God gives us all we need to be successful physically and spiritually in this life (2 Peter 1:3; Matthew 6:25-34).
God, through the inspired pen of Paul, tells Christians about the sword and armor that we are to use in our spiritual fight against Satan and evil. Please note Ephesians 6:10-20 in the New King James Version,
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
A sword and armor do us no good if we don’t: learn how to properly use it and then utilize it and engage the enemy for the spiritual benefits God intended!
Today, as every day on earth, we face the spiritual battle. Let us all check our “swords and armor” that we stand for and with God and fight for the victory!
What is local church membership? Is it necessary? What is the relationship of the elders of a local church to the “flock” which is “among them”? What shepherd (in real life) doesn’t know which sheep are in his flock? (Doesn’t this teach us that the flock’s membership must be “defined”?) Please consider the following audio lesson on this important topic. Thanks! – mjw
From a very early age, I was blessed to be able to go “fishing” with my Dad. As you can see from the photo above, we went fishing and caught several. Dad was preaching in Orangeburg, SC at the time and I found out many years later that this was not just “recreational” fishing! You see, when the end of the month came around, Mom would sometimes say to Dad, “Dick, you are going to need to go fishing, so we can have something to eat.” We never suffered for lack of food. God provides what we need, if we are seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness first (Mt. 6:33).
Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen by trade. What impresses me is that when Jesus said, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men….that these men left their nets immediately (i.e. at once, NIV) and followed Christ! Oh that I, and possibly you, might have such great faith! (See Mk. 1:16-18)
Those that fish for fish use live or artificial bait to lure the fish to the hook. Jesus and His disciples (including those of us today who are doing personal evangelism) are fishing for the souls of men and women who wish to be saved in the day of judgment….to be with the saved of all time in heaven forever! There are “no gimmicks, no bait, no trickery” in the spreading of the gospel as far as God’s Will is concerned.
Throughout the New Testament, like in the book of Acts, we see that the simple message of the gospel of Christ was proclaimed in love, and the audiences were invited and encouraged to respond accordingly. This resulted in men and women believing and obeying the gospel of Christ for the remission of their sins. We are to do the same today…and we will see the same result.
Some think we should “modernize” the approach…by even admittedly luring folks in with a social gospel, or church-sponsored recreational activities, or even by putting “coffee shops” in the church’s meeting house! Is this what God authorizes? No, we are to preach Christ and Him crucified to a lost and dying world, in view of “righteousness, self-control and judgment to come” and those with good and honest hearts will respond positively… while others simply choose to either put off or totally reject the invitation of God! (See Acts 24:25; Acts 2:38-43).
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (NASB)
God is teaching us, through the inspired pen of Peter, that we have a very cunning and stealth adversary in spiritual matters. The devil, is “on the prowl” trying to get those who are with God to sin. Satan wishes to destroy our faith, our devotion to God, our lives, and our eternal destiny!
Ephesians 6 teaches that we are in a spiritual battle! We can win, with the Lord’s help and by committing to Him. Be watchful for the LION, he is after your soul. – mjw
“If you were to go to the grocery store for peanut butter, you would find that you had several choices. You could decide on the basis of how much it cost you, how well it suited your particular tastes, and you could even have your peanut butter already mixed with jelly if you liked! Well, believe it or not, many people use this very same approach in “finding a church”.
“FINDING A CHURCH”
It has been estimated that there are over 1500 religious groups in the world today. Yet there is only one Christ. In John 17, Jesus prayed that His disciples be united. Paul, by inspiration, condemned religious division in the first chapter of I Corinthians. Why, then, the utter mass of confusion? Is God the author of such? Certainly not! (See I Cor. 14.33; Eph. 4.1-6).
Where do you go to try to find a group of people meeting in the name of the Lord? Ever look in the Yellow Pages? Pretty confusing, isn’t it? There are so many listings it can make your head spin. One might drive within a few miles of his or her home and pass by several buildings that represent a place for religious people to gather for worship.
Why not read the New Testament before making such an important decision? Sounds crazy? Not if you really think about it. The words therein are God’s Will for man living today (Heb. 1.1ff; James 1.25). The inspired words of the Bible are the words that should be our guide in searching for a local congregation of people who are practicing New Testament Christianity. But, how many people do you know look to this book before setting out to “find a church”?
“HOW MUCH DOES IT COST ME?”
Normally, one will ask the question, “What will I have to do if I go to that church?” In other words, “What’s it gonna cost me?” If we have the right spirit toward God, we will want to know what His Will is and we will want to do that. However, such is not the attitude of those who are trying to locate themselves with a congregation that will condone their present style of living with little or no change being necessary. This would be a good example of “shopping for a church.” If one particular church were maybe more tolerant of worldliness, for instance, it might appear more appealing to the flesh. But this is not the proper criteria for basing whether or not we will join ourselves to a church (Col. 3:17; Acts 9:26).
“IT SUITS ME”
It is possible to “find a church” that suits your every whim and desire. The possibilities are almost endless. But this is a peanut butter religion; choosing the kind YOU like best. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…His Son built His church…man has no right to pick and choose in religious matters today like we might pick and choose our peanut butter at the grocery store! (John 3:16; Mt. 16:18; Acts 2:47; Lk. 9:23; Lk. 14: 26-33). Let us determine to seek God and His Will and forsake all others. Brethren and friends, think on these things (Phil. 4.8).
Is sin just a disease? Does God specify all the sins in the Bible by naming them? How can we know what sin is? Sin separates us from God and all have sinned according to the teaching of Romans 3:23. Please consider the following audio lesson (and link from the “Charts” below to view the slides as the lesson progresses. May God richly bless you in your study and consideration of the teaching. -mjw
It is obvious that people who are brethren among churches of Christ disagree on Bible subjects. What is interesting to this writer is that there is often a general apathy concerning that fact. The very fact that the Bible clearly teaches that there are “babes” in Christ and that we should grow into saints of a “full age” having our senses “exercised to discern” both good and evil (Hebrews 5:10-14), should suggest that we would mature into “truth” on various topical matters over which there is disagreement among well meaning brethren. Here are some Biblical thoughts concerning what we should do when brethren disagree.
EXPRESS A LOVE FOR EACH OTHER
I Corinthians 13 teaches that without “love” or “charity” we are nothing spiritually. The admonition, “let brotherly love continue” is certainly not limited to those brethren with whom we agree! Since disagreements involve conflict of at least two, if not more, points of view on a particular topic, let’s not add “fuel to the fire” by acting in such a way as to contribute to a “bad environment for learning”. Let’s do all we can to contribute to an environment that allows confidence that a healthy, profitable study can occur of opposing beliefs with an effort to unite on God’s truth on the matter!
EXPRESS A LOVE FOR TRUTH
I am reminded of the phrase “buy the truth and sell it not”. Do we really LOVE truth? IF we continue in His word, THEN are we His disciples indeed (John 8:31,32). If two (or more) folks are studying an issue over which there is disagreement, a love for truth by all involved can go a long way towards contributing to a good study. Certainly there must be more involved, but we need to always express a love for God’s truth in our studies.
EXHIBIT PATIENCE AND LONGSUFFERING IN DISAGREEMENT
Since Biblical love expresses itself actively (as found in I Corinthians 13 and elsewhere) with attributes like patience and longsuffering, we should learn this behavior if we are not currently practicing it. What better way to exercise ourselves in godliness than to be gentle, longsuffering, and patient with those with whom we disagree on a matter? Just like it is easy to “love those who love us” and harder for us to “love our enemies”…it is also easier to “have patience with those who agree with us” and harder for us to “have patience with those who disagree with us”. No matter what our conviction on a topic, we need more doses of this in our studies! The devil is very pleased when we are short, curt, blunt, careless with words, unfeeling, impatient, and “short-suffering” with either our brethren or fellow man.
REALIZE THE DEVIL WANTS DISAGREEMENT AND GOD DESIRES UNITY
I have heard it taught, and rightly so, that a church that is growing will be “filled with error” from the standpoint of having many babes in Christ in the group who don’t hold the truth on some matters (yet). The natural process of teaching, growth, maturation, etc will eliminate a lot, if not all of this error (on their part)…as it well should. Please consider this aspect of disagreements over spiritual matters, the devil is very pleased with “continuing disagreement” and a lack of study on matters wherein we should seek agreement. Jesus prayed for unity in John 17. I Corinthians 1:10 points out that we are to seek to be of the same mind and the same judgment. Romans 14 and I Corinthians 8 both point to the fact that brethren in differing stages of growth see spiritual matters differently, albeit there IS a Bible answer to the topic, we still must proceed with the instruction in those passages while we disagree with each other. There are other passages of scripture that must be heeded as well, but in this study we are concentrating on how we behave while we are in the studying process with those with whom we disagree. (We will leave other matters to potential future article material).
OPEN MINDS & OPEN BIBLES
How can we ever learn something if we already have a closed mind on the topic? Simply stated, we can’t. We will have to open our minds and be receptive to God’s truth before we can recognize any false idea or practice that we might believe is authorized. Many folks don’t even open the Bible or appeal to Bible passages in support of their position/conviction/conscience on a matter! Can we not see from passages like 1 Peter 3:15; Jude 3; Ephesians 3:4; and Matthew 4:4 how we should open our Bibles and really get into the Word of God to find our answers? I am amazed at the viewpoints held by many on issues regarding the work and worship of the local church, for example, without any scriptural foundation or without even believing such is necessary in some cases!
CONSIDER THE OPPOSING VIEWPOINT
Have you ever been with someone that was “so right” they would not even consider they could be wrong? I am so impressed with the statements in the inspired record in the latter verses of Acts 18 concerning Apollos. He was quite a speaker! Mighty in the scriptures. Right on numerous points. What type of attitude do you think he must have had (at least somewhere along the line of being taught) in considering what Aquila and Priscilla had to say? We all could take a page out of Apollos’ book on that matter, don’t you think?
GIVE DIGESTION TIME AFTER STUDY
Finally, a thought about not believing that everyone is going to come to a studied conclusion, or even the truth on the same topic, at the same rate of speed! Sometimes folks need “digestion time” to ponder the evidence from God’s Word, consider carefully the points made for and against a particular position or viewpoint….and then reach a conclusion. Even then, shouldn’t we always be willing and ready to study with one of an opposing view for our good AND theirs? I would hope we would.
May God continue to bless every effort for good. Thanks for reading.
mjw
[Editor’s Note: If you have comments about this article, please feel free to write: teacher@markjward.com. Please begin your email: Dear Mark J. Ward. Thanks.]
