God Speaks Only Through His Word

I believe the Scriptures are inspired and wholly true,

In them God has said, what he wants us to do.

And He has no double standards, makes no difference who,

God speaks only through His Word.

There are those who say the Lord speaks in a quiet voice,

And this inner peace, inspires them to rejoice.

Jesus said the written Word is that we may believe,

I have made His Word my choice.

Others say the conscience is a safe and trusted guide,

But it’s uninspired, don’t trust what it decides.

It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Jeremiah ten, twenty three

The Lord is speaking unto men today,

But through His written Word this is the way.

The Holy Spirit said what He must say,

So God speaks only through His Word today.

O.D. Wilson

Seven Wonders Of the Word

Most have heard of the “seven wonders of the ancient world." However, many have never heard of the following seven wonders of the Word of God. The Psalmist prayed: “Oren thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). Again, the Psalmist declares: “Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my soul keep them” (Psalm119:129).

1. The wonder of its INSPIRATION! Not just part of it – not just the thoughts of it – but “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Timothy 3:16). To the very jot (the very smallest letter) and tittle (the smallest projection that distinguishes one letter from another), is inspired (Matthew 5:18).
2. The wonder of its FORMATION! It didn’t all come at once but over a period of about 1600 years. “….precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).
3. The wonder of its UNIFICATION! It is a library of 66 books, yet it is ONE BOOK. Written by some 40 different writers over about 1600 years, yet ONE MESSAGE (Revelation 19:10).
4. The wonder of its REVELATION! The Bible is the complete, final revelation of “the things of God” (I Corinthians 2:10-12) which came not by “the will of man” but as holy men of God were “moved by the holy ghost” (II Peter 1:20-21).
5. The wonder of its INFORMATION! It is the greatest literature in the world, but it is more than that – it contains “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (II Peter 1:3). No additional information is needed for enables us to “thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:17).
6. The wonder of its PROPAGATION! Read by all nations, classes, and races. It is the world’s best seller.
7. The wonder of its PRESERVATION! The most hated of all books, yet it continues. “The word of the Lord endureth forever” (I Peter 1:25).

“….my heart stands in awe at thy word” (Psalm 119:161).

-via Belvedere Beacon (Belvedere, SC)

3,000 BAPTIZED!! WHY WAS IT NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN?

“...the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:42)

We all know the church has entered the age of promotionalism – the age of drum-beating. We constantly hear of THE BEST, THE MOST, THE BIGGEST, THE GREATEST: any triumph in one congregation gets the publicity experts at work to try and top that in some other congregation. The trumpets sound when some activity is successful.

We’ve said that to call attention to the fact that this very atmosphere is foreign to the New Testament. In the text cited above, we find that about 3,000 were baptized on the day of Pentecost. The interesting thing about this is: it never was mentioned again in God’s Word! Never once! We wonder why! We have the rest of Acts, twenty one other letters, and we have seven different congregations addressed in the book of Revelation, and never once did any of the inspired writers ask, “Why can’t 3,000 more be baptized like they had on Pentecost?” It wasn’t that many years and many congregations were yet covered in the New Testament, for the events of Acts 2 take place in the very FIRST congregation. It wasn’t that no apostle knew of the events of that day, for twelve apostles were there at the time. It wasn’t that the apostles didn’t want the church to grow. It wasn’t that they weren’t interested in baptisms, for the Great Commission put them into that business (Mark 16:15-16).

Again we wonder: why wasn’t the success in Acts 2 mentioned in each and every epistle? Why didn’t the inspired writers take advantage of this whooping it up before all other congregations? Now, notice that this fits in with the low-profile given to programs and successes in the entire New Testament. While every letter deals with the importance of study, growth, increasing in godly attributes, and the need for improvement in every spiritual area, very little in the way of publicity is given to actual circumstances of sums and numbers, and certainly not in any way to “beat the drums” before the brotherhood. We do not believe the early church wanted second-rate performance, but we note they also didn’t whoop and yell about BIGGEST, GREATEST, LARGEST, TREMENDOUS...they didn’t even mention that they had 3,000 to be baptized on Pentecost! We can learn something from this in the age of the promotional, sensational, and publicity!

Bill Jackson

1929-1991

What Then Is the Law?

Judaizing zealots had come among the Galatian churches preaching that the Gentile saints must submit to certain requirements of Moses’ law to be saved. Some of the brethren had been “quickly removed” by this error (Galatians 1:6–9), and Paul wrote his letter to them in an effort to call them back to the Truth.In the context of convincing the Galatian Christians of the inferiority of Moses’ law when compared with the Gospel, he anticipated their asking, “What then is the law?” (Galatians 3:19). He basically answered that it was God’s preparatory measure for bringing Christ into the world (Galatians 3:20). Much confusion still reigns on the relationship between not only the law of Moses and the Gospel, but between all of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The resulting confusion remains the cause of a multitude of errors in doctrine and practice.

Some see the New Testament as a mere continuation of the Old, with men responsible to both. However, while they are closely related and contain some of the same principles and prohibitions, they also contain various contradictory statutes (e.g., days and acts of worship, circumcision, offerings, tithing, priesthood, et al.). They are two separate and distinct bodies of law.

The Old Testament foretells the coming of a new covenant (Testament) (Jeremiah 31:31–34), which the Bible identifies as the “better covenant,” mediated by Christ (Hebrews 8:6–13). In several direct statements the Bible declares that the authority of the Old Testament has been replaced by that of the New (e.g., Galatians 3:23–25; 5:1–6; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 1:1–2; 10:9; et al.). Inspired writers also used various illustrations to make the same point (Romans 7:1–4; Galatians 4:22–31; Hebrews 7:12; 9:15–17). The cross is the epochal event that closed the Old and opened the New Testament age.

Some questions immediately arise:• 

“Are we no longer under the Ten Commandments?” No, we are not. However, all of them except the sabbath law are continued in the New Testament. We are obliged to obey them, not because they are in the Old Testament, but in the New.• 

“Is the Old Testament not inspired?” Yes. The passing of its authority does not imply anything concerning its inspiration or accuracy. It is God’s inspired Word, revealed by God to its various writers, just as the New Testament is.• 

“Does the Old Testament have any practical value today?” Yes. Paul said that its contents are for our “learning,” “admonition,” and example (Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:6–11).

Consider the following:•

Its prophecies and types foretell the Christ, His new covenant, and the establishment of His church, allowing us to see God’s careful, patient, persistent work in history to redeem His estranged creation.• 

It is an important historical source book, revealing the origin of all things, the creation of man and his fall into sin, and the nature of God (love, mercy, longsuffering, and justice).• 

It is the necessary frame of reference for understanding the New Testament. Much of the New Testament would be a profound mystery did we not have the Old Testament.

The Old Testament’s basic purpose was to reveal man’s sinfulness and need of a Redeemer and to point to that Redeemer in advance of His coming (Romans 7:7; Galatians 3:19, 24). All of these facts emphasize the importance of our earnest study of the Old Testament.

Dub McClish

The All Powerful Gospel

God’s word was given to man by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 3:16). First Corinthians 2:10-13 tells us how. Paul says that the inspired word furnishes man completely unto every good work (II Timothy 3:17), while Peter informs us that God’s divine power hath granted unto us all things which pertain unto life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). This inspired word is all powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and when obeyed, will save man from his sins (Romans 1:16; James 1:21; I Peter 1:22-23). To obtain salvation, man must be obedient to the word (Hebrews 5:8-9). When sinful man rejects the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), there is nothing else to offer. 

On one occasion a rich (Mark 10:22), young (Matthew 19:20), ruler (Luke 18:18) came to Jesus asking him the greatest question man can ask, “Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17)? Because the young man lived under the law of Moses the Master referred him to the teaching of Moses (Mark 10:19). The ruler replied, “Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth” (Mark 10:20). Jesus did not challenge or deny the statement, but loving him (Mark 10:21) told him, “One thing thou lackest: go sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). Upon receiving the answer to his question (Mark 10:17) the rich young ruler’s “countenance fell...and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions” (Mark 10:22).  

The great lesson from this incident (in the life of our Lord) is that when the question had been asked, the answer given and rejected, Jesus stood and watched the young man walk away lost. Jesus did not call him back and change his instructions so the terms would be acceptable. After the terms of divine inspiration had been given, the choice was the ruler’s: obey and be saved, reject and be lost.  

The word given by inspiration cannot be changed by man or for man (I Corinthians 4:6; II John 9; Revelation 22:18-19). Whether it concerns the way of salvation, discipline, marriage, divorce and remarriage, instrumental music in worship, purity of life, etc. God’s word will be THE standard of judgment (John 12:48-49).  

When men reject the word of God there is nothing else to offer. To change God’s word or make man’s word authority in religion is to lead man into perdition (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 15:7-9).  

It is the word of God only, and only the word of God that can lead man unto salvation.

Thomas F. Eaves, Sr.