What Is Faith?
By admin | May 14, 2008
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The word “substance” (ὑπόστασις, hupostasis, translated “assurance” in other versions) is translated from a Greek term used for a foundation (literally, a thing “standing under”). The word “evidence” (ἔλεγχος, elegchos, translated “conviction” in other versions) is translated from a Greek term meaning a proof or that by which a thing is proven. The text is telling us that faith is the result of proof in which we can be very confident.
When people talk about faith, they often treat it as a “better felt than told” kind of hunch that flies in the face of reason or evidence. However, faith (πίστις, pistis) as defined by the New Testament is a very sure kind of knowledge. It is a firm conviction of something not seen, but don’t confuse “not seen” with “not knowable.”
For example, how do you know that George Washington ever lived? You have never seen him or experienced any evidence by means of any of your physical senses. Everything you know about George Washington is second hand (or third or fourth!). You can read written accounts of his life by people who claimed to know him. You can read letters and documents that claim to be written by him. You can consider the results of his life that are hard to explain any other way. Are you sure George Washington lived? Most rational people would say, “Yes.”
The Christian’s faith in Jesus is very similarly obtained. While Jesus remains unseen to 21st century eyes, we can read in the New Testament written accounts of people who claimed that Jesus was a person that “we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” (I John 1:1). They were willing to suffer great persecution and even die rather than deny that Jesus was real or that he proved himself to be the Son of God. From that evidence we can be assured that Jesus lived.
Faith in God works the same way. While no man has seen God at anytime (John 1:18), we must consider the evidence we do have in the form of that which the Creator created.
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Don’t let anyone tell you that faith is an inferior way or knowing things or that it is contrary to reason. Don’t allow yourself to confuse a mere hunch with true faith. Weigh the evidence. Reason with the proof for God and Christ. Then you can have real, New Testament faith.
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A Voluntary Return to the Dark Ages
By admin | May 6, 2008
{This interesting article was passed along to us by John Bellah. It was written by brother Jerrold Ludwig. Give it some thought before you go buy your next Bible!}
Several centuries ago ignorance prevailed largely because the dominant ”Christian” organization of the day limited access to God’s word. It’s hierarchy insisted that the common man was either incapable or could not be trusted to read and understand the word correctly. They kept it under lock and key, and shared only portions of it at specified times.
Today’s bible “translators” seem to have the exact same attitude, and the effect of their approach is strikingly similar.
Like the ancient hierarchy, today’s bible “translators” also think that God’s word is too hard to read and understand, so they reword it in order to dumb it down for us common folk. Of course they no longer distinguish between a paraphrase (as it was called years ago) and a translation. They say simply that they are trying to convey the thoughts of the biblical writers themselves…as if they’ve known them all along.
And the result is the same as before: God’s word is effectively under lock and key, re-creating a class system of those who know what the biblical writers actually said and those who are told what the biblical writers meant. Again, not much different than the ancient hierarchy approach.
But there is at least one very notable difference: This ignorance is mostly voluntary— we make our own selections at they bookstore. I say “mostly” because I’m not sure you can find a true translation in 21st century English at the bookstore.* {See note below} Lots of pretenders to be sure. But are there any? If not, and all we have are paraphrases , haven’t we already returned, in effect, to the Dark Ages?
{*Just to be clear, we are not claiming that the King James Version or any of the old versions are the ONLY good versions or even that they are the standard of a good translation. We simply have concerns about the philosophy of the translators of most of the new versions. The Bible student needs to be aware of what they are reading when using some of the new versions. Buyer beware! Interpreting the Bible is your job as a Bible student. Don’t let any translating committee, whether they are in the year 1611 or 2008, do your job for you!}
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Help for New or Expecting Fathers
By admin | April 29, 2008
There will be no deep, meaningful article this week. Just something fun and thought provoking. Since I know several of these poor guys who are plodding the path to fatherhood, I thought this would be a fun thing to post for you. I don’t know where it comes from, but I took all the images and put them on a one page pdf. You may want to zoom in to see them all.
Pray for new fathers and mothers. The whole process of raising children is a wonder to me. God gave us a tremendous task with children. Much as I enjoy making light of it, we shouldn’t take it lightly.
Just something to think about …
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Unity Through Proper Worship, Part 3: More About The Lord’s Supper
By admin | April 22, 2008
{We had a little discussion on this topic recently in the comments section under the last article. So, I here present the late brother Hugo McCord’s article for consideration (I am taking it from this site). He has a good sense of what I have been presenting in this series. If we want unity as believers in Christ, we need to eliminate causes of division by simply doing what Christ said to do.}
SINGING DURING THE LORD’S SUPPER
Hugo McCord
A Christian brother writes:
Our preacher says that singing during the observance of the Lord’s Supper is a matter of opinion, and, since some members like to sing at that time and others don’t, he leads singing while partaking of one emblem and we have quiet while partaking the other, is he right on this? Do we have biblical authority to sing while partaking? Is it simply a matter of personal preference?
No one who lets the New Testament be his complete guide in religion will sing during the observance of the Lord’s Supper, for at the first observance of the Lord’s Supper singing was done after the Supper was finished; “And when they had sung a hymn they went out to the mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26).
Those adhering strictly to the New Testament are disturbed and offended if they are forced to hear singing while they are in worshipful meditation, “discerning the Lord’s body” (I Corinthians 11:29).
But if singing during the Lord’s Supper may be safely placed in the realm of “personal preference,” comparable to eating meats versus vegetables only, and since no one contends that singing during the Lord’s Supper must be done, Paul has taught how we should behave:
If your brother is pained because of food [singing during the Lord’s Supper], you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food [singing during the Lord’s Supper] that one for whom Christ died. DO not let your good be condemned; for God’s kingdom is not food and drink [singing during the Lord’s Supper], but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. He who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God, and respected among men.
Let us therefore pursue peaceful things, and things that build up one another. Do not tear down God’s work because of food [singing during the Lord’s Supper] (Romans 14:15-20).
Even if singing during the Lord’s Supper is among the things that “are allowed,” it becomes “wrong to the person who eats [meat],” who sings during the Lord’s Supper, if it “causes someone to stumble” (Romans 14:20).
It is honorable not to eat flesh [to sing during the Lord’ Supper], or to drink wine, or to do anything that causes someone to stumble. Hold to yourself the conviction you have before God. Blessed is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. The one who doubts is condemned if he eats [if he sings during the Lord’s Supper], because he lacks conviction; and everything which is not of conviction is sin (Romans 14:21-23).
Reviewed 2/5/99
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Unity Through Proper Worship, Part 2: The Lord’s Supper
By admin | April 15, 2008
{Note: The article below is a taken from a lecture written for our lectureship book by Marion Fox. This summary of the historical changes of the Lord’s Supper is saddening. When men change what God commanded, division results. Let us be unified by worshiping God as He wishes to be worshiped - as revealed in the New Testament.}
Changing the Frequency of the Lord’s Supper
The frequency of the Lord’s supper was changed from weekly to special occasions. The Lord’s supper was eaten on a first day of the week between Passover (Easter) and Pentecost (Acts 20:6 and 16).
Prohibiting People From Taking the Lord’s Supper
The laity (common people) were prohibited from partaking of the fruit of the vine. Robert Pulleyn was probably the first to teach this doctrine (Sent. P. viii. c. 3) Alexander Hales, Bonaventura, and Thomas Acquinas also taught this doctrine. The doctrine of concomitance was advanced (concomitance = doctrine that Jesus exists wholly in both elements of the Lord’s supper; therefore it is not necessary to partake of both elements.)
The doctrine of transubstantiation was made an article of faith by Pope Innocent III (Conc. Lat. iv. c. i. and de Mysteriis Missae. 1. iv. c. 7.) The first reference to this doctrine was by Ignatius in his epistle to the Smyrnaeans 6 (I. Sm. 6). He affirmed that the bread became the literal body of Christ in order to combat the false doctrine that Jesus was not flesh. This was written in about AD 160. The doctrine of transubstantiation became official at the council of
The second century church often brought gifts with the elements of the Lord’s supper for the bishop. They gave thanks for what Jesus had done for them, hence the word Eucharist from the Greek word εὐχαριστία (pronounced eucharistia). This was understood to be a sacrifice (contribution) made by the Christian. Clement of
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Unity Through Proper Worship, Part 1: Singing
By admin | April 7, 2008
{Note: The article below is a taken from a lecture given this weekend by Dan Fredman at our lectureship. While the Bible is our absolute standard, history can provide information to reaffirm what the Bible has already stated. When men change what God commanded, division results. Let us be unified by worshiping God as He wishes to be worshiped.}
The scriptures and history are in complete agreement that instrumental music was not ever used in the church or by the church when singing praises to God. From the establishment of the church through the next 600 years instruments were never used at all by anyone, even the apostate church. When an instrument was brought in during the 7th century, it caused such an uproar that it was not used until the 13th century. The split between the Greek Orthodox church and the Roman Orthodox church was a direct result of instrumental music. Instrumental music did not become prominent until 1700 years after the establishment of the church.
John Spencer Curwen of the Royal Academy of Music in
John Calvin, along with John Knox the founder of the Presbyterian Church, in his commentary on the 23rd Psa. said, “Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps and the restoration of the other shadows of the law.”
Adam Clarke, one of the greatest of Methodist Commentators who ever lived, said in volume 2, page 690, concerning 2 Chron. 29:25, “But were it even evident, which it is not, either from this or any other place in the sacred writings, that instruments of music were prescribed by Divine authority under the law, could this be adduced with any semblance of reason, that they ought to be used in Christian worship? No; the whole spirit, soul, and genius of the Christian religion are against this: and those who know the Church of God best, and what constitutes its genuine spiritual state, know that these things have been introduced as a substitute for the life and power of religion; and that where they prevail most, there is least of the power of Christianity. Away with such portentous baubles from the worship of that Infinite Spirit who requires his followers to worship him in spirit and in truth, for to no such worship are those instruments friendly.”
John Wesley - great preacher for the
Charles Spurgeon, greatest Baptist preacher who ever lived - preached in the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle in London, England to 1,000’s of people - his writings are sold in all the Baptist Bookstores said, “I would as soon pray with machinery as sing with machinery,” and refused to allow instruments to be used anywhere he preached.
David Benedict - Baptist Historian - said, “Staunch old Baptists in former times would have as soon tolerated the Pope of Rome in their pulpits as an organ in their galleries.
Church history, from the beginning, stands against the use of instruments in the worship of God. For nearly 1700 years all religious people stood together in agreement that instrumental music was wrong and a violation of God’s word.
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19th Annual Oklahoma City School of Biblical Studies Lectureship
By admin | April 2, 2008
Our annual lectureship is coming up and everyone is invited! The lectures will run from April 3-6. This year’s theme is “In Defense of …”, lessons on basic New Testament doctrines. You can view the advertisement here with a full schedule of speakers and topics.
Take some time out to visit us and attend one of the lessons that interest you!
Update: John Bellah will be replaced by Marion Fox due to injury. Who knew that lectureship speaking was so dangerous!
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Unity Through Bible Knowledge
By admin | March 25, 2008
When we want to know what the Bible teaches on a subject, we should begin by looking at the Bible itself. We cannot be unified in the truth of God’s Word unless we know it. However, America is sadly uneducated when it comes to the Bible.
The Weekly Standard reviewed a report on Biblical literacy: “‘Eight percent of American teens,’ for example, ‘believe that Moses is one of the twelve Apostles.’ Go beyond rudimentary and you find that ‘very few American students’ have the level of Bible knowledge that high-school English teachers regard as ‘basic to a good education.’ ‘Almost two-thirds of teens’ couldn’t pick the right answer out of four choices when they were asked to identify ‘a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount’ (’Blessed are the poor in spirit’). Two-thirds didn’t know that ‘the Road to Damascus is where St. Paul was blinded by a vision of Christ.’ Fewer than a third ‘could correctly identify which statement about David was not true (David tried to kill King Saul).’ And so on.” View the rest of this article here.
Time magazine (hardly a bastion of good-will toward religion) ran this: “According to Religious Literacy, polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Bible holds the answers to ‘all or most of life’s basic questions,’ but pollster George Gallup has dubbed us ‘a nation of biblical illiterates.’ Only half of U.S. adults know the title of even one Gospel. Most can’t name the Bible’s first book. The trend extends even to Evangelicals, only 44% of whose teens could identify a particular quote as coming from the Sermon on the Mount.” View the rest of this article here.
Make sure you are doing your part to cure Biblical illiteracy by reading your Bible daily and attending Bible studies!
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Wisdom & Prudence
By admin | March 17, 2008
In relating the eternal working of God in salvation, Paul records in Eph. 1:8:
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
The word “wisdom” (σοϕία, sophia) commonly refers in the Scriptures to divinely revealed truth. Wisdom pertains more to what is right and wrong than to what is better or best. The Old Testament conception of wisdom comes strongest from the book of Proverbs, where the Wise Man is pitted against the Fool. The Wise Man reverences God and heeds His will, whereas the Fool respects himself above all others and listens to no one (Pro. 1:7). Jesus carries this concept into the New Testament by portraying the same characters in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:24-27). The Wise Man in Jesus’ teaching both hears instruction and obeys. The Fool goes his own way.
In mild contrast, the word “prudence” (φρόνησις, phronesis) is a term of practicality. Prudence pertains to completing a task in the best way. Instead of “ought” and “ought not”, prudence concerns itself with “should” and “should not”. One scholar says that this word “involves the skillful adaptation of means to achieve desired ends, though it does not indicate whether the ends themselves are good.” (Trench, p. 299)
It is important to note that God is said to be both wise and prudent. He first considers what is right to do, then carries out the right action in the best way possible. Christians should act in the same manner. Certain actions, while not sinful in and of themselves, should still be abstained from because they are not prudent or beneficial to the cause of Christ (I Cor. 8:9). Even in doing things that are right, we should look for the most practical way of doing God’s will so that we may be more effective servants.
However, we must never allow a “should” to trump an “ought”. In other words, practicality does not make something right. God was not a pragmatist. He first chose what was wise, and then found a prudent way to carry out His choice. Likewise, God has told us what we must be doing. We must decide how we should carry out the work that we must do. We have no right as servants to alter our Lord’s commands. The Lord wants us to be obedient before we are practical.
“Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (I Sam. 15:22)
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Simple Bible Teaching
By admin | March 10, 2008
A week or so ago I posted an article about Unity through simple Bible teaching. I though it would be appropriate now to follow up with some thoughts on what “simple Bible teaching” really is. To start with, we should realize that simple Bible teaching doesn’t teach the opposite of what the Bible actually says. For example, suppose we teach, “Most people really aren’t guilty of sin anyway!” Compare this to the Bible statements below.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
If we teach that most people have never sinned, that is just the opposite of what the Bible actually says. The Apostle John would have some very stern words for us!
1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Teaching anything else besides what the Bible says on this matter is tantamount to accusing God of being a liar. That would NOT be simple Bible teaching. For another example, suppose your preacher says, “You can know God without doing what God says.” Compare this to what the Bible states.
1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
If we teach that we know God without keeping His commandments, we are teaching just the opposite of what the Bible says, and once again, the Apostle John has some stern words for us!
1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
John said it, not me! Teaching anything else besides what the Bible says on this matter makes us liars. For a final example, suppose your friends says to you, “Jesus is not the Son of God.” Compare that to what the Bible says.
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
If we teach that Jesus is not the Son of God, then (surprise, surprise) John has some stern words for us.
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son.
You see, teaching any other doctrine than the Biblical doctrine on this matter makes liars out of us. What we are teaching isn’t simple Bible teaching unless it starts by agreeing with the Bible. John is so stern on this subject because he knows that we cannot have fellowship together in unity unless we all start saying the same thing. Once we all agree on the Bible as our source for truth, we can begin the process of creating unity through our common faith in God’s Word.
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
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