2/1/19

Words Fitly Spoken on Judging by Trevor Bowen

http://insearchoftruth.org/articles/words_fitly_spoken_on_judging.html

Words Fitly Spoken on Judging

“Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). There are probably few other passages in the Bible more widely quoted and misused. Once again, an old question has resurfaced, this time regarding the appropriateness of rebuking others in sin: “Are we to never judge anyone under any circumstances? If we should, when should we and why?” Many good exchanges are being held on Facebook, blogs, forums, email lists, and other internet-based mediums; however, they are not the first discussions on this matter. It was not too many years ago that this question was hotly debated. Many good sermons, writings, and debates were produced during this time, deeply probing the issue. Like Isaac, who “dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father”, and who “called them by the names which his father had called them”, we may benefit from “words fitly spoken” by restudying and reacquainting ourselves with wisdom produced through wars of recent generations past and thereby hopefully avoid fighting again the same battles (Genesis 26:18; Proverbs 25:11).

Judging Self

Judging Others

These articles were rediscovered using their respective Scripture and word indices.
 Trevor Bowen

Memorial Day 2014 by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1469

Memorial Day 2014

Memorial Day 2014
The purpose of Memorial Day is a day primarily to remembering those who have died, first of all those who have died for their country and later it became a time to remember friends and family member who have died before us.
The Bible is full of memorial events and places where believers were instructed to remember certain things. These memorial sites and days and instructions to remember were part the Israelites national history.
As we celebrate Memorial Day, on one hand, we remember those who have died before us, but on the other hand it is a celebration of being alive and having the freedoms we have. We are alive today and have a certain quality of life because others made great sacrifices and died for us and this country. Even though this country is far from being perfect, I’m glad we still have the freedom and right to preach God’s word freely. We have the right to pursue peace, prosperity, and happiness in our communities. We have to right to assemble together in this building without special permission to worship and thank God for Jesus and what He did for us. Some don’t have these freedoms
While many people see this holiday simply as an extra day off from work, a three-day weekend, a time for picnics and camping trips, and or the date to begin planting their garden, we should never forget those who have went before us. It is more than a day off and a time to go camping and such.
This past week President Obama was in NYC at the dedication of a new museum that opened there ground zero. It is called the September 11th Memorial Museum. It stands on the site where the twin towers fell and now houses the largest display of artifacts and videos of what happened on that sad day which is described as a day that America will never forget. It has been called a sacred place and has been filled with things owned by and tributes offered to those that were killed on that day. And there in one section of the building there is a wall of faces, pictures of those who lost their lives, dads, moms, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, children, firemen, policemen, and others who tried to rescue those in danger that day. It is said that this museum will take its rightful place alongside the field of Gettysburg, the waters of Pearl Harbor, and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial wall in Washington. There are some things that people should be reminded of so that we do not forget.
Memorial Day started many years ago in the 1800’s, but there are a few different ideas on how it got started. Some say that…. – In April 1863, in Columbus, Mississippi after decorating the graves of her two sons who served during the Civil War as Confederate soldiers, an elderly woman also decorated two mounds at the corner of the cemetery. An observer asked, “What are you doing? Those are the graves of two Union soldiers.”
Her response was, “I know. I also know that somewhere in the North, a mother or a young wife mourns for them as we do for ours.” Some believe this lady and a few others set in motion what became known as Memorial Day.
– Others claim that the custom of placing flowers on the graves of the war dead began a few years later on May 5, 1866 in Waterloo, New York. Waterloo has been recognized by Congress as the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
– But according to Professor David Blight of the Yale University’s History Department, he claims that the first Memorial Day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic Washington Race Course (today the location of Hampton Park) in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave site for Union soldiers who died in captivity.
The grateful freed slaves re-interred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard and built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard. This was a daring action for them to take in the South shortly after the North’s victory. On May 30, 1868, the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they had picked from the countryside and decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the first Decoration Day.
Many soldiers have died to protect this land so that we may have a life of freedom and hope for the future. But long before, Jesus died that we might have life to the full, and hope of eternal in heaven.
In the story of the Passover, the blood of a lamb marked the door posts of the Israelites so that the angel of death would ‘passed over’ those households in Egypt marked with that blood. The blood saved their life.
For the Jews, celebrating Passover every year was a memorial celebration where they would take time out to remember how they got their freedom and who gave it to them. When God commanded them celebrate the Passover every year, He was letting them know that this was something they should “Never Forget.” …Because God obviously thought it was important for them to remember who they where, where they came from, who actually saved them, hoping that they would be forever be grateful, and life good lives accordingly.
That whole event, Passover, and the blood that was spilled to save and free them foreshadowed and represented the blood of Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God would spilled for each and everyone of us.
He died to free us from the our captivity which is sin. He was sacrificed so that we might escape our slavery, ruin and death to give us a new life (like those Israelites), but not only here but also with life forever in God’s kingdom.
Our soldiers died for our country’s freedom for our personal freedoms, but Jesus died for so much more, for in John 8:36 Jesus said, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Even if our country is someday overthrown, and you are captured and enslaved as a Christian we will always be free in God’s kingdom. In Luke 12:4-5 Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during that Passover meal so long ago, He broke the bread and told His disciples that it would now represent His body and the cup of wine now represented His blood, not the Passover lambs of Moses time. And then He commanded His disciples by saying, , “Do this in remembrance of me.” In other words, “Never Forget.”
So what’s the big deal? Why do we have these memorials? Why are they important?
The most important reason is, they help us to remember…
– They help us to remember the sacrifices that were made for us…
– They help us remember what it cost for our freedom, less we forget or take it for granted.
– A memorial should remind us of the dedication, and love of those who gave their life for us.
– Memorials should also remind us of the bond that we have between us.
– Memorials should also remind us, and teach us, and motivate us to learn from the past, from history and press forward stronger and wiser.
In Hebrews Chapter 11, we have an extended list of those OT characters that lived by faith; from Abel to Enoch and Noah, and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph to Moses and even Rahab. The writer goes on and continues to write of these men and women of old.
I believe this chapter is a memorial to these men and women of faith. And why is it here? I believe we can see the answer in the following verses in Chapter, Read Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
When we remember those who went before us (including Jesus) and consider their faith, their love, their devotion, it re-kindles a fire in our bones… to become better, to try harder, to whine less, to live the life of faith that we have also been called to…and maybe make some sacrifices of our own to help others!                         It’s important   that    WE   never forget.
Paul Harvey told a story of an old man who visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea.
Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean. For nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred. Captain Eddie recorded, “Something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don’t know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food . . . if I could catch it.” And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. The rest was used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. He never forgot; and every Friday evening, about sunset, on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast, you could see an old man walking . . . white-haired, bushy-eye browed, slightly bent. His bucket was filled with shrimp to feed the gulls, to remember that one, which, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle.Just as Eddie Rickenbacker never forgot the gull that gave its life, we should never forget the soldiers of our country who gave up their lives. Eddie got a second chance at life, and because many brave men and women have died in the armed services fighting for our country’s freedom, we too have a chance at life – a life of freedom. Both freedom and life never come without a price. The blood of many fine soldiers paid for the freedom that we have today, just as the blood of tiny lambs at Passover paid for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelites.
A price has to be paid for freedom and life, and that price is the death of another. Someone, or something, has to die in order that we might have a chance to live.. As we prepare to enter into a day to remember those who died for liberty, it is also fitting to remember the One who died to set us free from spiritual tyranny (someone who died for us because He loved us) Jesus.  Every Sunday is to be a memorial day for us as we come to celebrate our life in Christ.
Why?   So we will Never Forget. So that we remember how important we are to God and what our salvation actually cost.

When God Is In The House by Alfred Shannon Jr.

https://biblicalproof.wordpress.com/2011/07/page/3/

When God Is In The House


When God is in the house, two or more are worshiping in His name. When God is in the house, we are teaching His doctrine. When God is in the house, we are abiding by His authority. When God is in the house, we are worshiping in Spirit, and in truth. When God is in the house, we speak where the bible speaks, and we are silent where the bible is silent. When God is in the house, we sing, we pray, we preach, we give, and above all we remember our Lord’s death. If God attends your house of worship, then so does His Name, His Word, His Doctrine, and all His Authority.
Mt 18:20; 2 Jn 9; Mt 28:18; Jn 4:23,24; 1 Pet 4:11; 1 Cor 4:6; Eph 5:19; 1 Cor 14:15; 2 Tim 4:2-5; 1 Cor 16:1,2; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 11:24,25;  

Chapter 10 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? by CA Feenstra

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Feenstra/C/A/1931/ch10.html
Chapter 10
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
Q. Does GOD'S WORD teach that God is sovereign and that He controls and rules over all the affairs of men?
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Gen. 1:1
"Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all." Psalm 103:19
"Jehovah shall reign for ever and ever." Ex. 15:18
"Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Jehovah, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou rulest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all." 1 Chron. 29:11-12
"And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" Dan. 4:34-35
Q. If God is sovereign, does man have the right to make and to choose the conditions for his own salvation from sin?
Q. If God is sovereign, must man to be saved, subject himself to the conditions plainly outlined by this sovereign God in His WORD?
Q. Does man have the right to teach that man is born too totally depraved to obey the conditions of salvation given by the sovereign God in His WORD?
Q. What are the conditions of salvation given by the sovereign God in His WORD?
"Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." Acts 3:22-23
"God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son." Heb. 1:1-2
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." Matt. 17:5
"And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 28:18-19
"And he (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." Mark 16:15-16
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5
"He (Jesus) became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation." Heb. 5:9

"Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31

"Repent ye therefore ... that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19

"With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Rom. 10:10b

"Be baptized, and wash away thy sins." Acts 22:16

"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." Rev. 2:10
Q. Can we understand from these five scriptures that there are five ways for man to be saved?
Q. Is the way of salvation "multiple choice"?
Q. Does man have the right to choose one of these or any combination of these, as the way in which he wishes to be saved?
Q. Is any one of these more important than any other?
Q. Is the person who says that he is saved by "faith only", any more saved than a person who would say that he is saved by "baptism only"?
* * *
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4
"Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son." II John 9
Q. Does GOD'S WORD teach that a man, to be saved, must have a good and honest heart and a love for truth?
"The seed is the word of God...
And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience." Luke 8:11, 15
"Them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." II Thess. 2:10
"Jesus therefore said...
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 3:31, 32
"Thy word is truth..." John 17:17
* * *
Q. How many times in GOD'S WORD is the all important question, "What must I do to be saved?" asked and answered?
"What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" (the rich young ruler) Matt. 19:16
"What must I do to be saved?" (the Philippian jailor) Acts 16:30
"What shall we do?" (the men on Pentecost) Acts 2:37
"What shall I do, Lord?" (Saul of Tarsus) Acts 22:10
Q. According to GOD'S WORD, when persons living under the law of Moses asked, What must I do to be saved?, what answer were they given?
"And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he (Jesus) said unto him ... if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matt. 19:16-19
Q. Did Jesus himself also live under and keep the law of Moses?
"But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law." Gal. 4:4
* * *
Q. According to GOD'S WORD, when a heathen unbeliever who had never before heard of Jesus and His gospel, asked, What must I do to be saved?, what answer was he given?
"And he (the Philippian jailor) called for lights and sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And he brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God. Acts 16:29-34
Q. According to GOD'S WORD, when men who had been made believers by hearing the gospel preached, asked, What must we do to be saved?, what answer were they given?
"Now when they (the men on Pentecost) heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:37-38
"They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls ... And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved." Acts 2:41, 47
"But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1:12
Q. According to GOD'S WORD, when a man who had been made a repentant believer asked, What must I do to be saved?, what answer was he given?
"And I (Saul) said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do." Acts 22:10
"And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ...
And he was three days without sight, and did neither eat nor drink. ...
And the Lord said unto him (Ananias), Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth." Acts 9:5-6, 9, 11
"And he (Ananias) said ... And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name." Acts 22:14,16
Examples of Conversion from GOD'S WORD
PreachingBelievedRepentedConfessedBaptizedSaved
Pentecost
Acts 2:14-41
repent
v 37-38
baptized
v 38, 41		remission of sins,
saved v 38, 47
Samaritans
Acts 8:5-13		believed
12

baptized
12-13
The eunuch
Acts 8:35-39		believed
36-37
confessed
37		baptized
38-39		rejoiced
39
Saul
Acts 22:14-16


baptized
9:18		sins washed away
22:16
Cornelius
Acts 10:34-48		believed
43

baptized
48		remissions of sins
43
The jailor
Acts 16:30-34		believed
31

baptized
33		rejoiced
34
Lydia
Acts 16:13-15


baptized
15
Corinthians
Acts 18:8		believed
8

baptized
8
Hearing
Rom. 10:14, 17		Faith
Heb. 11:6		Repentance
Lk. 13:4		Confession
Rom. 10:10		Baptism
Gal. 3:27		Salvation
II Tim. 2:10

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

Attitude and the ability to really hear by Gary Rose



This is one of my favorite Gary Larson cartoons. If you have ever been in a courtroom, you already know that Lawyers can ask some pretty obnoxious pointed questions, but the witnesses do not usually return this way. This “alligator?” is right; he is cold blooded AND a reptile, plus the attorney obviously didn’t graduate at the top of his class.

However, the alligator DID admit to a crime and does have an ego the size of the Everglades.

In Scripture, Nicodemus came to Jesus (at night) to speak with him, and what follows says a great deal about the ATTITUDE of Nicodemus and his thinking….


John 3 ( World English Bible )
  1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  2 The same came to him by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” 

  3  Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew,  he can’t see the Kingdom of God.” 

  4  Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” 

  5  Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into the Kingdom of God!   6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.   7  Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’   8  The wind  blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

  9  Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?” 

  10  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?   11  Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness.   12  If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?   13  No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.   14  As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,   15  that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.   16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.   17  For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.   18  He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.   19  This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. (emphasis added)   20  For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.   21  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.” 


Nicodemus was thinking in a VERY LITERAL manner about birth, but Jesus was speaking of conversion. Nicodemus needed to trust in Jesus and not force his own preconceptions unto what Jesus was actually saying.

When we come to the Bible, do we force it to say what we want it to say or do we accept by faith what it really says and obey its teachings? Or, perhaps we just want to complain out what the Bible says or criticize it? Be careful, the alligator in you may be showing!

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