Hope is Our Anchor

Hope is Our Anchor

does your anchor of hope see you through the storm

Does your anchor of hope see you through the storm?

Our theme for this year is With GOD We Can, and the emphasis for this month is that with Him we can anchor our hope in Christ. Our world is so complex and is so rapidly changing.  Televisions, phones, computers and other electronic devices become outdated so rapidly. We seemingly move from house to house and job to job far more frequently than before. Relationships and our roles in our family are so different as we rush through life. Is there nothing stable on which we can build our lives?

The answer is found in the closing verses of Hebrews chapter six. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast and which enters the Presence behind the veil.” God has given us hope and that hope is the anchor of our souls.

Hope is based on His immutable promise. The Bible clearly shows that we are saved by hope (Rom. 8:24) and this hope is the anchor of our souls. The writer of Hebrews ties hope to the promises of God. God’s promises to Abraham enabled the patriarch to see what others could not see. God spoke the promise to Abraham and His word was enough. Yet God wanted Abraham to know how much he could trust Him. So God confirmed this with an oath (Heb. 6:13-16). The writer then says this same hope, our hope, is our anchor.

Hope is based on the promises which are secure. Hebrews say that the hope we have is sure and steadfast (Heb. 6:19). What could be more sure? The omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal and Almighty One have given us His promise and He cannot lie (Tit. 1:2). Life is filled with uncertainty but the hope we have is far beyond all certainty. It is the basis of all of life’s decision. It is truly the anchor of the soul!

Hope is based on the promises which are steadfast. His promise and our hope are both sure and steadfast (Heb. 6:19). There is no variance in the trustworthiness of our anchor. The life’s philosophy of some is forced to change throughout their lives from day to day, but the faith we have is constant and unchanging. As our faith grows stronger, the anchor becomes more secure. It is always there. It is always secure. It is the anchor for our soul.

Hope is based of the life of Jesus and reaches from earth to heaven. Look again at Hebrews six. Jesus our forerunner has carried the anchor and has taken it into the very presence of God. No wonder it is an anchor sure and steadfast. The anchor line extends from our hearts, from our trials, and reaches into heaven. Hold on to that anchor. It will never move for it is anchored in eternity. God, hasten the day when we arrive at the place where we have anchored our lives! God, we thank You for the anchor You have given to us!

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One Lord? One God? One Faith?

One?

one single solitary solo only lone specific precise

One. Single. Solitary. Solo. Only. Lone. Specific. Precise.

Ephesians 4:1-6, written by the divinely-inspired Apostle Paul (Eph. 1:1; 2 Tim. 3:16-17) to the first-century congregation of the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16) that worked and worshipped together in Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38; Eph. 1:1, 3:8-12; Rev. 2:1-7), has been the subject of countless millions, probably even billions I daresay, of sermons, bible studies, gospel meetings, conferences, seminars, articles, and spiritual dissertations of all sorts since it was written in the mid first-century. It is one of the simplest, most beautiful, most unifying, and straightforward texts in the entire, sacred collection, echoing and underscoring our precious Savior’s sentiments on “one-ness” which He poured out in prayer to His heavenly Father (with whom He enjoyed such one-ness), as recorded in John 17. Listen to it again; let it wash over your soul; let it sink deeply into your heart and mind, yet one more time….

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Let us also try one more time, to not only see and appreciate the simple beauty of this sacred text, but to seek to do so in such a way that our denominational friends and neighbors might be able to better internalize and benefit from its beacon of eternal truth as well. And this we will try to do, by starting with the portions of the text which we all most certainly agree on.

No denominational seeker would disagree with the fact that there is but ONE GOD. But which God? Well, the ONE GOD of the Bible of course! The ONE GOD of the Bible who created the heavens and the earth; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save lost sinners’ souls, just as Scripture says (Gen. 1; Acts 3:13; Jn. 3:16).

Likewise, no denominational seeker would disagree with – but would adamantly defend in fact – the undeniable fact that there is but ONE LORD. But which Lord? Well, the ONE LORD Jesus Christ, and Him alone (Acts 4:12; Col. 1:15-18)! The ONE LORD we also read about in the bible, who became flesh and dwelt among us; who humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross; and who was raised up to the right hand of the Father in heaven to intercede for us just as Scripture says (Jn. 1:14; Phil. 2:5-11; Hebs. 7:25).

And (and here’s where the difficulty seems to be for some of our denominational friends and neighbors to see and accept – but certainly not because it’s not simple enough to understand), in exactly the same way, the same sentence, and the same sentiment, we read that there is also only ONE FAITH and ONE BAPTISM, according to the ONE GOD. And which ONE FAITH and ONE BAPTISM is that exactly? Well, the ONE FAITH and the ONE BAPTISM which we also read about in the sacred Scriptures in exactly the same way – and none other whatsoever!

It is the ONE FAITH which all of God’s children are to have in common, and in which we are to all be unified, undivided, and undenominated (Phil. 1:27-2:3). It is the ONE FAITH which was once for all delivered prior to the end of the first-century (Jude 3) and which we can therefore explore in its entirety within the pages of the New Testament. It is the ONE FAITH to which one must be obedient, in which one must stand by faith, and from which none must deviate (Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5, 16:26; Col. 1:19-2:14; 2 Cor. 13:3; 1 Tim. 1:19, 4:1, 6:10, 20-21) in order to be saved God’s ONE WAY.

And the ONE BAPTISM that is therefore the only one valid before the ONE GOD and ONE LORD is obviously also only the ONE BAPTISM which we read about repeatedly in the New Testament Scripture since the Lord’s church was established in Acts 2. It is the act of faith in the working of God who raised Jesus from the dead, which makes us children of God by our faithful obedience to it (Col. 2:12; Gal. 3:26-27). It is a full, ‘by faith’ burial in water specifically and exclusively FOR the forgiveness of one’s sins, to wash away one’s sins, and the exact point in time at which a lost soul is saved and added by God to His Son’s blood-bought church of Christ (Ro. 6:3-4; Acts 2:37-47, 22:16; 1 Ptr. 3:21).

And just as Ephesians 4:4-6 tells us about the ONE and only Holy SPIRIT (Matt. 28:18-20), and our ONE HOPE (Rom. 5:1-5), it also tells of the ONE BODY of Christ… The same ONE BODY which the apostle Paul earlier, in that same epistle to the Ephesian Christians, also called the “church” (Eph. 1:22-23; see also Col. 1:18, 24). If the “church” and the “body” are ONE and the same institution – as God’s word says they absolutely are – and if there is only ONE BODY as Eph. 4:4-6 clearly says, then there is only ONE – and there is no way there can be more than ONE – church (which is His body – Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18, 24; etc)! Again, the terms “church” and “body” are used synonymously in Ephesians and elsewhere in the sacred, New Testament Scriptures, to refer to the ONE saved, undivided, undenominated group of people purchased, pardoned, and belonging to Christ.

Now, here’s the bottom line. What does “ONE” actually mean? Because whatever it means when it says “ONE LORD,” “ONE GOD,” and “ONE SPIRIT,” it means exactly the same thing when it says “ONE HOPE,” “ONE FAITH,” “ONE BAPTISM,” and “ONE BODY” (church). People who believe that there are multiple different churches that God finds acceptable, and that God is okay with people attending any “church of their choice” never found in Scripture, then they must also believe that God is okay with people believing in many different “gods,” or worshipping “the god of their choice” not found in Scripture either.

Conversely, if there is only ONE GOD and ONE LORD, and a religious person truly believes and accepts that there is only the ONE GOD and ONE LORD which we find in the bible, then they must also understand that there is only the ONE FAITH, ONE CHURCH, and ONE BAPTISM we read about therein as well! We can’t have it both ways! There can’t be many different faiths, baptisms, and churches found outside of Scripture that God is still okay with our being a part of, while at the same time holding us to the standard that there is only the ONE GOD and ONE LORD found in Scripture!

So what exactly does ONE mean to you? Because whatever it means in any ONE of those phrases, it means in every single ONE of them: ONE BODY (CHURCH); ONE SPIRIT; ONE HOPE; ONE LORD; ONE FAITH; ONE BAPTISM; and ONE GOD. Does it mean “ONE?” Or, does it mean many? Does it mean instead of “ONE” that there are therefore:

  • Many different religious bodies/churches, never found in Scripture, but for which Christ died and of which God still approves?
  • Many different Holy Spirits, never found in Scripture, but for whom Christ died to send and of whom God approves?
  • Many different hopes of destinations other than heaven which are never found in Scripture, but which Christ died to secure for us and of which God approves?
  • Many different Lords other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who are never found in Scripture, but of which Christ and God both approve of us worshipping and following?
  • Many different faiths (denominations, divisions, and departures from the original such as the Catholic Faith; Baptist Faith; Lutheran Faith; Methodist Faith; and etc, which are never seen named in Scripture because they came along hundreds of years after the New Testament was written which contains the ONE FAITH delivered for all the saints: Jude 3), but of which Christ and God still approve of us practicing and following?
  • Many different baptisms (such as sprinkling or pouring instead of being “buried,” and for multiple and various reasons such as to show that one has been previously saved by saying the so-called “sinner’s prayer;” as an “outward sign of an inward grace;” or to cleanse from so-called “original sin”) which are never found in Scripture, but of which Christ and God both approve of us practicing despite the ONE BAPTISM they commanded for salvation in the New Testament?
  • Many different gods, who are never found in Scripture, but which Christ and God approve of us worshipping anyway? (By the way, please check out Deut. 5:6-10, 10:12-13; Matt. 22:35-38; and Hebs 12:22-29 if you think “ONE” means “any one of many” in this case!)

So; does ONE mean ONE… or many? Faithful to the New Testament, “old paths” (Jer. 6:16) congregations of the Lord’s ONE New Testament church (or world-wide blood bought body of saved people – Acts 20:28; Ro. 16:16) simply, in humble, obedient, submissive and trusting faith in almighty God and His divinely-inspired word, understand and accept that when their ONE God said “ONE,” He meant… “ONE.” What do YOU believe?

 

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How Shall We Escape?

No Escape

One of my favorite shows growing up was “Hogan’s Heroes.” A comedy set at the fictional Stalag 13 (although there was an actual Stalag Luft XIII-B), a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied airmen located north of the town of Hammelburg, Germany during WWII. The camp is actually a base of operations for Allied espionage and sabotage against Nazi Germany, as well as an underground operation to aid POW’s from other camps and defectors to escape Germany. All of this is carried out under the incompetent nose of the Kommandant Colonel Wilhelm Klink and his buffoon of a Master Sergeant Hans Georg Schultz. In the show, despite their ability to come and go, seemingly as they please (as well as their ability to get others out of the country), the POW’s of Stalag 13 never leave. This helps keep the incompetent Klink in charge as he boasts that, “There has never been a successful escape from Stalag 13!”

In Hebrews 2:3–4 the inspired writer asks the rhetorical question, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” In order to answer this question we must first consider just what it is that makes the salvation of God great so great. The salvation of God is great…

  1. In Its Conception: Only the infinite mind of God could conceive of such a beautiful and sacrificial plan. Knowing the certainty of man’s sin, and the horrible results of them, God, from before the creation of the world (Romans 3:23–26; Ephesians 1:3–4; Acts 2:23), planned, out of His great love for mankind (John 3:16) to send His Son and redeem us.
  1. In Its Results: What resulted was freedom from sin, freedom from death, and the promise and hope of eternal life in Heaven with Him. A life free from the controls of Satan and wickedness and a life free to love and serve God and others.
  1. In The Price Paid For it: Jesus told His disciples, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). In John 10:18 He said of His life, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” In 1 John 3:16 we are reminded, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.” Friends we are “bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

If those living in the dark days before Christ will be punished for their transgressions against God, how much more may we expect to be who live in the light of the Christian Age? Those who have heard and experienced the blessing of Christ as well as those who count the blood of Christ as something to be despised will certainly receive a greater condemnation (Hebrews 10:29). The fact is we today live under a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6). Remember the words of Jesus, how He said, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48).

There’s no need to worry if we heed the Word of the Lord, place our faith, trust and obedience in Him and live faithful lives of service and example. Otherwise, there is indeed no escape from the wrath of God. Those who have obeyed and are faithful are able to live fearless lives! Be faithful!

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The Old Men Wept

The Old Men Wept

why do old men weep they weep over loss

Why do old men weep? They weep over loss.

King Cyrus of the Medo-Persian Empire by revelation of God declared the release of the captive Jews to rebuild the temple of the Lord in 536 BC. With the vessels of the temple in hand, an estimated group of less than 50,000 returned to build. In the seventh month of that year, the children of Israel began to again sacrifice to the Lord in Jerusalem. In the second year, they laid the foundation (Ezr 3:11-13):

And they sang one to another in praising and giving thanks unto Jehovah, saying, For he is good, for his lovingkindness endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, the old men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. “

In this piece of History, we see Israel doing the work they were set free to do. When the foundation of the temple is laid, there is relief and a sense of accomplishment that gives rise to joyful praise of the Lord. Then, a contrast occurs. It is much like the cry of victory on a battlefield coming to the horrific silence and realization of the great loss that has been suffered. Old men who had seen the temple before, begin to weep in a loud voice. They see the temple as did the eyes of Haggai prophesying to the Lord (Haggai 2:3):

“Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing?”

The Solomonic Temple covered in Gold, rising twice as high, and more expansive including the ark of the Lord, could never be mistaken for what laid before Israel. The temple build by Zerubabbel and later restructured by Herod would never compare favorably. The old men wept for what had been. They wept for the Spirit of God which abided with the temple. They wept over the corruption that had taken place. They wept because the prior glory of Israel in God, was gone.

Today, there is a gulf among Christian generations which many do not understand. The masses shout joyfully in praise over innovations. They draw crowds with choices of traditional or contemporary worship. They lure the world to congregational assemblies with children’s church, community meals, drama, waves of emotion, youth ministers, grandiose presentations, and a come as you are atmosphere with sermonic words that are designed to tickle ears and fill pews. The air is like that of a community picnic or social club. The focus is the comfort and pleasing of man. And the old men weep. They weep over the days when families came in reverence to worship. They weep remembering open Bibles, deep lessons, respectful and modest dress, children worshiping with parents, voices raised in song where God was the audience, and the gospel of Christ was the motivation that humbly brought people in droves. They weep over the memory of families taking care of the social while the gathering of the Church to worship focused on the spiritual.

The Temple which Solomon built, could never be nor will ever be brought back. The men of Israel wept. Christians now weeping over the Church that Christ established can bring back what once was and should be.

Romans 12:2 – “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Deuteronomy 5:32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as Jehovah your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

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Praise Worship

Should We Have “Praise Worship”?

is a praise team just another gimmick

Is a Praise Team Just Another Gimmick?

How do you address this new “praise worship” in the church where groups lead in singing during the song service, clap hands, and shout? The reason stated for all of this is for increasing numbers, and meeting the needs of the people in the new millennium, because our traditional worship is boring and not working.

First, to change the way we worship because “our traditional worship is boring and not working” is not a proper attitude to have toward the worship of God. God has defined for us the different avenues of worship within the scriptures. We must worship in action as God has told us to worship (else we are creating a righteousness of our own; Romans 10:1-3) and we must worship in attitude the way God told us to worship: in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Worship must be based upon knowledge of God’s word and it must be done with the right attitude. So for us to add anything new to the worship of God, and call it worship is to create our own righteousness. Such will not place us in a favorable position with God. Additionally, for us to place things in worship because the “old” way is not meeting needs, is boring or is “not working” is to have the wrong attitude in worship. When we worship, it is all about God, not about self. We worship God because He is worthy of our worship (period) (Psalm 18:3).

Clapping, humming, shouting, and other distracting things are not worshipping God decently and in order. Neither are they authorized in worship to God. We have already noted that we don’t have the right to add to or take away from God’s word. So to add these things would be changing the worship to conform to our own standards of righteousness. The Bible says that when we make music in worship to God it is to be through singing (Eph.5:19; Col.3:16). To sing, one needs to have words or lyrics. Whistling is not singing; humming is not singing; clapping is not singing. Those are all ways that man tries to add his own righteousness to the worship of God. If we do those things, then we are not worshipping according to knowledge and are going about to establish a righteousness of our own (Rom.10:1-3).

Second, there are different styles of worship provided that these styles do not conflict with God’s word. For example, we could have one long 30 minute sermon. Or, we could have three short ten minute lessons broken up with songs and prayers. Those are all decisions that men must make about how we are going to fulfill our obligations to worship. We could have short songs or long songs. We could have sad songs or happy songs. We could have slow songs or fast songs. We can put the Lord’s Supper at the beginning of the service or at the end. We could put it in the middle. The only governing principle that we have for the order of our worship is found in 1 Corinthians 14:40 “Let all things be done decently and in order.” So as long as we are doing these things in a decent and orderly fashion, we have authority to carry out the Lord’s instructions regarding our worship in whatever order we please. These are ways that fulfill the instructions that God has given us to worship.

So here are my concluding thoughts: 1) we first need to make sure that our worship is pleasing to God and not pleasing to self. 2) We must worship in the way that God has taught us to worship. 3) God has taught us to worship him with singing that teaches and admonishes. 4) Clapping, humming, whistling, and instrumental music is not singing and those items don’t teach and admonish. 5) Singing new hymns with different lyrics and rhythms is still singing. 6) Changing the order of worship is also not changing the worship itself. 7) Everything must be done decently and in order.

One last thought. We ought to seek things that will promote unity within the church, not division. There are those who are seeking to impose their own order of things upon the church. Some do this in disregard to what is taught in the scriptures. Such is wrong and sinful. Others, however, do this not necessarily disregarding what the scriptures teach, but in a divisive manner. This is sinful as well. To cause needless division within the church is a sin, whether the things that are suggested are scriptural or not. We must maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-5). Here is the final principle to determine whether we are to make scriptural changes in our manner of worshiping God. Are the changes going to promote unity within the body of Christ?

Post Script

Some in the religious world today seek to justify their religious practices based upon the way things were done in the Old Testament. They may use passages such as Psalm 47:1 and Psalm 5:11 to justify such worship practices as clapping. We must also realize that David offered sacrifices of animals in worship to God as well as burnt incense. The fact of the matter is that the things under the Old Testament done in worship to God were shadows (Hebrews 10:1). Such things were abolished according to Ephesians 2:15. Thus, to appeal to the Old Testament as our authority for worship today simply isn’t going to do. We have a better system of worship, a spiritual system which was paid for by the blood of Christ. Others may call upon the Old Testament to justify their religious practices, but such are only going to fall from God’s grace according to Galatians 5:4. Let us do all things as authorized by the New Covenant, the covenant for which Jesus died and shed His blood.

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