Bulletin Articles

The Bible, God’s word to man, presents Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He was foreshadowed and predicted in the Old Testament, which God used to govern His people until Christ should come and establish the New (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Galatians 3:19,23-24). That New Testament reveals the religion of Christ. By studying it, we learn all there is to know of the way of Christ.

We learn that among the followers of Christ, there existed no denominational organizations whatsoever. All began at a later time. In the New Testament, we see people hearing the gospel and obeying the conditions of God’s grace. Being thus saved, they were added to the Lord’s people, the church (Acts 2:36-47). As the gospel spread, we find them assembling together in congregations in various localities. Each congregation was under its own elders (Acts 14:23) and no one else on earth. These elders could not make laws and be masters. They were given the responsibility of tending and caring for the congregation as shepherds would a flock (Acts 20:17,28; I Peter 5:1-3). The only headquarters those disciples knew was heaven, where their head, Jesus Christ, was and is (Ephesians 1:22-23).

Their worship was something in which to participate, not something to watch. On the first day of the week, for instance, they would eat the Lord’s supper and hear preaching (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-29), they would all sing (Ephesians 5:19), they would all pray with various ones leading (1 Corinthians 14:15-16), and they would share in their mutual responsibilities by sharing their prosperity (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). We find no contributions being collected on any other day than the first day of the week and no hierarchy taxing them or telling them how much to give. They had no organizations clamoring for their support. They gave as they individually purposed in their own hearts (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). In all this they were all necessarily involved for each saved person was a priest (Revelation 1:5-6). No one could perform his service or worship for another.

They lived godly lives. They cared for their poor. They taught others. They sent out preachers to teach others in far communities. With simplicity of faith and fervor, there was no need of centralization. Without organized machinery, the gospel was preached to the whole of civilization in a short time (Colossians 1:23). These disciples of Christ were known as Christians (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; I Peter 4:16). They wore no sectarian names. Their religion was not materialistic or sensual. They did not seek to impress men with pious ceremony, rather, they sought to impress God with the only thing that has ever impressed Him contrite obedience (2 Samuel 15:22). Their appeal was not social or recreational. They offered the gospel, for they knew it was God’s power to save (Romans 1:16), and any other appeal was beneath them.

This is why “What the Bible Says” is so important!

Parents must talk of these issues constantly with their children—when they bring school assignments home, while watching TV, when traveling on vacation, etc. We must return to the concept set forth in Deuteronomy 6:7. Someone is teaching your children; if not you, then who?

We must build reliable libraries for our children. Buy them good, professionally-done books on creation, Bible inspiration, etc., from a sound, biblical vantage point. Stay away from compromising materials which attempt to harmonize the Bible with evolutionary premises, e.g., the notion that the “days” of the creation week in Genesis might represent millions of years.

I can guarantee you this. If we do not do a better job of fortifying the faith of our children, we will lose them by the thousands.

Finally, and regrettably, I cannot avoid adding this notation. It once was the case that parents needed only to guard their youth’s education in secular environments. That is no longer the case. Some schools that promote themselves as “Christian” institutions are as bad (or worse) than secular universities. They are perhaps even more dangerous because they operate under the guise of being “Christian” in character.

Youngsters, therefore, are disarmed in advance. Some of these so-called centers of “Christian” education are hot-beds of the rankest form of anti-biblical ideology. It is later than we think. Be careful where you send your children for their education.

Miami Gardens….. Let’s save our children.

It is not enough to simply say, “evolution is wrong.” We must give them solid, factual data that expose the fallacy of evolutionary arguments (for example the false reasoning that simply because the human hand resembles the hand of a chimpanzee, this must indicate that we are related to the chimp! Similarities can as easily indicate a common designer, namely God.)

Teach Them to Revere the Bible

Third, it is imperative that our children be given mountains of evidence demonstrating that the Bible is a revelation from God. Its holy books were written by people whom Jehovah directed to reveal His message. The Bible’s instruction must be diligently sought and its authority respected. We must introduce to their thinking arguments like the phenomenal unity that is characteristic of the biblical documents. This argument will not carry much weight, however, unless they know the basic message of each of the sixty-six books of the sacred volume.

We must show that predictive prophecy (history revealed in advance) is testimony to the divine origin of the Bible. Since only God knows the future, if the Bible gives evidence that its writers spoke of future events, which they could not possibly have known by natural insight, that will constitute support for its heavenly origin. We must expose our children to the exciting discoveries in the field of archaeology which strengthen our faith in the reliability of the Holy Scriptures. With the items suggested above as representative of the type of instruction that is so necessary, we would make the following practical suggestions as well.

Practical Suggestions

We must take these truths, and others like them (e.g., the history concerning Christ, the rules of morality, etc.) and teach them emphatically and repeatedly to our children. We must be factual and firm. We must stop capitulating to false science and take a confident, dogmatic stand for biblical truth.

We must make our Bible school departments stronger. Elders must insist that the classes have a strong apologetic emphasis. Preachers must stress from the pulpit the urgency of these matters and bring thrilling lessons supporting these fundamental truths. Local churches should be encouraged to bring in guest speakers who are specialists in these areas. Their messages will ignite a flame of interest that could sweep through the church.

“My son was raised in the church. We taught him the Bible. As a youngster he sometimes helped to serve the Lord’s supper. He even gave talks occasionally. After he was in college a while, something changed. He began to question the teaching of the Scriptures. Now, he professes no faith at all. What happened?”

This is a story that is heard over and over again across the years, Many of our youngsters are losing their faith? Why is this? Perhaps there is no simple, single reason; however, it may be sufficient to observe that one of the causes of this growing defection among our young adults is the fact that for years they were operating on a borrowed faith. In too many instances they had superficial instruction from mediocre teachers in their church Bible classes. Added to this is the fact that they were given no substantial intellectual training at home. Accordingly, when they encountered the crass, humanistic environment of the university atmosphere, they were unable to survive.

It is time that we awaken to the reality that if we wish to preserve our children we must take more seriously our responsibility to educate them in the most important issues of life—that of the existence of our Creator and His inspired Word to humanity. Our work is cut out for us. Here is what we must do if we really care for our offspring—and the youth of the church in general.

Teach Them to Reason

First, we must teach our children how to logically reason. This will serve them all of their lives. For example, when they are asked as to why they believe in the existence of God, our youngsters should be able to call attention to the law of cause and effect. Wherever there is an effect (e.g., the Universe) there must be an adequate cause. Matter is not sufficient to explain itself. There is no known process by which matter can create itself. Thus, one must look for a non-material origin of the Universe.

Children can be taught early, and drilled with information, concerning the fact that where there is design, there must be a designer. If the universe bears the marks of design—and it surely does—then it must have had a designer. The entire realm of nature is a classroom for the teaching of these principles.

Teach Them Their Origin

Second, we must educate our youth in the factual matter of human origin. From the time they are able to sit up and watch television, they are brainwashed with the ideas of evolution. They are taught evolution from their earliest days in school. They are indoctrinated with evolution through their toys, tee-shirts, etc. (witness the dinosaur mania and the common propaganda line that the dinosaurs lived millions of years before man arrived on earth).

Well, here we go again, another school year.

There is one aspect of education that is critical to success and I submit to you today that it is fully applicable spiritually: REPETITION. Can you imagine when you were trying to learn math? Problem after problem until you got it down. The old adage, “practice makes perfect” is more  appropriately stated perfect practice makes perfect. If we repeat the right things, we will eventually form a good habit and then a lifestyle (sadly, the same holds true with bad habits as well).

The scriptures are not silent about repetition in teaching and learning  God’s Word: Isaiah prophesied about the coming kingdom and the teaching of the King in Isaiah 28:9-10. “Whom shall he teach  knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that  are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept  must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Teaching is done a little at a time with a lot of repetition involved.

Christians should not complain about repetition in teaching on sin, forgiveness, love, marriage, the home, one church, salvation…God knows we need to hear it over and over again. Peter also reminds us of the power and purpose of repetition in 2 Peter 1:12-15: “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in  this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to  have these things always in remembrance.”

May God bless all of the teachers across this country who are teaching our children. We wish all of our children the best of success this school  year; we pray that they remember they are children of God!

May we as God’s children continue to teach what thus saith the Lord: precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.

There are those who are dropping the name “church of Christ” and changing their name to “Community Church” or to other names.  They say they are removing Christ from their name in efforts to remove “a barrier”, so they can attract more people. They seem to be ashamed of our Lord. Jesus says in Mark 8:38, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father.” Many have also turned to entertainment to attract more people. In order to keep the people they attract, they don’t want to ever teach or preach anything from the Bible that might offend anyone.

A number of congregations are having fellowship with denominations through pulpit exchanges, joint worship services, and the ministerial alliance. We are warned in 2 John 10-11, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” We must never give a person encouragement in their false doctrine; if we do we also become guilty and could lose our own souls. The apostasy we are now facing in the Lord’s church will rival and possibly surpass the apostasy that ravaged the Lord’s church in the later part of the 1800’s. When that particular apostasy was complete in about 1906, less than 180,000 members remained faithful, but more than one million went into the apostate Christian Church. Most of the problems, that are causing the apostasy now, were the same problems for the apostasy then. The same techniques which Satan was successful with then, he is using again. Satan just will not leave the Lord’s church alone.

The reason we are facing this apostasy is the rejection of Bible authority and our lack of Bible knowledge. God says in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” Brethren are not studying their Bibles the way we did in the past. We are becoming Biblically illiterate. Because of our lack of Bible knowledge, digression from the truth is continuing at an alarming rate in which many “untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16). Since we have failed to learn a lesson from history, we are seeing the same problems arise again today. The attitude today is “I want it and I am going to have it”.

We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, “because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion; that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth.” To protect ourselves against Satan we must have a strong faith. How do we obtain that faith?  Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” The more we study the word of God the stronger our faith will be. We can protect ourselves from the present apostasy if we will only study, believe, and obey the truth of God’s word without any addition or subtraction, and be faithful to it all the days of our life. We must speak out and warn others of our present apostasy so less damage will be done and fewer souls will be lost.

Apostasy means “falling away”. Apostasy is caused by those who “want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). The church in the first century was warned, “there will be false teachers among you who secretly bring in destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). There is an apostasy that is now occurring in many congregations of the churches of Christ.  It was predicted in 1 Timothy 4:1-2, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” The end result of apostasy is many will lose their souls in eternity.

Many departures have occurred during the past 2000 years, which have resulted in hundreds of different kinds of denominational churches.  Paul says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).  The apostasy we are facing is not caused by those outside the church but from within.  Paul warned the Ephesian elders, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:30).

Many in the Lord’s church are wanting to be like the denominations around them just as the children of Israel wanted a king so they could be like the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:5). The spirit of denominationalism is steadily invading many congregations of the churches of Christ. Some now claim there are faithful Christians among all the denominations, and that water baptism is not essential for salvation. We read in Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

It is being advocated that women should take a leading role in the worship of the church by leading prayer, waiting on the table, leading singing, teaching Bible classes with men present, and even preaching. They refer to themselves as a gender-neutral church of Christ. Many congregations have worship teams, also called praise teams, where women with microphones take part in leading the singing. Basically, the praise team becomes a choir and is there for the entertainment of the audience, thus God is not being worshipped “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Instrumental music is again being introduced into worship just as it was a little more than 100 years ago. To ease it in, some congregations have both an “instrumental” and an a cappella service. Some say that instrumental music is not a doctrinal or salvation issue and that it doesn’t really matter. But Jesus says, “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17), which means by His authority. Since instrumental music is by the authority of man and not of God, the worship of one who sings with the instrument is vain.