Article
Social Drinking (Thompson)
by Floyd Thompson Many times in trying to justify social drinking people will use as a defense Paul’s admonition to Timothy in I Timothy 5:23, which says, “use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake, and thine often infirmities.” I think this passage has not been thoroughly discussed until we recognize that Timothy was a…
Read MoreWas Cornelius Saved Before Water Baptism?
by Fred B. Walker in The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 11, September 1952. One of the strongest arguments that can be made on the theory that one is saved before and without water baptism is based upon the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 10 in the light of what Jesus taught in Jno. 14:17. This…
Read MoreIndividual or Church?
by Jimmy R. Mickells I was recently given a bulletin with an article in it that asked this question: “Where does the Bible make a distinction between the individual member and the church in the work of the Lord?” May we notice together that the word of God answers this question very clearly? The reason…
Read MoreThe Same Movement, Yet We Are Different
by Andy Sochor Daniel Austen Sommer (1878-1952) was the son of the gospel preacher, Daniel Sommer. In 1916, D.A. Sommer debated J. Roy Wright of the Christian church. The debate dealt with several issues, including instrumental music in worship and missionary societies. In his first speech, Sommer pointed out something that he and Wright had in…
Read MoreI Peter 4:3 and ‘Social Drinking’
by Ron Halbrook (edited for length) Searching The Scriptures, June 1973 Three words are used in I Peter 4:3 which have a bearing on modern drinking practices. All three words describe the lifestyle of the old man, dead in sin — living “in the flesh to the lusts of men.” Peter pleads with those who are…
Read MoreTruth Or Free-thinking
by Terry W. Benton To the modern man, it seems wrong to believe that you can actually “know the truth”, and therefore be in a position to “answer” the false religious claims of others. While an open mind is indeed a good quality, that open-minded nature ought to eventually settle on something it has tested…
Read MoreTroubled Over Immorality
by Connie Adams Nothing can create more havoc in a home or a congregation than immoral behavior on the part of Christians or their children. Webster defines immoral as “Inconsistent with purity or good morals.” Immorality is defined by Webster as “the quality or state of being immoral: wickedness, esp. unchastity.” It is immoral to…
Read MoreHereditary Total Depravity: Examining the Old Testament Proof Texts
by Melvin Curry via Guardian of Truth, January 1, 1987 Hereditary total depravity is generally associated with Augustinian and Calvinistic doctrine. John Calvin, following in the footsteps of Augustine, taught that all men sinned in Adam, and, consequently, every human being, except Jesus Christ, possesses from birth a totally corrupt sinful nature. Calvinists are saddled with…
Read MoreDestructive Complexes
by Don Martin We shall be using the term “complex” rather loosely in this article. A simple definition of “complex” is, “The term for a psychological cause, hidden or repressed, having a strong influence on one’s character; an obsession” [Webster’s National Dictionary]. In our examination of some destructive complexes, we shall not use the term…
Read MoreThe Unchanging Word
by Jefferson David Tant In one of the conversations our Lord was having with his disciples, he stated: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). And the apostle Peter wrote: “For, All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The…
Read MoreThe Church Ain’t Doing Nothing
by Raymond Elliott How often have we heard that statement from a brother in Christ? And it is to be admitted that we often fail in fulfilling the many obligations that God has given us. But there are some pertinent observations that need to be made relative to this broad statement. First of all, we…
Read MoreProof-Texting
by Doy Moyer In light of the way Paul sometimes quoted Scripture, even using isolated verses together in order to establish a point (e.g., Romans 3:10-18), can someone actually show from Scripture that what is typically called “proof-texting” is always bad? Don’t get me wrong. I believe in context. I don’t believe in randomly pulling…
Read MoreLogic in the Bible
by Terry W. Benton While some modern brethren have declared that the logic of “necessary inference” has been made up in recent years by “church of Christ preachers”, the Bible shows that this kind of logic goes back to communication from God and man from the beginning. If anyone should be credited with the origin…
Read MoreAre You Unforgivable?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Repeatedly I receive frantic inquiries from people fearful that they committed an unforgivable sin. It never seems to register that nowhere in the Bible are sins called “unforgivable.” If a sin was unforgivable, then it means God refuses to offer forgiveness for certain sins. But that contradicts the nature of God.…
Read MoreAbstinence Is Reasonable
by David Diestelkamp via Think on These Things “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication” (I Thessalonians 4:3). Society is totally confused. It wants people to be reasonable (thinking, logically) about sex. It wants them to think about civil law, time and place (decency), disease, pregnancy, “protection,”…
Read MoreKnow with Certainty
by Doy Moyer “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience”…
Read MoreThe Work of an Evangelist
by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr. I got to thinking about evangelists and evangelism in general. An evangelist (Gr. euaggelistes) is a preacher of good news (the gospel – Gr. euaggelion) and evangelism is what an evangelist does – preaches that good news. An evangelist preaches the gospel to the world to save it from sin. Philip was…
Read MoreAfter Twenty-Two Years
by Kent Heaton The story of Joseph is remarkable for many reasons. His visions set him at odds with his brothers who would eventually sell him to a passing band of Midianites (without Reuben’s knowledge). He would be sold on the slavery block to the captain of Pharaoh’s guard where he served honorably until unjustly…
Read MoreLove Is a Verb
by Wilson Adams “I don’t love my wife like I used to…” “Let me guess, you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling?” “Yes.” “What do you suggest?” “Love her.” “Love her? That’s the problem. I don’t love her. The feeling just isn’t there.” “Then…love her.” “Maybe you didn’t hear what I said. I said, the…feeling…is…not…there!” “Okay. Got…
Read MoreMoments that Test Us
by Mike Thomas Persecution reveals the quality of our faith in the same way fire reveals the nature of metal (I Peter 1:7). But persecution is not the only moment that reveals our character. There are other scenes in life that are just as effective in exposing our inner man: Being Alone Photo by Warren…
Read MoreMixed Marriages (Hamilton)
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton While Israel was in captivity due to their many sins, the people lived among the foreign nations for so long that they became lax in following God’s commands. A major factor contributing to this came from their mixed marriages – Israelites marrying foreigners who brought their religious practices into the union.…
Read MoreWe Thank God for You
by Ethan Longhenry via Biblical Insights, August 2014 We live in a time of extremes when it comes to self-esteem and affirmation. Some people are constantly criticized, derided, and put down, even by family members, and feel as if they are worthless and can never be good enough. Other people receive nothing but praise and affirmations…
Read MoreThe Profitable Word
by Irven Lee It certainly makes sense for one to suggest that man should study the Bible. The Bible is a revelation of the will of God. This revelation includes His authoritative commandments which man must obey if he would please his Creator, and it includes the exceeding great and precious promises concerning the good…
Read MoreCommandment Keeping and Boasting
by Edward Bragwell, Sr. via Biblical Insights, June 2014 Jesus declares that hypothetically if we were to keep all his commands, we would still have no right to boast. “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to…
Read MoreTime for Churches of Christ to Fellowship Other Groups?
by Wes McAdam via Radically Christian This is a hard post to write. I realize what I’m about to say may be misunderstood or misconstrued. But as difficult as it is to find the right words, this is something that must be said. In fact, I believe there is no greater issue facing the church today.…
Read MoreThrow Away Relationships
by Terry Wane Benton We live in a world of throw-away things. If we don’t want something anymore, we simply throw it away or trade it off for something new and different. Man has thrown away his responsibility to God, and then throws away anyone else that tries to stand in his way. Children grow…
Read MoreBad Company Corrupts Good Morals
by Doy Moyer Most are familiar with Paul’s argument in I Corinthians 15, that if Jesus was not raised, and there is no resurrection, then our faith is vain, preaching is vain, and we are to be pitied for believing it all. Another argument that we often make has to do with how pointless life…
Read MoreAre the Gospel Writers Credible?
by Wayne Jackson The writers of the Gospel accounts — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — quite definitely affirm that Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God and that he performed miracles to authenticate that affirmation. Further, they allege that even though Jesus was put to death on the cross, after three days…
Read MoreOn Stoning Adulterers and Not Eating Shellfish
by Hugh Fulford via The Fellowship Room Periodically — at least three or four times a year — someone feels compelled to demonstrate his or her lack of knowledge of the Bible by writing a letter to the editor of the local newspaper railing against Bible-believers who oppose homosexuality. (Capital punishment of convicted murderers is another…
Read MoreNo Past, No Future
by Terry Partain The US Census Bureau has a new category called “unrelated individuals” to describe those who do not live in a “family group.” Such Americans have increased in huge numbers over the last forty years. Even among those who live in family groups, 25% feel lonely and have no one to confide in.…
Read MoreWhat Did Jesus Really Say?
by Jacob Wooten I saw this picture below posted on Facebook and I’ve seen similar statements before, so I feel like this kind of thinking might be widespread both in the world and perhaps among those who would say they are of faith. Let’s examine this reasoning and see what Jesus really says according to the Bible. …
Read MoreWhat Do You Do For Fun?
by Jim McGuiggan in The Irish Papers A young man tried to talk a young lady into sexual intercourse but she wouldn’t hear tell of it. Then he offered her booze she wouldn’t touch. A little later he wanted to share some marijuana with her but she turned that down, too. By this time he was…
Read MoreReaching the Youth
by Terry Partain Forty-five years ago I was hired to work with another preacher to especially reach out to the youth. I was too late. The youth and their parents had separate social lives. The practice of catering to groups according to their age has destroyed the bonds of affection and understanding as well as…
Read MorePharaoh’s Hard Heart
by Matthew Bassford There are few Scriptural discussions with more doctrinal overtones than the discussion of what God does to Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus. The text does, after all, say several times, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” It’s this way in every translation of the Bible I’ve ever seen. That’s the evidence. Calvinists, though, like to…
Read MoreA “Systemic” Problem
by Ethan R. Longhenry For the past 200 or so years, we have seen a fundamental shift in the way that people relate to one another. The Industrial Revolution has certainly brought its share of benefits: greater productivity, acceleration in the development of technology, a greater quality of life, and longer-lasting life, among other things.…
Read MoreArguing with Atheists
by Casey Head Via The King’s Way at Queen Way I work at a university. That’s something I thought I’d never say. I guess I’d better clarify. I’m not a professor, a graduate student getting paid to do research, a university official…or even a janitor or landscaper. I’m actually just an evangelist who happens to carry…
Read MoreArbitrary Morality
by Doy Moyer Society treats morality in an arbitrary fashion. Racism is condemned in the strongest of terms (rightly so) while openly practicing adultery and fornication is considered normal and acceptable. People use vulgarities as a regular way to talk, while the same people will craft a list of the politically correct terminology for the…
Read MoreThe Christian’s Reign
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A large number of passages establish the reign of Christians. Paul tells us that Christians will reign with Christ after this life is over. “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If…
Read MoreWhy Homosexuals Are Receiving So Much Attention
by Edward O. Bragwell Sr. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9-10). We are sometimes…
Read MorePotential Is Not Enough
by Doy Moyer “It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done” (Samuel Johnson, 1770). Potential has to do with something that can happen but has not yet happened. It has to do with possibilities: unrealized and undeveloped. While it is good…
Read More