HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH EZINE

In the previous issue, we discussed the question of, "Is there to be an eternal punishment for the wicked?" We probably failed to convince anyone to have any different view than they did have, but we did make the effort. But today, let's discuss the biblical description of heaven and see what we come up with. We can know that this physical body is not that which we will have in eternity. Why not and how do we know?

First, let's look at some logical reasons, reasons we can understand. (1) All physical matter is susceptible to decay, injury, damage, etc. (2) Living physical matter requires nourishment, protection, cannot withstand extremes of heat cold, radioactivity, etc. (3) Currently, all physical matter is deteriorating, running down, headed for extinction. Literal billions of physical bodies have totally decayed and returned to molecules. So, cannot God miraculously reverse or counteract all those deficiences? You bet, he can...but he won't.

You may want to know just what will happen and how we know it. Let's look at some scriptures to see what they tell us. Let us begin with Genesis 1:1..."In the beginning, God created the heaven (heavens in ASV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV) and the earth." Now he did not make all this from some other stuff. He created it. He spoke it into existance. (And you wonder why he is called omnipotent?)

You possibly will think, SO? Well what that indicates is that there was no physical matter here before that. Which means that the Godhead has no need for physical materials, nor do the angels or any other thing which God had previously created.

Now, let's look at another scripture: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15: 50-53)

Now if you want to ask me how that will be accomplished, I cannot give you a rational answer, but you can depend upon it, that is the way it will be. Just what form this new being will have, I do not know, but it will not be flesh and blood. What is left? The spirit. We can understand that whatever this new being is, it can be recognized one by another. Perhaps we will appear the same but just not made from these physical materials.

Like many other Americans, I was ready to boycott everything French. Their seemingly ungrateful attitude towards our country in regard to what happened during World War II is difficult to accept.

After becoming aware of what the Hollywood Left is saying against our president and our military, I was ready to add all their names to my boycott list, with Michael Moore at the top. I was incensed at the smug arrogance of people like him, Barbara Streisand, and Alex Baldwin. Then something happened that took my attention in another direction.

I asked a friend of mine if he had watched the Academy Awards. He said he started to watch the show after he got home from church, but when he turned it on; he was just in time to see the academy award for best song go to the rapper Eminem. That’s when he turned it off. It seems that Eminem is known for some of the filthiest lyrics in the recording business. He represents everything decadent in our world today and yet, Hollywood gives him an award, even calling him an artist. But now, as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story.

Back in the 70’s, Roman Polanski, a movie director of some note, was arrested for statutory rape of a thirteen-year-old girl. He claimed he didn’t know she was that young. However, he obviously knew he would be convicted because when he posted bail, he promptly left the country. Knowing he would be arrested, he hasn’t been back to our country for more than twenty years. It makes you wonder why he hasn’t been extradited. On the contrary, he has never had trouble finding work as a director in Europe.

His most recent effort was as director of the movie, The Pianist. This brings us to the rest of the story. He was not only given the Academy Award for best director; the entire Hollywood audience gave him a standing ovation, making him look like some kind of misunderstood victim. We have to ask; doesn’t his crime place him in the category of perversion? If so, then Hollywood gave a standing ovation to a child molester. From all of this information, we finally have to accept the fact that the world of show business, with few exceptions, is antagonistic to everything decent. So, if we are actually going to become involved in a boycott, we have many other things we need to add to our list that have been around for a long time.

But what should we do? Should we boycott movie theaters or, even closer to home, our television sets? Maybe so, but the first thing we need to do is to make this an individual personal matter. Personally, I don’t believe God put us here to carry signs, or to march in protest. In fact, I wonder if we need to take a close look at the time and effort we might spend on boycotts.

If we look closely at our motivation for wanting to boycott, most of us would have to admit that it is because something was done that we didn’t like, something that made us uncomfortable, something that we are against. In fact, we have to wonder what upsets us the most, the things we don’t like or the ones that displease God. How many other things in this evil world do we overlook simply because they don’t bother us? John was inspired to say,

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world (I John 2:15,16).

If we truly want to boycott the evils of this world, then let’s make certain our boycott list comes from God rather than our own ideas of what is unacceptable. I’m not suggesting that we should never boycott anything. But isn’t it time for us to admit that imposing sanctions doesn’t really require much effort on our part? We simply eliminate certain things from our lives to show our opposition. Of course there are times when we should do exactly that. But in a sense, this is the easy part—to show everyone what we stand against. It requires much more effort for us to let the world know where we stand as Christians, what we do support.

Sometimes I’m afraid we are best known for what we are against. Like one acquaintance said, “You Church of Christ people always talk about what you don’t believe. Why don’t I ever hear about what you do believe?” Of course his criticism is somewhat exaggerated and yet, if all we do is let the world know what we’re against, then we really haven’t completed our assignment.

As I said, I don’t want to suggest that we should never boycott. If something is evil, antagonistic to God, then true Christians do need to turn away from it. However, I still believe it is an individual matter.

For, “THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT” (I Peter 3:10,11).

In a sense, I suppose we could say that Peter is talking about boycotting evil. But it should not stop there. We need to give attention to what Paul was inspired to write to Timothy.

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (II Timothy 2:1,2).

If we are among the faithful, then we will be able to teach others. In the face of the evil we oppose, we should reject—impose a boycott, but never without looking for an opportunity to give an account of the hope we have in Jesus. Peter addressed this very thing following his words about turning away from evil.

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (I Peter 3:16).

As we take our stand against wickedness, with our words or our actions, let us make certain we are also moving forward in our stand for righteousness. We will accomplish this by going into the world to share the salvation we have been given.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned (Mark 16:15,16).

Maybe if we would become as enthusiastic about sharing the gospel as we seem to be about wanting to boycott, we would find that it is the gospel that will give us the power we need for success—simply to remember that the power of God is the gospel.

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Chula Vista Books is owned and operated by Mark and Teah McWhorter. We carry a wide selection of Bible related materials--ladies' books, childrens' materials, commentaries, apologetics, lectureship books, missions books, class books, debates, sermon books, church history, topical studies, Bible covers, Bibles, tracts, BCCs and more.

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Does your congregation have a web site? Can you add, update and delete information from your existing web site easily? If you answered no to either question visit The Lord's Way. This new service allows you to create a web site for your congregation and update it yourself whenever you want by simply completing online forms. The service is designed for any congregation that wants a web site that contains current, updated and fresh information but does not want to invest the time and money in learning about the inner-workings of the Internet. Your new site will be packed with information about your congregation. Visit us and take a tour!

BOOKS WANTED

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

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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Sometimes I get a bit carried away on a subject when I start studying it. Hell, like our last issue discussed, and now heaven. It is a fascinating study. Unfortunately, i realize that we cannot begin to comprehend what heaven will be like. But the Bible does tell us a good many things that will be there and also a good many that will not. Let's just look at that for a minute.

First of all, God will be there!! Can you imagine dwelling in the presence of an everlasting, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent King who can speak and cause anything to be, to occur, or anything else. So all-wise that he can build an infinite universe with such intricate workings as to be totally mind-boggling to man's most intelligent students. And to have Him on your side! He is your FATHER!

Jesus will be there! He is now our brother (via adoption), He is the one who came down here to live a rugged life in the middle east where he suffered persecution and finally went willingly to die on the cross so that we sorry excuses for humans could inherit eternal life! Eventhough we do not deserve it! And, at last, we will be able to understand the Holy Ghost and know exactly who He is. We can thank Him personally for giving us the Good News.

Now, besides all these members of the Godhead, there will be the faithful characters of the Bible down through the ages and those early Christians who willfully gave themselves to be burned at the stake, crucified, had their eyes gouged out, beaten, dismembered, thrown to the lions, and on and on. Then there we are. We who have lived sumptuously in a free land with more than enough to sustain us, those of us who have given a little money on the first day of the week, gone to visit a sick friend once in a while.

Of course, we don't have time to teach others very much, nor to do the other good works we know we should do, especially if it costs us a little money. We don't have time to study God's instructions for us. About the only thing we have plenty of time for is introducing unscriptural innovations into the worship of God and thereby causing more divisions. It makes one wonder just how far God's grace is extended.

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.

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A Lion demanded the daughter of a woodcutter in marriage. The Father, unwilling to grant, and yet afraid to refuse his request, hit upon this expedient to rid himself of his importunities. He expressed his willingness to accept the Lion as the suitor of his daughter on one condition: that he should allow him to extract his teeth, and cut off his claws, as his daughter was fearfully afraid of both. The Lion cheerfully assented to the proposal. But when the toothless, clawless Lion returned to repeat his request, the Woodman, no longer afraid, set upon him with his club, and drove him away into the forest....Aesop

(Sometimes I worry about Aesop...Joel)