PUT WORSHIP IN THE WORSHIP SERVICE
Rhoderick D. Ice 1991
"Would you buy hair-restorer from a baldheaded barber?" Dr. Flavil Yeakley is an expert on Church Growth. A few years ago he surveyed a typical Church of Christ in my area. He found: only 53% believed they were saved; 2% actually believed they were lost; the rest really did not know whether they were saved or lost. This was among active members. How can someone who has no assurance of his/her own salvation reach out with Christ to the unsaved???
When both the tabernacle and the temple were built, the glory of the Lord filled them (Exodus 40:34-35; 1 Kings 8:10-11). Ditto the Jerusalem church at Pentecost (Acts 2). Should not we expect such to be true today when we are in harmony with the Lord??? How would this "glory" express itself?
The story is told of a minister who visited one of the more exuberant churches. He went home and arranged the Sunday service to attempt to capture this ebullience. They failed. He returned to videotape the exuberant service. This time they sang the same songs, prayed the exact words, and he preached the exact sermon. But they could not "fake" the "verve." It is impossible to share what is not "real" to the one trying to share it.
Some seem to be rediscovering the Holy Spirit.
Paul wrote: "Do not put out the Spirit's fire" (cf. 1Thessalonians 5:19).
"He [The Spirit] will be with you forever" (cf. John 14:16-17).
Joel spoke of both men and women, both young and old, being touched by The Spirit (cf. Acts 2). Christians are to be "filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
We are to "pray[ing] in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20)
We have accepted His blood - but have we accepted His Spirit?
Paul warns about "form" without "power" (2 Timothy 3:5).
The Pharisees studied the Scriptures intently as they searched for eternal life. Yet they missed the most important point - JESUS (John 5:38-40).
It would be tragic to read "letter" but miss "Spirit" (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:6-18). It is by the power of The Spirit that we worship God.
The "worship service is the correct place to begin evangelism. The "warmth" of worship helps to create the desire to share this great gift from God. In personal life, praise generates worship. Praise is thanking God, expressing our love, gratitude, appreciation. Worship involves personal communication with God, centering on His person. In worship we enter God's presence.
"Revitalize the worship by practicing the presence of God."
Jesus said HE was right there when "two or three are gathered together in My name" (Matthew 18:20). Do we think Jesus as we worship? If we could see Him with our eyes, would it make a difference in HOW we worship?
God wishes to meet with us and move among us, interacting with and transforming His People. He does not give us a Bible quiz on Sunday, so that He can bless us the following week. We focus so much on evangelism, that worship seems an optional activity. Compare Revelation ch 4. "You art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
Worship in living color!
Jesus thrilled with joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21).
Paul commanded: "Rejoice always!"
We may worship acceptably, yet be denying ourselves a blessing we should receive.
It is the difference between black-and-white and color.
The black-and-white is accurate and satisfactory.
But color adds a valuable dimension.
Preaching the word is essential.
But we need the joyful participation of the congregation!
We need Holy Joy!
First century worship certainly compared to the "pre-game rally." Their Lord - and ours - has risen from the dead. The Lord's Supper proclaims His death until He comes [again]. This is the Gospel message. Historical, factual, real. How can we not praise Him who made all this possible?
If I were the devil: I would try to steal away all the praise, honor and joy from the worship of God. I would emphasize duty and encourage form without power (2Timothy 3:5). If I were the devil I would try to see that worship was lifeless and spiritless [Spiritless], and that any who questioned this procedure were immediately "suspect" of abandoning the faith.
This from Logan Fox, former missionary to Japan and Family Counselor. Apply this to the meaning of worship. "I am now convinced that the church is failing in its mission of 'healing' because we have failed to heed Jesus' words: 'Judge not.' We have relied on the power of social disapproval in trying to change people's behavior, rather than relying on the power of acceptance and love. In this, we have shown that we trust the power of the world more than the spiritual power of love and holiness."
STRUCTURING WORSHIP.
Four types of structure may be seen in worship among the Churches in our religious world. Each of these has some truth. Each may relate in part to the worship we see in the New Testament Church. Notice that the New Testament carefully avoids giving a detailed description of a typical worship service. Rather we deduce elements and patterns of what they must have done from things which are said. The synagogue must have served as a model. Yet certainly there were some differences in "worship style" between Jews and Gentiles. Even today among us, the basic elements are the same, but are worked out in individual ways as the result of many cultural factors and other such things. We speak to God from the fullness of our heart, in the language of our own idiom.
1. The Lecture Approach.
This has become our traditional form. Bible study is the emphasis. Worship is expressed in "classroom terms." The sermon is the center and focus. Worshipers are passive except for the few who serve.
2. The Evangelism Approach.
This grows out of the "Workshop Movement." Worship is viewed in the context of "soul winning." It is, to some degree, the re-creation of the "Gospel Tent." The invitation becomes the center of focus. The entire "sermon" may be a prolonged invitation to sinners to come forward to give themselves to Christ ["obey the Gospel"]. Other matters equally weighty are sometimes overlooked. One such Evangelistic Church was said to keep only eight of every hundred baptized.
3. The Self-Help Approach.
We may see this extreme in certain TV preachers. Worship is seen as individual-centered. Each is encouraged to seek personal worth and success. Some would say that this is the "ME generation in church clothes." Yet notice how Jesus emphasized wholeness and self-help. Healing of lives is as needed as salvation from sins. Note Hebrews 6:1-3.
4. The Entertainment and Numbers Approach.
The extreme of this is seen in some TV Evangelists. Worship is structured as a TV Extravaganza. There is a stage, with performers presenting a package to the audience. This grows out of contemporary American culture, and we all understand this approach.
How To Reach The Masses!
Paul "met people where they were" (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). He could be a "Jew," a "Gentile," a "vegetarian," and any other of the myriad forms which human culture takes. Paul could "relate" to Onesimus, the runaway slave; "relate" to the very strict Pharisees; and preach to Greek Philosophers on Mars Hill. But in every case Paul's motive was to elevate Christ and His Gospel!
WHAT KIND OF GOD?
What kind of God would demand worship from His creation? As well ask: "What kind of father/mother would expect love and honor from his/her children?" It is the normal order of things. God loves us! He gave us the gift of life & being. We in turn were created to love Him and praise Him. This basic idea of praise and honor is brought out in many ways throughout the Scriptures. Psalms and Revelation stand out in giving form and language to our worship.
SHAKE THE WORLD!
When the saints of old prayed, the house was shaken (Acts 4:31). Faith is the victory - but faith certainly must find expression. Let's put worship back into the worship service. Let's praise and honor God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and The Holy Spirit. [Some may argue that everything is to be directed toward God the Father. But we worship one God, not three: Father-Son-Holy Spirit.] Let praise and joy fulfill the role which God intended for them!
Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!" (Revelation 19:5 NKJV).
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever,
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south."
(Psalm 107:1-3 NKJV)
"Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
'I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
Isaiah 45:1-3 (NKJV)
Monday, April 20, 2009
COUNTERFEITING RELIGION
COUNTERFEITING RELIGION
R.D.Ice 4-20-09
Jesus warned about the leaven of the Pharisees. "Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadduccees." Matt. 16:12 Compare Matt. 15:1-9.
What if Simon the Pharisee had been the one to meet the Eunuch on the road??? Would he have said something like this?
The Ethiopian said: "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Acts 8:36 "And Simon said, 'First, our scribes have searched the Law and found 613 laws. You must be taught these and be able to speak to each of these laws. Further, our scribes have found a hundred or more new laws from the silence of God - from what He did not say. You must learn these also. And then we have another problem. You need to be circumcised, and that is impossible since you are a eunuch. So I see no hope at all for you.'"
NOT!!! The truth is: upon the Ethiopian's confession of faith in Christ -"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" - Philip immediately baptized him into Christ! Which included the Holy Spirit as a gift (Titus 3:5-6). And the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing! When he got back home he joyfully spread the Good News Gospel that God had acted in Christ to put the world right with Himself! Old barriers and walls have been torn down. It no longer mattered that he was a Gentile, or that he had been surgically neutered. Whosoever will may come and be saved eternally!
Damnable heresies come in different forms. Jesus said of the Pharisees: "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John 5:40 They were intense Bible students. They carefully read & studied each word, researched the fine print, and read between the lines. But their minds were already made up against Jesus! They were "agents of change" while they convinced themselves they were preserving The Old Ways. Thus they rejected Jesus, and crucified Him.
Jesus speaks to the Pharisees
You have your heads in the Bible always.
You studied for degrees in the Sacred Books.
And PhDs in books about the Sacred Books.
And you're convinced this will get you into Heaven.
But you miss The Point: IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!
The Holy Scriptures are jam-packed with
huge stomping clues about ME!
But you can't find it in your heart to admit it.
Because then you would have to ask ME
for the eternal life you want so much.
Believe ME and live eternally!
[adapted from Rob Lacey]
[compare 1 John 5:9-13]
Counterfeits. "God has told us in His precious Word that we should know a tree by its fruit. Wherever we find the real, we find the counterfeit also. But praise God for the real. We find in the time of Peter, when men and women were receiving the power of the Holy Ghost, the counterfeit appeared in Ananias and Sapphira. But God’s power was mightier than all the forces of hell, so their sin found them out. Be careful, dear loved ones for your sin will surely find you out. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin." William J. Seymour, 1906
Marvin is a guy in the house church and John is one of the main two characters.
After a few moments Marvin let out a frustrated sigh. "I don’t know, John. I always thought the institution I left wasn’t working because it had the wrong principles. I thought we were getting the right ones in place so we could finally experience real church life." Murmurs of agreement buzzed around the table.
"But you don’t see it that way?"
"No, I don’t. If it helps, I think you’re finding better principles–onesthat reflect more accurately the life of the early believers. But keep in mind that following priciples didn’t produce their life together. We can observe what happened as they followed Jesus, but copying that won’t produce the same reality."
"Jesus didn’t leave us with a system; he left us with his Spirit–a guide instead of a map. Principles alone will not satisfy your hunger. That’s why systems always promise a future revival that never comes. They cannot produce community because they are designed to keep people apart."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because they keep the focus on services or rituals, principles turn most people into spectators. By holding up standards and motivating people to conform to them they only encourage people to pretend to be what they are not, or to act like they know more than they really do. Questions and doubts are discouraged and people can’t deal with the things they are hiding. Thus they only let people see the shadow they want them to see, not who they really are. Feeling isolated, they only become more focused on their own needs and what others aren’t doing to meet them. They fight over control of the institution, however large or small, so that they can make others do what they think is best. It is a story that has been repeated for a couple of thousand years."
Following a pattern or copying whether it is 2000 years ago that you copy or if it is the group whose conference you went to just doesn’t produce the same reality. I love that line about He gave His Spirit instead of a map. And I know the part about people pretending is so true. So whether you are in a big church, little church, house church, fluid church, coffeehouse church or whatever, Here’s to everyone, following the Spirit’s leading and to seeking God’s guidance on every decision.
R.D.Ice 4-20-09
Jesus warned about the leaven of the Pharisees. "Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadduccees." Matt. 16:12 Compare Matt. 15:1-9.
What if Simon the Pharisee had been the one to meet the Eunuch on the road??? Would he have said something like this?
The Ethiopian said: "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Acts 8:36 "And Simon said, 'First, our scribes have searched the Law and found 613 laws. You must be taught these and be able to speak to each of these laws. Further, our scribes have found a hundred or more new laws from the silence of God - from what He did not say. You must learn these also. And then we have another problem. You need to be circumcised, and that is impossible since you are a eunuch. So I see no hope at all for you.'"
NOT!!! The truth is: upon the Ethiopian's confession of faith in Christ -"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" - Philip immediately baptized him into Christ! Which included the Holy Spirit as a gift (Titus 3:5-6). And the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing! When he got back home he joyfully spread the Good News Gospel that God had acted in Christ to put the world right with Himself! Old barriers and walls have been torn down. It no longer mattered that he was a Gentile, or that he had been surgically neutered. Whosoever will may come and be saved eternally!
Damnable heresies come in different forms. Jesus said of the Pharisees: "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John 5:40 They were intense Bible students. They carefully read & studied each word, researched the fine print, and read between the lines. But their minds were already made up against Jesus! They were "agents of change" while they convinced themselves they were preserving The Old Ways. Thus they rejected Jesus, and crucified Him.
Jesus speaks to the Pharisees
You have your heads in the Bible always.
You studied for degrees in the Sacred Books.
And PhDs in books about the Sacred Books.
And you're convinced this will get you into Heaven.
But you miss The Point: IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!
The Holy Scriptures are jam-packed with
huge stomping clues about ME!
But you can't find it in your heart to admit it.
Because then you would have to ask ME
for the eternal life you want so much.
Believe ME and live eternally!
[adapted from Rob Lacey]
[compare 1 John 5:9-13]
Counterfeits. "God has told us in His precious Word that we should know a tree by its fruit. Wherever we find the real, we find the counterfeit also. But praise God for the real. We find in the time of Peter, when men and women were receiving the power of the Holy Ghost, the counterfeit appeared in Ananias and Sapphira. But God’s power was mightier than all the forces of hell, so their sin found them out. Be careful, dear loved ones for your sin will surely find you out. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin." William J. Seymour, 1906
Marvin is a guy in the house church and John is one of the main two characters.
After a few moments Marvin let out a frustrated sigh. "I don’t know, John. I always thought the institution I left wasn’t working because it had the wrong principles. I thought we were getting the right ones in place so we could finally experience real church life." Murmurs of agreement buzzed around the table.
"But you don’t see it that way?"
"No, I don’t. If it helps, I think you’re finding better principles–onesthat reflect more accurately the life of the early believers. But keep in mind that following priciples didn’t produce their life together. We can observe what happened as they followed Jesus, but copying that won’t produce the same reality."
"Jesus didn’t leave us with a system; he left us with his Spirit–a guide instead of a map. Principles alone will not satisfy your hunger. That’s why systems always promise a future revival that never comes. They cannot produce community because they are designed to keep people apart."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because they keep the focus on services or rituals, principles turn most people into spectators. By holding up standards and motivating people to conform to them they only encourage people to pretend to be what they are not, or to act like they know more than they really do. Questions and doubts are discouraged and people can’t deal with the things they are hiding. Thus they only let people see the shadow they want them to see, not who they really are. Feeling isolated, they only become more focused on their own needs and what others aren’t doing to meet them. They fight over control of the institution, however large or small, so that they can make others do what they think is best. It is a story that has been repeated for a couple of thousand years."
Following a pattern or copying whether it is 2000 years ago that you copy or if it is the group whose conference you went to just doesn’t produce the same reality. I love that line about He gave His Spirit instead of a map. And I know the part about people pretending is so true. So whether you are in a big church, little church, house church, fluid church, coffeehouse church or whatever, Here’s to everyone, following the Spirit’s leading and to seeking God’s guidance on every decision.
LAW OF CONTRARIETIES
LAW OF CONTRARIETIES [and Unintended Consequences]
R.D.Ice 11-25-07
Law of contrarieties: reactionary - such a person; unthinkingly opposed to change; urging a return to a previous state; very conservative. One who does not think through the consequences of reacting.
Alexander Campbell said Facts Are Stubborn Things. "Fred! I was told you were dead!" "As you can see, I am not." "But you have to be dead. The one who told me was much more trustworthy than you."
It was "Pogo Possum" who said: "We has met the enemy and they is us." The Apostle Paul said: "But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!"
Gal 5:15 (NKJV) Sometimes the most severe enemy of the church turns out to be the church itself.
One of Murphy's Laws says that whatever you do will be wrong for something and cause untended consequences. An example of this was "Old Uncle John." It was said that "he was so strict that he was only in fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that he sometimes had doubts about the Holy Ghost."
"Uncle John" (an imaginary character) is a composite of people and places I have known over 58 years of preaching among the Churches of Christ. Old Uncle John really did love the Lord. But he followed a guiding principle which distorted the way he viewed things. "If the denominations go in and out the door, we will go in and out the window." And so he reacted, bouncing from one extreme to another. He did not preview OR THINK THROUGH the consequences of the choices he was making.
"We’ve got to be DIFFERENT," he said, "or we don’t have anything to preach." "What about preaching Christ?" someone asked. "Oh," John said, "the denominations do that. We’ve got to tell people just how different we are, that we are the true church BECAUSE we are Different and Peculiar."
But Paul said: "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2. The ancient church spoke of the Fish (ichthus). <")))>< - Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. This was their faith. This is our faith!
A Brother came to hold a Gospel Meeting. The first night he preached that NO ONE AT ALL COULD BE SAVED, (except just maybe a tiny remnant). He quoted what Jesus said about "entering in at the strait gate." One of the young people asked, "what about Matt. 8:11 where Jesus said 'MANY will come from the east and the west and sit down in the kingdom of heaven?' And what about the ‘great number that no man can number’ of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, in Revelation 7?"
The next night the brother preached on "how sinful it was to have a kitchen in the church." Uncle John said, "There has been enough gospel preached here tonight to save the world!"
[But isn’t the gospel about Christ Jesus?]
Uncle John was against "premillenialism." "If premillenialism is true, why, you might as well just throw the Bible out the window!" But of course God doesn’t need our advice on what He does or does not do. But Uncle John did not stop there. He began following the AD 70 argument (Preterism). He bought a book on Revelation that taught that everything had been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. For a while he taught that Christ would never come again. This world would just go on forever. But finally he had to give that up when he saw where all this was leading. He knew that Jesus really is coming at the End of the World. And that Every Eye Shall See HIM!
Anything Uncle John didn’t want to have done now, he would say that it was "just for the first century" and write it off. But when someone tried to tell him that "baptism was just for the first century, and only for the Jews," he got really angry.
Someone tried to say that the Lord’s Supper was only for the first century. They quoted 1 Corinthians 11:20. "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper." "See," they said, "you cannot eat the Lord’s Supper today." But Uncle John would have none of that.
Someone said that the bread should never be broken before passing it. "You are breaking the body of Christ. It is only right when each person breaks off a piece." And for a while Uncle John argued that the bread should not be broken before it is passed. Then another argued that since the ‘elements’ had been blessed in the morning worship, they should not be blessed again when offered at the evening service. And for a time Uncle John offered the Lord’s Supper at the evening service without ‘blessing’ it. But a visiting brother attacked that, and Uncle John once again 'blessed' the Lord’s Supper at the evening service.
Uncle John was sure that the Holy Spirit was just for the first century, and that only the apostles had ever received the Holy Spirit. For a while he began teaching that the New Testament did not really begin until Acts 2:22, that all that Peter quoted from Joel applied only to the Old Testament times. He began teaching that since Jesus lived under the Law, you should ignore everything that Jesus said and taught. But Jesus Himself said HIS WORD would judge us at the last day, John 12:48. And Uncle John did use a red-letter Bible with all the words of Christ in red.
A visiting brother said, "You can buy all the Holy Spirit that is in the world for 10 cents. The holy spirit (sic) exists only in the written word." He was speaking of a paperback New Testament. But Uncle John said, "You’re wrong. The Holy Spirit is God. Simon the Sorcerer tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit and got into trouble. The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible. And if the Holy Spirit is the written word, how did Mary become pregnant with Jesus by the Holy Spirit?"
But when some of the young people began singing: "There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit In This Place," (page 882 in Praise For The Lord), Uncle John called the elders together and said those young people should be put out of the church to protect it. "Why, there never was a Spirit in this place, sweet or otherwise." But Paul said: "Quench not the Spirit." And: "In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Ephes. 2:22
For a while Uncle did become convinced that the Holy Spirit was the Written Word, and that anyone could only have the Spirit as he read the Bible. But someone asked, "What about those who cannot read, or who do not have a Bible? Is the Holy Spirit out of reach of such a person? And if you say we no longer have the Holy Spirit because we now have the Bible, would you also say we no longer need Christ because we now have the church?"
When one of the young people reminded Uncle John of Cornelius being baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-17), and that Philip’s four daughters had prophesied (Acts 21:9), he began teaching like the Jehovah’s Witnesses. "The holy spirit (sic) is just a power like electricity. ‘It’ is not a person at all." One preacher said "It (the Spirit) is just a messenger like Moses." Another preacher wrote a book in which he tried to prove that all the restoration pioneers were UNITARIANS like the Jehovah Witnesses. And someone put up a web site to make fun of "The Holy Spirit."
But the JWs have strange ideas about Who Jesus Is. They teach Jesus was only a man, or perhaps an angel. Uncle John read in the JW Bible Version that John was preparing the way of Jehovah (Luke 3:4 LORD = Jehovah) and compared this with Isaiah 42:8 ("I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another...") and he had to change again. Surely Jesus was Jehovah and the teaching about the Trinity was true. Father-Son-Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14). [Campbell could speak of Jehovah the Father, Jehovah the Son, Jehovah the Holy Spirit.]
Uncle John decided that the Holy Spirit "is just the Spirit of God." Someone said that was like saying "Jesus is just the Son of God." Campbell insisted that this is THE NAME [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20).
Uncle John met some Pentecostals who spoke about the Indwelling Holy Spirit and quoted Bible to prove this (John 7:37-39; 1 Cor. 6:19-20). "Impossible!" he said. "Why, the Spirit would just burn them up! The Holy Spirit could never actually indwell anyone. It’s just a figure of speech." Then he got to thinking. If the Spirit would just burn them up, how could Jesus be the Son of God in the flesh? So for a period of time, he began teaching that Jesus "just wore a disguise" and was not really God in human form. But the Bible does teach with emphasis that Jesus is the Son of God who came in flesh and blood (2 John 7; 1John 5:6), and he finally had to give this idea up. Note 1 John 4:1-4. One who denies that Jesus is the Christ who came in flesh & blood has committed a serious sin. And the Cross & Resurrection is a vital doctrine. Gal. 3:1-3; Romans 10:9-10.
A contentious young man from another congregation came to harangue Uncle John. "You've go to trouble people." he said. "Hell fire and brimstone!" Then he said, "Your baptism is no good. You didn't repent right. I know you didn't. You’ve got to be totally troubled first to repent." He kept on at this and finally convinced Uncle John to be rebaptized. "Now" he said, "you are a novice. You can't continue to be an elder anymore." So Uncle John stepped down. About three months later Uncle John began to think things over. "The Eunuch was baptized on his statement of faith in Christ. He wanted to be right with God. I was baptized on my faith in Christ. There was nothing at all wrong with my baptism." And so he went back to being an elder again.
A much older man visited from another congregation. He went to one of the other elders and tried to convince him that the qualifications were so strict that no one could possibly be an elder (except this man of course). The elder finally became so convinced of how unworthy he was that he resigned. And then he left the church altogether. When Uncle John tried to reason with him, he would not talk about it at all.
Another contentious young man said: "The King James translators were all crooks and scoundrels." "NO!" said Uncle John. "That can't be! They were surely Christians since they handled aright the word of God." One of the young people then said: "So the borders of the kingdom extend farther out than we thought. Wasn't that what Campbell said?"
Some time later an evangelist from another State came to hold a Gospel Meeting for the church. He preached on Wednesday night that "The church must grow from the inside out." He said that love was even more important than faith and hope, and he quoted Paul to prove it (1Cor. 13:13). That was just too much for Uncle John. "Why the church has gone all these years without love. That’s just these change-agents trying to get their two cents in." [The church really hadn't gone without love, of course.]
Someone reminded him of what Jesus said about the greatest commandment is to LOVE GOD, and the second greatest is to LOVE NEIGHBOR. "Jesus taught about God’s love for us in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He taught about loving neighbor in the Good Samaritan. And Jesus taught that love is the IDENTIFIER of a true disciple (John 13:34-35)."
But Uncle John remembered a friend who said almost everything in the Bible is negative! This friend could read the divorce issue into every verse of the Bible. He would ask this friend what to do about the "love" issue. "Forget this love thing," he said. "They are making it too easy. Just concentrate on DUTY. The righteous are SCARCELY saved." But of course Jesus Himself said that CHRISTIAN LOVE was the IDENTIFIER BY WHICH ALL WOULD KNOW HIS DISCIPLES (John 13:34-35). John spoke of the eternal hope we have in Jesus (1 John 3:1-3; 4:2-4,13,17-18). Peter spoke of "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:7-9).
In contrast, Campbell said he tried to approach the Bible every morning as if he had never seen it before. He meant that he tried to read the Bible without any preconceived ideas and biases. When we read a newspaper, we unconsciously use the laws of language and communication to understand what we read. Perhaps it would help to read the Bible as if it were a newspaper, or a letter from God. Paul warned of some who "strive about words to no profit" (2 Timothy 2:14; 1Timothy 6:4). David Lipscomb wrote: "They had such a morbid fondness for questionings and disputings over untaught questions and words that it amounted to a disease. These men deal with subtle, useless and unpractical questions, which have no bearing on ordinary life, and only tend to stir up strife and useless discussions, and make men discontented and rebellious."
Let us never forget what Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:18-19. "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ. and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." NKJV
F.L.Rowe wrote in his book: "The History of Reformatory Movements:" "Forgiveness takes place in the mind of God, and not in the heart of the sinner." Compare Hebrews 8:7-13. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (NKJV)
Brinsmead wrote: "It makes a lot of difference whether we think the body is a prison (of the soul) or a temple of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6:19."
The New Testament church had every problem we have today. "The Church (at Corinth), torn with divisions, plagued by sex scandals, involved with lawsuits, weakened by corruption of the worship and the neglect of the poor, was one of Paul’s greatest evangelistic successes. The corrupt urban society of Corinth was a fertile ground for Paul’s preaching. His success in the pagan and hedonistic culture had a profound impact on the development of Christianity throughout the ages. Paul was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit when faced with the daunting task of changing the Corinthians into the very body of Christ. The two letters of Paul to the Corinthians deal with issues that have been relevant throughout history and will continue to inspire the Church till the end of time. In these letters, Paul deals with tawdry sex scandals taking place within the Christian community and also gives one of the loftiest descriptions of true Christian love ever given."
And this about the Book of Revelation. "Allow God to charge the horses across the canvas of your mind and grant you the sweep of these things. John sees horses and storms and seas and armies; blood and fire and earthquakes; demons and angels and THE GLORY OF GOD! He was swept along by another vision, another revelation. BUT THE END IS NOT YET!"
"To love people, you must really see them, see the horror - but see them as God sees them. John is saying: "I saw humanity in all of its ragged horror. I saw the ocean of wounded, rebellious sons and daughters of Adam. I saw them enslaved by drugs and alcohol, riddled with Aids, aborting babies out of fear and sin, their marriages in turmoil. Nation rises against nation."
"God allows upheaval and ferment and change in this sea of humanity. Yet there is a KINGDOM that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:25-29). Keep this in mind. God is gathering a PEOPLE out of this sea of peoples, multitudes, nations, tongues. John sees THE LAMB standing on Mount Zion. Out of this same sea rises His church! The Bride of Jesus - His church - safe and secure under His Wings, outfitted with the armor of God, swords, helmets. We see them bloody but unbowed, wounded yet not defeated. In submission to God by His Holy Spirit this sea of humanity becomes the church - the Community of Jesus! VICTORY ALREADY BELONGS TO CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH!!!"
Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt 5:16 As Paul told Timothy, "Preach the word."
R.D.Ice 11-25-07
Law of contrarieties: reactionary - such a person; unthinkingly opposed to change; urging a return to a previous state; very conservative. One who does not think through the consequences of reacting.
Alexander Campbell said Facts Are Stubborn Things. "Fred! I was told you were dead!" "As you can see, I am not." "But you have to be dead. The one who told me was much more trustworthy than you."
It was "Pogo Possum" who said: "We has met the enemy and they is us." The Apostle Paul said: "But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!"
Gal 5:15 (NKJV) Sometimes the most severe enemy of the church turns out to be the church itself.
One of Murphy's Laws says that whatever you do will be wrong for something and cause untended consequences. An example of this was "Old Uncle John." It was said that "he was so strict that he was only in fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that he sometimes had doubts about the Holy Ghost."
"Uncle John" (an imaginary character) is a composite of people and places I have known over 58 years of preaching among the Churches of Christ. Old Uncle John really did love the Lord. But he followed a guiding principle which distorted the way he viewed things. "If the denominations go in and out the door, we will go in and out the window." And so he reacted, bouncing from one extreme to another. He did not preview OR THINK THROUGH the consequences of the choices he was making.
"We’ve got to be DIFFERENT," he said, "or we don’t have anything to preach." "What about preaching Christ?" someone asked. "Oh," John said, "the denominations do that. We’ve got to tell people just how different we are, that we are the true church BECAUSE we are Different and Peculiar."
But Paul said: "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2. The ancient church spoke of the Fish (ichthus). <")))>< - Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. This was their faith. This is our faith!
A Brother came to hold a Gospel Meeting. The first night he preached that NO ONE AT ALL COULD BE SAVED, (except just maybe a tiny remnant). He quoted what Jesus said about "entering in at the strait gate." One of the young people asked, "what about Matt. 8:11 where Jesus said 'MANY will come from the east and the west and sit down in the kingdom of heaven?' And what about the ‘great number that no man can number’ of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, in Revelation 7?"
The next night the brother preached on "how sinful it was to have a kitchen in the church." Uncle John said, "There has been enough gospel preached here tonight to save the world!"
[But isn’t the gospel about Christ Jesus?]
Uncle John was against "premillenialism." "If premillenialism is true, why, you might as well just throw the Bible out the window!" But of course God doesn’t need our advice on what He does or does not do. But Uncle John did not stop there. He began following the AD 70 argument (Preterism). He bought a book on Revelation that taught that everything had been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. For a while he taught that Christ would never come again. This world would just go on forever. But finally he had to give that up when he saw where all this was leading. He knew that Jesus really is coming at the End of the World. And that Every Eye Shall See HIM!
Anything Uncle John didn’t want to have done now, he would say that it was "just for the first century" and write it off. But when someone tried to tell him that "baptism was just for the first century, and only for the Jews," he got really angry.
Someone tried to say that the Lord’s Supper was only for the first century. They quoted 1 Corinthians 11:20. "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper." "See," they said, "you cannot eat the Lord’s Supper today." But Uncle John would have none of that.
Someone said that the bread should never be broken before passing it. "You are breaking the body of Christ. It is only right when each person breaks off a piece." And for a while Uncle John argued that the bread should not be broken before it is passed. Then another argued that since the ‘elements’ had been blessed in the morning worship, they should not be blessed again when offered at the evening service. And for a time Uncle John offered the Lord’s Supper at the evening service without ‘blessing’ it. But a visiting brother attacked that, and Uncle John once again 'blessed' the Lord’s Supper at the evening service.
Uncle John was sure that the Holy Spirit was just for the first century, and that only the apostles had ever received the Holy Spirit. For a while he began teaching that the New Testament did not really begin until Acts 2:22, that all that Peter quoted from Joel applied only to the Old Testament times. He began teaching that since Jesus lived under the Law, you should ignore everything that Jesus said and taught. But Jesus Himself said HIS WORD would judge us at the last day, John 12:48. And Uncle John did use a red-letter Bible with all the words of Christ in red.
A visiting brother said, "You can buy all the Holy Spirit that is in the world for 10 cents. The holy spirit (sic) exists only in the written word." He was speaking of a paperback New Testament. But Uncle John said, "You’re wrong. The Holy Spirit is God. Simon the Sorcerer tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit and got into trouble. The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible. And if the Holy Spirit is the written word, how did Mary become pregnant with Jesus by the Holy Spirit?"
But when some of the young people began singing: "There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit In This Place," (page 882 in Praise For The Lord), Uncle John called the elders together and said those young people should be put out of the church to protect it. "Why, there never was a Spirit in this place, sweet or otherwise." But Paul said: "Quench not the Spirit." And: "In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Ephes. 2:22
For a while Uncle did become convinced that the Holy Spirit was the Written Word, and that anyone could only have the Spirit as he read the Bible. But someone asked, "What about those who cannot read, or who do not have a Bible? Is the Holy Spirit out of reach of such a person? And if you say we no longer have the Holy Spirit because we now have the Bible, would you also say we no longer need Christ because we now have the church?"
When one of the young people reminded Uncle John of Cornelius being baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-17), and that Philip’s four daughters had prophesied (Acts 21:9), he began teaching like the Jehovah’s Witnesses. "The holy spirit (sic) is just a power like electricity. ‘It’ is not a person at all." One preacher said "It (the Spirit) is just a messenger like Moses." Another preacher wrote a book in which he tried to prove that all the restoration pioneers were UNITARIANS like the Jehovah Witnesses. And someone put up a web site to make fun of "The Holy Spirit."
But the JWs have strange ideas about Who Jesus Is. They teach Jesus was only a man, or perhaps an angel. Uncle John read in the JW Bible Version that John was preparing the way of Jehovah (Luke 3:4 LORD = Jehovah) and compared this with Isaiah 42:8 ("I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another...") and he had to change again. Surely Jesus was Jehovah and the teaching about the Trinity was true. Father-Son-Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14). [Campbell could speak of Jehovah the Father, Jehovah the Son, Jehovah the Holy Spirit.]
Uncle John decided that the Holy Spirit "is just the Spirit of God." Someone said that was like saying "Jesus is just the Son of God." Campbell insisted that this is THE NAME [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20).
Uncle John met some Pentecostals who spoke about the Indwelling Holy Spirit and quoted Bible to prove this (John 7:37-39; 1 Cor. 6:19-20). "Impossible!" he said. "Why, the Spirit would just burn them up! The Holy Spirit could never actually indwell anyone. It’s just a figure of speech." Then he got to thinking. If the Spirit would just burn them up, how could Jesus be the Son of God in the flesh? So for a period of time, he began teaching that Jesus "just wore a disguise" and was not really God in human form. But the Bible does teach with emphasis that Jesus is the Son of God who came in flesh and blood (2 John 7; 1John 5:6), and he finally had to give this idea up. Note 1 John 4:1-4. One who denies that Jesus is the Christ who came in flesh & blood has committed a serious sin. And the Cross & Resurrection is a vital doctrine. Gal. 3:1-3; Romans 10:9-10.
A contentious young man from another congregation came to harangue Uncle John. "You've go to trouble people." he said. "Hell fire and brimstone!" Then he said, "Your baptism is no good. You didn't repent right. I know you didn't. You’ve got to be totally troubled first to repent." He kept on at this and finally convinced Uncle John to be rebaptized. "Now" he said, "you are a novice. You can't continue to be an elder anymore." So Uncle John stepped down. About three months later Uncle John began to think things over. "The Eunuch was baptized on his statement of faith in Christ. He wanted to be right with God. I was baptized on my faith in Christ. There was nothing at all wrong with my baptism." And so he went back to being an elder again.
A much older man visited from another congregation. He went to one of the other elders and tried to convince him that the qualifications were so strict that no one could possibly be an elder (except this man of course). The elder finally became so convinced of how unworthy he was that he resigned. And then he left the church altogether. When Uncle John tried to reason with him, he would not talk about it at all.
Another contentious young man said: "The King James translators were all crooks and scoundrels." "NO!" said Uncle John. "That can't be! They were surely Christians since they handled aright the word of God." One of the young people then said: "So the borders of the kingdom extend farther out than we thought. Wasn't that what Campbell said?"
Some time later an evangelist from another State came to hold a Gospel Meeting for the church. He preached on Wednesday night that "The church must grow from the inside out." He said that love was even more important than faith and hope, and he quoted Paul to prove it (1Cor. 13:13). That was just too much for Uncle John. "Why the church has gone all these years without love. That’s just these change-agents trying to get their two cents in." [The church really hadn't gone without love, of course.]
Someone reminded him of what Jesus said about the greatest commandment is to LOVE GOD, and the second greatest is to LOVE NEIGHBOR. "Jesus taught about God’s love for us in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He taught about loving neighbor in the Good Samaritan. And Jesus taught that love is the IDENTIFIER of a true disciple (John 13:34-35)."
But Uncle John remembered a friend who said almost everything in the Bible is negative! This friend could read the divorce issue into every verse of the Bible. He would ask this friend what to do about the "love" issue. "Forget this love thing," he said. "They are making it too easy. Just concentrate on DUTY. The righteous are SCARCELY saved." But of course Jesus Himself said that CHRISTIAN LOVE was the IDENTIFIER BY WHICH ALL WOULD KNOW HIS DISCIPLES (John 13:34-35). John spoke of the eternal hope we have in Jesus (1 John 3:1-3; 4:2-4,13,17-18). Peter spoke of "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:7-9).
In contrast, Campbell said he tried to approach the Bible every morning as if he had never seen it before. He meant that he tried to read the Bible without any preconceived ideas and biases. When we read a newspaper, we unconsciously use the laws of language and communication to understand what we read. Perhaps it would help to read the Bible as if it were a newspaper, or a letter from God. Paul warned of some who "strive about words to no profit" (2 Timothy 2:14; 1Timothy 6:4). David Lipscomb wrote: "They had such a morbid fondness for questionings and disputings over untaught questions and words that it amounted to a disease. These men deal with subtle, useless and unpractical questions, which have no bearing on ordinary life, and only tend to stir up strife and useless discussions, and make men discontented and rebellious."
Let us never forget what Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:18-19. "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ. and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." NKJV
F.L.Rowe wrote in his book: "The History of Reformatory Movements:" "Forgiveness takes place in the mind of God, and not in the heart of the sinner." Compare Hebrews 8:7-13. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (NKJV)
Brinsmead wrote: "It makes a lot of difference whether we think the body is a prison (of the soul) or a temple of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6:19."
The New Testament church had every problem we have today. "The Church (at Corinth), torn with divisions, plagued by sex scandals, involved with lawsuits, weakened by corruption of the worship and the neglect of the poor, was one of Paul’s greatest evangelistic successes. The corrupt urban society of Corinth was a fertile ground for Paul’s preaching. His success in the pagan and hedonistic culture had a profound impact on the development of Christianity throughout the ages. Paul was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit when faced with the daunting task of changing the Corinthians into the very body of Christ. The two letters of Paul to the Corinthians deal with issues that have been relevant throughout history and will continue to inspire the Church till the end of time. In these letters, Paul deals with tawdry sex scandals taking place within the Christian community and also gives one of the loftiest descriptions of true Christian love ever given."
And this about the Book of Revelation. "Allow God to charge the horses across the canvas of your mind and grant you the sweep of these things. John sees horses and storms and seas and armies; blood and fire and earthquakes; demons and angels and THE GLORY OF GOD! He was swept along by another vision, another revelation. BUT THE END IS NOT YET!"
"To love people, you must really see them, see the horror - but see them as God sees them. John is saying: "I saw humanity in all of its ragged horror. I saw the ocean of wounded, rebellious sons and daughters of Adam. I saw them enslaved by drugs and alcohol, riddled with Aids, aborting babies out of fear and sin, their marriages in turmoil. Nation rises against nation."
"God allows upheaval and ferment and change in this sea of humanity. Yet there is a KINGDOM that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:25-29). Keep this in mind. God is gathering a PEOPLE out of this sea of peoples, multitudes, nations, tongues. John sees THE LAMB standing on Mount Zion. Out of this same sea rises His church! The Bride of Jesus - His church - safe and secure under His Wings, outfitted with the armor of God, swords, helmets. We see them bloody but unbowed, wounded yet not defeated. In submission to God by His Holy Spirit this sea of humanity becomes the church - the Community of Jesus! VICTORY ALREADY BELONGS TO CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH!!!"
Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt 5:16 As Paul told Timothy, "Preach the word."
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