THE KIND OF CHRISTIAN I AM!

 

By William Andrew Dillard

 

The enormity of the gross error of finite beings believing they may fashion codes of conduct, worship, and practice that will please the infinite, even though contradictory to His stated Word, continues to be literally astounding. But it never stops.
Some time ago a question was posed to a small group of seminary students: “which church do you think is correct?” One answered immediately, “What do you mean which church? God established only one!”
Is it possible to identify that one, if it still exists? If so, how?
Dr. L. D. Foreman used the illustration of a train being watched by a father and son in a beautiful meadow by a railroad track. Soon a train came by. It was a blue engine with a fuel car, eight box cars, three passenger cars, a dinning car, and a caboose. The number on the engine was 712. It was then that the train entered a tunnel and disappeared. The little boy cried that it had been swallowed. To appease him, the father took him to the train yard so he could see that it was there. However in the train yard there were many trains: engines of red, yellow, black. Some were connected to coal bearing cars; others carried logs, still others were all box cars. Finally, they found a train with a blue engine, with numbers 712. It had a fuel car, eight box cars, three passenger cars, a dinning car and a caboose. Certainly, they had found the very train which had disappeared into the tunnel earlier.
When Jesus started His church, he promised it perpetuity. So, if the Bible is true, and it is, then the church Jesus started is still on the earth. It is still being governed by His Word, adhering to His doctrines and practices. It is still free from the encroachments of designing men, and unions with governmental powers.
His church still teaches the total hereditary depravity of man, salvation by grace through faith, plus nothing else, deep water immersion of a professed believer by a New Testament church; believes that Jesus’ church is local only, and the highest echelon of spiritual organization on earth. It was started by Jesus! it was started in 30 A.D. in the land of Palestine, and has monuments of its existence in every century since. I want to meet Jesus as a member of that church, because that is the kind of Christian I am.

 

 

93 – April 03 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

Dutch Anabaptists Persecuted

Why our Founders in America Insisted on a Bill of Rights

On April 3^rd 1575, a small congregation of Dutch Anabaptists convened in a private house outside the city of London. While they were at worship, a constable interrupted the service and took twenty-five people before a magistrate, who committed them to prison. They remained there for two days when, upon posting bond, they were released on giving promise to appear before the court when summoned.

Information was given to the Queen (Elizabeth I0, and a Royal Commission was issued to Sandys, Bishop of London, and some others to interrogate the parties and proceed accordingly.  The Anabaptists appeared before the commissioners, where their confession of faith was rejected, and they were required to subscribe to four articles that condemned their own principles.  Of course, these involved pedobaptism.
These staunch believers refused to subscribe to the articles presented to them.

Sandys said “that [their] misdeeds therein were so great that [they] could not enjoy the favour of God.  .  .  .  He then said to [them] all, that [they] should be imprisoned in the Marshalsea.”  The Prison was later called the “Queen’s Bench.”

Dr. Dale R. Hart: Adapted from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins Thompson /, pp. 136-37.

06 – Jan. 06 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

‘Hail, victorious soldier!’
 On Jan. 06, 1935, Pastor Oliver W. Van Osdel was honored at a memorial service at the Wealthy St. Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, MI.  Dr. David Otis Fuller preached the memorial sermon, “Home – to be with Jesus.”  Dr. J. Frank Norris, who had worked with Pastor Osdel in the formation of the Baptist Union said, “I didn’t grieve for him.  When he went home I said, ‘Hail, victorious soldier!’”  In 1909, at age 62, Van Osdel was called to return to pastor Wealthy Baptist again.  Through much sacrifice and hardship, a new edifice was constructed in phases from 1912-1917.  It seated 1300 for worship and provided 1,000 classrooms.  It served the congregation until 1982.  He also led the church in evangelism and missions.  Upon his death, the church had sent forth 18 missionaries, 13 serving on foreign fields.  He was most influential in the fundamentalist-modernist fight of the early 20th Century.  Because of modernism in the Grand Rapids MI Baptist Association, 14 churches withdrew and formed a new association of which he was the moderator.   He also helped form a new Michigan association.   In 1920 fundamentalists within the Northern Baptist Convention met in Buffalo, NY, and formed the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship, but it had little spiritual strength.  In 1922, the Baptist Bible Union was formed, which included such giants as T.T. Shields from Canada, William Bell Riley from Minneapolis, and J. Frank Norris from Ft. Worth.  Finally, the aging Van Osdel was the driving force, behind the formation of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC).  He resigned from Wealthy St. on Aug. 20, 1934 and died Jan. 1, 1935.
Dr. Greg J. Dixon from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. IIII: Cummins /, pp. 11-13.

01 – Jan. 01, 1802 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God,”
 
Washington, January 1, 1802
Gentlemen,–The affectionate sentiment of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature would “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802
Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert E. Bergh, ed. (Washington, D. C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association of the United States, 1904), Vol. XVI, pp. 281-282.  Dale R. Hart

History of Our Capital

http://video.staged.com/preacher/us_capitol_tour_with_david_barton

ECCLESIOLOGY (Study of the Church) Lesson 2

LESSON 2
THE MEANING OF ECCLESIA

I.DEFINITION OF TERMS.
A.As previously stated, most scholars agree that the English word “church” comes from a Greek word (kuriakos) which means “the Lord’s” and joined with day (hemera) or supper (deipnon) describe exactly what is refered to as being the Lord’s.
B.When the Greek kuriakos (church) is used to replace ecclesia (assembly), it is used to define what assembly. It is not simply any assembly, It is the LORD’S.
C.I. K. Cross says, “In Acts 19:39-41 the term is used twice. Once to refer to the ‘lawful assembly’ which was called out of the citizens of Ephesus to handle legal matters in the city. The other to refer to the assembly that had been called together to run Paul and his companions out of town. In either case the assembly, or ecclesia (for this is the word used here), was a called out group, called together for a specific purpose, and local in nature. This was the common usage of the term and always the proper definition of an ecclesia. THIS IS WHAT OUR LORD SAID HE WOULD BE BUILDING.”
D.Cross continues, “If Jesus Christ had intended to build another kind of company there were other words in the language He could have used. He could have used the word ‘Synagoga,” a term without such limitations and yet designating an assembly. It would certainly have been more fitting for a ‘universal company.’ He could have also used the word ‘panagris’ if he had a solemn assembly in mind of a massive and festal nature. But these were rejected in favor of the most limiting term in the Greek language with reference to an assembly; a term that can only be properly interpreted as an assembly local in nature” (Ibid).
E.Cross in another place says, “The word ‘ecclesia’ is more than a mere assembly. The word is really a compounding of two words. ‘Kaleo,’ to call; and ‘ek,’ meaning out, or literally ‘to call out.’ Thus, an ‘ekklesia’ is a Called out assembly, implying some conditions. The Lord did not call all Christians in the area that cared to assemble into His ‘ekklesia,’ but he was very selective about it in Matthew 4:17-22; Matthew 9:9; John 1:43,44 and on until he had 120 in that assembly by the time he went back to the Father. I Cor. 12:28 says that ‘God hath set some in the church (ekklesia)…,’ not all. The same passage states that He set the apostles in the ‘ekklesia,’ and on the occasion when the apostles were chosen there was quite a congregation of disciples present of whom he chose the apostles – and Paul says the apostles, not the crowd, were set in the ‘ekklesia’” (Landmarkism on Trial, Cross, p. 7).
F.Overby concurs, “To change the meaning of a word you must have good evidence that the speaker or writer of that word intended it that way. A basic principle that all scholars recognize is that a word must retain its usual meaning as long as the word used makes good sense that way. Only when it will not make good sense are we allowed to give it a new or rare meaning. If we apply this principle in this passage (Matthew 16:18), we will see that ‘assembly’ makes good sense so we cannot agree with those who would try to change the meaning here” (Brief History of the Baptists, Overbey, pp. 26,27).
G.Roy Mason asserts, …I submit the proposition that the church that Jesus founded was the local assembly, and that to use the word ecclesia to designate a ‘universal,’ or ‘invisible’ church is to pervert its meaning, and to fall into serious error” (The Church That Jesus Built, Mason, p. 26).
H.Mason also says, “The word ecclesia rendered ‘church’ in English translations, was not a new word coined by Jesus, but a word already in current use at that time and moreover a word the meaning of which had become definitely fixed and established” (Ibid, p. 27).
I.A. C. Dayton said, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ consisted of certain individuals who, when assembled and organized, constituted an official body for the transaction of such business as might come before them. It was not merely an assembly, but an official assembly, consisting of persons specifically qualified, and who had each his specific rights and duties as a member of the ekklesia. It was not every resident in the city who was, strictly speaking, a citizen; nor was it every citizen who was a member of the ekklesia to which was intrusted the management of public business; but the ekklesia were called out from the mass… Every assembly was not an ekklesia, nor was every ekklesia an ekklesia of Christ” (Theodosia Earnest, pp. 72, 73).
J.Again, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ was an assembly of called and qualified citizens, invested with certain rights, and registered in the city records” (Ibid, p. 129).

II.IMPROPER MEANINGS ATTACHED TO ECCLESIA.
A.The worship service (in contrast to Sunday School).
B.The clerical profession (so used in most modern terminology).
C.Building in which Christian assemblies meet:
1.Dayton says, “…history informs us that the Chrisitans had no such buildings (church-houses) for some two hundred years after this, (the time of the apostles), but continued to meet from house to house, or in the Jewish synagogues, or wherever they might. And the word (ekklesia) is never used in the New Testament, or any other Greek book written before or during the time of the apostles, to signify a house or building” (Ibid, p. 81).
2.This usage, so common even among those who know the truth, has come about by an original misconception of the word ekklesia.
D.All of One denomination:
1.That each denomination is a “branch” off the one big church.
2.Thus, the “Methodist Church,” the “Presbyterian Church,” etcl
E.Historical sense – the whole field of ecclestiastical activity in history since the days of Jesus here on earth – “the church in history.”
F.Modal sense:
1.Terms like “a scriptural church” “church of the N.T.,” etc.
2.These terms are not unscriptural as far as teaching, but the terms themselves are found nowhere in the Bible.
G.Universal, invisible sense:
1.That all the saved are in the mystical body, the church.
2.This theory is dealt with thoroughly in a further lesson.
H.From the modern usage of “church” one can easily see that the vast majority of those who use the word are totally ignorant of the Greek ekklesia.

III.QUOTES FROM RECOGNIZED SCHOLARS.
A.Liddell and Scott (Lexicon) – “An assembly of people called together; an assembly called out.”
B.Dean Trench – “Ekklesia, as all know, was the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship, for the transaction of public affairs” (Synonyms of the N.T., p. 17).
C.Edward Robinson – “Ekklesia, a convocation, assembly, congregation. In the literal sense a popular, or rather assembly, composed of persons legally summoned” (Lexicon).

D.A. H. Strong – “Ekklesia signified merely an assembly, however gathered or summoned. The church was never so large that it could not assemble” (Systematic Theology).
E.Vincent – “Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned” (Word Studies in the N.T.)
F.Thayer – “Take the entire range of Greek literature in all its dialects, secular and sacred, and there is not one passage in which ecclesia means an invisible and universal spiritual assembly” (Lexicon).
G.Alexander Campbell – “Ekklesia literally signifies an assembly called out from others and is used among the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, for their popular assemblies, summoned by their chief magistrates and in which none but citizens had a right to sit. By inherent power it may be applied to any body of men called out and assembled in one place. If it ever loses the idea of calling out and assembling, it loses its principal features and its primitive use” (Ekklesia – The Church. Ross, p. 7).LESSON 2
THE MEANING OF ECCLESIA

I.DEFINITION OF TERMS.
A.As previously stated, most scholars agree that the English word “church” comes from a Greek word (kuriakos) which means “the Lord’s” and joined with day (hemera) or supper (deipnon) describe exactly what is refered to as being the Lord’s.
B.When the Greek kuriakos (church) is used to replace ecclesia (assembly), it is used to define what assembly. It is not simply any assembly, It is the LORD’S.
C.I. K. Cross says, “In Acts 19:39-41 the term is used twice. Once to refer to the ‘lawful assembly’ which was called out of the citizens of Ephesus to handle legal matters in the city. The other to refer to the assembly that had been called together to run Paul and his companions out of town. In either case the assembly, or ecclesia (for this is the word used here), was a called out group, called together for a specific purpose, and local in nature. This was the common usage of the term and always the proper definition of an ecclesia. THIS IS WHAT OUR LORD SAID HE WOULD BE BUILDING.”
D.Cross continues, “If Jesus Christ had intended to build another kind of company there were other words in the language He could have used. He could have used the word ‘Synagoga,” a term without such limitations and yet designating an assembly. It would certainly have been more fitting for a ‘universal company.’ He could have also used the word ‘panagris’ if he had a solemn assembly in mind of a massive and festal nature. But these were rejected in favor of the most limiting term in the Greek language with reference to an assembly; a term that can only be properly interpreted as an assembly local in nature” (Ibid).
E.Cross in another place says, “The word ‘ecclesia’ is more than a mere assembly. The word is really a compounding of two words. ‘Kaleo,’ to call; and ‘ek,’ meaning out, or literally ‘to call out.’ Thus, an ‘ekklesia’ is a Called out assembly, implying some conditions. The Lord did not call all Christians in the area that cared to assemble into His ‘ekklesia,’ but he was very selective about it in Matthew 4:17-22; Matthew 9:9; John 1:43,44 and on until he had 120 in that assembly by the time he went back to the Father. I Cor. 12:28 says that ‘God hath set some in the church (ekklesia)…,’ not all. The same passage states that He set the apostles in the ‘ekklesia,’ and on the occasion when the apostles were chosen there was quite a congregation of disciples present of whom he chose the apostles – and Paul says the apostles, not the crowd, were set in the ‘ekklesia’” (Landmarkism on Trial, Cross, p. 7).
F.Overby concurs, “To change the meaning of a word you must have good evidence that the speaker or writer of that word intended it that way. A basic principle that all scholars recognize is that a word must retain its usual meaning as long as the word used makes good sense that way. Only when it will not make good sense are we allowed to give it a new or rare meaning. If we apply this principle in this passage (Matthew 16:18), we will see that ‘assembly’ makes good sense so we cannot agree with those who would try to change the meaning here” (Brief History of the Baptists, Overbey, pp. 26,27).
G.Roy Mason asserts, …I submit the proposition that the church that Jesus founded was the local assembly, and that to use the word ecclesia to designate a ‘universal,’ or ‘invisible’ church is to pervert its meaning, and to fall into serious error” (The Church That Jesus Built, Mason, p. 26).
H.Mason also says, “The word ecclesia rendered ‘church’ in English translations, was not a new word coined by Jesus, but a word already in current use at that time and moreover a word the meaning of which had become definitely fixed and established” (Ibid, p. 27).
I.A. C. Dayton said, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ consisted of certain individuals who, when assembled and organized, constituted an official body for the transaction of such business as might come before them. It was not merely an assembly, but an official assembly, consisting of persons specifically qualified, and who had each his specific rights and duties as a member of the ekklesia. It was not every resident in the city who was, strictly speaking, a citizen; nor was it every citizen who was a member of the ekklesia to which was intrusted the management of public business; but the ekklesia were called out from the mass… Every assembly was not an ekklesia, nor was every ekklesia an ekklesia of Christ” (Theodosia Earnest, pp. 72, 73).
J.Again, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ was an assembly of called and qualified citizens, invested with certain rights, and registered in the city records” (Ibid, p. 129).

II.IMPROPER MEANINGS ATTACHED TO ECCLESIA.
A.The worship service (in contrast to Sunday School).
B.The clerical profession (so used in most modern terminology).
C.Building in which Christian assemblies meet:
1.Dayton says, “…history informs us that the Chrisitans had no such buildings (church-houses) for some two hundred years after this, (the time of the apostles), but continued to meet from house to house, or in the Jewish synagogues, or wherever they might. And the word (ekklesia) is never used in the New Testament, or any other Greek book written before or during the time of the apostles, to signify a house or building” (Ibid, p. 81).
2.This usage, so common even among those who know the truth, has come about by an original misconception of the word ekklesia.
D.All of One denomination:
1.That each denomination is a “branch” off the one big church.
2.Thus, the “Methodist Church,” the “Presbyterian Church,” etcl
E.Historical sense – the whole field of ecclestiastical activity in history since the days of Jesus here on earth – “the church in history.”
F.Modal sense:
1.Terms like “a scriptural church” “church of the N.T.,” etc.
2.These terms are not unscriptural as far as teaching, but the terms themselves are found nowhere in the Bible.
G.Universal, invisible sense:
1.That all the saved are in the mystical body, the church.
2.This theory is dealt with thoroughly in a further lesson.
H.From the modern usage of “church” one can easily see that the vast majority of those who use the word are totally ignorant of the Greek ekklesia.

III.QUOTES FROM RECOGNIZED SCHOLARS.
A.Liddell and Scott (Lexicon) – “An assembly of people called together; an assembly called out.”
B.Dean Trench – “Ekklesia, as all know, was the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship, for the transaction of public affairs” (Synonyms of the N.T., p. 17).
C.Edward Robinson – “Ekklesia, a convocation, assembly, congregation. In the literal sense a popular, or rather assembly, composed of persons legally summoned” (Lexicon).

D.A. H. Strong – “Ekklesia signified merely an assembly, however gathered or summoned. The church was never so large that it could not assemble” (Systematic Theology).
E.Vincent – “Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned” (Word Studies in the N.T.)
F.Thayer – “Take the entire range of Greek literature in all its dialects, secular and sacred, and there is not one passage in which ecclesia means an invisible and universal spiritual assembly” (Lexicon).
G.Alexander Campbell – “Ekklesia literally signifies an assembly called out from others and is used among the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, for their popular assemblies, summoned by their chief magistrates and in which none but citizens had a right to sit. By inherent power it may be applied to any body of men called out and assembled in one place. If it ever loses the idea of calling out and assembling, it loses its principal features and its primitive use” (Ekklesia – The Church. Ross, p. 7).

Don talks to teens 5

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH?

OKAY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE CHURCH??
There was once a magician on a cruise ship who performed mainly sleight of hand tricks. He had a regular spot on the ship’s cabaret evening entertainment, and he was actually quite good, but his routines were regularly ruined by the onboard parrot that would fly around squawking and giving away his secrets like:
“It’s up his sleeve, it’s up his sleeve!” or “It’s in his pocket, it’s in his pocket!” or “It’s in his mouth, it’s in his mouth!” The magician was getting pretty sick of this and threatened to kill the parrot if it ruined his act one more time. That evening, right at the climax of his act and just as he was about to disappear in a puff of smoke, the ship hit an iceberg and sank in seconds. Amazingly, the magician and the parrot were the only two survivors. The magician was lying on a piece of driftwood in a daze. As he opened his eyes he could see the parrot staring at him out of its beady little eye. The parrot sat there for hours just staring at him and eventually said, “OK, I give up! What did you do with the ship?”
The story, meant to be a joke, is supposed to bring a smile or a chuckle to your normally mundane day.            BUT—when the church begins to disappear, it suddenly becomes very serious and not funny at all. Suppose someone were to ask a congregation, “OK, I give up! What did you do with the church?”
In these days of the church of Laodicea, we hear many answers to that question. Examination of them will help us to see just what HAS happened to the church.
Pastor: Well, it is just hard to get people to commit to God and His church. With all the worldly attractions they just don’t want to follow Christ. They won’t visit, they won’t witness, and they won’t take part in the services or teach classes. The people are killing the church. I can’t do it all, you know.
Deacons and Leaders: The pastor spends too much time in his office when he should be out building the church. He’s just too lazy.
Congregation: Some say the Bible reveals that this is what is going to happen in the last days. We can’t do anything to stop it, so why try? Others say the services are so boring. What is there to get excited about? No one is being saved or joining the church, so why should I bother.
Outsider: They really don’t have a lot for my kids. My kids are easily distracted or bored and the church has no regard for them.
Well, we can easily see what is happening with churches and why they are beginning to disappear. The problem is—ATTITUDE!            “Well, it sure isn’t my fault!”
According to God Himself, each person has a job to do, and he or she must do it to the best of his or her ability. Otherwise the church WILL disappear. SO, let’s take a look.
I Corinthians 7:17 tells us, “But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk, And so ordain I in all churches.” Later, in verse 20, Paul wrote, “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.”
Pastors have a specific job. The apostles described that job in Acts 6:2-4;
“Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
Pastors are to study, pray, and preach the whole counsel of God. Their job is NOT to mow grass, clean buildings, or see to the physical aspects of the grounds. Their purpose is to preach the Word, the whole Word, and nothing but the Word! How many times do pastors get roped into stressful situations that should be handled by deacons or other members of the congregation? For every extra problem that crops up in the church that he is left to handle, that is just more time taken away from his study, prayer, and purpose.
Great! That means the congregation actually has to get up off the pew and do something! This can’t be good. After all, the congregation doesn’t get paid to do this. God forbid that anyone would do something for the Savior who died in their stead without being compensated monetarily. Visitation in the hospital, with the elderly and shut-ins, or to the downtrodden should be put on the shoulders of good members who have loving hearts and willing spirits. Sadly, too many will make no time to do the Lord’s work. Therefore, it falls on the shoulders of the pastor.
The men of the church are to take the lead in the administration of the church. God has plainly stated that women are not to usurp the authority of the men in the church. Therefore, the men must take the leadership role very seriously. After all, it is God’s church, not man’s church, for which we have been given responsibility. God demands our best and the men of the church have the vast responsibility of making sure the inner workings of the church are what God would have them to be. These include finances, maintenance, discipline, exhortation, and instruction. So men, do your duty and lead out. Don’t be afraid of the consequences of making such decisions, and thus allowing them to wind up on the pastor’s already full plate.
Women were, however, very instrumental in Paul’s travels. In Romans 16 he commends Phoebe to the Christians at Rome as a servant (diakonos) of the church at Cenchreae and sends greetings to women who had been of assistance to him. He mentions Priscilla and her husband Aquilla as “fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (v. 3), and a certain Mary “who labored much for us” (v.6). And in his letter to the Phillippians he urges the congregation to “help those women who labored with me in the gospel” (4:2). Nor should we forget the many women who ministered to our Lord during His earthly ministry whose names are recorded in the Gospels. Women may, for example, teach Sunday School and Vacation Bible School; serve on committees in an advisory capacity; assist the pastor and elders in calling on the sick, shut-ins, and singles; and also assist in works of charity in the church and in the community.
Titus gives instructions to the older ladies of the church in chapter 2, verses 3-5. “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Many good churches have died because men and women get their roles reversed. Each has a job, given by God, to do and those jobs must not be interchanged.
Young people, you also have a role in the church. Paul instructed a young man named Timothy regarding how to act in the house of God. I know you are probably saying to yourself, ―Timothy was a preacher. How could Paul’s instructions apply to me?‖ Every member has the task of spreading the Gospel of Christ. See what Titus had to say to the young men of the church. “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things” (Titus 2:6-10).
The problem isn’t that modern times are wrecking churches; the problem is that modern people are wrecking churches. People aren’t being taught by pastors, either because the pastor isn’t doing his job, or he is being overwhelmed with tasks meant for members of the church. Youth are being inundated with entertainment. Parents are using that entertainment for babysitting purposes while they work and watch TV or do their ―own thing.
If you desire to see your church flourish, you must get involved! There is much work to be done. Tell others about your church, pray for your pastor, teach a class, sing in the choir, help with maintenance on the buildings, and keep the buildings clean. Do this regularly and with a loving heart! Share the work load of a church both spiritually and physically. Teach your children that God loves them and take them to church every time the doors are open. Teach them to get involved. There is infinitely more to a youth ministry than just trips and parties. The main thing is learning God’s Word.
That apathy is rampant in the Lord’s churches should be no surprise. “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (II Thessalonians 2:3). There is a great falling away from the truth and into ―feel good services. Hell is still real, people still go there regularly, people still need Jesus, and heaven awaits the saved. Satan is real and we are falling into his clutches and traps every day.
Jesus will soon appear in the clouds and all will be well for the saved and the bride of Christ. God’s wrath will be experienced by everyone else. The church is the vessel by which we deliver the message to the world. So, as we see churches dying and shutting their doors, our hearts are saddened and we ask, “OK, what did you do with the church?” The question we each SHOULD be asking is, “OK, what am I doing for my Lord’s church?”           
–Ron Provence, President Oxford Baptist Institute, Sept-Oct, OBI Newsletter

JEALOUS

EXODUS 34:14 – “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the
LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

God reveals that He has characteristics that many people do think about, or care for. Many today want to dwell on the characteristic of a loving God, which He is. To simply look upon a loving God without knowing the depth of God, continually being shallow in knowledge  is not good. Now I Peter 2:2 says – “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” We know that babies leave the bottle and move on to mashed potatoes, green beans and meatloaf. There are too many bottle baby Christians that have not matured. Paul says in I Corinthians 3:2 – “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet are ye able.” Paul is not applauding bottle babies but scolding them. Notice his comments in Hebrews 5:12,13 – “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth mild is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

When we speak of the jealousy of God and the worship that is due Him, we often speak of paganism. Maybe the story of Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon was to be ruler over the kingdom. The people made a plea and Rehoboam rejected that plea which brought a division in the nation. Jeroboam took 10 of the northern tribes as his kingdom. Jeroboam knew that the place to worship was in Jerusalem. He also knew that if the people of the northern 10 tribes went there to worship they would rejoin Judah and once again become one nation. Jeroboam had a solution.

Jeroboam took the religion of the Jews and made some small changes. He replaced the priests God had chosen with his priests that had been chosen from the men of a base sort. They were more wicked and served as priests. Jeroboam also gave the people two places to worship. They did not have to go to Jerusalem. Then he gave them visible, tangible objects to worship.

Notice the implications here. He made God’s representatives more like the people. He made worship very convenient and the people became content. Last but not least, he gave them something they could see which pleased the people. We have the same thing today. If we can make things convenient and throw in the rest we can have a crowd. I wonder if God was jealous in this situation?

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus words are revealed unto us in John 4:22 – “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” Jesus was, in essence, telling this woman that her worship was unacceptable. There was the form of the worship of the Jews that the Samaritans were practicing. The problem was mixing in a little of the world. Notice verse 24 – “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Is there the possibility that a lot of what we call worship today is unacceptable to God? II Timothy 3:16 says – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works.”  Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. God doesn’t change. God’s Son doesn’t change. God and His Son Jesus is jealous over our worship. ARE WE ACCEPTABLE IN OUR WORSHIP? The woman of Samaria was not.

Technorati Tags: Samaria, jealous, worship, Paul, Jesus, God, well

Woe

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet, for bitter. Isaiah 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

This is a condemnation upon those that get things backwards. The thought I will pursue here is; God does not accept everything man thinks He ought to accept. God has set forth the principles that He wants us to observe. God does not say a negative – no on everything man can dream up but gives us principles to abide by that is a guide line for us. For example – the Bible does not say a thing about street drugs yet not one preacher or church member would say it is okay to consume these drugs. This a principle that God has established.

When we get to the worship that is God’s, everything goes out the window. God established with Moses and Israel what was accepted. Isaiah 9:6 – Moses said to Israel, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do:” and in their obedience, “and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.” Isaiah 9:23 “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people.
24. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

What God proscribes, He accepts. Isaiah 10:1 we see what was unacceptable to God. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded then not.” No doubt they had the attitude that people have today – I am doing this for the Lord so He should accept it. God has never said He would accept as worship what we decide He should accept. My belief is the Old Testament has laid out an example of the attitude we should have and the method we should use.

Where does self-will in worship take us? How about the tele-evangelist that says GIVE GOD A HAND! Well the solemness of worship has already been disrupted with the clapping for individual performance so why not clap for God, He deserves it. God deserves everything and all of us. Exodus 19:5 God speaking to Israel “if ye will obey my voice,” and this is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament. I Samuel 15:22 Samuel said to the people “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” The result of disobedience was death to Nadab and Abihu. Israel disobeyed many times and were punished many different ways for this disobedience. Even Peter in Acts 5:29 makes a statement about obedience – Then Peter and the other apostles answered an said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Where is the line of demarcation between acceptable worship and unacceptable worship. I don’t know and I haven’t found anyone else that really knows. Wouldn’t it be terrible to stand before the Lord and hear, “my child, when did you worship me? Those were not the principles of worship that I gave you. You were not worshipping me, you were doing things of the world that pleased You.”

I have no desire to be in that position. I have enough to answer for. My neglect in evangelism. My hard heartedness and other things.

May we worship God His way and not our way which pleases us.Technorati Tags: Worship, God, Moses, Peter, clap, clapping