Bulletin Articles

One can hardly begin thinking about the relationship of faith and Moses without considering the inspired penman’s comments in Hebrews 11:23-28. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”

We learn from this passage that Moses’ faith began with his parents who defied Pharaoh’s command. That same defiance cropped up in Moses’ own life as he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and when he finally forsook Egypt. These things were not done for defiance sake, however, as the inspired penmen tells us. Moses did these things looking to “the recompense of the reward” and “as seeing him who is invisible.” Moses was defiant toward Egypt because he believed in something greater than what Egypt had to offer; He believed in the existence of and the promises of God.

Nevertheless, Moses faith wasn’t always perfect. We find, in fact, there were several occasions when his faith wavered. We wonder where his faith went when we witness his flight after the Israelites rejected him as their leader (Acts 7:23-29). We ponder how he could, in the presence of God, doubt himself even as God promises to be with him (Exodus 4:10-17). We pause when we see his noble visage wrinkled with anger at the children of Israel and in disobedience strikes the rock to which God had simply said speak (Numbers 20:1-13). Despite these failings, Moses legacy is one of faithfulness. Let’s notice a few things in that regard.

First, Moses faith was a faith that faltered. We mentioned some of the times when Moses faith was less than stellar. He had times in his life when he gave up, had self-doubt, and even deliberately disobeyed God. Regardless, with God’s encouragement, Moses found ways to return to the Lord. In Psalm 90, perhaps after the return of the 12 spies from the land of Canaan and God’s wrath with the disappointing report they brought, Moses prayed, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations” (Psalm 90:1). Moses realized that even in times when our faith falters, that it is only to the Lord that we can turn for ultimate comfort and refuge. So he says, “Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants” (Psalm 90:13).

Zeal is a passion, a desire for things of God. Like Jesus, the Christian is to have this same zeal. It speaks about our heart and emotions that motivate us to live faithfully. It speaks about our determination and resolution. Sometimes in our zeal for a cause, we make mistakes. Therefore, it is important that our zeal for God be directed in the right manner. Jesus is our example.

It is Passover in Jerusalem. Jesus enters the court of the Gentiles at the temple. He is angry at what is happening in this court area. The priest and merchants have changed it into a marketplace. His zeal for God’s house is stirred. He makes a whip out of some cords and begins to open the gates and drive out the animals and turn over the tables. Jesus cried “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise” (John 2:16).

God’s house was being desecrated. The house of God was and still is a place of prayer and worship. Even the Gentile court was to be a place of prayer. But the priests and merchants were making it a market. Wherever we assemble in the name of God to worship, we should do so in reverence to God. WE should show our respect for HIS great and holy name. Paul tells us Jesus died to “…purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.”

In Acts 4:18-20, Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin for healing a crippled beggar on the Sabbath. They had preached to the crowd about Jesus and HIS kingdom. The Sanhedrin rebukes them and tells them not to preach in Jesus’ name. But Peter and John reply “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

They are full of zeal for the cause of Christ. They must speak about it. It is a Passion burning in their hearts. In every example, zeal is the key characteristic. God wants us to be zealous for HIM and HIS CAUSE. He wants us to be zealous about preaching the world (Ch. 17). Doing all kind of good works (Titus 2:14) and worshipping him (2 Samuel 24:24).

He expects us to have a passion for HIS cause. It is a witness of love.

There are two main reasons why Jesus left Heaven to come to earth. It is important we know these reasons. The first reason was to give men an opportunity to have their sins forgiven. Why do men need a Savior? They need a Savior because of sin. The Bible clearly says, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Every person who can tell right from wrong commits sin (1 John 1:6-10).

What is sin? It is “missing the mark” (Romans 3:23). It is “transgression of the law” of God (1 John 3:4). John adds, “all unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17). Paul says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Christ came to the earth to bring us back to God (2 Corinthians 5:20-21; Ephesians 2:16). From where did sin come? The answer is given to us in the first book of the Bible. After God created Adam and Eve, He put them in the garden of Eden and gave them everything they needed. He also gave them commands to obey (Genesis 2:15-17). God clearly told them what to do. They were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The third chapter of Genesis tells us what happened (Genesis 3:1-6).

Through Adam and Eve sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12). But God already had planned to send Christ to the earth to save man from his sins. The angel said of Mary, “And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus told Zacchaeus, “For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Paul adds, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6,8).

The other reason Jesus came to earth was to purchase His church. The following passages show the church was planned before God created the world:

“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). “…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20).

“…to the intent that now the manifest wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord…” (Ephesians 3:10-11). “Jesus answered and said to him, `Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:17-18).

It was never in God’s plan to have hundreds of different denominations. His plan was always to have just one church, and all believers were to be part of that one church. The Bible teaches unity, not division (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Ephesians 4:3-6). Christ is the only head of the one church He promised to build. It is in His church that we are able to be saved from our sins (Ephesians 5:23). Jesus came into the world to die for our sins and to establish His church. Let us obey His gospel so that we can be added to His church and be saved from our sins (Acts 2:36-47).

The doctrine of original sin, also known as the doctrine of total hereditary depravity, is popular among many religious groups. It is the belief that when we are born into this world we inherit sin from our parents, who supposedly inherited sin from their parents, and so on all the way back to Adam. This stems in part from a gross misuse of Romans 5:12. However, if one closely looks at the verse in question, he can readily see that it is not sin which spread to all men, but death, the consequence of sin. Paul writes, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

There is a great difference in saying that one is born with sin as opposed to one receiving or inheriting the consequences of sin. Death is the consequence of Adam’s sin. It continues to spread to all men. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Note that the writer conveys that we all have an appointment with death; therefore we suffer the consequence of Adam’s sin.

But we don’t inherit his sin!

The Bible clearly teaches that sin cannot be passed from a father to a son. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son…” (Ezekiel 18:20). And again, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:15). Sin is not something which can be inherited. The Bible says that it is “the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). If it is a transgression of the law, then it requires action. And such is not possible with an infant child, for he does not possess knowledge of the law (i.e. right and wrong).

In the Judgment, it is not the sins of others which we must answer for, but our own sins (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelations 20:13). You alone are responsible for your life and your sins. But thankfully God has made it possible for you to be forgiven of your sins (Romans 5:8-9). Have your sins been washed away? (Acts 22:16). Have you been baptized into Jesus Christ? (Romans 6:3; Acts 2:38).

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; 1 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.

Many sigh, “Oh, if only such could be today.” But it is! What is important, though, is that a group of such people meet here at Miami Gardens church of Christ and if you do not live here in Miami, it also exists within minutes of where you live.

We are just Christians. We worship and serve God in the same way the early disciples did. Christ is our only creed and the Scriptures our only guide. We are not members of any human organization; we are simply a congregation, or church of Christ.

We would love to share Christ with you and with the entire world.

For part 1 of this epistle, check out Just Christians (Part 1 of 2)

There is displeasure with denominational structures and dogma. Some, because of such views, have even decided that “Christianity” is not relevant today. We believe they have made that decision because they are not sufficiently acquainted with the Scriptures to be able to distinguish between the gospel of Christ and what men over the centuries have attempted to add to it. If some of these things have troubled you and you have felt a yearning to return to the simple, uncomplicated religion of Christ, stripping away all the nonessential elements of religion and simply abiding by the truths of Christ, truths which transform the soul and bind it to God, let us suggest that it can and has been done.

The Bible, God’s word to man; present 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 Corinthians 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.

For part 2 of this epistle, check out Just Christians (Part 2 of 2)

Actually, most people would answer the question in the affirmative. The majority of people, which I come into contact with, profess to be “Christians”. But are they really Christians in the biblical sense of the word? (You might wonder, what do you mean, in the biblical sense of the word? Well, it is apparent that the word “Christian” has taken on a broader definition than the Lord intended.)

The Bible says that “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). In the first century, Christians were individuals who were disciples or followers of Christ. They exalted the name of Christ (Acts 4:12), were careful to teach His doctrine (2 John 9-11), and were even willing to suffer and die for Him (1 Peter 4:16).

Their Christianity was more than mere words, for it was active and plain for all to see. Jesus said, “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). To continue in the Word is the same as abiding in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). This is where we find the distinction between those who call themselves “Christians” and those of the first century who taught what God had ordained and were actual Christians! Far too many today teach their own doctrine and still profess to be Christians.

Many today who profess to be Christians are teaching salvation by, “faith only,” which true Christians know to be a falsehood (cf. James 2:24). And yet others are teaching salvation apart from the church of Christ, another falsehood (cf. Ephesians 5:23, Romans 16:16, Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 4:4-5, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 1:22-23). And yet others are denying that baptism is essential to salvation (cf. Acts 2:38).

If we carefully observe the biblical definition of the word, we find that Christians are those who have obeyed the gospel of Christ (Romans 6:17); through faith in Christ (Acts 15:9), repentance of sins (Luke 13:3,5), confession of Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 22:16). They are careful to adhere to and live according to the teachings of Christ (Acts 2:42). And it is their mission to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10; Mark 16:15).

Now, based on the biblical definition, ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?

We, the members of the Miami Gardens church of Christ would love to have an individual Bible study with you. Please do not hesitate to ask. We are glad you are here.