THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

I had a dream the other night the judgment day was here; it came in the twinkling of an eye, I had no time for fear.

I found myself in one great line, with men from every land; men from every race and age stood like grains of sand.

Christ held the book within his hands and God was on the throne; He set about to judge each man, by the things which each had sown.

Then Christ took the book of life and read the names therein; there were many that once were there but were blotted out by sin.

And I wondered if I’d find mine still for it had once been there; would my name be covered with stain, or would my name be bare?

I stood in fear before the throne and thought back on all my life; how I fought to keep God’s word and flee from sin and strife.

I never failed to read God’s word, my love it never died; I taught my children right from wrong, I told them not to lie.

I never failed to worship God on Sunday and Wednesday night; I often traveled many miles to hear a word of light.

I gave my good to feed the poor and never ceased to pray, I’d always kept my tongue in check until this very day.

So surely the Lord will know me and tell me to walk on in; but Lord, please have mercy on all these lost in sin.

As I thought, the crowd moved up, and I was fifth in line; the men that stood before me were ready to pay their fine.

The first man stepped up to meet the Lord, and feel upon the floor; then I saw just who it was. It was the man next door.

Jesus took the book of life but could not find his name; my neighbor said, “I have not heard.” I knew I was to blame.

Next in line was Sister Anne who once in Christ had been; because I failed to admonish her, she continued in her sin.

Her name had once been written in the pages of that book; but I never even took the time to see why she forsook.

Then a black man came before the throne, he had worked with me for years; he knew his name would not be there and his eyes were filled with tears.

This man had never learned the truth and neither had his kin; for I would not talk with them for the color of their skin.

And then the man before me I suddenly recognized; and as he stepped before the throne he looked into my eyes.

He was my roommate from college days – he had been my greatest friend; we’d always helped each other out, no matter what, through thick and thin.

But I never told him of the Lord – it seemed so trivial then; for we were young and had plenty of time to talk of God and sin.

And finally upon the judgment day, I meet with him once more; but now there’s nothing I can say to open to him the door.

And now I stood before the Lord, my soul was filled with fright; “Why hadn’t I taken the time to teach them what was right.”

Again the Lord, He took the book and looked there for my name; where once had been a pure what page my brothers’ blood now stained.

And then the Lord, He said to me, “I’ve here one dark blot. You hid my name from all these men. Depart, I know you not. You met them every day in life and knew they were astray. But you never even cared enough to tell them of my way.

The day-to-day life of the Jew in Jesus time was surrounded with various parts of the Law of Moses. From birth, a child was instructed in keeping the Law. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:7). The social, political, moral and educational teachings of the Law of Moses permeated every aspect of a person’s life. Those who were devoted to the Law lived, breathed and died the Jewish life. It would be inconceivable to think that a Jew would ever consider being anything but a Jew.

One of the three great feasts of the Jewish calendar was the Day of Pentecost (fifty days after the Passover – Leviticus 23; Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Numbers 28; Deuteronomy 16). Thousands of people gathered in Jerusalem for this feast with no knowledge that within a very short time their lives will be changed forever. People were milling around talking of their lives and the blessings they enjoyed from Jehovah and the joy of celebrating the “feast of weeks”. The giving of the Law at Sinai was central to this festival as well as the blessings of the firstfruits of the harvest. Suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind and people drew together in one place. Before them stood twelve men speaking in various languages – native tongues of many who had gathered for Pentecost. Some thought the men drunk. One of the men spoke up and began to explain what was happening.

“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them” (Acts 2:14). The words Peter spoke were clear, demonstrative, appealing and convicting. With barely five hundred words Peter changed the lives of those gathered for Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36). He showed the events of the day were a fulfillment of Joel, the working of Jehovah God, the declaration of King David in prophecy and the stark reality the Messiah longed for by the Jews had been killed nearly two months previous by His own people. “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ (Acts 2:37). The apostles continued to exhort the people “with many other words” (Acts 2:40) and three thousand Jews removed the shackles of the Law for Jesus Christ (John 1:17; Acts 2:41).

How can one grasp the remarkable change that took place that day? The lives of three thousand Jews changed forever. They would learn a new covenant (Hebrews 8:10-13) with new promises. Circumcision was no longer a sign of salvation (Galatians 6:15). The Law of Moses was invalid (Colossians 2). Temple worship with all its trappings (the Temple, priesthood, sacrifices, feast days, etc.) was no longer necessary (John 4:21-24). The laws of the Sabbath were removed (Colossians 2:16). They would learn a new name – “In Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians” (Acts 11:26).

Can anyone change? Some today declare the cost of being a Christian is too high. They are unwilling to change. Few would measure their life of change to those devoted children of God in Acts 2. What made them change was the realization that they were not Jews but children of God who must obey His will – even when it meant a change in the Law. They accepted God’s will in the spirit of Abraham (Romans 4).

Paul wrote about Christians who at one time were immoral, idolaters, adulterers, sexual perverts, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, and robbers and yet changed their lives when they were “washed ... sanctified ... justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). They changed. The power of the gospel changed their lives because they were willing to change their lives for the power of the gospel. You can change ... if you want too. Are you willing to change?

§ What would happen if everyone invited others as I do or spoke to visitors at the assembly as I do?

§ What would happen if everyone listened to the sermons — applying the lessons personally — striving to grow, as I do?

§ What would happen if everyone gave the same percentage of his or her income as me?

§ What would happen if everyone talked about others (or refused to talk about others) as I do?

§ What would happen if everyone attended worship and Bible classes as often as I do?

§ What would happen if everyone had the same devotional life and read his or her Bibles each day as often as I do?

§ What would happen if everyone were as honest, had the same reputation in the community, and lived a daily Christian life as I do?

§ If everyone were just like me . . . would this congregation have a revival or would it be struggling for survival?

Have you ever been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking, "surely I can't look that old?” I love the story below that has been widely circulated:

I was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist. I noticed his DDS diploma, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 37 years ago. Could he be the same guy that I had a secret crush on, way back then?

Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate. Hmmm..., or could he?

After he examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended Morgan Park High School.

He looked at me closely. Then, that ugly, wrinkled old man asked, "What did you teach?"

It's so easy, isn't it, to see the faults in someone else? We see their wrinkles. We see their gray hair. Even more than that, we see all the "specks" in their eyes (Matthew 7:3). But we are not so quick to notice those flaws in ourselves.

When I was young, I was determined to change the world and make it a better place. As I grew older, I realized that was an unrealistic goal and re-committed myself to changing the people around me. I have gotten a little bit older (and grayer). I still want to try to influence people around me, but I have learned that, ultimately, the only person I can change is me, and there is plenty that still needs to be changed.

James compares reading the Word of God with looking in a mirror: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:22-25).

May we truly view the Word of God, not as a microscope to examine the lives of others, but as a mirror to search into our own hearts and lives.

A pilot was having trouble bringing his plane down to land. From the control tower, he was given instructions. "But there is a pole there," he objected. The answer came back, "You take care of the instructions; we will take care of the obstructions." So with the child of God. In the Word, he or she has God's instructions. God will take care of the obstructions. It is ours to obey the instructions from God's Word.