HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH EZINE

Throughout my Life, I have seen the growth of a number of "religious" movements. And it always raises a couple of questions in my heart. Why do those who start them, do so? And why do otherwise seemingly intelligent people fall for the very obvious error? And even though I can come up with a number of reasons for answers to both questions, I am still flabergasted! The answers to the first questions include craving of power, craving of prestige or glory of men, craving of money, justification for disobeying God, and a number of others, I suppose.

The answers to the second question includes ignorance, "liking" what they hear, justification for disobeying God and I can't think of many other reasons except just plain stupidity.

The current "Word-Faith Movement" promulgated by the likes of Kenneth Copeland, John Avanzini, Fred Price, Benny Hinn and others, seems to be about the sickest, nothing of a religion that I have encountered. Without taking up too much space, I will refer you to some refutations of their writings. But first, I want you to read this one statement made by Kenneth Copeland on the "Praise-a-thon", broadcast on TBN, recorded 1988. I realize that is an old statement but he has said a lot since, none of which is much, if any, better.

"God is the biggest failure in the Bible...the reason you've never thought that is because He never said He was one".

Wouldn't you hate to stand before God in the judgement and have to explain that one? You really ought to read some or all of these articles although I'm not sure this stupidity is worthy of our reading and refutation.

In today's world we as Christians must not be ignorant of the devices, including people and organizations, of Satan (2 Corinthians 2:11). As Christians we must shine the light of truth on all areas of darkness and expose evil wherever it is found. One of the latest tools in our Christian arsenal to accomplish this goal is the Internet. The Internet allows us to quickly view and share vast amounts of information and is an extremely effective tool in exposing evil and spreading the gospel of Christ. We can send messages to all areas of the earth in seconds and communicate with people who may not otherwise have had an opportunity to hear God's plan for their lives.

I have met and studied with an individual in another state completely "online," without ever meeting personally, who recently put on Christ in baptism. Praise God! The Internet is a great tool for fulfilling the mission of the church, to spread the Word.

Like most anything, however, the Internet can also be a tool used by Satan. You may think you know what I mean but I'm not speaking of pornography, hate or other plainly evil sites, but a much more subtle "eSin" that is rampant among members of the church, gossip. Those of us who have access to the Internet and e-mail will, from time to time, received messages that charge a person, company or organization with being disrespectful toward God or unsympathetic towards Christianity in general. On countless occasions we have all received messages from fellow Christians containing a warning, boycott recommendation or other "righteous" repercussions against those who show their blatant disregard for God and His will. Almost without exception, however, these messages are either completely untrue or grossly misleading. Brethren, this amounts to nothing more than gossip and is sin (Romans 1:29, 2 Corinthians 12:20, Titus 2:3).

We should certainly expose evil when we can but we also have a responsibility to the accused to ensure we are not bearing false witness. I encourage those who send you these types of messages to check them out by visiting the web sites of the accused or going to http://www.snopes.com (an urban legend site that exposes false rumors). Don't accept the "word" of someone who claims to have researched the issue and has forwarded the message, especially if they were several layers back in the forwarding chain and you don't even know them. Take the time to research accusations and only pass along those with verified merit. At time we want to be so active in fighting what is evil in the world that we unwittingly forward on what is realistically just electronic gossip and fall into a carefully laid trap of Satan as a false "witness." Let's be careful to avoid falling into this sin as we battle against evil.

(Shawn Clark, LaVergne, Tennessee church of Christ)

Within a few days of when the paper in which this article was first published our nation will inaugurate its forty-third President. This article is being written within hours of the messages in which Vice-President Al Gore gave his concession speech and President-Elect George W. Bush gave his acceptance speech. Those speeches came after years of hard and tiresome efforts in which each candidate crossed and crisscrossed this country presenting their differing views. As you know those speeches came thirty-six days after the campaigning and election should have been completed. Those thirty-six days revealed not only how hotly the decision was contested, but also how deeply divided our nations is.

The bottom line of each Presidential candidate’s speech was that it was time to put behind us the differences and divisions and pull together as one for the good of this nation. Without judging the sincerity of either candidate or even without discussing whether or not pulling together is possible, the thought of our divided nation uniting is a worthy theme. Unity is always a worthy theme whether it is a nation, a religious movement, or a family. That is a message from God. He inspired the psalmist to say, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing – life forever." (Psalm 133).

The beauty of unity can be deeply appreciated when one understands the message of the metaphors used in the Psalm.

Unity is like the oil used to anoint Aaron and the priests to their position of representing man to God. The oil was so special that, ". . . it shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people." (Exodus 30:32-33).

Unity is when parties who are separated are brought together. This is the message of the psalmist when he said that the oil was poured on Aaron’s head and ran down to the edge of his robe. The robes were long, extending to the feet. So in essence he was saying the oil ran from head to toe. The picture is that the oil connected the toe, which was some distance from the head. That’s not a great distance, but it does convey the importance of unity—connecting those who are separated.

The next metaphor is even more graphic. He speaks of the dews of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion. Mt. Hermon is 120 miles north of the mountains of Zion. Mt. Hermon has snow-covered patches year-round. Climatologists explain how the moisture evaporating from the snow produces moisture, which is blown by the north wind to water the dry area around Jerusalem, which is located in the mountains of Zion. These moist dews keep vegetation green during the dry season between the rainy seasons. The moisture from the dew is greatly appreciated by the people who live on the mountains of Zion. The psalmist said that efforts at unity must stretch to the furthermost distances possible. How wonderful unity is when two who have been separated by the greatest obstacles and distances have been brought back together.

It’s easy to recognize that our nation is divided, but have we overlooked that our brotherhood is also divided? It has been divided by “anti-ism” and “liberalism” so much so that there are separate bodies of people who now no longer fellowship with other bodies of people, all claiming to be children of God. Not only that, but it doesn’t take much insight to recognize that another “split” is on the horizon. This does not even take into account the broad spectrum of “Christianity” in the broadest definition of the word. Remember, Jesus prayed,

I do not ask on behalf of these (apostles) alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent me (John 17:20-21).

"BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT---THEN GO AHEAD!"

The great frontiersman, Davy Crockett, is credited with making the famous statement which serves as the caption for these thoughts. It was a slogan of life he believed in, lived by, and died by. I think we would do well to reflect upon it, searchingly, in matters of religion.

Is the church of Christ right? I have spent my entire adult life probing, analyzing, evaluating, and testing that question. And I always come up with the same basic answer: There is a God, and He has revealed His will to us in the Bible, and since the Bible is His word, the Bible is right! We are right, therefore, as long as we are in accord with the Bible!

The Bible teaches that there is but one church. It was conceived in the eternal mind of God, and it was purchased and built by Jesus Christ. The church belongs to the Lord---it is His spiritual body, the body of the redeemed and reconciled. (Consider Ephesians 3:8-11, Acts 20:28, Ephesians 5:23-27, Ephesians 1:19-23, Ephesians 2:11-22, Colossians 1:9-23, I Peter 1:17-19, and Acts 2:47.) The church of Christ today is right in teaching these things for the simple reason, THAT IS WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES AND THE BIBLE IS RIGHT!

Further, the Bible teaches that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to save souls from sin. All those who hear the gospel, believe it, and obey it, are saved by it. These are added to the church by the Lord. The penitent believer, who obeys the gospel by being baptized for the remission of sins, thus becomes a Christian, a child of God. The process by which he is saved is the one and same process by which he becomes a member of the church. (Consider Romans 1:14-17, I Corinthians 1:18-25, I Corinthians 15:1-4, Acts 2:22-47, and Acts 11:19-26.) Since this is what the Bible teaches, and since the Bible is right, then we must conclude the church of Christ is right in proclaiming these truths.

In view of being right (i.e., in accordance with the Bible) on these and other matters such as local church organization, and worship, churches of Christ should press ahead as never before in boldly preaching and teaching the word of God! WE SHOULD NOT BE ASHAMED OF TRUTH! Certainly it should be disseminated in love and with reasonable diplomacy...but above all, it must be shared with a sense of urgency! Being sure we're right, we must go forward!

(Maxie B. Boren, Brown Trail church of Christ, Bedford, Texas)

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I would be interested in any preacher(s)'s libraries that are not in use. I promise to put any and all books to good use, either by myself, or other preachers or preaching students. Please don't let them sit in boxes out in the garage. I would gladly pay for postage, and if you require, I may be able to purchase them from you. Please call or email, Tim Smith at: (903) 935-7448; EMAIL.

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The Christian HomeSite offers free sites to any church of Christ congregation. Absolutely no charge to the congregation, unless a unique address is desired. This is a personal web ministry and I have never asked for any support. Currently, it is one of the biggest church of Christ sites and we're always looking for more good material. I think every congregation should have at least an info page on the net, so people can find them when desired. Here is a page with required info to have a site: Click Here Terry Collins.

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I hope all of you have read the article above by Brother Shawn Clark of the Lavergne, Tennessee congregation. His article is very accurate and worthy of careful consideration. Also, aside from his remarks concerning eSin, is a statement of utmost importance to the Lord's church. Go back and read the second (small) paragraph.

The incident he is referring to is so very similar to one that I recently was a part of and witnessed the extraordinary potential the internet offers to the Lord's church in spreading the word. I too, worked with a young man for several months and, not only formed a bond of close friendship, but successfully led him through the fundamentals of truth. He was baptized into Christ some 2 or 3 months ago. I also know that it is being done successfully now by several congregations on a regular basis.

You see, the internet offers the very best in means of correspondence. Unlike a face to face exchange, the parties have the time to consider each others questions or points and yet be able to respond within minutes or hours. Of course, letter writing via U.S. Mail offers the time for consideration of each offering but the time required for an exchange is days, sometimes weeks.

Also, the cost of reaching thousands, in different lands would be only a fraction of that needed to support missionaries and their families. Of course, in order to reach many, there is a lot of work to do in order to prepare the materials and then, most of all, acquiring the audience.

I wish that I were in a position to devote full time to such a work. If any group or elders of some congregation have an interest in investigating such an endeavor, I would be happy to hear from them.

The theme for SELTC 2003 is "Go!" Based on the book of Matthew, this year's study challenges each of us to allow God to rule in every area of our life. We pray that this year's study affords you the opportunity to grow closer to God and each other. The date for this year's convention is April 18-20, 2003. We will be meeting at the Adam's Mark in Mobile, AL. For more information please visit our website at www.seltc.org or call 205-988-5808.

The Bear Valley Bible Institute, Scottsboro Extension (BVBISE) is half-way through it's second year of operation under the oversight of the elders of the Broad Street Church of Christ in Scottsboro, Alabama. The school is an extension of the BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE of DENVER. 40 courses (and eight out-of-class mini-courses) completed over a four-year period lead to the Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree. The Associates Degree may be earned in half that time.

One course is taught each month (except July and December) in two all-day Saturday sessions along with outside assignments. The school is TUITION FREE. The only costs to the student are for required texts & materials, and a $5 fee each Saturday to help cover the teacher's expenses. The teachers are academically well-qualified and experienced gospel preachers who know and love the Bible as the verbally inspired and authoritative word of God, and who volunteer their time and work as a labor of love.

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A Lion, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself with food by force, resolved to do so by artifice. He returned to his den, and lying down there, pretended to be sick, taking care that his sickness should be publicly known. The beasts expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to his den, where the Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts had thus disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick and presenting himself to the Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a respectful distance, and asked him how he was. "I am very middling," replied the Lion, "but why do you stand without? Pray enter within to talk with me." "No, thank you," said the Fox. "I notice that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but I see no trace of any returning."

He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others...Aesop