HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH EZINE

Paul said in Colossians 3: 17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." and I suppose that all of us know that "in the name of" means "by the authority of". So there should be no question as to the who.

Yet, those who would consider themselves Christians, are torn into numerous divisive shreds and simply because far too many take authority upon themselves when Jesus has not delegated it thusly. We can start with the apostasy of the church in the first 3 or 4 centuries. The words of Jesus and the Apostles are the same today as they were then. And no one can find authority spoken, implied, inferred or any other way for the elevating of one elder over another, or placing one over more than one congregation, and certainly not the naming of one as the head of the church. All of this apostasy came about simply because someone assumed, or usurped authority over the Lord Jesus.

And man has continued this "usurping of authority" down through the ages. Starting organizations they call churches and naming them for men, methods, etc., adding their own thoughts to the will of God as binding upon others. And within the brotherhood, the same is true, some have added instruments of music, elevated certain members over the others, installed women in positions of authority, and on and on. Anytime we do anything that gives glory to any man or anything, other than God and His Son, we are in a "heap of trouble."

We have a number of sound brethren who are far more capable of explaining this feature than I am, so I am including some good lessons from several on this subject.

Suppose I tell my son, “Here’s five dollars, go buy a loaf of bread.” He returns with the loaf of bread, a candy bar, and ice cream. He might argue, “You didn’t tell me not to get any of these other things.” He would be correct. I had not, by my statement alone, limited him to just what I specified. However, suppose I had specifically told him on several occasions before this, "Whenever I tell you to do something, don’t do anything more or less, don’t add to what I've said, don't delete anything, don’t substitute anything else for what I tell you”? Then he would know that he was always restricted to just what I told him, no more, no less. Having told him the same thing several times, I would not have to repeat it each time I told him to do something.

That’s exactly what God has done. He tells us this in the Bible, in several places, in several ways. We cannot add to, take from, nor modify anything He had told us to believe and do. We cannot change in any way what is specifically taught by statement, implication, or example, and we can choose only those options contained in the specific instruction.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 warns against adding to, or deleting from, the Law, the word of God. Deuteronomy 12:32 and Proverbs 30:5-6 repeat the same warning. Deuteronomy 5:32 prohibits turning from the word of God to the right hand or the left. The same thing is said in Joshua 1:7 and Proverbs 4:26-27. Revelation 22:18-19 reads just like Deuteronomy. We can’t add to or take from God’s word. 2 John 9 warns against going beyond the doctrine of Christ. Galatians 3:15 says that a covenant once confirmed can’t be added to or made void.

Perhaps the clearest statement of what all this means is Galatians 1:6-9. Any gospel other than what was presented by the apostles is specifically forbidden, specifically excluded.

What all this means for us is that we are limited to what God says. We can’t use instrumental music in worship because God specifies “sing” (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). God doesn’t have to say, “Don’t use instrumental music.” He has told us enough times to do just what He says without addition, subtraction, modification, or substitution.

(Reprinted from the archives of the Prattmont church of Christ, Prattville, Alabama)

Most religious people observe the divided state of Christendom and assume that we cannot agree on the Bible's teaching. Perhaps many would agree that the Bible itself is true, but they feel that we are unable to really understand its message in the same way. Some are so confused that they would deny the reality of absolute truth in the spiritual realm. However, in spite of men's opinions along these lines, the acid test must be the Scriptures themselves.

The God-inspired message of the Bible is emphatically stating that there is truth! The word "truth" occurs about 225 times in the Word. Jesus is said to have brought truth (John 17:17), and to be truth (John 14:6). He claimed that God's word was truth (John 17:17), and this was due to its author ( 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Further, if there is no absolute truth, there can be no error. Few could observe our sin-sick society and take this position. Next, we see that God expects us to understand the truth. The word "understand" is found in Scripture approximately 300 times. This word means "to comprehend the meaning of something." If any two people understand a given fact, they will agree on it. The idea that we can understand the Bible differently is a fallacy because of the very definition of the word itself. This being so, if two people differ on the same subject, at least one must be wrong, and possibly both. Anyone who still wants to maintain that the truth of God cannot be understood should consider this. If truth cannot be comprehended, then God did not want us to comprehend (but see 1Tim. 2:4), or else He didn't have the power to make it understandable (I can't believe either one of these conclusions!). Who will be so bold as to charge God with either of these? As Paul said by inspiration, "be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17 - see also Eph. 3:3-4).

If the truth can be understood, then why does so much religious confusion still exist? There are many answers to this question, but we will mention only two major ones. First, people are ignorant of the Scriptures for a variety of reasons. Most do not study for themselves, but depend on some preacher (who may not study either). Those who do study often do not study logically. They ignore contexts and backgrounds. Proof of this is really seen in the application of 1 John 1:9 to non-Christians by many TV and radio evangelists.

Others do not consider all the scriptures on a given subject. This is the problem Jesus dealt with in Matt. 4:6-7 when he said "again it is written." People often are ignorant of the difference in the two covenants, so they make all sorts of false applications. Yet another reason for ignorance is seen in a failure to recognize the authority of Divine silence. God really expects us "not to go beyond the things that are written" (1Cor. 4:6; see also 2 John 9; Rev. 22:18-19). prejudice rears it ugly head, then those so enslaved can never understand the truth. Rom. 1:28 and 2 Thes. 2:10-12 deal with this tragic problem.

In conclusion, we affirm that the Bible not only can be understood, but must be understood and obeyed. If we do not understand the truth, we cannot be free from sin (John 8:32). We are made free from sin by obeying the form of truth which includes baptism (Rom. 6:17; Rom. 6:3-4). Obedience to the truth purifies our souls (1 Pet. 1:22), and Christ saves only those who obey Him (Heb. 5:9).

Until a person is ready to admit that truth exists and can be understood, he is not ready to accept Christ. Therefore, let the Scriptures speak to him on this subject that he might "not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

The second major reason for failing to understand the Bible is just plain prejudice. People see what they want to see, and believe what they are comfortable with. When prejudice rears it ugly head, then those so enslaved can never understand the truth. Rom. 1:28 and 2 Thes. 2:10-12 deal with this tragic problem.

In conclusion, we affirm that the Bible not only can be understood, but must be understood and obeyed. If we do not understand the truth, we cannot be free from sin (John 8:32). We are made free from sin by obeying the form of truth which includes baptism (Rom. 6:17; Rom. 6:3-4). Obedience to the truth purifies our souls (1 Pet. 1:22), and Christ saves only those who obey Him (Heb. 5:9).

Until a person is ready to admit that truth exists and can be understood, he is not ready to accept Christ. Therefore, let the Scriptures speak to him on this subject that he might "not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Reprinted from BibleNet Website.

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"The pride of life" is one of the most sneaky of Satan's tricks. Man has never been able to recognize it, in himself, until he is so taken up by it that it is difficult to overcome. Even those of us who have little talent, in about anything, can let pride do awful things to us when we do, by chance, accomplish something a little outstanding. When we have little confidence in ourselves, the smallest achievement seems great to us. So we strut around with our chest out. Others, who feel confident in themselves, want to monopolize the limelight. It is bad. We need to self-examine daily and strive not to seek recognition.

An "Inferiority complex" is a bad thing. It causes one to become a bore by constant praise of self, hoping to find approval and agreement from others. But an "Inferior Feeling" can be devastating. This latter is when one feels truly inferior and accepts it in his mind. He will not seek approval from others because he truly feels undeserving.

Then the "Superior Feeling" is also bad. Those that feel superior to others love to have their way, because they think it is, of necessity, the correct one. It is these who come to the point of feeling that they can alter God's plan and His word. They add to, and they take from, they wrest what is already there. They seek power and recognition, and the more people they can entice to attend their church services, even if it takes giving $50.00 bills to some attendees, furnishing coffee and cookies to all early arrivials or anything else, they feel they are certainly being elevated in the sight of man and of God! When actually, they are unconscious of the fact that Satan has injected them with a shot of "Pride Of Life".

There is a happy medium somewhere that a person can have self-confidence, yet realize that any abilities he has, are gifts from God. Without God, we are nothing, regardless of what we may think of ourselves.

An article on the CNN.com website of October 22, 2002 is of interest since a collector of ancient artifacts and such, and who could not read Aramaic discovered he possessed a "bone" burial box with the inscription "James, son of Joseph and brother of Jesus". All seem to think it is from the approximate time of Christ, but some have doubts. Interesting to read. CLICK HERE

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A Man who had traveled in foreign lands boasted very much, on returning to his own country, of the many wonderful and heroic feats he had performed in the different places he had visited. Among other things, he said that when he was at Rhodes he had leaped to such a distance that no man of his day could leap anywhere near him as to that, there were in Rhodes many persons who saw him do it and whom he could call as witnesses. One of the bystanders interrupted him, saying: "Now, my good man, if this be all true there is no need of witnesses. Suppose this to be Rhodes, and leap for us." ...Aesop