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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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January 4, 2015
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Contents:
1) Is It Nothing to You? (Bill Lambert)
2) In Six Days (Steven F. Deaton)
3) Did Jesus Use Carnal Methods to Attract Crowds? (Greg Gwin)
4) News & Notes
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-1-
Is It Nothing to You?
by Bill Lambert
"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there
be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith
the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger"
(Lamentations 1:12).
Many have referred to Jeremiah as the "weeping" prophet because of
his plaintive pleading with the people of God to forsake their
ungodliness and return to Jehovah. God sent him to his people
to deliver unto them God's warnings, God's impending judgments, and
God's appeal to them to return to the ways of righteousness.
In the passage above, the words are used as if the people as a whole
were speaking from their desolation. These words do not
indicate any intention to change, but simply a bewailing of their
condition.
God Was Not at Fault
Their wounds were self-inflicted. Their sorrow was a result of
their own ungodliness. The real problem at this point was that
they really did not see their true condition, and much less did they
acknowledge any misbehavior. They were much like those so
often depicted as drunks or addicts who do not think they have a
problem. As these often shrug off any warnings or pleas from
those who care about them, so did Israel reject the attempts of the
Lord, through the prophets, to call them away from their sin.
Insensible to their condition, they regarded the true prophets as
nuisances, mere pests, who just wanted to cause trouble. In their
self-delusion, they perceived the work of the prophets as that of
catering to their whims. Feeding their self-deception, they
steeped themselves in pretense. Moreover, they required of the
prophets that they not speak of God's displeasure, but speak smooth
things, prophesy deceits, so they could drift along on their placid
sea without guilt (Isaiah 30:9-11). If a prophet should refuse
to cooperate, he met stiff resistance, and put his life in
jeopardy. Jesus accused the Jews of his day of having the same
attitude that their ancestors had. Their fathers killed the
prophets and stoned those who brought the word of God to them
(Matthew 23:29-37).
The Jews were indeed in a lamentable state, but they were bemoaning
the results of their ungodliness, not the ungodliness itself.
Had they been able to see themselves as God saw them, they could
have repented, changed their course, and God would have forgiven
them.
Beware of Drifting
We have one of the same problems today that Israel had. We
fail to see that "small" departures from the way of righteousness
are, nevertheless, departures. Every move in that
direction is a move away from God. We should just recognize
that God knows all about us and he knows what is best for
us.
Apostasy rarely occurs on a grand scale, so it is difficult to
detect that it is even taking place. As a case in point, I
once read of a statement from some elders to the flock among them
concerning the appointment of deacons. They were about to
appoint some deacons and they would be male and female. They
said that the change in the Sunday morning worship service would be
initiated "gradually." This is how Satan works in such
situations...gradually. So slowly that it is almost
imperceptible. That is why we are warned to give constant
attention to the truth that we have learned, for inattention will
bring about "drifting" (Hebrews 2:1). Minute adjustments
in our course must be made as we monitor our relationship with God
and his word. Such can make all the difference in our destiny.
Shades of Gnosticism
Those who fancy themselves the "enlightened ones" among us would
have us think that we have just had it all wrong. We just
thought that we understood the teaching of Jesus concerning
marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Now, we are told, depending
upon who is doing the talking, just about anybody who wants to
divorce his mate may do so, for whatever reason, and then marry
anybody he wants to, with God's approval. That will score
points with a lot of people, particularly those who are in a
questionable marriage, or who have close ties with someone who
is. There seems to be a pattern among those who have felt the
need to "re-think" these matters. They have a "vested
interest" in the outcome of their investigation. We all like
to think that those we love are doing what is right; and if we are
not careful, we may try to stretch truth to "fit" the
circumstances. This does not change the truth, but feelings
are soothed. We must realize that eternity is at stake and no
earthly relationship is worth missing heaven for (Matthew
16:26).
Some would have preachers "soft-pedal" the truth and not be
specific. After all, we are told, no one is perfect. One
person, disturbed at the "kid gloves" approach, pointed out that
some are trying to take the fire out of hell as the sectarians have
sought to take the water out of baptism. There is no excuse
for deliberately brow-beating someone, but no apology is needed for
the plain presentation of truth. The Lord and the apostles
spoke plain truth and directly to the situation at hand. How
dare we to presume upon improving upon the manner of their
preaching. The Bible teaching is straightforward. Let us
be straightforward in our dealing with it.
Time to Wake Up!
It is time to awaken from our slumber and get back to the
basics. We should see the symptoms of departure in doctrine
and practice. As we said before, eternity is at stake...for
us, for our children, and for those whom we seek to help.
-- Via the Eastside Enlightener (Athens, Alabama)
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-2-
In Six Days
by Steven F. Deaton
Genesis 1 tells us God created all things in six days; the heavens
and the earth and all things in them. Some believe the days are
figurative and that God actually created all things over a period of
millions of years.
That God created all things in six literal, consecutive days is
easily seen and understood by the honest of heart. First, the text
says that the evening and the morning were the first day, second
day, third day, etc. The "evening and the morning" is a phrase that
describes two parts of the day, evening and morning. The Hebrews
looked at it this way because their day started at sundown. Second,
how could plants survive 5 years, let alone millions, without
insects to aid in the pollination process?
Further, consider Moses' words in Exodus 20:8-11, where he based
Israel's seventh-day rest on the creation week -- six days of work,
one day of rest. The seven days of Israel's week were not millions
of years long!
Jesus said God made man and woman "from the beginning of the
creation" (Mk. 10:6). How could Jesus say this if the sixth day of
creation was millions of years after the first day?
People who believe the Bible, believe God made all things in six
literal, consecutive days. To deny it is to deny God's word.
-- Via the Hebron Herald, October 2013, Vol. 37, No. 10
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-3-
Did Jesus Use Carnal Methods to Attract Crowds?
by Greg Gwin
Many religious groups use a variety of carnal appeals to draw people
to their assemblies. For instance, there are suppers and ice cream
socials, ball games and entertainment events, etc. When asked to
justify these activities they will commonly refer to the episodes
where Jesus fed the multitudes. Some have said, "If you first feed a
man's body, then you'll have a chance to feed his soul." Let's see
if their reference to Jesus' activities will really support their
practices.
There were two separate instances in which Jesus miraculously fed
huge crowds of people with small quantities of food. One time there
were 5000 men, plus women and children (Mt. 14:15-21; Mk. 6:30-44;
Lk. 9:10- 17; Jn. 6:1-14). On another occasion there were 4000 men,
plus women and children (Mt. 15:32-38; Mk. 8:1-9).
In both instances, the people had followed Jesus to hear His
marvelous teaching and to see His amazing miracles. There had never
been a promise of food to draw them. In fact, both episodes show the
people following long distances and for a long time before they were
offered food. For example, in Matthew 15:32 we read: "Then Jesus
called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the
multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have
nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they
faint in the way." Do you see it? The people were not lured to
follow by an offer of food. The food came AFTERWARDS, as an act of
compassion. The people had NOT come in anticipation of being fed.
We have one reference where Jesus suspected that the people did,
indeed, come with a desire of receiving food (Jn. 6:22ff). On that
occasion He DID NOT feed them!
Those who would use the example of Jesus feeding the multitudes to
justify their carnal practices today are simply wrong!
-- Via The Beacon, September 23, 2014
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-4-
News & Notes
Let those of us who are Christians be praying for the following
people:
Though it takes most individuals 6 to 12 weeks to heal from sciatic
pain, Deena Hensley Fields has done so in about 3
weeks! Now, however, she is needing to build up the strength
in her right leg, which had become very weak (due to the severe pain
that had been in that knee). But, even so, she is determined
to join her teammates this Tuesday and Wednesday to play tennis
matches (having been an active team member for several years).
Let us also be remembering the following in prayer for their health:
Myrna Jordan, Danielle Howard, Ginger Ann Montero (abdominal
pains for several weeks, CAT scan this Thursday), Penny Medloch
(bad cough/glaucoma), Marie Turner (had major surgery for
cancer), Jim Lively, Judy Daugherty (having therapy due to a
bad fall, though no bones were broken), Ronnie Davis (eye
problem), Rex and Frankie Hadley, Jewel Wilson, Mary
Vandevander, Jesse Bailey (cancer), Deborah Medloch,
Shirley Davis, Dexter Roberts (cancer), Sue Wooten (in
nursing home), Dolly Downs Moody (needs for white blood
cells to start building on their own, following her cancer
treatments), and Colleen Henson.
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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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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)