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July, 2020
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Volume 12
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Issue #3
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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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WHO HAS LOST THEIR FIRST LOVE?
Like
many of you, I have often read Jesus' remarks to the church of
Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-5
"Unto the angel of the church of
Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in
his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy
labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are
evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are
not, and hast found them liars: And hast
borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and
hast not fainted.Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent,
and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou
repent."
As I read this passage I note that much is said about
this congregation that is just outstanding. They were known for their
works and labor. Their patience was noted as well as their stand
against evil. They evidently knew God's word, for they were able to
identify false teachers. Their labor was again mentioned along with
the fact that they had not quit, or given up, for they had not
fainted.
What
then is meant by "thou has left they first love"?
It was obviously extremely important to our Lord, for He told them if
they did not repent, and do the first works he would "remove
thy candlestick out of his place". We know from chapter
1 verse 20 that "the seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches". In essence, Jesus told them if they
didn't fix this problem they would cease to be considered His church.
Remember, only in His church is there salvation. In that Jesus is the
head of the church and salvation comes only from obedience to Him,
then if the church at Ephesus didn't correct this problem, they would
be lost eternally. This was true even with all the good they were
doing. Note these two passages:
Ephesians 1:22 "And
hath put all things under
his feet, and gave him to be the head
over all things to
the church."
Hebrews 5:9 "And
being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto
all them that obey him;"
What then did Jesus mean when he told them they had lost
their first love?
I
recently was reading a little book that had an interesting take on
churches today. Let me share it with you.
"Here's how it usually goes with churches. A church
begins with a desire to reach its community. The effort of the
congregation is disproportionally outward. There is an urgency to get
the message of the gospel and the new church to those in the area.
Over time, the efforts of the church typically begin to
move inwardly. Most of the ministry is for the members. Most of the
activities are for the members. Most of the financial resources are
for the members. Most of the leadership's time is for the
members.
Within five years, the church has moved 90 percent
inwardly by almost any metric. The church, just a few years earlier,
proclaimed the Great Commission. Now it's focused on the great
comfort.
Many churches, move from a dynamic Great Commission body
to a religious country club. The members pay their "dues,"
and you better make certain they are happy and well served.
Give them the programs they want, give them the music
style they want. Give them the color of the carpet they want. Give
them the sermon length they want. Give the, the best parking spots,
and don't dare sit in "their" pews or chairs.
The local congregation moved from being all about Him to
being all about them. Me. Myself. And I.
That's the natural state of most churches in America
today. They have become inwardly focused and
self-serving." (Who Moved my
Pulpit? Thom S. Rainer. Page 90.)
That
certainly would be "losing our first love" would it not?
Are we guilty of what Mr. Rainer is saying? As we look at the local
church where we attend how does it stack up? Is the thrust inward or
outward? Do we still have the love of which Jesus was speaking? We
had better be sure, for Jesus made it plain that if we have lost our
first love we will not be considered a part of His church, His body.
If not a part of the church we will be lost forever.
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Feature Two: an article by R. C. Oliver
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R C Oliver
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Marks of the New Testament Church
Our greatest aim is to set before you in all clarity the
New Testament church, as she is identified in the New Testament. We
believe knowledge of the New Testament church and her doctrine to be
imperative to your salvation. Believing this to be true, we believe
it expedient that we discuss with you, if not all, at least a part,
of the following subjects:
What does the term 'church' mean?
What is the New Testament church?
What are some of the New Testament terms applied to the
Church?
What organization does the New Testament church have?
How can one become a member of the New Testament church?
To what manner of worship does the New Testament church
subscribe?
Our greatest reason for teaching the one church
philosophy is the fact that that is the way it is taught in your
Bible. Our second reason for teaching this philosophy is that we
desire to see the day when all who profess Christianity shall be ONE.
The Bible teaches that it is possible for all who
profess Christianity to be one, but this glorious event cannot become
a reality until we are willing to accept the one church mentioned in
your Bible. When this great task shall have been accomplished, then
shall be brought to pass the answer to the Savior's prayer when He
prayed, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which
shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one;
as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one
in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John
17:20-21).
We
are thoroughly convinced that when men shall begin to preach the
Bible just as it is, unity among believing people will be the
immediate result. By way of illustrating what I have in mind, let me
remind you that your Bible and your Bible read exactly alike. It is
therefore obvious that when you read your Bible and I read mine, we
are both reading the same thing. Now if you believe what you read,
and I believe what I read, it is evident that we must also believe
the same thing. It would be as unphilosophical as it could be
unscriptural for us to argue otherwise. It would be impossible for
you to read your Bible, and me to read mine, and for you to believe
our Bible, and for me to believe mine and disagree religiously, is
equivalent to charging God with conflicting testimony!
Faith
in the word of God will produce only one thing today, and that is a
Christian ONLY, and ONLY a Christian - a member of the church of
Christ. This is the only church you read about in your Bible! We are
a religious people who plead for the unity of God's people, and we
plead for this unity upon the Bible and the Bible alone.
One
other reason why the church of Christ pleads for unity, is the fact
that we believe much of the infidelity in our land, and in the world,
is a direct result of our religious differences and divisions. If
this be true, the cause of much of our infidelity can be laid at the
feet of the religious people, people who profess to be Christians.
By way of illustration, I will remind you of a statement
made by an infidel when asked why he did not believe. His reply was,
"It is your divisions and a want of practice for what little
good you do preach." It would also be well for us to keep in
mind the statement made by the late Mr. Darrow, when in debate with a
Protestant, Catholic, and Jew. One of these men, in his argument,
made the statement that when you meet one infidel you meet them all,
for they are all as much alike as two black-eyed peas. In reply Mr.
Darrow arose and said, "Yes, and when you fellows get right you
too will be as much alike as two black-eyed peas." Friends, Mr.
Darrow was right! For the argument he made is in harmony with the
tenor of the whole Bible. God did not intend that his people be
divided into hundreds of religious bodies, for it is plainly written,
"There is one body. (Ephesians 4:4). And again in Colossians
1:18 the text says, "And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things
he might have the preeminence."
The scripture declares plainly that there is only one
head, and that head is Christ, and that there is only one body, and
that body is the church. Hence we can plainly see that the same Bible
that says there is only one Christ says also that there is only one
church. It would therefore be just as rational for me to
advocate "join the Christ of your choice" as it would be
for someone else to advocate "join the church of your
choice." The same Bible that tells of the one, tells of the
other also, and definitely states that there is only one of each!
There is only one Christ, and there is only one church; over which
Christ reigns as head supreme. Therefore, Mr. Darrow was right!
"When the religious world gets right, believers then will be as
much alike as two black-eyed peas."
In
no sense am I in sympathy with the varied philosophies of infidelity,
but I do have compassion on the infidel. Knowing therefore that there
is division in the religious world, and knowing that the division has
been the cause of much infidelity, I would like to devote the
continuation of this program to the infidel.
To
those of you who do not believe the Bible, I beg you to consider the
following evidence.
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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"
LIVING THE PLAGUES
Do you feel like you are living through a series of
plagues? We have had the pandemic, tornadoes, killer bees, race
riots, a hurricane, and now I read the 17-year cicadas are coming.
There have been cancelled events, no toilet paper, no hand sanitizer,
and now no meat! The prices are rising, and our favorite stores are
still closed. We can't shake hands or hug. I had to give my husband a
haircut, but I refused to let him take scissors to mine. We haven't
been able to worship together in person, but I have perfected my
recipe for communion bread.
I had a childhood friend in the hospital, and I couldn't
visit her. My grandson's graduation has been postponed, and we wonder
if it will even take place. There will be no Bible camp this year,
and our Vacation Bible School has been canceled. I haven't taught my
Bible classes since March, and I miss the children and the ladies. I
don't dare ask, what next?
Several weeks ago, one of the teachers in our
congregation went by the church building. She said she went to her
classroom and sat in each chair and prayed for each child. I've been
in that room several times over the last few weeks, and there is such
a feeling of loneliness-because the children aren't there. The name
plates on the tables, the decorations on the doors and walls, and the
visual aids propped against the wall mean nothing if the children
aren't there.
As bad as all of this is, it could be worse. We could be
living in Africa where people are starving. Our brothers and sisters
in Christ are included. We just lost one of our missionary preachers
in Nicaragua to the virus. The wife of another preacher now has
it.
But there is always something for which to be thankful.
We may just have to search to find it, but it is there. I found it in
a little four-year old neighbor. I see him often as we drive out of
our sub-division. He always waves and has something to tell me. He
loves playing outside, and his mother spends a lot of time with him
and his baby sister taking walks, making chalk drawings on the
sidewalk, and just enjoying the outdoors.
Several weeks ago on Thursday afternoon, I went out to
retrieve my garbage can from the street. I didn't have to make the
long walk to the street because it was sitting next to my house. This
happened three or four weeks in a row. I watched, but I could never
catch the person bringing my garbage can to the house. My
next-door-neighbor had seen our little four-year old neighbor pulling
it down our long driveway. Not only was he returning ours, but he was
taking garbage cans to four or five houses. I finally saw his mother
and asked her about it. She said that they needed something to help
fill up their day, and that was something they could do to help the
neighbors. The little boy loves doing it, and I'm happy not to have
to go to the street to get it. What is more important is that this
mom is teaching her little boy how to serve others.
Maybe
God allowed this pandemic to see just what His people were capable of
doing. Maybe He wanted to see if we would still worship Him. Maybe He
wanted to see if we would find ways to serve others. How do we measure
up?
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Feature Four: Our Communication
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Speakers, Beware of Noise
Anything that interferes with the communication process
theoretically is called "noise." It need not be sound. It
might be a room that is too hot or too cold. It could be a car
backfiring just outside of the building. It might be a loud air conditioner
or heater. It could also be psychological.
Suppose you were speaking in a room and a policeman
entered through a door behind you. You could not see that he was
looking at everyone in the room. Can you imagine how much
"noise" that would cause? Certainly the speaker would know
by the non-verbal actions of the audience that there was something
wrong. While that is an extreme example, you need to understand that
any distraction will affect how your audience will pay attention to
what you are saying.
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Feature Five: Bible
Question
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Who Led the Children of Israel
out of Egypt?
When
we use the word "God" we often think of "God, the
Father". In this case, however, there is strong evidence that it
was not the Father that was involved in the Exodus, but rather it was
Jesus in his pre-incarnate state. Notice what James writes in Jude
1:5, "Now
I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus,
who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed
those who did not believe." That
reading is taken from the English Standard Version. Many other
versions render the word translated "Jesus" as the word
"Lord". So, is there any reason for rendering the original
as Jesus? Consider what the commentators Jamieson-Fausset-Brown wrote
concerning this passage. "the Lord -
The oldest manuscripts and versions read, "Jesus." So
"Christ" is said to have accompanied the Israelites in the
wilderness".
I
remember how shocked I was as a child when I first learned that it
was not the Father, but Jesus that created everything as taught in
John 1:1-3, 13 "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made
through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
(13) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen
his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace
and truth."
Sometimes
we need to just go back and re-read what we thought we knew.
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Humor:
A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon
dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and
whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he
let us go?"
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I realize
times are difficult. I wish for all my readers health and safety. We
need to put our faith in God during these trying times. Below are two
books I have written that you might find interesting.
Basic Bible Knowledge About the Holy Spirit
The cost of
the book is $9.99 and may be purchased from:
Christian
Family Bookstore
Speech & Debate
A Classroom Study
For Lads to Leaders
Lads
to Leaders/Leaderettes
5280
West Alabama Christian Drive
Montgomery,
AL 36109
334-215-0251
lel@lads2leaders.com
The cost is $10.00
Remember:
Past issues of "Light for our Age" can be found on the
following Web page:
Bob Oliver
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