Working Together List

WORKING TOGETHER

Our united efforts are needed — I encourage each member of the congregation here as well as those of you who visit us to resolve that you will make a special effort to be or to become a more mature Christian.  I have listed eight points that will assist us in our desire to become more mature in our spiritual life which may aid us in becoming more mature and of greater benefit to our Lord and to the lost ones in our community if added to our life and activities in future days, weeks, months, and years:

1. IN ATTENDANCE:

Hebrews 10:24-25, 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  NIV

2. IN OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST:

Hebrews 5:8-9, 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him

3. TO APPRECIATE THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL MORE:

Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. NIV                 

4. TO TEACH OTHERS IN WORD AND DEED:

Colossians 3:17, And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. NIV   

5. TO PRACTICE THE TRUTH IN MY LIFE:

Romans 12:1-2, 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living  sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV

6. TO SEEK GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST:

Matthew 6:33, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. NIV      

7. TO GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE:

Peter 3:18, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.  NIV     

8. TO ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR THE LORD’S SECOND ADVENT:

Matthew 24:44, So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.  NIV

May God richly bless every one of us as we labor together in His Kingdom …

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Drive!

We are to Drive Sin Out!

In Matthew 21:12, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, He went into the temple. He saw the Jews who were selling doves to those who needed sacrificial animals. They were exchanging foreign money to make a profit. He described them as a “den of thieves.” This is one of the very few cases where we actually see the Lamb of God becoming the Lion of Judah. Jesus drove them out of the temple, overthrowing their tables and making the point that the temple is no place for sin. In other words, Jesus drove sin out of the temple. The Bible commands us to drive sin out of the temple as well.

We are to drive sin out of our own lives. Paul tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). As Jesus drove sin out of the temple, we have an obligation to drive sin out of the temple as well. Jesus said, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). The longer we let sin cultivate in our lives, the stronger the roots of Satan will grow.

We are to drive sin out of the church. Paul hears of a report of fornication in the church at Corinth, and their attitude was being “puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2). Their attitude needed to change to “deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5). We must purge old leaven. The Bible gives various scriptures to withdraw from ungodly brethren. Elders have the responsibility to rebuke sinful brethren and false teachers. In order to maintain the purity of the church, Christ knew that sin must be driven out of the spiritual temple (Eph. 2:20-22), just as He drove sin out of the temple in Jerusalem.

We are to drive sin out of our nation. We are in a time where sin is becoming increasingly rampant in America. The voices of many are taking God out of our country. We need to stop this sinful assault against our Jehovah God. What can we do? We can pray! Paul tells us of our obligation to pray for our leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-2). If there was ever a time when our leaders needed us, as Christians, praying for them, then the time is now! We need to be praying that our nation will have respectable men who can lead us. When the time comes to choose leaders for our nation, we must vote sensibly. We need to examine the candidates, including their record and their beliefs. We already have too much legalized sin; we certainly do not need any more. It is bad enough fighting sin that is against the law, but fighting legalized sin seems to be more difficult. Above all, we must voice the gospel (Rom. 1:16). When the church changes politicians with the greatest news of all—the gospel of Jesus Christ—then it will forever change politics (Mark 16:15-16).

Jesus promised, “Ask, and it shall be given you; see, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7). After Jesus drove the buyers and sellers out of the temple, he said, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer.” I aspire that we will drive sin out so that we may be called “the house of prayer”—our lives, our congregations and our nation!

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The End of a Year

A Time for Reflection

Is there any better time for reflection than the end of a year? In less than three weeks the year 2013 will be history. We are one year closer to the time of our death and one year closer to determining where we will spend eternity. Consider the following thoughts which seem so timely as this year comes to a close.

Are you numbering your days? This question comes from a consideration of Psalm 90. “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years . . . so teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” So many fail to sense the reality of their coming death. It may be hard for someone at 25 to think they have lived a third of their lives or someone at 35 to understand they have lived half of theirs, but as this year comes to a close, count the days you have left!

Have you forgotten His grace? The end of a year provides a time to look backward to where each of us has lived. There are no degrees of being lost. Each of us, in the past, was just as vile and lost as mass murders or child molesters. It is by His grace we live. Peter described what was happening in the lives of some Christians in his day. They had become Christians but had become barren and unfruitful and were spiritually blind. What had happened? What could cause a man to arrive at such a situation? He had “. . . forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sin” (2 Pet. 1:8-9). When we glory in our own “goodness” we lose sight of His. Have you forgotten His grace?

Have you buried the past? Obviously, one can never forget the past, but far too many live in guilt and have the lowest self-esteem. We must learn to live in the present and let God deal with what has passed. He has forgotten it and so must we. Paul described himself as the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), who had become what he was by God’s grace (1 Cor. 15:10). Look at this principle by which he lived: “But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those thing which are ahead, I press toward the goal . . .” (Phil. 3:13-14). A new year awaits each of us. The old one must be forgotten, for there is a new year before us with greater opportunities and challenges!

You alone will determine what kind of year you will have in 2014. A precious brother (Harold Pack) told me when he awoke each day he had a decision to make. “Will I have a good day or a bad one? I may have headaches and pain, but I can have the best headache day I could possibly have.” Apply that to 2014. It will likely have adversity, but your attitude towards problems determines if the year will be a good year or bad one!

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Marriage, Polygamy, and the Slippery Slope

The fight for the biblical definition of marriage is one that isn’t ending any time soon, and it’s not going to be limited to homosexual marriage much longer. In the last week a U.S. District Judge made a ruling that struck down parts of long-standing federal laws against polygamy. The case involved the fundamentalist Mormon family from a reality TV show that centers on a man and his four wives, called “Sister Wives.” The judge’s ruling found that the Bill of Rights’ guarantee of the free practice of religion means that if polygamy is a part of your religion, you’re free to engage in it (which may get rather interesting with the spread of Islam, but that’s another article for another day). While the decision wasn’t a full endorsement of legalized polygamy, we know from watching the development of “civil unions” in the last 10-15 years that all it takes for another strike against marriage is a foot in the door.

The first thing that comes to mind is the “slippery slope” argument that Bible believers have used since the beginning of the homosexual marriage debate. Basically, if we give in on homosexual marriage then the door is opened for all kinds of wrong interpretations of marriage. While I agree with the idea of the slippery slope, our interpretation and application of it has been completely wrong.

The slippery slope doesn’t start with homosexual marriage. The slippery slope starts with our first departure from God’s design for the family that goes back to creation (Gen. 2:24). Forget the homosexual debate – this goes back to the rise of no-fault divorce and the problem of divorce and remarriage (Matt. 19), or beyond that to the idea that premarital sex was okay as long as nobody gets pregnant (at which point abortion became a part of the equation), or even further back to the point where dating and relationships began to be engaged in for fun rather than with the intention of marriage. We’ve let one of God’s most sacred institutions be pushed aside and stepped on for at least 70 years and we said nothing because we were participating it, or our family members were, or our friends were, or the people in the pews were. Now that homosexuality and polygamy threaten marriage (issues that don’t often affect people in the church), we’re suddenly bold enough to speak out about the sanctity of marriage? No, the slippery slope doesn’t start here.

This should be a lesson to us with regards to far more than just marriage. Any time we are given a biblical standard and we make compromises for ourselves or don’t hold to it and teach it strictly as the text says, we end up in a mess of man’s interpretations and sins (and our children and grandchildren get dragged even further into it). We aren’t called to take a stand where we’re comfortable; we’re called to take a stand exactly where God’s Word has spoken. “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2).

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Acceptable Sexual Relationship

The Bible is clear on what is an acceptable sexual relationship.

The ONLY sexual relationship that God approves of is between a man and woman who are married to one another. I believe the Bible. If you ask me about homosexuality or sex outside of marriage, or adultery, etc., etc. The answer is still the same.

According to the scriptures, adultery and fornication are sin. Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

According to the scriptures, homosexual behavior is sin. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God…”

According to the scriptures, homosexual behavior is a choice. 1Corinthians6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God….” Such were some of you – they changed their behavior…”

I believe the Scriptures. Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek…”

Believing the Scriptures, does not make one a “homophobe” any more than it makes one a “liarphobe” or “drunkaphobe” or a “phobe” of anything else the Scriptures state as sinful. Declaring the whole counsel of God makes one free from the blood of all men. Acts 20:26-27“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God…”

Every Christian has friends, family or loved ones who are involved in something the Scriptures call sinful. Every true Christian should treats those same friends, loved ones and family members with love and respect. Pointing out sin should always be done with love and respect, because while we may not be guilty of those sins, we are all guilty of some sins from time to time. True Christians have repented of all that God declares as sinful, yet they still can be susceptible to sin. That’s why the same Paul who wrote the strong condemnations above also wrote, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted…” (Galatians 6:1)

If you are unwilling to accept what the Scriptures teach on any subject, that is your business and your choice. I am not the inquisition and would not try to coerce someone into acceptance. When I state what the Bible says, it is because I sincerely believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. When I state what the Bible says about sin, it is because I am sincerely concerned about those who have chosen to live in sin. If you do not chose to follow the Word of God, then I will pray that someday you do. If you never do make that choice, you are still worthy of my love and respect.

 

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