The growth of true New Testament Christianity is good, even vital, because it means that souls are being saved from eternal condemnation, and lives of promise and hope are being embraced. What makes one a Christian makes him free from guilt and condemnation for his past sins (Romans 6:17,18), makes him a child of God with the promise of an eternal inheritance (Galatians 3:26,27; I Peter 1:3-5), and makes him a member of the church of Christ, in which he works and worships and receives strength from his fellows (I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4: 15,16).<\/p>\n
The growth of true New Testament Christianity is bad for some businesses. It is bad for alcoholic beverage sales, for it reduces the number of customers (I Peter 4:3-5). It is bad for lawyers because it reduces the number of divorces, criminal acts, and lawsuits for all kinds of damages due to various excesses, abuses, and lack of self-control (Matthew 5:25; I Corinthians 6:1-11; Ephesians 4:17-32). It is bad for job opportunities in law enforcement because there are fewer crimes of theft, murder, violence, violation of others’ rights, criminal mischief, indecency and lewdness, and public or domestic drunkenness (Romans 13).<\/p>\n
The growth of true New Testament Christianity is good for any society in general. It produces honesty in the workplace and wherever Christians are (Ephesians 4:28), greater productivity (I Timothy 6:1,2; Philemon 10-19), and less loss of manpower due to excesses and evil doing (Titus 2:9,10). It makes a free nation more secure and freer by reducing crime and making communities safer places in which to live (Romans 13:1-10). A careful observer of society once wrote, “When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied” — Tacitus. The purest freedom that humanity can enjoy is in being servants of Christ. The burden of court dockets grows lighter proportionately to the growth of true Christianity. Open and friendly discussion of Bible truth is encouraged more by the growth of true Christianity. How far better this world is when righteousness is the subject of conversation rather than things that are base, corrupt, and appealing to the appetites of sinful men!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gilbert Alexander The growth of true New Testament Christianity is good, even vital, because it means that souls are being saved from eternal condemnation, and lives of promise and hope are being embraced. What makes one a Christian makes him free from guilt and condemnation for his past sins (Romans 6:17,18), makes him a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","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":[642,383],"class_list":["post-56631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-christianity","tag-growth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25213,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-scientific-evidence-that-christianity-is-the-true-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":56631,"position":0},"title":"Is there any scientific evidence that Christianity is the true religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am not a Christian! But I have been thinking about that religion. I would like to know more about Christianity. Is there any scientific evidence that Christianity is the true religion? And didn't the church oppose science some centuries back? Thanks. Answer: \"Scientific evidence is the result of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36332,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-christianity-a-religion-or-a-way-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":56631,"position":1},"title":"Is Christianity a Religion or a Way of Life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Osamagbe Lesley Egharevba Unmasking Sophistry, vol. 1, no. 1, April-June 2021 Unmasking Sophistry, vol. 1, no. 2, July-September 2021 Many scoff at the idea that Christianity is a religion. It is very common to hear and read people speak about Christianity as not a religion but only a way\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":82148,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-at-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":56631,"position":2},"title":"God at Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Christians need encouragement! This is evident from the abundance of Bible passages designed to build up and motivate. Certainly, we need all the commands and all the warnings of the New Testament, but thank God also for all the verses that say, in essence, \"Your efforts to\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":35113,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-good-side-to-the-down-side-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":56631,"position":3},"title":"The Good Side to the Down Side of Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tau Alpha Kappa (i.e. anonymous) Sentry Magazine, September 1999 I Peter 1. 6- 7 says something extraordinary in that it points out there is a good side to the downside of life. ''Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through\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":93432,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-have-eternal-life-permenantly\/","url_meta":{"origin":56631,"position":4},"title":"Do we have eternal life permanently?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Question: If we have eternal life, doesn't that mean we have it permanently? Answer: We have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly, we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is to the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and\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":91836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-have-eternal-life-do-we-have-it-permanently\/","url_meta":{"origin":56631,"position":5},"title":"If we have eternal life, do we have it permanently?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If we have eternal life, doesn't that mean we have it permanently? Answer: We have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly, we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is to the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and repentance. 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