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With this first issue, we begin a trend in presenting articles and other scholarly material that promote only sound doctrine without compromising the "faith which was once delivered to the saints," (Jude 1:3). As with all publications, The Christian Examiner is written by uninspired men, and, therefore, we ask the reader to notify us of any teaching that is found to be questionable. We will do our best to confront and remove any doctrinal error that is found.
As the name of this bulletin implies, we must be examiners of our own faith. We need to make sure that the doctrines and practices that we have been taught including our words and deeds are based on the Word of God. In addition, we also want to be sure that the church of which we are a member is the Lord's church.
Let us be reminded of what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church when he said,
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Looking to the Bereans, we find what this passage is teaching. The Bereans examined the scriptures to see if what was taught was the truth (Acts 17:11). We can also see that they were studying the scriptures in order to be approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15). So must we also examine ourselves whether we be in the faith if we desire to be approved unto God.
In Ephesians 4:5, we read, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." In a sense, Paul is teaching that there is only one Lord (King), only one faith (church and doctrine), and only one baptism (plan of salvation). That is how we understand it to be read. Let us examine each of these briefly.
Jesus, in Matthew 16:18, said,
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.The rock upon which Jesus would build his church (kingdom) is Himself, which Peter correctly affirms in the previous verse. After Jesus had ascended to heaven, he sat on the right hand of God and began ruling His kingdom (Hebrews 12:2).
After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the new covenant, which he had preached throughout His three-year ministry took effect. Thus, things such as instrumental music, circumcision, giving a tenth, and worshiping on the sabbath day were nailed to the cross (Hebrews 10:9).
The church(kingdom) which Jesus said that he would build in Matthew 16:18 began on the day of Pentecost when the first 3,000 souls were saved (Acts 2). The other churches (kingdoms) were not established until centuries later by men. Examples include the Roman Catholic church, Mormonism, Christian Scientist, and Jehovah's Witness. Jesus said,
Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up, (Matthew 15:13).
There are many doctrines that are not taught in the Bible. Examples include infant baptism, premillenialism, salvation by faith only, salvation by the Holy Spirit, salvation by prayer, salvation prior to baptism, and salvation by predestination. These doctrines not only are contrary to the will of God, but are also not "sound doctrine," (Titus 2:1, 8).
There is only one plan of salvation. In order for one to become a Christian, he must hear the word (Romans 10:14); believe the word unto righteousness (Romans 10:10,17); repent of his sins (Acts 3:19); confess the name of Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead by His Father (Romans 10:9-10); and be baptized in the name of Christ (Romans 6:4). And, after you become a Christian you must remain faithful until you pass from this life (Revelation 2:10).
It is important that we constantly examine the doctrines and practices that we have been taught, our words and deeds, and the church to which we belong in order to determine whether they are of God (1 Corinthians 13:5; 1 John 4:1). In order to be pleasing in the sight of God, we must be as the type of Christian which Paul describes to Timothy when he says,
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, (2 Timothy 2:15).
Ira Mikell
ira@thechristianexaminer.com
I am not one who grew up in the church but I did become a Christian as a young adult. Since then many people have asked me how I found the Lord and lately this question has come up quite frequently. I never have one "set" answer since there are many factors that contribute to me making this important decision in my life. I have always considered myself a keen observer of people and I was always ready to try a new idea. Here is a list of some of my observations:
"They" told me if we'd relax about sex, take our clothes off and not get all uptight about it that there would be no more sex crimes. I then noticed that the incidence of rape had increased over the last decade.
"They" told me that we'd been too tough with criminals, that we should go easy on them. So the courts went easy on them-and the rate of violent crime increased by more than 40 percent since 1983.
"They" told me that alcoholism and drug addictions were sicknesses, not crimes. I then noticed many people around me gagging, choking, strangling on forbidden fruit.
"They" said to me that informal marriage was enough. I noticed that the odds are over 50 percent that my rapture (If I had one) will be ruptured. Also, if I had a child there would be a 30 percent chance that my baby would be illegitimate.
Who were these "they" who were misleading me? "They" are the materialists who deify the finite sciences (Romans 1:18-23). "They" meant well, but their intentions are paving the way to hell. I finally came to a point when I decided that I would be better off questioning some of the advice "they" had given me.
"They" then told me that churches were "old-fashioned," that they must modernize, liberalize, rationalize, compromise. I observed that those that compromised are shrinking fast. It finally appeared to me that "they" gave me some awfully bad advice.
"They" insisted that our schools must boot God out and "they" could enhance Junior's intelligence. I then saw a generation of graduated Juniors with refined intellects and undisciplined emotions-so school-age suicides have increased.
"They" who know me tell me that I have quit the important things in life and gone into preachin'. I didn't mean to. But I couldn't separate goodness and badness from today's news and explain it. From ugly headlines in today's newspaper-- and yesterday's and tomorrow's-- is because somebody's emotions got out of whack. A person might be as smart as any person can be, but if he is emotionally colorblind, he is like an unguided missile destined inevitably to self-destruct.
The earth which God had made in the beginning (Genesis 1) came with a book of instructions, the Word of God. In the Bible we read of numerous instructions for christian living. Some of these include "not be slothful in business," (Romans 12:11); he who does not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10); men and women should wear modest clothing (I Timothy 2:9); stealing is wrong (Ephesians 4:28); abstain from drunkenness (Romans 13:13); be married to one wife, one husband (Genesis. 2:24); and do not do what you "want", but rather what you "ought" (James 4:17). This rule book is divinely inspired, is the best blueprint for an orderly existance, and promises eternal life hereafter (John 5:39).
Jeff Carr
others@thechristianexaminer.com
We live in an age when everything is changing at an incredible pace. We are always hearing about the advances in medicine, space exploration, and computer technology, just to name a few. We are even changing the way we carry out our everyday activities. We are able to do more now in less time than ever before in history. But are we really getting more done now than ever?
Maybe we need to ask ourselves, "How busy am I?" Are we so busy that we miss a social function? Are we so busy that we don't spend time with our children? Are we so busy that we are tempted to miss a church service or Bible studies? If we answer "yes" to the latter, we need to reassess our priorities and come up with a solution that will take away the temptation to miss a gathering of God's people.
When preparing this lesson, I was thumbing through the maps in the back of my Bible and I noticed the journeys of the apostle Paul. This was truly a busy man. If we think about the amount of effort he put into these journeys, we must be impressed. Remember that he didn't have a car or an airplane or train to travel by.
Some of his trips covered vast distances in those days. Today, we have cars to take short trips and jets to make long trips seem short.
Microwave ovens have shortened our meal preparation time and the dishwasher has made cleanup a breeze. Yet we still, often times find that there aren't enough hours in a day to study our Bibles or the next lesson for Bible class.
This is where we are tricked by Satan into believing there is not enough time to do God's word or study His word. When this happens, our soul is in grave danger and that is exactly what Satan wants.
Again we need to ask ourselves, in the light of God's truth, how busy are we? We must be honest with ourselves and change whatever it is that is hindering us from serving God as He would have us too. We must be willing to devote the majority of our time to God rather than the portion He usually gets from us.
Let's remember what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22,
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.That sounds like a full time job to me.
We must dedicate our lives to these efforts and all the others found in God's word. To do this we must spend time learning of His ways through study and meditation. And when opportunity presents themselves, such as Bible studies and worship services, we must be ready and willing to be present and learn.
I would like to close by challenging each one of us to sit down with a pencil and paper and write down how much time we are currently spending on God's work. Then write down how much time we spend on ourselves. Remember that He has promised us eternity as the reward for a life of service now. What do we spend our time on now that can possibly compare with that?
Kent E. Heaton, Sr.
others@thechristianexaminer.com
Thank you for examining materials from The Christian Examiner. If you have any questions or comments regarding anything you have read here, or you desire more information, please feel free to e-mail us at tce@thechristianexaminer.com. Thanks!
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