“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” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
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Contents:
1) Why So Much Evil in the World? (Bryan Gibson)
2) Are You a Witness for the Lord? (Connie W. Adams)
3) Using Our Talents Wisely (Richard Thetford)
4) Good Medicine (Jerry Fite)
5) Faith is Reasonable (Doy Moyer)
6) Sword Tips #32 (Joe R. Price)
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Why So Much Evil in the World?
Bryan Gibson
It’s a question often asked by skeptics, maybe phrasing it similar to this: “If God is real, and as good as you say, how could there be so much evil?” There is plenty of evil, no question about it. Covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, strife, deceit, violence, sexual perversions of every kind, etc.–sins like these can be found everywhere, maybe even in our own lives. Is God to blame? Hardly. That’s on us, on mankind.
Romans 1 gives a description of the ancient world, but it could just as easily describe the world today. The list of sins given above is taken directly from that chapter, and that’s definitely not the complete list (see Romans 1:24-32 for the disgusting details).
Back to the original question. Why all this evil? Why do men behave this way? According to this same chapter in Romans, the downward spiral begins when men do not acknowledge God, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. We do not glorify Him, or give thanks to Him (1:20-21). Without the humility that accompanies the knowledge of God, our hearts are filled with pride, and we begin to worship the things of creation rather than the Creator himself (1:22-23, 25). With the focus now on pleasing ourselves, little effort is spent restraining our desires. And with our desires left unchecked, our actions become unclean, vile, dishonorable, and hurtful to ourselves and to others (vv. 24, 26-32). Sure, some don’t slide as far as others, but we can’t push God out of our mind and not be affected in a profoundly negative way.
Yes, this world is full of evil, but it’s not hard to see why. When men reject God, in whom there is nothing but good, evil will be the result. If we’re disgusted by it (and we should be!), why not prepare ourselves for a place where evil does not exist, a place “in which [nothing but] righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age…” (Galatians 1:3-4).
— Via Plain Words from God’s Word, December 5, 2024
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Are You a Witness for the Lord?
Connie W. Adams
For many years denominational people have said much about “witnessing” for the Lord. Some brethren have borrowed the same language. It is used in one study book used in women’s classes and written by a gospel preacher’s wife. In the interest of speaking “as the oracles of God” and calling Bible things by Bible names, I submit this article for your own study.
The New Testament uses the word “witness” in the sense of an eye or ear witness: someone who relates what he personally saw or heard. Jesus said to His apostles, “But ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you and shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). When Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin and forbidden to “speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” they answered, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). These witnesses spoke of things they had “seen and heard.”
When Peter was at the house of Cornelius, he spoke of how Jesus went about “doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.” Then he added, “And we are witnesses of all things which he did in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem” (Acts 10:38-39). Paul preached at Corinth that Jesus was “buried, and that he arose again the third day according to the scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; . . . after that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:4-8). The Lord told Paul, “I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee” (Acts 26:16).
Peter wrote about the time when he, along with James and John, were with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-8), and said they were “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). In verse 18 he said, “And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”
Another witness was John who wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. . . .That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” (1 John 1:2-3).
It is evident from these passages that witnesses were those who testified as to what they themselves saw, heard, touched, or observed. None of us saw or heard any of these things. We are not witnesses in the Bible usage of the term. Are we therefore without evidence? By no means! We have the testimony of certified witnesses. They were credible witnesses at that. These men “hazarded their lives for their testimony” (Acts 15:26). They refused to recant even in the face of severe persecution and death itself. It did not make them rich or famous. It did not secure for them places of honor. They had nothing to gain for inventing a lie and then dying for it.
We Are Not the Witnesses
Our task is to tell the world what the witnesses said. We are tasked with teaching the word of God. To Timothy Paul said, “The things which thou among many witnesses hast heard of me, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Jesus said, “Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have said unto you” (Matt. 28:20). The scattered disciples “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Is it not adequate to speak of preaching and teaching the gospel? Can we not study with people, or “search the scriptures” with them? Must we borrow the language of teachers of error who misuse a perfectly good Bible word and give it a sense that the Bible does not?
What denominational people mean by witnessing for Christ is to go out and give your testimony about your conversion and what the Lord has purportedly done for you. What we need to do is go everywhere teaching people what the word of God says and urge them to accept and obey it.
But we are told that a secondary usage of the term “witness” in the dictionary is to testify or give your experience. The dictionary often gives out what is in common usage but that does not mean that this is how the term is used in the Bible. A secondary usage of “baptize” is “christen,” yet none of us would use that language when teaching on baptism.
Paul taught Titus to use “sound speech, that cannot be condemned” (Tit. 2:8). I close with a portion of an article by Colly Caldwell, entitled “The Language of Each People” in which he addressed this very usage of witnessing and several other examples.
Does it make you react defensively to hear terms like these called in question? If so, justify them by the Scriptures if possible but do not simply assume their reliability to convey proper ideas. We must understand that it matters what our words suggest to those who hear them, just as it matters what we mean by them. We can say that we do not mean what others mean: but if we indicate by our terminology a false idea, we may well promote false religion and fail to communicate the truth. Remember that “each people” has its own language. Like the peoples of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab, the peoples of Calvin and Luther, or of Rome, London, Tulsa, and Nashville have their languages. We cannot afford to be naïve. We must not try to be exciting, popular, sophisticated, or clever. We are trying to lead men to Christ. We must not forget that he provided the way to do that in his own terms. It is not our job to try to improve upon it (Searching the Scriptures, Vol. 27-28, p. 386).
— Via Truth Magazine, Volume LVI, Number 5, pp. 4-5, May 2012
https://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume56/2012_05_May_Truth_Magazine.pdf
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Using Our Talents Wisely
Richard Thetford
Life is what we make of it. A blacksmith takes five dollars’ worth of iron and makes it into horseshoes and gets twenty dollars for them. A machinist fashions the same iron into needles and gets hundreds of dollars. The watchmaker takes the same iron, manufactures mainsprings, and receives thousands of dollars. Similarly, one person uses his time and talents to advance his own earthly interests. Another takes the same opportunities, and through wisdom and the counsel of God’s word, shapes and molds his life for eternity. He refines his character so that he is worth something to the world and God. It’s entirely up to you and me whether we develop our lives into a noble accomplishment, our character into a thing of beauty, and our talents into a source of glory to God. A life without aims or purpose shows no intelligence or forethought.
What have we done with the life God has given us? How have we used our talents to the glory of God? With reference to the one-talent man, Jesus said, “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30). How will we answer God when we are asked what we have done with our talents? God has told us that He expects us to understand His will and do it. Ephesians 5:17 says, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 says, “…When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…” Let’s ensure that we are using our talents wisely.
— Via Articles from the Knollwood church of Christ, December 2024
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Good Medicine
Jerry Fite
Solomon reveals a truth worth meditating upon: “A cheerful heart is a good medicine; but a broken spirit drieth up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). The body and spirit comprise the material and nonmaterial makeup of man. Because they are distinct, we might forget how they interact and affect one another.
For example, sleep deprivation can affect our spiritual well-being. Studies show that people with insomnia are five times more likely to develop depression than those without sleeping disorders. Yes, it can be a vicious cycle of depression caused by lack of sleep and lack of sleep due to depression. But a wise first step in dealing with depression might be as simple as the daily medicine of eight hours of sleep.
While physical matters can affect the spirit, Solomon reminds us that a cheerful heart can help heal our physical bodies like good medicine while a broken spirit can dry up the bones.
Maintaining a cheerful heart can be challenging in difficult times. The constant absorption of bad news through an angry agenda-driven media can wither away any cheer we can muster in a day. Therefore, we must at times meditate on good and positive things that counteract the withering away of cheer. There are some “good reports” with “lovely” and “virtuous” details to fill our hearts with lasting cheer available in God’s “medicine cabinet,” the Bible (cf. Philippians 4:8).
A strong faith and a determined will combine to keep cheer from drying up our bones. Paul’s faith equipped him to be “always rejoicing” while, at the same time, being “sorrowful” (2 Corinthians 6:10). He knew by faith that no persecution or anguish can separate him from the love of God in Christ. When he is enduring anguish and apparent defeat through persecution, his spirit upholds him as “more than a conqueror” by faith in Christ (Romans 8:37-39). Endued with faith, he determines to rejoice always!
The Hebrew writer speaks to the power of faith as it “stopped the mouths of lions” and “quenched the power of fire” (Hebrews 11:33,34). Faith in God’s power to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel from moments of certain death strengthened the spirits of these men (Daniel 3:16, 6:16). But determining to not compromise God’s righteous standard, regardless of consequences, was combined with faith as good medicine for delivering their physical bodies from the effects of hot fire and hungry lions.
Inward reaction to thoughts can affect our physical countenance. Cain was angry over his sacrifice being rejected by God, and “his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5). Ahab’s heavy heart caused him to lay down upon his bed, turn his face away from others and deprive his body of food (I Kings 21:4). Sadness from rejection can affect the physical body.
We should always be sensitive to the spirits of others. “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a broken spirit who can bear?”(Proverbs 18:13). While the strength of spirit can bear us up under physical infirmities, what remains to bear the load when the spirit is broken? The wound of the friend is faithful, not destructive, for words of encouragement will consistently follow needed rebuke (cf. Proverbs 27:5-6). Never underestimate the effects of a cheerful or wounded spirit upon the physical body!
— Via Glad Tidings, Volume XXIX, No. 45, November 10, 2019
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Faith Is Reasonable
Doy Moyer
Faith is reasonable because trust, which is the heart of biblical faith, is reasonable. Faith does not require that every question be resolved before it can proceed, for that would not be considered trust.
A child does not wait for parents to answer every question about difficult matters before trusting them. The child simply trusts that parents know what they are doing, and the child takes comfort in that. Yet how much greater is the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God? We act like we cannot show faith unless God first answers every difficulty to our satisfaction. This is not faith. It is, instead, an attempt to bring all of reality under our own finite reason, and that is itself unreasonable.
This does not mean that faith is naive or without evidence to back it up. Yet there is only so far we will go in understanding overarching reality and having the knowledge and wisdom to discern all matters of ultimate concern. If we cannot be humble enough to admit our own frailties, limitations of knowledge, and need for greater wisdom than we can offer, then our hubris will have destroyed us. Sometimes I fear it already has.
We all trust something or someone to provide a greater perspective on reality, moral authority, and wisdom. Choosing self or other people with the same limitations is self-defeating and unsustainable.
Even more self-defeating is relying on an ultimate nothing, for then we are trusting mindless, purposeless, accidental processes to give us a solid grounding for our own ability to think and reason. Yet how can that be considered reasonable? And what about denying that we have faith at all? That is unrealistic at best and dishonest at worst. We all place our trust in something.
In what, or in whom, do you place your trust? That’s where your faith rests. Is it reasonable? That depends on whether what or whom you trust is truly in the position for which such trust is warranted.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright” (Psalms 20:7-8).
— Via Articles from the La Vista church or Christ, March 31, 2022
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“And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).
Sword Tips #32
Joe R. Price
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God” (Psalm 42:1).
The animals gather at the river’s edge at the break of day and at the setting of the sun. The water refreshes them, sustains them; Without it, they would perish.
Today, yearn to have God in your life, just like the deer pants for the water brook.
Jesus Christ is the fountain of living water that springs up into everlasting life!
Whatever you pursue today, be sure God and his will is your foremost desire.
He will refresh your soul and sustain you unto the dawn of eternity.
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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 Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins. For every accountable person has sinned (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), which causes one to be spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Therefore, repentance of sin is necessary (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30). For whether the sin seems great or small, there will still be the same penalty for either (Matt. 12:36-37; 2 Cor. 5:10) — and even for a lie (Rev. 21:8).
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; 1 Pet. 3:21). This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27). For from that baptism, one is then raised as a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having all sins forgiven and beginning a new life as a Christian (Rom. 6:3-4). For the one being baptized does so “through faith in the working of God” (Col. 2:12). In other words, believing that God will keep His word and forgive after one submits to these necessary steps. And now as a Christian, we then need to…
6) Continue in the faith by living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Matt. 24:13; 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: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service
Wednesday (all but the first): 7 p.m. Bible Classes
First Wednesday of the month: 7 p.m. Congregational Song Service (about 45 minutes of singing, followed by a short talk)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
https://thomastedwards.com/go/all.htm (This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)