THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

When Moses came to Pharaoh the first time and pleaded for the release of the people of God, Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). Pharaoh would eventually let the people go after the Lord God brought pestilence upon the Egyptians and finally the death of the firstborn (Exodus 7-12). The pagan worship of Egypt was polytheistic with gods to the sun (Re), the earth (Yeb), the moon (Thoth), the Nile (Hapi), and the god of hidden powers (Amon). The King of Egypt would not acknowledge the Creator and thus rejected Him.

The spirit of Pharaoh continues today. Even among religious groups obedience to the Lord is questioned. Man has the view of self-worth and self-exaltation that hinders him from seeing the one true God. Two views exist in the world: the view of man and the view of God. When men begin to examine the view of God they learn that man is not the center of the universe but God. The scriptures demand obedience to God’s will and rejects the whims of men. Generations question who God is and seek their own ways. The root of the problem is the rejection of the knowledge of God.

Pharaoh said, “I do not know the Lord.” The apostle Paul described this spirit in his letter to the Roman church. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened … For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator … they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (Romans 1:21, 25, 28). Many today can know the Lord through the things that are seen but refuse to give honor to Creator. The philosophies of men are sought after instead of the wisdom of God. The truth is evident but exchanged for the lie that man is his own god. God is no longer acknowledged.

This is evident in our society today that continues to break down all of the pillars of morality with the refusal to acknowledge God. Homosexuality is the norm, adultery is common, divorce is expected, greed is the fuel driving our financial markets, murder of the innocent continues unabated and the true religion of the one God is ridiculed into abandonment. Jehovah God destroyed Egypt and made them a base nation (Ezekiel 29:14-15). They stand as testimony today of that fulfillment. Our nation will suffer the same destruction.

When the Son of God returns, He will bring judgment upon those “that do not know God” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). The majority of people will reject the knowledge of God and be lost (Matthew 7:13,14). “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Pharaoh rejected the one true God because he did not know Him. He was without excuse. We can reject God through our ignorance but we will be without excuse. Every evidence of God has been given to man (Psalm 19).

Satan began his temptation of Eve by saying, “How God indeed said?” (Genesis 3:1). The deceiver of this world continues to work his deception today. As men reject God, He rejects them. Do you believe in the one true God? Will you be obedient to the one true God? There is only one way to eternal life. That is Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Revelation 3:12).

If we choose to deal with them wisely, the daily round of "ordinary" duties and "common" difficulties can be the source of something that is truly magnificent. The greatness of human character is often refined from seemingly unimportant and worthless materials. Before we despise any of our days or any of our decisions as inconsequential, let us think again. As God sees things, something of tremendously great consequence is in the making. It would be tragic to lose out on what is coming by failing to pay attention to its very "plain" preparation.

Just as God's standards of greatness are different from ours, the process through which He produces greatness is also different. Who but God would have thought to prepare Moses or David to lead the nation of Israel by sending them off for years to herd flocks of animals? And who but God would have seen that His own Son, the King of Kings, would be born in a stable and raised in one of the poorest homes in Galilee, far from the usual training grounds of leadership? It was in a simple carpenter's shop that Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52). How is it that we think our own hardships have to make the evening news before they are significant?

Whatever our daily troubles in this world may be, they are "light" compared to the "weight" of the glory that will eventually result if our lives have been lived in fellowship with God (2 Corinthians 4:17). The dazzling glory that is up ahead will be out of all proportion to the often dull and unexciting affliction that will have produced it. So we should be careful not to underestimate ourselves. The humdrum appearance of our lives very likely conceals the fact that something great is going on.

“In what strange quarries and stone yards the stones for the celestial wall are being hewn! Out of the hillsides of humiliated pride, deep in the darkness of crushed despair; in the fretting and dusty atmosphere of little cares; in the hard cruel contacts that man has with man; wherever souls are being tried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely ways — there God is hewing out the pillars for his temple.” (Phillips Brooks)

Religion seems so confusing. Look around the city and you’ll see hundreds of church buildings with various names. Investigate further and you’ll find that these various churches teach different doctrines. If you are like many people, you might be fed up with everything that is done in the name of religion. People are tired of the confusion. Which church is right? How does a person know what to do and where to go? It just seems hopeless sometimes.

The divisions that exist in the religious world do not represent what God wants, according to the Bible. Jesus prayed, concerning all believers: "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:21). Jesus prayed for unity among believers. Therefore, when we see the divisions (denominations) that exist among those professing faith in Christ, then we know it is not what Jesus wants.

Sadly, the consequences of such division result in the world disbelieving in Jesus. This is what Jesus said would happen. It is no wonder that there is so much confusion and disbelief.

Is It Possible To Be Just A Christian Without Being A Member Of A Denomination?

The common thought is that if you are a member of any church, then you must be a member of a denomination. This is not true. It is possible to be just a Christian without being a member of a denomination.

Read the New Testament. During the first century A.D., when the events of the New Testament were taking place, there were not a bunch of various denominations. There were Christians in various locations. In their own locations, they would meet with other Christians in order to carry out work that God desired for them to do together. But when one became a Christian, he or she did not have to become anything else. A Christian was just that (Acts 11:26), and there is nothing in the Bible to support the idea of joining a denomination. In fact, God directly spoke against fragmenting off into various groups and identifying with certain creeds or men. By inspiration, the apostle Paul wrote:

"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).

Christians at Corinth were beginning to divide (denominate) themselves and call themselves after men. This was expressly forbidden. Why should we think it any different today?

Denominationalism is based upon division, and is therefore not what God designed. God designed a simple plan, wherein there would be "one body" (universally) and "one faith" (Ephesians 4:1-6). When we divide ourselves by men and doctrines into differing religious bodies with differing "faiths," we are not honoring God’s plan for His people, the church. This is why we must oppose denominationalism.

You can be just a Christian, nothing more or less, by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ through faith (Romans 6:3-5, 17-18; 10:13-17; Hebrews 5:9; Galatians 3:26-27, etc.). By doing exactly what the people in the first century did to become Christians, you will become exactly what they were: Christians.

What did they do? The Scriptures teach that they were to believe on Jesus, repent of their sins, confess Him as Lord, and be baptized into His death.

· "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

· "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead" (Act 17:30-31).

· “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10)

· "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

· “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

There was an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went. If he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. So he went through life lubricating all the hard places and making it easier for those who came after him. People called him eccentric, queer, cranky, odd, and other degrading names. But the old man went steadily on, refilling his can of oil when it became empty and oiling the hard places he found. He did not wait until he found a creaky door or a rusty hinge and then go home to get his oil; he carried it with him.

There are many lives that creak and grate harshly day by day. They need lubricating with the oil of kindness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. That can of oil is predominantly one that characterizes the Christian religion. The task of using it belongs to those who claim to be Christians. As the old man kept his oil with him, so we need to keep our Christian kindness handy. It does no good if left at home or in the church.

In the forests of Northern Europe lives the ermine, a small animal known best for its snow-white fur. Instinctively, this animal protects its glossy coat of fur with great care lest it become soiled. Hunters often capitalize on this trait. Instead of setting a mechanical trap to catch the ermine, they find its home in a cleft of a rock or a hollow tree and daub the entrance and the interior with tar. Then their dogs start the chase, and the frightened ermine flees toward its home. But finding it covered with dirt, he spurns his place of safety. Rather than soil his white fur, he courageously faces the yelping dogs who hold him at bay until the hunters capture him. To the ermine, purity is dearer than life!

The Lord wants us to be a people who will keep ourselves "unspotted from the world."