On Tuesday evenings the Archdale church of Christ conducts Bible studies at the Mecklenburg County jail. We have, typically, a crowd of 16-22. We have an hour to share the Gospel as God allows us. Our opportunity is enhanced by the fact that our group is different each and every time. Very few of these men have the opportunity to hear the Gospel more than once and so we are burdened with the urgency.
Everything goes very well unti we arrive at the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins. We deal with the "sinners prayer," the thief on the cross and Romans 10:9-10 nearly every week. This last Tuesday, however, we had a man who objected to baptism on the grounds of Ephesians 1:7:
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness of His grace... (NKJV)
The mans contention was that this verse spoke of redemption, forgiveness through grace without any mention of baptism. How then is baptism essential? Let's examine this question briefly.
The Word of God interacts back and forth with itself, Scripture interprets Scripture. For example, we lack the complete account of Pauls conversion if we look only at Acts 9 without also looking at Acts 22. Luke gives a 3rd party account of Pauls conversion in Acts 9, whereas Paul himself is quoted directly in Acts 22 regarding these same events. Therefore, when we look at the subject of redemption, forgiveness and grace, we need to look at more than just one entry regarding the subject.
In Ephesians 1:17 Paul essentially restates the same principle using different terminology. Examine:
In Him we have:
REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD
FORGIVENESS OF SINS
according to the richness of His grace.
By examining the structure of the language we quickly realize that words "redemption" and "forgiveness" are synonomous, they are one and the same. We therefore must conclude that neither can be acheived except "through His blood." Going back to Acts 2:38 we see that baptism is exclusively the time and the place where "remission [forgiveness/redemption] of sins" takes place! By examining these two scriptures together we must conclude the following:
REDEMPTION IS THROUGH HIS BLOOD
FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS THROUGH HIS BLOOD
REMISSION OF SINS TAKES PLACE ONLY AT THE TIME AND PLACE OF WATER BAPTISM
REDEMPTION, FORGIVENESS AND REMISSION OF SINS ARE SYNONOMOUS TERMS
THEREFORE:
WE MEET THE SAVING BLOOD OF JESUS CHIRST ONLY IN BAPTISM AND NO WHERE ELSE!
Ephesians 1:7 DOES speak of baptism for Christ shed His blood ONLY in His death and the ONLY way to participate with Him in His death is through water baptism. (See Romans 6:1f) We are baptized into His death where we meet and are cleansed by the saving blood of Christ that remitts us of our sins, forgives us of our sins and redeems us from our sins!
There is no "plan "B," the ONLY place where we find the blood of Christ is in the time and place of water baptism. Man may not like it, understand it, appreciate it or embrace it...BUT..."it is the way it is." The saving blood of Jesus Christ is NOT found in any mystical experience, at the end of any "sinners prayer," after "praying through," after being "voted in" or ANY other place or time outside of water baptism of the soul that has repented of every sin (Acts 2:38) and has confessed the Name of Jesus Christ before witnesses (Matthew 10:32).
Should you hesitate at the point of water baptism, dear friend, please consider once again the words of the servants of General Naaman, "...My father if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, "Wash and be clean?" - II Kings 5:13 (NKJV) "For whatever things written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might find hope." - Romans 15:4 (NKJV) General Naaman "got in the water." Now its your turn! Thank God for His unspeakable free gift of salvation through the saving shed blood of Jesus Christ found in the "watery grave" of baptism!
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail: rmcculls6@bellsouth.net!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Seen Around Town - Week of October 5, 2008
"Don't wait for six strong men to take you to the church building!"
"Directions to Heaven: Turn RIGHT at the cross and keep going STRAIGHT!"
"Morality is like art, both start by drawing the line."
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail rmcculls6@bellsouth.net!
"Directions to Heaven: Turn RIGHT at the cross and keep going STRAIGHT!"
"Morality is like art, both start by drawing the line."
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail rmcculls6@bellsouth.net!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Godly Economics 101
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
The familiar children’s rhyme might better be applied to our current economic woes, “All work and no REST, makes Jack broke!” Economies, like people, require periods of rest. Without rest, an economy, like you and me, will collapse of exhaustion. Periodic economic REST is essential to a vibrant and growing economy. Unfortunately, that which is essential, that which is beneficial and that which in necessary to propel us to future success is seen as painful, antiquated and detrimental in our current post-modern mindset here in America.
Now, you must know a couple of things before I go on. I never studied economics in college. In fact, I have trouble balancing a check book! However, for nearly fifty years I have studied the Bible. The Bible, though not a book on economics per se, contains basic economic principles that are easily identified.
Of course, we are “no longer under law but under grace.” We are not part of the Mosaic economy. However, “…whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…” (Romans 15:4 – KJV) In these times of great uncertainty, what principles might we learn from the ancient Israelite economy that can be applied today in 21st century America?
Did you know that God, through Moses, established a national economy for Israel? Did you know that God never intended for faithful Israel to suffer depressions, recessions or an economic crisis? Did you know that faithful Israel had a rock solid currency, a fair and unchanging tax policy and a debt free balance sheet? Did you know that there was an inherent linkage between faithfulness to God and economic prosperity? Finally, did you know that REST was a key component is all of this?
Unfortunately, Israel was faithful only rarely. In fact, after the division of the kingdom, Israel was never faithful and Judah was faithful only in bits and spurts. Both nations were, for the most part, habitually unfaithful. Unfaithful Israel and Judah ignored God’s covenant and economic principles, and as a result, suffered foreign domination, inflation, deflation, recession, depression, drought, war and finally, at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians…destruction.
By listening to God’s Word we will come to understand that all of Israel’s woes were avoidable. Unfaithfulness has consequences, including economic collapse. When we look faithfully to God to direct our lives, including our economy, we will be blessed. When we look pragmatically to Washington and Wall Street to direct our economy, we load ourselves onto a boom and bust roller coaster that will, in the end, dump us all violently in the abyss.
Yes, “It is not within man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23b – NKJV) Man cannot pragmatically “plan,” “direct” or “manage” economies for guaranteed outcomes! When God created the world he created it with ebb and flow. Seasons go from winter to summer. Night becomes day. The moon waxes and wanes. The tides come in and the tides go out. There is flood and drought. There is global warming and then global cooling. From dust we are created and to dust we return. The winds blow and then calm returns. Temperatures rise during the day and fall at night. All life is cyclical…including economies. We call our economic cycles “expansions” and “contractions.” We LOVE expansions and loathe contractions. Surprisingly to us, God looked at these economic cycles quite differently for Israel. He looked at them simply as “work” and “rest.” Unfaithful Israel often came to economic ruin by ignoring the relationship between the two.
To begin with, God rested on the 7th day after creating the world in six days, setting precedent. (Genesis 2:2) In the law of Moses, God dictated a day of total rest one day a week to bring refreshment to all. (Exodus 23:12) Even the cooking had to be done the day before. God gave the Israelites, in addition to a “day off” each week, seven feasts. These feasts were grouped together in the spring and fall. Passover (Exodus 12:1-14), Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20) and First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9-14) came during the month of Nisan in early spring. Pentecost (Deuteronomy 16:9-12) came in late spring during the month of Sivan. The month of Tishri came in early fall. During this month came Trumpets (Numbers 29:1-6), the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32) and Booths (Nehemiah 8:13-18). All males twelve and older were required to travel to Jerusalem for the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Booths, These feasts drew the people back to God spiritually while giving them far more REST than we today can possibly imagine! Not only did God give the Israelites rest one day a week, two weeks of Feasts in the spring, a week of Feasts in the fall…God gave BOTH the land AND the people an extended REST every seven years! Listen to the Word of God in Leviticus 25:3-5:
”Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn REST for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of REST for the land.” (NKJV, emphasis – RM)
Not only did this year of “solemn rest” cause the Israelite to rely totally on God, in faith, for an entire year…it SLOWED normal economic activity to a crawl. There were no crops to harvest and no crops to sell. We would call it a “contraction” but God called it a REST! What is “painful” to us was “restful” to them! Quite a different perspective…
Finally, there was the “Year of Jubilee.” The Israelite economic clock was “reset” by God every fifty years. During the Year of Jubilee, every Israelite repossessed his ancestral inheritance with no debt. The “owner” gave it back and returned to his own ancestral inheritance. All personal debts were canceled in the economy and all slaves were freed. Imagine, a new slate, a new beginning and a new book every fifty years! You can read all about the “Year of Jubilee” in Leviticus 25:8-34.
In conclusion these Godly systems provided a spiritual purpose of allowing the Israelite to refocus on God and His goodness during these times. Secondarily, these Godly systems built into the Israelite economy, much needed REST. With regular rest, the ebb and flow of the economic cycles had no effect at all on ancient Israel…as long as they remained faithful to God. What then are some principles we can garner from this ancient economic model and apply to our day and time during these days of economic crisis?
1. America needs to know that it is God who is in control of the economy and not we ourselves for “it is He who gives you the power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV)
2. America needs to know that it is God who owns the land and not we ourselves for “…the land is Mine….” (Leviticus 25:23 NKJV)
3. America needs to know that a vibrant and healthy worker must rest completely one day a week for maximum productivity, well being and happiness…phone off, pager off, computer off, Blackberry ® off, T.V. off…just be still!
4. America needs to know that three to four weeks of vacation a year is GOOD! Take them!
5. America needs to know that an extended “leave of absence” every seven years or so is GOOD! Take it!
6. America needs to know that the family based self-employment model is the BEST model!
7. America needs to know that “recessions” or “contractions” are GOOD! They will give us much needed rest AND refocus on the realization that God is in control and that we are beholden to Him for all things! Take advantage of the “down time!”
8. America needs to know that a society should not borrow more than it can repay in the current generation.
9. America needs to know true wealth is land and asset based and not based upon, or acquired by, indebtedness.
10. American needs to know that usurious interest rates are evil and sow seeds of moral, spiritual and economic poverty.
11. American needs to know that the combined tax rate should always be 30% of gross income and never changed for either political or pragmatic advantage. The rich pay more and the poor pay less…but everyone contributes something.
12. America needs to know that land passed down from one generation to the next brings stability to the family, to the community and to the nation. Constant moving around from place to place brings instability to the family, to the community and to the nation.
13. America needs to know that family, friends and acquaintances are responsible for taking care of the poor among them, not the government.
14. Finally, America needs to know that faithfulness to God is the key to ALL things, including a productive and healthy economy.
Father in Heaven;
Great and hallowed is Your name! We praise you for creating all things with cyclical regularity. We pray, oh Lord, for our leaders in this time of crisis. May they turn to Your Word for guidance. May they determine to leave behind those things that are self serving and self promoting. May those in the financial markets understand that rest is good for an economy and a thing not to be feared. May our economy return once more to a just and stable foundation. May we as individuals place our faith in You and not in ourselves, our leaders or in our economy. Finally, Father, may MANY turn to You in these uncertain times and may WE be ready always to “give an answer to those who ask of the hope that is in us.” Forgive us of our sins and short comings. In Jesus Name - AMEN
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail rmcculls6@bellsouth.net!
The familiar children’s rhyme might better be applied to our current economic woes, “All work and no REST, makes Jack broke!” Economies, like people, require periods of rest. Without rest, an economy, like you and me, will collapse of exhaustion. Periodic economic REST is essential to a vibrant and growing economy. Unfortunately, that which is essential, that which is beneficial and that which in necessary to propel us to future success is seen as painful, antiquated and detrimental in our current post-modern mindset here in America.
Now, you must know a couple of things before I go on. I never studied economics in college. In fact, I have trouble balancing a check book! However, for nearly fifty years I have studied the Bible. The Bible, though not a book on economics per se, contains basic economic principles that are easily identified.
Of course, we are “no longer under law but under grace.” We are not part of the Mosaic economy. However, “…whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…” (Romans 15:4 – KJV) In these times of great uncertainty, what principles might we learn from the ancient Israelite economy that can be applied today in 21st century America?
Did you know that God, through Moses, established a national economy for Israel? Did you know that God never intended for faithful Israel to suffer depressions, recessions or an economic crisis? Did you know that faithful Israel had a rock solid currency, a fair and unchanging tax policy and a debt free balance sheet? Did you know that there was an inherent linkage between faithfulness to God and economic prosperity? Finally, did you know that REST was a key component is all of this?
Unfortunately, Israel was faithful only rarely. In fact, after the division of the kingdom, Israel was never faithful and Judah was faithful only in bits and spurts. Both nations were, for the most part, habitually unfaithful. Unfaithful Israel and Judah ignored God’s covenant and economic principles, and as a result, suffered foreign domination, inflation, deflation, recession, depression, drought, war and finally, at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians…destruction.
By listening to God’s Word we will come to understand that all of Israel’s woes were avoidable. Unfaithfulness has consequences, including economic collapse. When we look faithfully to God to direct our lives, including our economy, we will be blessed. When we look pragmatically to Washington and Wall Street to direct our economy, we load ourselves onto a boom and bust roller coaster that will, in the end, dump us all violently in the abyss.
Yes, “It is not within man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23b – NKJV) Man cannot pragmatically “plan,” “direct” or “manage” economies for guaranteed outcomes! When God created the world he created it with ebb and flow. Seasons go from winter to summer. Night becomes day. The moon waxes and wanes. The tides come in and the tides go out. There is flood and drought. There is global warming and then global cooling. From dust we are created and to dust we return. The winds blow and then calm returns. Temperatures rise during the day and fall at night. All life is cyclical…including economies. We call our economic cycles “expansions” and “contractions.” We LOVE expansions and loathe contractions. Surprisingly to us, God looked at these economic cycles quite differently for Israel. He looked at them simply as “work” and “rest.” Unfaithful Israel often came to economic ruin by ignoring the relationship between the two.
To begin with, God rested on the 7th day after creating the world in six days, setting precedent. (Genesis 2:2) In the law of Moses, God dictated a day of total rest one day a week to bring refreshment to all. (Exodus 23:12) Even the cooking had to be done the day before. God gave the Israelites, in addition to a “day off” each week, seven feasts. These feasts were grouped together in the spring and fall. Passover (Exodus 12:1-14), Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20) and First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9-14) came during the month of Nisan in early spring. Pentecost (Deuteronomy 16:9-12) came in late spring during the month of Sivan. The month of Tishri came in early fall. During this month came Trumpets (Numbers 29:1-6), the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32) and Booths (Nehemiah 8:13-18). All males twelve and older were required to travel to Jerusalem for the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Booths, These feasts drew the people back to God spiritually while giving them far more REST than we today can possibly imagine! Not only did God give the Israelites rest one day a week, two weeks of Feasts in the spring, a week of Feasts in the fall…God gave BOTH the land AND the people an extended REST every seven years! Listen to the Word of God in Leviticus 25:3-5:
”Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn REST for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of REST for the land.” (NKJV, emphasis – RM)
Not only did this year of “solemn rest” cause the Israelite to rely totally on God, in faith, for an entire year…it SLOWED normal economic activity to a crawl. There were no crops to harvest and no crops to sell. We would call it a “contraction” but God called it a REST! What is “painful” to us was “restful” to them! Quite a different perspective…
Finally, there was the “Year of Jubilee.” The Israelite economic clock was “reset” by God every fifty years. During the Year of Jubilee, every Israelite repossessed his ancestral inheritance with no debt. The “owner” gave it back and returned to his own ancestral inheritance. All personal debts were canceled in the economy and all slaves were freed. Imagine, a new slate, a new beginning and a new book every fifty years! You can read all about the “Year of Jubilee” in Leviticus 25:8-34.
In conclusion these Godly systems provided a spiritual purpose of allowing the Israelite to refocus on God and His goodness during these times. Secondarily, these Godly systems built into the Israelite economy, much needed REST. With regular rest, the ebb and flow of the economic cycles had no effect at all on ancient Israel…as long as they remained faithful to God. What then are some principles we can garner from this ancient economic model and apply to our day and time during these days of economic crisis?
1. America needs to know that it is God who is in control of the economy and not we ourselves for “it is He who gives you the power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV)
2. America needs to know that it is God who owns the land and not we ourselves for “…the land is Mine….” (Leviticus 25:23 NKJV)
3. America needs to know that a vibrant and healthy worker must rest completely one day a week for maximum productivity, well being and happiness…phone off, pager off, computer off, Blackberry ® off, T.V. off…just be still!
4. America needs to know that three to four weeks of vacation a year is GOOD! Take them!
5. America needs to know that an extended “leave of absence” every seven years or so is GOOD! Take it!
6. America needs to know that the family based self-employment model is the BEST model!
7. America needs to know that “recessions” or “contractions” are GOOD! They will give us much needed rest AND refocus on the realization that God is in control and that we are beholden to Him for all things! Take advantage of the “down time!”
8. America needs to know that a society should not borrow more than it can repay in the current generation.
9. America needs to know true wealth is land and asset based and not based upon, or acquired by, indebtedness.
10. American needs to know that usurious interest rates are evil and sow seeds of moral, spiritual and economic poverty.
11. American needs to know that the combined tax rate should always be 30% of gross income and never changed for either political or pragmatic advantage. The rich pay more and the poor pay less…but everyone contributes something.
12. America needs to know that land passed down from one generation to the next brings stability to the family, to the community and to the nation. Constant moving around from place to place brings instability to the family, to the community and to the nation.
13. America needs to know that family, friends and acquaintances are responsible for taking care of the poor among them, not the government.
14. Finally, America needs to know that faithfulness to God is the key to ALL things, including a productive and healthy economy.
Father in Heaven;
Great and hallowed is Your name! We praise you for creating all things with cyclical regularity. We pray, oh Lord, for our leaders in this time of crisis. May they turn to Your Word for guidance. May they determine to leave behind those things that are self serving and self promoting. May those in the financial markets understand that rest is good for an economy and a thing not to be feared. May our economy return once more to a just and stable foundation. May we as individuals place our faith in You and not in ourselves, our leaders or in our economy. Finally, Father, may MANY turn to You in these uncertain times and may WE be ready always to “give an answer to those who ask of the hope that is in us.” Forgive us of our sins and short comings. In Jesus Name - AMEN
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail rmcculls6@bellsouth.net!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Is Seeing REALLY Believing?
We have heard this phrase all our lives, "seeing is belileving." Is it REALLY? Hitler and his henchmen worked on the premise that if a lie is told often enough, people begin to assume it's validity. When it comes to our souls salvation, seeing is NOT believing! Let me explain.
In the 13th century, the Roman Catholic monk Thomas Aquinas injected a theory into theology that has, and continues to have, horrible consequences to the salvation of the souls of humankind. He alledged that people find truth PRIMARILY, not through the revealed Word of God, but through "reason." This "reason" (or "senses") leads us to "faith" and this "faith" then leads us to God's Word. Not only that, Thomas Aquinas asserted that "imagination" is a sense! In other words, if we "imagine" truth then our imagination BECOMES truth! Aquinas went on to assert that this "imagined truth" is best conveyed, not by the preaching of the audible Word of God but by things visual such as art, music, drama, theater, sculpture, etc. Yes, I know, this is very Post-Modern!
We KNOW that this is a falsehood for the inpired apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that "...faith comes by HEARING and hearing by the Word of God." Here's a synopsis to review:
Paul: Faith via Hearing via the Word of God
Aquinas: Faith via Seeing via Imagination
Pauls inpired assertion was proven correct in the life of Christ, especially in one defining moment...the raising of Lazarus of Bethany. (See John 11) "IF" "seeing is believing" then ALL the Jews present to see this undeniable miracle would have believed on Jesus! Whoever else ever raised a man from the dead after 4 days in the earth!? Not only did many not believe though they clearly SAW, but instead, sought to murder,not only Christ, but Lazarus as well! (John 12:10-11)
As much as our culture is enamoured with all things visual, God has chosen things audible to bring us to belief in Christ! "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" - Romans 10:14
Remember, faith comes by HEARING, not by sight!
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail: rmcculls@bellsouth.net!
In the 13th century, the Roman Catholic monk Thomas Aquinas injected a theory into theology that has, and continues to have, horrible consequences to the salvation of the souls of humankind. He alledged that people find truth PRIMARILY, not through the revealed Word of God, but through "reason." This "reason" (or "senses") leads us to "faith" and this "faith" then leads us to God's Word. Not only that, Thomas Aquinas asserted that "imagination" is a sense! In other words, if we "imagine" truth then our imagination BECOMES truth! Aquinas went on to assert that this "imagined truth" is best conveyed, not by the preaching of the audible Word of God but by things visual such as art, music, drama, theater, sculpture, etc. Yes, I know, this is very Post-Modern!
We KNOW that this is a falsehood for the inpired apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that "...faith comes by HEARING and hearing by the Word of God." Here's a synopsis to review:
Paul: Faith via Hearing via the Word of God
Aquinas: Faith via Seeing via Imagination
Pauls inpired assertion was proven correct in the life of Christ, especially in one defining moment...the raising of Lazarus of Bethany. (See John 11) "IF" "seeing is believing" then ALL the Jews present to see this undeniable miracle would have believed on Jesus! Whoever else ever raised a man from the dead after 4 days in the earth!? Not only did many not believe though they clearly SAW, but instead, sought to murder,not only Christ, but Lazarus as well! (John 12:10-11)
As much as our culture is enamoured with all things visual, God has chosen things audible to bring us to belief in Christ! "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" - Romans 10:14
Remember, faith comes by HEARING, not by sight!
For a FREE Bible study, e-mail: rmcculls@bellsouth.net!
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