1) THE CHURCH: Recognizing the Bible Pattern (Ron Halbrook)
——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/heb8_6_web-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n-1- \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE CHURCH:
Recognizing the Bible Pattern<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ron Halbrook<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus\u201d (2 Tim. 1:13, NKJV).
God\u2019s love, care, and sovereignty are manifested in His patterns. His will, purposes, and commandments are expressed in propositions of truth. The patterns and propositions revealed in His Holy Word define God\u2019s relationships with man. The church of Christ is based on the pattern prepared by God, the Father, from eternity. That pattern is revealed in the things that Christ commanded His apostles to preach and teach in order to bring salvation to the world (Matt. 28:18-20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God Is a God of Patterns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
God is a God of patterns in the physical creation and the realm of spiritual redemption. \u201cAnd God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years\u201d (Gen. 1:14). The heavenly bodies move in patterns that can be mapped so precisely that astronauts can safely travel among them and return to earth. The seasons come and go by rhythms under God\u2019s constant care and control (Gen. 8:22). All of nature moves in cycles that are beautiful and essential to man\u2019s well-being on earth (Ps. 147:8-9; Eccl. 1:4-7).
In ways that we cannot fathom, God\u2019s redemptive plan\u2014prepared from eternity\u2014set in motion periods and events in human history that resulted in the Savior coming at precisely the right moment to save as many souls as possible. Nations rose and fell on God\u2019s timetable until \u201cthe fulness of the time was come\u201d when \u201cGod sent forth His Son…to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons\u201d (Gal. 4:4-5). Even the genealogy of Jesus followed a path or pattern reflecting God\u2019s plan and purpose (Matt. 1; Luke 3:23-38).
From God\u2019s vantage point, history is not a stream of random chaotic events, but rather it is a series of events falling into a perfect pattern to produce a perfect result. God replicated the history of Israel in the life of Jesus as we see the child of promise, His rescue from a tyrant\u2019s execution order, his preservation by a journey into Egypt, the wilderness temptation, and the dawning of a new kingdom under God\u2019s guiding hand (Matt. 1-7).
God\u2019s sovereignty and His unfathomable love are revealed in His patterns. The gift of language from the time of man\u2019s creation provides an avenue of close fellowship between God and man. Love flourished as God communicated with man and man with God\u2014until sin entered the world. Then, for the first time, man was terrorized by \u201cthe voice of the Lord\u201d (Gen. 3:8). Male and female expressed their love through language, the vehicle of ideas and ideals (Gen. 2:23-24).
Language functioned by patterns and propositions in the form of direct statements, approved examples, and necessary implications. Even when men\u2014intoxicated with sophistry\u2014attempt to deny the hermeneutic of language, they do so by employing it! Man can no more escape the patterns by which language functions than the patterns by which nature functions.
Like it or not, believe it or not, God is a God of patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A God of Patterns in the Old Testament<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Bible is God\u2019s wonderful gift of His patterns of truth that enable us to know Him and His love, and thus to live in fellowship with Him. Upon giving the patterns of truth necessary for Israel\u2019s fellowship with Him, God strictly forbade adding \u201cunto the word which I command you\u201d or diminishing \u201cought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God\u201d (Deut. 4:1-2). His unalterable truth for the Mosaic dispensation included Jerusalem as the city of God\u2019s chosen King and of His holy temple, animal sacrifices along with food and drink offerings, a special priesthood with robes designed to convey important truths, burning incense and using musical instruments in worship, observance of the Sabbath and other holy days, and a host of other instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A God of Patterns in the New Testament<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All these practices served an immediate purpose of sustaining fellowship between God and His people and helped to prepare for the reign of a new High Priest, Jesus Christ: \u201cBut now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.\u201d Reasoning from the lesser to the greater, if it was necessary to \u201cmake all things according to the pattern\u201d that God gave at Mt. Sinai, it is all the more important that we embrace without alteration the patterns and propositions of truth revealed in the New Covenant, if we hope to live in fellowship with God (Heb. 8:5-6).
The New Testament presents the pattern of truth in propositions made accessible to us in direct statements, approved examples, and necessary implications. God expects us to read, understand, believe, and obey His instructions. We are explicitly warned not to \u201cadd unto these things\u201d and not to \u201ctake away from the words\u201d that are revealed by God (Rev. 22:18-19).
These words of truth reveal the great love of God in sending His only begotten Son to be our only beloved Savior (John 3:16). Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice for our sins, conquered death on our behalf, and established His rule in the new kingdom of God for our salvation (Rom. 5:6-11; Acts 2:36; Col. 1:13-14). Penitent believers must yield to Him in water baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). The instructions given for a Christian life conform us to the image of His Son, drawing us closer and closer to the heart of God (Col. 3:10).
Christ established only one true church composed of all who are saved by the gospel\u2014all other religions will be rooted up at his return (Eph. 4:4-6; Matt. 15:13). As the only head of the church, He alone can instruct us in the new and true way of worship: sharing the Lord\u2019s supper and the fellowship of giving every Sunday, praying, teaching His Word, and singing (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 2:42; Eph. 5:19). Men, rather than women, lead in worship (1 Tim. 2:12). His truth plants local churches which look directly to Him without added layers of human organization such as church councils, denominational organizations with their earthly boards and headquarters (Acts 14:23).
In 1825, Alexander Campbell wrote that before inquiring \u201cwhat was the ancient order of worship . . . it may be expedient to consider whether there be any divinely authorized worship in the assembly of the saints.\u201d He saw two irreconcilable answers: \u201cEither there is a divinely authorized order of Christian worship in Christian assemblies, or there is not.\u201d Campbell then reduced no patternism to its logical absurdity, as follows:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWhere there is no order established there can be no disorder, for disorder is acting contrary to established order; where there is no standard there can be no error, for error is a departure or a wandering from a standard; where there is nothing fixed there can be no innovation, for to innovate is to introduce new things amongst those already fixed and established; and where there is no law there can be no transgression, for a transgression is a leaping over or a violating of legal restraints. Those, then, who contend that there is no divinely authorized order for Christian worship in Christian assemblies, do at the same time, and must inevitably maintain, that there is no disorder, no error, no innovation, no transgression in the worship of the Christian Church\u2014no, nor ever can be. This is reducing one side of the dilemma to what may be called a perfect absurdity (Christian Baptist,<\/em> Vol. 2, 239-243).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
If there is no pattern, Campbell pointed out that various assemblies of worship could be devoted to nothing but dancing, singing, shouting, running, lying prostrate on the ground, reading, listening to a speaker, sitting silently, waving palm branches, crying, or playing an organ. To exclude any act from worship, a person must refer to some fixed standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Knowing that the true God is a God of patterns, Paul wrote to Timothy, \u201cHold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus\u201d (2 Tim. 1:13, NKJV).
Author Bio:<\/strong> Ron has worked with the Hebron Lane church of Christ in Shepherdsville, KY since August of 1997. David Dann and Ron work together. Ron has made seventy-seven trips to the Philippines. He and Donna have three children and ten grandchildren. The church website is hebronlane.com. He can be reached at halbrook@twc.com.
\u2014 Via Truth Magazine, <\/em>Volume 64, No. 4, April 2020,\u00a0 http:\/\/truthmagazine.com\/kindle\/2020\/2020-04-apr\/05_Church.htm
——————–<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1) Hear<\/strong>\u00a0the gospel — for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31).
\u00a0
2) Believe\u00a0<\/strong>in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent\u00a0<\/strong>of sins.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 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\u00a0<\/strong>in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized\u00a0<\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).\u00a0 This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27).\u00a0 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 \u201cthrough faith in the working of God\u201d (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\u2026
6) Continue in the faith <\/strong>by <\/strong>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).
——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\nTebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST<\/strong><\/strong>
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501<\/p>\n\n\n\nSunday: 9 a.m. <\/strong>Bible Classesand 10 a.m. <\/strong>Worship Service. Congregational Song Service<\/strong>: 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wednesday: 7 p.m. <\/strong>Bible Classes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
evangelist\/editor:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
<\/strong><\/strong>Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
<\/a>https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go\/all.htm<\/a> <\/strong><\/strong>(This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but <\/strong><\/strong>with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“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).——————– Contents: 1) THE CHURCH: Recognizing the Bible Pattern (Ron Halbrook)——————– -1- \u00a0 THE CHURCH:Recognizing the Bible Pattern Ron Halbrook Introduction \u201cHold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2500,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions\/2500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}