By jctadmin2 on February 18th, 2010
By Harry Osborne
Paul’s letters to the church at Thessalonica were written in the midst of great concern among the brethren regarding death, the coming of Christ and the hope of those in Christ. When we read 1 Thessalonians 4, it is evident that some among their number had died while awaiting the promised hope at the Lord’s coming. Some wondered if the death of those saints separated them from that hope in Christ. No doubt, the thought of faithful brethren having been robbed of their hope by untimely death was discouraging and depressing to the saints.
Continue reading The Source of True Encouragement →
By jctadmin2 on January 15th, 2010
By M. C. Cuthbertson
Repentance is a change of mind or heart. By repentance, then, we mean the work accomplished by the word of God in the heart of man, whereby he has a changed attitude toward sin and God. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation…” (2 Cor. 7:10). Thus, we learn the cause of repentance.
By salvation, we mean the forgiveness of sin. It makes no difference whether we have in mind the sin of an alien or the sin of a child of God. Of course, the forgiveness of sin here looks to the eternal state of heaven. Having clearly made known what we have in mind by the two terms of our study, we are ready to consider the relation they sustain to each other.
Continue reading Repentance And Salvation →
By jctadmin2 on January 5th, 2010
By Dan Gatlin
Premillennialism teaches that when Jesus came to earth, He came to set up a physical kingdom in which He would reign as both a spiritual and political leader. But since He was rejected by the Jews (Matt. 12), Jesus had to change His plans. Consequently, the church was established until Jesus could come again to reign as King on earth. This interpretation denigrates the church as simply a “Plan B” put into place at the last minute because of His supposed failure the first time around. Premillennialists refuse to recognize that the church is the kingdom.
Continue reading The Church Is All-Sufficient →
By jctadmin2 on January 4th, 2010
By Dan Gatlin
In Jn. 8:1-11 we have recorded the story of the woman taken in Adultery: “1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 ‘Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ 11 She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ “
Continue reading The Woman Taken In Adultery →
By jctadmin2 on January 4th, 2010
By Dan Gatlin
All sin condemns us before God. James wrote, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (2:10-11). The Calvinist doctrine of the “Continual Cleansing” denies the force of this passages. Those with Calvinist leanings say that a single act of sin will not condemn us, only habitual sin will. But James points out that we will stand before God as either guilty of sin, or pronounced righteous by the mercy of God. This principle is recognized by every court system on earth. If one is found guilty of stealing, he will not successfully argue for his freedom because he has never committed arson, murder, or assault. The criminal stands before the court as innocent or guilty. We will stand before God as having all our sins forgiven or as “a transgressor of the law.” There is no middle ground. A single act of unforgiven sin brings condemnation.
Continue reading Overcoming Habitual Sin →
By jcthwy on May 11th, 2009
By Dan Gatlin, 1990
At first the name sounds impressive. The American Civil Liberties Union. Judging by the name, one might get the impression that this is a patriotic, fair-minded group of people who are concerned with the freedoms and rights of all Americans. Indeed, that is the way they promote themselves. However, upon closer inspection one realizes that they are neither patriotic nor fair-minded. The ACLU is comprised of 250,000 contributing members, 5,000 volunteer attorneys, and 70 staff attorneys. They have an average case load of 6,000 cases at any one time. They have an annual budget of $14,000,000, most of which is supplied by the American taxpayer through the Civil Rights Attorneys Fee Awards Act of 1976 (1). The ACLU has defended every immoral act that one can imagine. They are one of the most powerful lobbies in the nation and, by their own admission, one of the most hated.
Continue reading The American Civil Liberties Union →
By jctadmin on April 21st, 2009
by Phillip Owens
God designed marriage to be for life (Matt. 19:6). God’s overall view of divorce is that He hates it (Mal. 2:16). However, if a mate’s spouse commits fornication, God allows the innocent mate to divorce the guilty spouse and remarry without sin (Matt. 5:31,32; 19:9; Mk. 10:11-12; Luke 16:18).
So many people in our country have either never heard or read those passages, or disregard them as irrelevant if they have. Divorce is rampant. Many divorce for no reason except they are tired of living with their present spouse. When such remarry they commit adultery (see above passages). While God gives a mate whose spouse commits adultery the right to divorce and remarry, even then one does not necessarily have to exercise that right. Genuine repentance on the part of the guilty spouse and longsuffering and forgiveness on the part of the offended spouse can go a long way in keeping a marriage in tact, even following the heartache of an adulterous affair. It would seem that this is especially important if children are involved.
Continue reading The Effects Of Divorce On Children →
By jctadmin on April 21st, 2009
By Dan Gatlin
Brethren have long pointed out that “preaching Jesus” means preaching baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 8:35-36). Paul warned the Corinthians that when “we preach Christ crucified” some would stumble and others would consider it foolishness (I Corinthians 1:22-23). While many in the denominational world agree that belief (John 8:24), repentance (Acts 17:30-31), and confession (Romans10:9) are necessary for the forgiveness of sins, they still stumble and consider it foolishness when baptism is preached.
Continue reading Answering Arguments Against Baptism →
By jctadmin on April 20th, 2009
Love Your Children
By Loving Your Mate
by Chris Reeves
Parenting begins with parents. Parents joined in marriage are to children what a foundation is to a house. If you want your children to grow up strong with the right values, then you, as parents must provided them with the right foundation from the beginning. God provided for the home by first creating one man and one woman to be joined in marriage. These two joined in marriage were to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:26-28). The order is this: a godly marriage first, then children. So, how can parents love their children? They can love them by loving their mate. The Apostle Paul wrote that the older women were to teach the younger women “…to love their husbands, to love their children…” (Titus 2:4). Loving your children and loving your mate go hand in hand.
Continue reading Love Your Children By Loving Your Mate →
By jctadmin on April 20th, 2009
INTRODUCTION TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
(Historical Lineage)
Some denominations claim the ability to trace their historical lineage (an unbroken link of churches throughout history) directly to John the Baptist. Of course, this is impossible to do and is a false claim. The Lord’s church was not in existence while John was alive.
Continue reading What Is The church of Christ? →
