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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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December 29, 2013
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Contents:
1) The First and Great Commandment (Ken Green)
2) Baptism -- A Peripheral Issue? (Paul K. Williams)
3) News & Notes
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-1-
The First and Great Commandment
by Ken Green
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is
the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two
commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matt.
22:37-40).
The priority that Jesus gives the first commandment indicates that
the mission of Christ and His cause is a spiritual one (Matt. 1:21;
20:28; Luke 19:10). Jesus did not come to start a denomination
or a revolution; He did not leave heaven to promote the social
status of men. He did not directly intrude into the problems
of poverty, government, international affairs, economic questions,
or secular education. It is a fact that requires little
argumentation that His ministry was primarily concerned with
people's spiritual welfare and eternal salvation.
When one fellow called on the Lord to settle a dispute over an
inheritance, Jesus said, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator
over you?" He then proceeded to warn against covetousness
(Luke 12:13-15).
The social gospel is based upon a reversal of the two great laws
that Jesus referred to in the above text. Men have inverted
the order. They have made the body more important than the
soul. Having done this, they have exchanged the gospel of
Christ for a gospel that has as its goal social improvement rather
than salvation. They have promoted a gospel that treats the symptoms
of the disease rather than the disease itself. As news
analysis, Paul Harvey, has commented, "Jesus never seemed to be
concerned about getting people out of the slums. But He walked
the squalid streets day by day trying to get the slums out of the
people." The fact is, if we can get the slums out of the
people, they'll clean up their slums.
The source of the social gospel is that men no longer believe in the
authority of the Bible, or in God, or in the soul. They
believe that the greatest good they can accomplish is to provide
people with a better life now.
Perhaps we need to emphasize that man's first duty is to God, and
his second duty is to man. Here are some applications of the
principle that I invite the readers to consider.
Some of God's requirements are strictly religious in nature.
They pertain solely to the God-man relationship. Such is true of the
first four of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). The commands
to have no other gods; to make no graven image; to not take the name
of God in vain; and to keep the Sabbath holy were religious laws.
Many other laws in the Old Testament so far as the sacrifices,
festivals, foods, and other matters were religious
requirements. When the Jew under the law of Moses transgressed
such laws, he sinned directly against God. Except for the
religious influence he may have had on his family or neighbors, his
sin was not against man. He could have been a good person
socially; a good parent, neighbor, husband, employer; and broken all
those laws.
This principle is true today. There are many requirements in the New
Testament which are strictly religious. To believe in God and
Christ, to repent, be baptized; to sing praises, take the Lord's
supper, contribute to the church's work, assemble; all of these
pertain to our vertical relationship with God. Many violate
all such laws and are considered good men in the social and moral
sense. They may be accommodating neighbors, loving parents,
and productive citizens. They are just not interested in
religion, or maybe they just have their own ideas about religion.
Other requirements are social or moral in nature. Many of
God's commands and doctrines pertain to the horizontal man to man
relationship. These, of course, also involve our relationship
with God since this is part of His divine will. The last six
of the Ten Commandments fall into this category: to honor parents;
refrain from murder, adultery, theft, perjury, and covetousness; all
of these are in the realm of our relationship with our
fellowmen.
Such remains true under the new covenant, for these and other moral
requirements are legislated therein. When one breaks these
laws, he sins not only against God, but against his neighbor.
Governments have civil laws that concern these kinds of
matters. If one is a transgressor of the social-moral laws, he
is not usually considered a good man in the community.
Put the emphasis where the Lord put it. Both of these classes
of laws are essential, but let's not lose sight of where Jesus
placed the emphasis. He said the first and great commandment
is to love God. Men tend to give priority to those laws that
are social in nature. If one does not kill, steal, and carouse
with other men's wives, he's a fine fellow. But in reality, if
he has not submitted to the Lord and the gospel, he has not obeyed
the first and great commandment.
It may be that the command to love God is called the first and great
commandment because it really includes the second: to love neighbor
as self. 1 John 5:3 teaches us that the love of God is to keep
His commandments. This would include both categories of His
commandments. We are advised in 1 John 4:20,21 that it is not
possible to love God if we do not love our brother.
When one is guilty of not helping a brother in need; or of
backbiting and whispering about a brother; or of being jealous,
envious, or bitter; the real problem is this: Such a one does not
love God!
Some applications: We must conclude that one cannot obey the
religious requirements, but ignore the moral-social requirements,
and be acceptable to God. Jesus described those who were very
scrupulous over religious laws, but tried to circumvent their social
obligations to their parents, as hypocrites (Mark 7:6-13).
But, by the same token, if one keeps the moral laws, but ignores the
religious responsibilities, he is not right either. The same
God that gave the one gave the other. Both are essential. Just
being a good moral person is not sufficient to save a person.
A recognition of the order of priorities in our text would solve
many problems relative to institutionalism and the work of the
church. On the one hand, the church, as well as the individual
Christian, has certain benevolent responsibilities. These
would fall into the social or moral classification. On the
other hand, God has revealed a divine pattern regarding the
organization and work of the church. Such is religious in
nature.
Some have voiced the opinion that we need to get the benevolent work
done and not worry about the N.T. pattern. It appears that the
emphasis is being misplaced.
Of course the basic error here is the assumption that we must ignore
one thing or the other. Some of us wonder why we cannot do
God's work in God's way!
Many further applications could be drawn. But the central lesson in
all this is that we need to be concerned about keeping all the laws
of God, both the religious and the moral.
-- Via Searching the Scriptures, January 1991, Volume XXXII, Number
1
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-2-
Baptism -- A Peripheral Issue?
by Paul K. Williams
I was on the phone to a Methodist minister seeking information about
the inter-denominational "March for Jesus." After he answered my
questions he asked me why I asked, as I sounded disapproving. So I
told him that the Bible is opposed to denominationalism and that the
church of Christ in Eshowe could have nothing to do with the March.
He let me know that I sounded proud and judgmental, so I told him
that if he would just read what the Bible says about baptism and
listen to what those verses say he would see one reason why the
Methodist Church is wrong. He gave a mocking laugh and wanted to
know why I was talking about such a peripheral issue.
I replied that Paul made it a central issue when he listed the "one
baptism" along with "one Lord" and "one God and Father" in Ephesians
4. This the Methodist minister chose to ignore but said, "I have
studied and debated this issue for years. If you would study with
others you would change." I called his attention to the great pride
his statement betrayed, and then said, "If you will debate me
publicly on this subject I will be pleased," but he of course
refused.
His point was that since people have debated and discussed baptism
for many years and cannot seem to agree, it is not something which
is important. It is "peripheral" (confined to the external surface
of a body, hence not of central importance), hence we may differ on
it while maintaining Christian unity. This position implies that
there are central, or core, issues upon which we must agree, and
peripheral doctrines upon which we may disagree while being pleasing
to God.
How Do We Classify Issues?
The problem with this is that each person classifies different
issues "central" and "peripheral." There has been and continues to
be debate and disagreement on every Bible doctrine, including
whether Jesus is the Son of God and whether he rose from the dead.
Who is going to classify these issues? What standard are we to use
to classify doctrines as important or unimportant? We are seeing the
result in religious circles where "every man does what is right in
his own eyes" (Judg. 17:6). This kind of thinking makes every man a
judge, judging by his own standard, not God's.
The Methodist minister's proof that baptism is not important was
that the Salvation Army does not baptize or observe the Lord's
Supper, yet God works great things through them. I think it is
significant that his proof is not biblical, but "experience." By
testimony and experience one can prove every religion on earth,
including ancestor worship and the Muslim religion. Experience is
what keeps people in those religions. They are convinced those
religions are true because they believe they work -- that God works
through them.
Bible Classification
But when we take the Bible as our authority, a different picture
emerges. God's commandments cannot be divided into central and
peripheral commandments. "And Jesus came up and spoke to them,
saying, 'All authority has been given to Me, in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age'" (Matt. 28:18-20). Not only were
the apostles to teach all that Jesus commanded, they were to teach
the disciples to observe all that he commanded. Jesus did not say
that we must obey the central commandments and can obey or not obey
the rest!
The psalmist loved the commandments of God. "The sum of Thy word is
truth ... .. All. Thy commandments are truth." "From Thy precepts I
get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way" (Psa.
119:160,151,104). He did not divide the commandments into some to be
loved and some to be ignored!
Paul pleaded, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ,.that you all agree, and that there be no divisions
among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same
judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). Paul did not give us the liberty to
disagree and divide on the doctrines revealed by Jesus.
The only peripheral issues are those in which we have liberty, where
God has neither commanded nor forbidden. According to Romans 14 we
must not condemn one another in these things, nor must we force one
another into our opinions. In matters of meats and days God has
given us liberty. We can choose to eat or not eat, observe or not
observe. But in matters of revelation and commandment, we must
observe all things Jesus has given.
Baptism is not a peripheral commandment, nor is any other command
given by Jesus. When we ignore or despise a single precept of Jesus
we are showing our complete lack of respect and love for him.
"How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my
mouth! From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every
false way" (Psa. 119:103-104).
-- Via Guardian of Truth, January 16, 1992, Volume IIIVI, Number 2,
p. 43
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-3-
News & Notes
We
extend our condolences to the family and friends of Jean
Calloway who passed away December 3. Funeral
arrangements are being made with the Greenoak Funeral Home and
Memorial Garden (at 9595 Florida Avenue) in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana; and we should know for certain soon. It will most
likely be for this Tuesday (January 7) at 9 or 10 AM.
Friends are to arrive about 30 minutes prior. The funeral
service will be held in the mausoleum. Let those of us who
are Christians be remembering Jean's family and friends in prayer.
Let us also be praying for Doris Crews. On December 26, she slipped on the
ice -- right in front of her chiropractor's office -- and
broke her hip, which required putting in two pins. She is
still in the hospital, but her husband Bill is hoping she will
be home by the 10th of this month. If you would like to send a
card, she can be reached at the following address:
Patient Doris Crews
Room 420
North Kansas City Hospital
2800 Clay Edwards Dr.
Kansas City, MO 64116
Let us also continue to offer prayers for Virginia
Fontenot, Shirley Young, Cheryl Crews, and Terry
and Pam MacDonald.
We enjoyed having Steve Wilsher as a guest speaker for
December 29. He used the three services in delivering his
series on "The Big Picture of the Bible." Steve is one
of the elders for the Fultondale church of Christ, right next to
Birmingham, Alabama, where Rob Slover is now preaching.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)