{"id":55322,"date":"2006-10-31T14:36:00","date_gmt":"2006-10-31T20:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=55322"},"modified":"2022-10-31T14:50:18","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T19:50:18","slug":"bible-thumpers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-thumpers\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Thumpers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Sam Stinson\n

“And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth’<\/em>” (I Kings 17:24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Brethren, Jesus rightly said that God’s word is truth (John 17:17). God’s word has the ability to sanctify those who would hear and obey it. But the world, ever desiring to avoid purity, hardly strives for a new reason to reject the gospel when all the classic justifications come to ready response to those who are hardened in heart (II Corinthians 4:3). As we preach the gospel, we experience resistance, often hearing terms the world has come up with to describe those who preach Jesus to nonbelievers: Bible Thumpers, Fundies, and Jesus Freaks. These illustrate that the practice of labeling those who disagree with, instead of discussing their doctrine, has its roots neither in the Spirit or spiritual thinking but in the world and demonic, carnal, fleshly thinking.<\/p>\n

\"\"Let’s focus on the term Bible Thumpers, an expression I used in ignorance when I was in the world. According to Wikipedia, it is, “a pejorative term used to describe Christians in general, especially someone perceived as aggressively pushing their Christian beliefs upon those who do not share them.” To be a Christian is to be a preacher of Christ. What can we do to lovingly reply to this label? Here are three exhortations to aid our efforts in doing this.<\/p>\n

Let us preach the truth<\/h3>\n

Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world; In believing in him each person may have life in his name (John 20:31; 1:29). It is because of God’s love for the world that he sent his Son for the sins of us all (John 3:16).<\/p>\n

Let us contend for the truth of the faith (Jude 3)<\/h3>\n

The Bible is God’s word, which is our example of proper conduct. The world, lost in sin, does and should compare our actions to Jesus. Should we aggressively teach that Christ is necessary? Yes, let us humbly and lovingly do this. Who is Jesus meant for? Only those already sanctified? No, but those who are lost that they might be found.<\/p>\n

Let us practice the truth<\/h3>\n

Robert Ingersoll once asserted, “Hands that help are far better than lips that pray.” Peter said that the Lord’s ears are open to those who are just, actively strive to do good, and avoid doing evil (I Peter 3:12; cf. James 5:16; 2:14). Let us correct Ingersoll’s assertion: “Hands that help are essential for lips that pray.” The woman who spoke to Elijah in the beginning quote knew that God was with him not simply because of his words but because she saw his works. Let us likewise humbly practice good works in our daily walk, illustrating our words with actions, and providing the world with a sincere example of faith, hope, and love. (Galatians 6:9-10)<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sam Stinson “And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth’” (I Kings 17:24). Brethren, Jesus rightly said that God’s word is truth (John 17:17). God’s word has the ability to sanctify those who would…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[642,536,451],"class_list":["post-55322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-christianity","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":86905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-will-you-do-with-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":55322,"position":0},"title":"What Will You Do With the Truth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Strickland Down through the years, there has been a lot of discussion regarding truth. Some have questioned what truth is, as Pilate did in John 18:38. In Mark 12:32, the scribe stated the truth, yet we have no record that this man ever obeyed the gospel. He believed,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83234,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/truth-and-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":55322,"position":1},"title":"Truth and Fellowship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Years ago, I heard a preacher encourage brethren not to worry so much about who to fellowship with as about what to preach and support from God's word. He said, \"Just focus on preaching the truth of God's word, and fellowship issues will begin to take\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19148,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":55322,"position":2},"title":"What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Frank Richey via The Elgin Hills Examiner, Vol. 4, Nos. 4-6, April -- June 2009. Notice we do not ask the question, \"What does a particular church teach about salvation?\" The reason for this is that no church has the divine right to teach anything about salvation other than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Bible-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43238,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/quran-and-book-of-mormon\/","url_meta":{"origin":55322,"position":3},"title":"Quran and Book of Mormon","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton These books or the people peddling them as books of God are way too late to be considered as equal to the Bible as inspired books of God. Jesus told His apostles that they would be guided by the Spirit into all truth (John 16:13). All\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69822,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":55322,"position":4},"title":"Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by John Iverson Introduction Even those who have a vague idea of what the Bible teaches know preaching is ordained of God (Titus 1:1-3) Some of the greatest men who have ever lived were proclaimers of God's Word. Noah (II Peter 2:5) Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1:1) Paul (I Timothy 2:7) Jesus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26508,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-want-bible-knowledge\/","url_meta":{"origin":55322,"position":5},"title":"Do You Want Bible Knowledge?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gary Smalley I once heard an aged gospel preacher refer to a comment he received from a person who appreciated his sermons: \u201cI wish I knew as much about the Bible as you.\u201d His reply was, \u201cLady, if you study the Bible for as many years as I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bible-Reading-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}