THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

Basil said, “Drunkenness is the ruin of reason. It is premature old age. It is temporary death” (Homilies, c. 375). There are few things engaged in by man that is as self-defeating and destructive as drunkenness. Quite frankly it is stupid beyond reason. A radio commentator recently described a time he had so much to drink he could not remember going home, how he got home nor who took him home. The sad part his remarks is that it was a boast with laughter intermixed of his drinking exploits. I thought of his wife who had to put up with a drunk coming home; possibly children. What about what they had to endure?

The pride of the drunkard is described in Proverbs 23:29-35. “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: ‘They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?’" The remarkable part of this scenario is after all the pain endured the man seeks another drink.

“Drunkenness is a vice which is painful and sickly in the very acting of it” (Jeremy Taylor, 1651). Billions of dollars are spent each year to promote drunkenness and billions of dollars are exacted to pay the health, mental and family crisis that is caused by the foolishness of alcohol. The news is filled with stories of pain and sorrow because of the impact of drunkenness. The word of God gives stern warnings of its consequence. Because of drunkenness Noah was uncovered before his family (Genesis 9:20-27) and Canaan was cursed. The daughters of Lot committed incest with their father when they got him drunk (Genesis 19:30-38). David got Uriah drunk trying to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:13).

There is no glory in drunkenness. “A drunken man staggers in his vomit … For all tables are full of vomit and filth; no place is clean … Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also—drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the Lord's right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory” (Isaiah 19:14; 28:8; Habakkuk 2:15-16).

The greater sadness is found in moments of reckless folly here will only lead to an eternal sadness in Hell. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived … drunkards … will [not] inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). It will not be funny to be a drunk in Hell. There will be neither pride nor boasting of drunkenness in torment; only the sad realization that life was about living with God and not dying through the bottle.

Children of God have enough to deal with in temptation stone sober than to cause a greater temptation through the drinking of alcohol. “Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). “As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’" (1 Peter 1:15-16). Don’t be a fool!

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8).

In order for our worship to honor God, it must be consistent with the lives that we lead when we are not worshiping. There must be INTEGRITY in our worship: unity or consistency between our worship and our character. If we disregard God in our hearts so that our daily lives are disobedient, then our worship is nothing but offensive to God. As the text above indicates, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” A similar proverb puts it this way: “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). These and all other such statements in the Scriptures should arrest our attention. God is not pleased by the mere mechanical performance of certain acts of worship. Such acts are acceptable only when they are part of a life that is worshipfully OBEDIENT.

It is perhaps difficult to see when there is inconsistency between our own lives and our worship, but we are often shocked when we see in the lives of others just how inconsistent human beings can be. In Isaiah’s day, for example, the people of Judah had become morally degenerate. Social injustice was rampant. God was being dishonored in every possible way. And yet, the people were continuing to come to the temple and offer their sacrifices, evidently supposing that these would be pleasing to God. Perhaps they even thought these sacrifices would compensate for their disobedience and would make them “religious” people.

God made it clear, however, that His people’s worship would be rejected until they chose to repent of their iniquity: “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; . . . I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. . . . When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean” (Isaiah 1:12,13,15,16). Thus true worship requires a good deal more than ritual; it requires the true turning of a penitent heart toward its God.

“If worship does not change us, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change. Worship begins in holy expectancy; it ends in holy obedience” (Richard J. Foster).

Jesus promised to build His church in Matthew 16:18. He bought the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28) and reigns as King and only head of the church (Revelation 19:16; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22,23; 4:15; 5:23). After His resurrection Jesus spent time with His disciples instructing them and preparing them for the work that was to begin at Pentecost (Acts 1:1-3). Luke reveals in Acts 2 the birth of the promised church as the first converts were “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

The historian of Acts continues to reveal the character and nature of these early followers of Christ as a “company” of people (Acts 4:23), and the “multitude of those who believed” (Acts 4:32). Great fear came upon “all the church” when God took the lives of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). “Believers” are spoken of in Acts 5:14 and the “numbers of the disciples” were multiplying in Acts 6:1,7. Following the death of Stephen a great persecution rose up against the “church” as Saul made “havoc of the church” (Acts 8:1,3).

The church is described as “disciples of the Lord” when Saul was breathing threats and murder against them (Acts 9:1). The early Christians are referred to as “disciples” thirty-one times in the book of Acts. Luke records a remarkable description in Acts 9:2 when Saul is seeking out “any who were of the Way” (Acts 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22; see also John 14:6). Early Christians were called “saints” (Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10). The “church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied” (Acts 9:31).

Antioch was where Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) and “for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Paul would later call for the “elders of the church” (Acts 20:17) and instructed them to oversee the “church of God” as shepherds (Acts 20:28). Festus simply refers to the disciples as “their own religion” when he explained the case of Paul before Agrippa (Acts 25:19). The power of Paul’s persuasive speech led King Agrippa to say, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian" (Acts 26:28).

In the epistles we find many different descriptions of the church. “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). Paul refers to the “church in Cenchrea … church in their house … whole church” and the “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:1,5,23,16). “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2). There are many terms used to describe the nature of the church (called out, household, kingdom, body, temple, vineyard, bride … see especially Hebrews 12:22-24).

What lesson do we draw from this? First, there is no single name attached to the church; but there is a New Testament name ascribed by God. Second, the New Testament does not reveal the names of most churches listed in the phone book. The name of Christ’s church is the name you can find in the New Testament and if that name is not found in His book then it is not the church Jesus built.

It happens every first day of every week. It is not limited to just one or two places in the world, but wherever Christians come together. The Samaritan woman by the well asked Jesus where her people should be worshipping God. She was thinking in terms of Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem. Jesus explained that in the future, the place would be where Christians came together in order to worship “in spirit and truth,” in John 4.24.

As followers of Christ, we come together on the first day of the week to sing songs of praise and join together in prayer, give as we prosper, teach the word of God, and observe the Lord’s Supper. Each is important, but only the Lord’s Supper is limited to Sunday. At Troas the disciples were together on the first day of the week to “break bread”, Acts 20.7. This term “break bread,” means more than simply dividing the bread, but to eat the bread. Since the Day of Pentecost to the present time, Christians have done so in obedience to God’s word.

Some times people question why we do this every first day of every week. They think it makes the Lord’s Supper too common or ordinary. Such is sad to think that remembering the death of Jesus on the cross could ever become ordinary or common. The Lord’s Supper is not a ritual, but a testimony to Jesus’ death.

As we eat of the unleavened bread, we are to remember the body of Jesus as He died on the cross for our sins. “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11.24). Reading through the Gospels we see the torture of Jesus. Soldiers beat Him without mercy, put a crown of thorns on His head and then hit those thorns so they dug into His scalp, These actions are described for us to see the cruelty of the people. The body of Jesus was offered as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

As we drink of the fruit of the vine, we drink of the blood of Christ. That blood was shed on the cross for our sins. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26.28). It is through the blood of Christ we have redemption, Ephesians 1.7. His blood was offered to establish a new covenant, a New Law, the Law of Christ. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission, no forgiveness of sin, Hebrews 9.22.

As we eat of the unleavened bread and drink of the fruit of the vine, we think of what Jesus went through and what He did for us. We look backward to the cross, but we also look forward to His return. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11.26). Let each of us make sure we never forget.

For as the churning of milk produces butter and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.

(Proverbs 30:33)

Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord's name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes— with the princes of His people. He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!