Category: Uncategorized (Page 6 of 46)

The Gospel Observer

April 16, 2023 / Tom Edwards

“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) PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Dependence in Worship (Matthew Bassford)
2) Sword Tips #5 (Joe R. Price)
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PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Dependence in Worship

Matthew Bassford

Synopsis: Like past heroes of faith, Christians look to God for guidance, and submit to His instruction. This spirit of dependence should be ever present in our worship.

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Introduction

As Christians, we know we are utterly dependent on God, and we frequently acknowledge that dependence in worship. In the words of the great hymn “Be with Me, Lord,” we dare not try to take one step alone. Indeed, it is hard to imagine going through an entire worship service without some expression of our complete reliance on God. We know the truth, so we’d better confess it before Him!

This is not a new idea. For as long as God’s people have confronted challenges beyond their ability, puzzles beyond their understanding, and enemies beyond their strength, they have admitted their helplessness to their Creator and looked to Him for grace. They knew they needed Him just like we do, so they sought His help in worship.

In fact, it is striking how often biblical heroes adopted this approach. Many of the stories of Scripture that most inspire us do so not because of the hero’s abilities, but because of his decision to turn his problems over to God. Nor are any of these ever disappointed. When we consider how they overcame through confessing their dependence in worship, it is clear how we can overcome too.

Solomon’s Appeal for Wisdom

The first of these stories of worshipful dependence that we are going to consider (there are many more that we will not) concerns the young king Solomon. Once he has established his reign by carrying out the bloodthirsty advice of his aged father, David, he is left at a loss about what to do next. He has inherited a vast kingdom that takes up almost the entire eastern coast of the Mediterranean. In this kingdom are countless people and a number of subject nations. Even David himself had trouble keeping this massive realm under control!

In Solomon’s own estimation, this is not a job for which he’s equipped. As he says to God in 1 Kings 3:7, “I am a little child and do not know how to go out or come in.” When it comes to managing his massive responsibilities, he’s baffled.

Indeed, he sees only one way out. As God does for Solomon’s descendant, Ahaz, in Isaiah 7, so He does for Solomon in 1 Kings 3. God offers him help. Unlike Ahaz, who refused to ask the Lord for a sign, Solomon takes Him up on His offer. God tells Solomon to ask for whatever he wants, and Solomon asks for wisdom: an understanding heart and the ability to judge a great people. Without God’s help, Solomon has no hope of success; but with it, he has no fear of failure. Unsurprisingly, this humble admission pleases God, and He blesses Solomon with wisdom more richly than anyone else before or since.

When we ourselves feel overwhelmed, we could ask for no better example. We need to bring our overwhelmedness to God, and one of the best ways to do so is in the songs we sing. “Be with Me, Lord” does a great job of expressing these sentiments. So also does “I Need Thee Every Hour.” When we come to our Father seeking His help in this way, we can be certain that He will give us bread, not a stone.

Daniel’s Prayer for Insight

We see the same dependence on God in young Daniel and his friends (Dan. 2). However, unlike Solomon, who was at sea in a complicated and confusing situation, the four Hebrew exiles know exactly what their problem is. His name is Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar has got it into his kingly head that any wise man worthy of the name not only will be able to interpret the dream he has had, but they will be able to tell it to him without him telling them first. As the assembled Chaldean sorcerers point out in Daniel 2:10-11, this is impossible. Nobody can do that!

Nebuchadnezzar takes this refusal in the way that ancient Middle Eastern rulers commonly took refusals. He becomes violently angry and commands the death of every wise man in Babylon—including Daniel and his three friends, even though none of them had anything to do with the mess! In response, Daniel pleads with the captain of the guard for a stay of execution, and he urges his three friends to pray so that the nature of the king’s dream will be revealed to Daniel, and they all can survive.

Once again, as soon as God’s people admit their dependence on Him and turn to Him for help, He comes through in the clutch. That very night, God gives the answer to Daniel in a vision of his own, and because of His help, all the wise men of Babylon are spared.

It’s quite common for us too to encounter dilemmas that seem insoluble to us. We don’t know the answer, and bad things will happen to us unless we find it. Seeking God’s help is the right answer here, too. Once again, we can seek it in song. “Teach Me Thy Way” is a hymn that can help us with this. “In the Hour of Trial” is another, focused particularly on our dependence on Jesus when we are tempted.

Jehoshaphat’s Request for Deliverance

Sometimes, though, the problems that we have are not easily addressed. We are faced with a foe whom we know we can’t defeat, so we must depend on God to defeat him for us. This is where Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah find themselves in 2 Chronicles 20. According to 20:1, three of the nations around Judah (i.e., the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites) have made an alliance to invade and destroy their neighbor.

We don’t know exactly how many of them there were (beyond “a vast number”), but the total is clearly enough to terrify Jehoshaphat. However, good king that he is, he brings his despair to God in 2 Chronicles 20:6-12. The last verse of his prayer puts things starkly: “We are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you.”

Once again, God proves Himself faithful to those who rely on Him. In 20:17, He promises them that He will fight for them so powerfully that they won’t have to lift a hand in their own defense. In 20:22-24, He carries out His word. The overwhelming host of enemies is itself overwhelmed by His might.

In our lives, there is a long list of enemies who are too much for us. At the head of the list, though, are the twin foes of sin and death, adversaries whom only Christ can defeat. Unless we seek His help and lean on Him, we’re doomed. A couple of hymns that express our dependence in these areas are “Abide with Me” and “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

Conclusion

Though Americans are famed for idealizing self-reliance, one suspects that all people in all times are prone to believe the myth of their own sufficiency. Life teaches us differently. Sooner or later, all of us are forced to acknowledge that we cannot direct our own steps and that we must depend on God.

When we consider the holy men of old, we see that they knew this and confessed it when they worshiped God. Their example should impel us to do the same. He hears those who call on Him, and none of the problems and fears that can crush us has any hope of standing up to Him.

— Via Truth Magazine, Volume 65, No. 6, June 2021

https://truthmagazine.com/kindle/2021/2021-06-jun/05_Praise.htm

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Sword Tips #5

Joe R. Price

“So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:8-11).

A righteous man, Zacharias the priest and his wife, Elizabeth, had no children; “they were both well advanced in years” and she was barren (Lk. 1:7). However, this reality did not embitter them or debilitate them. Zacharias had a responsibility to serve in the temple which he faithfully met. When disappointments come in life, do not allow them to hinder your faithful service to the Lord.

Furthermore, God blessed Zacharias and Elizabeth beyond their wildest imaginations, giving them a son named John – the forerunner of the Messiah. God has great things ahead for you as you trust him and do his will.

Do not be distracted or discouraged today as you serve the Master. Instead, faithfully “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

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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. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

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.)

The Gospel Observer

April 9, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Dependence in Worship (Matthew Bassford)
2) Sword Tips #4 (Joe R. Price)
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PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Dependence in Worship

Matthew Bassford

Synopsis: Recognizing our dependency upon God is fundamental to maintaining a proper view of our lives and a healthy relationship with Him. Expression of this dependence in song helps to instill this concept within our hearts and minds.

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Introduction

One of the greatest of human delusions is the conviction that we can rely on ourselves. Inside every one of us, there lurks a budding Nebuchadnezzar. Along with the Babylonian king in Daniel 4:30, we too want to exclaim about how our accomplishments show how wonderful we are. We want to believe that our strength and wisdom are such that we can emerge from all of life’s trials unscathed.

In reality, rather than being utterly independent from God, we are completely dependent on Him. This is true not only of the faithful Christian but also of the hardened sinner and the contemptuous rebel. As Jesus reveals in Matthew 5:45, the sun shines and the rain falls upon such people only because of the Father’s impartial mercy. All of us are indebted to God for every good thing we enjoy.

Additionally, our ability to overcome is not what we think it is. Paul was a man of tremendous willpower and intellectual gifts, yet he acknowledges in 2 Corinthians 1:8 that he faced trials that were more than he could bear. In time, every human being will reach the same point. In this fallen world that contains such shocking injustice, suffering, and tragedy, all of us will be burdened beyond our strength sooner or later. Even this is to say nothing of the problem of sin, a problem utterly beyond our ability to solve for ourselves.

Learning Dependence

In short, our dependence on God is a lesson that we must learn, learn, and relearn, for so long as we live. According to Deuteronomy 8:3, God fed the children of Israel with manna in the wilderness for forty long years to drive home the point that they were sustained not by their own efforts, but by Him. We can refuse to accept this vital truth, but such resistance can amount to nothing more than kicking against the goads.

There are many ways in which God teaches us about our dependence on Him, but one of the most valuable is through song. Our Creator designed us so that we are uniquely susceptible to the emotional truths that we sing. In our worship, we are not supposed to summon that emotional power for its own sake. We are supposed to use it to drive the word of God deeply into our hearts.

The importance of expressing our dependence on God is amply revealed in the only inspired hymnal we have, the book of Psalms. Certainly, the specifics of our worship have changed since David’s day, but the essential relationship between man and God has not. Three thousand years ago, God’s people needed Him neither more nor less than do we.

From beginning to end, the Psalms exalt this timeless truth. Few indeed are the psalms that do not address human dependence on God in some way. When the Israelites sang those words wholeheartedly, they were confessing how much they needed the Lord. When we similarly acknowledge our reliance on God in the sentiments we express in singing, it transforms our worldview too.

Dependence in the Psalms

Our worship should first expose our dependence on God for the physical blessings we enjoy. The Psalms express this valuable perspective in, among other places, Psalm 127:1-2. Here, Solomon makes no bones about the insufficiency of human effort. Think you can build a house without God? Think you can guard against danger without Him? Think you can provide for yourself and your family by yourself, even working 24/7? Think again! As Jesus points out in Matthew 6:27, none of us can add so much as a cubit to the span of our lives. Despite our pretensions, we are every bit as dependent on God’s providence as the ravens and the lilies.

So too, only God is able to guard us from the evil that others work. Psalm 142 relates a sad story. David finds himself beset by enemies who are laying traps for him, but when he looks to his right hand, where his protector should be (as in the English idiom “right-hand man”), there’s no one there. He has been abandoned. He certainly can’t overcome his enemies by himself, so in his extremity, he has no other option than to call out to the Lord for rescue. When God delivers David, he promises to praise Him to other righteous people too, so that they will know where to turn when they need help.

This is particularly relevant in a time when evil seems to have the upper hand. Most of us would agree that we live in such a time, but in Psalm 11, David says the same. If the righteous try to flee like a bird (our hymn “Flee as a Bird” originates from Psalm 11:1), the wicked will just shoot them out of the sky like an archer! Nor can the godly stay where they are because the very foundations of human society are being destroyed.

When this is the situation, God is the only hope of those who love Him. He is not asleep. He was fully aware of everything that was going on during Saul’s reign, and He continues to be fully aware today. When the time is right, He will judge, and we can count on Him to punish the wicked and exalt the righteous. When we remind ourselves of this in song, it will give us the boldness to endure until the end as well.

More personally, our worship should also instruct us that we must depend on God for forgiveness. David makes this point plainly in Psalm 32:3-6, and he speaks with the voice of experience. He tried to hide his sin. It ate him up. However, when he brought his sin to the Lord, he found forgiveness instantly. His conclusion for all the faithful is that they should likewise turn to God.

If this was true for David, who lived under the Law of Moses and could only have his sins rolled back for a time, how much more true is it for us! In Christ, we can find forgiveness that is truly incomprehensible in its extent and depth. Of ourselves, we cannot atone for a single sin, but in Him, we can find forgiveness for all of them, and the number of sins in “all” is irrelevant. If ever there was reason to rely on God (and to sing about that reliance), our need for forgiveness is it!

Finally, the Psalms show us that we must rely on God to inherit eternal life. As is often the case in the Old Testament, this truth is not revealed plainly, but it is there. Consider the discussion of Psalm 102:23-28. There, the psalmist laments that God appears to be about to cut his life short.

However, God has the power to sustain him, as shown by His establishment of the heavens and earth. Even though the psalmist anticipates a time when the physical creation will wear out and pass away, he remains confident in His ability to preserve His people. This, too, is our hope. We will never overcome death on our own, but through God, all things are possible, and that’s a hope we should celebrate in song until our dying day.

Conclusion

One of the most unwelcome truths about our lives is that their course is fundamentally out of our control. The most welcome truth is that we don’t have to control them because we can depend on God instead. Everything that His people need He will unfailingly provide. When we concede our dependence in worship, we lose any lingering illusions about our self-sufficiency. However, we gain something that is very much greater: our assurance and rest in Him.

— Via Truth Magazine, Volume 65, No. 5, May 2021

https://truthmagazine.com/kindle/2021/2021-05-may/05_Praise.htm

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Sword Tips #4

Joe R. Price

“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images” (2 Chronicles 34:1-3).

Young people can do great things for the Lord! As a young person, seize your opportunities to obey the Lord and live by faith (1 Tim. 4:12). As a parent, advance your child’s faith by teaching God’s word, by godly discipline and by setting worthy examples for them to follow (Eph. 6:3-4).

Why not encourage a young person today? They can live for Christ and resist the evils of this world. Like Josiah, while they are young they can begin to seek the Lord God and be forces for good

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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classesand 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

April 2, 2023 / Tom Edwards

“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) PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Humility (Matthew Bassford)
2) Sword Tips #3 (Joe R. Price)
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PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Humility

Matthew Bassford

Synopsis: “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE” (Jas. 4:6). What an amazing blessing! The Creator of the universe extends His hand of fellowship to those who are lowly, undistinguished, and unpretentious.

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Introduction

Will man humble himself before God? This is one of the great spiritual questions of the Bible, and indeed, one of the great spiritual questions of our time. The pages of Scripture are filled with examples of both pride and humility, with the latter preserved for everlasting glory and the former condemned to everlasting contempt. Because worship is so intertwined with human existence, these two attitudes also reveal themselves in proud and humble worship. Study of the word reveals examples of each.

Pride in Worship

Sadly, we have no trouble locating biblical stories of those whose pride corrupted even the way they approached God, and these stories display several common characteristics. The first is that proud worship chooses the wrong object. Consider God’s condemnation of the rebellious Jews of Jeremiah 13:8-10. Despite His warnings, their pride led them to worship other gods and reject Him.

Though Baal worship is rather less popular today than it was 2700 years ago, we still live in an idolatrous society, and the worship that the worldlings around us lavish on their idols reveals their pride. How many people do we know who “sing the praises” of their fat bank account, their new car, or their favorite politician?

Indeed, modern idol-worshipers proclaim their confidence in their false gods, looking to them for blessing and deliverance instead of to the Lord of hosts. Even if they may show up for services some place on Sunday morning, their words make clear where their true hope lies. Finally, of course, their speech reveals their confidence in themselves, in accumulating so much money, or in championing the right candidate. As it always is with idolatry, the true idol of today is self.

Second, proud worship reveals itself in its refusal to obey the divine ordinance. This is clear in the tragic case of Uzziah, king of Judah, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 26:16-22. To this point, Uzziah had been a righteous king, but his pride provoked him to offer incense in the temple, even though he was not of Aaron’s lineage. Despite opposition from the priests, he persisted in his unlawful worship. Within the sanctuary itself, God struck him with leprosy.

Based on the arguments they make now, we can only conclude that there are many who would have defended Uzziah’s unconscionable actions all those centuries ago: “It’s not fair to reserve offering incense to only a few!” “Isn’t Uzziah just as good as the priests are?” “The law never specifically says that kings can’t offer incense!” And so forth. However, the desire to alter God’s revealed plan of worship never comes from humility—only from pride.

Finally, pride in worship leads to a refusal to acknowledge sin before God. God Himself describes this problem in His people in Zephaniah 3:11. They exult on the holy mountain of the temple, but their volume conceals their proud rebellion against God. Although they won’t deal with their sin, God will. Soon, they will be removed forever.

As all of us know too well, hypocrisy remains a problem among the Lord’s people. There are plenty of Christians who will never respond to the invitation but ought to be responding on a weekly basis! Regardless of how faithfully they attend or how loudly they sing, their sins have made a separation between them and God. For as long as their shamelessness and their pride continue, that state of alienation persists as well. If they die without having confessed their sin, they will be separated from Him eternally.

Humility in Worship

Manifesting humility in worship, of course, is the opposite of these things. Rather than straying after idols, humility seeks the Lord. We see both halves of this illustrated in the life of the long-lived king Manasseh. Manasseh was among the most wicked of all the kings of Judah, debasing himself with every kind of idolatry, going so far as to offer his own sons as sacrifices to Molech.

The vengeance of God was swift. An Assyrian army descended upon Judah and bore Manasseh off to Babylon. While there, however, Manasseh humbled himself before God. The Lord heard his prayer and restored him to kingship in Judah.

Manasseh’s story should be deeply encouraging to us. It reminds us that, no matter how badly we have sinned against God with our own favorite idols, His compassion is so great that it is always possible for us to repent and return. When we seek Him with a whole heart, we will find Him! The songs and prayers that we offer to Him with humility will always be heard.

It also is true that humble worship is obedient worship. The desire of the humble to join in true worship appears in 2 Chronicles 30:6-11. After the Assyrians had carried the majority of Israel into captivity, Hezekiah sent a letter to the remainder, inviting them to come and celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. Most rejected his offer, but a few humbled themselves and came, thus becoming the first people in hundreds of years to celebrate the Passover according to the law.

So too for us. The expressions of worship that the law of Christ requires of us are simple. Read the Scriptures together. Sing. Pray. Celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Give of our means. It ordains also that our assemblies are to be led by men.

If we are humble, we will obey. We will do these things and only these things. We will not listen to the voices of the world around us. We will not be swayed by our culture. We will not imagine that we know better than God does. We will do what He has asked because He has asked us to do it.

Finally, humble worship is repentant worship. The beautiful language of Isaiah 66:1-2. God is unimpressed with our pride. He is not concerned with the majesty of the works that we might do in His name. He cares only that we are humble and contrite, and that we tremble at His word.

Our humility and contrition should appear in what we say. The prayers we offer in our assemblies should be prayers of repentance. In our singing, we should acknowledge our sin and confess our dependence on His grace.

More than that, though, our humility and our sorrow for sin should be evident in our hearts. The one who wishes to come into the presence of the Lord must do so with clean hands and a pure heart, and if ours are not, we must cleanse and purify them.

If this is truly our desire, we will no longer be like the sow that, once washed, quickly returns to the mire. Grace is a gift, not a permission slip. It places us under obligation to be holy. If we want to be holy worshipers, we must humbly seek holiness every day of our lives.

Conclusion

Pride is deadly to godly worship, but humility is the fertile soil from which it springs. How could it be otherwise? The very act of worship is an acknowledgment that another is greater than we are, and if we say such things while cherishing a sense of our own greatness, our hearts give the lie to what we claim.

Instead, let us seek the mind that first was in Christ Jesus. Though He had far greater reason than we do to insist on His prerogatives, He surrendered them all far more graciously and completely. In the praise that we offer God, may each of us be guided by His example, so that, as we have humbled ourselves, we may be exalted by Him!

— Via Truth Magazine, Volume 65, No. 4, 2021

https://truthmagazine.com/kindle/2021/2021-04-apr/05_Praise.htm
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Sword Tips #3

Joe R. Price

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

There has always been and always will be a conflict between loving the world and loving God. When we give our affections to the world we are drawn away from God. Instead of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we become deceived by a counterfeit love affair with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Where are you putting your affections? What will you choose to be attracted to today? If you find yourself being attracted to the world, change your mind and your behavior immediately; repent and return to your first love (Rev. 2:4-5). “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). Love God first, and always. When the love of the Father is in you, love for the world loses its grip.

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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

March 26, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: The Need for Humility (Matthew Bassford)
2) Sword Tips #2 (Joe R. Price)
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PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:

The Need for Humility

Matthew Bassford

Pride is one of Satan’s most effective poisons; humility is its antidote. Let us manifest a spirit of lowliness in our walk and our worship.

Introduction

Humility is the spiritual equivalent of a healthy diet and regular exercise. Everybody acknowledges that it’s essential, but most of us find it difficult in practice. There’s a little voice of self-will inside each of our heads; as a result, we struggle to submit.

Humility is often absent in the pages of our history books. During the Civil War, both sides lost battles because subordinates chose not to follow their commanders’ orders. Most of us wouldn’t have to think very hard to come up with examples of pride in our own lives, whether in others or (if we are painfully honest) ourselves.

However, our battle to be humble is most important in our relationship with God. Here, the need for humility is more obvious than anywhere else. God is God; we are not. Nonetheless, human arrogance has impeded our walk with Him since the beginning. “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?” Pharaoh proudly asks in Exodus 5:2.

He found out. Indeed, all of us will find out sooner or later. However, humble submission is a far better way to come to know the Lord than the path of proud defiance!

Among its many other purposes, our worship of God helps us to develop this humility. It is both a vital product of our praise and a vital part of the process of praising. As we learn to humble ourselves before God, we find ever greater favor with Him.

Humility in Receiving Truth

The humility that must be part of our praise takes several different forms. The first involves humility in receiving truth. James highlights this essential link in James 1:21. If we want the implanted word to save our souls, we must receive it humbly.

This certainly applies to our sermons and Bible studies, but it applies equally to our song worship. Too much of the time, brethren think of singing as a primarily emotional experience. As long as our hearts are filled with love and joy while we sing, we must be doing it right!

Though accurate as far as it goes, this picture is incomplete. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 reveal that singing has a teaching function that is as important as the emotional fulfillment it provides. If we don’t both teach and learn as we sing, we aren’t honoring the whole counsel of God.

James’s wise counsel about humility, then, ought to inform our approach to song worship. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul notes that the Thessalonians received his preaching not as a human message but as the word of God. In the same way, once we have assessed the truth of the songs we sing, we ought to receive those truths as coming (though indirectly) from God. If we do, the truth will change us as it changed the Thessalonians.

This is true not merely of the hymns we recognize as didactic (“Take Time to Be Holy,” for instance) but also of those we think of more as emotional outpourings. Consider, for example, “Be with Me, Lord.” The opening line of the hymn reads, “Be with me, Lord; I cannot live without Thee.” This is a statement that all of us ought to assess as Biblically accurate. Once we decide that it is true, James calls us to receive it with humility and ask what that truth reveals about God and us.

Humility in Self-Assessment

When we perform this crucial assessment of ourselves and our relationship with our Creator, humility should not only inform the process but the result as well. Hymns like “Be with Me, Lord” should bring a host of passages to our minds and awaken in us a proper appreciation of our status.

One such passage is Jeremiah 10:23. It teaches, “Be with Me, Lord,” reaffirming that we are not capable of making our way through life on our own. Of all the hard truths of Scripture, this is one of the least palatable. We all want to believe that we are capable and competent, that we “don’t need nothin’ from nobody!” Even Christians who have walked with the Lord for decades still battle the temptation to trust in themselves.

In this spiritual strife, we need all the help we can get, and humility-focused hymns are a powerful source of aid. Simply because of how human minds are wired, we are inclined to become what we say we are. When we sing and are taught by others that we constantly depend on God, the process embeds the truth in our minds so that it becomes part of how we look at the world.

Indeed, it becomes part of the way that we worship. It’s easy for an atheist to mouth, “I cannot live without Thee.” There are no big words in the sentence. However, when we express those words from our hearts, we demonstrate an understanding of what God means to us, which pleases Him.

Similarly, there are hundreds of hymns that remind us of the truth that originates in Ecclesiastes 5:1-2. God is in heaven, and we are on the earth. It is His glory that is “exalted far above the earth and sky.” Indeed, any halfway decent song of praise will remind us that God is our superior.

This, too, is an essential part of our spiritual makeup. We submit to God because we acknowledge His greatness. He deserves all the glory that we can give Him, but He also deserves our humble obedience. When we praise Him as we should, it helps us to honor Him daily as we should.

Finally, humility in praise calls us to repentance. As James observes in James 4:7-9, the penitent heart also must be a humble one. If we maintain our pride, we also will maintain our sin.

It’s difficult to spend very much time in song worship without encountering hymns that play on this theme. We often sing about our sins, which forces us to admit that it’s not just all those other sinners out there who need God’s grace. We do too!

Perhaps most powerful in this area, though, are the hymns that call us to discipleship. Look at the words of the third verse of “Oh, to Be Like Thee!”

Oh, to be like Thee! Lowly in spirit, Holy and harmless, patient and brave, Meekly enduring cruel reproaches, Willing to suffer others to save.

Ouch! This is a beautiful description of the Lord’s character, but it doesn’t describe my character. Few Christians would be willing to claim that it describes theirs. When we sing it with an open heart, then, it reminds us of what we want to be and highlights how far we are from being there. We can’t sing these words honestly without lamenting past failures and resolving to do better.

Conclusion

Humility is both an essential ingredient and a vital product of our praise. The proud are not interested in worshiping God in the first place, nor are they interested in accepting His truth and examining themselves by its light. However, all these things must be among the spiritual disciplines of the Christian.

None of us enjoys being humbled, even if we are the ones doing the humbling. When we do, we chasten our egos, and as Hebrews 12:11 observes, no chastening is pleasant at the time. However, it does bear the fruit of righteousness, and the chastening of humility is no exception. It bears the fruit of openness to the truth, acknowledging our inadequacy, admission of God’s superiority, and genuine repentance. May all of us be ever humble in our worship!

— Via Truth Magazine, Volume 65, No. 3, March 2021

https://truthmagazine.com/kindle/2021/2021-03-mar/05_Praise.htm

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Sword Tips #2

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (1 John 5:11).

God has borne witness to the world of His truth, His love and His grace. Here, the apostle John teaches us that God, the giver of all good gifts, has given the world the gift of eternal life (Eph. 2:8). This gift is available to the world in His Son, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11; 3:5-7).

Today, remember to thank God for His great love, mercy and grace that you as a Christian have in Christ. Live by faith, trusting and obeying His word to lead you to heaven. God be praised for His wonderful gift of eternal life in His Son!

— Joe R. Price

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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).
——————–

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

March 19, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Reverence (Matthew Bassford)
2) Sword Tips #1 (Joe R. Price)
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PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:

Examples of Reverence

Matthew Bassford

Synopsis: Reverence is reflected in our obedience (Heb. 11:7), worship (Heb. 12:28), and in sharing the gospel with others (1 Pet. 3:15). Matthew surveys Sacred Scripture for examples of those who exemplified reverence and those who did not.

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In creating their pantheons, the ancient pagans imagined gods who were much like themselves. The Greek and Roman gods frequently engaged in family spats, committed adultery, and were given to jealousy and pettiness. The God of the Bible is very different. We are created in His image, not vice versa, and we no more capture the fullness of His nature than a statue captures the fullness of the nature of a man. God has done many extraordinary things, but one of the most mind-boggling of all is that, through Him, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. I accept that in Jesus, the fullness of deity was contained in bodily form, but I cannot comprehend it!

God is very different from us, unimaginably greater, so it is right for the creature to worship and revere the Creator. Presumably, every reader of this article regularly worships God, but our very familiarity with worship can blind us to the depth of the reverence that we ought to be exhibiting. Apart from the blood of Jesus, none of us has any business anywhere near the throne of the Holy One.

If we have any doubt about this, we should consider the behavior of those who were permitted to see a vision of God. No man can see God and live, so even the men who experienced the great theophanies of Scripture did not encounter His reality. In Ezekiel 1:28, the prophet reports that he saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezekiel and the rest beheld only the shadow of a shadow of a shadow of the majesty and dread of God.

Nonetheless, to a man, the shadow of a shadow of a shadow of the divine overwhelmed them. In the same verse, Ezekiel recalls that he fell on his face and stood up only when God told him to get up. The same thing happens to John when he encounters Jesus in Revelation 1:17. During the dedication of Solomon’s temple in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, the people bow low and worship when they see the glory of the Lord fill His house.

In Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah describes what it feels like to meet God. He cries out, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah was a righteous man. From the beginning to the end of his career, he served God faithfully. However, every imperfection in his life was harshly exposed in the light of God’s perfect purity and holiness. The man who proclaimed the word of the Lord exclaimed over the uncleanness of his lips! Once more, only a display of mercy from God allows him to continue.

None of us should believe that we are any more righteous than our fathers. If God were to reveal the merest fragment of Himself to us, we, too, would be reduced to abject terror. The experience of modern warfare is shattering, and veterans commonly have post-traumatic stress disorder. How much more shattering must it be to be exposed to more power than any human ever will unleash!

Of course, it is appointed to man once to die, and after that comes the judgment. All of us will experience God not just in metaphor but in His true fullness, and before Him, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. We do well to prepare for the day when we will see God by showing Him proper reverence now, even though we cannot see Him.

Indeed, this behavior is evident in the most devoted worshipers among God’s people, even when He has not revealed Himself. Look, for instance, at the worship of the people of Judah after Ezra’s sermon at the Water Gate, in Nehemiah 9:1-3. Here there is no theophany, but all the other parts of the theophany pattern are present. The people acknowledge their unworthiness. They confess their sins. They worship. In fact, in Nehemiah 8:9-12, we even see the Levites having to prompt them to rejoice, much like the angel had to prompt Isaiah (cf. ch. 6).

Consider, too, the behavior of Daniel before the great prayer of Daniel 9. In the second verse of the chapter, he prepares himself with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Even a man like this, one of the few major Bible characters about whom nothing negative is said, comes before the Lord with deep reverence and a profound sense of his unworthiness. Great character does not produce great confidence in the flesh. Instead, it produces the opposite.

If we want to find those who approach worship with self-confidence, a casual attitude, and a lack of concern about coming before the Creator, we cannot look to the righteous. Instead, we find such people in places like Leviticus 10:1-3. Nadab and Abihu could not be bothered to treat God as holy by worshiping Him according to the commandment. God’s judgment on their insolence was as final as it was unmistakable.

In Malachi 1:6-14, the worshipers under discussion regard God’s worship as tiresome, a matter for disdain. Rather than bringing their best, they offer the blind and the sick and the lame, as though they were the masters and God was the suppliant, as though He ought to be content with whatever they felt like sacrificing. In answer, God describes their sacrifices as useless, unacceptable, and profane. He places them under a curse and expresses the wish that someone would shut the temple doors rather than allowing the continued defilement of His altar.

Worship is serious business. It is true that, like Ezekiel, we have been invited to stand before God. Like Isaiah’s lips, our lips have been purified. However, we must not confuse boldness through Christ with contempt for the Lord of heaven and earth.

We do not “have to” worship God every week because it is one of the five checklist acts of worship. We are allowed to worship, permitted to worship, and privileged to worship. When we appear in His presence, it is only because the most precious sacrifice ever offered put us there. We must be conscious that we are treading on holy ground.

When we are there, no prostrating of ourselves or exalting of Him ever can be excessive. This, of course, does not refer to outward form. When we worship God in spirit and truth, physical posture is neither here nor there. One is reminded of the hypocritical worshiper of Isaiah 58:4-5, who bowed his head as easily as a reed bending before the wind but with as little lasting impact.

Instead, we are called to true reverence, to the prostration of the heart. We must be awed that such a One as He would deign even to hear our praises. To draw near to Him without this spirit is very dangerous. The profane worshiper of today may not be judged as immediately as Nadab and Abihu were, but in the end, his fate will be no different. In all our days, may each of us heed the wise words of the Hebrews writer, who said, “Let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28-29).

— Via Truth Magazine, February 2021, No. 2, Volume 65

https://truthmagazine.com/kindle/2021/2021-02-feb/05_Praise.htm

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“And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).

Sword Tips #1

Joe R. Price

And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him (Luke 15:20).

The parable of the prodigal (wasteful) son magnifies God’s mercy toward sinners by contrasting it with the unloving and unforgiving treatment of sinners by the Pharisees and scribes (Lk. 15:1-2). God is moved by compassion to forgive us when we repent and return to him; He is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4)! When we repent from the wastefulness of sin we can return to God and he forgives us. Therefore, let us remember to forgive others as God has forgiven us (Eph. 4:32). If we refuse to do so, we will not be forgiven by God (Matt. 6:14-15).

Has someone sinned against you? If so, be rich in mercy and compassion. Forgive them as God has forgiven you.

——————–

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).
——————–

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

March 12, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: The Need for Reverence (Matthew Bassford)
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PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:
The Need for Reverence

Matthew Bassford

Synopsis: With the start of a new year, we begin a new column that focuses upon principles of praise. As a faithful gospel preacher and gifted writer of spiritual hymns, Matthew is well qualified to guide us in this study. Welcome, brother!

Introduction

Our society is not particularly given to reverence. To modern Americans, no human being is above mockery: not the President, not the military leaders, and not the heads of any religion. Furthermore, there is no being whom all of us acknowledge to be above us. Even as the philosophy of naturalism has reduced man to the level of an animal, it also has denied the existence of anyone superior. When we all are down in the mud together, no place remains for reverence.

Not surprisingly, modern Christians often struggle to feel the deep respect tinged with awe that is characteristic of reverence. We aren’t used to being reverential, so it is easy for us to develop a casual attitude toward the worship of God. This spirit is obvious—not so much in open disrespect but in a lack of appreciation of what we are doing when we praise Him. When we sing, we go through the motions, but too often, we don’t consider the awesome nature of the One whom we are addressing.

This is a serious problem. In Malachi 1:6-14, God condemns the sacrifices being offered by the post-exilic Jews. The problem wasn’t that those sacrifices were idolatrous or directed toward the wrong god. Instead, it was the poor quality of the sacrifices being offered to the right God. The Jews dismissed the worship of the Lord as tiresome, so they offered Him the blind, the sick, and the lame rather than the unblemished sacrifices He deserved.

If we desire to please Him, we must do better. As His words in Malachi 1:10 make clear, God would rather have no worship at all than worship that is lukewarm and inconsistent with His greatness. When we sing, we must continually bear in mind the characteristics that make God worthy of our reverence.

His Nature

First, God is deserving of reverence simply because of who He is. The gods of the Greeks and the Romans were anthropomorphic. Though supposedly possessed of powers far greater than our own, their nature was the same as ours. They quarreled, pouted, and committed adultery just as human beings do.

God is different. Indeed, He is incomprehensibly different. As Isaiah 55:8-9 reports of Him, His ways and thoughts are as far above us as the heavens are above the earth. According to 1 Corinthians 1:25, His weakness is stronger than our strength, and His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom.

Humanists place man at the top of the cosmic heap. However, the Scriptures reveal that, compared to God, we aren’t even on the heap to begin with! We don’t like to acknowledge anyone as our superior, but an honest appreciation of the Holy One of Israel leaves us no choice.

Thus, we see the heavenly beings of Revelation 4-5 acclaiming God and Christ as worthy. They aren’t going through the motions. They aren’t doing the expected. Instead, they are overwhelmed by the revealed glory of God and are reacting in the only appropriate way. All of the continual casting down crowns and falling down in worship before His throne might seem a little over-the-top to us, but that is only because we have not seen what they have.

However, reverence for an unseen God is no less fitting than reverence for a God who is seen. The vast gulf between Him and us is no less real, and He intrinsically deserves our worship.

His Works

God is worthy of reverence because of who He is, but we also ought to revere Him because of what He has done. This concept is well captured in Psalm 95:1-7. God is the Creator, the One who controls the earth, from the depths to the mountains. He made the sea, the dry land, and all of us. Thus, we ought to shout joyfully to Him, to worship, to bow down, and to kneel before Him.

Particularly, we must acknowledge that God is more than merely the Watchmaker of the deist’s imagination. His activity did not cease on the sixth day of creation. According to Colossians 1:17, it is through Christ that all things continue to hold together. If He stopped upholding us with His powerful word even for a moment, the universe and we ourselves would cease to exist. We fear the things that could destroy us through the exertion of some force, but only God can destroy us by choosing to do nothing.

Several months ago, my family and I vacationed in Rocky Mountain National Park, just before it was devastated by wildfires. One morning, as my children and I were hiking through an alpine meadow, two bull moose emerged from the brush about twenty yards ahead.

The average bull moose stands about six feet high at the shoulder and weighs half a ton. Moose have hooves the size of dinner plates, and they injure more people than any other wild mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I tell you, we backed down that trail as quickly as possible!

If we show such respect to an overgrown version of Bambi, how much more should we revere the One who formed and sustains the universe?

Our Responsibility

Such a God does not behave capriciously. If He created us, He had a reason for so doing, and we see it explained in Ecclesiastes 12:13. The purpose of our existence is to fear and obey Him.

Irreverence, then, is not merely an insult to a Being of unimaginable greatness and power, but a rejection of the only activity that makes life meaningful. Without a reverential heart, we have nothing and are nothing.

The futility of godlessness is evident even in this life. There are few more ominous phrases in Scripture than the refrain of “God gave them over” in Romans 1. As we survey the catalog of the depravity of the Gentiles in the second half of the chapter, though, we must remember where their problems began. In Romans 1:21, Paul notes that although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks. In other words, they refused to show reverence.

From that failure, every other spiritual problem proceeds, from idolatry through sexual immorality to the rejection of everything that is good in Romans 1:28-32. The slaves of sin are never happy, and we see the misery of the devil’s thralls around us daily. Ultimately, though, they are enslaved not by some external force, but by their own pride, by their arrogant refusal to bend the knee to God as they were designed to do.

Of course, it is in the judgment that the full vanity of this vain rebellion will be exposed. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Everyone, even the false prophet, even the atheist, will carry out God’s purpose for them in the end. However, on that day, their forced submission will do them no good.

By contrast, when we submit to God’s purpose for us now and glorify Him appropriately, every other aspect of our lives comes into focus. When we choose not to kick against the goads, we experience life as it is meant to be lived and gain eternal life as well.

Conclusion

Reverential worship, then, is no spiritual extra. It is the only reasonable response to a God who is so great and mighty. Indeed, it is the only proper way for us to exist.

The same spring will not produce both fresh and salt water. The heart that will not revere God appropriately will not serve Him appropriately either. Conversely, when we align our hearts with His will in worship, it becomes far easier to align our lives as well.

— Via Truth Magazine, No. 1, Volume 65, January 2021

https://truthmagazine.com/kindle/2021/2021-01-jan/05_Praise.htm

——————–

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).
——————–

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classesand 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

March 5, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) Life and Death Are In The Tongue (Larry Bilbo)
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Life and Death Are In The Tongue

Larry Bilbo

Jesus said, “. . . out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). With but casual thought we easily recognize the truthfulness of His statement. Our words are a reflection of the mainstream of our thoughts, and hence, our characters. If you associate with a person for but a short time you can soon determine the stuff with which his heart is filled, good or bad, by his speech.

One’s true character can not be long hidden. In his casual conversations, his intense discussions, in his passionate cries, in times of provocation, in times of frustration, in times of joy, his lips and tongue declare the arena of his heart’s activity. Solomon said, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Pro. 18:21). Indeed it is true that we can buoy men to great heights of life and joy and success by our words, but we can also plunge them into abysmal depths of sin, sorrow, sadness and despair by our words.

Solomon has quite a lot to say about the proper use of the tongue in his book of Proverbs. Let’s focus on some of his statements. First the good:

“A word fitly spoken is as apples of gold in a network of silver” (Pro. 25:11).

“Pleasant words are as honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones” (Pro. 16:24).

“A word in due season, how good it is!” (Pro. 15:23).

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life” (Pro. 15:4).

The person who can spread abroad these kinds of sweet verbal fragrances throughout the sphere of his influence is one who is of inestimable value to his fellows. His company will be sought, and his presence will be cherished because of the positive influence his heart, his life and his words have on others. When his associates and friends are downtrodden, he can help them to stand again. When they are sad, he can make their hearts to sing again. When they are confused, he can point them in the right direction, and when they are prospering spiritually and in every other way he will exhort them to proceed circumspectly and cautiously and humbly lest they unwittingly fall into the snare of the devil.

This sweet-tongued, much loved and respected person was not born the kind of person he is. He could be as negative as the next person, but he knows there is no joy or profit in it for himself or others. Indeed, as Solomon said, “The heart of the wise instructeth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips” (Pro. 16:23). This person has trained himself to be of superior quality. Furthermore, “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge” (Pro. 15:7). A person is not wise because his lips are able to disperse knowledge, but his lips are able to disperse knowledge because he is wise. And he is wise because he has sought wisdom as hidden treasure (Pro. 2:4). Such a person “. . . hath joy in the answer of his mouth” (Pro. 15:23).

Now, the bad tongue. . . It is amazing that the same mouth that is potentially capable of doing so much good can be productive of so much bad when directed by a godless heart (James 3:11)! “With his mouth the ungodly person destroyeth his neighbor” (Pro. 11:9). When a person has a wicked heart he, like a tornado skimming across the landscape, sows havoc everywhere he/she goes. Indeed, how much damage can be done by “fervent lips and a wicked heart” (Pro. 26:23).

This person calculates to do wickedness with his words either with profanity, obscenity, dishonesty, discouragement or backbiting gossip. He wants to hurt someone by his words or at least hinder someone’s moral, mental and spiritual progress by keeping them in bondage to sin and Satan. “The words of the wicked are lying in wait for blood” (Pro. 12:6). By perverseness of his tongue he breaketh the spirit of those around him (Pro. 15:4).

Furthermore, Solomon speaks of the person who does a lot of meaningless talking. “In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression; but he that refraineth his lips doeth wisely” (Pro. 10:19). This is not just a statistical matter like saying, the more a person spends driving his car, the more likely he is to have a wreck. Anyone who talks a lot will probably make a mistake occasionally. Solomon is not talking about that. He is talking about the person whose thinking is not in proportion to his talking — the one who talks much and thinks but little. He will eventually run out of anything constructive to say and when this happens, if he pushes himself to babble on, he begins backbiting and gossiping about other people. There is always someone who is ready to hear the gossiper’s slanderous words, and to him “the words of the whisperer are as dainty morsels” (Pro. 18:8). Such backbiting is harmful to everyone involved in it: the gossiper, the listener and the one talked about. Solomon says, “a fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are a snare to his soul” (Pro. 18:6-7).

The Bible gives instruction to those whose experience puts them in proximity of a gossiper. “He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets; therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips” (Pro. 20:19). So many problems in the world and in the church could be prevented if we would learn not to gossip. “For lack of wood the fire goeth out; and where there is no whisperer, contention ceaseth” (Pro. 26:20).

And finally, there is the problem of the person who wants to talk but does not want to listen. He wants to dominate the conversation and steam roll over anyone else who wants to speak. He is usually the person who wants to express his self-willed opinions without properly assimilating and analyzing the facts of the matter under consideration. Solomon says of this kind of person, “he that giveth answer before he heareth, it is folly and shame unto him” (Pro. 18:13). James says “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak…” (Jas. 1:19).

Indeed, “life and death are in the tongue.” But the tongue expresses only what is in the heart, the mind. We might say the tongue is a barometer of the mind of man. Make the mind what it ought to be: righteous, pure, holy, and clear; and the tongue will say what it ought to say. In that case, only life will be in the tongue, no death at all. What is it for you, for me?

Let us exercise ourselves unto godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). “Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall,” so said Oliver Wendell Holmes.

— Via Viewpoint from the Valley Grove church Of Christ, December 11, 2022

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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).
——————–

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

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.)

The Gospel Observer

February 26, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) Smyrna (Mike Willis)
2) The Flesh (Heath Rogers)
3) Sword Tips #24 (Joe R. Price)
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-1-

Smyrna

Mike Willis

Smyrna is located on the western coast of Turkey in a natural harbor of the Aegean Sea, into which flows the Hermus River. Known today as modern Izmir, the ancient city of Smyrna has not and cannot be well excavated because so much of it lies beneath the modern city. The city was first settled in the 10th century B.C. (contemporary with King Solomon). That area is known as “old Smyrna” and it has been excavated.

Smyrna came into conflict with the emerging Lydian kingdom and was destroyed in about 600 B.C. The inhabitants scattered to surrounding villages. In 334 B.C., when Alexander the Great invaded the area, he refounded the city in its present location. King Lysimachus put the city on the map after his reorganization of Asia Minor, following the battle of Ipsus (301 B.C.).

Ancient Smyrna competed for trade with Ephesus and eventually became the leading trading center of the area. Some ancient coins called Smyrna the “first of Asia,” though this was contested, according to the coins of Pergamum and Ephesus (Ramsay, 1909, 255). Strabo called it the most beautiful of all cities (Blaiklock, 1983, 418). Smyrna boasted that it was the city of the famed Greek author Homer, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey. Even today, Izmir is one of the largest and busiest commercial centers in the region.

William Ramsay writes, “As early as 195, when Antiochus was still at the height of his power, Smyrna built a temple and instituted worship of Rome; this bold step was a pledge of uncompromising adherence to the cause of Rome, while its fortunes were still uncertain” (1909, 254).

The town is only mentioned two times in Scripture (Rev. 1:11; 2:8). The church at Smyrna may have been established during the period that Paul preached in Ephesus and all Asia heard the gospel (Acts 19:10). There may be an allusion to ancient practices in the “crown of life” expression in Revelation 2:10. “Ancient writers often referred to the ‘crown of Smyrna,’ which perhaps referred to a crown of flowers worn by worshipers of the goddess Cybele” (Blaiklock, 1983, 418). However, Ramsay believes the “crown of Smyrna” “arose from the appearance of the hill Pagos, with the stately buildings on its rounded top and the city spreading down its rounded sloping sides” (1909, 256). Ramsay continues to write about the “crown” of Smyrna saying,

The comparison of Smyrna to a flower has a close connection with the “crown.” The crown or garland was usually a circlet of flowers; and the mention of a crown immediately aroused in the ancient mind the thought of a flower. Crowns were worn chiefly in the worship of gods. The worshipper was expected to have on his head a garland of the flowers or foliage sacred to the god whose rites he was performing. The guests at an entertainment were often regarded as worshippers of Bacchus and wore the sacred ivy: frequently, also, the entertainment was a feast connecting with the ritual of some other deity, and the crown varied accordingly. Thus the ideas of the flower and the crown suggest in their turn the idea of the god with whose worship they were connected, i.e., the statue of the god. The tutelary deity of Smyrna was the Mother-goddess, Cybele; and when Aristides pictured Smyrna as a statute sitting with her feet on the sea, and her head rising to heaven and crowned with a circlet of beautiful buildings, he had in mind the patroness and guardian of the city, who was represented enthroned and wearing a crown of battlements and towers (1909, 258).

Whether or not Ramsay is correct about his interpretation of the “crown,” the coins from Smyrna show the mother-goddess Cybele adorned with a “crown.”

The letter in Revelation indicates that there was at least one (perhaps more) Jewish synagogue in the city. “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9). Most probably the animosity of the Jews toward Christians was stirred by the conversion to Christ of many Jews and God-fearing Gentiles (see Acts 10:1-2, Cornelius; the term “God-fearer” is a technical term for Gentiles who attended the synagogue but were not fully converted to Judaism).

The text also indicates that saints in Smyrna would suffer persecution, even to the point of losing their lives. John writes, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). In A.D. 156, the eighty-six-year-old Polycarp was executed at Smyrna along with eleven others from Philadelphia (The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, 19). And, although the execution occurred on a Sabbath, the Jews were zealous in lending a hand to gather wood for Polycarp to be burned alive (The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, 8, 13).

— Via Truth Magazine, Volume LVI, Number 3, March 2012,

https://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume56/2012_03_Mar_Truth_Magazine.pdf

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-2-

The Flesh

Heath Rogers

The New Testament reveals there is a battle waging within every Christian – a battle between the Spirit and the flesh. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal. 5:16-17).

The flesh in this passage is not our physical body. Flesh is translated from the Greek term sarx which Thayer describes as “mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God.”

Consider the following facts about the flesh learned from Romans 8:5-8.

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1. The flesh has appetites or desires (v. 5). Because of this, we can expect the flesh to be highly motivated to satisfy these desires.

2. The flesh is opposed to the Spirit (v. 5). There is no middle ground, no compromise between the two.

3. The consequences of the flesh are death (v. 6). Sin promises pleasure, but it is passing, leaving behind the penalty of death.

4. The flesh is an enemy of God (v. 7). It will always be hostile to the things of God.

5. The flesh is incapable of submitting to the will of God (v. 7). There is no hope of “converting” the flesh. Instead, we are instructed to crucify the flesh with its passion and desires (Gal. 5:24).

6. The flesh renders one incapable of pleasing God (v. 8). We please God by winning this inward battle and producing the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

To win this battle, we must set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5), bringing our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). We must also walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) – actively following the teaching of the Spirit in His word. Doing so will give us an advantage over the flesh and its desires.

— Via Articles from the Knollwood church of Christ, February 2023

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-3-

Sword Tips #24

“I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments” (Psalm 119:59-60).

Self-examination is crucial to spiritual success. Take a careful look at yourself today by using God’s word as your mirror. Are you living according to God’s will? If not, start obeying God’s commandments without delay.

If you put off obeying God your heart becomes calloused, making it harder to choose what is right.

Make today the day you turn away from sin and swiftly run to God.

– Joe R. Price

——————–

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).
——————–

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

February 19, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) “The Gospel of Judas”? (Ron Lehde)
——————–

-1-

“The Gospel of Judas”?

Ron Lehde

Tonight (April 9, 2006) the National Geographic magazine is scheduled to present a television program that deals with an ancient work known as “The Gospel of Judas.” It is a 26-page manuscript (ca. AD 300) that is a Coptic translation of a Greek manuscript that is at least one hundred years older and was found in Egypt in the 1970s. The Copts are pre-Islamic inhabitants of Egypt and are believers in Christ. However, they have digressed in doctrine and practice to the extent they have their own pope. This “Gospel” presents a Judas that is doing the Lord’s bidding when he hands Him over to be crucified. At best this “show” will be a cynical attempt to gain “ratings” on TV and at worst it is – of course – an attempt by Satan to undermine faith in the Bible as the inspired Word of God. The following is from a news article about this false work.

“Although the full details have not yet been made public, snippets discussed in academic circles say it will prove Judas was acting at the behest of God when he sold Jesus to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver. Its publication will raise fears among traditionalists that efforts may be made to rehabilitate a man whose name is synonymous with betrayal. Sympathisers (sic) with Judas contend that had Jesus not been crucified, he would not have been subsequently resurrected to save humanity.”

There are at least three untruths in the above paragraph and even more in the newspaper articles you may have already read about this “Gospel.” To try and untangle this mess we must go back to the Bible and note a few things.

1. “Judas was acting by the command of God when he betrayed Jesus.” This is not so! The Bible plainly states: “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him” (John 13:2).

2. “Judas…sold Jesus to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver.” Once again this is an effort to cover up the guilt of the chief priests and elders of the Jews of that generation. They are the ones who sent Jesus to the Roman governor, Pilate, in an effort to hide their conspiracy in Jesus’ death. “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:14-15).

3. “Sympathisers (sic) with Judas contend that had Jesus not been crucified, he would not have been subsequently resurrected to save humanity.” Critics of the Bible contend that Judas’ action was necessary for humanity to have salvation. However, just because God uses the deeds of an unrighteous individual to accomplish His ends does not mean that person will receive a positive reward. The unrighteous judge in Luke 18 finally did right in avenging the widow of her enemies; yet he did it only because she was wearing him out by her constant pestering him to do so. So we read: “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24).

Scholars have long known that a work called “The Gospel of Judas” existed. They have been on the lookout for it because of a reference to it in a text called Against Heresies, written by one of the so-called “Church Fathers,” Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, about the year AD 180. Irenaeus was a student of Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John. As John made every effort to repudiate the heresy of the Gnostics (cf. 1 & 2 John), so did Polycarp and Irenaeus. The Gnostics were a faction that had apparently (outwardly) obeyed the gospel and were Christians but then had gone after the false teaching of this sect. Their name comes from the Greek word for “revealed knowledge” (gnosis) and they claimed to have a secret knowledge regarding spiritual things. They taught that “sparks or seeds of the Divine Being fell from this transcendent realm into the material universe, which is wholly evil, and were imprisoned in human bodies. Reawakened by knowledge, the divine element in humanity can return to its proper home in the transcendent spiritual realm” (“Gnosticism,” Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia). In short, souls/spirits from the Divine Being were shaken out of heaven, fell to earth, and became imprisoned in human bodies. And the only way they can find their way back to heaven is to embrace this secret, superior, revealed knowledge that will guide it back. Paul may have also warned against the beginnings of this heresy when he wrote: “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—“ (1 Timothy 6:20).

Three of the divisions within Gnosticism were: Ebonites, Cerenthians, and Docetaeans. Essentially all sects of Gnosticism believed that the world was evil; evil was all present; and therefore Deity could never assume/occupy sinful flesh.

1. The Ebonites believed that Jesus was only a good man like anyone else in an evil world. Hence His death only benefited Him. This heresy the apostle John adamantly denied when he wrote: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (I John 2:22). This passage also refutes the following belief of the Gnostics, the Cerenthians…

2. The Cerenthians believed that the body of the man called Jesus became occupied at his baptism by a demon named Christ, which then left him before the “passion.” This belief denies the Deity of Jesus.

3. The Docetaeans believed that Jesus Christ appeared to be real but his body was only a shadowy phantom (hologram?). This would mean that Jesus’ suffering/passion and death was only an illusion; therefore they denied the humanity of Jesus.

The apostle John, in refuting these Gnostic beliefs, said: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (I John 4:2-3).

All of these different aspects of Gnosticism actually came about because of one common hedonistic desire. It allowed them in their “state of superior knowledge” to be as indulgent in the lusts of the flesh as they wished because the body was evil, would die, and the spirit – being pure – would return to heavenly realms. Their analogy was that if a diamond fell into a pigsty it remained a diamond despite being covered with filth; and when it was removed from the sty it could be cleaned and again become bright and shiny.

The most revealing passages in this false gospel begins, “The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week, three days before he celebrated Passover.” The account goes on to relate that Jesus refers to the other disciples, telling Judas “you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” This last phrase is very important to remember when you consider the aspect of Gnostic belief concerning the pure spirit being imprisoned in an evil body.

It is true that this “Gospel” is an old work, probably dating back to the 2nd century AD. But because it does not go further back than this it cannot be the work of an eyewitness of the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus; to which must also be added the death of Judas as recorded in Matthew and Acts. It is obviously a work espousing Gnostic heresy that we find at least in principle — if not out rightly — condemned in the writings of Paul and John.

In summation, we can see that “The Gospel of Judas” is a contradiction of what is in the Gospels of the New Testament. They – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – all agree that “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Because of the great truth (i.e., Truth never contradicts itself) it is easy to see that this is a false work and is to be rejected by all faithful children of God.

May our faith be strengthened through our confidence in God’s revealed will, the Bible…as we have it now!

— Via Articles from the La Vista church of Christ

——————–

John 1:14

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

NASB

——————–

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).
——————–

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

The Gospel Observer

February 12, 2023 / Tom Edwards

Contents:

1) The Healing of the Centurion’s Servant (Kyle Pope)
2) “They Shall Never Perish” (Joe R. Price)

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-1-

The Healing of the Centurion’s Servant

Kyle Pope

Matthew 8:5-13 records a remarkable healing which Jesus performed for a most unlikely person. The account begins, “Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him” (8:5, NKJV). A Roman centurion, lit. “an archos of one hundred,” was a position of great military authority. “They were the representatives of Roman law and order and were men of force of character” (A. T. Robertson, Commentary, 121). We are not told how this man learned about Jesus, but it is clear that he had a good relationship with the Jews of Capernaum. Luke records that he built their synagogue and loved their “nation” (Luke 7:5). Perhaps the centurion had heard from the Jews things that Jesus had done. However he came to learn about Jesus, this non-Israelite would demonstrate greater faith than many of the Jews had up to that point in Jesus’s ministry.

Matthew records that the centurion “came to Him” and was “pleading with Him.” Luke informs us that this inquiry actually came through the elders of the Jews whom the man had approached after hearing about Jesus. The elders came to Jesus and, “begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving” (Luke 7:4b-5). At this word Jesus went with them (Luke 7:6). Modern critics have argued that this difference between Matthew and Luke is a contradiction, but we contend that both accounts are given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16) and contain no elements that cannot be harmonized with one another.

The message which the centurion brought was simple, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented” (8:6). Matthew uses a word for “servant” (pais) that can mean either child or servant. The parallel account in Luke uses a word for “servant” (doulos) which would not be applied to one’s child (Luke 7:2). The affection and concern for the servant as one “dear to him” (Luke 7:2) may explain Matthew’s use of the more familial term. Luke adds the fact that the servant “was sick and ready to die” (Luke 7:2). Our English word “paralytic” is derived from the word Matthew uses here which the KJV rendered “palsy.” Most translations of this century and the last transliterate the word or refer to the servant as “paralyzed.” The centurion’s servant in our text was not only paralyzed but was also “suffering great pain” (NASB).

In response to the request from the centurion, Jesus replied, “I will come and heal him” (8:7). After the Jewish elders relayed the message, Jesus “went with them” (Luke 7:6a). As He approached the house, “The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed’” (Matt. 8:8). This discourse is also relayed to Jesus, but by friends of the Centurion. Luke records, “when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him” (Luke 7:6b). The words the centurion relayed to Jesus represent some of the most humble and moving words ever spoken. It is striking that this powerful Gentile officer speaks to a simple Jewish carpenter’s son, calling Him “Lord.” Most commentators see in his reluctance for Jesus to come to him a demonstration of respect for Jewish separatism from Gentiles. Yet the centurion’s declaration “I am not worthy” addresses more than ceremonial cleanliness. In Luke’s account he relays to Jesus, “I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you” (Luke 7:7). The fact that the centurion immediately turns to issues of authority and rank make it more likely that the centurion, recognizing Jesus’s miraculous authority, acknowledges his own deficiency in such matters.

He then declares, “only speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (Matt. 8:8b). The centurion’s statement reflects both faith and a respect for authority. As was true of his own rank he knew that one in a position of authority could command others and carry out his wishes through subordinates. Did the man expect Jesus’s disciples to carry out the healing in His place, or did he understand that Jesus’s authority extended beyond the material world? In either case he treats Jesus, not as an inferior in a conquered land, but one worthy of respect, with authority greater than his own. In our day, how badly we need more souls like this noble man—souls who recognize that the power Christ possessed to “speak the word only” and accomplish His will, still resides in that word which has been revealed. We are “not worthy” to go beyond what has been spoken, so we must respect the authority of God which rests in His word.

The centurion continued, “For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matt. 8:9). Jack Russell Shaffer thinks that part of this message may have been delivered by the centurion directly. He reasons, “Seeing Jesus near his house and having already sent the second delegation, the centurion came personally to meet Jesus and restates the problem in more detail” (“A Harmonization of Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10.” The Master’s Seminary Journal 17.1 (2006): 48). Whether Jesus personally spoke with the man or not, his faith and respect for authority impressed Jesus.

He identifies himself as a man “under authority.” As a Gentile, this man may have known only a little about the God of Israel, but he understood well the nature of authority. Since the centurion had come to believe that Jesus had power to heal disease, he reasoned that Jesus’s authority would function as his own authority did. He had power to command, and his word alone accomplished his will. Brother Kenneth Chumbley, in his commentary on Matthew offers the insightful analysis that “the centurion reasoned inductively that they were both under authority. He understood that only those who can take orders are allowed to give orders” (153). What a wonderful demonstration of faith that this man understood that Jesus could simply speak and his servant would be healed.

Those who would follow Jesus today must recognize that as servants of God we are “under His authority.” No, we do not hear the voice of Jesus commanding us directly, but as His servants we are given instruction through His revealed word in Scripture. This word guides us through all that it contains, in its direct statements, its descriptions of what pleases God, and in the truths it infers. To presume to direct our own steps in matters of worship, teaching, or lifestyle is to reject the authority of God. To respect God’s word is not “legalism” but a gesture of humble obedience and faith in the One who authored that word.

Jesus praised the man’s faith and went on to foreshadow the inclusion of the Gentiles in the gospel message (Matt. 8:10-12). But what happened to the servant? The text records that Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you” (Matt. 8:13a). Matthew tells us, “his servant was healed that same hour” (Matt. 8:13b). Jack P. Lewis notes that the phrase “that same hour”—“is for the Gospels a phrase unique to Matthew (8:13; 9:22; 15:28; 17:18)” (Commentary on Matthew 1.123). Jesus’s healings were immediate. Luke records, “those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick” (Luke 7:10, NKJV). When Jesus spoke, the servant was healed. If this Roman centurion showed such great faith in and respect for the word of Jesus, should we show any less?

— Via Faithful Sayings, Volume 25, Issue 5 (January 29, 2023)

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-2-

“They Shall Never Perish”

Joe R. Price

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand (John 10:27-29, NKJV).

Jesus is the good shepherd who gave His life for His sheep (Jn. 10:11). He knows His sheep and is known by them (Jn. 10:14). Jesus used the language of Ezekiel to explain His relation to His followers: “‘You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,’ says the Lord God” (Ezek. 34:31).

Today’s passage addresses the security of believers. The Shepherd has the power to protect His sheep; that is beyond question: (1) Jesus speaks to His sheep, 10:27; (2) Jesus knows His sheep, 10:27; (3) Jesus gives them eternal life, 10:28; (4) His sheep are secure in His hand and in the Father’s hand, 10:28, 29. At the same time, His sheep make choices that contribute to their security in Christ: (1) His sheep hear His voice, 10:27; (2) His sheep follow Him, 10:27. Sheep are exposed to danger when they wander from the shepherd’s care. The same is true of Christians who stray from hearing and following Christ’s word (1 Tim. 4:1-3). Christians can fall away from Christ and be lost (Gal. 5:4; 1 Cor. 10:12). Falling away from Christ does not happen because Christ cannot save His sheep. It occurs when sheep refuse to hear and follow the Shepherd (1 Cor. 5:1-5). Hear and follow the voice of Jesus and be secure in Him.

— via The Spirit’s Sword, Volume 24, Number 30, September 18, 2022

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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501

Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. We also have a Congregational Song Service at 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.

Wednesday: 7 p.m. for Bible Classes

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Dependence in Worship

Introduction

Solomon’s Appeal for Wisdom

Daniel’s Prayer for Insight

Jehoshaphat’s Request for Deliverance

Conclusion

Sword Tips #5

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Dependence in Worship

Introduction

Learning Dependence

Dependence in the Psalms

Conclusion

Sword Tips #4

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE: Examples of Humility

Introduction

Pride in Worship

Humility in Worship

Conclusion

Sword Tips #3

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:

The Need for Humility

Introduction

Humility in Receiving Truth

Humility in Self-Assessment

Conclusion

Sword Tips #2

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:

Examples of Reverence

Sword Tips #1

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:The Need for Reverence

Introduction

His Nature

His Works

Our Responsibility

Conclusion

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

Life and Death Are In The Tongue

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

Smyrna

The Flesh

Sword Tips #24

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

“The Gospel of Judas”?

John 1:14

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

The Healing of the Centurion’s Servant

“They Shall Never Perish”

The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

Archives by Month

PRINCIPLES OF PRAISE:
The Need for Reverence