6/25/18

Tune Up Your Relationships by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=660

A Personal Tune Up by Ben Fronczek

Part 1 Tune Up Your Relationships Phil. 2:1-8

Opening Story: Many years ago my dad and I decided to take his old boat out on Saratoga Lake and go fishing. There were few things he liked to do more than spend some time out in a boat and fish. Well I got the old 25 hp Johnson motor running and we headed down the lake a couple of miles to one of our favorite fishing spots. Later when we decided to move, when I tried to start the motor but I had a hard time starting it. It spit and sputtered and ran for a little while and then quit. I started it again and it spit and sputtered and quit again. But then I could not start it at all. No matter what I did it just would not start. We had a little electric trolling motor and so we used that to try to propel us back to the boat launch but we were just too far away. I used the electric motor until the wire began to smoke and the battery eventually died but we were still over a mile from the boat launch and wind had picked up and was blowing us in the opposite direction. At that point we were a bit concerned because we did not even have a set of oars in the boat to row our way back to the launch. We decided to break the tops off our tackle boxes and lean over the side of the boat and use them as oars. By this point, my did was not a happy camper saying a number of choice words. I eventually remembered that I had my cell phone and I called my wife and asked her to drive to the boat launch and ask someone with boat to come out and rescue us and give us a tow back to safety. This she did, and we were towed back to the dock less that hour later.

Now what was wrong with our outboard motor? Well we did not maintain it as well as we should have. It hadn’t been tuned up or serviced in years. That’s the problem with not taking care of some things, they eventually deteriorate, fall apart, and will stop working when you need them the most. But if you take the time to do some preventative maintenance, and give them a tune up they perform they way they should if not better for a long time.

The same it true for us. There are certain aspects of our life that we need to maintain, even tune up, because if we neglect these certain area of our life, things can begin to deteriorate, start falling apart or even stop working.

Over the next few weeks I would like to present a series of lesson called, A Personal Tune up.

I want to discuss certain aspects of our life that we need to maintain if not tune-up so that we don’t get in trouble or allow certain aspects of our life to fall apart.

In this particular lesson I would like to talk about what we need to do to maintain or tune-up how we deal with PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.

As some of you know, one of the biggest causes of unhappiness in our world is strained relationships. Conflict kills happiness. I am by no means an expert when it comes to maintaining relationship but I would like to share with you some observations I learned over the years. For example:

I. Don’t sabotage your relationship by sinning. If you are married and you let your eyes wander too much you will begin to sabotage your marriage. Likewise, don’t lie or abuse, or steal from, or gossip about those you want to have a good a relationship with. Doing such things is like pour a little bit of sand into your gas tank. It won’t destroy the engine right away but there will come a point when enough sand gets in there it will ruin the engine. Likewise, sin will ruin a relationship.

II. There are also things that we can do to ‘tune up’ our relationships. But this may require attitude adjustments on our part. Sometimes when you tune up an engine you have to adjust the carburetor or adjust the timing in order to help the engine run properly, sometime we need to adjust some of our attitudes to improve how we handle certain relationships. For example:

If you want to maintain a good relationship…

A. We may have to deny self a bit and learn to seek the highest good of those around us. James wrote in 4:1-2 “¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.”

Selfish attitudes destroy relationships!

Jesus taught that we should seek the highest good of others. That’s what agape love is all about. He told us to love others the way we want to be loved, and treat one others the way we want to be treated, and to love others like He loved us and was willing to give Himself up for us.

1) Such love may require us shut our mouth and open up our ears and really listen when the other person need to talk or vent.

2) It may mean that we need to start giving gentle encouragement when we see that the other has doubts about their ability. This is like putting high test fuel in their gas tank.

3) It may require spending more quality time with the person or helping them in some personal way, putting we want to do aside for a while.

4) It may even mean giving that person more space or even a rebuke.

Whatever it takes to seek their highest good. And in most cases we are the ones who need to learn to humble and deny self in order to do this.

B. Another thing that will help tune up a relationship is learning to make a real effort to communicate better. Not just communicating what YOU have to say better, but also being humble enough to hear what the other person has to say. All too often we seem to think our opinion and ideas are more important that everyone else’s. Good communication is a two way street. Good communication skills are like good clean oil in a engine. The parts are well lubricated and it helps the engine run smooth. Run an engine without oil or real dirty oil and it will heat up and it will begin to break down. If there is little or poor communication then the relationship can heat up and begin to break down.

C. Another way to maintain or tune up a relationship is to make a personal commitment to that relationship and regularly re-affirm that commitment. This is something we find David and Jonathan doing in scripture. (1 Samuel 20:17)

So first we need to get it set in our mind that you want this relationship.

Then, sometimes we need to reaffirm the relationship with words and there are other time we reaffirm how much we care by what we do. It is like the regular maintenance we need to perform on a car to keep it going. It can be words of encouragement, a good positive discussion free from worry and concerns, or complements, small gifts or even outings. These little things go a long way in keep a relationship healthy. Stop doing these things and you will wind up like my dad and I wondering why his motor wasn’t running anymore.

D. And one last thing I would like to mention today that is important and may require an attitude adjustment on our part is knowing when to apologize when we mess up. I know I mess up at times because I let self and what I want get in the way. A sincere apology is a way to help make things right again; or it’s at least a start.

How many of you have let your lawn mower run out of gas in the middle of cutting your lawn, or how many of you had problems with your vehicle because you put of taking care of something your needed to repair or maintain? If you value the machine or car you don’t trash it. You do what you need to do to take care of it and make it right before it is permanently broken. Likewise if you value that relationship you need to make it right with the person and fix what you can before ithe relationship is permanently broken.

In Matt. 5:23-24 Jesus said, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

He goes on to say ‘Settle matter quickly when you know that someone has a problem with you.’ Or, man don’t put it off! Don’t let that relationship fall apart because you are too proud to say you are sorry and make things right.

Conclusion:

These are just a few suggestions on how to tune up or maintain the relationships you have with others. As you read God’s word you will find even more.

For example in closing I would like to read to you what the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians in 2:1-8

^“ If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very natureof a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

When a person starts going to church most realize that we may need to make some changes in our life. We don’t need a tune up, to begin with we need an overhaul; we are that broken. Only Jesus can fix us then and make us that right. That’s why He went to the cross; to repair and restore our souls. If you haven’t let Him do that yet let Him do it today by trusting Him as your savior and putting yourself in His hands and letting Him clean you in the waters of baptism. Let Jesus and His Spirit re-make you. And likewise if you have let the world get the best of you turn back to Him and let Him fix you. He want you to be all that you were meant to be.

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

Use the Word or Lose Your Soul by Alfred Shannon Jr.

https://biblicalproof.wordpress.com/2011/04/page/3/

Use the Word or Lose Your Soul

Use it or lose it. There is no better advice when it comes to the Scriptures. One who refuses to learn the Word of God, is worse off than the one who can’t. A Christian who won’t read, study, and apply the Word, has no advantage over the sinner who rejects it. If we don’t use the Word, we will lose more than just knowledge, we will lose our very soul.

Hos 4:6; Jer 8:9; Mk 12:24; Isa 8:20; Hos 6:6; Hos 8:12; Mt 13:15; Acts 17:11; 2 Tim 2:15; 2 Tim 3:15; Heb 5:11-14

Are HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases Punishment for Sin? by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/diseases.html

Are HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Punishment for Sin?

We are faced with a plague that may kill more people than any other plague in history. HIV, the AIDS virus, is spreading like wildfire around the world. Some say this pandemic is a punishment for sin. Others object and say that no stigma should be attached to venereal diseases. What does the Bible say?

The Scriptures mention at least five different reasons for the existence of diseases: (1) the fall of man, (2) Satan, (3) punishment for disobeying God's commands, (4) a personal punishment from God, and (5) the natural consequences of sin.

Since the fall, all men are subject to sickness and death.

When Jesus' disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" He replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" (John 9:1-3). Most diseases and sicknesses are simply the result of random circumstances. The existence of diseases is a general punishment of all mankind because of sin in the world, but in most cases a sickness is not an individual punishment of the person who is sick. Jesus "took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:17).

Satan is sometimes the source of sickness.

Satan "struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head" (Job 2:7). Jesus said of the woman who was bent over and could not straighten herself, that satan had bound her for eighteen years (Luke 13:11-16). Paul describes his thorn in the flesh as 'a messenger of satan' (2 Corinthians 12:7). These afflictions did not result from the sin of the person in question but from satan's activity. God allowed Job to be tested by sickness so the genuineness of his righteousness could be demonstrated. He did not remove Paul's thorn in the flesh so the power of His grace would be revealed.

Disease can be a punishment for disobeying God's commands.

After God freed Israel from Egyptian bondage He told the people: "If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians" (Exodus 15:26).

Shortly before the children of Israel entered the promised land, they were warned that obedience to God would result in blessings, and that disobedience would result in curses, one of which was: "The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed" (Deuteronomy 28:27). "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues -- great and prolonged plagues -- and serious and prolonged sicknesses. Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed" (Deuteronomy 28:58-61).

God warned Israel: "But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart" (Leviticus 26:14-16).

Sickness was in some cases a direct punishment from God.

Jehoram, an evil king of Judah, was told by Elijah: "Behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction -- your children, your wives, and all your possessions; and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day" (2 Chronicles 21:14,15). Herod Agrippa allowed people to shout: "The voice of a god and not of a man!" In Acts 12:23 we read about his punishment: "Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died."

Sickness can also be a natural result of sin.

Referring to the consequences of immorality, Paul wrote: "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due" (Romans 1:26,27).

What then about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases? Are they a punishment for sin?

First, let us examine the problem more closely.

What is a sexually transmitted disease?

It is an infection that, because of its characteristics, is transmitted from person to person almost exclusively through sexual intercourse. Transmission usually requires either that the pathogens remain at body temperature (otherwise they die) or direct blood to blood contact. Such diseases can sometimes be transmitted through an injection with a dirty needle or be passed from mother to child in the womb or at birth.

How prevalent are these diseases?

In a document published by the World Health Organization we read: "Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are very common. The most widely known are gonorrhea, syphilis and AIDS (HIV infection), but there are more than 20 others. According to current WHO estimates, there are more than 333 million new cases of STDs every year throughout the world. About one million new infections occur every day."

The UNAIDS 2004 Report states: "In 2003, almost five million people became newly infected with HIV, the greatest number in any one year since the beginning of the epidemic. At the global level, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow -- from 35 million in 2001 to 38 million in 2003. In the same year, almost three million were killed by AIDS; over 20 million have died since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981."

Several sexually transmitted diseases are incurable, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and genital herpes. Others, although curable, cause lasting damage. Several of these diseases show no symptoms for a long time after infection.

Thirteen million children have been orphaned by AIDS. I recently heard of a grandmother who has lost both of her children and their spouses to AIDS. She is raising her four grandchildren, all of whom have AIDS. She is not HIV positive herself, but she is elderly, and she hopes that she can live long enough to care for her grandchildren until they die.

Let us now return to our original question: Are HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases punishment for sin?

First we must understand that these diseases would disappear if people obeyed God. According to the word of God, both men and women are to remain virgin until marriage, and a married couple are to remain faithful to each another. We read in Hebrews 13:4, "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge."

A boy and a girl who keep themselves pure until marriage and remain faithful after marriage, are a separate island. They never come in contact with the cesspool of venereal diseases that are passed around from person to person by immoral people.

According to the law of the Old Testament, Israel would be kept pure because those who committed fornication or adultery were stoned to death. The word 'fornication' refers to all kinds of sexual intercourse outside of marriage, and adultery is fornication that violates a marriage.

Forgiveness is possible under the New Testament on the basis of remorse and repentance. If you have committed fornication or adultery, you can repent and be forgiven. Your soul can be purified by the blood of Christ. You can determine that from now on you will keep yourself pure.

Even though you are forgiven, you have placed yourself in great danger with regard to sexually transmitted diseases. You should see a doctor and have tests made to be sure that you have not contracted an infection that you might pass on to your present or future marriage partner, or your children.

This also means that you must be extremely careful whom you marry. Try to find someone who has the same high moral standards based on faith in God that you have. It can still happen that one is deceived or betrayed, but we must do the best we can and be very careful whom we marry.

Now that we understand that STDs would not exist if people obeyed God, we can continue with the question: Are HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections punishment for sin?

These diseases are not always a punishment for personal sins. There is a distinction between the innocent and the guilty. Some are victims and others are perpetrators.

Innocent babies can get a venereal disease from the mother. People can contract STDs because of unhygienic medical or dental practices, or from a contaminated blood transfusion. A moral spouse can be given an STD by an immoral husband or wife. Such people are innocent victims and certainly should not be stigmatized.

Those who have contracted an STD through their own immorality, however, are -- to use Paul's words -- "receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due" (Romans 1:27). The disease is then a direct consequence of their own sin and, as such, is also a punishment for their sin. And when an immoral person has given an STD to his spouse or children, he must bear the added burden of knowing that because of his sin an innocent person has been given a terrible disease.

God loves us. The commandments and moral principles in the Scriptures are for our own welfare and for the welfare of all mankind.

Because we live in a sinful world, we all must suffer many ailments and diseases that are simply a part of this vale of tears. We also suffer because of the sins of others.

Even so, we can be protected from many terrible diseases if we obey God and keep ourselves and our marriage pure.

Whatever our situation, whether in sickness or in health, if we are faithful to God we can look forward to a heavenly home where there will be no sickness or death. "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away' " (Revelation 21:3,4).

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

A time for thankfulness by Gary Rose

We live in a 55 community with many amenities, one of which we seldom use- a water retention pond (above). Anyway, yesterday afternoon it rained very hard; so hard in fact that the width of our entire street was covered with a river of water. After quite awhile the rain stopped and I thought that was the end of it, period.

Meanwhile, I was unaware that the water retention pond was filling. So, I was surprised (at least a little) to see that P.J. Williams posted a picture of it taken from an auto. I modified that picture somewhat and used it for today's blog post (thanks, P.J!!!). Please note that this is the most water I have in the pond in years!!!

Many of us will remember the account of the flood from the Bible and here is the last part of it...

Genesis, Chapter 8 World English Bible

  ¹ God remembered Noah, all the animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ship; and God made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters subsided.  ² The deep’s fountains and the sky’s windows were also stopped, and the rain from the sky was restrained.  ³ The waters continually receded from the earth. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters decreased.  ⁴ The ship rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on Ararat’s mountains.  ⁵ The waters receded continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible.

  ⁶ At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ship which he had made,  ⁷ and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth.  ⁸ He himself sent out a dove to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground,  ⁹ but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him into the ship, for the waters were on the surface of the whole earth. He put out his hand, and took her, and brought her to him into the ship.  ¹⁰ He waited yet another seven days; and again he sent the dove out of the ship.  ¹¹ The dove came back to him at evening and, behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth.  ¹² He waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; and she didn’t return to him anymore.

  ¹³ In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ship, and looked. He saw that the surface of the ground was dried.  ¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

  ¹⁵ God spoke to Noah, saying,  ¹⁶ “Go out of the ship, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons’ wives with you.  ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth.”

  ¹⁸ Noah went out, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him.  ¹⁹ Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.

  ²⁰ Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. (emphasis added)  ²¹ Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike every living thing, as I have done.  ²² While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

You may find it odd that I would place emphasis on verse 20, but consider how the flood probably impacted those within the ark. They all were probably frightened, animals included. So, when they finally disembarked, I can only image the joy they all must have felt to have solid earth beneath their feet.

And what does Noah do? He thanked God by offering sacrifices.

I am thankful for the rain we had yesterday as we certainly needed it. I am even more thankful of the blessings that I don't even realize!

God is great, loving and generous beyond belief !!!

6/22/18

"THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS" Closing Prayer And Final Admonitions (5:23-28) by Mark Copeland

"THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS"

Closing Prayer And Final Admonitions (5:23-28)

INTRODUCTION

1. In our study of First Thessalonians, we have seen that the epistle
   divides itself into two sections...
   a. Personal reflections (1-3)
      1) Regarding their condition - 1:1-10
      2) Regarding his conduct - 2:1-12
      3) Regarding his concern - 2:13-3:13
   b. Apostolic instructions (4-5)
      1) Walk in holiness - 4:1-8
      2) Walk in love - 4:9-10
      3) Walk in diligence - 4:11-12
      4) Walk in hope - 4:13-18
      5) Walk in light - 5:1-11
      6) Walk in obedience - 5:12-28

2. Mention is made of the Second Coming of Christ in every chapter, and
   so I offered "Holiness In View Of The Coming Of Christ" as the theme
   of the epistle

3. In the final verses of Paul's letter, we finds words that certainly
   fit in with such a theme...
   a. In the form of a closing prayer
   b. In the form of final admonitions

[While this prayer was offered in behalf of the Thessalonians, it
expresses what must be the sentiment that God has for all His children.
That being so, let's take a few moments to first reflect upon...]

I. PAUL'S CLOSING PRAYER (23-24)

   A. THAT THEY BE SANCTIFIED...
      1. That is, "set apart for a holy purpose"
         a. As stated earlier, this is God's will for them - 1Th 4:3a
         b. Especially in regard to sexual purity - 1Th 4:3b-4
      2. By God Himself
         a. He who is described as the "God of peace" - cf. Php 4:9;
            He 13:20
         b. Which He does through the Word of God

- cf. Jn 17:17; Ac 20:32; 1Pe 1:22-23
3. Completely
a. Not just in part, but in whole
b. As mentioned momentarily, in body, soul and spirit - 1 Th 5:23b
-- Of course, we must cooperate with God if this prayer is to be
answered in our lives - cf. 2Ti 2:19-22

B. THAT THEY BE PRESERVED BLAMELESS...
1. For which Paul prayed earlier in this epistle - 1Th 3:13
a. To be blameless in holiness
b. When? As here in 5:23...at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ!
2. Preserved blameless, that is, without fault - cf. Jude 24
a. Which Jesus makes possible through His death - Col 1:22
b. Provided we remain faithful - Col 1:23
c. God is faithful, and will uphold His end; will we uphold
ours? - cf. 1Th 5:24
3. Blameless not just in spirit, but in soul and body
a. Often in the scriptures, the terms soul and spirit appear to
be interchangeable, referring to that part of man which
continues after death - cf. Mt 10:28; Re 6:9; 20:4; Ecc
12:7; He 12:23
b. They are also used to distinguish one from the other (He 4:12), in which case...
1) Soul refers to the animal life, as distinguished from the
mind or spirit
2) Spirit refers to the immaterial part of man that
continues after death
-- God is faithful, and can be counted on to help us answer this
prayer; but against we must cooperate with God - cf. Php 2:12-16

[To assist those who desire Paul's prayer to be answered in their lives,
we now notice...]

II. PAUL'S FINAL ADMONITIONS (25-27)

A. PRAY FOR THE BRETHREN...
1. Paul requested that they pray for him - 1Th 5:25
a. Something he asked often of his brethren - e.g., Ro 15:30-
33; Ep 6:18-20
b. Especially that the gospel might have free course - cf. 2 Th 3:1; Col 4:3
2. Certainly we should pray for one another as well
a. When we sin - 1Jn 5:16-17
b. When we are sick - Jm 5:14-16
c. When we are serving the Lord - 2Th 3:1
-- If the prayer of one righteous man avails much, how much more
the prayers of many righteous! Wouldn't we want the prayers of
others on our behalf?

B. LOVE THE BRETHREN...
1. Paul charged that they greet the brethren with a holy kiss
- 1Th 5:26
a. Something he did often in his epistles - e.g., Ro 16:16;
1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12
b. Greeting one another with a kiss was a common practice
1) In those days, and in many eastern countries today
2) "The custom hence arose in the early Church of passing
the kiss through the congregation at the holy communion
[Justin Martyr, Apology, 1.65; Apostolic Constitutions,
2.57], the men kissing the men, and the women the women,
in the Lord. So in the Syrian Church each takes his
neighbor's right hand and gives the salutation, 'Peace.'"
- JFB
c. The emphasis appears to be greeting each other in love, and
in holiness
2. Certainly we should have a deep love for one another
a. It is a mark of discipleship - Jn 13:34-35
b. It is a sign of true conversion - 1Jn 3:14
-- Brethren who truly love one another will help each other stay
on the straight and narrow, to remain sanctified and blameless
in anticipation of the Lord's return!

C. READ THE SCRIPTURES...
1. Paul charged that this epistle be read to all the brethren
- 1Th 5:27
a. As he did the letters to the Colossians and the Laodiceans
- Col 4:16
b. Believing in the Word of God to build them up and give them
the inheritance among all those who are sanctified - Ac 20:
32
2. We should not underestimate the importance of the Scriptures in
our lives!
a. The means by which God sanctifies us - Jn 17:17
b. By which we are born again and have purified our souls
- 1Pe 1:22-25
c. By which God brought us forth, and will save our souls - Ja
1:18,21
-- Just as Paul commended his brethren to the Word of God, so we
need to be committed to the Word of God if we desire that
inheritance promised to those who are sanctified!

CONCLUSION

1. Paul ends his epistle with a simple prayer:

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." - 1Th 5:28

2. It is a prayer that we should all offer to one another...
a. Do we not all need grace?
b. Do we not all want the grace of the Lord in our lives?

3. It is a prayer that we can help fulfill in our own lives...
a. By praying for one another fervently
b. By loving one another in all purity
c. By reading the scriptures diligently

4. Doing such things will also help fulfill the prayer for God...
a. To sanctify us completely
b. To preserve our spirit, soul, and body blameless at the coming of
the Lord!

My prayer is that our study of this brief epistle has encouraged us to
always have "Holiness In View Of The Coming Of Christ." Are you getting
ready for that great event...?

"And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one
another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish
your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." - 1Th 3:12-13

Does “Laud” in Romans 15:11 Authorize Clapping in Worship? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=4803

Does “Laud” in Romans 15:11 Authorize Clapping in Worship?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

A recent contention that has surfaced among some Christians, in an effort to justify handclapping in worship to God, is the notion that the term in Romans 15:11 translated “laud” in both the KJV and NKJV includes the idea of handclapping. Never mind the fact that students of the Bible, scholars, and faithful Christians have been pouring over the text of the New Testament for nearly 2,000 years, with Romans 15:11 having been read and studied by thousands of individuals for centuries; and yet, through all those years, how many concluded that handclapping could be found in the verse? To ask is to answer. Even as proponents of instrumental music have imagined that psallo in Ephesians 5:19 includes a manmade, mechanical contraption, only recently has someone invented the novel notion that “laud” in Romans 15:11 includes handclapping.

Let’s be honest: can there be any doubt that someone had to be looking for a place in the New Testament to impose his bias on the text? Even as a person could read Ephesians 5:19 over and over and over for the rest of his/her life and never see any instrumental music in that verse, even so, reading Romans 15:11 would never lead an unprejudiced person to conclude that God encourages or endorses handclapping in worship. The heart that approaches God’s Word with an agenda—a predisposition to find what he or she wants to find—is by biblical definition a wicked heart (Job 13:7; Jeremiah 23:16; Isaiah 8:20). To then compound that sin by teaching and promotingthe concocted viewpoint is inexcusable and unconscionable. Corrupting the pure worship of the Almighty is deadly (Leviticus 10:1-3). Think of the innocent souls endangered by the wolves that advance their wild, unsubstantiated theories. Tragic. Sad, indeed.

The English term “laud” comes from the Latin word laudare (present active infinitive of laudō) meaning “to praise, commend, extol, honor, compliment.” This action is achieved orally with words. It has nothing to do with clapping. On the other hand, the English term “applaud” comes from the Latin word applaudere (from plaudō/plaudere), meaning “to strike, beat, clap.” Hence, “applaud” is defined as “to clap the hands (hit the palms of the hands together) as an expression of approval, appreciation, acclamation, etc.” (Lewis & Short, 1879). Conclusion: “laud” and “applaud” are separate and distinct Latin terms. They are not synonyms. (Interestingly, in Romans 15:11, Jerome’s Latin Vulgate had magnificate, to “magnify” or “extol”—et iterum laudate omnes gentes Dominum et magnificate eum omnes populi).

Of course, the Holy Spirit did not give us God’s Word in English or Latin. So we must go to the original languages to make certain we are grasping God’s intended meanings. The Greek term translated “laud Him” (NKJV) in Romans 15:11 is epainesatosan from epaineo meaning “to praise or commend.” The term occurs only six times in the New Testament, the other uses being Luke 16:8 and 1 Corinthians 11:2,17, and twice in vs. 22 (Moulton, et al., 1978, p. 351). In Luke, the master “commended” the unjust steward because he had acted shrewdly. In 1 Corinthians 11, the term is used to denote the “praise” (or lack of it) that Paul expressed toward the Corinthians—so translated all four times. Hence, in all six occurrences of the word, the idea of clapping is completely absent. Compare the following 20 English translations on Romans 15:11, where the word in question is indicated in bold type and underlined:

“Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people” (KJV).

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” (NKJV).

“Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; And let all the peoples praise him” (ASV).

“Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him” (NASB).

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples” (NIV).

“Praise the Lord, all Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him” (RSV).

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him” (ESV).

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him” (NAB).

“Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and magnify him, all ye people” (Douay-Rheims).

“All Gentiles, praise the Lord; let all peoples praise him” (NEB).

“Praise the Lord, all you heathen, and let all nations sing his praises” (Goodspeed).

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the nations of the world do him honour” (Knox).

“All you nations, praise the Lord, and all the people should praise Him” (Beck).

“Let all the pagans praise the Lord, let all the peoples sing his praises” (Jerusalem Bible).

“Praise the Lord, all Gentiles; praise him, all peoples!” (TEV).

“Extol the Lord, all Gentiles, let all the peoples praise him” (Moffatt).

“Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and let all the nations extol Him” (Weymouth).

“Praise Adonai, all Gentiles! Let all peoples praise him!” (Jewish N.T.).

“Praise the Lord, all ye gentiles; and let all the people praise him” (Phillips).

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; and sing his praises, all you peoples” (Confraternity).

No known English translation translates Romans 15:11 with the word “clap.” Those who advocate such a meaning apparently think they know more about the original language than the hundreds of Greek scholars who produced our English translations.

Since Romans 15:11 is actually a quotation of Psalm 117:1, one must examine the underlying Hebrew term. That word is shahvach, which occurs eight times (in the Piel) in the Old Testament (Wigram, 1980, p. 1225). The Hebrew authorities (Davidson, 1848, p. 697; Gesenius, 1847, pp. 800-801; Holladay, 1971, p. 358; Brown, et al., 1906, p. 986) identify three meanings:

to soothe, calm, quiet, hush, or still, as in Psalm 89:10 (still the waves) and Proverbs 29:11 (calm one’s anger);

to pronounce happy, commend, or congratulate, as in Ecclesiastes 4:2;

to praise, laud, glorify, as in Psalm 63:4, 117:1, 145:4, 147:12, and Ecclesiastes 8:15.

It is meaning #3 that underlies the quotation of Psalm 117:1 in Romans 15:11. Like its Greek counterpart, it bears no connection to the meaning “clap.” The Hebrew language had other words for clapping (e.g., tahka—Nahum 3:19; sahphak—Job 27:23; nahcah—2 Kings 11:12; mahchah—Psalm 98:8).

Since the Bible is its own best interpreter, simply turn to Psalm 63:3 where the term is translated “shall praise.” The verse says, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.” Would those who insist that the word means “clap” contend that lips clap? That would be an interesting thing to see.

May God help us to be content with simple New Testament worship (John 4:23-24). May we seek to have God’s permission (authority) for everything we do in worship (Colossians 3:17). May we refrain from fleshly expressions that have their origin in human will (Colossians 2:23), human impulse (2 Samuel 6:6), and human pride (2 Chronicles 26:16). May we worship God—not to please ourselves—but to please Him (Galatians 1:10).

REFERENCES

Brown, Francis, S.R. Driver, and Charles B. Briggs (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2004 reprint).

Davidson, Benjamin (1848), The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970 reprint).

Gesenius, William (1847), Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1979 reprint).

Holladay, William (1971), A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Lewis, Charlton T. and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press).

Moulton, W.F., A.S. Geden, and H.K. Moulton (1978), A Concordance to the Greek Testament (Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark), fifth edition.

Wigram, George V. (1980 reprint), The Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).