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By Smith, Marc, on July 8th, 2010
This past January 2010, I had the pleasure of joining Joe Price and Dan Torres with a number of Indian brethren in Bangalore, South India to teach classes to more than 120 liberal gospel preachers who expressed interest in leaving their institutional backgrounds. Having never preached or taught the gospel of Christ in another country I found the experience much more rewarding than I ever would have thought. I would like to highly recommend the potential and the validity of this extraordinary effort that after following this work from its inception from afar I have now had the chance to witness it and join in to do my part.
Of course, Joe Price had been on four previous trips to India and Dan Torres had been previously as well, so I was the new guy. This work was originally pioneered by Bobby Holmes and Stan Cox back in 2004 and faithful brethren had come nearly every year in the intervening years. On my trip I was filling in for Bobby, who requested me to come to fill in for him, since his health has become perilous and he has decided because of the sometimes difficult aspects of such travels he cannot return. Bobby has been indefatigable through his many trips to India and his devotion to the spread of the truth throughout India is unquestioned. In fact, if you spend some time with Bobby you will learn that his enthusiasm for India is infectious!
Continue reading » India – Teaching Liberal Preachers Sound Doctrine
By Smith, Jeff, on July 6th, 2010
When pressed by unbelievers to defend the legitimacy of their faith, many Christians abandon the objective–and really the debate–by retreating into their feelings and practically admitting that there is no logical reason to believe in God.
To those who have not the same feelings, the opposite conclusion is proven. There must be no God–at least for me–since I don’t feel it. Mormon elder boys are often guilty of this. When pressed to defend their faith in Joe Smith, they abandon their artificial books and century old tradition to contend, “We just feel it deep in our hearts. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make you feel it, too.” If that’s the best they–or we–can come up with, we are in trouble. We carry around a book with thousands of pages of evidence and dwell upon a planet covered in divine fingerprints, but all we can do to convince others there is a God is to say it’s just a feeling. What is faith–a hunch? An inclination? A sixth sense? A guess?
Continue reading » Faith Is More Than a Feeling
By Cox, Stan, on July 5th, 2010
In the July 3, 2010 issue of The Christian Chronicle, coverage was given to a recent “international symposium of sacred a cappella music, involv[-ing] members of Churches of Christ as well as Mennonites, Eastern Orthodox, Reformed Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Roman Catholics.”
The symposium was a sequel to a previous effort which took place in 2007. Concerning that event, the article notes “‘The Ascending Voice’ debuted at Pepperdine in 2007 — the brainchild of [Darryl] Tippens, who saw it as a way to celebrate and promote a cappella worship in a world of praise bands and recorded music.”
Continue reading » A Capella Singing
By Rogers, Heath, on July 4th, 2010
We must learn how to rightly divide the Scriptures if we are to properly understand God’s will (2 Timothy 2:15). While reading the Bible, it is essential that we take note of who is speaking and what he is saying. It is also important that we identify the one (ones) to whom he is speaking. Some Bible passages are universal in their application. Others apply only to specific groups or individuals. Many teachings of the Bible are perverted by men today simply because of a failure to recognize the intended recipients of a passage.
In John chapters 14-16, Jesus gave specific instructions and promises to the apostles. These promises were great, but they were only given to these specific individuals. Some of the confusion and error that exists on the subject of the Holy Spirit results from a failure to make this important distinction. Many read the Lord’s words given to the apostles and make application to themselves, without stopping to ask whether or not these promises were meant for all Christians.
In this article, we will examine these chapters and learn what the Holy Spirit was to do for the apostles.
Continue reading » The Holy Spirit and the Apostles
By Robertson, John, on July 2nd, 2010
This article is the first of two that shall examine the subject of establishing Bible Authority. A study of both the first and second covenants will yield a greater understanding of how authority works. There are members of the body of Christ who continue to be confused about various questions such as whether or not there should be Bible classes or have a water fountain in the church building. Others seem destined to be confused over the marriage, divorce, and remarriage issue. Some have no idea how to answer the question of whether missing a Wednesday service is sinful or not. The two covenants, who is a false teacher, and more recently the A. D. 70 Doctrine are other issues. While confusion runs rampant our Bible tell us that God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). The objective of this study will not be to answer all your Bible questions and solve all the “brotherhood issues.” The objective is rather to remind us all of the initial direction we must take when seeking out answers to Bible questions.
As one studies both the first and second covenant laws an interesting fact comes to the surface. Though the laws change God’s founding principles revolving around authority remain the same from Genesis to Revelation. No matter what my approach or attitude is toward those founding principles they remain. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Howbeit the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, the Lord knows them that are his: and, let every one that names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness” (2 Timothy 2:19).
Continue reading » Establishing Bible Authority (1 of 2)
By Rogers, Heath, on July 1st, 2010
Some believe that God the Father was at work during the time of the Old Testament, that God the Son was active only during the time that He was upon the earth, and that God the Spirit is now active during the Gospel dispensation. The Scriptures reveal that all three members of the Godhead have been active in every dispensation.
We should not make the mistake that the Holy Spirit did not begin to work until the time of the New Testament. Although His role may be more prominent in the New Testament, any Bible student can see that the Holy Spirit was active during the time of the Old Testament. This article will examine the work that the Holy Spirit performed in the Old Testament.
Continue reading » The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
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