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By Roberts, Tom, on May 1st, 2001
In many homes the Bible is a forgotten book. If children learn anything at all about God, it must be in bible classes. Many children grow up without hearing the wonderful stories of the Bible. This is both a sin and a shame. Ephesians 6:4 clearly puts the responsibility of teaching children about God in the home with parents as the teachers. So we need parents who will be teachers at home.
Yet, 1 Timothy 3:15 also reveals that the church is the “pillar and ground of truth.” It has the responsibility also to see that the truth is taught. The manner in which the church has to teach is through the medium of dedicated men and women who will study and prepare themselves to teach. So we need teachers in the church today.
There is no conflict between the roles of the home and the church. Rather, they should complement one another and add to what the other is doing. When the Bible is taught in the home by the parents and in the congregation by Christians, the result is multiplied knowledge instead of ignorance. Too often, not enough is done in either place and children grow up without the knowledge of God in their lives. Continue reading » Associate Editorial: The Crying Need for Teachers
By Deaton, Steven, on May 1st, 2001
Gospel Guardian, May 5, 1949
(Gospel Guardian Editor’s note: Bonds Stocks, preacher for the Central Church of Christ in Jackson, Mississippi, has created no little stir in that section by his plain spoken preaching over a Jackson radio station. Refusing to accept the usual denominational designations for a preacher, he was called upon to offer an explanation. Here is a digest of the answer he gave over the radio.)
I am a preacher, a minister of Christ, and an evangelist; but I am not a pastor; I am not a clergyman; I am not a “Father”; and I am not a “Reverend.”
I am a gospel preacher in exactly the same sense that Paul was; I preach the same gospel he preached; I preach no other. Paul declared that he had been appointed a “preacher” of the gospel of Christ (1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11). I am a minister of Christ in the same sense that Timothy was a minister of Christ (1 Timothy 4:6). The word “minister” literally means “servant”. Every one who serves Christ is actually his “minister.” It is a mistake to think of the gospel preacher as the only minister of Christ in any given church; all true servants are his ministers. I am an evangelist in the same sense that Philip was an evangelist (Acts 21:8). An evangelist is a herald or a proclaimer of good tidings. When I preach the gospel of Christ, I am an evangelist–a proclaimer of good tidings. It matters not whether I preach it from a thousand pulpits or preach it a thousand times from one pulpit; so long as I preach the good news of Christ I am an “evangelist”. Continue reading » Voices from the Past: Identifying the Gospel Preacher (Bond Stocks)
By Wallace, Steve, on May 1st, 2001
Blessings often come in the form of brethren (Acts 28:15; 2 Corinthians 7:6), but they come in things brethren do as well (Acts 4:34-35; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews 13:16). With regards to his work of spreading the Gospel, Paul made special note of those who helped in his work. Please notice some of the things he said:
But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length ye have revived your thought for me: wherein ye did indeed take thought, but ye lacked opportunity.Ye did well that ye had fellowship with my affliction. And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but ye only; for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need. (Philippians 4:10-16)
So that ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth, so that we need not to speak anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8)
The work of spreading the Gospel is important. Paul not only gave his life to it, he also commended those who supported Gospel preaching. Continue reading » White Unto Harvest: Here’s to the Helpers
By Hafley, Larry Ray, on May 1st, 2001
Editor’s Note: The Guardian of Truth Foundation recently published a new book by Larry, entitled The Christ, The Cross, and The Church. Larry has graciously consented to our excerpting a few passages from the book for the benefit of our readers. These excerpts will appear this month, and next in Watchman. Ordering information is available following the article for those who wish to purchase the book itself.
Calvinism tells us three things. (1) Man is born in sin. This is the doctrine of total, hereditary depravity. Total means all, whole or complete. Hereditary means one receives it from his parents, which in this case means from Adam, hence, adamic, original sin. Depravity means bad, wicked, evil. Thus, every person born into this world is, at birth, thoroughly, utterly sinful. (2) The Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner directly. Man can do nothing to effect his deliverance from his unhappy state of depravity. Man is wholly passive in his redemption. The “enabling power” of the Spirit must regenerate the totally wicked sinner before he can respond to the call of the gospel. This “direct operation of the Holy Spirit” is performed without the subject’s will or choice. Since one is totally dead, he must be given life before he can act. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, without means or agency, regenerates, gives life, to the soul. (3) Those regenerated cannot die. Once the Spirit infuses life, that life cannot be lost — “once saved, always saved.” As man cannot undo his fleshly birth, so he cannot surrender his spiritual birth, says Calvinism. Once born of the flesh, one cannot be unborn; so, once born of the Spirit, one cannot be unborn — “once in grace, always in grace.” Continue reading » Contending for the Faith: Calvinism and Adam – A Parallel
By Cox, Stan, on May 1st, 2001
The ongoing purpose of our “Electronic Preaching” feature is to assist preachers and other Christians in taking advantage of technology to spread the gospel of our Lord. The internet has afforded churches and preachers opportunity to spread the gospel of Christ through the written word. While there are technologies that exist which allow for audio and video, (and these will be utilized to a greater extent as broadband access to the internet becomes more common), the internet is for the most part a textual medium. It is also an affordable method of publishing, and accesses a potentially unlimited audience.
While Watchman Magazine is a publication primarily intended to be read by Christians, we have on the front page (top left corner) of our site an article entitled What is the Church of Christ?, which was written by Tom Roberts. This article has been read by many non-Christians, and has provoked many responses both negative and positive. It recently came to our attention that a Catholic site has linked to that article as an example of distortions regarding the history of Catholicism. Rather than the intended response, there have been several who have accessed the article from that Catholic site who have come away with a favorable impression of the Lord’s church, as it is contrasted with the institutions of men. One woman wrote: Continue reading » Electronic Preaching: How to Write on the Internet
By Smith, Jeff, on May 1st, 2001
One of the crazes among people searching to regain a spiritual compass in their lives is what lexicographers calls syncretism. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines it as “the combination of different forms of belief or practice.” It remarks about the verb form of the word, syncretize, “to attempt to unite and harmonize especially without critical examination or logical unity.”
Syncretism is popular because the two leading competitors for the hearts of men are less so. The first is the word of God contained in the Bible. Its popularity among men has waned because it is perceived to be antiquated and its texts unsatisfactory in meeting today’s concerns. The second is the religion taught in your public schools, secular humanism, in which each individual is instructed to be his own god and make his own standard of morality.
Humanism has been such a tragic failure in terms of increased drug abuse, laziness and uninhibited sexual experimentation that many baby boomers — the first generation spoon fed the stuff — are in search of something higher. Naturally, many turn first to the Bible, but its instruction is, for them, further in the opposite direction than they intended to travel. The magic solution is to mix the desirable liberties of humanism with the basic guiding force of the Bible. The product is a potluck night stew: prepared with a little of this and a little of that. Continue reading » Solid Food: The Religion of Syncretism
By Osborne, Harry, on May 1st, 2001
In all of the Gospel accounts, the writers record the events surrounding Jesus’ betrayal. While recounting those events, each writer tells about one man whose ear was cut off during the incident. The Gospel of John tells us that Peter wielded the sword and identified the man whose ear was cut off as Malchus, a servant of the high priest (Jn. 18:10).
Malchus was a part of an angry and illegal mob which came for the express purpose of facilitating the murder of Jesus. The plot to seize Jesus and frame Him on false charges was a plan which had been in the leaders’ minds for a long time. As the servant of the high priest, Malchus certainly had prior knowledge and participation in the scheme. What he saw and heard on that night was, no doubt, beyond his expectation. Continue reading » In the Steps of the Savior: Malchus – Recipient of Compassion Amidst Treachery
By Henderson, Daniel Lee, on May 1st, 2001
“I Love To Tell The Story”. So goes the song we sing in worship. Preachers urge us in sermon after sermon to tell others of Christ. Our Bible class teachers emphasize the need to tell others of Christ. To one another, Christians emphasize the need to teach Christ and His sacrifice. For the most part we heed this teaching. We invite others to worship with us where they can hear the Gospel. We discuss Bible topics with our neighbors, friends, and family. We talk with our children about Jesus and God. We help spread the Word through TV, radio, even the Internet. Yet, are we demonstrating this same need in our daily actions? Are we living in such a way that we “tell the story” of Jesus in our attitudes and actions? Or do those around us see the same things in us that are present in their own lives? Are we living as part of the world or as one passing through the world? Paul urges, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” 2 Corinthians 6:17. Can we please God when we make ourselves a part of the world? The Scriptures teach otherwise. We as children of God are to be separate from the world even in our daily life. Peter tells us we are to be as “strangers and pilgrims.” Continue reading » The Simple Gospel: Telling the Story
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