by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II John 5-11<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Would you consider it right to drop money in a Catholic church’s collection box? Would\nyou send monthly tithes to a Methodist church?\n
A. For Christians following the New Testament, the answer is a strong “No.”<\/p>\n B. We don’t agree with the teachings of these denominations, so why would we\nsupport them?\n C. The Bible teaches against supporting those who teach different doctrines from the\nScriptures – II John 9-11\n
D. Instead, we are to separate ourselves from those who teach error – I Timothy 6:3-5<\/p>\n E. Yet, each year the bells ring around town as a group called the “Salvation Army”\nasks people to give to their cause.\n
II. History of the Salvation Army<\/p>\n A. A Methodist minister, William Booth, left his congregation in 1861 to become a\nfreelance evangelist.\n B. He began teaching among the poor in the slum sections of London. In 1865 he\nformed an organization called, Christian Mission. In 1878 the name was changed\nto Salvation Army.\n
C. The new name dominated the organization of this group<\/p>\n
1. They drew up Articles of War (a statement of faith)<\/p>\n
2. Mission groups became corps.<\/p>\n
3. Members became soldiers<\/p>\n
4. Evangelists became officers<\/p>\n 5. Booth reasoned that it was “just as valid to build an army of crusaders to\nsave souls as it has been to send armies to recover a sepulchre.”\n D. Today it has about a half-million members, but it also has 3.5 million volunteers\nhelping with its efforts.\n
III. Beliefs of the Salvation Army<\/p>\n A. “The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the\nuniversal Christian Church” [From its mission statement].\n 1. Thus it believes, like many denominations, that it is one branch of Christ’s\nchurch.\n
2. I Corinthians 1:11-13 – Christ is not divided<\/p>\n 3. In July 9, 1993, an article in the Birmingham News, titled “Salvation Army\nEyes Change in Militarism” stated that several members wanted to start\ncalling their officers “pastors” instead of lieutenants, captains, and majors”\nbecause they want the public to be aware that the Salvation Army is a\nchurch.\n B. “That our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their\ndisobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their\nfall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed\nto the wrath of God” [from its doctrinal beliefs]\n
1. The Bible teaches that all men sin, but not because they inherited sin. <\/p>\n
2. Children are without the concept of good and evil – Deuteronomy 1:39<\/p>\n 3. Childhood innocence is what Christians are to be converted to – Matthew\n18:3\n
4. All men turn aside from the truth – Romans 3:12<\/p>\n
5. Death spread to all men because all men sin – Romans 5:12<\/p>\n
6. Sin is not inheritable – Ezekiel 18:20<\/p>\n C. “The Bible is not safely used without reference to the general understanding of the\nChristian community throughout history, any more than it is understood without\nthe help of the Spirit.” [Salvation Story: Salvationist Handbook of Doctrine, <\/i>1998\nedition, page 7]\n
1. God desires all men to come to an understanding – I Timothy 2:4<\/p>\n 2. People came to an understanding without receiving the Holy Spirit – Acts\n8:12, 14-16\n
3. Understanding is commanded – Ephesians 5:17<\/p>\n
4. The basis of understanding is the desire to do God’s will – John 7:17<\/p>\n D. “We are justified by grace through faith alone….This is the essence of the scriptural\ntruth that we are justified by grace through faith alone.” [Salvation Story<\/i>, page 74]\n
1. James directly contradicts this statement – James 2:24<\/p>\n 2. It is a selective reading of Ephesians 2:4-10. Verse 10 is ignored or\ndownplayed.\n 3. While their own book gives credence to the need for repentance, caused by\nfaith. It ignores passages, such as Romans 10:8-9, Acts 2:38, or I Peter\n3:21\n 4. James’ point is that faith alone is insufficient unless it is accompanied by\neffort to do God’s will.\n E. “The majority of Christians find value in the ritual celebrations of baptism and\ncommunion. Since 1883, these have not been part of Salvationist practice. As God\nmeets us in Jesus, we can receive his grace without prescribed rituals and\nexperience real communion with him by the exercise of faith.” Salvation Story<\/i>,\npage 107]\n
1. Here they clearly claim the rite to alter what God commanded.<\/p>\n
2. All Christians were baptized – Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27<\/p>\n 3. The Lord’s Supper was commanded to be observed until the Lord’s return\n– I Corinthians 11:23-26\n 4. We read in the New Testament the example of the early Christians\npartaking each first day of the week – Acts 20:7\n F. As noted at the beginning of this lesson, Salvationists chose to raise money by\nsoliciting non-members.\n 1. The church was told to raise money on the first day of the week by the\nvoluntary offerings of its members – I Corinthians 16:1-2\n
2. No other method was given<\/p>\n 3. We do not ask the world to support the work of those who have left the\nworld\nIV. Rather than support a denomination actively teaching another gospel, let us concentrate\nour efforts in furthering the work of the church – Galatians 1:6-9\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II John 5-11 I. Would you consider it right to drop money in a Catholic church’s collection box? Would you send monthly tithes to a Methodist church? A. For Christians following the New Testament, the answer is a strong “No.” B. We don’t agree with the teachings of these denominations, so why…<\/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":[300,785],"class_list":["post-63534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-denominations","tag-salvation-army"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-christians-help-support-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":63534,"position":0},"title":"Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Danny Pettus Christians are at liberty to support many things other than the church of our Lord, but false doctrine is not one of those things. You may have had someone come to your door selling this or that for a certain denomination. You might go to a store\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\/2007\/12\/bellringer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/its-obvious-you-have-little-to-do-but-bash-other-religions\/","url_meta":{"origin":63534,"position":1},"title":"It’s obvious you have little to do but bash other religions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding \"Should Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?\" It is obvious that you have very little to do but bash other religions. Maybe I should do one about yours. No, that would make me just as un-Christian as you! Answer: Quite a broad generalization based on one sermon outline.\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":17063,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/arent-your-warnings-against-the-salvation-army-going-to-cause-more-harm-than-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":63534,"position":2},"title":"Aren’t your warnings against the Salvation Army going to cause more harm than good?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: After reading your article posted on your web site entitled \"Can Christians help support The Salvation Army\" I was very sad. I am a Salvation Army Officer (ordained minister) and I have worked for The Salvation Army for 8 years. I have many conflicting opinions regarding your comments made,\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":52649,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-it-be-wrong-to-be-buried-in-a-denominational-graveyard\/","url_meta":{"origin":63534,"position":3},"title":"Would it be wrong to be buried in a denominational graveyard?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings brother. I hope all is well with you. I've been added to the church and have been an active member for over a decade. I've enjoyed my time growing up as a Christian, and I've been thinking about my mortality lately. I'm thinking about having my funeral service\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":23047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-make-no-attempt-to-understand-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":63534,"position":4},"title":"You make no attempt to understand the Salvation Army","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just read with much displeasure the article, \"Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?\" I am admittedly somewhat biased as a third-generation Salvationist, but I found your posting quite misleading. It makes no attempt to understand the Salvation Army doctrines and looks simply to highlight doctrinal differences with\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":24650,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-mind-that-you-disagree-with-the-salvation-army-just-dont-write-about-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":63534,"position":5},"title":"I don’t mind that you disagree with the Salvation Army, just don’t write about it","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I love the Lord with all my heart.\u00a0 In my life, I have been on an adventure with Jesus. I am not perfect (who is?), but I try every day to live a life as a servant of Jesus.\u00a0 I am really hurt that you would advise Christians not\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\/63534","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=63534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63534\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}