| JOHN WADDEY, EDITOR
Published by the Church of Christ, 12213 West Bell Road, Surprise, AZ 85374 Volume 1, Number 12
August 1, 2002 |
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Table of Contents: 1. SAVING FAITH
Faith is the bed rock of a Christian's relationship with God and his Son, Jesus. "Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto God; for he cometh unto God must believe that he is..." (Heb. 11:6). Jesus said, "except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins..." (John 8:24). "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1 NIV). The faith that is essential for salvation "comes from hearing the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). Apart from the truth revealed in the New Testament one cannot have saving faith. Thus Jesus said, "Go... preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth..." (Mark 16:15-16).
Contrary to popular opinion, saving faith is not just an acceptance of the fact that God and Christ exist and a warm feeling of trust in them. God's word speaks of the "obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5). The eleventh chapter of Hebrews presents a collage of biographical sketches that illustrate the meaning of faith. Able offered his sacrifice; Enoch walked with God; Noah built his ark; Abraham offered his son; Moses chose to suffer with God's people rather than remain in Egypt. James devotes the second chapter of his epistle to clarifying the meaning of faith. "What doth it profit my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? Can that faith save him?"
(2:1). The answer is no. Again he says, "show me thy faith apart from thy works and I by my works will show thee my faith" (2:18). "Faith without works is barren" (2:20). "Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" (2:24). " As the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." (2:26). In every example of conversion mentioned in the Acts of Apostles, those who believed obeyed Christ by being baptized (Compare Acts 2:41; 8:12; 18:8; 22:16). If you really believe on the Lord and want to enjoy his wonderful salvation you will do just as those disciples did. That's why Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk. 16:16).
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2. WORSHIP IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT
In the Daily News Sun (Feb. 26, 00), AP's Richard Ostling wrote, "Much of Evangelical Worship has degenerated into showmanship, with applause and canned orchestra music – a naked (and rather successful) quest for popularity in a media culture." In this the writer is right on target. One need only look at many of the televised religious services to see his point in living color.
Churches of Christ continue to resist the temptation to join the mad rush away from the simplicity of New Testament Christianity to the paltry substitute of entertainment.
To be faithful Christians we must ever keep our eyes on the Bible as our only standard and guide in worship, faith and practice. As the writer of Hebrews says, "See saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee..." (Hebrews 8:5). Paul made it clear that we must not go beyond the things that are written (I Corinthians 4:6 ASV).
Those who perceive of worship as a time for entertainment need to ponder how their "show time" exercises (I cannot call such worship), would resonate in those early days when Christians risked their all to assemble for worship to their crucified and resurrected Lord; when they saw their brethren dragged away to a horrid death before a screaming mob.
The entertainment crew would be so ashamed they would hang their heads and slink away in embarrassment for the insults they had offered to God and the harm done to his church.
If you wish to commune in sacred "remembrance of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:25); to sing and pray with the Spirit and understanding (I Corinthians 14:15); and hear preaching that glorifies not a sinful man, but "Christ Jesus as Lord" (II Corinthians 4:5), visit a Church of Christ near you. JHW |
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3. THE CRUX OF THE MATTER
The Crux of the Matter is a book recently published by Abilene Christian University Press and highly endorsed by Dr. Royce Money, president of that school. It is the joint work of Jeff W. Childers, Douglas A. Foster and Jack R. Reese, professors in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology. The book is subtitled, “Crisis, Tradition, and the Future of Churches of Christ.” The authors present themselves as resolvers of our problems, but in reality they are part of the problem. For readers not trained in the jargon of denominational seminaries, much of this book will be unintelligible mumbo-jumbo. For example, “Truth without elegance is untrue, or at least incomplete” (p. 209). Putting great stock in being theologians, they express their thoughts in dark, ponderous phrases to which the average reader may answer, “What?” Two of the authors being historians, prefer to attribute all major aspects of our faith and practice to influences wrought by men, institutions and events from the past, rather than to our commitment to the Bible. Our tenacity in clinging to our beliefs and practice they attribute to our loyalty to our traditions, rather than to Scripture. They are certain that we are what we are because of pre-restoration denominational influences such as Lutheranism, Calvinism, Arminianism, etc. (Chapt. 4). The authors do not oppose tradition, they love it and believe that it must be factored in when deciding what is right or wrong. Viewing matters through their theological spectacles, they confuse the sacred traditions of Scripture (II Thess. 3:6) with those of men (Matt. 15:6-9).
One must read 114 pages of the book before he reaches the thesis of the authors. It is, that while we may be Christians we certainly are not the only Christians. The fifth chapter is devoted to this theme which beginning in the 1960s was long propagated among us by W. Carl Ketcherside and Leroy Garrett. They dearly love Alexander Campbell’s Lunenberg Letters; elevating them virtually to the level of Scripture (p. 115). In this they join the Disciples of Christ/Christian Churches who have long done the same thing. Like the Disciples, they forget that Campbell was only a preacher in our midst, not our founder nor the authoritative interpreter of our faith. On p. 117 they introduce one major thrust of their work, “Many in Churches of Christ no longer believe that instrumental music in worship is a salvation issue.” Later they acknowledge this is their position and the use thereof should not be “grounds for disfellowship” (p. 247). Their goal is expressed on pp. 117-118. Thus they call upon us to reexamine the possibility that we are just a denomination, instrumental music and all other issues...with a non-defensive, humble attitude...” Interpreted that means, do not actively oppose their efforts to change us.
The authors cleverly mask their radical ideas with repeated use of “perhaps,” “maybe,” or “some believe.” This provides cover when they are called to account for their unscriptural views. They will be able to deny that they themselves say this, only that some may or may not have done so. Readers will be impressed at the dearth of Scripture used by the authors when establishing their points. This is to be expected, since their newly discovered way of approaching the Bible does not call for scriptural proof of anything. Rather, they read the whole Bible as literature, listen to theologians, consider history and tradition and talk it over with a group of Bible readers and then seek a consensus based on their core gospel (i.e., those few basics facts they view as essential (p. 183). You can be sure that these men do not see the need for finding specific or even generic Bible authority for what they believe or practice. They liken our old approach to a “stranglehold on a proof-text at the surface level and forcing it to become a direct rule” (p. 183). The authors are a bit arrogant, implying that those of us not following their lead do not know how to correctly study and comprehend God’s book. They imply that they alone know to consider the type of literature a particular Bible book is; its historical, geographical background, context, etc. They may only recently have discovered these truths, but the reviewer learned them 40 years ago in Bible School. There are twelve glaring points made in this book: - They reject our long held approach to ascertaining what is God’s will (p. 239). Our brethren have long believed that finding appropriate Scriptures referring to a question and determining what God says on the subject settles the point. Some things are determined by a command or prohibition. An example that reflects a command also is authoritative. By carefully comparing all that is revealed on the subject we can draw a valid conclusion.
- They see no sin in using instrumental music in worship (p. 247).
- They see no serious problem in erroneous teachings such as premillennialism since it is not one of their core issues (p. 246).
- They think that we were mistaken to break fellowship with the Disciples of Christ/Christian Churches over such issues as instrumental music in worship and missionary societies.
- They view the churches of Christ as a denomination of recent origin, full of flaws and flawed people (especially our past and present preachers who do not share their views).
- They protest that they are actually the “true conservatives” rather than liberals (p.193-194, 254).
- They believe we should not be a separate people but that we should participate with denominational neighbors in religious activities.
- Based on their unqualified acceptance of Campbell’s position in his Lunenberg Letters, they seem to be willing to accept the unimmersed as fellow Christians (p.114-115).
- They blame all the ills of churches and individuals on our “patternistic” approach to interpreting the Bible (p. 209).
- Their mission is to convince conservative brethren to not react and oppose them when they introduce their innovations into our congregations (pp. 235ff). From their perspective, “we should not see our present crisis with too much alarm” (p. 256). They have no intention of abandoning their project or leaving for a denomination where such views are standard fare. They don’t want us to protest or leave when they infiltrate a congregation and introduce their divisive practices. Such makes them look bad.
- By introducing their new, denominational concepts they are causing tension and strife in congregations across the land, but in true form they blame those who object to their disruptive practices as the troublemakers (p. 231-233).
- They have arbitrarily gone through the New Testament and identified what they call the core of the message. To them the core is the non-negotiables, all else can be taken or left behind. Their core doctrines include, the fact of God, Jesus is his Son, Christ’s death on the cross and grace. Only the things most near the core are worth fighting for. It is noteworthy that this core is the essence of every major Protestant creed. If put into practice we would be united with them around the core. Of course God says nothing about a core. It is the figment of their fruitful imagination. Thomas Jefferson had a similar concept of the core of Christianity. That notable Deist produced what is now known as the Jeffersonian Bible, with only the core preserved and all the extraneous materials omitted.
The authors of The Crux assert that “Those who blaspheme Christ by damaging his church in the name of their own cause are especially corrupt” (p. 187). They of course had in mind those who oppose their innovations. But the fact is, they are “damaging his church” and thus it is fair to say that they blaspheme Christ and “are especially corrupt.” The author has spent 45 years worshiping and teaching among our churches. He has read upwards of 2,500 religious volumes, but none were as deleterious as this. It is “full of deadly poison” and will cause harm to any congregation where its message is put into practice. Unfortunately this is the first of three books to be produced by this team of writers. We can only pray that their project will fail from lack of interest.
These professors and their president, who so warmly endorsed their book, are a classic example of how liberals gain control of a Christian school. If they had appeared at the Abilene Christian College prior to 1960, espousing such views, they would have been confronted by irate friends and supporters of the school and driven out. Now they dominate a school that others founded and financed and use it to undermine the faith their predecessors held sacred. JHW |
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4. COME TO WORSHIP, NOT TO PLAY
When you go to a play ground you expect to play. When you go to church you should expect to worship. We are blessed to live in an age when we have plenty of time and money for recreation. It is good for our minds and our bodies. It is a mistake however to think of worship in terms of recreation and entertainment.
Many modern churches have evolved from centers for the worship of Jehovah into recreational centers with worship available for those who might possibly be interested. This has come about, in part, to attract attendees who are not particularly interested in worship and Bible study.
We see churches advertising their gyms, their ball teams, exercise classes and other recreational type programs. They are very proud of these things, even though no authority is found for them in Scripture. God expects his church to abide within the teaching of Christ, if she is to have his approval (II John 9).
Be assured that ball games and exercise programs are good and useful in their place. Christians can enjoy them along with their neighbors. Its is not however, the mission and business of the church to provide these activities.
When serving God, we should be happy to devote our time and energy to those activities that Christ has ordained for his church - preaching the gospel, worshiping God in spirit and in truth, educating and strengthening the members of the body, and caring for the needy are things God has charged us to do (Mark 16:15; Ephesians 4:12; James 1:27). God did not see fit to include recreation in his plan for his church. We should be satisfied to be and do what He expects of us.
As servants under the authority of Christ our Lord (Matthew 28:18), we must be content to do what he has outlined and authorized (Matthew 28:20). JHW |
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5. CHANGE AGENTS AND CHURCHES OF CHRIST
(A Book You Need to Read) Bro. William Woodson, long time Bible teacher at Freed-Hardeman and David Lipscomb Universities, has done the brotherhood a great service in producing the book mentioned above. First published in 1994, the book is already in its fifth printing. The author has done a massive amount of research to document his conclusions. He examines in great detail the speeches and writings of Bros. Lynn Anderson, Rubel Shelly and Calvin Warpula, leading proponents of "change" who are receiving wide attention among our churches. He clearly identifies the items for which these brethren are agitating. Among them are reducing the Churches of Christ to the status of a denomination; toleration of instrumental music in worship; allowing women leadership roles in worship services; questioning the role of baptism in salvation; diminishing the authority of the Bible in the life and affairs of the church; promoting fellowship with denominational bodies, etc. With his depth of Bible wisdom and his extensive knowledge of our brotherhood history, Bro. Woodson analyses each of the proposals and with withering logic shows them to be false to God's Word and untenable by those who claim to be simple New Testament Christians. This book is one of the most valuable works produced in recent years. Every preacher and elder who loves the church of Christ should get and read it. It sells for $6.95 and may be ordered from The Gospel Advocate Co., P. O. Box 150, Nashville, TN 37202 or from The Firm Foundation Pub. House, P. O. Box 69, Damon, TX 77430. JHW |
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6. JESUS OR MOHAMMED?
Dear Bro. Waddey:
"Who is the prophet of Deut. 18:15-18? An Islamic friend says it is Mohammed." BJ
The prophet predicted by Moses in Deut. 18:15-18 is Jesus. It could not have been Mohammed because he was to come from "midst of thee...(i.e. The Hebrews) of thy brethren" (18:15). Mohammed was of Arab stock, not Jewish. Mohammed falls in the category of the prophet mention in 18:20: "But the prophet that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak ...that same prophet shall die." A prophet is a spokesman for God. In Exodus 7:1 God said to Moses, "Aaron they brother shall be thy prophet, i.e., thy spokesman. In Ex. 4:16 God said to Moses that Aaron "shall be thy spokesman unto the people...(that) he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God." Jesus is a prophet in the sense that he speaks to us on behalf of God (Luke 24:19; Heb. 1:2). He is also described as our High Priest and King as well as our Messiah (Christ). While other prophets, such as Moses, did mighty deeds, Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4) JHW |
