I Don’t Know and I Don’t Care!

By Edd Sterchi

 

    Have you ever had anyone sarcastically say those words to you? Usually you are trying to pass on some information to them or are asking them to respond to a question, and they sharply retort, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

    Sad to say, but this is what many people do concerning their religion.  They may be in a religious organization that is not truly or totally following God’s will. By serving and worshiping at such a place, they are proclaiming concerning the truth of God’s Word, “I don’t know it and/or I don’t care what it says.” They are either ignorant of the Bible’s teachings (and don’t care to learn it) or they know what it says, but choose to ignore it or simply explain it away.

    Many are like the ones Paul lamented for in Rom. 10:2-3, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”.  As a result of this type of thinking and practice, they are lost (see Rom. 10:1).

    Many others know what the Scriptures teach, they simply choose not to follow them.  They, as Peter describes in his second epistle, “willingly are ignorant” (2 Pet. 3:5, KJV).  Or they “twist” the teachings of the Bible to fit their own desires, but it is “to their destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16).

    Pertaining to religious matters, how arrogant (and foolish) is the phrase “I don’t know and I don’t care!”  How tragic it is to see so many who will be destroyed for their lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). How sad it is to see so many thumb their nose at God’s plan of salvation, pattern for worship, purpose of church work, etc. How “excuseless” will those be who knew God’s will and chose to disregard it.

    Let each of us endeavor to be people who want to know and always care about what the Bible says!

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them…” (Eph. 4:17-18)

- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/

Chasing After “New” Things

By Bill Brandstatter

 

    Every year something “new” comes out. The past year had its share of new things and 2022 will also. We look at the rising crime rates and the lowering of morals and we know there has to be a better way. We look at the skyrocketing rate of divorce and the worldly concepts of marriage and we say: “There has to be a better way.” We view many other “ills” of the modern world and are forced to see that everything modern is not good. We long for the time again when we didn’t have to lock our doors and a man’s word was his bond.

    Some “old-fashioned” things can still be good. Jer. 6:16. states: “Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk in it” (NKJV). Luke records, “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.” (Ac. 17:21) Let us look at some old things that are really “new” in a society that chases after new things.

    AN OLD-FASHIONED FAITH. Some would claim that faith is “better caught than taught.” Others would say that faith is “better felt than told.” The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom.10:17) The reality and

validity of an old-fashioned faith is not found in a person’s think so, but in God’s say so. This faith comes from the “engrafted” or “implanted” word. (James 1:21)

    AN OLD-FASHIONED OBEDIENCE. An old-fashioned faith will naturally lead to an old-fashioned obedience. Jesus stated, “Not everyone that says to be ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Mt. 7:21) When a person really believes what God says, he or she will submit to it. The faith that saves is the faith that obeys.

    AN OLD-FASHIONED RIGHTEOUSNESS. In an age when people without moral anchors are crying, “What’s in it for me?” or “I’ve got to look out for myself”; we need emphasis on the righteousness which God reveals. Our purpose in life is clearly stated in Eccl. 12:13. There Solomon wrote, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” Why do right? Because that is my purpose in life. Instead of expecting something back for doing right, we ought to do right because it is right.

    AN OLD-FASHIONED CHURCH. Man, today has an obsession to be “up to date.” Two thousand years ago those that obeyed the word were baptized and added to the church, according to Acts 2:38, 47. The church met on the first day of the week to break bread (Acts 20:7). The worship of the early church was simple. They didn’t have a jazz band or a dance team. They sang (Eph. 5:19). We need old-fashioned preaching. (1 Pet. 4:11) In the early church, men had a leadership role. (1 Tim. 2:12) The church of Christ has nothing new to offer except what is old. That which is old is actually new in our world.

    AN OLD-FASHIONED STANDARD OF AUTHORITY. God’s way is the right way. There has to be a standard that guides us in all that we do. Man often wants to be that authority (Judges 21:25). People want it their way. As stated in Rom. 1:28: “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge...” Some folks just don’t like being told what to do. Jesus has all authority today in heaven and one earth. (Matt. 28:18)

    AN OLD-FASHIONED SALVATION. It was not just saying a prayer. It was not just faith (Jas. 2:26). It was obedience (Rom. 6:17). It involved the blood of Jesus (Rev. 1:5); belief (John 3:16); confession (Rom. 10: 9,10); repentance (Acts 17:30); and baptism (Mark. 16:16). Let us do things God’s way and we will always be right.

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/

Faith As Defined by Hebrews 11

By Joe Chesser

 

    As Christians, we are expected to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5.7). If left to humans, walking by faith could mean just about anything. So, we need to ask, “What is God’s definition of faith? What words are used by the Holy Spirit to describe what faith is? Upon what is faith based? What does faith look like? What is the ultimate blessing of faith?” The answers to these and many other questions are found in Hebrews 11.

    Hebrews 11.1 begins with God’s definition of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (ESV/NASB). Other translations use words like “being sure/certain” (NIV); “substance/evidence” (KJV/NKJV); “confidence /assurance” (NLT). These words tell us that faith is defined as how we understand, how we feel about, and how we respond to the evidence we are given.  “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (11.3). Faith gives us assurance and confidence that this is true, and that feels good. Uncertainty, or having no faith, doesn’t feel good.

    But Hebrews 11 does not limit faith to only a feeling or understanding, as good as those are. The chapter doesn’t end with verse 3. The Holy Spirit guided the writer of Hebrews to demonstrate time and again that God expects a response from our faith. What did people do who believed what God said? By faith Abel offered (11.4), Noah constructed (11.7), Abraham obeyed, went, lived, looked, and offered (11.8-10, 17), Isaac invoked (11.20), Jacob blessed (11.21), Moses chose, left, and kept (11.25-28), Israel crossed (11.29), Rahab welcomed (11.31), and a host of others conquered, enforced, obtained, stopped, quenched, escaped, were made strong, became mighty, defeated armies, suffered, and were tortured, destitute, afflicted, mistreated and killed (11.32-34). Faith gave these men and women the confidence and assurance to do these things and/or to endure these things. From Hebrews 11 faith is never motionless, apathetic or academic. The faith described in this chapter is living and active – or it’s dead (James 2.21-26). Because of our confidence in the evidence God provides, we do what He says, if it is our goal to please God. “For without faith it is impossible to please him” (11.6a).

    However, Hebrews 11 makes it clear that there is a reward for such faith. God is not a tyrant who expects us to sacrifice for Him without receiving something in return. No, our faith not only allows us to please Him (if that were not enough), but also to draw near to Him and be rewarded by Him (11.6). The thought of a greater reward inspired the ancients (11.13-16, 24-26, 39-40). It should inspire us too!!

    If thoughts of an eternal reward in the presence of God (John 14.1-3) fills you with hope like it did the ancients, then you need to take to heart the message of Hebrews 11. Having the kind of faith described there will give you confidence and assurance!

- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland Church of Christ, Fruitland, MO.  He may be contacted at joeandareva@yahoo.com

A Better Idea

By Joe Slater

 

    Over half a century ago (1968 to be exact) Ford Motor Company began a new advertising campaign using the slogan “Ford has a better idea.” It featured the image of a glowing light bulb and urged listeners and viewers to “see the light!” No doubt Ford’s engineers had some good ideas. Others, not so much. The snarky side of me has gotten quite a bit of mileage mocking the “better idea” of things I found sub-par in the Ford vehicles I’ve owned. In those cases, I obviously think my own ideas are better than Ford’s! You might or might not agree.

    Neither you nor I will ever have better ideas than God has. King Saul thought he had a better idea of what to do with the king and livestock of Amalek. God told Saul to utterly destroy them. Saul brought back the king and the best of the livestock, supposedly to sacrifice the animals to the Lord. Wouldn’t just destroying them all be a waste? Wouldn’t sacrificing them be a better idea? The prophet Samuel answered: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

    God has graciously provided a way for sinners to be saved. When a lost person puts his confident trust in Jesus as the Son of God, repents of sin, and is immersed in water for the remission of sins, God washes that person’s sins away in the blood of Christ. The book of Acts is replete with examples. According to some, however, there is a better way: Pray the “sinner’s prayer” and invite Jesus into your heart! (Don’t bother looking for Scripture that teaches it!)

    Then there’s that thorny subject of baptism. The very word means “immersion,” but people have decided sprinkling and pouring are better ideas.

    You can think of other examples. But far and away the best idea is to trust and obey the Lord!

- Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com

Once Saved, Always Saved?

By Edd Sterchi

 

    The “once saved, always saved” belief is very prevalent in the religious world today. It carries the idea that once one receives salvation they can never lose it no matter what they do or don’t do. But is it truly a Scriptural concept? Let’s go to the Bible and note what some inspired writers had to say on the subject. What do they know about “once saved, always saved”?

    If we are always saved no matter what, Paul did not know it. In Gal. 5:4, he reminded those who were mixing in elements of the Old Law with Christianity that they had fallen out of God’s grace.

    If we are always saved no matter what, the Hebrew writer did not know it. In chapter 2 and verse 1, he reminded Christians that if they do not pay attention to their lifestyle, they could drift away. He adds in verse 3 of the same chapter that if we neglect our salvation, we will not escape God’s judgment.

    If we are always saved no matter what, James did not know it. He clearly indicated that Christians can wander from the truth, and in that state they are spiritually dead (Jas. 5:19-20).

    If we are always saved no matter what, Peter did not know it. He dramatically penned as a warning what would happen to Christians who went back to the world after obeying the gospel – it would be worse for them that if they had never believed in the first place (2 Pet. 2:20-22).

    If we are always saved no matter what, John did not know it. 2 John 9 declares that it is possible for a Christian to stop abiding in the doctrine of Christ, and in that state has transgressed and no longer has God in his life.

    Where did they all get this concept that we can fall away from Christ and be lost? They got it from Christ Himself. In John 15:5-6, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit...If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” (Note: the phrase “does not abide” in the Greek indicates “does not continue to abide”).

    Christian, we must ever make sure that we are continually abiding in Christ, and if we find ourselves separated, that we confess our sins, repent of them, pray for forgiveness, and come back to Him (cf. Acts 8:22, 1 John 1:9). Now, once we are in heaven in our eternally saved state, we will always be there (1 Thess. 4:17), but while on the earth, we can forfeit our salvation – the inspired experts say so.

- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/

You Thought I Was Like You

By R.W. McAlister

    How do you view God? Do you regard Him as the Creator of Heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1)? Do you picture Him as the “Heavenly Grandfather,” who simply smiles and shakes His head at sinful man, as a grandparent might when his or her grandchild does something wrong? Do you think of God as someone with whom you might drink a beer with, as a country song suggests? (Society’s moral downward spiral continues…)

     I believe that God may be tired of our profane perceptions of Him, just as He was with Israel in the Old Testament. For example, Psalm 50:21 says, “These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.” In other words, God is saying, “You thought I was just like you; I will reprove you and set things in order before your eyes.”

     In Acts 17:23, Paul preached the “unknown God” to the men there, and I daresay that God may be as unknown in our culture today as He was to these people 2000 years ago – even among professed Christians! The way some TV preachers speak to God and about God today is embarrassing and humiliating not only to God, but also to many of us.

     We must remember that God is not a man, and whatever He is, He is that to perfection. When the Bible says in I John 4:8 that “God is love,” it means that God is love perfected.

     When we say God is all-knowing, we mean He has an absolute knowledge of everything. He doesn’t know more or less now that He once did, neither is He more or less loving that He once was. I pray that we never forget about God’s goodness or His severity (Rom. 11:22).

     Man needs to have a proper, balanced view of the God of Heaven, for Paul writes in Romans 14:11-12, “… we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

     Do you view God as the Heavenly Father to whom you will someday give account for the deeds of your life? Are you ready to do that? If not, make whatever changes you need to make, and do so today. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little while, then vanisheth away” (Jas. 4:14).

- R.W. McAlister served as a minister to the Anna Church of Christ in Anna, IL until his death in October 2021.This was his own home congregation in which he grew up. R.W. was a beloved member of his community and a popular teacher in the agriculture department at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. To visit the congregation's website go to: http://www.annachurchofchrist.com/

Need for a Formal Invitation

By Gerald Cowan

 

    A certain preacher was charged with not being a “gospel preacher” and some wanted to fire him because he did not always issue a “formal invitation” at the close of each sermon, Bible class period, or devotional exercise. An invitation to or for what? An invitation complete with a review of the various points (the “five steps” so called) in the “plan of salvation,” just in case anybody needed to be baptized. Of course it must also emphasize the need to be faithful in living and serving the Lord, in case anybody needed to be “restored.” Apparently a formal recitation of “the plan of salvation” is an expected part – some might say a required part of our identity as “the church of Christ.”

    Questions: Is it formal, form, or mere formality?  Is it a convenience or a convention? Is it a tradition?  Is there a scripture command, example, or inference to justify or necessitate such a formal “invitation” or “appeal” at any or every assembly?  Is it a necessity or an identifying ritual? Does adding a formal invitation make it “a gospel sermon”? Is it the ritual and the words that save, or is it obedience from the heart by one who has been properly taught what to do and why he should do it? (Rom. 6:17).

    Not all ritual acts are true necessities and many have no Biblical foundation. Like “crossing oneself” or “making the sign of the cross.” Like holding up a hand over the head of a baptismal candidate and saying, “By the authority invested in me as a minister...” Who gave ministers any authority? If one does not say, “Upon your confession that Jesus is the Son of God I now baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins,” or other words to that effect, is the person not properly baptized? There are some “sacred traditions” that many are not willing to question – certainly not to abandon. The “formal invitation” to “obey the gospel” may be one of them.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com