Category: Q&A

Our responsibility is to teach all men the truth of God (Mark 16:15). We are to do so in a spirit of love for their souls (Eph. 4:15). When we speak or strive to teach people it must be our desire to tell them exactly what God has revealed (I Peter 4:11). We never want to be like the seed (the Word of God-Luke 8:13), which falls on “rocky soil”. They believe for a while then because of temptation arising from the Word, they quit. Each of us must fill our hearts daily with the Words that come from

Think for a moment about Saul who later became the apostle Paul. He was well educated in the Jews religion, which implies the law and the tradition of the elders. One man whom he was taught by was Gamaliel. Gamaliel was a well respected teacher whom people listened to in discussions about religious things. It was his sage advice which saved the apostles in Acts 5. When Paul learns the truth in the city of Damascus, he had much changing to do in his thinking. One barrier would have been to see his teacher, Gamaliel, as now being wrong. Some individuals fail to acknowledge the truth because it means that accepting the truth means others, whom we may care about are lost.

For some, learning the truth would call for them to change their life. The man in Matthew goes away sorrowful from the Lord (Matt. 19:22). The woman living an immoral life was told by Jesus to cease living that way (John 8:11). All indications are that she accepted what Jesus said for it saved her life on that day. The man in Matthew 19 saw what Jesus said required him to give up too much. Whatever the reason we should never give up the effort to reach the lost by Word, our efforts and prayer. Sad to say, not all will accept.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7). We encounter someone who has never known the truth. We then would take great care to explain to them the love of God. For some the idea that God would love them seems impossible to accept. This would be due in part to a person believing they have done so much wrong that there is no way God would accept them. Such spirits bruised so heavily by what has taken place in their lives must be shown from scripture the great love God has for them.

There is sign board on Rockville Road that states “the church for the rest of us”. Implied is the idea that some people would not be accepted by the Lord. Therefore here is this church that will accept them. They will pass off to the individual that God does not care what you have done, are doing or will do. If they accept such foolishness they will find themselves accepting a false Christ. Once one accepts such a false Christ all the discussions about the love of God toward mankind will diluted into that which is not true. The reason I bring this up is because we can be motivated by our love for souls but at the heart of what we strive to do, is bring them to salvation.

The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. He will come and take vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8). Fear serves as a correct thing to be used to help those who have not made up their minds to follow Christ. Think in terms of the Pharisees and Sadducees hearing John and then consider the ruler in Matthew 19 who comes to Jesus for answers about eternity. If there were no changes both will face the wrath of God. We have so many tools to work on the hearts of men given to us by God (Gal. 5:22,23). Fear used in the right way is one of those tools.

When the television cameras arrive people begin to act much worse and take upon themselves an air of strength. I watched sometime back as “students” attack a building because they did not like the speaker the university was bringing in. Why wearing a mask and throwing a brick or something similar through a glass window proves how strong you are, is a mystery to me. Parents of said university will see an increase in fees of one kind or another to pay for the damage done. The number of thugs engaged in such an operation in no way reflects all the young men and women going to the university. I bring this up to say, that what we see on television cannot be an accurate view of what goes on in this country.

As Christians our task is not to change our message in order to get people to like us. They put Jesus to death, not because of some good thing He did but because of what He taught. He affirmed to a disbelieving world that He was God and that no one could get to God the Father except through Him (John 1:1;14; 14:6). He was emphatic that no one could affirm that He was the Lord unless they were willing to do what He said (Luke 6:46). He used the law given on Mount Sinai to prevent a woman from being stoned to death (John 8:1-11). He told a rich man he would have to change his view on life, and He lost that young man because of what He said to him (Matt. 19:16-22). Almost the entire chapter of Matthew 23, Jesus spent calling religious leaders, hypocrites.

We can do so much to help our own hearts if we take the time to see the barriers between Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles. Jesus came to open the prison where men could come to the light and start thinking different about themselves, their fellow man and their ultimate destiny. In these difficult times we can offer to men, Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). We can offer if we have the opportunity to teach, a way to live. Tell the world, what has hate ever done for a people, a city or a nation. We offer reconciliation with God (2 Cor. 5:17-19).

Acts 8 is the record of Philip going into Samaria to preach the gospel to them. If we return back to the woman at the well, she had no use for Jews (John 4:9). James and John were ready to call down fire from heaven on a village of the Samaritans (Luke 9:54). Philip going into Samaria could not have been easy. Yet he was there because there a persecution which had arisen in Jerusalem and he went to Samaria (Acts 8:3). It may have been hard due to the culture of that day but the Bible shows us that Philip preached to them the gospel of the kingdom and the authority of Jesus the Christ (Acts 8:12).

What about the relationship that Jews had with Gentiles? Peter coming to the house of Cornelius would not allow Cornelius to bow down and worship him (Acts 10:26). Kind of strange action from someone who was supposed to be the first Pope, do you not think? At any rate Peter expresses the culture of that day. He says to Cornelius that it is unlawful for a Jew to keep company or come to one of another nation (Acts 10:28). In the same verse Peter admits that God showed him not to call any man unclean. The ones whom God will accept in any nation are those that fear God and work righteousness (Acts 10:35).

There is great disturbance created via the new media and other means about hating Muslims. The Christians in the first century had to deal with the Samaritan and Gentile question. Whatever they felt as individual the record is the gospel went to Samaritans and Gentiles. In short each of us must deal with the anger we have over things being in done in Washington or in other parts of the world. From the will of God I cannot imagine any Christian if they have the opportunity to teach any one, refusing to do so. When we control our anger we can reach the same conclusions that Jonah did; those in Nineveh needed to be saved.

Individuals sometimes use the word “conscience” to define or defend what they do. For the most part conscience as used in scriptures refers to the way one was raised. The thought being that each person would not violate their conscience. God used the conscience of the Gentiles to judge them apart from the law of Moses (Rom. 2:15). The same verse points out if they did the work of the law written in their hearts. The two times Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife, Abimelech and Pharaoh both condemned what Abraham did. Pharaoh in Genesis 12 and Abimelech in Genesis 20. This was before there was ever the “ten commandments”.

Paul told his audience in defense in Acts that he had lived in accord with his conscience all his life (Acts 23:1). When Stephen was put to death in Acts 7, Paul was in agreement. Later he was placing Christians in prison and in some cases, Christians were put to death. When this happened Paul would later tell Agrippa, that he was in agreement with those actions (Acts 26:10,11). He did not violate his conscience although he was guilty of participating in punishing Christians and in some cases seeing them put to death. Later he would write that in his zeal he persecuted the church (Phil. 3:6).

A person may be raised wrong by sincere people who believe they are right. Sincerity is not the question, neither is feeling good the answer. Only the conscience that is trained by being in the Word of God can be a safe guide. Otherwise we trust ourselves and we all know too well that danger as in the case of Jacob believing that Joseph had been killed by some animal. We should all engage in a constant study of scripture to be sure that what we have been taught is from God and not man.

The hatred is not a trait one is born with rather it is one that is taught. The area may be homes, schools, communities or places of worship. Jesus came that men might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). God promises that He can do more than we ask or think, therefore no follower of Jesus Christ would preach hate (Eph. 3:20). The foundation of the gospel of Jesus the Christ is that God so loved us that He gave us His only begotten Son (John 3:16). We through knowledge of the scripture are brought to understand that we love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). The followers of Jesus the Christ cannot engage in hate and be consistent with the teachings that came from Jesus to us through the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13). I, therefore, in a home that is Christian no such language of hate would be able to long survive. As we speak to a world lost in sin we do so, speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). The preaching of hate does not come from Jesus the Christ or any of His true followers. The only way for such hatred to come from the hearts of Christians is if they misinterpret something that Christ taught. There is no evidence from the teachings of Christ or of the example of His life that anyone can prove that He preached hate as He went about.

The hate we hear about on our daily news is a result of people not getting what they want. They cannot answer arguments raised by sincere people, so they resort to attacking the messenger. Hate and love both requires great effort. Hate from the view that one allows it to grow in the heart with the only outlet left is violence, either in word or action. The love from God requires the effort to understand what sin does in the life of individuals, courage to forgive those who act in hate and always being ready to forgive. I know of no other religion that offers such to mankind. When we see the terrorist act in violence, pause and ask, where does this kind of thinking come from? It can never come from the Bible.

The short answer means it is someone who is convinced to be an Islamic terrorist. We tend to see it as someone in a foreign land that has come under the influence by the terrorist. It also has the meaning of those in this country who may have grown up here and yet have fallen prey to the false teaching of those who practice hate with the end result being murder of innocent people. It is this second kind which tends to wreak havoc in our own land. It would be a valuable tool to invest time and learn about Islam. There are good books and articles that have been written by our brethren warning of the doctrine of Islam.

There is a pressing need for all of us to do a better job in our local congregations of instilling faith in our youth before they leave home. The beginning of faith in Jesus is much like a baby in need of milk (I Peter 2:2). The Bible leaves no doubt that such a beginning must progress to a more mature faith in the Lord (2 Peter 1:5). In the parable of the sower, the one heart which was successful was the one which in an honest and good heart, hear the word, keep it and bring forth fruit (Luke 8:15). There is a need with each generation growing up in the church to establish the basics of faith in Christ. Elders need on a regular basis to meet with teachers and discuss how the children are progressing in their classes.

Whether one ever learns about Islam would have no bearing on salvation. The child that is rooted and grounded in the truth, leaves home and can with the knowledge they have been given, refute any error. We do not preach hate nor do we condone error but do all in our power to lead men to Christ (Eph. 4:15). Our battleground may very well be in our own congregations where the Word is no longer viewed as the standard. Children growing up under that kind of teaching (lack there of), will make them susceptible to any and all false doctrines. Let us preach the Word and lead men to Christ, the real answer for life and eternity.

The very first problem is what is your standard that you live by? If is anything other than the scripture, finding the answer will be often hard. Books are written about Jesus or about the Bible. This may in some ways be encouraging but it is not the source material one really needs. Who but God could tell us about Himself, His Son, the Spirit and the work of redemption (2 Tim. 3:16). John informs us that everything Jesus did or taught was not recorded. He adds there is sufficient enough evidence in what has been recorded to bring one to faith in Jesus as being the Christ (John 20:30,31). If one does not accept the evidence they can not be converted to Christ.

We have over the years seen some good books produce on apologetics and the evidences of the world around us (Psa. 19:1-3). For example a person who buys into the false doctrine of “global warming” or “climate change” would never accept the power of Genesis 8:22. As long as the world stands, night and day will always be with us. If one is in the position of trying to maintain liberal thinking, no matter what God says, people will not change. The reality is the evidence is not that hard to understand nor come by. The problem is once you accept the truth from God, it requires a change in thinking about the world around us (I John 2:15,16).

Yes the world is made up of invisible things to the naked eye. What if a person never bothers to consider where we came from or where we are going. To listen to arguments from scripture disturbs the life they are living and they have no desire to change. Our faith is based on evidence both from the written Word and the physical world around us (Heb. 11:1). The ultimate standard is the Word itself. What if in the physical world we never find Noah’s ark? We know there was an ark because God says so. If Jesus is God, then we must obey Him. If He is not God then live your life however you chose. Jesus spoke of men dying in their sin for unbelief (John 8:24). Be honest, accept the evidence and live.

There are reports, mostly from overseas, where there is a number of conversions on one occasion. Things like 3,000 in Acts 2:41; 5,000 in Acts 4:4 and a great number more in Acts 6:7 are not things we are likely to see ever again. The amount of conversions is related to the seed that is sown which is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). On the Day of Pentecost there was a large crowd that had gathered. Twelve men, inspired by the Holy Ghost, began to speak the words that the Holy Ghost wanted the audience to hear (Acts 2:4).We need to remind ourselves of what it is that converts people to Christ.. Jesus implied that if hearts were opened by the truth that He would convert them.

The larger the audience, the greater the potential to have people come to Christ. When we watch the denominational groups with their television shows that tend to border on performance rather than truth, brethren who belong to the Lord might want the same large crowds. The problem of course is they do not teach the truth, neither do they do things that we could emulate. Our task is to get the Gospel to as many as we can in order for them to have an opportunity to come to Christ.

Churches that reduce the amount of tie that brethren can come together to worship God are not helping the problem of the lost. It is more “attractive” to sit in someone’s home, have refreshments and have dialogue than to assemble together to be taught the truth, Those who opt out for small group meetings can never be properly monitored by an eldership knowing what is taught. The conversions today will come for the most part on more “one to one” settings. I bring up the public worship issue to say that we must teach the truth as we assemble together to build our faith. Once we do that we can expand to teach others about the faith we have in Jesus. Whether large or small, it is a joy to see one or many to obey Jesus the Christ.