THE BIBLE

This book contains: The mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true and its decisions immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to supply you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven is opened, and the gates of Hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be open at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its holy contents.

Author Unknown 

EVERY CHRISTIAN IS A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

There are those today who claim that the Bible teaches that there are Christians who are not members of the church of Christ.  But I have no hesitation in affirming that the Bible teaches that every person who is a Christian is, a member of the church of Christ.  This means, obviously, that I am affirming that the Bible teaches that there are no Christians who are not members of the church of Christ.  The church of Christ is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1: 18). The saved are those who have been reconciled unto God, and those who have been reconciled unto God are members of the body (church) of Christ (Ephesians 2:13-18).  The matter is really just that simple, but in the light of the importance of the matter, let us say a bit more about it.

The Bible teaches that salvation is in Christ (II Timothy 2:10).  To be in Christ is to be in His church (Galatians 3:26-27; I Corinthians 12:13; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 20:28; Acts 2:38; Ephesians 1:7; et al.). The Bible teaches that it is impossible for one to “cross the line” into salvation without “crossing the line” into Christ.  The Bible also teaches that it is impossible for one to “cross the line” into Christ without “crossing the line” into the church.

The crucial relation of the church to salvation is seen in the statement, “And the Lord added (Greek imperfect “was adding,” TBW) to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47, KJV).  The English Revised Version, in an excellent treatment, translates Acts 2:47 in this way: “And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved” (Greek present participle).

In short, the Bible teaches that there are no Christians outside of the church for which Jesus died. When one obeys the Gospel, being baptized (as a penitent believer) in the name of Christ (that is, by His authority), the Lord adds him to the church.  He never fails to do this (cf. Acts 2:41, 47; I Corinthians 12:13).

Thomas B. Warren

The Spiritual Sword (April 1985), p. 6

ARE YOU READING?

For more than fifty years, brother V. E. Howard asked repeatedly in his radio sermons, “Are you listening?” I would like to rephrase that question slightly and ask similarly, “Are you reading?” How many of you have ever read the Bible through from cover to cover? How often do you read the Bible?

Do you bring your Bible to class with you on Sundays and Wednesday nights? Have you noticed how few have their Bibles in these classes? If you have ever taught such a class and have made an effort to get the students in your class to bring their Bibles, you know how difficult this task is. I wonder how many of us in the church today are reading our Bibles outside of the church buildings.

I wonder how many of us read the Bible even when we prepare for class and how much we rely on supplemental material instead of the Bible even when we teach. I want to ask you, “Are you reading (the Bible)?”

The Bible must be read diligently by every member of the church. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).

Nothing threatens the church today more than Bible ignorance! When we begin to rely on the writings of men (e.g. commentaries, workbooks, teacher’s guides, and other books) more than on the Book of God, we can easily be led astray. We need to be like the Bereans “in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Let us look at four reasons why we should read the Bible diligently.

1. It is our Owner’s Manual. Every product comes with an owner’s manual which tells how the product is to be used. God made man. God breathed into man and he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). God inspired (breathed into) a book, the Bible, which “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16-17).

When we violate our owner’s manual (I John 3:4), we will cause problems for ourselves (Galatians 6:7-8) and will ultimately be destroyed (Romans 6:23).

2. The Bible satisfies our hunger and provides for our spiritual health. Jesus stated, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). A person who gives attention to food for the body and neglects his soul has deprived himself of that which is most important. When a person is born again (John 3:5), he has a natural hunger for spiritual food (I Peter 2:2). The Bible promised that this natural hunger will be satisfied (Mattjew 5:6). As Irving Jensen stated, “Hunger is a sign of health.

When we neglect the Bible, it is because we are not hungry for the things of God. Not being hungry, we cannot, therefore, be healthy, spiritually” (Enjoy Your Bible, 13).

3. The Bible is needed because of our responsibility to teach. Parents are supposed to teach their children about God and His Word (Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:7). We cannot teach that which we do not know. Further, the faithful have the responsibility of teaching others “who shall be able to teach others also” (II Timothy 2:2). In addition, we are responsible for teaching the lost what they must do to be saved (Mat. 28:19-20). To teach we must study the Bible ourselves (II Timothy 2:15).

4. The Bible is the Book by which we will be judged. We know in advance the standard of our judgment (John 12:48). Our eternal destiny will be determined by whether or not we have lived by that standard (II Corinthians 5:10). We can prepare ourselves for judgment by reading the Bible and following its instructions.

The Bible is important to every child of God, “his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). The psalmist realized the importance of God’s Word. He wrote:

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. … How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way (Psalm 119:97-104).

Are you reading?

Lester Kamp

THE BIBLE WILL SAVE THE WORLD

THE Bible contains the true religion, or there is none. There is light in the Bible to save the world, or the world is lost. Our only choice is between the Bible and nothing. Judaism is abolished. Mohammedanism has no claims in internal merit or external evidence. The fruits of all Paganism show that it is evil, and only evil, continually. Infidelity has nothing for the world. While it would take Christianity from us, it has nothing to propose. It is no system—no doctrine—teaches nothing and defends nothing. Its only province is to stand and deny. It finds fault with everything, starts doubts, destroys confidence, fills the world with fears, and spreads an eternal gloom over the prospects and hopes of all nations. Reason and the light of nature have been tried longer and more effectually than any system in the world. At least four thousand years have the pagan nations been trying what they could do for our race without a revelation from God. In all the experiments yet made, with no guide but reason and the light of nature, the tendency has been downward. Deterioration has been the universal result, without the light of the Bible.

We then, cling to the Bible, and the religion it reveals, as the only hope of the world. If it fails, all must fail, and all must be lost. But it is folly of the most stupid order to speak of the Bible failing. Its Author is emphatically the friend of man. Its holy lessons are all for our good. All who have been led by it, are thankful they ever knew it. It has never deceived one or misled one. No one has ever lamented being led by it. The more solemn and affecting the circumstances around us, and the greater the trials in which we are placed, the more comforting and precious are its holy consolations to the soul. It encourages all that is good; discourages and condemns all that is evil. It is our guide and comfort through the journey of life; nor does it fail when we are sinking in death. No one who believed it before, in a dying-hour denies and repudiates the Bible. But many determined infidels have recanted and repudiated their infidelity when sinking into the eternal state. That which they talked in health, that which dwelt upon their tongues in their mad career through life, they themselves condemned, in the most awful and solemn moments of life, and with their dying lips repudiated. How shameful and preposterous, that a man should live such a life of folly and inconsistency as to be compelled in his dying moments to condemn all his past life, with all the sentiments he had cherished and inculcated, and warn all men against them!

Benjamin Franklin (1812-1878)

THE PURPOSE OF PREACHING

Jesus has given the command to go and preach the gospel. Mark 16:15-16 states, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

When Jesus used the word preach in this passage, he used a word that conveys a unique concept. Preaching is a proclamation of a message. It is a declaring of one’s position. Therefore, it is a very common form of presentation that is heard day after day by someone somewhere peddling their positions, whereas genuine Bible preaching is a very unique thing. Nothing can take the place of real Bible preaching, nor can its power really be measured.

BIBLE PREACHING REFUTES FALSE IDEAS

Over and over again Christ and the apostles challenged the false positions of their day through preaching. Jesus refuted the false teachings of the Jewish teachers of His day. Notice His rebuke of them in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). His denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 is but one example of many incidents of the Lord’s hatred for false doctrine. Though He had supreme love and compassion for the sinner, he hated every false way, for He knew that such would cause souls to be lost. Peter, in his sermon on Pentecost (Acts 2) as well as Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (Acts 17), are two illustrations of how Christ and the apostles used the medium of preaching to expose error. We must do the same.

BIBLE PREACHING EXPLAINS THE SCRIPTURES

Bible preaching comes from the Bible. It is a presentation and an explanation of the greatest book in the world, the Bible. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, filled his sermon with quotations from the Old Testament. But, notice that it was not just a Bible quoting session; rather he went on to explain the scriptures which he used. There was no doubt in the minds of his hearers as to how these scriptures should be applied (Acts 2:16, 25). Gospel preaching must be Bible based and centered (Acts 2:17-21), but it must also let the people know what the scripture means and how it applies today. A person can read the Bible at home for him self. He can memorize every verse in the Bible, but if he misses the Bible’s proper explanation and application, then he has gained nothing toward growing in faith (II Peter 3:18). Bible preaching is based on God’s Word and is a correct explanation and application of that Word.

BIBLE PREACHING CONVICTS MEN OF SIN

In Acts 2, Peter let his audience know they were sinners (Acts 2:36). There was no misunderstanding him about the matter. He exhorted them to do something about their spiritual condition (Acts 2:40). Peter stirred their consciences (Acts 2:37). Paul’s sermon to Felix caused Felix to tremble (Acts 24:25). Bible preaching is to convict men of their sins and exhort them to turn to the living God.

We need a revival today of the preaching that we hear. We need a return to first century preaching—the kind of preaching that is filled with the Bible—preaching that causes the hearer to realize his condition and urges him to do something about it. Then we will see, as the Word of God instructs, that it is indeed “quick, and powerful, and sharp er than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).

Author Unknown

Missing Scripture

The trend with many today is to concentrate less on the Holy Scriptures, and more on other things in the pulpit and in Bible classes. Serious listeners are made to wonder: “Where is the Scripture?” In visits to congregations in recent years, I have left saddened because preachers or teachers used very little Scripture in the pulpit or Bible classes. In one instance, the preacher did not read or quote even one Scripture in his Bible class. How could this be called a “Bible class” at all?

We also see this problem when preachers do not give the plan of salvation from the Scriptures when they extend the invitation. Do we assume that everyone knows what to do to be saved? Or, do we think that members no longer need to be put in remembrance of these important truths? This cannot be the case, according to Paul (I Timothy 4:6) and Peter (II Peter 1:13–15; 3:1–2). Do children and youth—and adults as well—not need to be grounded in the “first principles” in this matter? Have some lost confidence in the Gospel to convert and to convict? Paul certainly did not. He said: “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” (Romans 1:16).

Does not God command us to “Preach the word” (II Timothy 4:2a)? Sadly, book, chapter, and verse preaching is rapidly vanishing from many pulpits today. Could it be that some actually think that their words are greater than God’s Word? This sad situation can only be remedied by returning to a “thus saith the Lord.” Precious souls need to frequently hear the plan of salvation preached, because the Word of God is “able to save your souls” (James 1:21b). “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).

One who thinks so little of the Bible, and so much of himself, that he will fill his lessons with human sentiments, while leaving his audience starving for the Truth, ought to humble himself and repent. When men who have a genuine reverence for God and His Word fill our pulpits and teach our Bible classes, then church members will be encouraged to “Fear God, and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13), but not otherwise. Church leaders (and every member) ought to demand this kind of preaching/teaching. In the long ago, God commanded Jonah: “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee” (John 3:2). The preaching that God has always demanded is the preaching of His Word, and not man’s: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11).

Danny Douglas

Mistakes Made About the Messiah’s Birth

The word Christmas cannot be found one-time in God’s Word. That means it is impossible to put “Christ back into Christmas,” since He was never there! Christ was born prior to 4 B.C., since Herod died in 4 B.C. But, Herod was alive at the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:1).

Contrary to what you have heard, Jesus Christ is NOT “the reason for the season.” Catholicism and Visa and Master Card and Macy’s are the “reason for the season.” The corrupted church introduced the “mass of Christ” which was then shorted to “Christ’s Mass”, and now we have CHRISTMAS!!!

We can read prophecies and fulfillment of prophecy in regard to the Savior’s birth (Isaiah 7:17; 9:6; Micah 5:2; Hosea 11:1; Matthew 1-2; Luke 2). Many religious groups will have large crowds at this time of the year, made up of many folks who will not darken the doors of the church building until “Easter” Sunday. Some of my brethren now host “Christmas” parties to compete with their “Easter” celebrations and “dedication” of babies and elder reaffirmations!

MISTAKE # 1: December 25th is the exact date of Christ’s birth. This date was arbitrarily set by the corrupted church in the 5th century. Dates for His birth have been set in almost every month of the year. It is not at all likely that His birth was in the winter time. Jesus prophesied the coming destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24:19-20, “But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter…” Travel in the cold rainy season would be more difficult for a mother. Joseph and Mary made a 65 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled (Luke 2:1-5). This was by decree of Caesar, and was to insure all paid their tax. The powers that be, like today would want all to be counted. They would pick a time when travel would be easy, not difficult.

MISTAKE # 2: The Bible commands us to commemorate His birth! Nowhere does the Bible authorize Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We are commanded to commemorate His death, burial, and resurrection. This we do each Lord’s day (Acts 20:7; Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:20-ff; 15:14). We celebrate the “birth” of Christ from the tomb, through His glorious resurrection! The “trees” in our homes, decorated with baubles of various shapes and colors are borrowed from the fatherland: Germany! Our “feasts” with loved ones come from pagan feasts to the god of harvest (Saturn); and the god of light (Mithras). Let us keep our traditions separate from paganism and enjoy time with friends and family.

MISTAKE # 3: The Bible says there were THREE wise men who came! WHERE does the Bible tell me so? Matthew 2:1-3 begins, “Wise-men from the east came…” There were at least two magi who desired to give three types of gifts to the Messiah. There could have been 2 or 20; or 4 or 40. The Bible does not say. Haven’t you ever wondered why three strangers inquiring about a baby caused such a stir?? “And when Herod the king heard it, he was TROUBLED, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew2:3 Emphasis mine, JW). When you look on a nativity scene, a Christmas pageant, or one of your cards, take a moment and count ‘em! There are always three (3) wise-men!

MISTAKE # 4: The wise men (3 or 30) visited the baby in the stable! Again, look on church lawns with the manger scene, and there you will see the THREE wise men. The Bible does not say they came to the stable where Jesus was born! Let your fingers do the walkin’ and let the Bible do the talking’: “And they (the magi, JW) came into the HOUSE and saw the young CHILD with Mary His mother; and they (the magi – JW) fell down and worshipped…” (Matthew 2:11 – Emphasis mine, JW). The shepherds were at the manger. Tradition dictates the animals; not the Bible. The wise-men came into a “house” to see the “child,” not a babe. Their arrival was at least 40 days after His birth, could have been much more! Herod’s decree was to kill all male children up to two years of age (Matthew 2:16). 1 Thessalonians 5:21 still reads, “Prove all things…”

MISTAKE # 5: Mary rode a donkey and the 3 wise-men rode camels! Let me challenge you to find book, chapter, and verse authority for either of those traditions! The Bible nowhere teaches any such thing. Christmas cards influence more people than the Word of God. The weather conditions for the night of the Savior’s birth are likewise unknown to man today. Let us be careful to separate FACT from FICTION, whether it is in regards to the birth of Jesus Christ, or any other subject of God’s Word!!

We rejoice that Christ Jesus was born. Without His coming, we would be without a perfect sacrifice, without the conquering of death, without hope of resurrection; hence, no salvation attainable or possible. We do celebrate the coming of the Messiah, and His coming again! Let us not celebrate in a religious way, those things that God has not commanded nor authorized! “And whatsoever ye do, in word or indeed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).

Jess Whitlock