ARE YOU IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD?

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doc-trine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed (II John 9-10).

Spiritual fellowship between men is only possible with those people who are in fellowship with God. People are brought into fellowship with God when they are obedient to the Gospel. What does it mean to be obedient to the Gospel? It means: 1) People must hear and understand the Gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-4); 2) Believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God; 3) Repent of one’s sins; 4) Confess that one believes that Jesus is the Son of God; 5) Be im-mersed in water by the authority of Jesus Christ into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in order to obtain the remission or forgiveness of one’s sins (John 14:6; 14:15; James 2: 17-24; Colossians 3:17; I Thessalonians 1:8; I Peter 4:17; Romans 10:14; Mark 16:15; Romans 1:16; John 8:24; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:10, 17; Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:19: Acts 2:38; 10:48; 22:16; Romans 6:3, 4; Colossians 2:12; Galatians 3:26, 27; I Peter 3:21; Hebrews; 5:8, 9; Romans 6:17:18; Acts 2:41, 42, 47; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 4:4; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23-27; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:3). Please study very closely the preceding verses.

The aforementioned is God’s great plan of salvation from sin for mankind (I John 3:4; James 4:17; Romans 3:23; 6:23). More than this God does not require of anyone in order to be saved from past sins and, thus, be brought into fellowship with Him. Less than this and one cannot be forgiven of one’s sins and, therefore, remains lost and out of fellow-ship with God, and God’s faithful children, which children are only in His family, the church (I Timothy 3:15). God’s plan of salvation is that simple, regard-less of what others erroneously teach. Thus, the truth of God pertaining to man’s salvation must be believed and adhered to before fellowship can be obtained with God. Those who have been saved from their sins by their obedience to the Gospel of Christ, and thereby brought into fellowship with God, are authorized by the New Testament to fellowship only those people who are themselves in fellowship with God through their own obedience to the Gospel, and who remain in fellowship with Him by living as the New Testament teaches Christians to live—that is what it means to be faithful in Christ's church.

In II John 9-10, the apostle makes it clear that in order to remain in fellowship with God, and all of those who are in fellowship with Him, one must continue to be obedient to the doctrine of Christ concerning those things the New Testament obligates one to do in order to be faithful to Christ in His church. There is no other way that is acceptable to God. Take it or leave it. Be saved or be lost. It is strictly up to you and no one else. Thus, with the Holy Spirit inspired James, we beg and plead with everyone, by the mercies of Jesus Christ, to “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21; also see James 1:25; 1 Peter 1:22; Luke 8:11, 15; John 12:48). Furthermore, we exhort all who are Christians to, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10; Also see I Corinthians 15:58; Matthew 25:21).

If you do not have enough interest to take the time to study the scriptures, you don’t have enough interest or time to go to heaven (II Timothy 2:15). No one will accidentally stumble into heaven. It is a pre-pared place for a prepared people (John 14:3). And, our life in the flesh on earth is the only place and time to prepare for eternity (II Peter 3:9; Hebrews 9:27; II Corinthians 5:10).

All of us are but one heart beat away from eternity. Think about the uncertainty and brevity of life in the flesh on earth, be honest with yourself (Luke 8:11,15), and respond to the gospel call accordingly. “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

David P. Brown

What Is Acceptable Worship?

Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

First, notice that according to Jesus our worship is to be directed toward God. We are to worship Him. Only Deity is worthy of worship. Men are unworthy of worship. Cornelius knew that Peter had been sent by God to tell him the Word of God through which (if obeyed) he and his household would be saved (Acts 11:14). When Cornelius first saw the apostle Peter he “fell down at his feet, and worshiped him”(Acts 10:25).  Peter was a great man, an apostle of Christ; but Peter made it clear that men were unworthy of worship. “But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man” (Acts 10:26). Twice (Revelation 19:10; 22:9) it is stated that John, the apostle, when beholding the glories of heaven fell down to worship at the feet of an angel. He was forbidden to do so. He was told, “Worship God.” When Jesus was  tempted in the wilderness, He stated, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10).

Second, observe that man is the one whose responsibility it is to worship God. In the previous verse Jesus had stated, “...for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Clearly God desires worship from man. The primary purpose of man is to glorify God. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:5).

Third, this worship must be “in spirit” for it to be accepted by God. God demands that our worship be offered from the heart sincerely. God rejects worship that is not sincere. Jesus described some who offered such worship to God. He stated, “This people draweth nigh to me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Scripture speaks of those who are acceptable to God as “them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (II Timothy 2:22). Worship is to be sincere expressions of praise and adoration of God which come from the genuine thoughts and intents of the heart.

But, sincerity is not all that is necessary to make worship acceptable to God. Fourth, acceptable worship must be “in truth.” Truth is God’s Word (John 17:17). Our worship must be according to God’s instructions. When man injects his own ideas into worship, his worship becomes worthless. “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).

There are certain acts of worship that God has approved. All other acts are thereby condemned by God for worship. Prayer is worship (Acts 2:42; James 4:8; 5:16)), singing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” is worship (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), preaching God’s Word is worship (Acts 2:42; 20:7); giving financially of our means on the first day of the week is worship (I Corinthians 16:2), and partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week is worship (Acts 20:7). It should be clearly observed that acceptable (i.e. acceptable to God) is not everything that man might want to do and call it worship. Acceptable worship follows the parameters set forth by God in His Word. God determines what acceptable worship is. He has revealed to us in His Word what acceptable worship is. Everything else is NOT acceptable worship.

Regardless of what man may call it, the playing of mechanical instruments of music is not worship because God has not authorized it. Even if man suggests that burning incense is worship, it is not worship because God has not authorized it. Man might suggest that everything that man wants to do is worship if his heart is sincere. God’s Word tells us that this is not so. Some might suggest that all that man does is worship to God, but according to God’s Word this is NOT the case. Doing righteous acts are service to God, but “good works” are not worship. Dedicating one’s life to God is right, good and proper; but Christian living is never spoken of in the New Testament as worship. If all of life is worship, then worship is possible without the person realizing that he is worshiping (The person’s heart, according to this view, at the time may not even recognize that worship is taking place. How can such worship be “in spirit”?) Such is absurd! God has authorized only five acts of worship. Those are the acts that are engaged in when worship takes place; worship only occurs when one or more of these acts are done.

Fifth, only two of those five acts are restricted in time. God has specified when we are to take the Lord’s Supper–the first day of the week. God has specified when we are to give financially to support the work of the church (local congregation)–the first day of the week. With God’s approval we can engage in these acts of worship only on the first day of the week (i.e. the first day of every week). We can worship God through singing (psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs), praying and the preaching of His Word at any time. If God has regulated these acts in some way, then we must follow those regulations when we engage in that action. For example, God has given us guidelines for prayer (i.e. addressed to the Father, in the name of Jesus, etc.). Prayer must be offered according to those instructions of God wherever and whenever we pray.

Worship is an activity on the part of man to praise God and to reverence Him and His Word. Worship is according to God’s pattern if it is acceptable to Him. Almost from the beginning of man’s presence on this earth, man has tried to ignore God’s Word, do his “own thing” and call it worship expecting God to be pleased. A study of the New Testament and a review of the cases of Cain and Nadab and Abihu ought to cause us to know that what we offer to God in worship is not always acceptable to Him just because we think what He has not authorized is okay, or better.

Lester Kamp

Not Wasted

A young woman, who was a great lover of flowers, had set out a rare vine at the base of a stone wall. It grew vigorously, but did not bloom. Day after day she cultivated it and watered it and tried in every way to coax it into bloom. One morning, as she stood disappointedly before it, her invalid neighbor, whose back lot adjoined her own, called over and said, “You can’t imagine how much I have been enjoying the blooms of that vine you planted.” The owner looked and on the other side of the wall was a mass of blooms. The vine had crept through the crevices and flowered luxuriantly on the other side.

So often we think our efforts are thrown away because we do not see their fruits. We need to learn that in God’s service, our prayers, our toils, our crosses are never in vain! Somewhere they bear fruit and hearts will receive blessings and joy.

Author Unknown

If You Had Died for the Sins of the World How Would You Feel?

  • When men took your name in vain?
  • When men damaged their bodies dabbling in sin instead of glorifying you as their savior in their bodies?
  • When men fussed and got angry among themselves in which you had established and thus brought reproach upon you?
  • When men chose to go somewhere else on the day which you had set aside for men to worship you?
  • When men refused to obey what you said they had to do to gain the benefit of your death?
  • When men did not appreciate your sacrifice enough to stay for the supper you had left as a memorial of it?
  • When men did not respect you enough to wear your name?
  • When men did not care whether their conduct caused anyone else to stumble?

Did you ever stop to think? The Son of God probably would think the same as you would about such thoughtless people.

Author Unknown

On Handling Evidence

If six people received the same (uninspired) letter from a friend, the basic elements involved in interpreting the letter would be: (1) the letter itself, and (2) the handling of the content of the letter. Similarly, before anyone can be a good student of the Bible (i.e., accurately interpret the message God has for man), he must understand that the basic elements involved in Biblical interpretation are: (1) the total evidence, and (2) the handling of that evidence.

Though God through Scripture was only giving one message (Acts 17:11) to everyone (just as the “friend” in his letter to the six meant to do), failure on either of these two basic elements may (and very likely will) result in conflicting Bible interpretations by different people. Since most of us use texts of the Bible that are alike, this practically eliminates the problem of our receiving a “different letter”as being the primary cause of contradictory interpretations and divisive doctrines. So what is left to claim responsibility for such? The “handling” of the content as it involves logic or illogic.

The Evidence Itself

The phrase, the evidence, is synonymous with the expression, the total context, and refers to the adding together of three things: (1) the specific statement of the Bible under consideration, (2) the immediate context of that statement, and (3 the remote context of that statement. It is important to understand the meaning of these expressions.

Handling the Evidence

The mere reading (or even memorization) of the Bible text is not sufficient to guarantee that one will understand what the Bible actually teaches. One must surely know what the Bible says, that is, he must know the actual (explicit) statements making up Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Additionally, one must learn how the various statements, paragraphs, chapters, and books relate to one another.

Rational or Irrational?

Basically, there are only two alternatives as to how one will react to evidence: (1) he can choose to be rational, or (2) he can choose to be irrational. Since the religious world has available for its use exactly the same totality of Bible statements or evidence, it should be perfectly clear to us all that it is not enough merely to know what the evidence consists of. One must also properly interpret that evidence. One can learn what the Bible means only by correctly reasoning about what the Bible says. In short, one must correctly apply the principles and rules of logic to the totality of statements making up the entire Bible.

Terry M. Hightower