falling away – La Vista Church of Christ

Thorns and Snares

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:39:10 +0000

by Luiz Felipe Lima De Albuquerque

Thesis: When we make room for sin and other gods, we grow distant from God and lose our identity.

"And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you" (Judges 2:1–3 KJV).

Thesis

The message I want to bring to you is this: when we do not remove sin today, we grow distant from God, we lose our identity, and we create a problem for our tomorrow.

Context

The book of Judges is a true study of humanity:

Israel had finally arrived in the promised land, and after the death of Joshua, the tribe of

Judah takes the lead and must lead the expulsion of the other nations;

Israel allows the other nations to remain and enters a vicious cycle of corruption, judgment, and purification: it falls into sin, is oppressed, cries out for mercy, and God sends a judge to lead a revolt;
The cycle of corruption repeats itself until Israel becomes corrupt enough to sound just like Sodom, and is completely lost.

In this passage, God reminds Israel where they came from and calls the people to account for their disobedience.

And it was not a rebuke for lacking the strength to win: the people chose to let those who should have been driven out remain.

In the end, He says that the peoples who were not driven out will be thorns in their sides, and their gods will be snares — traps.

But what do the thorns and the snares mean?

Thorns

"But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell" (Numbers 33:55 KJV).

When God speaks of thorns, He gives us an image of ongoing punishment, of continual pain:

Israel's lack of discipline and firmness caused more problems than the ones they were trying to avoid: sparing the other nations of Canaan only brought oppression, loss of identity, and moral decay.
One example is the Midianites in the days of Gideon, who constantly destroyed the Israelites' crops and forced them to hide in caves. Gideon himself had to prepare his food in secret.
Another example is the time of Deborah and Barak, when Jabin (king of Canaan) and his commander Sisera are mentioned — and Scripture itself says they were exceedingly cruel and violent.

To make matters worse, even their descendants had to deal with what was left of these nations afterward, as with Saul, David, and Solomon.

The evil they allowed to coexist with them became a recurring problem that even their descendants inherited, without any need for it. They did not have to go through that.

But why did leaving these peoples become such a serious problem?

"And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." (Judges 2:10 KJV).

Because of this permissiveness and this lax attitude, the people of Israel were gradually losing their identity:

Later generations were lost because they lacked knowledge of their own history;
They also had no relationship with God, and intermarried with the other peoples, giving their children in marriage to the daughters of the nations of Canaan;
One example of this is Samson — a great warrior, yet defeated by the hand of Delilah.

And what do we — Christians — have to do with such an ancient story?

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16 KJV).

Just as Israel was God's kingdom in the past, we Christians are the kingdom of God in the present:

We are under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ, and just like the people of Israel, we need to be watchful of the wolves of our own time;
While Israel was called to physically drive out the peoples of Canaan, we need to drive out:
The devil, who looks for opportunities in our weaknesses (Ephesians 4);
False prophets and false teachers, who teach lies (II Peter 2);
False brothers, who claim to be Christians but do not truly obey God (I Corinthians 5);
And most important of all: the very evil that we ourselves must reject (I Thessalonians 5).

Notice that, just as allowing the other nations to remain destroyed Israel's identity, allowing these enemies to remain will destroy our identity as the Church of Christ. If I do not do what Christ says, whose church am I?

We need to ask ourselves: what have we allowed to remain in the church without doing anything about it? Which enemies of God have we allowed into our midst, or into our own lives?

The evil we do not remove today becomes a problem for us tomorrow.

Snares

It's worth noticing that when God speaks of the gods of Canaan, He describes them as bait attached to a trap:

In other words, the people of Israel would struggle with these false gods precisely because they would be attractive.
Baal (Hadad), Asherah, Chemosh, Dagon, and the rest promised fertility, prosperity, and riches — but in the end, as we see, they only deformed Israel further.

And it's remarkable how much this caused Israel to lose its own identity:

One example is Micah, of the tribe of Ephraim, who stole from his own mother (and she blessed him for it), kept idols in his house, and paid a Levite to serve as his "personal priest," believing God would bless him because of it.

Another horrifying example is the men of Gibeah (tribe of Benjamin), who threatened to abuse a Levite — and whose words sound eerily familiar:

"Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him" (Judges 19:22 KJV).

In case that scene sounds familiar, let's go back to Genesis 19…

"And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them" (Genesis 19:5 KJV).

The gods of Canaan corrupted the people of Israel so thoroughly that they sounded exactly like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Although the tribe of Benjamin was not completely wiped out, the other tribes nearly exterminated it.
But why did allowing these gods become such a problem?

"And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger" (Judges 2:10-12 KJV).

In other words, Israel failed to teach the generations that came after!

The later generations lacked sufficient knowledge of God and of the history their ancestors had lived through;
One generation's negligence became the next generation's rebellion.

And God had warned about exactly this in the past!

"And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage" (Deuteronomy 6:5-12 KJV).

The earlier generations are responsible for teaching the ones who come after:

Parents should not simply tell their children to read the Bible: they should talk about it together, model right conduct, and shape the home so that the Word of God is constantly kept in view;
And beyond that, they should remember that every achievement they had was given to them by God.

Somewhere along the way, one generation failed the next.

And what do we — Christians — have to do with this loss of identity? And what do we have to do with false gods?

"For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was" (James 1:23-24 KJV).

It doesn't matter how much we know about the Word, or how much history our congregation has: if we don't do what the Word says, we will begin to lose ourselves.

We need to remember where we came from and what God has done for us;
And we cannot forget that what He says must be our priority.

The worst part is that when we begin to lose ourselves, new idols — new false gods — are waiting for us:

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5 KJV).

When I give myself to sexual immorality, impurity, disordered desire, greed for money, pleasure, or power, I am already committing idolatry. Instead of Baal (Hadad), Asherah, Chemosh, or Dagon, I have abandoned God to serve myself.

In the end, our new false gods are our own desires.
When I choose to follow a wrong desire and put God in second place, I am already losing my identity as a Christian and becoming exactly what these false gods want me to become.

Just as Israel forgot its history and went off to worship other gods, letting sin go on making its home in us will destroy our identity as the Church of Christ as well. If we worship ourselves, whose church are we?

We need to ask ourselves: have we kept our history with God alive? Has He truly been the priority in our lives? Have we passed this on to the ones coming up behind us?

When we do not remove sin today, we grow distant from God, we lose our identity, and we create a problem for our tomorrow.

Conclusion

The book of Judges ends with Israel completely unrecognizable and lost:

The people who had once been God's chosen people neglected their mission and allowed their enemies to live among them;
They also failed to pass on their history with God and what they had learned, and the generations that followed became so lost that they were unrecognizable.

We need to walk the opposite path:

We need to fight whatever forces oppose God;
We need to be firm and do exactly what the Lord has commanded us in His Word;
We need to pass on both our knowledge and our history with the Father, so that the coming generations will know of His care for us, and that our victories were given to us by Him.

May God bless us.

By Degrees

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:04:02 +0000

by David Gibson

When I started working in the college cafeteria, two things bothered me: the heat of the freshly washed dishes I stacked, and the high-decibel noise of the kitchen. Soon my hands adjusted to the heat, and my ears to the racket. I got used to it.

Getting used to evil?

As our society is daily bombarded with increasing profanity, violence, and sensual entertainment, have we become desensitized? Sins that were once deplored in our society are now not simply tolerated, but even promoted with abandon. What once shocked is now “the new norm.”

“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15).

A blush-proof society is ripe for judgment.

Little by Little

Gradual exposure by degrees is one of Satan’s most effective ploys (I Corinthians 15:33).

For all his faults, at least Lot was “oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)” (II Peter 2:7-8). Lot never acclimated to the society around him.

Have we?

If You Fell Away from Christ’s Church

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:56:40 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

It is easy to get caught up in a cycle of negativity and pull away from a scriptural church of Christ. It is also possible to go back and correct things both with God and His people. Jesus died for His church (Acts 20:28). He asks us to help His church wherever we can. Staying away from a scriptural church is not an option. Paul, by the Spirit, told the Ephesian elders to “shepherd” (take care of) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood”. The members are to “build one another up in the most holy faith” and “speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” and “commune” with each other in the memorial Supper (I Corinthians 10-11). You cannot purposely neglect these responsibilities and remain right with God. Can you hear Him? He is saying, “I know they are not perfect people, and neither are you, but I gave my blood to help save them. The least you can do is help encourage them.”

Many will be held accountable for letting churches die out because they were not willing to give of themselves to the Lord’s work of holding up the cross for one another, much less for the world. Jesus wants you to start over, repent, ask for forgiveness, and get to work, helping a local scriptural church grow both spiritually, with a stronger faith, and in numbers. I remember starting a local church in our home with one other family, and soon we needed a larger meeting facility. God blesses effort. He does not bless non-effort!

If you fell away from Christ’s church, it is time to get back right with God and His people. Time is running out. Don’t live in regret that you helped a church die. Get the life of Jesus back in you and help bring spiritual life back into a dying congregation. That is your mission for the rest of your time here. Don’t delay! Now is the time!

The Danger of Quietly Walking Away

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:03:18 +0000

by Cleve Stafford

Picture yourself out on the open water in a small boat. The waves are gentle, the wind mild, and the sun warm on your face. You close your eyes just for a moment to enjoy the peace. But when you open them again, you realize something chilling: you’ve drifted far from the shore. You never meant to move. You didn’t even notice it happening. And yet, here you are—farther than you ever planned to go. That’s the image that always comes to my mind when I read Hebrews 2:1: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

It’s not a picture of someone rushing headlong into sin or rebellion. No, it’s more subtle than that. It’s about drifting unintentionally, quietly, almost peacefully away from the truth we once held so close. Remember, this passage is addressed to new unbelievers. It’s written for folks like us - people who’ve heard the gospel, believed it, and even suffered for it. People who know Jesus. However, the writer still says, “We must pay much closer attention.” Why? Because even Christians, maybe especially Christians, can drift.

Now listen to how he continues in Hebrews 2:2-3: “For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” It doesn’t say “reject” or “deny” or “mock” salvation. It says “neglect.” Neglect is a slow fade. It’s the quiet choice not to open your Bible one morning, then two, then a week. It’s the subtle shift from being excited about worship to showing up out of habit. It’s the drifting away from prayer, from the people of God, from the mission we once felt so passionate about. Not because we stopped believing, but because life got busy, and our faith got pushed to the side.

The writer of Hebrews is waving a bright red flag: Don’t let that happen. Don’t think you can neglect Jesus and escape the consequences. The message given by angels, the Old Testament law, carried serious consequences for disobedience. And now, the message we’ve received was not delivered through angels but through the Lord Himself. Hebrews 2:3-4 continues: “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

This isn’t just another message in a long line of religious teachings. This is the message spoken by Jesus, confirmed by eyewitnesses, supported by miracles, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. When I think about that, I have to ask myself: Am I paying closer attention to what I’ve heard? Or am I just coasting along, assuming I’ll be fine? I think about friends who used to sit beside me in the pew. Brothers and sisters who once spoke with fire in their hearts about Jesus, but have since drifted away. They didn’t make a big announcement. They didn’t renounce their faith. They just... stopped coming. Stopped reading. Stopped caring. And now, I wonder if they even remember the joy they once had.

Could that happen to me? Could it happen to you? Of course, it could. That’s why we need to wake up, not in fear but in love. The kind of love that remembers what it felt like the first time we truly heard the gospel. The type of love that moves us to open the Word, pray sincerely, and show up to sing even when we don’t feel like it. Jesus hasn’t changed. The salvation He offers remains as great as ever. But the only way to stay close to Him is to pay attention - to keep our eyes fixed on the shore, to keep rowing toward Him, even when the waters seem calm. Because drifting may happen unnoticed at first...until you realize how far you’ve gone.

Cathetic Souls

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:36:31 +0000

by S.A. Thomas, R.N., B.S.N., B.B.A.
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 4, 31 December 1991

[Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a professional health-care provider who is a faithful Christian.]

Cachexia is a term used to describe a "physical fading of wholeness" and a "progressive wasting away of the body." Medically, this condition is often found in people who have cancer. Webster’s dictionary states that the word "cachexia" is derived from two Greek words: "kakos" (meaning "bad" or "evil") and "hexis" (meaning "condition"). In the New Testament, we find the word "kakos" several times; two examples are I Timothy 6:10 (the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil) and Romans 12:21 (Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good).

Let us take a few minutes to consider some similarities between cancer Cachexia and spiritual Cachexia. The medical diagnosis of this condition appears to have a rather fuzzy and gray area. There is no universally accepted list of guidelines to determine the initial presence of cancer Cachexia concretely. For example, the diagnosis is not based solely on the amount of weight lost, as this may vary significantly from patient to patient, nor is it based on a decrease in food intake, as this may also vary. Thinking of these facts in the light of spiritual things, isn’t it usually difficult to diagnose or detect the exact beginnings of spiritual Cachexia? A person is not in good spiritual health one day, and in a cachectic state the next. It is almost always a gradual process, a "progressive wasting away."

Another consideration that may be misleading, in both medical and spiritual areas, is the size of the cachexia-causing tumor in relation to the body. The quantity of malignant tissue is often very small compared to the total body weight. Likewise, our greed for money, or love of gossip (or whatever our "tumor" might be) may seem like a very small part of us, compared to all our other good works. But beware — if untreated, this "malignant tissue" will continue to grow and will draw nutrients and energy away from our good works. A small amount of "tumor" can result in a very large amount of "wasting away."

Cachexia has been defined as an imbalance between the energy required and the energy available for use. Good works require spiritual energies, which in turn come from keeping our minds on things above, putting God first, and feasting on His word (Psalms 107:9 and Matthew 5:6). If we fail to do these things, our energy level is decreased, our good works cease, and our lights grow dim. Have you recently assessed your spiritual energy level?

There are several causes of cancer Cachexia, some known, some unknown. One major cause is a spontaneous decline in oral intake. Factors associated with this decrease in appetite are many: pain; depression,; anxiety; and worries about finances, about family, and about body image. Likewise, many things can cause a decline in our intake of the Bread of Life, the food which endures to eternal life (John 61:27). Worries and concerns of this world are endless, and if we let them, they will choke us. Are you giving your spiritual diet as much time and thought as you are your physical diet?

Another problem with Cachexia is that even with adequate intake of food, often there exists an abnormal utilization of food products. The body is not functioning correctly, and absorption is either reduced or nonexistent. Also, some studies show that many cancer patients experience taste changes and develop food aversions. This is easy to apply to the spiritual realm—easy, but sad and sobering. Evidently, the Galatians were experiencing a change in taste and were instructed by Paul to return to the true Gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6).

A frightening fact about the diagnosis of Cachexia is that since this condition is not always the result of inadequate eating, improving nutritional intake often does not reverse Cachexia; the primary cause must first be eliminated. The primary cause may be a combination of factors that contribute to the total disease process. On the spiritual side, many factors can be identified as primary causes of the spiritual decline of souls. I John 2:15-17 names the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Unless these are eliminated, the mere action of attending worship or reading words on pages of the Bible cannot reverse the Cachetic state. Matthew quotes Isaiah and tells of people who worship God but whose hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:8).

Cancer Cachexia is different from starvation or protein and calorie malnutrition. With these, the body employs adaptive compensatory mechanisms to maintain balance. For example, during starvation, the body decreases its metabolic rate, resulting in less energy and, consequently, less food being needed. Another natural compensatory mechanism is found in pregnancy: the fetus utilizes nutrients from the mother, and God, in His great wisdom, provided for this by an increase in the mother’s total blood volume of about 50%. But with malignancies, nutrients are taken from the body by the tumor with no provision of replacement. Satan certainly does not provide for the replacement of nourishment either, when he draws from our total store of spiritual energy.

Two other processes that Cachexia impairs are wound healing and immune functioning. The mechanisms in the body that normally would not bother us can cause grave illness or even death. It is difficult, sometimes impossible, to resist the devil and flee from him when our souls are immunosuppressed, in other words, when we have not put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Also, our spiritual wounds inflicted by Satan remain unhealed and begin to fester and can result in death - the death of our souls.

Cachexia causes fatigue and apathy, which in turn leads to an inability to work or take part in normal family and social life. An endless cycle can develop as a person starts to feel unworthy and inadequate; depression leads to further decrease in appetite and utilization of food, and the Cachetic circle spins away. A Christian who gradually spends less and less time in Bible study, less time associating with other Christians, and less time in worship and prayer. The Cachetic person begins to feel apathetic and unworthy. As stated before, the changes in cancer Cachexia and spiritual Cachexia occur over time, sometimes very subtly. Assess your spiritual life for these warning signs: loss of appetite for the Word, unusual weakness, muscle atrophy, decreased tolerance for Work, decline in attention span, and reduced concentration abilities (especially in prayer). Paul instructs us to examine, to test, ourselves to see if we are in the faith (II Corinthians 13:5).

The bottom line: if cancer Cachexia is not reversed, physical death occurs; if spiritual Cachexia is not reversed, spiritual death occurs. Remember, it can be reversed only by eliminating the primary cause.

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might (Ephesians 6:10). David, Moses, Isaiah, Habbakuk, and others declared God to be their strength (Psalms 18:1-2; Exodus 15:2; Isaiah 12:2; Habakkuk 3:19). Is He your strength?

Two Christians

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 16:08:10 +0000

by David Gibson

Drawn away

What can we learn from two of Paul’s associates, Mark and Demas? Paul writes, “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers” (Philemon 23-24 NASB; see Colossians 4:10, 14).

Later Paul mentions both Mark and Demas again, but note the change: “. . . Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica . . . . Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service” (II Timothy 4:10-11).

Mark’s Recovery and Demas’ Desertion

Years before, Mark had deeply disappointed Paul because he returned home instead of continuing on their missionary journey. On the next trip, Paul refused to take him along because he “had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work” (Acts 15:38; see 12:25; 13:5, 13). But now Paul recognizes the positive change in Mark. He who had been a disappointment has become “useful to me for service.”

Both Mark and Demas left him in the lurch. While Mark overcame his instability, the last we hear of Demas is his tragic apostasy. He left because he “loved this present world.”

What We Can Learn from Them

Sitting perhaps on the same pew are two Christians. At one time, Brother A could not be depended on to do his part, but that’s behind him now. Nearby, Brother B participates in the singing and bows his head for the prayers, but his heart is leaning increasingly toward the world. It won’t be long until he leaves the Lord and His church—another of Satan’s statistics.

Demas’ defection should give us pause to examine our own hearts for any indications of misplaced affections drawing us away from the living God (II Corinthians 13:5; James 4:4; I John 2:15-17).

On the other hand, if we have fallen short in our Christian walk, we can take a cue from Mark and become once again “useful... for service.”

How do I not feel empty and missing my old life?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 22:50:22 +0000

Question:

Hello,

I have been a Christian for a while, and I feel sad and depressed sometimes. All the things I used to enjoy doing I can no longer do anymore, like sex, porn, smoking, drinking, and even going out with some friends. I still desire to do these things and sometimes feel empty without them. What can I do to not feel this way?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Answer:

"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Ephesians 4:17-24).

Would you mind if I asked you a question? Why did you choose to follow Christ? I would assume that some aspects of your former life were ruining you. You wanted better results and better hope for the future. You don't move forward by longing for what you left behind.

Since you deal with depression, you used various sins to distract yourself. Each sin gave momentary pleasure or numbed you to life. They were an escape from your depression. However, none of them solve the problems. If anything, they made your depression worse. In the quote from Ephesians given earlier, Paul points out that being a Christian is more than removing sin from your life. You have to replace bad habits with good ones.

You could look at Christianity as a bunch of prohibitions, but in doing so, you miss gift that Christianity is. "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:8-10). By its very nature, sin is selfish. The sinner is focused on his desires. Righteousness is focused on God and others, and the driving force behind it is your love for God and people. Thus, here is one way out of depression: start focusing on others. You can start small and get a puppy to raise. Use what you learn and look for opportunities to help people.

Response:

First, thank you so much for the sound biblical teaching. I will definitely take it to heart and put it into practice.

Next, to answer your question: I obeyed the gospel when I was about 15 years old. Then I grew up and started getting into things I shouldn't have, as I mentioned before. I still went to church, but my mind and heart were focused on other things. When I moved out from my parents, it only got worse. I started going to church less and less, going out more, staying up later, and so on. It got to a point where I would make it to church maybe once a month. Eventually, some bad stuff happened that slowly led me back to Christ and the lifestyle I should be living. I asked for repentance from the church and worked on doing better. I eventually got rebaptized just because I didn't think I fully understood what I was committing to.

Last, I am now trying to find happiness in Christ without doing those things. Hopefully, that helped with some more details.

Thank you again.

Why Israel Fell

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 17:16:06 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Why-Israel-Fell.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Download Audio

Text: Isaiah 9:1-7

I. The prophet Isaiah told the people that the Messiah was coming.

A. He would bring righteousness to all the nations and remove the burdens of sin

B. He would establish a new government, one that would last forever

C. The people of Israel foolishly thought that the Messiah would just extend their government to cover other nations

1. They expected an empire with Israel at its center

2. Even after the resurrection, the disciples were expecting it - Acts 1:6

D. How foolish was this concept, because the very next verses explains their failings.

II. Why learn?

A. Wasn’t this Israel’s problem? We’re not Israel.

B. No, but people repeat mistakes because they forget the past - Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

C. It is only by realizing that we are no different – that we are vulnerable to the same mistakes – can we take steps to shield ourselves from sin. Otherwise, we will repeat the same errors - I Corinthians 10:11-12

III. Israel’s faults

A. Arrogance in thinking they could recover on their own - Isaiah 9:8-12

1. They looked at the destruction God brought upon them and thought that this wasn’t so bad because they would rebuild to something even greater

a. Brick would be replaced with stone. Common sycamore would be replaced by valuable cedar.

2. But no thought was given as to why they were destroyed – why God’s hand was against them

3. The need for God wasn’t considered at all - Isaiah 9:13

B. Having false leaders and godless common people - Isaiah 9:14-17

1. God would cut off the highest and the lowest, the noblest and the base

2. The leaders because they are leading the people astray

3. The lowest – the young and the poor – for their evil and foolish talk

C. Infighting and no concern for their fellow man - Isaiah 9:18-21

1. There was no mercy for their fellow country men

2. They consume each other - Micah 7:2-6

3. It is pure selfishness – everyone for their own wants

4. Ultimately it is self-destruction

D. Unjust government - Isaiah 10:1-4

1. The concept of right and wrong is lost.

2. Those needing protection the most are no longer protected - Amos 5:11-12

IV. Repeats

A. In the government

1. Removing religion, Christianity particularly, from all aspects of life and thinking we are going to remain great

2. Following after politicians and false teachers who are trying to reshape society to the point that sin is accepted. And common people running after sin.

3. Artificial divisions by race and class

4. Judges promoting social agendas and government adopting policies based on monetary benefits instead of focusing on right and wrong

B. In the church

1. Using gimmicks to seek growth instead of using God’s method

a. Jesus sent his disciples - Matthew 28:18-20

b. We teach and it is God who increases - I Corinthians 3:5-7

c. This is always the way the church has grown, one Christian teaching another

d. But man never ceases to look for gimmicks: food, drinks, parties, music.

(1) Something that makes serving God seem fun in man’s eyes.

(2) Over time God and His teachings get left out, except in shallow vague references.

e. We are restricted because the credit belongs to God - I Peter 4:11

2. Following after false teachers and leaders trying to reshape the church

a. False teachers will ever be a problem in the church - I John 4:1

b. As well as the corrupting influence of sin that especially attacks the weak members - Ephesians 4:17-24

3. Infighting

a. Jesus’ commandment - John 13:34-35

b. Speaking evil of brethren - James 4:11

(1) We tend to be the harshest critic of those we should be closest to

c. Hatred - I John 3:14-15

d. It comes from not following God’s teachings - I Timothy 6:3-5

e. Majoring in minors - Titus 3:9

4. Injustice with biases toward the wealthy

a. James speaks extensively toward this problem

(1) Judges with evil thoughts - James 2:2-4

(2) Talk and no action - James 2:15-16

b. A lack of love - I John 3:16-19

V. History repeats itself, but it doesn’t have to

A. I Peter 2:9-15 - By our conduct, give glory to God

B. God offers mercy - Ephesians 2:1-7

C. You can break the destructive cycle and build something glorifying God - Ephesians 2:17-22

The Beginning of Apostasy

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 21:37:55 +0000

by Andy Sochor
via Unmasking Sophistry, January-March 2023

As we noticed in "Early Persecution," the early Christians openly faced severe persecution for the cause of Christ. While many abandoned their faith in order to avoid these persecutions, there were others who remained faithful even to the point of death. Because of this, the enemies of the church were not able to destroy it. The gospel continued to spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.

However, there was another threat against the church that would prove to have a much greater impact. Generally, the effects of persecution were immediate and obvious. Yet the other threat – apostasy (falling away from the faith) – would arise much more slowly, allowing it to take root before many even realized the problem.

The Hebrew writer warned about drifting from the message that was first taught by the Lord and His apostles (Hebrews 2:1-3). Though the apostasy would progress slowly and occur over several generations, eventually the “church” would look nothing like the one described in the New Testament. How did this happen? Let us consider the beginning of this apostasy.

A Reminder of the Warnings in the New Testament

In the second article in this series, we noticed the state of the church at the end of the first century. During that time, the apostles warned of an apostasy that was coming. Yet this was not just a prediction by these men; rather, Paul told Timothy, “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away om the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (I Timothy 4:1).

Paul told the church in Thessalonica that the return of Christ would not happen until “the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (II Thessalonians 2:3). As we noticed in that earlier article, Paul was not referring to a few Christians falling away; instead, he was warning about a departure from the truth on a grand scale.

Furthermore, this apostasy would be led by those who were in positions of leadership in the church. Paul warned the Ephesian elders, “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

What would this apostasy look like? Notice Paul's warning about the “man of lawlessness” in his letter to the Thessalonians: “Who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (II Thessalonians 2:4). In other words, this apostasy would first start to manifest itself as men in the church would elevate themselves above their brethren and begin to stand between them and God.

This is important – the “man of lawlessness” was not a single person; rather, it was an attitude. The rise of this lawless attitude would take place over a period of time and would not happen all at once. This “spirit of error” (cf. I John 4:6) that departs from the New Testament pattern would continue to grow over time until the church would evolve into something that was wholly unrecognizable from the description given in the New Testament.

Changes in Local Church Organization

During the second century, a practice developed of selecting one of the elders in a local church “to preside over the meetings as a permanent president” (Church History, John D. Cox, p. 26). This change may have been implemented as a matter of practicality in order to keep order in their meetings, yet the unofficial role of the presiding elder eventually evolved into an official position. This man came to be known as the “bishop,” thus differentiating him from the other elders.

At this point, it would be helpful to be reminded of what the New Testament teaches about the overseers in the local church. There are three different terms that are used:

Elder (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; I Peter 5:1) – This is from the Greek word presbuteros which refers to one who presides over or has the leadership of an assembly.
Bishop (Philippians 1:1; I Timothy 3:2) – The Greek word for this is episkopos. Newer translations use the word overseer, which helps us understand the meaning of the word. This refers to those who keep watch over the congregation.
Pastor (Ephesians 4:11) – This word (Greek: poimen) is used to describe a shepherd and is often translated that way (cf. Luke 2:8; John 10:11; I Peter 2:25). Peter used the verb form of this word to describe the work of feeding the flock (I Peter 5:2).

Not long after the time of the apostles, the elders and bishops came to be seen as having different offices or roles. Today, many religious groups use these terms (elders, bishops, pastors) to refer to different positions in their churches. However, in the New Testament, these terms referred to the same office. When Paul met with the “elders of the church” in Ephesus (Acts 20:17), he told them to shepherd (Greek: poimaino) the flock over which the Holy Spirit had made them overseers (Greek: episkopos) (Acts 20:28). When Peter wrote to the elders (I Peter 5:1), he exhorted them to shepherd (Greek: poimaino) the flock and exercise oversight (Greek: episkopeo) (I Peter 5:2).

These terms were not used to describe different offices in the church; rather, they were used to describe different aspects of the same office. In other words, using the language of the New Testament, an elder is a bishop and a bishop is an elder. Yet by making a distinction between the two, a new “office” was created which changed the organization of the church.

Development of a Larger Hierarchy

This somewhat subtle change in the organization of the local church established a new hierarchy. When Peter addressed the elders and instructed them to “shepherd the ock of God,” he reminded them of the “Chief Shepherd” (Jesus) who was over them (I Peter 5:1-2, 5). Yet this change meant that the elders were no longer directly under the authority of Christ; they were now under the authority of the bishop.

Over time, the authority of the bishops grew and expanded beyond their local churches. Eventually, the bishops would oversee not just a single congregation, but a territory or “diocese.” This growing hierarchy eventually led to distinctions among the bishops with authority over churches, territories, and larger regions.

As questions and disputes would arise, church leaders (bishops and elders) would meet in synods or councils to discuss how to handle various issues and controversies. Eventually, these became permanent legislative bodies that further centralized control among the churches. Rather than having autonomous (self-governing) congregations in each place as the New Testament describes, ve rulers (“patriarchs”) emerged as the chief rulers of the church – the bishops from Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople.

Distinction Between “Clergy” and “Laity”

As changes were developing in the organization of the church, a distinction was also being formed between preachers (“clergy”) and other members of the church (“laity”). This would lead to a protected and unaccountable class of leaders in the church – a concept foreign to the New Testament. The Bereans were commended as being “noble-minded” because they were “examining the Scriptures daily” to see if what Paul taught them was the truth (Acts 17:11). It was noble for them to confirm the truth of his message rather than just blindly accepting it. When Paul wrote to Timothy, he outlined a procedure for rebuking elders who continued in sin (I Timothy 5:19-20). Yet the greater the divide between the “clergy” and the regular church members, the more difficult it would be to hold the leadership accountable.

In his book on church history, John D. Cox noted, “By the close of the Second Century … the ministry possessed the attributes of the priesthood. This idea borrowed support from Judaism” (Church History, Cox, p. 29). Yet God's design for the church was that all of His people would constitute “a royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:9).

This distinction between the “clergy” and “laity” is the reason why, even today, preachers and other religious leaders wear titles like “reverend” and “father,” even though Jesus specifically condemned such designations (cf. Matthew 23:9). Even the apostles in the New Testament, though they had been given a special role by the Lord, they did not view themselves as some elevated class in the church. Paul used himself and Apollos as an example to illustrate this in his first letter to Corinth: “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one” (I Corinthians 3:5). Though he was an apostle, Paul did not “seek glory from men” (I Thessalonians 2:6); instead, he told the Christians in Corinth that he and his fellow-workers considered themselves to be their “bond-servants for Jesus' sake” (II Corinthians 4:5).

Summary

Despite the warnings that were given in the New Testament about the apostasy that would be coming, many were led astray. This came as a result of a series of relatively small departures from the New Testament pattern until eventually the “church” no longer resembled the one that Jesus purchased with His blood on the cross (cf. Acts 20:28). This should serve as a reminder for us about the “slippery slope” of error. One seemingly innocent change could lead to others that we would initially not be willing to accept; but the further we go, the more comfortable we become with even greater (and more unauthorized) changes. We need to be careful to “retain the standard of sound words” (II Timothy 1:13) and “not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1) from what is taught in the New Testament.

Prior

A Look at Church History

Is Peter saying that the backsliding cannot be forgiven?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 01:48:53 +0000

Question:

Greetings!

I have a question concerning II Peter 2:20. Is it teaching that backsliding cannot be forgiven or is the “overcome” part speaking of someone who has completely fallen away and, in this case, they were overcome through the deception of these false teachers?

Thank you!

Answer:

"For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them" (II Peter 2:18-21).

There are three groups of people being discussed in this passage: false teachers, followers of false teachers, and the worldly.

"For speaking out arrogant words of vanity [false teachers] entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, [followers] who barely escape from the [worldly] who live in error, promising [followers] freedom while [false teachers] themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if, after [followers] have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, [followers] are again entangled in [the world] and are overcome, the last state has become worse for [followers] than the first. For it would be better for [followers] not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to [followers]" (II Peter 2:18-21).

False teachers use pompous, empty words as they use sensuality to entice the weakest members – the ones who have not been Christians long enough to grow strong. There is a pretense of wisdom but none actually exists. The Greek word huperonka refers to excessive, bombastic, or verbose speech (I Corinthians 8:1). They give people what they want to hear (II Timothy 4:3-4). They promise freedom, but the false teachers are themselves slaves of sin (Romans 6:16-22; 8:15; Galatians 5:13). It sounds great to be free from moral laws but the shackles of sin are worse.

Anyone who escapes the corruption in the world through knowing Jesus and then returns to the world he left and is overcome by the world is now in a worse state (Matthew 12:43-45). He left the truth to return to the world and there is nothing else by which to save him (Romans 10:17). Someone who has never heard the gospel has a better chance of being saved than a person who had accepted the truth and then later rejected it (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-39).

However, notice that Peter never said that fallen Christians can never be forgiven. He merely stated that they are in a more difficult position to return to God.