).
All Examples of Conversion In The Acts of The Apostles Followed The Great
Commission & So Must Each Conversion Still Today (Matthew 28:18-20):
1). Several Thousand Jews on Pentecost: (Acts 2:22-47)
2). More Jews: (Acts 3:12-19)
3). Some Samaritans: (Acts 8:5-12)
4). Simon A Former Sorcerer: (Acts 8:13)
5). A Queen?s Treasurer: (Acts 8:26-39)
6). Saul A Pharisee: (Acts 9:1-6; 22:16)
7). Lydia A Business Woman: (Acts 16:14-15)
8). A Heathen Jailer at Philippi: (Acts 16:25-34)
When taken in their totality, each following the world wide commission Heard
the gospel. Believed it and in Jesus as the Christ, Confessed faith in Jesus
as God?s Son. Were immersed into Christ for the remission of alien sins and
we therefore added to the number of the redeemed in the blood bought church
of Christ (Romans 6:3-6;16-18; Galatians 3:26-29; Acts 2:38-41, 47). All
were simply known as Christians (Acts 11;26b; Acts 26:28; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; 1
Peter 4:16) . What about YOU?
By Kenneth E. Thomas
 
 
Kenneth E. Thomas
221Rolling Acres Trail
Franklin, North Carolina  28734
http://www.geocities.com/kethomas_2000/index.html
Email: kthomas at dnet.net
1 (828) 349-3514 - Home
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080704/a882b49f/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 289 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080704/a882b49f/attachment-0002.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 16287 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080704/a882b49f/attachment-0003.gif 

From wswalker310 at juno.com  Fri Jul  4 21:28:31 2008
From: wswalker310 at juno.com (Wayne S Walker)
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 21:28:31 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] hymn study, "I Am Thine"
Message-ID: <20080705.075449.3220.1.wswalker310@juno.com>

Wayne Walker here with another weekly hymn study.  (PLEASE NOTE:  My
family and I plan to be out of town next week, so there will be no
further hymn studies until July 14.  Thank you.)

"I AM THINE"
"I am Thine, save me; for I have sought Thy precepts" (Ps. 119.94)

     INTRO.:  A hymn which reminds us that if we seek God's precepts we
belong to Him is "I Am Thine."  The text was written and the tune was
composed both by Leon B. Sanderson, who was born in Springfield, MO, on
Sept. 24, 1934, the son of Lloyd Otis Sanderson (1901-1992).  His mother
was the former Rena Raye Woodring.  Graduating from Harding College (now
University) in 1955 with a B. A. degree in speech, he also has a B. S.
degree in music from Memphis State University, and M. A. and M. R. E.
degrees from the Harding Graduate School of Bible and Religion.  From his
youth up, he has always had a keen interest in music, and has helped to
conduct song leader training classes since he was eighteen years of age. 
>From 1958 to 1961 he directed the A Capella Chorus at Harding Academy in
Memphis, TN.  In 1960 he married the former Alice Burkhalter, and they
had three children.  After serving as minister in Memphis with the
Highland St. church for eight years and then the Holmes Rd. church,
during which time he also worked with students at Memphis State
University and helped to establish the Bible chair program there, he went
to Florence, AL, where he served as Registrar and Professor at
International Bible College and worked with the Darby Drive and Northwood
Hills congregations.  

     In 1976, Sanderson returned to Memphis to begin work with the Park
Ave. church and teach a full load of Bible classes at the Memphis
Academy.  Then in 1979 he began work with the White Station church in
Memphis.  In addition, he has served as a writer for Christian Woman
magazine and has produced several hymns, such as "I Am Thine" and "Ready
Am I To Be Offered," both of which were published in the 1966 Christian
Hymns No. 3, edited by his father.   Realizing that we need more of the
Word in our hearts and thinking that setting it to music would assist the
learning and retention process, he has pur several scriptures to music.
One of these such songs of his which was the result of that belief
appears in Hymns for Worship Revised and is entitled "This Is The Day,"
is taken from Psalm 118:24, was copyrighted in 1991, and was first
printed in a publication which was prepared for use at White Station.  

     In 2007 Sanderson received a doctorate in ministry from the Harding
Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, TN.  His dissertation explored
the role that grandparents play in the social and moral development of
grandchildren.  As a result of this research, he has developed a program
with training materials for Christian grandparents to increase
intentionality in passing on their values and faith to their
grandchildren.  Also, he has established the Sanderson Memorial
Scholarship fund at Harding Graduate School to honor his father, mother,
and sister Lloydene, to help train those who will minister to all
grandchildren.  Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord's church
during the twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, "I Am Thine"
appeared in Christian Hymns No. 3.  It was the representative hymn for
Sanderson in the 1980 Our Garden of Song compiled by Gene C. Finley.

     The song emphasizes the importance of giving ourselves completely to
Christ.

I. Stanza 1 says that we should belong to Christ because He is our Lord
and King
"I would be completely Thine, Lord and King of love divine;
All of self and all I own, I resign before Thy throne."
 A. Jesus Christ is our Lord: Jn. 13.13
 B. Therefore, we must give Him ourselves as living sacrifices: Rom.
12.1-2
 C. This is symbolized by bowing down before His throne: Rev. 12.5

II. Stanza 2 says that we should belong to Christ because we have a cross
to bear
"Though a cross be mine to bear, And a trial here and there,
Should a legion beckon me, I belong alone to Thee."
 A. Giving ourselves to Jesus is also symbolized as bearing the cross:
Matt. 16.24
 B. This means enduring whatever trials and tribulations come our way:
Jas. 1.2-3
 C. Though the things of this world beckon or tempt us, we must not be
deceived: Jas. 1.114-16

III. Stanza 3 says that we should belong to Christ because we must love
Him first
"Those of earth must second be, First, indeed, my love to Thee.
Worldliness I leave behind That I may be wholly Thine."
 A. We must set our affections on things above not things on this earth:
Col. 3.1-2
 B. This means that we must love the Lord with all our heart: Matt. 22.37
 C. It also means that we must leave the world behind and not be
conformed to it: Rom. 12.1-2

IV. Stanza 4 says that we should belong to Christ because we must give
our best to Him
"Whether poor or prosperous, Either weak or vigorous,
I am bound, yet I am free, All my best to give to Thee."
 A. One can belong to Christ whether he is poor or prosperous: Jas.
1.9-10
 B. Because those in bonds are free in Christ and those who are free are
bound to Christ, there is neither bond nor free in the Lord: Gal. 3.28
 C. Rather than physical or social conditions, what binds us to the Lord
is that we give Him our best and seek first His kingdom: Matt. 6.33

     CONCL.:  The chorus concludes with a restatement of the need to give
ourselves wholly to the Lord so that we belong to Him.
"I am Thine!  I am Thine!  Soul and body, heart and mind.
I am Thine!  I am Thine!  I am Thine, and Thou art mine!"
There are many things in this life which the devil tries to use in his
attempts either to keep me away from the Lord or draw me away from God. 
Therefore, to please our Savior so that I can go to be with Him forever
in heaven, I must be willing to show that I really mean it when I say, "I
Am Thine." 

      Brotherly,
Wayne S. Walker
9024 Amona Dr.
Affton, MO  63123
home phone: (314) 638-4710
e-mail: wswalker310 at juno.com
website: www.defenderoftruth.com

     Notes: Other hymn studies are available at the Defender of Truth
website.  Also, some of my previous hymn studies are now included in book
that I have written entitled Songs of Zion.  It can be ordered from the
publisher by calling 1-800-423-2484 or going to www.faith-facts.com.  And
if you would like to receive a similar daily hymn study by e-mail, you
can join the Hymn of the Day list by sending a blank e-mail to
hymnoftheday-subscribe at yahoogroups.com or subscribing from the Web at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hymnoftheday/ .  In addition, I have a Hymn
Studies blog at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/ .

     Also, since this has been called to my attention, I now feel it
necessary to include this disclaimer with each message. As owner of this
list, I have nothing to do with the ads and links that Yahoogroups sends
out with the Hymn of the Day posts nor do I have any control over them. I
do not necessarily approve of them and I do not always endorse those who
have placed them with Yahoogroups.
____________________________________________________________
Click to become an artist and quit your boring job.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3mzjrmzD2YhdTEwnnOSVUrF9XdZEol2vm5YDnTxQK71KG7OE/

From doug at kibler.us  Sat Jul  5 09:09:21 2008
From: doug at kibler.us (Doug)
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 10:09:21 -0400
Subject: [Biblemat] Jury Duty and the Law
Message-ID: <001501c8dea8$b94889f0$2bd99dd0$@us>

I recently was on Jury Duty.  Most dislike Jury Duty.  I found it
interesting and educational.  Yes, it is disruptive to my routine.  It
reminded me of the abundant blessings we have living in this country.  I was
seated on a Jury where our job was to determine the guilt or innocence of a
man accused of several crimes.  Without going into all the details of the
case, when we adjourned from court for our deliberations, an all too common
experience unfolded.  As we discussed the case, questions and details, a
common expression began to be heard.  "I think" reared its head.  Some
disagreed with the law itself.  Some thought one law was too lenient, and
therefore it was not right that we could not hold the defendant to a higher
standard.  

 

Can you guess where this is going?  The judge provided us instructions on
paper to take with us for deliberations.  She read the document to us before
dismissing us for deliberations.  The document gave us the pertinent law and
instructions on the application of that law to the situation, as well as all
the admitted evidence.  I reached for the instructions and the law.  While
all the arguing continued, I searched for a particular section to deal with
the most serious charge we had to consider.  When I got a chance to speak, I
read the law, word for word, and reminded them of our instructions at the
outset of the trial to apply the law to the facts and make a decision.  And
then a very uncommon thing occurred:  The "I thinks" went silent.  One who
had been a vocal critic of the law - one charge too lenient, and one not
stiff enough - admitted that while she did not like it, the law was clear.
We then only discussed the law and the facts, not what everyone thought.  In
short order, we had a unanimous decision on the first charge.  

 

There were two other charges to consider.  The defense in opening statements
almost verbatim described the situation leaving no doubt their client was
guilty of these charges.  Would you think this would go smoothly then?  No.
Debate began in similar fashion as before - "I THINK."  I proceeded as
before with the same result.

 

Application?  At least two come readily to mind.  Perhaps you can think of
others. 

 

First, these were people from all walks of life, with very different
backgrounds, with unknown religious backgrounds.  When confronted with the
details of the law, argument of opinion ceased.  Good detailed discussion
followed.  What would the world be like if spiritual matters could be
discussed in such a fashion?  What a different place the earth would be,
what a different society we would live in.  It is commonly said the two
things you can never discuss are religion and politics.  If everyone would
read the bible, and have an honest discussion focused on what the law said,
and leave their opinion out, EVERYONE could discuss religion.  Even more, I
suspect everyone would want to discuss the law.  Even if we did not all
agree on every detail, we could still discuss it.  Why?  Leaving "I THINK"
sitting on the bench would make it happen.  It would not be a matter of
feeling or opinion, it would be a matter of the law.  The very law Jesus
died for.  

 

Second, what if I ALWAYS had the honesty and integrity to look to the law
and leave my "think" out of it?  It would require me to know the law well,
regularly and constantly spending time with it to learn it first and then to
keep it fresh.  Work with it constantly to have my judgment refined by God's
word.  

 

I CAN NOT make the world do that, but I CAN make ME.  One person can make a
difference, and I have to make sure it starts with me.  The only way I will
lead others to Christ is if I am going there myself first.  There was a time
when Christians led the charge.  Too often we are silent or quiet in the
fight I fear.  Maybe it is because we do not know.  Maybe it is because we
are not sure.  We need to work with the armor God has given us so that when
the struggle comes, our use of them will not occupy our concentration - they
will be old friends, very familiar, feeling good in our hands from long
hours of use.  We can then concentrate on the real issues before us, using a
"thus says the Lord" approach - just as our Savior did in defeating Satan
face to face.  

 

What does the law say?

 

My toes hurt.  Do yours?

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/76bedd0b/attachment-0001.html 

From doug at kibler.us  Sat Jul  5 11:02:03 2008
From: doug at kibler.us (Doug)
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 12:02:03 -0400
Subject: [Biblemat] Couple of Sayings
Message-ID: <001f01c8deb8$77be0630$673a1290$@us>

I recently came across this saying, and have found it greatly encouraging.
Everyone has their struggles, and so could be helpful to all.

 

"Good Morning, this is God.  I will be taking care of all your problems
today.  I don't need your help, so relax and have a great day"

 

I don't remember where I came across this - probably observed it on a church
sign or a bumper sticker.  

 

"No Jesus, No Peace.  Know Jesus, Know Peace" 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/0cecfef4/attachment-0001.html 

From kthomas at dnet.net  Sat Jul  5 13:34:07 2008
From: kthomas at dnet.net (Kenneth E. Thomas)
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 13:34:07 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Subject: [Biblemat] Preached Unto Him Jesus
Message-ID: <486FBE9E.000005.03612@KENSCOMPUTER>

"...And Preached Christ Unto Them, Him"
(Acts 8:5, 35)
By Kenneth E. Thomas
Philip the evangelist was forced to leave Jerusalem due to the persecution
led by Saul of Tarsus (Acts 8:1-5). It is said of him twice in Acts 8 that 
he preached Jesus or Christ" as cited above. While we are not told what all
is involved in "preaching Jesus" the sermons not having been recorded, we
can draw some inescapable conclusions from the text of Acts chapter eight
which cannot be denied. To the Samaritans he preached concerning Christ and
the kingdom (Acts 8:12). So an inescapable conclusion we can draw from this
statement is that one cannot properly "preach Christ" to anyone and fail to
include teaching them about the kingdom which is His church (Matt. 16:13-18;
Col. 1:13-14).
He may have mentioned the fact that John the immerser had taught God?s
people the Jews, to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt.
3:1-3). He could well have taught them that Jesus Himself taught the same in
(Matt. 4:17,23). As he taught the people about Christ and His kingdom he
probably reminded them of what Jesus said to His disciples in (Mark 9:1)
that being that this promised kingdom would come into being with power in
the lifetime of some to whom He then spoke! So what does this say about
those who till this good day preach and teach concerning a "future earthly
kingdom?" If the kingdom has not already come there are some people still
living who are over 2000 years old awaiting its coming. Too, since the
kingdom of Christ is entered by a "new birth of water and the Spirit" (John
3:3-5), if the kingdom hasn?t come then no one has yet been "born again!"
Still we often hear our Protestant friends speak of "born again Christians."
Right? Too, the kingdom of Christ is "not a physical kingdom but is
spiritual" (see John 18:36-37).
In the second sermon that Philip preached that we are told about by Luke in
Acts eight, it is simply stated that Philip began at the same Old Testament
passage from which the Queen?s treasurer from Ethiopia was reading as he
returned from a trip to worship God in Jerusalem, and "preached Jesus to him
" (Acts 8:26-35). I for one have often wondered just what all Philip
preached to this treasurer from Ethiopia? I know one thing is implied that
he taught him for sure, since the Eunuch requested baptism, we know that one
cannot "preach Jesus" in the true Biblical sense of the word without
teaching the essentiality of immersion for the remission of alien sins (Acts
8:26-39; Acts 2:38). 
Some Other Things "Preaching Jesus" May Have Involved
Prior To Scriptural Baptism
I have no doubt but that Philip taught this man (since he preached unto Him,
Jesus) from the passages in Isaiah 53) that this Jesus of Nazareth is indeed
the Messiah of which the prophet wrote (see also Matt.1:18-23; John 1:1-14).
No doubt he taught him about the mock trial before Pilate and how Pilate
could find no fault in Him and desired to set him free but politicks being
what they were he did not. But turned Him over to the Jews who turned Him
over to the Romans for death by crucifixion (John 18:29-19:19). 
Next no doubt Philip told him about how the tomb of Jesus was found empty on
the third day and about how some women and later the apostles, then above
500 were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Messiah (John 20:1-31; 1 Cor.
15:1-58; Romans 1:1-4).
Next I would suppose Philip told him about How Jesus gave His apostles the
worldwide commission found today in (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20 and
Luke 24:45-49), that is age lasting. It must have been about this time that
the Ethiopian nobleman requested baptism at the hands of Philip (Acts
8:35-39). So now how about you? Are you a believer in Jesus as the Messiah
and Savior (John 8:21-23)? Are you ready to turn from sin in repentance to
confess faith in Jesus and to be immersed into Jesus Christ to have your
sins remitted by His blood (Romans 10:9-10; Romans 6:3-4; 16-18)? If so,
find someone to assist you in obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thess.
1:6-9. 
Kenneth E. Thomas
221Rolling Acres Trail
Franklin, North Carolina  28734
http://www.geocities.com/kethomas_2000/index.html
Email: kthomas at dnet.net
1 (828) 349-3514 - Home
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/05c8eeb0/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 289 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/05c8eeb0/attachment-0002.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 18861 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/05c8eeb0/attachment-0003.gif 

From crxtra at gmail.com  Sat Jul  5 18:56:22 2008
From: crxtra at gmail.com (Steven C. Harper)
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:56:22 -0700
Subject: [Biblemat] A> You Have A Text Message
Message-ID: <000001c8defa$bc555b80$35001280$@com>

From: TRUTH & REASON, a bulletin of the Glendale church of Christ, Glendale,
AZ. 

Editor: Steven Harper 

July 6, 2008

You Have A Text Message

 

      It has been said that we are living in what is called 'The Information
Age.' Without doubt, information is more accessible now than at any other
time in this world's history, and to more people than at any time in
history, too. Just get online and go to Google and type in anything you are
trying to find and you will most likely find it. Nowadays, if anyone has a
question, someone will inevitably say, "Just Google it!" Many lighthearted
disputes are resolved by simply going to the Internet and finding the answer
because the information is so readily available. Of course not all sources
are reliable, but one can be discerning in the search for answers and still
find a reliable answer to just about any question.

    And information availability is not limited to just the Internet,
either. Over one billion cell phones were sold worldwide in 2007; that's
just about one phone for every six people on the planet! No one has to wait
to get home or to the office to talk to family members or fellow employees;
no one has to wait until after school to talk to their BFF; and no one has
to hunt for phone booths anymore to make that important call. Cell phones
are cheap and easily obtained, so communication is made easier for all. And
right along with the cell phones come text messaging - yet another form of
instant communication.

    Some people get really wrapped up in 'text-messaging', too. I've been on
the unfortunate end of a serious discussion with another individual, only to
be interrupted by his cell phone buzzing and him simply cutting off the
discussion to answer and read the text message. I doubt the message was so
important it couldn't have waited, but he is not alone; a lot of young folks
nowadays cannot imagine a day without receiving or sending some sort of text
message. It is rarely important, earth-shaking information that is being
sent, but it seems like it is to those sending or receiving it! Apparently
some just can't wait to tell someone sitting in a classroom down the hall
that so-and-so is wearing dirty shoes, so they text it to all their friends
and wait for multiple responses. They might even take a picture with their
camera phone and send that, too!

    Right along with all this information availability has come what some
are calling information overload - just too much information available. I
would have to agree that some of the information is too easily accessible
and does not need to be, but the problem is not so much the amount of
information, but which information our society is deeming important. Sadly,
more and more people are seeking out information that is essentially
meaningless, while simultaneously ignoring the information that pertains to
their eternal destiny. While many younger folks are busy sending and
receiving text messages that have no real impact on their lives or the lives
of those with whom they are communicating this information, they know
nothing of a text message that was sent long ago by their Creator that was
for their spiritual benefit, and which should not be ignored. That message
is the Bible - the word of God.

    Part of the problem is that the modern habit of 'texting' is a matter of
sending or receiving short messages and rarely requires a long attention
span or much thought. To seriously consider the text message God has sent
requires much more time and is not easily digested. But, friends and
brethren, it is infinitely more important! Some send and receive a hundred
text messages a day, but have not read one word in the message God has
delivered to them and, therefore, cannot comprehend the importance of what
they are missing; but if you've read this far into this article, bear with
me as I will try to give you a few reasons why this message is worth putting
down your cell phone and getting off the computer to read.

    This Message Tells You About God. In the past, most people believed in
God, and they believed in God because they knew about God. Nowadays, few
people believe in God [at least the God of the Bible] because they have no
one to read them the stories about Him as toddlers, they are not brought to
Bible classes where they can personally read about Him as teenagers, and as
adults they are surrounded by people who ridicule the very idea of God, so
they are not motivated to take the time to find out firsthand what He has
revealed about Himself in the written word.

    But in this text message, God has revealed that He is love (1st John
4:8), that He is merciful beyond measure (Psa. 103:8-11), that He is not
willing that any should perish (2nd Pet. 3:9), and that He loved us enough
to send His Son that we might have eternal life (John 3:16). But we also
find in this text message that God is a just judge (Psa. 7:11), that He is
impartial (Acts 10:34, 35), and that He will hold us accountable for all we
say and do while here on earth (2nd Cor. 5:10). Isn't that a lot more
important than the last text message you read?

    This Message Tells You About You. Since fewer and fewer people actually
read this message, fewer and fewer understand that they are guilty of sin,
but it says it right there - "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" (Rom. 3:23). That means you. It even tells us there are many who either
do not believe in God at all (Psa. 14:1) or simply believe they are right in
their own eyes (Prov. 12:15). This message reminds you that just because you
think you are headed down the right path doesn't make it so (Prov. 14:12).
It also reminds you that there is no safety in numbers when it comes to
making the choice of which way to go (Matt. 7:13). Believe it or not, this
message is not trying to make you feel bad about yourself; it is just trying
to get you to see the real picture! Can you trust that the messages you get
from your friends on your cell phone are always for your best interests?

    This Message Tells You About A Savior. After that last batch of
information, this sounds refreshing, doesn't it? It should be! The message
of a Savior to a world full of sin is good news, indeed! In fact the message
that tells us about our Savior is called the gospel which, literally
translated, means good news. The good news is that, though we are all
sinners, God has established a plan even before time began for our salvation
(1st Pet. 1:20, 21). This message tells us that He helped us when we were
helpless (Rom. 5:6), loved us even while we were considered unlovable (v.
8), and called us His friends who were once known as His enemies (v. 10).
When is the last time you read a text message that gave you so much hope and
reason to be happy?

    This Message Must Be Believed. This message is one of good news, but you
must know that is good news only to those who accept it, believe it, and
obey it. Many people heard it when it was first delivered and some believed
and obeyed (Acts 3:28-41), but many were upset at the message (4:2) and
tried to get rid of the messengers (5:33). Today, many still refuse to
accept the message [sort of like the 'Ignore' button on your cell phone] and
many still get extremely upset when they hear its exclusive message (Acts
4:12) or hear that any other message is to be rejected as well as those who
bring such messages (Gal. 1:6-9). To many, they are convinced by others that
this message is fit for only the uneducated, backwards, and the
simple-minded, so they do not bother to take the time to read what it
actually says. That is troublesome because within this message we are told
that these words will be the standard by which we will be judged one day and
there is no escaping this fact (John 12:48).

            With all the text messages you may receive, none are as
important as the text message sent to you from God. Take the time to read
it. Open your Bible!       -- Steven Harper

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/9c44d64d/attachment-0001.html 

From tssullivan at charter.net  Sat Jul  5 21:39:49 2008
From: tssullivan at charter.net (T. Sean Sullivan)
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 21:39:49 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] The Messenger Vol 003 Iss 025
Message-ID: <000b01c8df11$9fcd7760$6466a8c0@sean1a4c1f786>

      T
     
he Messenger 2008

Published Weekly by Main Street Church of Christ

306 West Main Street, Newbern, TN 38059   731-627-3514

 

Bulletin Editor: T. Sean Sullivan

 

VOLUME 003::ISSUE 025:: July 06, 2008  

 

 

ARTICLE ONE:  The "I" Factor

ARTICLE TWO:  The Purity of Life

 

Article One: The Work of the Church

            

Have you ever heard the saying, "Handed life on a silver platter"?  Whenever someone thinks that they deserve everything and they personally give nothing: they are expecting life to be handed to them on a silver platter. Have you ever known anyone like that? Or, this is a scary question, are you like that? 

In Proverbs 18:24 we read, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly." If you expect to be treated friendly, you must be friendly. If you expect to be loved, you must love. This is the personal factor that it involved in most everything thing that we do. It is part of our families/marriage/parent-child relationship. It is part of our work environment. It must be part of our church family too.

Please consider with me some goals for "church growth" that begin with me; that begin with you. 

 

It Is Up To Me To Make This A Loving Group.

 

We are nothing without love. Jesus declared that we must love one another (John 13:34). We should have a love that is simple to recognized and hard to mistake, since it is a love that can be used to identify us as disciples of Christ (John 13:35).

Our love is first established on the things we have in common. We share faith based on God's revealed word (Romans 10:17). Peter describes our mutual be saying, our "like precious faith" (2 Peter 1:1). We also share one doctrine, not some "Church of Christ" doctrine, as some may assume, we have only the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). With common faith and doctrine we find ourselves on a common pathway. Our path is difficult; we need each other to offer help and care (Matthew 7:13-14). 

Our love can grow beyond simple commonalities when we get to know and appreciate one another a people. That is why Peter instructed us to add to our Agape to our Philos. Add family love to our brotherly love (2 Peter 1:7). 

There is a room for improvement in our love. The brethren at Philippi loved one another and still Paul said, "May your love still abound more and more." (Philippians 1:9). We have allowed personal conflicts to distract our growth and our love. We must come to terms with these problems (Matthew 5:22-24; 1 Peter 3:7). Resolve them and put them in the past (Ephesians 4:25-32). To do this you can simply let it go (1 Peter 4:8). You can go to the one with whom you have a problem to gain them back (Matthew 18:15-17).

We must grow in love. Love starts with me, I will get to know you more and love you more. 

 

It Is Up To Me To Bring Growth To This Group.

Why do we need to grow? If we are not growing we are dying (John 15:1-8). Jesus statement is unmistakable: once you begin bearing fruit keep bearing more fruit. We cannot be satisfied to let so many souls all around us to slip away into condemnation (Romans 3:23; 6:23) they need the gift of God and you know how they can get it. I must try to help them (Mark 16:16). 

What can I do to help this congregation grow? Live a life of faith (Romans 12:1-2). Use your life, as proof of God's perfect/livable will. Always set the right example: content, godly, loving, and kind: all the things that Christians are to be (2 Peter 1:5-10). Become more evangelistic. Follow the two most important rules of personal evangelism: Conversation-Engage in a dialogue (Anything you have in common is the starting place) and Invitation-Invite them to attend services with you. If each of us determined to invite just one other person to each service think of the growth potential we could have. 

 

It Is Up To Me To Make This A Hardworking Group.

 

We all have a role (Ephesians 4:13-16). We can be determined to take on a greater share of this work. Personal growth is just as important as collective congregational growth (Hebrews 5:12-14). Our personal growth can and will strengthen the whole congregation. We must determine to say: I will study more (2 Timothy 2:15). I will attend more services (Hebrews 10:24-25). I will be more willing to work (1 Corinthians 15:58). I will be prepared to help someone find the truth, help my brethren when they are in need, and be prepared for when the Lord comes. I will look for things that need to be done and do them. Your example will be noticed and we will be encouraged to work hard together.

 

Conclusion:

 

A man who has brethren must himself be a brother. It is up to me to give to you what I expect to receive and more. The design is perfect the application is lacking: The world has taught us to say, "What is in it for me?" We must put that attitude away and take on one that says, "What can I do for you?" Do not worry, you will be taken care of: Everyone else is here to make that certain. ~tss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article Two:  The Purity of LIfe

 

To start this lesson I want to introduce the term "influence".  Each one of us should know what the term influence means since we have all been influenced by many things.

Influence is neither positive nor negative it is a neutral term. We are in control of it directive power. We must decide how it will be used. Hopefully, we will always be a positive influence on our family, friends, associates, coworkers, neighbors, etc.

Please be mindful of this one fact: Your influence may take years to affect a change in others; but your influence itself can be changed in seconds. Your ability to influence others for good can be destroyed by lack of purity in your life. A few foolish words or actions reflect your lack of ability to follow God will. If you can't live what you teach why would anyone else assume they could. 

We have a real need for purity in our lives. We need pure input and pure output so we can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God to everyone we meet (Romans 12:1-2).

I want you to think carefully about your ability to influence others toward Christ. The purity of your life is the greatest factor in your influence. Consider with me the purity of body, mind and soul.

 

Purity of Mind:

What is our mind? The mind is our understanding, our conscience, our intellect; it is our enabler; we can do nothing without our mind's okay. When I walk, it is not because my feet have decided to move, it is because my mind has decided to move my feet. The decisions that our mind makes are based solely on the input information. I know that my mind will never tell my hand to touch a hot stove element again, when I was three I had a pain input when I touched one. 

Jesus teaches us that garbage in, equals garbage out (Matthew 6:22-24). We must be careful what we input so that we can have a pure mind. God expects us to have a pure mind (James 1:8; 4:8) and He has provided the directions we need to attain the purity of mind           (1 Timothy 1:5). We must desire to have a pure mind and take action to be pure (1 John 3:1-3). 

Our influence also needs our mind to be pure, but why? Who can see my mind-my heart anyway? Anyone you talk to can see your heart. Our mouth will betray our heart; it will not keep our thoughts secret for long (Matthew 15:10-20). Let's be careful of the things we allow as input. Let's determine to purify our minds and be more like Jesus every day, in word and deed (Colossians 3:17) so that we can be a more positive influence on those around us. 

 

Purity of Body:

Purity of body is something that has become a modern oddity and the object of ridicule. Saving one's self for marriage sounds more like a punch line than an acceptable moral standard. The world's view may have changed but God's view has never changed.

The term fornication is used to describe any sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage and God's word outright condemns this activity. Galatian 5:19-21 describes fornication as a work of the flesh. It explains that those who practice such and do not seek God's forgiveness will not be allowed entrance into Heaven (vs. 21). The Apostle, again teaches this same principle in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. 

Even the marriage bonds themselves have diminished in the eyes of the world. Statistically speaking: One in two marriages end in divorce in this country; more than half of the divorces are due to the infidelity of one or both of the marriage partners. Adultery is a more specific form of fornication. 

As a Christian, we must not allow these activities be part of our life. These practices destroy our influence by taking away the purity of our body.

What can you do if you have never committed sexual immorality? Decide right now, right here, that you are going to save yourself for marriage and once you are marriage that you will honor the bond of that marriage. What can you do if you have committed sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)? Deal with it the same way as any other sin: Truly repent (stop committing the sin) and pray for forgiveness if you are a Christian or truly repent (stop committing the sin) and seek God's forgiveness by becoming a Christian.

            By keeping our bodies pure our examples will be pure and our influence on other will be positive.

 

The Purity of Soul

We all must be aware of our soul-You are your soul (2 Timothy 4:6; 2 Peter 1:13-14). Since you are your soul you will be either in Heaven and know it or you will be sent to Hell and you will know it. You will feel the consequences of your actions.

Sin results in impurity of the soul (Ezekiel 18:20). Improper actions of our body and mind result in that soul staining sin (2 Corinthians 5:10). There is hope (Romans 6:23). God has provided a way (Isaiah 1:18) in which we can be cleansed; we can have our souls purified by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:22-28).

We can purify our souls through obedience to God's will. As a Christian you need to repent and pray like Simon in Acts chapter eight. If you are not a Christian your hope is found through obedience to God's plan of salvation (Acts 2:38-39).

 

Conclusion: You can have a positive influence on others around you if you first purify every part of your being: mind, body and soul. If you talk the talk, you must walk the walk (1 John 2:6).  We have to be a Christian influence 24/7 no matter who we are with or where we are. Are you in need of some purification today? ~tss 

 

 

 

 

      



 

If you are enjoying The Messenger and you know someone else who would like to receive it. Please forward it to them or send me their email address and I will add it to the list.   

Sean

 

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/54cd8875/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2886 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/54cd8875/attachment-0001.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 9535 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080705/54cd8875/attachment-0001.gif 

From disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com  Sun Jul  6 14:45:02 2008
From: disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com (Ethan R. Longhenry)
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 15:45:02 -0400
Subject: [Biblemat] Good News for Norwalk: Volume III, Number 27: July 06,
	2008
Message-ID: <BAY132-DS28CDDCE31B786FF2530C1B2950@phx.gbl>

Good News for Norwalk

For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is the power of God for 
salvation
to everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16)

A publication of the church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
Volume III, Number 27: July 06, 2008

-------------------------------------------------------------

Living by Your Faith

Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous 
shall
live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

Habbakuk lives and proclaims God's message in foreboding times for Israel. 
God's
judgment will swiftly come to pass by the hand of Babylon, and many will not
survive. Those who trust in God and in His message, however, will be 
delivered.

The Apostle Paul will take Habbakuk's message here and apply it to the 
Gospel in
Romans 1:16-17. Paul indicates that the Gospel is God's power for salvation, 
and
that in it, "righteousness" is revealed "from faith to faith," because "the
righteous will live by faith."

The statement reveals a truth that is tested by time: those whom God will 
deem
righteous are the ones who live according to their faith. It is they who 
"walk by
faith," not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). They do not act according to the 
way
they think or feel is right, but are entirely dependent on God for those
decisions. They are the ones who are "crucified in Christ" (Galatians 2:20).

It is quite important for us to live by faith, seeking to serve and please 
God
and not to please ourselves (Philippians 2:1-4). Yet Habbakuk's statement 
goes
beyond just living "by faith." He indicates that the righteous will live by 
"his
faith."

There are some people who have the opportunity to survive and prosper based 
on
the actions of others. Some children receive an inheritance or a legacy and 
have
no need to do much on their own. There are times when men and women marry 
someone
who is quite wealthy or famous and have no need to do much of anything for
themselves.

In our society, the concept of "outsourcing" is even more popular. Many 
functions
that people used to do for themselves are now "outsourced" to someone else. 
We
recognize that factory jobs and customer service lines are often outsourced 
to
workers in other countries, yet we ourselves often outsource various mundane
tasks to others. We may have someone come to clean our house, watch our 
children,
fix our house or car, or other such things.

This can never be so with religion! God indicates that each of us will give 
an
account of ourselves before the judgment seat of God (Romans 14:12). God 
will
render to each of us according to our works (Romans 2:6).

You may be blessed with righteous parents or grandparents who have left you 
with
a wonderful legacy of faith; perhaps you have children who are also 
faithful.
Their faith, however, cannot save you! You must have your own faith before 
God.
Likewise, you may be blessed to assemble with a congregation with 
hardworking
elders and an evangelist who promotes the Gospel in the community. They will
stand or fall before God for what they have done-- you will not be able to 
claim
their faith for yourself on that day! You cannot outsource your spiritual
responsibilities to anyone else-- you yourself must be active in your 
service to
God (Romans 12:1-2).

Those who are righteous before God will live by their own faith. They will 
think
and act not according to their own will, but the will of their Father in 
Heaven.
They may have a legacy of faith, but they themselves will also work 
diligently,
full of good works before God, which is their spiritual worship (Romans 
12:1-2,
Titus 3:8). Let us live by our own faith before God!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist at norwalkchurch.org

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Disadvantaged

Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; 
but
thou shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:14).

The idea of cursing the deaf or putting something in the way of a blind 
person is
quite cruel to most of us. Such actions are terrible ways of taking 
advantage of
other people's difficulties.

Should we believe that God is only concerned with those who are physically 
deaf
or blind? There are many people in our world upon whom others prey-- people 
who
do not understand a lot of things, or who are rather naive.

God is always concerned with the plight of the disadvantaged in society, and 
we
would do well to "fear God" in this way. As Christians, we are to be 
merciful,
and to treat others the way in which we would like to be treated (Luke 
6:31-36).
Let us not put a hindrance in anyone's way; let us not be guilty of taking
advantage of our fellow man in his weakness!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist at norwalkchurch.org

-------------------------------------------------------------

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for
Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk 
area, we
would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city 
limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

-------------------------------------------------------------

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or
desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at
evangelist at norwalkchurch.org.


Good News for Norwalk is a publication of the church of Christ in Norwalk, 
Ohio, for the promotion of God's truth in our world.

For more information about the church of Christ in Norwalk, please visit our 
website at norwalkchurch.org.

Ethan R. Longhenry / deusvitae at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio [norwalkchurch.org]
Homepage: deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ: 28317056
Y! IM: discipuliiesus 


From terrywbenton at bellsouth.net  Sun Jul  6 14:45:28 2008
From: terrywbenton at bellsouth.net (Terry W. Benton)
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 14:45:28 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] Was the Sermon on the Mount Nailed to the Cross
Message-ID: <D8956ABD0138433199A180D273A629EC@TerryPC>

Was the Sermon on the Mount Nailed

to the Cross?

There has not been a more fundamental question about how to rightly divide the word of truth and how to apply the scriptures than this one.  At first, you might think this question is preposterous, but bear with me.  There are brethren lurking in churches today who would affirm that Jesus' sermon was a commentary on the true intent of the law and that when the law passed or ended, then Jesus' commentary became moot as far as application of the commentary.

 

The law Jesus was upholding in His sermon was the righteousness of a law that was about to end at the cross.  Therefore, it is concluded that all commentaries on the law are just as non-binding as the law that is commented upon.  If I wrote a commentary on Exodus 20, my commentary would be inapplicable to anyone today because Ex.20 describes a law that has been fulfilled and abolished.  The argument is that if Jesus is upholding the true righteousness of the law, a law that was soon to pass, then Jesus' sermon becomes inapplicable today because we are not under the law that He was upholding and explaining.  In fact, all the things said about the law in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are to be viewed as nailed to the cross according to this theory.

 

Perhaps you are thinking that this is not being taught by brethren today, but think again. There is a growing element of brethren who think that this argument is very sound.  They believe that the Sermon on the Mount was nailed to the cross.  They believe that Jesus' words about divorce and remarriage are nailed to the cross.  All commentary and corrections Jesus made on people's misunderstanding or misapplication of the law become things that were nailed to the cross when the thing Jesus was explaining, the law, passed away and was nailed to the cross.

 

We will provide you with plenty of quotes and documentation to show that this IS being taught in churches today.  There is an element of truth in much that is said. For example I believe that Jesus WAS commenting on the true righteous standard of the law, and was indeed giving an exposition of those parts of the law that had been overlooked and neglected by the "scribes and Pharisees".  However, I do not believe that Jesus' words and exposition was nailed to the cross. I do not believe that the righteous standard of the law was nailed to the cross.  I believe the righteousness of the law ought to still be fulfilled in us (Gal.5:14; Rom.8:4; 13:8-10).  I believe that while some things contained in the law (types, shadows of things to come, prophecies) have been fulfilled in Jesus and His redemptive work, the righteous standard of moral conduct must still be "established" (Rom.3:31) and "fulfilled in us" (Rom.13:8-10).  I am convinced that the righteous standards expressed in the law are not chained to the law.  Righteousness expressed by the law does not nail to a cross and end.  Law can express the righteous character of God and His Holy standards, but while you can nail the law to a cross and end its authority as a system of law, you cannot nail the righteousness and holy standards of God to a cross and cause them to end.  A particular vehicle that carries you to work for years may be exchanged or traded for another vehicle which will do the same thing.  The thing carried by each vehicle, a human life, remains constant even when the vehicle is not the same.  Likewise, the thing carried by the Old Testament, the righteousness of God, remains constant even when the vehicle is changed or exchanged.  Jesus was both expounding on righteous principles carried by the law AND telling how those very righteous principles were required to be carried by those who would enter and live in His kingdom.  Thus, the Sermon on the Mount is timeless.  It does not nail to the cross with the old vehicle that served its purpose and was ready to vanish away.  The cross, the gospel, the New Testament of Jesus would carry forth the righteousness of the law even when the law as a legal unit had come to an end.  Thus, it will be my purpose to establish the following things:

1. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is timeless righteousness that must be followed by His kingdom.

2. The righteousness of the law was carried by the law, carried by Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and carried forth by the kingdom of God's dear Son.

3. The law as a total system with shadows, types, and prophecies can be abolished and fulfilled, while the righteous and holy standards of the law can still be maintained under a new and different system.

 

While I will labor to establish the above premises, I will also show the fallacy of those who contend that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount has no application and demands upon Christians after the cross.  I will not build a straw man, a position that no one actually holds, and then tear it down.  I will give you numerous quotes, actual quotes, to demonstrate that there are brethren who hold that all of Jesus' words uttered before the cross have no binding application to us today.  While I give the quotes, I will not give the name of the person I am quoting.  The reason is because I hope the brethren in question will see their errors and repent without undue public embarrassment.  The second reason is because I want brethren to recognize the error whenever and wherever it appears from whoever teaches the error.  Calling attention to a particular person often becomes counterproductive when you have hope to win them back.  Thus, for the time being, we will hold off on identity of person and will give actual quotes.  Some are teachers and preachers who have had considerable influence upon others.

 

DO BRETHREN ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS' SERMON ON THE MOUNT WAS TO BE NAILED TO THE CROSS?

 

Quote #1: Because you cannot be under two laws at once (Paul said it was spiritual adultery), Jesus either taught new law or old law. Since he said His law was "unto you" (the Jews He was speaking to), we know the law He taught was in effect when He spoke it. Since the law of Moses was in effect till the cross and the law He spoke before the cross was in effect when He spoke it, it had to be law of Moses." 

The premise of the above quote is that Jesus was not binding new law but was expounding upon the law then in effect, the Law of Moses.

The minor premise is that if Jesus was giving new law before the Law of Moses was nailed to the cross, then He was creating an environment for spiritual adultery, giving approval for two laws at once.  Since the Law of Moses was still in effect, then Jesus could not and would not give a new law code.

What is wrong with those premises?

1. The righteousness of the law was that which the scribes and Pharisees were NOT keeping and which standard would be kept by those in His kingdom.  While the Law of Moses was still in effect, Jesus would do no violation to that righteous standard if He said that righteous standard would be expected of those entering and living in His kingdom.  Would it be spiritual adultery if the righteousness of the law is carried forth by the Law of Moses AND the Law of Christ?  How could it be?  Righteousness is righteousness, no matter what law carries it forth. While Gentiles were not under the Law of Moses, they still often kept the righteousness of the law (Rom.2:14,15,26). Were they keeping two separate laws at once? Their law AND the Law of Moses?  NO! But, their conduct was in harmony with "the righteous requirements of the law" (Rom.2:26).  It does not create a situation of spiritual adultery for Jesus to uphold the Law of Moses and say that these righteous principles are expected now AND in the kingdom of the New Testament age.

2. To say that Jesus either taught new law or old law is overstating the case.  Jesus taught old law all right, but also made it clear that this standard of righteousness would be required of those entering and living in the new kingdom about to come.  The "righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us" (Rom.8:4).  Fulfilled in who?  In "us" (Christians of the New Testament age and living in the kingdom).  Is it spiritual adultery for Christians to desire the righteous requirement of the law be fulfilled in themselves when we are under the law of Christ?  No!  Spiritual adultery occurs, not when you want the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in yourself, but when you want two complete law codes or law systems controlling you at the same time.  While I may desire the righteousness of the law of England to characterize my life, I am still under the laws of the USA.  It is only when I try to justify my behavior by means of the laws of England that I get into the conflict of two law systems.  Thus, Jesus was bringing out the righteous standard that was required then (while the Law of Moses was still in effect), AND which standard of conduct He would always expect of those who would enter and live in His kingdom.

Righteousness is always righteousness, no matter what law is in effect or will be in effect.  The righteousness of the law would still be expected before and after the cross.

3. The thrust of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is geared toward the kingdom that was then "at hand". It contemplates the responsibility of being a disciple, one who would be required to be salt and light in a world that was going to persecute and reject them. Entering the kingdom required that His disciples have a righteousness that exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt.5:20). The Sermon on the Mount is not about the Law of Moses VERSUS the Law of Christ. It is about the superficial, non-law of Moses-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees VERSUS the true, deeper level of righteousness required by BOTH Moses and Jesus in any age and to any that would enter Jesus' kingdom. For example, the Law of Moses was not just against adultery (the physical act) and now Jesus is calling for a check on lust (a new standard). No, the Law of Moses was against lust too.(See Ex.20:17 along with Psalm 101:3; Prov.4:23; And Psalm 66:18). Jesus is not changing the Law so that now lust or adultery in the heart is to be considered a new sin.  The point of contrast is between what the scribes and Pharisees had emphasized out of the Law of Moses and what Jesus is bringing out of that same law. The scribes and Pharisees gave emphasis to externals and neglected the deeper, internal standards of the law. Jesus is not giving new law. He is giving new points of emphasis that His audience had not heard before since the law was not really upheld by the scribes and Pharisees. While Jesus is upholding the true intent of the law, He is also expressing the very standards He would continue to expect of those entering and living under His rule in the coming kingdom. Jesus did not abolish the "righteousness of the law". That is still being fulfilled and carried by His kingdom of disciples. We are still required to fulfill the righteousness of the law.  Love is still required. Love will still fulfill the law (Gal.5:14; Rom.13:8-10). Obeying parents is still right (Eph.6:1-3). Now, it would be alright for Jesus to tell new principles He would expect of His kingdom of disciples, but that is not what He is trying to accomplish in this Sermon. 

The Law of Moses carried righteous principles while also carrying the luggage of a hardened or undeveloped people, national laws for a physical territory and a physical boundary.  Not everything carried in the Law of Moses is a principle of "righteousness". For example, it was right for an Israelite to be circumcised because it was commanded, but not everything that was commanded was commanded because it was first "right". It would not be a matter of "right" for a Gentile to be circumcised, but it would be a matter of right for a Gentile not to steal or murder. There are many things that are carried by the Law of Moses that are not matters of "righteousness".  They are commanded for national reasons or for typological reasons (pointing to antitypes in Christ). Those things were right for Jews to practice because they were commanded. They were not commanded because they were matters of inherent right or wrong.  But, other things are in the Law of Moses and are commanded because they are right.  Any Law from God would encourage these right things because they are right. Jesus is preaching that His kingdom will do those right things that were expressed in the Law that the scribes and Pharisees tended to overlook and failed to say much about. Jesus was going to say what they had long neglected to say and practice.

Lust is still wrong. Divorce is still wrong. Many remarriages are still adultery. The righteous standards Jesus expressed in the great Sermon on the Mount must yet characterize His kingdom. Neither the Sermon on the Mount, nor the righteousness of the law have been nailed to the cross and abolished.  The Old Testament as a covenant-law has been abolished and nailed to the cross.  The righteous requirements of the law must be carried on.  Jesus was carrying forth those righteous principles that must be carried forth by His kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount is a righteous code of conduct that cannot be abolished by a righteous God. The righteousness of the law lives on even when the covenant that expresses it must come to a close.  The Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of God's standards for all time and must be upheld by those who would be in the kingdom Jesus was preaching.  If you want to be in Jesus' kingdom, here is the standard of righteousness.

The Four Gospels Belong to the New Testament

Matthew writes His gospel long after the cross, and thus is a New Testament writer and "minister of the new covenant"(2 Cor.3:1ff).  Yet, he records for his readers some things Jesus taught while the Law of Moses was still in effect.  For example, the Law of Moses was still in effect when Jesus told of righteousness in His Sermon on the Mount.  He told how that righteousness in the "then" coming kingdom would be a righteousness that exceeded the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees (Matt.5:20).  He pointed out the superficial externals that the scribes and Pharisees gave emphasis to, and then contrasted their righteousness with what HE expected of those entering His kingdom.

 

Some brethren are teaching that Jesus' commentary on the true meaning of the law is now moot since that law has been abolished.  If the law was abolished, then Jesus' sermon becomes moot to us and has no binding quality upon us, is the argument.  It is contended that we must look for our instruction in righteousness only from what can be found after Acts 2 when the law of the Lord went forth from Jerusalem.  All law before that point is Law of Moses stuff that was nailed to the cross.  Here is a quote from an actual preacher of the gospel today:

Quote #2: "The prophets all said the law of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem. Jesus did most of His law teaching in Galilee. If the law of the Lord was to go forth from Jerusalem and His teaching went forth from Galilee, you just have to conclude He was teaching OT law. It was not till Acts 2 we find the new law going forth from Jerusalem, just like the prophets said it would. "

Indeed the law of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem, but we must see that the law of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem contained the same standards of morals that were carried by the Mosaic law.  The "righteousness of the law" continues to be fulfilled in us (Christians).

Listen to part of the law of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem.

Rom 8:3-4

3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (NKJ)

Paul is writing to Christians, those under the law of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem, and to them he said that the "righteous requirement of the law" (not the entire law itself, but the righteous requirement of the law) might be fulfilled in us (us Christians). Earlier he said that Gentiles, who do not have the law, show the work of the law and actually practice the righteous requirement of the law even though they were not circumcised (Rom.2:14,26).  So, the "righteous requirement of the law" does not include circumcision and other shadows of the law.  The law carried a basic righteous requirement, a standard of moral conduct that even Gentiles knew were matters of right and wrong.  Christians STILL fulfill the "righteous requirements of the law".  I might add that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is a documented expression of the righteous requirements that must be true of those who would enter and live in His kingdom.

 

Again, Paul brings out standards from the Law of Moses that are ever to be fulfilled in Christians:

Rom 13:8-10

8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness,"

"You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

(NKJ)

Do Christians need to concern themselves with "fulfilling the law"?  Paul is surely writing after the cross, and in the age when the law of the Lord had gone forth from Jerusalem, and yet here he is telling people to love because love fulfills the law.  So, the law that went forth from Jerusalem is telling Christians to fulfill the law of righteousness that had been also expressed in the Law of Moses from Sinai.  To Timothy Paul said that the Holy Scriptures he had learned from childhood (the Old Testament scriptures) could still give him "instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim.3:15-17).  Why isn't Paul calling upon Timothy to only focus on that separate and totally different law of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem? The answer is that the righteous requirements of the law are still "profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness".  Those righteous principles found in the scriptures would "go forth from Jerusalem".  Love is commanded by the Law of Moses because the Law of Moses comes from a righteous God Who does not change.  If we want to know God's righteous standards, the Law of Moses will help us.

 

 Things that typified the better things to come such as circumcision, the Sabbath, incense, instrumental music, and animal sacrifices would help us to appreciate the spiritual blessings in Christ but would not help us understand the righteousness of the law.  Right and wrong is universal. Ceremonies and rituals are not universal.  Gentiles could keep the righteousness of the law without being circumcised (Rom.2:14,26). Therefore, circumcision is not a principle of "right" and wrong. Still, the law contained the standards of righteousness and Christians could read the Old Testament and receive "instruction in righteousness".

The law does not invent righteousness. It merely expresses what is already righteous with God.  Righteousness does not cease when a law is fulfilled and abolished.  Therefore, the early Christians did not see a conflict between righteousness as learned and instructed from the scriptures of the Old Testament and righteousness as learned through the gospel of Christ.

It is always RIGHT for children to obey their parents in the Lord.  Paul felt no compulsion to turn a deaf ear to the Law of Moses and look for law exclusively from something that "went forth from Jerusalem".  If anything, the law of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem incorporated the same standards of right and wrong as was expressed in the Law of Moses.  To CHRISTIANS Paul said that "this is the first commandment with promise" (Eph.6:1-3), as if that command still had some validity and merit for the Christian's life.

Gal 5:13-14

13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  (NKJ)

Again, the righteous requirement of the law is "love".  When Jesus boiled the Law of Moses down to two key requirements, He said all the law hinged on two principles: love God and love your fellow man.  So, love is a righteous requirement that supersedes the law that contains it.  The Law of Moses said to "love your neighbor as yourself", yet Paul is instructing Christians to live by that very principle found in the law.  Now, if Paul could do that after the law was nailed to the cross, then Jesus would have no problem using that very same law to instruct those who would enter His coming kingdom.  What Jesus taught "went forth from Jerusalem" through His disciples as they taught orally what Matthew later put in writing.  The four gospels are among the things that "went forth from Jerusalem". Principles of righteousness from the law, such as "love" and obedience to parents also "went forth from Jerusalem".

The quote we have addressed assumes a totally different law of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem.  It assumes that Isaiah was telling the Jews that a totally new law would go forth from Jerusalem, a new law with completely different standards of right and wrong. Even the "righteousness" of this new law would be different. No, the fact of the matter is that no matter what the details of the covenant are, the law of the Lord would be in that covenant because right and wrong are always constant. Righteousness is righteousness no matter what law or covenant carries it.  Isaiah was declaring that God's standards would go forth from Jerusalem and create commonality among people of all races and nations.

He was not saying that "righteousness" itself would change as to what it is. So, the vehicle changes: the covenant changes.  Righteousness is carried in a new vehicle, a new covenant, and would be shared with the world by means of what would happen at Jerusalem.  Indeed, even the Sermon on the Mount has come to us through what happened at Jerusalem.

Matthew's gospel is presented in nutshell form in Peter's sermon on Pentecost.  Peter tells the same things in Acts 2 that Matthew was later to record more fully in his narrative of the good news.  Matthew was inspired by the Holy Spirit to remember "all things that Jesus had taught" (Jno.14; Matt.28:20), because Jesus taught the standards of righteousness that He said would characterize those who would enter and live in "the kingdom of heaven".  Even now "the righteous requirements of the law" must be fulfilled in us (Rom.8:4).  The law as a binding covenant is gone, nailed to the cross.  The righteous requirements of the law live on in the gospel. They are exemplified in Jesus' holy character and are carried forward by His kingdom of disciples.

Quote #3: "Do not conclude from this that I contend that Jesus said nothing in MMLJ regarding the church or New Testament age. He said many things about the kingdom and the church, but they were merely statements of fact, parables, or prophecy. They were not law. The law was not given till Pentecost."

As we continue our quotes we begin to see where the quotes are going.  Here it is contended that the four gospels contain "no law", just parables and prophesies and facts.  What about "you must be born again"? (Jno.3:1-5). Just a parable?  Just a fact?  Just a prophecy?  What about "eat my flesh and drink my blood" (Jno.6)?  As we can clearly see by just calling out a few things (by no means not everything), we can see that MMLJ present obligations for the believer.  Christians would find the "righteousness" declared by the law and by Jesus as something they would need to "fulfill" in themselves.  Indeed, the four gospels would present "righteousness" that all followers of Jesus would adopt because it was a "righteous requirement".  Jesus did many things because they were part of the covenant the Jews were under. He did many things in the law because they were "righteous requirements" that any law from God would contain.

The Sabbath was a "shadow" (Col.2:14f), not a righteous requirement.

Jesus kept the Sabbath because it was a shadow and part of the covenant He was under.  It was not one of the righteous requirements of the law.

Circumcision was not one of the righteous requirements of the law (Rom.2:14-26).  It was a shadow of the inward circumcision of the heart.

As we noted, Gentiles could keep the righteousness of the law without being circumcised.  Consider also the following points from the Old Testament:

 Ps. 119:142

142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. (NKJ)

Ps. 119:160

160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. (NKJ)

Prov. 21:3

3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. (NKJ)

Thus, there was something about "righteousness" that is different from offering the required animal sacrifices.  The point is that there is an element of the law that goes on when the sacrifices would end.  Those are the things that would continue even past the covenant with Israel. These requirements of the law would extend past the cross and would go on even when the law was nailed to the cross.  Jesus talked about those things He would expect of those who would enter His kingdom.  Righteousness is everlasting.  It is never nailed to the cross.  It finds expression in the Law of Moses, in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in the epistles of Paul, and in the heart and lives of every disciple of Christ.  It "went forth from Jerusalem" in Acts 2, but it is not exclusive of what Jesus taught in His ministry, nor is it totally exclusive of what was found in the "righteous requirements of the law".  We keep the righteous requirements of the law because the righteous requirements of the law are also part of that which "went forth from Jerusalem".

We have been addressing the fact that Jesus was living His life under the Law of Moses and teaching about the kingdom while the Law of Moses was still in effect. We have established the following facts: 1) that righteousness is not chained to the Law of Moses.  2) What was righteous, a Gentile could keep, even if he did not view himself as subject to the Law of Moses (Rom.2:14, 26).  3) What was righteous is always righteous. 4) Those who would enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus' kingdom, would have to have a righteousness that exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt.5:20).  5) Jesus contrasts the righteousness that He requires with that of the scribes and Pharisees in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5-7). 6) Yes, "the righteous requirements of the law" must be fulfilled in US (Christians)(Rom.8:4).

The Righteousness of the Law Expounded By Jesus

Jesus was expounding on the righteous requirements of the law. Jesus taught the same thing that Paul taught and Paul taught the same thing Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount. Paul told Christians to love because love fulfills the law. Was He binding the law of Moses upon Christians?  No!  But, he was showing how Christians can fulfill the law.  He even told Timothy that the Old Testament Scriptures are useful for Christians "for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim.3:16-17).  Jesus was bringing out the facets of righteousness that He expected of those who would enter and live in His coming kingdom.. It is wrong to say that Jesus merely talked about a law that would soon be nailed to the cross.  No!  Jesus talked about RIGHTEOUSNESS.  The law contained righteous requirements.  But, those righteous requirements are what Jesus is addressing.  Righteous requirements found in the law would characterize His kingdom of disciples.

Some brethren are over-simplifying things when they say such things as we quote below:

Quote #4: "MMLJ do not contain the law of Christ. They contain the law of Moses."

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (MMLJ) are four Christians writing in the New Testament age as "ministers of the new covenant" (2 Cor.3:1-6).

They are writing long after the Law of Moses has been nailed to the cross.

Now, their story INCLUDES the story of Jesus' life and teaching while the Law of Moses was still in effect. The content of these four gospels are an expanded version of Paul's sermon in Acts 13:23-39.  The facts of Jesus' life and death and teaching harmonize with the Law of Moses and form the foundation of kingdom teaching.  The righteousness of the law is carried into the kingdom.  Thus, Jesus did no violence to the law while He prepared for the coming kingdom and taught the righteous principles He expected to be carried out in the kingdom.

The law of Christ is indeed found in the righteous requirements of the law.

Did the law teach love? If so, then you can find some of the law of Christ in the Law of Moses.  No, the law of Christ and the Law of Moses are not identical in all the covenant parts, but they are identical as to holding up righteousness.  To say that the law of Christ cannot be found in MMLJ is overstating the case.

 To say that MMLJ merely contain the Law of Moses is way out in left field of the truth.  All we need to do is ask a few questions to see that MMLJ do NOT merely contain the Law of Moses.  Consider the following:

a. "Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Jno.3:1-5).  Is that the Law of Moses or the law of Christ?  It is obviously the law of Christ.

b. "Except you eat My flesh and drink My blood you have no life in you"(Jno.6).  Is that the Law of Moses or the law of Christ?  Again, this is obviously the law of Christ.

c. "Abide in Me" (Jno.15).  Is that the Law of Moses or the law of Christ? Again, it is obviously the law of Christ.

We could expound with many more examples that show that MMLJ are NOT merely presenting the Law of Moses.  They are New Testament books because they relate the unique things Jesus personally said about entering and living in His kingdom.  The reading of Jesus' words would not be just interesting facts or interesting prophesies or interesting parables.  They would be taken as OBLIGATIONS, rules of kingdom entrance and kingdom conduct.  It is in fact ludicrous for Christians today to discard the words of Jesus simply because He said these things before the cross and while the Law of Moses was still in effect.

Further, we must consider also that the "new commandment" Jesus gave (Jno.13:34) was not the Law of Moses. This statement made by Jesus before the cross was remembered as a binding command. It is mentioned again in 1 John. Things Jesus said before the cross were remembered as rules of conduct by the early Christians (Acts 20:35). The supper was instituted before the cross and carried out by the church because of what Jesus commanded before the cross (Matt.26; 1 Cor.11). It is ludicrous to say that "MMLJ do not contain the law of Christ" and then to imply that they merely contain the Law of Moses.  A more serious error was never advocated by preachers of the gospel.

Quote #5: "Jesus taught the old law (Mt 23:1). MMLJ record the teachings of Jesus. Therefore MMLJ record the teachings of Jesus on the old law. The old law was taken out of the way at Calvary (Col 2:14).

Therefore, the teachings of Jesus on the old law were taken out of the way at Calvary."

Answer:  The above quote affirms that Jesus taught the old law, and no one denies this, though we firmly deny that the Law of Moses is ALL He taught. But, there is a subtle implication that Jesus MERELY taught the old law.  This is a serious error. Jesus taught many things pertaining to the coming kingdom, the righteous standards He expected which were also in harmony with the righteous requirements of the law. These are woven within the story of His life under the law. To make all His teachings inapplicable by neatly tucking them under a law that was abolished is a great injustice to His teaching. The Spirit was to bring to the disciples' remembrance all that Jesus commanded them (Jno.14:26; Matt.28:20), because it was a vital part of what Jesus wanted in the new kingdom age.

To say that all Jesus taught was merely commentary on a now abolished law is to do serious injustice to the scriptures. If Paul could say that the Old Testament Scriptures are profitable for doctrine and "instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim.3:15-17), then how much more would Jesus' teachings about life in the kingdom be profitable for doctrine and "instruction in righteousness"? The question is, does Jesus' Sermon on the Mount give the subjects of His kingdom "instruction in righteousness"?

The answer is obviously "yes". Why? Because "righteousness" is not chained to a law. Righteousness is not lo