15 March 2009

Alpha And Omega

(Gary Henry)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Revelation 21:6,7).

God existed before all things, and He will exist after all things have reached their destiny. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. And since it is God who sent us out on our journey, it is God to whom we long to return. This longing is a part of our created nature. We may not choose to reach toward Him as we ought, but inwardly we have a persistent yearning to do so. We can no more change the fact that He is our Source than we can change the fact of our physical parentage. And what He is always asking us to do in this world is dispense with our denial and deal honestly with our hearts' desire for Him.

First of all, God is the reason why we reach forward. We long for Him because He made us and put within our hearts a need for Him; we reach forward because He gave us a nature that tends in that direction. But second, God is also our motive for reaching forward. The mighty force that moves us is nothing less than this: it is for His sake that we want to be better than we are. Deep within our hearts, we want to love God as He has loved us. The third and most important point, however, is that God is the goal for which we reach. He alone is the answer to our questions, the fulfillment of our needs. And the sooner we're able to view God Himself as our goal, the better we'll be able to move forward with our lives.

To live in the world as it now is, is to be "away" from God. This is still His world, of course, and He is still very much present within it. But our sins have come between us and God. Like Adam and Eve, whose rebellion meant that they had to leave the Garden, all of us since then have had to live "east of Eden." What we are is not what we were meant to be. Yet while this truth is sobering, it need not be our final truth. A way has been made possible for us to overcome what we are. Tomorrow can be better than today, and there is a heaven beyond the best of all our tomorrows. But let us not be deceived or distracted: it is God who is both our Alpha and our Omega. Heaven is worth reaching for only because He is there!

What Do You Do For Fun?

(Author Unknown)

Several years ago, a Christian girl told me about an incident with a young man who had been trying to date her. He was not a member of the church, and they just did not have anything in common. She had turned him down twice and now she had said “no” to attending a rock concert with him. In a kind of mock exasperation, the young man asked, “What do you do for fun? You don’t dance, you don’t drink, you don’t attend rock concerts. What do you do for fun?”

She replied, “For fun, I get up in the morning without feeling embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty about what I did the night before.” The young man had nothing more to say. She was right; it is not fun to feel guilty for your actions the night before. There are many things in life that are fun. For example, the Christian girl is now married to a fine Christian man. They have a little girl and are building an outstanding Christian home together. Think of the fun she is having.

She is having fun every day living without the scars of fornication, drugs, alcohol, or regrets from her past. She is having fun getting ready each afternoon to receive a husband home from work; knowing that he will not be stopping off at the local bar for a few drinks with his friends. She is having fun knowing that her little girl will never see her father in a drunken stupor or experimenting with drugs. She is having fun knowing that while he is away from her, his Christian conduct will not allow infidelity or even flirting. She is having fun watching him hold his little girl on his lap with loving, protective arms. She is having fun living with the assurance that the home will be led by a spiritual leader who will guide each family member towards heaven.

The list of fun things for the Christian is endless. What do you do for fun?

The Simplicity of the Great Commission

(Billy Norris)

Before Jesus ascended into heaven He gave his disciples a great charge, in which he pointed out to them their duty, and the plan of salvation for sinners. Because of the importance of this commission, it has been recorded by three of the gospel writers.

Matthew shows the power, or authority, with which it was given. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18 20).

Luke records the language of Christ, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46,47).

Mark also records the great commission, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15,16). Over this commission there has been much controversy, not because of the difficulty of the language, but because men have endeavored to justify doctrines which Christ did not teach.

Notice what Jesus did not say.

1. “He that believeth and is baptized shall not be saved, for there is no God”—justifying the doctrine of atheism. Nature, of course, shows that there is a Supreme, All Powerful, All Wise Being. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Psalms 19:1). The Bible, with all of its internal evidence, with its fulfilled prophecies and promises, with its perfect laws, and its tremendous influence for good, shows that there is an Almighty God. “The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalms 14:1).

2. “All men shall be saved, and may believe and be baptized—”justifying the doctrine of universal salvation. If the Bible shows that even one soul shall be lost, this doctrine falls. Actually, the Bible shows that the greater number will be lost. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13/14). The doctrine of universal salvation is dangerous because it encourages loose, undisciplined living, and it discourages carrying out the great commission. If all people are going to be saved, why go to the trouble of preaching the gospel to every creature?

3. “He that believeth shall be saved and may be baptized”—justifying the doctrine of salvation by faith only. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is by faith, but specifically shows that it is not by faith only. “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). Faith and works (obedience) are inseparably connected. One’s faith is demonstrated by his obedience. When Moses struck the rock, instead of speaking to it as God commanded, God said to him and Aaron, “Because ye believed me not … ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Numbers 20:12). Four men brought a paralytic to Christ. They could not reach Him because of the crowd They uncovered the roof, and let him down into the presence of Christ. The scripture says, “When Jesus saw their faith” (Mark 2:5). Their faith was demonstrated by their action. The idea that salvation by faith only is a very wholesome doctrine may be found in the creed books, but not in the word of God.

4. “He that is baptized in infancy and later believes shall be saved”—justifying the doctrine of infant baptism. Subjects for baptism are those who have been taught the gospel. “Teach all nations, baptizing them” (Matthew 28:19). Subjects for baptism are those, who, having been taught the gospel, believe and repent of their sins (Mark16:16; Acts 2:38). Infants have not the mental faculty for understanding and believing the gospel; nor do they have any sins for which to repent. Of the little ones Jesus said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven”(Matthew 19: 14). The doctrine of infant baptism may be found in the creed books of men, but not in the word of God.

Notice what Jesus did say.

1.”He that believeth.” God has given great evidence in his word that Christ is His Son, the Savior of man. Since faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), when the gospel is preached, men accept and believe this unimpeachable evidence.

2. “And is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). This baptism is for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38.) It saves from sin and the terrible consequences of sin. In the blood of Christ we have redemption. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1: 7.) We appropriate his redeeming blood by being baptized into his death. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Romans 6:3).

3. “But he that believeth not shall be damned.” This statement is conclusive evidence of the inseparable relationship of faith and obedience. One who believes shows his faith in his obedience to the gospel. In this faith he is saved. One who does not believe, consequently does not obey. In this disbelief and disobedience he is damned.

Jesus said, “But he that believeth not is condemned already” (John 3:18). Christ has made his commission, and the plan of salvation, clear and plain. It becomes controversial only when seen through the doctrines of men.

Living Letters

(Dan Shipley)

The life of every person is a message. We say something by the way we live. The apostle Paul makes this very point in 2 Corinthians 3. Apparently, Paul and his work had been greatly discredited by his enemies in Corinth. So much so, in fact, that he asks, "or need we, as do some, epistles of commendation to you or from you?" (v1). It is not surprising that the false teachers would need letters of commendation. But Paul? The very one who had wrought the signs of an apostle among them: The one who had wronged no man; who had corrupted no man; who had taken advantage of no man?

Why, "Ye are our epistle", he continues, "written in our hearts, known and read of all men..." (v2). The Christians at Corinth bespeak of Paul's great work; his influence can be seen in what they themselves have become (1 Corinthians 6:9-I1). In 1 Corinthians 9:2 he calls them "the seal of mine apostleship". That is, as a seal they attest to the genuineness of his claims. But, not only do their lives reflect the influence of Paul, they reflect the influence of Him who influences Paul.

Accordingly, Paul writes: "...ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh" (v3). All men are letters, but not all are letters of Christ. The life of every man says something, but it just doesn't read the same without the Lord. Those who imagine themselves as well off without Christ bear an effective, but discouraging message to all who know and read them. Even children can read such living letters, and worse, be immeasurably influenced by them.

On the other hand, those who are epistles of Christ are "made manifest" as such, Paul says (v3). It is how we live more than what we claim that demonstrates a Christ-controlled life. Such living is but the expression of what has been "written" on the heart. It is one thing to have the word of God in hand, that is, written in ink or on stone. But to have God's word in the heart is far better! Many have Bibles who have not taken God's word to heart. A prophecy from Jeremiah referred to in Hebrews 8 says, "I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them" (v10). God's faithful are such as appropriate and apply His word to their every day living — they are truly epistles of Christ, and others know it.

For this reason Paul writes, ye are "known and read of all men". While men cannot read the heart, they can and do know the kind of life that issues forth from the heart. To put it in space terminology, the heart is man's guidance system. It directs and controls his every activity. When Christ controls the guidance system, men will "read" our good works and, hopefully, glorify God (Matthew 5:16). The apostle Paul was an impressive letter of Christ. "For me to live", he said, "is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). None could deny the remarkable influence of Christ in his life. Now, as the Corinthians and others saw Christ in Paul, so ought the world to read the same in all Christians. "among whom ye are seen as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).

FEATHERS FOR ARROWS

§         A sick man turned to his doctor who was leaving the room after paying a visit and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.” Very quietly the doctor said, “I don’t know.” “You do not know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?” The doctor was holding the handle of the door, from the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining. As he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, “Did you notice that dog? He has never been in this room before. He did not know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door opens, I shall pass through with not fear but with gladness. (Author unknown)