Article
Not Worth Listening To
by Zeke Flores There are some things that are not worth wasting the time to listen to. For me, that would be rap or any new “pop” song. Or most political drivel. Or false religious teaching. Jesus said, “Take care what you listen to” (Mark 4:24). In Luke’s gospel, He says, “Take care how you listen”…
Read MoreWhy Are Elders Missing in So Many Churches?
by Roger D. Campbell We read about “the elders of the church” in the New Testament (James 5:14). In the Bible, “the elders of the church” refers to those brothers who serve as the overseers of a local flock of God (Acts 20:17, 28). They also are identified as shepherds or pastors (Ephesians 4:11) and…
Read MoreThe Twisted Thinking of Abortion
by Dennis Abernathy The thinking of many in our society is truly twisted. Consider the case where two little boys, who were reported kidnapped in South Carolina. Actually, the mother of those little boys confessed to murdering them. She was involved with a man who wanted her company, but not her children, so she murdered…
Read MoreWhy Death?
by Doy Moyer Why is death a consequence of sin? Because sin is a direct affront to the glory of the God of life. When we reject God, we reject life. Death is what’s left. We cannot turn our backs on life and expect to live. Why did Christ come to die? He died for…
Read MoreHe Got Up and Followed Him
by Doy Moyer Think about this for a moment. Jesus passed by “Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him” (Mark 2:14). What an impression Jesus must have already made on Levi (Matthew) to cause him to get up…
Read MoreNot Enslaved
by Matthew W. Bassford From time to time, I receive article requests from brethren who want me to address a particular topic. Sadly, my usual response to these requests is to forget that they have been made and never write about them. However, recently someone asked me about my views of “not enslaved” in 1…
Read MoreIt Takes Only One Time
by David Weaks Children used to be taught by their parents that sex is reserved for marriage (Hebrew 13:4; I Corinthians 7:1-9), but this doctrine is no longer universally respected. Abstinence is ridiculed by society as archaic and unreasonable. The error of this new attitude cannot be overstated. It is just plain old foolish and…
Read MoreMy Friend, A. W. Dicus
by Rick Lanning It was August, 1971. My parents were with me that Sunday morning as we entered the Temple Terrace church building across the street from Florida College. I was entering my freshman year the very next day. I saw my dad start talking to someone he obviously knew from his past. He soon…
Read MoreDying for Jesus
by Matthew W. Bassford These days, it seems like people in our country are increasingly being led astray by a godless, secular mindset. This worldview has a lot of superficial appeal. After all, if there is no God, you don’t have to submit to anybody. You can do whatever you want with whomever you want.…
Read MoreReflecting on “Hoods in My Hymnal”
by Matthew W. Bassford The other day, Steve Wolfgang sent me a link to this article, “Hoods in My Hymnal.” In it, the author points out that James D. Vaughan, founding father of the Southern gospel genre of hymnody (though not the author of “Love Lifted Me”, despite what the article implies) was a leading…
Read MoreThe Acts 17 Approach to God
by Doy Moyer Acts 17 provides a framework for some basic understanding of God. Think especially about the phrase in verse 25: “as though He needed anything.” In that phrase is found the essence of who God is. God needs nothing more to be complete or to function with the highest possible reason and power.…
Read MoreMy Father’s Hands
by Fanning Yater Tant (1908-1988) written in the 1970s Not God. I am thinking of my own natural father, Jefferson Davis Tant. It is June 4, 1941. A few scores of us are gathered in the old auditorium of the Central Church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas. My father’s body lies in the casket before us.…
Read MoreWhat is the Gift of the Holy Spirit?
by Bill Boyd My preacher friends do not agree on the meaning of “the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This is frustrating because this expression is at the end of the oft-quoted Acts 2:38. The passage is clear that baptism is “for the remission of sins,” but what does the baptized person receive? Whatever it…
Read MoreA Crisis of Faith?
by Orlando B. Gonzalez Perhaps you wonder whether we, as members of the “Churches of Christ”, are turning others away from Jesus by how we discuss people in other denominations, and how we talk about our practices as if they are the only right way to do things, thereby condemning those who do them differently.…
Read MoreThe Sponsoring Church Arrangement (Jennings)
by Ethan Jennings Not long after World War 2, members of the Lord’s church decided they wanted to take the gospel overseas to the countries with whom we had been at war. This was a good attitude to have. Especially since we are supposed to spread the gospel to everyone. Paul wrote to commend the…
Read MoreDoes John the Baptist Prove that Fetuses Know Good and Evil?
by Terry Wane Benton While it is true that John the Baptist, while yet unborn (what people call the fetus stage), leaped in his mother’s womb when Mary came and greeted Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), it is not true that this means that all infants are aware of sin or aware of Jesus, Mary, and what…
Read MoreI Have Found the Book of the Law
by Terry Wane Benton “Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan who read it'” (II Kings 22:8) How did the book become lost? The whole service should have centered around honoring…
Read MoreOn Infant Baptism
by Terry Wane Benton An Orthodox Church member writes: “Infant baptism is the new circumcision. We find its parallel to circumcision in the Old Covenant. Infants were circumcised as a sign of being part of the Old Covenant so infants should be baptized as a sign of being part of the New Covenant.” In the…
Read MoreOnce for All Delivered
by Terry Wane Benton “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). This last phrase means the faith, the teaching we are…
Read MoreThe Signs of an Apostle
by Terry Wane Benton The apostles of Jesus were eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus (Acts 1:13f). They had to have personally seen Jesus alive from the dead. Nobody today meets that criterion. But those Jesus chose to be sent out by Him as His personal eyewitnesses were also equipped by the Holy Spirit with miraculous…
Read MorePrivate Conversations First?
by Matthew W. Bassford Recently, I posted a critique of John Mark Hicks’s book Searching for the Pattern. This generated a number of interesting responses, one of which came in a private message from a good-hearted brother. He asked me if I had gone to Hicks privately with my objections before raising them publicly. He…
Read MoreBearing Fruit
by Doy Moyer Jesus spoke these well-known words to His disciples shortly before going to the cross: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.…
Read MoreRash Words
by Doy Moyer “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). Here’s one thought about our need to be careful with our words. What we say publicly reflects upon our spouses and loved ones. If we are constantly complaining about how bad things…
Read MoreRules for Religious Discussions
by Andy Sochor “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (I Peter 3:15). It is incumbent upon all Christians to be ready to teach others.…
Read MoreThere Will Be a Rapture
by Terry Wane Benton If we consider that the words “caught up” in I Thessalonians 4:17 are translated as “rapture” in Latin, then there is going to be a “caught up” (rapture) moment. So, the word is there in Latin, and since the verse says we will be “caught up together with them in the…
Read MoreEzras Still Need Shecaniahs
by Jason Hardin In God’s Image “Ezra.” If you’re familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible, you remember the name. “Shecaniah”? Probably not. But here’s something we all need to understand: the “Ezras” of the world desperately need the “Shecaniahs.” In Ezra 10, after rebuilding the temple, restoring the Passover, and contending with a…
Read MoreGrace Is Sufficient
by Doy Moyer Paul describes certain visions and revelations that were beyond his understanding (II Corinthians 12). He then spoke of what he calls a “thorn in the flesh,” given to him to keep him from becoming conceited. He implored the Lord three times that this thorn would be removed from him. Whatever it was,…
Read MoreWhat One Teenager Can Do
by Dick Blackford The article below was written about 17-year-old Tim Wadlington. Tim died of cancer on Sept. 8, 1989, and I attended his funeral on the 12th at Eddysville, Kentucky. The church at Suwanne, where Tim worshipped, has a bulletin that is published solely by the teenagers, called The River of Life. I knew…
Read MoreWhich Apostle Had It the Easiest?
by Perry Hall Which apostle had it the easiest? James. That answer may be surprising. Even more surprising is why and how. In Acts 12, James is martyred first among the apostles. Some may question God’s fairness, and may even complain, “Why did God allow James to die but allowed Peter to live?” Considering the…
Read MoreI Thessalonians 5:4 and the Destruction of Jerusalem
by Terry Wane Benton Is “this day” (I Thessalonians 5:4) the destruction of Jerusalem? No! If “this day” is talking to the Thessalonians about the coming of the Lord in wrath on Jerusalem: How would that day overtake the Thessalonians as a thief? How did “sudden destruction” overtake any Thessalonians? Why did everyone “escape?” (I…
Read MoreWhy I Didn’t Leave the Church
by Matthew W. Bassford The posts appear pretty regularly on my Facebook feed. Some poor soul, simmering with hurt and anger, explains why they left the churches of Christ. The explanations are generally long and filled with accusations of bad behavior by brethren. I get it. Like many preachers, I have suffered at the hands…
Read MoreDo We Find Repenting Hard to Do?
by Perry Hall Do we find it hard to deeply and truly repent because we are basically a “good person” who has literally been “going to church” our whole life? How do we get better at doing the basic and primary requirement of repenting because the kingdom of God is near (Matthew 3:2)? Why else…
Read MoreTempted and Tried
by Perry Hall “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:49-50). “Salted with fire” (Mark 9:49) is a notoriously hard saying of Jesus. Context can help.…
Read MoreThe Problem of Depression
by David Weaks Depression’s a problem that plagues most people, and Christians are no different. It’s a natural part of the human mind to take periodic emotional downturns. Here is the problem for Christians: somewhere along the way, someone decided that depression is a sin for a Christian. As my dad would say, “Horsefeathers!” God…
Read MoreWas Jesus Literally Forsaken?
by Doy Moyer Did the Father literally forsake Jesus at the cross? The Aramaic phrase spoken by Jesus on the cross, translated as “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” is often taken to mean just that (Matthew 27:46). Generally, the idea is that since Jesus was made to be sin on our…
Read MoreFinding an Unbroken Line of Churches
by Doy Moyer We sometimes hear talk about finding the original church. In the search for the original church, we may then make the mistake of thinking that we can find a line of churches that go all the way back to the 1st century to prove which one is the right church. Besides conflating…
Read MoreShut In
by Matthew W. Bassford Last Sunday morning was the last time I will ever attempt to assemble with the saints. I say “attempt” because I did not succeed in assembling. It was a debacle. About midway through the debacle, I resolved that I wasn’t going to put myself or my wife through such misery anymore.…
Read MoreShould Do or Allowed to Do?
by Doy Moyer “What should I do or not do?” is a question of wisdom. “What am I allowed to do or not do?” is a question of law. While we have boundaries of what we are allowed or not allowed to do, and these are vital to know, more will be determined by wisdom…
Read MoreA Call to Unity
by Matthew W. Bassford I watched a recorded worship service the other day. During it, I was invited to sing a verse of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” that I had never sung before. It reads: Like a mighty army Moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the saints have trod; We are not…
Read MoreCount It All Joy
by Terry Wane Benton It’s not what happens to you that matters so much as what you do with what happens to you. Who would have thought that Helen Keller would have mattered so much with all the handicaps she was dealt in life? Great people of great faith learn to turn trials into stepping…
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