The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule is as follows: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7:12). If we will just read our local newspapers or watch our local television news programs, then we can see a need to practice this principle in our treatment of others.
In learning how to treat our fellow man, divine wisdom teaches many things about human relations. We always need to base the manner that we treat our neighbors with compassion. However, through the temptation of Satan, humanity has chosen other means to deal with neighbors, resulting in uncompassionate condemnation of the righteous and commendation of the wicked.

Solomon wrote, “He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace” (Prov. 11:12). Proper human relationships towards our neighbors dictate that we will not despise others, but will hold our peace when necessary. We should not ever show contempt or despise those around us, but know the precious value of silence—something difficult for many of us (cf. James 1:19).

Again, Solomon wrote, “Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Prov. 24:28-29). We should not possess the evil attitude of revenge. It is disturbing the number of children and teenagers that quickly develop this disposition. Jesus shows the true heart of his disciples (Matt. 5:39).

Even many Christians have a hard time understanding the principle of talking with others about problems rather than with someone else (Prov. 25:9-10), which finds its application in Matthew 18:15-20. Jesus said that we are to first “tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” Only after such action fails do we mention it further to others for reconciliatory purposes, and not for slanderous, gossiping purposes.

God has not made any creature with which He is not concerned (Matt. 6:26; 1 Cor. 9:9-10; Deut. 25:4). Therefore, we are to use this principle in supporting others and caring for our neighbors. Since God created the world, He is interested in everything that He has created—we are to respond in the same manner toward our neighbors. Jesus emphasized this when He gave the second greatest commandment: “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:39). James commented, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well” (James 2:8), which James quotes from Leviticus 19.

One does not have to be a licensed counselor to help people with their problems, especially in dealing with other people, if he will simply use the divine revelation God has provided in the Bible (James 3:17).

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Church of Christ Visitor

There is a principle taught repeatedly throughout the Bible about how we should treat others. Simply stated, it is that we should: (1) put ourselves in the place of those around us, (2) ask ourselves how we would want to be treated, and (3) treat them in that way. Before the exodus, the Jews had been strangers in Egypt. As they left the land of bondage and headed for the Promised Land, God spoke of the strangers who would soon live among them.  “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 23:9). Because they had once been strangers, they had “the heart of a stranger” and were able to know how to treat others.

In view of the many visitors who come our way, we need to put ourselves in the place of visitors. Having the “heart of a visitor” we must treat others as we would have them treat us (Matt. 7:12).

If I were a visitor, I would want to be welcomed from the time I got out of my car. Every week, greet every person you see as you walk toward the building. If you do not know them, introduce yourself, and let them know you are so glad they have chosen to come to visit.

If I were a visitor, I would want to be welcomed from the time I entered the foyer. There is that awkward moment when anyone enters a new building and is overwhelmed by the fact that so many “belong” in the foyer and are so happy to see each other, while the visitor has no sense of belonging. Every week, but especially next week, have the “heart of a visitor” and make them feel comfortable and sense they are in a place of warm Christian friends.

If I were a visitor, I would want to be welcomed from the time I entered the auditorium. Those Christians, who demand their “end pew seats” and force visitors to climb over them to sit, send a silent message to visitors. Those Christians who readily move and give up their seats also send a silent message. Jesus rebuked those who “love the chief seats in the synagogue,” and many Christians fail to listen to Him.

If I were a visitor, I would want to be welcomed and greeted before and after worship. Letting visitors know with friendly words and warm smiles we are glad they have come is so important. Before spending time visiting with each other, we must spend time with those we do not know. This is a vital part of having the “heart of a visitor.”

Great opportunities surround us. God help us to do all we can to touch the lives of those who enter our services. How we treat them can make an eternal difference!

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Denomination? Church of Christ?

Is the Church of Christ a Denomination?

The church that the Lord built, the church of Christ, is a unique and different institution from all other religious bodies on the face of the earth. One of many ways it is different is that it is not of protestant denominationalism. Other times when we claim that the church is not a denomination, people generally ask, “What do you mean that the church of Christ is not a denomination? Is it non- denominational? Like a community church? What is it and how is it different?”

This is the way that many see the church of Christ today: just another denomination or calling it a non-denominational community church. Even today, some church members have become confused if the church is or is not a denomination. I know that I have refused to join any denomination and have chosen to be just a Christian. Can one be a Christian without joining a denomination? Surely he can. But, if one becomes and remains a Christian only, is he a member of any church? And if so, whose? The answer of course is Christ’s church and his church is not a denomination.

When Christ said that he would build his church (Mat. 16:18), did he have in mind a denomination or a federation of denominations with their own organizations, their own creed books and their own ideas of how the church is to be? When reading passages such as Romans 16:16, do we perceive that they were all denominations? Were they not simply local congregations of people who had become Christians only? If one in the first century could be just a Christian before there were any denominations, why can’t one be just a Christian today in the 21 st century without being a member of any denomination?

Now some may make the accusation saying, “I thought a man by the name of Alexander Campbell was the one who started the church of Christ?” However, the truth is that Alexander Campbell was almost 1800 years too late to establish the church of Christ. Campbell was born on September 12, 1788. But as was already noted, the churches of Christ existed back when the book of Romans was written by the hands of the apostle Paul. Thus, Campbell was not the founder. He simply took on the name used in the first century as does every church of Christ today. The fact is that many back in the 1700-1800 in various denominations concluded that they should abandon human names, human creeds, human traditions and human religious bodies and return to the New Testament as our authority of religion. Campbell, like many others, withdrew themselves from the denominations which they had been raised in and preached in and began to free themselves from all human interferences and hindrances and became free to preach the Gospel as it is in the New Testament. This drive of individuals began to speak where the Bible speaks and remained silent where it is silent. Many desired to be Christians only without being affiliated with any denomination and thus members of the one spiritual body of Christ, the church. Alexander Campbell and others did not seek to make a new denomination, but to be part of the body of Christ that already existed in many other places during that time.

It is wonderful how men are able to pick up God’s guide book, the Bible, and start working toward restoring the original church founded by Christ. This is what the men of the restoration did which was far more glorious and significant than the reformation movement of the 1500-1600’s who out of that did start all the major denominations that we see today.

Today, it is possible for one to hear of Christ, believe on him as the son of God, repent of all sins, confess faith in Christ and be baptized in the water for the remission of sins just as people did in the first century. This is not a great mystery, nor is it impossible to achieve. Yet, such actions will make the same thing today as it did 2,000 year ago, simply a Christian, a member of the Lord’s church. All today who do this in a particular geographical location make up the church of Christ in that location. If they remain true to New Testament teaching in doctrine, worship, practice and daily life they continue to be, even in this complex century, simply a church of Christ, but without being a denomination of any kind. Indeed the church of Christ is not a denomination, but simply Christians following the uniqueness of God’s Word as should all mankind.

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Staying Together

Aren’t We All In This Together?

Aren’t we all in this together?  Why is it that so many people quit and move on to other things?  The multiplicities of choices that confront us on a daily basis mislead us to believe that we can have choice in all things.  This impulse creates in us the thought that if things do not go my way that I will “Take my ball and go home.”  The result of this is frequent life turnover: husbands and wives divorce; employers fire employees; employees quit to seek other employment; voters change their candidate; teachers change schools; students change teachers; patrons find new, more attractive, businesses; businesses search out and find new patrons; preachers leave pulpits; elderships fire preachers.  Some even go to the extreme of changing citizenship.  Children seem to be the only group who aren’t entitled to leave willy-nilly.  Nevertheless, some have championed even the divorce of children from parents.  Many also apply this mentality to church membership.  Is all of this choice truly what is best for us?  Are we all in this thing together?

Our sense of belonging has suffered because of this.  Part of our identity as human persons is that we are social creatures.  God knows this, and this is why He gave us the church (Matthew 16:18-19, Ephesians 1:22-23).  Not being able to identify who we are socially creates an identity crisis.  When we are constantly divorcing our community (whatever that may be), we get no permanent sense of belonging.  We become a paradox, an isolated individual in the midst of society – alienated.  Such an individual will quickly find himself lost in a sea of despair, hopelessness, ennui, and cognitive dissonance.  Alone we are hapless and helpless, but together we can do great things – are we truly in this together? 

Let me ask that question again: Are we truly in this together?  I think that most of us believe that we are not.  We really do not have a true sense of community, and in that respect we do not know who we really are because we cannot know who we really are without belonging to a community, but committing to a community can be risky and unpredictable.  What if things don’t work out?  What if we get hurt?  What if we don’t agree with everything the community does?  However, we can’t answer these questions unless we commit to the community!  We find ourselves in a catch-22: many, if not most of us, are not willing to commit to a community until we discover who we are and what the community is about, but we can’t discover who we and what the community is about until we actually commit to a community.  As a result, we suffer from a lack of ability to identify with a specific set of social norms or customs; this condition is known as anomy, and when gone unchecked can have disastrous consequences, but this is basically what we become when choice is our highest ideal.  In other words, we have defined the human condition predominantly upon the basis of individual choice.  What are we?  We are choosers.

I say “choosers,” and not “free,” because simply choosing is not the same thing as having freedom.  The notion that making a choice is equal to freedom is one of the big lies of modern society.  Choosing is certainly a consequence of freedom, and you cannot truly choose something unless you have the freedom to do it.  But freedom is more than simply choosing, because freedom can sometimes mean not choosing at all.  Freedom is more than being not inhibited; it is also being enabled.  When we are locked into a situation where we must choose, we have lost our freedom because we are no longer enabled, but our culture demands that we do precisely this on a regular basis.  Choose milk; choose bread; choose toothpaste; choose who to vote for; choose what church to go to; choose who to marry—sometimes it seems that the only thing that is not allowed is not to choose.  In fact, some have been so bombarded by the opportunities to choose that they develop the inability to choose.  This is known as abulia, or dependent personality disorder.  In other words, the combination of the vast multiplicity of choices that present themselves, and a culture that demands that we make a choice, have, paradoxically, taken away our freedom to choose.  In turn, the we-are-choosers identity has prevented us from establishing ourselves in a community and understanding who we truly are, because when things get difficult, the chooser can choose a new group.  Can we truly all be in something together and maintain this entitled sense of choice?

Choosing a new group simply upon the basis that we are unhappy is precisely the wrong thing to do, because in so doing, we simply reinforce the scatter-brained approach to social interaction.  As a result, we become more fragmented in our personalities.  Instead of integrating with others, we disintegrate under the plurality of our choices.  There is something to be said for sticking with something until it is done regardless the difficulties that may come our way.  I think this is at least one reason why God does not allow divorce except for fornication (Matthew 19:6, 9).  It is because our relationship with our spouse is so vital to our own personality that the willy-nilly ending of that relationship fragments us in an unhealthy way and causes additional damage to our ability to integrate.  We lose who we are when we exercise our choice to separate.  Are we all in this together?  Next week’s article will focus on what we can do to improve the situation.

What can we do to increase and contribute to the sense that we are “all in this together?”  First, we have to be willing to stick with things even in tough times.  Learning and growing based upon enduring through problems while maintaining relationships is God’s way of teaching us to be more like Him (1 Peter 4:1-2).  Think about it.  God hasn’t caused any problems; those have all come from created beings of one kind or another.  Yet God has demonstrated a willingness to stay with His creation despite the problems that it has created for Him.  He has not given up on us; we give up on Him, but when we do give up on Him, He will let us go our way—choice to our own detriment.  There is something precious about commitment, and we value it when we see it in others, but we find it difficult to accept when we are the ones involved in it.  True love involves a level of commitment that is beyond the latest fad that delights the senses.  Our commitment to one another displays another one of those God-like attributes.  God committed His Son Jesus to our salvation (John 3:16).  Developing the “we are all in this together” mentality means that we’ve got to have tough, strong, and disciplined commitment.

Second, we need to understand that other people are going through the same things that we are going through.  When we can find someone who has endured or is enduring the same problems that we are enduring, we will find a friend and companion who understands.  It is hard to separate birds of a feather.  It is when we think that we are the “only ones” who are enduring difficulties that we develop the “choice” mentality and move to another venue of one kind or another.  The only problem is that when we do that we just encounter more problems.  Seek out and find someone who has endured the same things that you have; get to know him/her, and share your difficulties and frustrations with them; then see how you will grow in your identity and in relationship to the people who surround you.  We assemble with one another to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25).  Developing the “We are all in this together” mentality means that we’ve got to understand others go through the same things we go through.

Third, “Love the one you are with.”  Many times we think that the proverbial grass is always greener on the other side, but maybe our grass would be greener if we would fertilize and water it a little.  Putting effort into those we love will pay off in the long run, but we must be willing to invest time, talent, and treasure.  Making an effort to love the ones we are with requires that we think carefully about our relationships and that we value them for what they are.  It means we must do some amount of work to make those relationships successful, and it means that we must endure through difficulties that come our way and not give up on the people that we love.  No one has a perfect/ideal life.  Not everyone is going to have an above average life—most are not.  Most lives are mediocre, average, humdrum, and not exciting.  Some lives are constantly plagued with problems of one nature or another.  Can we love even these individuals?  We must (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).  Developing the “We are all in this together” mentality means that we’ve got to love the ones we are with.

Fourth, we must value the abilities of others and lean upon them in time of need.  Not all of us have the same skill sets.  Different individuals have different levels of education and learning, and some can do things that others cannot.  When we need help, it is good to know who has the skills to help us.  This means that we’ve got to talk to and learn about each other and what our various skills are.  When we know this, we see our brothers and sisters in Christ differently.  We see them as people we can depend upon, not just people who come and go.  Shepherds need to make an effort at identifying the talents of individual members of the congregation, and finding a place for them to work with the skills that they have (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).  Knowing who is doing what is also valuable for understanding our dependence upon one another.  Developing the “We are all in this together” mentality means that we’ve got to value the abilities of others and lean upon them in time of need.  We can’t go it alone.

When we give up, we are implicitly saying, “We are not all in this together.”  What can we expect from one another as we seek to do the Lord’s work in His kingdom?  Can we expect commitment to one another despite setbacks?  Or can we expect folks to go their own way when they don’t get their own way?  This is about our relationships with one another in the Lord’s church and in the Lord’s work.  Do we value those relationships?  Do we want them to continue?  Do we desire to have God’s will done on earth through the church’s efforts?  Then we must realize that we are all in this together!

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Sin Lies!

The Deceitfulness of Sin

So, what sins tempt you? Alcohol? The tongue? Pornography? The love of money? Gambling? What makes these things so enticing?

Is it the throwing up and hangovers that come from a bottle? The divided homes that come from angry words, severed friendships because of violated confidences due to gossip, or the loss of respect because of foul language? The metal health and family issues that destroy lives and families because of the scourge of pornography? Is it the loss of family because of a father that is never around since he is more attentive to his career than to his wife and family? Is it the neglect of family and wastefulness of precious resources associated with gambling that makes it so enticing?

No! No one gives into sin because of the ugly reality associated with the wiles of the devil. He makes sin look attractive. He promises a good time, love, pleasure, friendship, power, wealth, prestige, and all this life has to offer. The problem?

He is a liar! In John 8:44 Jesus says to the Israelites of His day, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

A lie is defined as “an intentionally false statement: …used with reference to a situation involving deception or founded on a mistaken impression. You see a lie does not have to be a “whopper,” or something that bears absolutely no truth at all. People tell “half truths” and “little white lies” all the time. We just mislead, misdirect, or “forget” some integral aspect to a story or statement. And we fall for it all the time. But a lie is a lie is a LIE!

So here is the truth about sin. Satan makes it look good, feel good, taste good and makes false promises and misleading statements about the outcome of sin. Consider his deception in the Garden of Eden. God had indicated that in the day that they would eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would surely die (Genesis 2:17). Satan told Eve that was not the case (Genesis 3:4). Then he lied about God’s purpose behind the command (v 5). Then notice the impression of the sin Satan was tempting her with… the tree was good for food,… it was pleasant to the eyes,… it was desirable to make one wise (v 6).

How sad indeed that Satan was able to deceive Eve with half-truths and bring about their death, shame, and the ever-increasing evil and influence of Satan in this world. Why didn’t Satan tell her what would really happen if she ate the fruit? Because had he told her the truth, she never would have done so.

Satan tempted Jesus the same way in the desert (Matthew 4). And why? Because sin is pleasurable on the front end. As someone once said, if sin felt like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, no one would do it! Sin offers an adrenaline rush, instantaneous pleasure and satisfaction, the promise of a better temporal life. Sin feels good!

How sad that so many are caught up by the deceitfulness of sin. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful (Matthew 13:22). “…Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22). “…Exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).

Dear friends, open your eyes to the realities of sin. It separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1–2). Sin deceives and kills (Romans 7:11). Sin brings death (James 1:15). Because we have all given in to the deceitfulness of sin and continue to fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), God, in His great love, sent His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Because of what He did for us on the cross, we must do something in order to be freed from the shackles of sin: repent (Acts 17:30), confess His name (Matthew 10:32–33), be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21), and be faithful (Revelation 2:10)!

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