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January, 2021
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Volume 13
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Issue #1
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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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DOES GOD SEND
DISEASE AND PAIN?
For the past few weeks I
have been in the grasp of the world pandemic of Covid-19. It has been
a most difficult time for my wife and me. However, we both seem to be
on the mend. By the time this is published I trust we will be at
least mostly recovered.
This illness has taken the
lives of so many throughout the world. But closer to home we have
seen the specter of death as it touched the lives of those we love
and for whom we care. But from where does this disease, pain, and
agony come? Some want to blame God. They argue that God has all power
and could stop all of this pain.
That, however, is against
all that we know about God. God didn't bring sin, pain, and death
into the world, Satan did. You know the story well. Satan lied to Eve
and she believed what he said. She ate the fruit and give some to
Adam. That brought disease. That brought death. God could have walked
away from man at that point, but He did not. He chose to suffer the
worst pain He could imagine. He allowed his Son to become not just a
sacrifice for that, and all other sins, but it was a horrible,
horrible death that Jesus had to die. Not only that, Jesus had to be
the perfect sacrifice. He could not commit any sin in this life to
qualify to be the sacrifice.
We know that God's people
through the ages have suffered the ravages of disease, evil men
torturing them to death, exposure, and so much more that is common to
man. We live in this relatively for only a few years. Because of what
God planned for us, and Jesus carried out we will live for eternity
with God. No pain. No suffering. Satan loses! God wins!
The
real tragedy is that so many ignore the redemption work of Jesus.
They have allowed "blind leaders of the blind" to lead them
away from our Lord's clear teaching. We know it is only the blood of
our savior that can take away sin.
Hebrews
9:11-17 "But when Christ
appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then
through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that
is, not of this creation)he entered
once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats
and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal
redemption For if the blood of
goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes
of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God,
purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant,
so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,
since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions
committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the
one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it
is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive." [ESV].
There is no question but
that it is the blood of Jesus that can take away sin. In fact, that
is the only thing that has that power. The question is, how do we
reach the blood of Christ. There are many that just say "believe
on the Lord" and you will be saved. But what about the
forgiveness of sins? Will God let people in to heaven with their
sins? Does He tell us how to get to the blood of Jesus and have our
sins forgiven? Consider what Paul wrote in Romans 6:3-6,
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like
his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like
his. We know that our
old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might
be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to
sin."
Paul is clear in
this passage. We are baptized into His death, and it was in His death
that He shed His blood. That is where we come in contact with the
blood of Christ. Now consider other passages that stress the fact
that baptism plays a role in the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is
quoted by Mark in Mark 16:16. "Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe
will be condemned." Just a note here, if a person does
not believe, he or she will not be baptized. Baptism is an act of
faith. Luke wrote in Acts 22:16,
"And now why do you
wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his
name."
The Bible is
perfectly clear. If you want to go to heaven, you will need to be
free from your sins. The Bible tells us that it is the blood of Jesus
that has the power to forgive sins, and God made it possible for us
to reach that blood through baptism. Have you been baptized for the
remission of sins? If not, why not?
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Feature Two: an article by R. C. Oliver
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R C Oliver
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A Series of Questions
Today I shall be commenting
on the following passages in your Bible: II Thessalonians 2:14,
concerning one's being called of God; Matthew 12:36-37 concerning the
use of bywords; Psalms 150, concerning the use of mechanical
instrumental music in the worship of God; Matthew 3:11-12, concerning
the baptism of fire; and Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, concerning the
expression "there is a time to kill."
Our first question concerns the
material in II Thessalonians 2:14, namely: "Many religious
bodies teach that preachers are called today by some special call or
sign. What passages would you use to refute this doctrine?" I
would use this passage in II Thessalonians 2:14 with which to clarify
the Lord's will on this matter.
Indeed, every member of the body of Christ, and ever
preacher of righteousness has been called of God. There is no one in
the church today who had not first been called of God, and there is
no one preaching the gospel of Christ today who has not first been
called of God. So, it is not a question of one's being called, the
question is: How does the Lord call one into his service? And this
passage in II Thessalonians answers this question, for here it is
written: "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the
obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice, that
this verse declares that those who are in the service of the Lord are
there because he has called them by the gospel, and I might add that
this is the only way the Lord calls one today. The gospel is
preached. In it an invitation is given to all who will come. Indeed,
it is "whosoever will may come," However, not all who are
called do come. and for this reason the Lord elsewhere declares:
"For many be called, but few be chosen". (Matthew 20:16.)
Indeed, if all who are called of God would come, then the whole world
would come, for the Father is not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance. (II Peter 30.) On the other hand,
it should be observed for the sake of clarity that God does not call
anyone in some mysterious, better-felt-than-told manner. If any man
has been called, he has been called like every other man--namely,
through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the only way that God
calls men into his service, and into his ministry, and for one to
have been called in some other manner is proof that it was not God
doing the calling.
Our second question is
answered in Matthew 12:36-37. The question is this: "Is it wrong
to use 'My Lord' as a byword?" Indeed, I believe that it is
wrong to use the Lord's name in any flippant, light, and irreverent
manner. Matthew 12:36-37 teaches us that we must give an account to
God for all vain words spoken, for by our words we shall be
justified, and by our words we shall be condemned, Christians should
also realize that many euphemisms are but mild forms of swearing and
they should cleanse their vocabularies of all such conversation.
"Heck" means "hell", darn means "damn",
"golly" means "God", "Oh my Lordie"
means "Oh my Lord." As Christians, we should show more
respect to the Lord and our profession, than to condescend to the use
of such language.
Our next Bible reference is
Psalms 150, and the question we have been asked about this passage is
as follows: "Explain music and dancing as discussed in Psalms
150." Psalms 150 reads as follows: "Praise ye the Lord. Praise
God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent
greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with
the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise
him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud
cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let everything
that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord."
Now, of all the passages in
the Bible, I know of no other that, more completely discusses the
subject of music in worship than does this one Psalm, And here the
reader is told to praise God upon all kinds of musical instruments,
including the instrument that is here called the dance, for the word
dance, in verse four, where it is said to "Praise him with the
timbrel and dance," means a musical instrument and not an action
of the body, as some who read this passage might think. Certainly
all kinds of instruments are mentioned here, and the reader is told
to use all kinds of musical instruments with which to praise the
Lord, Why, then, you perhaps are thinking, do those of us in the
churches of Christ refrain from the use of such instruments in our
worship of God?
The answer is very simple. These
words were uttered, or written by David, the sweet singer of Israel,
and he lived under an entirely different law than do Christians live
under today. The law under which he lived allowed a man to have
several wives--it allowed polygamy to be practiced among the Lord's
people, but such is not true of those who live under the law of
Christ today. Furthermore, David lived under that law that required
men to offer animal sacrifices, but it would be wrong for men to
offer animal sacrifices today. And the same thing is true with reference
to the use of mechanical instrumental music in worship, for while
this was very definitely allowed under the former economy, the use of
mechanical instrumental music is not allowed in rendering Christian
worship today, and all those who use such are doing so without the
least bit of divine authority today. Certainly mechanical Instruments
of music was not used in the church of the apostolic age, and no one
today can be apostolic in practice who uses instrumental music in
their worship of God.
In Matthew 3:11-12, we have this reading: John the
Baptist is the speaker and he says: "I indeed baptize you with
water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than
I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but
he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire,"
The question we are concerned with here is this:
"What is the baptism of fire?" That is, what is the baptism
of fire that is mentioned here in verse eleven, where it is said that
Jesus will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire - what does the
baptism of fire mean? In the light of the context it is obvious that
the meaning of the text is the fire of hell, with which the sinners
and ungodly will eventually be baptized. They will be completely
immersed within the fire of hell, from which there will be no possible
escape. That this is the true meaning of the fire, as it is used here
is seen by considering the next verse, verse twelve, for there it is
said that his fan is in his hand and the will thoroughly purge his
floor, and he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Just as
certain as the Bible teaches that there is a heaven to gain, it
teaches that there is a hell to shun, and it with reference to this
hell that John says what he does here.
Now I know that some think
that this fire is the same as that to which reference is made in Acts
2:3, where the subject of the out pouring of the Holy Ghost, or the
Holy Spirit is being discussed, and there it is written that
"there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them
utterance." However, this in Acts chapter two is not fire at all
but what they did experience was "cloven tongues which means forked
tongues, like as of fire. Notice, this is something that is like
fire--like as of fire--it is not fire, as Matthew 9:11-12 declares it
will be. Furthermore, it was tongues, and not fire, that they
experienced on Pentecost. And the tongues were forked, like fire is
forked. I am sure that you have seen, at some time, a large fire
blazing up, and as you observed it, you observed that the fire was
all a unit at the bottom, near the wood that was burning; however, as
the flame shot up/it broke up into various prongs, much like the
prongs on a fork, and for this reason it is said that there appeared
unto them cloven or forked tongues, like as of fire. That is, the
tongues or languages they were speaking were in some manner like
fire. This has caused some scholars to believe that what was
experienced on Pentecost was that the apostles of Christ actually
spoke in their own native tongue, yet all fifteen nationalities
present were able to hear the message in their own tongue wherein
they were born. This was truly a marvelous thing. And marvelous,
indeed, it was if those twelve men stood and spoke in their own
tongue and yet the message forked out into some fifteen different
directions, or languages, so that all were able to hear this
basically Galilean speech spoken by the Lord's apostle that day but
they heard it as though it was spoken in their own language or
tongue. In this case the miracle would have taken place
between the speaking and the hearing--between the mouths of the
apostles and the ears of their auditors, so that while it was spoken
in the basic Galilean language, it was dispersed in such a manner as
to be heard by the fifteen different nationalities that were present
there that day. So, certainly, the like as of fire which was
experienced on Pentecost was not the fire with which Christ is yet to
baptize some in time to come. Concerning the fire of hell, I might
also add that I am not particularly concerned about the chemical
analysis of that fire, and if, as some what to believe the fire
identified with hell is simply symbolic fire, how terrible must be
the reality.
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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"
HOME BIBLE STUDY
There are several
children in my Bible class that are part of a home Bible study. Their
parents regularly study the Bible as a family. These children know
more Bible stories than the other children, and they know more details
about the stories.
I encourage the
children to read something in their Bibles every day. We have about
90% to 100% of participation in daily Bible reading. I think that is a
pretty good record for 9- and 10-year old children.
Why does it matter?
What benefit is there in studying the Bible with your children at
home? I have already given you one reason. The children know more
stories and more facts about the stories they have studied. It is also
habit forming. Once you get in the habit of reading and studying every
day, it soon becomes a part of your day. You'll find you look forward
to spending that time together as a family. It also provides
opportunities for using daily situations to teach Bible truths.
Why don't more
parents start a daily family Bible study? I'd say time is probably the
biggest factor. Both parents work. Children are involved in various
school functions and activities. There just don't seem to be enough
hours in a day, so adding another activity seems impossible in a day
and evening already full.
A lack of commitment
is another reason many parents won't even give home Bible study a
chance. It takes some effort on the part of the whole family to
regularly meet together and study God's Word.
Some families just
don't see the importance of such an activity. Since they attend church
three times a week, they think the family is getting plenty of Bible
lessons.
Sadly, our children
are the ones that have probably missed out the most during these last
few months. Churches have had to change the way they conduct services,
putting everything online, restricting Bible classes, and leaving our
children with little especially for them. Our leaders have done what
they felt they needed to do, but where does that leave the children?
Children need spiritual nourishment, just like we adults. It is the
responsibility of parents to see that their children's souls are fed.
In this time, when things are so different, when we must make
adjustments to be safe, find a way to incorporate Bible study into your
daily routine. Study together, pray together, play some Bible games
together. Make it a special time. It's always easy to include your
children's friends in the study and the fun as well.
We are all praying
for an end to this terrible virus and all the problems that have come
with it. Starting a family Bible study could just be the one good
thing that comes out of an otherwise difficult year.
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Feature Four: Honor to Whom Honor
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This is a new area in place
of the "Communication" section I have used for years. I
taught in the area of communication during my teaching career and I
believe I have given some valuable advice. These notes may be read in
the back issues found in Abiblecomentary.com/Lightforourage.
With this issue I
want to share with you wonderful people and congregations that have
been an inspiration to me and many others. The first I want to share
is the Olowora congregation in Lagos, Nigeria. This congregation has
been such an inspiration to both Sandy and to me. Brother Daniel and
his wonderful wife, Imaobong. They have known of the illness Sandy and
I have suffered and have prayed for us continually. But let me share
the sweet note sister Imaobong sent to my wife:
"Dear Sister Sandy,
Earlier this afternoon, Daniel sent you an email. Your
loneliness, difficulties, and weakness are quite understood. We deeply
empathize with your situation. Beginning from tomorrow, Daniel and I,
together with seven brethren will be humbling our souls with fasting
on your behalf for 3 days. Hopefully, you and Bob will recover in good
time. Keep hope alive.
Your sister in Christ,
Imaobong
That note touched me
with tears. We have developed such a strong bond in Christ together. I
long to see them but know that will probably not be possible in this
life. Yet I look forward to seeing them as the song says, "When
We All Get to Heaven". The entire congregation is so wonderful,
and works so hard for the Lord. In January, 2019 their average
attendance was about 38. This past October they were having over 80 in
attendance. These wonderful brethren are also facing the problems of
the world-wide pandemic. It is very hard for them to buy food, and
many have lost their way to earn a living. God's people all over
suffer in this life, but how wonderful it will be when we enter God's
glory.
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Feature Five: Bible
Question
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James 1:2-3 "Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith
produces steadfastness." The question is,
"How can we be joyful when we face trials, temptations, and pain
and suffering?
It
can be so hard for us to keep our focus on heaven, for indeed we do
live on this earth. We don't like pain. We don't like trials. Why then
does James tell us that we should be joyful when we face these
situations. I believe the answer is really very simple. It goes back
to the statement that we live in this world and we are not in heaven.
Heaven is what we desire. When we face the difficulties James mentions
it forces us to remember God's promise of heaven. It reminds us of
what Jesus faced so we can be with God for eternity. We know we are
putting God first when we do not allow anything in this world to
interfere with our heart's desire to reach heaven. Therefore we can
count it joyful to face difficulties as Christ faced the difficulties
of this life for us.
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From writings of a child:
Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea,
where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any
ingredients. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert.
Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments.
The First Commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple. The
Fifth Commandment is to humor thy father and mother.
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What a year. We have seen so much pain, suffering, and
loss. Many wonderful people have perished due to the new evil we call
Covid-19. My wife and I have both suffered from this illness, but God
has been gracious to us and we are doing much better. I believe we
have learned the power of prayer this year. May we have a great year
in 2021.
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