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April,
2019
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Volume
11
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Issue
#2
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"Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
Psalm
119:105
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Robert T. Oliver
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WHEN THE BLIND LEAD THE BLIND!
On February 17thof this year I was reading an
article in our local paper concerning a denominations' plan to vote
as to accept or ban its members from same-sex marriage. While their
vote turned out to seemingly accept the Biblical aspect of marriage,
I was fascinated by a quotation from one of their local ministers.
He indicated that he hoped the resolution permitting
same-sex marriage would pass. He is quoted as saying "However,
to be consistent, the church would need to apply the same reasoning
to such issues as divorce or the role of women in the church. While
Jesus never makes a statement forbidding same-sex relations he does
say 'anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of
un-chastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a
divorced woman commit adultery.'" Then the minister, Charles
Neal, continues, "If we honored this position today, it would
adversely affect a significant percentage of [the members of his
denomination]."
Just who do people think they are? They really believe
that if you don't like what Jesus said you can change it, and it will
be acceptable with God? Jesus made it clear when he said in
Matthew 15:11-14 "Not that which goeth
into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the
mouth, this defileth a man.Then
came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the
Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted,
shall be rooted up.Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch."
People in this country need to realize that the Bible
teaches that we are in a kingdom where Christ is the king, and He
reigns supreme, and his rules, or laws, are mandatory. No man can change
them. Jesus said in John 18:36-37 "Jesus answered, My
kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews:
but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king
then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I
am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the
world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one
that is of the truth heareth my voice."And the
apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:19 "Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."We
are subject first to Christ and His laws, and then to those of the
country where we reside. Anytime a government makes a law that
violates one of God's laws, then God's law must always supersede for
those in the kingdom of God.
The
article further states, "His letter matters, not only to
Methodists, but to all religions, as we continue to honor the heart
of God, which is best defined in one word: love." My question is
how does God expect us to love Him? He actually tells us. Consider
the following passages:
1
John 5:3For this is the love of God, that
we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1
John 2:4He that saith, I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
2
John 1:6And this is love, that we walk
after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have
heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Are these passages not in their Bible? Do they really
not know that the way we love God is by obeying what He says? It is
eye opening to see the words in this preacher's quote: ...'anyone who
divorces his wife, except on the ground of un-chastity, causes her to
commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commit
adultery...If we honored this position today, it would adversely
affect a significant percentage of [the members of his
denomination]."
In
essence, he first admits that his denomination knows what Jesus says,
but chooses to ignore it. He writes: "The church changed its
position on divorce and the role of women not just because the
culture changed, but because the church realized that such changes
were an expression of God's love."
How
is disobeying Christ showing an expression of God's love? That is an
assertion the must be proven, but in no way can it be established.
I
agree with him that it makes no sense to ignore a portion of what
Jesus teaches, but demands that another portion must be followed. All
this shows, however, is that this denomination does not love God, and
that by their own admission.
In
closing, people of this persuasion need to read Revelation 22:14
which tells who will be allowed into heaven: "Blessed are they
that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of
life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
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Feature
Two: an article by R. C. Oliver
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R C
Oliver
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WHAT ONE DOES NOT NEED TO BE A
SERVANT OF CHRIST
First,
you do not need to be eloquent in order to perform a great service in
the Lord's cause. You might think that if you could speak in such a
manner as to hold audiences spellbound by your powers of speech that
you could render a great service for God. However, two of the Lord's
servants were men who could not speak well. Moses was a man who was
"slow of speech and of a slow tongue". Some spoke of the
great apostle Paul as being one whose speech was "contemptible".
(1 Corinthians 10:10). For that matter, Paul did not try to be
eloquent, for he said when writing his first letter to the
Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, "And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God.For I
determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified.And I was with you in
weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power:" So judging from the greatness of these two illustrious
men of God, you do not need to be eloquent in order to render a great
service as a teacher in the vineyard of the Lord.
I
have known of others who would like to do more than they are doing in
the church, but for lack of education they hesitate to take a leading
part. I am persuaded that while an education is desirable it is not
in any sense indispensable in rendering a great service for the Lord.
Neither do I mean by this to place a premium upon ignorance, but I
should like to point out that there are very many well-informed men
and women in the world who have had a very limited formal education.
Just because you do not have a formal education does not mean that
you cannot serve efficiently in the Lord's kingdom. I know of one
dear old saint who has now passed on to his reward who had a very
limited formal education, however, through his influence it is known
that he was instrumental in bringing at least thirty thousand-that is
right, thirty thousand souls to Christ. Furthermore, some of the
greatest leaders among men are men who have had very little formal
education. Do not think that just because you have a limited formal
education that you cannot do a worthy work for the Lord. I do believe
that men must qualify themselves. There are more ways than one in
which this may be done. Use the talent that you have, and the Lord
will bless you for it.
I
have heard people make statements something like this: "If I had
a million dollars I would do so and so for the Lord". But
suppose you do not have a million dollars? Suppose you are not a rich
man. Must one be rich in order to be of value to the Lord's cause?
Certainly not! It is not so much a question of how much you have as
to what you do with what you have. The poor widow of whom Jesus spoke
was certainly not rich, but the Lord recognized her contribution as
having been greater than any other contribution that was made that
day. Why? Simply because she took all she had and gave it to the
Lord.
Riches
are often perilous to spirituality and in many instances instead of
being a help they are a hinderance to those who are trying to live a
Christian life. When Jesus was here, he did not appeal to the rich
nearly so much as he appealed to the common man and to the poor. You
do not need to be rich in order to be of great value to the Lord.
I
have also heard people say: "I do not have proper clothes to
wear, otherwise I would attend religious services regularly."
Fine clothes are certainly not an essential requirement in one's
again a Christian, The Lord looks upon the heart. This is not to say
that one need not give any attention to his dress, for the Bible
teaches that a man should dress modestly. While we should wear the
best we have to worship God, we certainly do not need find clothes in
order to be of service to the Lord. Those who are beautiful within
need not worry about outside appearances.
Some
use their health and say, "If I felt better, then I could live
the Christian life as one should, but I am so poorly that I simply do
not feel like being involved in the work of the church." Is good
physical health essential to one's being a Christian? Certainly not,
for we have several men in the Bible who are held up as great men in
the family of God, but who were very weak physically. One such person
was the beloved Gaius to whom the apostle John addresses the book of
3rdJohn. In verse two he wrote, "Beloved,
I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health,
even as thy soul prospereth."So,
while goo health is desirable, it certainly is not essential to one's
being of great value in the Lord' cause.
The
length of time a person has been a Christian is another excuse some
have used. They might say, "After I have been in the church for
a few more years, and get more experience as a church member, then I
will begin doing the things that I would like to do for the Lord. Did
not the apostle Paul "straightway" preach Christ after he
had been baptized? Must we wait to preach Christ? Can we not explain
to those to whom we are closest as to why we were baptized into
Christ? Why then should we wait? You as a Christian can begin right
now, right where you are, and teach Christ to others. As someone has
suggested, "You need not sing like angels, you need not preach
like Paul, but you can tell the gospel story, you can tell he died
for all."
There
are others I am sure waiting for a convenient time and an appropriate
opportunity. I doubt that it was a very convenient thing for Paul and
Silas to pray and sing praises while they were in jail, but they did
it just the same. I fear that we hear entirely too much about
convenience when it comes to serving the Lord, We should not wait
until it is convenient, but we should make time for the Lord. Jesus
said: "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these
things shall be added unto you."So do not think
to wait until you have everything exactly as you would like to have
them before you begin to service the Lord, and to place him first in
your life. Put him first in your life right now, and all these other
things that seem to you so important now will be taken care of in due
time. Do not wait until some future date to do what the Lord requires
you to do now. You may think that you have some justifiable reason
for doing other than putting the Lord first in your life, I am
confident that you are wrong in such reasoning. The Lord can use you
just as you are, You may have some physical handicap or you may not
have many other qualifications that you see others having, but this
does not mean that the Lord cannot use you as you are.
Eloquence,
education, riches, fine clothes, a perfectly healthy body, years of
experience and instruction, and having all things convenient may be
desirable, but these things certainly are not essential to you being
of great value to the Lord's work. We need to work while it is day,
for the night cometh when no man can work.
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Feature Three: Sandy's Women's
Corner
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Sandra Oliver
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Editor's Note: You
can read weekly articles from Sandy at the following Web site:
abiblecommentary.com "Blog for Christian Women"
Since I was old enough to
remember, I have carried a Bible to worship. It is automatic. I never
stop to think about it. It's as natural as picking up my purse.
Sadly, the
children in my Bible class aren't so good about bringing their
Bibles. I give points to them if they bring a Bible. I remind them
often that they need it, and we read from the Bible in every class.
Unfortunately, some still don't bring one.
When I ask the
children, "Where is your Bible", these are the answers I
get.
- "I
left it at home."
- "I
left it in the car."
- "I
can't find it".
- "I
left it at my grandmother's."
- "It's
somewhere in my room, but I'm not sure where."
Sometimes
I just get a shrug of the shoulders. They basically didn't care
enough to look for it or bring it. It makes me sad!
The
same is true with reading the Bible everyday. Our elders have asked
us to be daily Bible readers, and about 3/4 of my class does read
everyday. (I wish they could find that Bible on Sunday morning and
Wednesday evening).
Last
Sunday all but one of the children had read everyday, and only one
failed to bring her Bible. I was genuinely pleased, but what about
that one?
Most
parents would not send their child off to school without being
properly prepared with books, pencils, paper, lunch money or sack
lunch, homework, etc. That's a lot of "stuff". Yet those
same parents will take their child to worship without the most
important tool for study, the Bible.
I
have a special attachment to my Bible. It has lots of notes, to which
I often refer. It is also beginning to show some wear. It is my most
treasured possession, and I'll tell you why.
Many
years ago, we had a house fire. We lost everything, including my
Bible.
A
few weeks after the fire, our minister preached a sermon on King
Josiah. He talked about how they found the Book of the Law when the
king ordered the restoration of the temple. It had been lost among
the rubble.
He
talked about how Shaphan, the scribe, bought the book to King Josiah,
and that he tore his clothes and wept when he saw it. He called together
the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, all the men of Judah, and all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priest, the prophets, and all the
people and read the Book of Law that had been found.
I
wept during that sermon because I had lost a treasure, my Bible. I
had not yet replaced it, but I went the next day and bought a new
one.
In
this digital age, we often use our computers and other devices to
access passages of scripture. But let's not forget that our children
still need to see us carrying our "swords" when we go to
worship.
Where
is your Bible? Find it. Respect it by using it regularly. Like the
children's song says, "Read, study, and then obey the
B-I-B-L-E".
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Feature Four: Our Communication
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Make
your speaking and reading conversational. The speech phrase is made
up of the words which the speaker groups together as he speaks or
reads. The length of the speech phrase is often dictated by the
punctuation when reading, or the sentence formulated when speaking.
It should never be choppy, as though you are putting pauses where
they do not belong. Your speaking and reading should flow as though
you were speaking to a friend in normal conversation.
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Feature Five:
Bible Question
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DID ADAM AND
EVE EAT AN APPLE?
Yes,
it is true that Adam and Eve ate an apple, in a sense anyway. I have
always wondered why everyone spoke of Adam and Eve eating an apple,
when the Bible doesn't say what kind of fruit they ate. From where
did that concept come? My wife and I were traveling back from
visiting our children one day and that question came up, so we
googled it. This is what we found.
Old English æppel "apple;
any kind of fruit; fruit in general,"
https://www.etymonline.com/word/apple
Our
word "apple" was actually a generic term for
"fruit" at one time. It seems that long-ago artists picked
up on the use of the word "apple" and drew pictures of Adam
and Eve eating what we think of as an apple. It has been said that a
picture is worth a thousand words, so it stuck and people believed
our modern apple is what they ate.
In
actuality Adam and Eve ate a type of fruit that God forbade them to
eat. In that the word apple was a generic word for fruit, only in
that sense did they eat an apple. In that today we do not use the
ancient meaning for the word "apple" to mean fruit in
general, it is incorrect to teach that they ate the fruit we now call
the apple.
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"I had been teaching my
three-year-old daughter the Lord's Prayer. For several evenings
at bedtime, she would repeat after me the lines from the prayer.
Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she
carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer:
'Lead us not into temptation,' she prayed, 'but deliver us some
E-mail. Amen.'"
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I recently
published a book entitled, Basic Bible Knowledge About the
Holy Spirit. Many people are afraid to study
about the Holy Spirit due to the many seeming controversies
surrounding Him. Some questions this book will answer are:
- Why are people afraid
to study the Holy Spirit?
- How is God
"one" when there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit?
- What "gift"
do we receive from the Holy Spirit when we are baptized?
- Why did Cornelius
receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit before he was baptized?
- How were the spiritual
gifts given to men? Are they available today?
- What is the difference
between a "miracle" and a "wonder"? Are
there miracles today.
- What is the sin
against the Holy Spirit?
This book is designed to teach basic information
that every Christian should know. The cost of the book is $9.99 and
may be purchased from:
Christian
Family Bookstore
Remember: Past issues of "Light for our
Age" can be found on the following Web page:
Abiblecomentary.com/Lightforourage
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