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Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matthew 28:19 |
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Articles by David Banks (Minister for the Rena Road Church of Christ)
The
Good Life vs. The Bad Life
When Moses chose the hard life of an Israelite over the
comfortable life of an Egyptian, he became a living example of
the triumph of good over evil. The writer of the book of Hebrews
referred to Moses like this, "By faith Moses, when he became of
age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy
the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the
reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the
king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." (Hebrews
11:24-27). This illustrates for us some other important lessons
concerning sin.
The pull of sin is strong, but the pleasure of sin is temporary.
On the other hand, the pull of Christ is gentle and steady, but
the pleasure of faith and obeying Christ is eternal. There is no
question that God is stronger than Satan. God just doesn't need
to continually prove His strength. Satan is an enticer. God is a
commander. He commands us through His written word, which does
not contradict itself. But that's really the issue, isn't it? It
is the fact that Satan makes sin look so appealing, and that God,
is so strict, that makes many choose evil, and few choose
good.
Paul wrote it this way, "If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to
those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has
blinded, who do not believe, let the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them"
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4). Satan is the god of this age, but he
doesn't make our choices for us. God created us with the ability
to make our own choices. Satan can't make us choose evil, and God
will not make us choose good. God simply gives us His word as a
standard and commands us to follow what is right. God requires
and desires strict obedience of His commands, which are not
burdensome (1 John 5:3), but He will not force us to obey.
Top
Attitudes & Priorities - Victims or Victors
With God it has always been more about attitudes and priorities
than about material wealth and accomplishment. Who better than
Solomon to teach us a lesson on priorities. He wrote about all
the things that he had experienced in his search for meaning in
life, and without exception all of the things that he tried, the
same things that still today people think of as "the pleasures of
men," Solomon wrote about these things "Indeed all was vanity and
grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun."
(Ecclesiastes 2:11). Solomon finally concluded that the best that
any person can do is "Fear God and keep His commandments, For
this is man's all, For God will bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether good or evil."
(Ecclesiastes 12:13). Solomon wrote about all of this so that
others could learn from his experience and wisdom. We have a
choice. We can either learn from the bad experiences of others or
we can make mistakes of our own. I have tried both ways, and I
prefer learning from others. The apostle Paul, writing to the
saints in Philippi, wrote, "I have learned in whatever state I
am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to
abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be
full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians
4:11-13).
Somewhere along the way, we came to the conclusion that if we
weren't content it was because we didn't have something that we
really wanted. Paul was saying that it doesn't matter how rich or
poor you are, you still need God's strength to be content. You
can't buy contentment.
Contentment is an attitude of stability that enables us to say,
and really mean, that no matter what happens to me materially,
I'm going to stay faithful. That is, if I'm poor and come into a
lot of money, I'm still going to be faithful, I still need God,
or, if I'm rich, and lose everything, I'm still going to be
faithful, I still have God's Spirit living in Me. Contentment is
an attitude that looks forward to the conclusion of the matter.
To fear God and keep His commandments is an endeavor that
transcends this world. Everything else is vanity, and vexation of
the spirit, and grasping for the wind.
Just imagine the possibilities. If a person were truly content
with wherever and whoever he or she was, suddenly the worldly
standards disappear, and the spiritual potential increases. The
poor man doesn't spend his time wishing he was rich. The old
woman doesn't spend time wishing she were young again. The young
man doesn't spend time wishing he were older. Jesus said, "Do not
worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink;
nor about your body, what you will put on...But seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added to you." (Matthew 6:25, 33). Just like that, "From now
on I'm not going to worry about money." What if we could
accomplish that? Wouldn't we then be free to concentrate on the
more important matters of life?
As I see it, we can either be victims of the world, or we can be
victors through our faith in God and Christ. This does not happen
by accident. It is a conscious choice. There's not an overnight
cure, this is learned behavior. Solomon learned it. The apostle
Paul learned it. The jury's still out on us. Victims or
victors?
Top
The Plague of
Stubbornness
I think we need to realize that God may interpret our resistance
to submitting to His will as plain old stubbornness. Take Saul of
Tarsus for example. He believed that by resisting Christians he
was pleasing God. Saul was among those who ignored the evidence
and went along with the crowd. He didn't think he was doing
wrong. He was just following the traditions of his ancestors. He
was conducting his life as he had been taught. When he was on the
road to Damascus he saw a blinding light and was uniquely
privileged to have a conversation with Jesus. Paul was one of the
very few in biblical history to have the privilege of being
spoken to by the Christ, in person, after the ascension. Jesus
said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me...It is hard for
you to kick against the goads." (Acts 9:4-5). In other words,
Jesus is stating that by persecuting Christians, Saul is
stubbornly denying the truth. The incident left Paul physically
sightless, but spiritually he could see more clearly than ever
before. Some people hear God's word and they change. Other
people, figuratively, stop their ears and refuse even to
hear.
The problem with stubbornness is that it doesn't just affect us,
it affects all of the people around us. When Saul of Tarsus
stopped being stubborn and kicking against the goads, he heard
and obeyed the will of God. Countless people were and are still
being converted to Christ as a result. Pharaoh, on the other
hand, refused heed the voice of God and many people died as a
result. The decisions we make today, especially where God is
concerned, do not affect us alone.
It works the same way with us. For example, when a father and/or
mother refuses to accept, and obey the will of God, it makes it
difficult on the rest of the family. If you turn a blind eye to
the sins in your life, it isn't difficult to understand how the
rest of your family is going to be affected. In contrast, if a
father and mother obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they
strive to live a faithful Christian life, living by sound
biblical standards, nurturing their children in the admonition of
the Lord, the example they set could well lead to generations of
faithfulness.
I don't pretend to be a psychologist. I know that I don't fully
understand all the nuances of the human psyche, nor do I have the
answers to all of life's problem. I'm simply saying that there
are things that plague us all, most of which we bring on
ourselves. We all have our own unique set of problems because
we've all had a unique sequence of experiences. Our experiences
have formed our present personalities. Some of our experiences
have been good. Some have been bad. Try as we may, we can't
"unexperience" the bad ones or remember only the good ones.
Believe me, I would be the first to sign up if we could. We need
to accept ourselves for who have been, warts and all, and we need
to find it within ourselves to submit to the voice of God.
Stubbornness is not strength. The time to obey God is now.
Top
Creation, Faith &
Common Sense
There are many who claim to believe in God but try to deny the
validity of the Bible. Let me say this about that: If God created
man, as the Bible claims, how can man expect to understand God
without the Bible? At this point we use faith, combined with
common sense. The writer of Hebrews wrote, "Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that the things which are seen were not made of things which are
visible." (Hebrews 11:1-3). This teaches us to take a look at
creation and use that as the basis of our faith. Who can make a
tree? Who can make a bird? Who can make a man? Who but God could
have created the heavens and the earth?
The apostle Paul wrote about man's departure from the
understanding of faith. He wrote, "The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be
known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God,
nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their
foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became
fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an
image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed
animals and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their
bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for a
lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the
creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (Romans 1:18-25). So
that's what is happening still and God allows it, because He
created us with the ability to think, reason and understand for
ourselves. He expects us to use that ability to learn about Him,
but if we don't He doesn't stop us He allows it.
If we accept by faith and common sense that God exists, and that
He created the heavens and earth, if we can accept that God gave
us life then why is it so difficult to believe that He is
directing our steps through His word? If we can accept that God
is powerful enough to create man, doesn't it make sense that He
is powerful enough to keep man from making His word impossible to
understand? If we accept the existence of God, then it only makes
good sense to accept, as valid, the Bible as God's word. No one
can make you believe in God. Faith is something you must seek out
for yourself. Once you find it hold on to it. The writer of
Hebrews wrote, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6). We
must accept that if it takes diligence to seek God, it also takes
diligence to keep our faith (2Peter 1:10) "Therefore, brethren,
be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for
if you do these things you will never stumble.").
Top
Does God
Exist?
If one is to believe the gospel, one must first be convicted on
an even more basic concept. We have established that the gospel
is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. In order to
believe the gospel, therefore we must accept certain other
principles. We've all contemplated it, and we've all questioned
it at times. Does God exist? I would suggest that whatever we
decide concerning this question, we must be firm in our
conviction. Scientists have struggled to prove that God does not
exist. They have not offered any adequate proof. On the other
hand, theologians have struggled to prove the existence of God.
They have not been able to offer adequate proof to everyone's
satisfaction that God does exist. Our belief, therefore, must
come down to our own investigation and conclusion.
The Bible claims that, "In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth..." (Genesis 1:1). Even the sharpest critics should
agree that the Bible is an impressive collection of books.
Historically accurate, written by numerous authors over a period
of almost two thousand years, and yet develops and maintains a
constant theme complimented by each succeeding author. Biblical
prophets made predictions that were confirmed centuries later.
History confirms that entire nations have risen and fallen on the
basis of faith in God as recorded in the Bible. The account of
the creation itself is unwaveringly consistent with historical
and modern development. Paul wrote, "The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be
known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."
(Romans 1:18-20). Paul was relating that it should be obvious to
all, by looking at the power and wonder of creation, that God
exists.
Many of the Bible writers acknowledge, however, that the
existence of God is ultimately accepted on the basis of personal
belief (or faith). The writer of Hebrews wrote, "Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen...By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of
things which are visible." (Hebrews 11:1,3). Personal conviction
of faith in God should be decided on the basis of investigation,
intellect and common sense rather than popular opinion or
whimsical notions. Before you can move on to the next step, you
must ask yourself, Do you believe in God?, Do you accept the
Bible as God's word?, Do you believe in the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ?, and, Are you ready to make a
commitment on the basis of your personal faith?
Top
The Death, Burial and
Resurrection
When Jesus was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the high ranking
Roman governor of the people, in Jerusalem, Pilate quickly
deduced that he was not dealing with the ordinary sort of the
accused. Jesus offered no defense of Himself. He did not grovel
or plead for mercy. He did not appear afraid or weak. He seemed
neither defeated nor victorious. He was not common. He was meek.
He was confident. He was a presence. Most of all, for Pilate, He
was a mystery. Pilate became His most unlikely defender.
Jesus proved to be trouble for Pilate at every turn. To further
complicate the matter, While he was sitting on the judgment seat,
his wife sent to him, saying, 'Have nothing to do with that just
Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of
Him." (Matthew 27:19). Proceeding with caution, Pilate decided to
test the resolve of his Jewish jury. He put before the people the
infamous choice, Jesus or Barabbas. Presumably to promote good
will, the governor, every year, at the time of the Passover
feast, would release a prisoner of the people's choosing.
Barabbas is presented as a hardened criminal. Among the list of
his notorious offenses were insurrection, theft and murder. He
was a true threat to the public safety, and the obvious
choice.
No one talked to Jesus without being somehow affected by His
poise and demeanor. Pilate had interviewed Jesus extensively and
was desperate to release Him, but the crowd of the Jews were
insistent. They cried out, "Give us Barabbas," and of Jesus they
kept shouting over and over, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him."
Amazingly, it was Jesus who offered Pilate some words of comfort,
"You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been
given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you
has the greater sin." (John 19:11). In the end, Pilate washed his
hands and declared himself free of innocent blood and he
delivered Jesus to be crucified. The Jews, so arrogantly
confident, condemned themselves with the words, "His blood be on
us and on our children." (Matthew 27:25).
Top
Baptism Saves You
The apostle Peter wrote, "…The longsuffering of God waited
in the days of Noah while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,
that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, (not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
(1Peter 3:20-21 - KJV).
The comparison of baptism with the ancient flood is an
interesting one. God commanded Noah to build the ark. He was
perfectly specific about how the ark was to be built. It was to
be built of gopherwood. It was to have rooms in it. It was to be
covered inside and outside with pitch. It was to be three hundred
cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. It was
to have one window in the top and one door in the side. It was to
have a lower, second and third decks in it as well. With this
much specific instruction, it would seem that Noah could not have
gone wrong. But, suppose Noah had decided to use a different kind
of wood, or cover the ark with pitch only on the outside. Suppose
he had not built the ark to the dimensions that God commanded, or
added another window or door. If Noah had decided to change just
one small detail of what God commanded and did everything else
exactly as God commanded, what do you think would have happened
to the ark under those circumstances? It was because Noah obeyed
the specifics of God's commands that enabled the ark to stay
afloat. Remember, it was this same flood, which saved the
righteous, which also destroyed the wicked.
Couldn't God have saved Noah and his family and destroyed
everyone else on earth without bringing the flood? Couldn't God
have saved Noah in the ark without being so specific about how it
was to be built? Why did God go to the trouble of being so
specific about the details of the ark if it was not important
that Noah obey God specifically? The answer is that God did
intend for Noah to respect every detail of His command.
Peter wrote that baptism saves us in like figure to Noah in the
ark. He clarified further for his readers that water immersion is
not intended to remove filth from the flesh. It is not like
taking a bath. It is rather the answer of a good conscience
toward God. Like Noah built the ark to God's specifications, so a
person with a good conscience hears God's command to be baptized,
believes it and answers with obedience. This, Peter wrote, equals
salvation.
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Love without
Strings
With all the hate that is in the world it's going to take a
divine love to combat it. I use the word combat because we are at
war. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, rather our
struggle is against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). The problem is that we tend to want
to put a face on our enemy. So we war and we fight and hate our
fellowman, until we are in danger of becoming the very thing we
are warring against.
The real struggle is to combat the hatred within us. To win the
war over hatred we must develop in ourselves the same kind of
love for our fellowman that God has for the world (John 3:16;
15:12-13). We are in awe of God's perfection, but too often we
use our imperfection as an excuse to under achieve. After all,
nobodies perfect. Right? What we forget is that we, both male and
female, were made in the God's image, and the Bible teaches us
that we can love each other the way God loves us, and we can love
the world the way God loves the world (1Jn. 4:7-11).
The Bible does warn us not to love some things. “Love not
the world neither the things in the world, if any man loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1John 2:15).
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil…” (1Tim. 6:10). The Bible even teaches to hate
some things. “Hate what is evil and cling to that which is
good.” (Rom. 12:9). Sometimes it is difficult to hate the
evil act and still love the sinner.
It isn't that we don't love at all. We love the church, our
family, our friends, etc. The problem is not that we don't love,
but that we don't love enough. We convince ourselves that it's
okay to hate some people: homosexuals, people of other
races/religions, anyone who hates us, bullies, foreign enemies,
etc. Everyday we add to our list, but God has never given us
permission to hate our fellowman. He did, however, say,
“You will be hated by all men for My name's sake, but he
that endures to the end shall be saved,” (Matt. 10:22).
Don't let hatred consume you. Paul wrote, “If your enemy
hungers, feed him, if he thirsts give him a drink, for in so
doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome
by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:22). Hatred
cripples our ability to convert sinners to Christ, but the love
of God enables us to look through the sin to see the soul.
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The Fiery
Furnace
Among the most remarkable examples of courage and faith in the
Bible is the historical account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
when they were sentenced to death in the fiery furnace. These
three young slaves made a conscious decision to honor God and
serve Him only. They soon realized that making that choice came
with consequences that would separate the truly sincere servants
of God from those who merely give lip service. Being brought
before the king for refusing to bow down and worship an idol they
were given the option of worshipping a false god or being thrown
in to the furnace. A choice like this would likely weaken the
knees of even the most faithful of men, but these young men said,
“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O
king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not
serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you
have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18).
Jesus defined hypocrites as those who, “Draw near to Me
with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is
far from Me.” (Matthew 15:7-9). It is likely that none of
us has ever been confronted with consequences as severe as those
faced by these three slaves and others in the Bible, but on a
daily basis we are commanded to confirm our faith by setting a
proper Christian example. What would you do if someone demanded
that you either disobey God or be thrown into a fiery furnace?
While you are considering this read Hebrews 10:26-31.
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The Only Begotten
Our two English words "only begotten" are literally translated in
the New Testament from the combined Greek word monogenes, from
mono meaning "only" and genao meaning "to be born." The word
monogenes is used five times, in the writings of John to refer to
Christ. It is also used once in reference to Isaac in Hebrews
11:17. When this word was used in reference to Isaac and to
Christ it was used with special emphasis given to the promise
made by God that through Abraham's Seed all the nations would be
blessed. The fulfillment of that promise began with Isaac and is
completed in Christ.
Controversy has arisen over the exact meaning of the word
monogenes because it is obvious that Isaac was not Abraham's only
son. Ishmael, as you know, was Abraham's firstborn son by the
slave woman Hagar. Nevertheless, when God referred to Isaac He
referred to him as Abraham's "only son" (Genesis 22:2). It is
therefore apparent that although Isaac was not Abraham's only
naturally born son, he was the only son through whom God would
fulfill His promise.
Likewise, in reference to Christ, the word monogenes seems to
have a greater meaning than simply "only begotten." Since
Christians also are called sons/children of God (Galatians 3:26;
1John 3:1 etc.), by the process of rebirth. We are "begotten of
God" by faith (1John 5:1-5) and by the practice of righteousness
(1John 3:29). Therefore, it would seem a logical conclusion, that
since the Christian is also begotten of God that Jesus is not
technically the only begotten. However, it should be pointed out
that the circumstances of Christ's birth were much different than
our rebirth. Jesus physical birth is unique. In reference to this
unique sense of His relationship to the Father, Jesus is most
definitely the Only Begotten. In contrast to this our
relationship to the Heavenly Father is also referred to as "the
adoption as sons." (Romans 8:12-17; Galatians 4:1-7).
The much-debated question has become, “What would be a
proper way to translate the word monogenes that would both stay
true to the literal meaning of the word and capture also the
purest understanding of its divine intent?” Several
translations have been offered: "only begotten" (KJV, NKJV), "One
and Only" (NIV), "only begotten" (ASV), "only" (RSV), "unique
one" (McCord), etc. Whichever translation you may prefer among
these or others, let it, at least, be appreciated that much labor
has been wrought in trying to understand the true nature of our
relationship to God and to His Son. As the apostle Paul wrote,
"For we are all the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
(Galatians 3:26). While we may be sons of God through Christ, we
are certainly not begotten in the same way that Christ was
begotten. Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise to save man
from sin. Praise be to God for giving us the indescribable gift
of His Only Begotten Son.
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Legalism
The church of Christ, for as long as I can remember, has used a
five-step model for teaching God's plan of salvation (hear,
believe, repent, confess and be baptized). The church has
experienced a great deal of criticism, being accused of teaching
salvation by works, and/or of being legalistic, among many other
accusations. It is, however, clear that God does have an
established plan. The fact that God has issued specific commands
obligates us to obey Him. If that view makes us legalistic, so be
it.
On the other hand, I do recognize the danger in becoming either
too legalistic or not legalistic enough. There is danger in
seeing only the letter of the law and missing the intent of God's
word. There's danger in becoming list oriented in our approach to
the holy writ without experiencing the emotional benefits of
Christian faith. For example, Christians do not praise God simply
because we've have been commanded to. Nor should we rejoice in
the Lord always simply because we've been commanded to. However,
doesn't the fact that we are commanded to do these things lend a
comforting support to our desire to do them?
While I do recognize the danger of being emotionless, it should
be stressed that we should never allow our emotions to control us
or to motivate us religiously. It is dangerous to allow our
emotions to keep us from recognizing the letter of the law. James
wrote, “Someone will say, `You have faith, and I have
works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show
you my faith by my works…do you want to know, O foolish
man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:18-20).
James was not teaching that faith was more important than works
or vice versa. He stated that they work together and complete one
another (v.22).
My understanding of Biblical grace is that God's gift of
salvation is one that I neither deserve nor can earn. It is a
free gift. So, if Jesus says, “He who believes and is
baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16a), then I still
recognize that as salvation by grace rather than of works only.
God certainly didn't owe it to us to issue a command to save us,
but we certainly must obey the command if we want to be saved.
That's not being legalistic, that's being practical. That's not
trying to work our way to heaven, that's trying our best to honor
God.