by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\tI. One of the local restaurants used to make wonderful chocolate-chip cookies. They were a\nbit expensive, but I would buy a dozen or sometimes more for the family. I used the past\ntense, because they changed their recipe. I suspected it the first time I saw them. I knew\nit as soon as I ate one. They substituted shortening for the butter. It wasn’t the same. \nWhat a let down!\n
A. It is rare to find a substitution that improves things.<\/p>\n B. Usually we are trying to make things more convenient for ourselves or trying to\nsave money.\n
II. As we peruse our Bibles, we find substitutions being made that have disastrous results.<\/p>\n
A. Leviticus 10:1-3<\/p>\n 1. In those days, matches had not been invented. Lighting a fire from scratch\nwas difficult, so people kept a portion of the previous fire with them to\nstart another fire. Usually it was coal kept in a bed of ashes to keep the\ncoal warm and burning slowly.\n 2. To carry these coals, people would use a censor or a fire pan. It was a\nmetal container with a few holes to let some air in. You could carry it with\nyou for a convenient fire starter.\n 3. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, decided to offer incense before God. \nInstead of getting coals from the altar, placing them on the altar of incense\nand adding the incense there; they took their firepans, put a fire there, and\nsprinkled incense on it. We don’t know where the fire came from, but God\ncalled it strange (or foreign) fire. It wasn’t the fire that God used to\npersonally light the first sacrifice (Leviticus 9:22-24).\n
4. The substitution did not please God. It wasn’t what He commanded.<\/p>\n a. Notice what God said, the priest had not treat God as someone\nholy (set apart as special).\n
b. They did not respect God and give him honor.<\/p>\n c. If God can be worship any old way that man wants, then He has\nbeen cheapened.\n
B. II Samuel 6:3–7<\/p>\n 1. David substituted a new way to move the ark. He decided to use a cart\ninstead of having the priests carry the ark on their shoulders. \n 2. God showed His displeasure by causing the ark to tip on level ground. \nUzzah died trying to keep the ark from falling.\n 3. Notice that Uzzah was said to have died for his irreverence. He did not\ntreat God’s things with respect. He was moving God’s ark like a common\npiece of furniture.\n
III. The world cheapens honorable things with cheap substitutes<\/p>\n A. Marriage is honorable – Hebrews 13:4, but people live together without the\ncovenant of marriage.\n
1. God calls this a sin – fornication.<\/p>\n 2. Couples are pretending to be married, but they have not made a lasting\nbound between them. It is a cheap substitute.\n
3. The excuses are endless.<\/p>\n
a. It was cheaper than renting two places.<\/p>\n b. We can’t afford to get married (as if marriage changes the cost of\nliving in a home).\n
c. We are not ready. Yet they pretend that they are.<\/p>\n
B. Similar are those who substitute sex for love<\/p>\n
1. The old “come-on” line: “If you really loved me, you would do it.”<\/p>\n 2. Sex within marriage is an expression of the love between the couples, but\nsex is not love.\n 3. I Corinthians 13:4-8 gives a wonderful definition of love, but there is no\nmention of warm-fuzzy feelings or butterflies in the stomach.\n 4. Instead of an act of beauty between a committed couple, it is cheapened to\nan instinctive act of two animals.\n
IV. In the name of religion, people have offered cheap substitutes.<\/p>\n A. We could make an endless list of the changes denominations have made to the\nways of God, but I want to look at things a little closer to home.\n B. God has defined the work of the church and we can classify its duties into four\nrealms.\n
1. The church brings worship to God<\/p>\n a. I Corinthians 11:18-34 – Coming together as a church to partake of\nthe Lord’s Supper\n
b. I Corinthians 14:26 – Coming together for singing and teaching<\/p>\n c. Yet today, there are several churches that are substituting\ninstrumental music for that singing. It is a substitute because it is\nused without anyone singing.\n
2. The church spreads God’s Word to the lost<\/p>\n
a. Philippians 1:3-4; 4:15-16 – They supported those who taught.<\/p>\n
b. Individual Christians went out and taught the word – Acts 8:4<\/p>\n c. Yet today, I get letters asking for donations to support the\nmissionary work of various college’s Bible departments.\n d. By what right can we substitute a college for God’s holy church or\nindividual Christians.\n
3. The church strengthens its members<\/p>\n
a. The church is organized to build up its members – Ephesians 4:11-15<\/p>\n
b. Older Christians are to teach younger members – Titus 2:2-6<\/p>\n c. Yet a habit is developing to send young men and women off to\nschools to learn Bible.\n d. I just received a letter asking if we have members interested in\ntaking Bible courses at the facility of a local congregation to get an\nAssociates Degree in Bible.\n (1) The congregation was not doing the teaching, just hosting\nthe program.\n
(2) The teaching and the degree is being conferred by a school.<\/p>\n e. So we have brethren again substituting a school to do the work of a\nchurch and its members.\n
4. The church gives aid to destitute members<\/p>\n a. A gathering for needy saints – Acts 11:28-30; I Corinthians 16:1-2;\nII Corinthians 9:1-2, 11-14\n
b. Individuals are to do good as they see opportunity – Galatians 6:10<\/p>\n c. Yet we get letters asking for money to be sent to organizations like\n“The Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Organization.”\n (1) It is a substitution of an organization for the work of the\nchurch and its members.\n d. It can go the other way as well. The church is limited to who and\nwhen it can help – I Timothy 5:3-12, 16\n
(1) Yet some wish the church to be a welfare organization<\/p>\n (2) We constantly get phone calls from individuals who are\nshocked that the church doesn’t hand out money to anyone\nwho asks.\n (3) Sometimes brethren feel the same way, but we cannot\nsubstitute the church for a work belonging to an individual.\nV. God knows exactly how he wanted his worship to be conducted. He knows how the\nchurch is to be organized and its work is to be accomplished.\n
A. Some of God’s choices seem odd to men – I Cor 1:18-21<\/p>\n
B. We shouldn’t fool around with God’s recipe.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. One of the local restaurants used to make wonderful chocolate-chip cookies. They were a bit expensive, but I would buy a dozen or sometimes more for the family. I used the past tense, because they changed their recipe. I suspected it the first time I saw them. I knew it as…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-63527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-authority"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70603,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/substituting-the-spirits-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":63527,"position":0},"title":"Substituting the Spirit’s Words","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith There are many false ideas about the work and influence of the Holy Spirit. In my estimation, the vast majority of these false ideas are rooted in the fact that people do not understand the connection between the Holy Spirit and the word of God. Ephesians 6:17\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":56472,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-bless-you-bless-your-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":63527,"position":1},"title":"God Bless You!\u00a0Bless Your Heart!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Netagene Kirkpatrick eu'phe-mism, n. (Gr.: well + to speak). The substitution of an inoffensive or mild expression for one that may offend or be unpleasant; e.g: \"passing away\" for \"dying\".\u00a0 ~\u00a0Webster's Dictionary, 1961 Some people say \"God bless you\", Or sometimes, \"Bless your heart!\" I know they mean it\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":35685,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-is-a-passage-that-says-the-innocent-can-remarry\/","url_meta":{"origin":63527,"position":2},"title":"Where is a passage that says the innocent can remarry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a serious unanswered question that's been bugging me since I was asked to seek the truth. I used to work for a company where there was a man. We had a few talks and pleasant conversations when we had time. I tried to help out when\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":85271,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-high-wide-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":63527,"position":3},"title":"A High, Wide Change","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Lloyd Deal told our congregation about a song he heard Kenyan Christians sing: There's been a high, wide change since I've been born again [repeated three times]. Some places I used to go I don't go there anymore. Some things I used to say I don't say\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":36966,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-should-make-videos-answering-important-questions-for-teen-boys\/","url_meta":{"origin":63527,"position":4},"title":"You should make videos answering important questions for teen boys","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I wanted to email you because I have a few things to say. I'm looking at these other questions from young men my age and I'm wondering \"OK, do we need to stop as a society and talk more about these things?\" We need to openly discuss these\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":13560,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-material-by-a-denominational-woman-preacher-be-used-in-a-bible-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":63527,"position":5},"title":"Should material by a denominational woman preacher be used in a Bible study?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This morning I learned that a lady in the church suggested they purchase a book written by a \"lady\" who is a \"preacher\" and study from it because she makes so many good points!\u00a0 She also stated that\u00a0\"Although there is some error taught in the book we are spiritually\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63527","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=63527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}