Category: Subject Index

The following correspondence was initiated with brother Hafley by a man who sought to defend the use of instruments of music in Christian worship. We will limit our identification of the man to his first name, Don. Don’s grammar and punctuation, as well as his sentence construction, lacks formality. We thought it best, however, to retain the form rather than seeking to edit the posts of one with which we disagree. The correspondence is reprinted here for your study on this important subject.

An “umbrella” of protection is being used today to protect those who are false teachers. Some, like Ed Harrell are advocating the acceptance of the “man” in fellowship while rejecting his doctrine. He stated he did not agree with brother Hailey’s position on MDR but could continue to fellowship him as a faithful servant of God. He is not alone in this. This is despite the plain teaching of John in 2 John 9-11, as quoted above. John states clearly if the man does not bring the “doctrine” of Christ to you, do not receive him into your house and if you do, you become a partaker of his evil deed. Can it be any clearer than that?

We are to preach because the gospel is the sole means of converting men! We may become friends with them, but that will not convert them to Christ. They may be members of our family, but that lineage has nothing to do with their salvation. Conversion only comes in response to the word of God. Paul understood this, and wrote, “…I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The only power we have to save men is in the gospel of Christ.

Vacation Bible School Curriculum on the Book of Genesis

My brother, you cannot maintain membership in the lodge and be in a right standing with your Lord. You can just as well be a member of a full-fledged denomination as you can the Masonic Lodge. One would be ridiculous indeed to attempt to hold membership in the Baptist, Methodist or Catholic church and at the same time claim membership in the church of Christ. Yet, with all seriousness, members of the church are known to attempt to hold membership in the lodge while claiming to be a Christian. It is not possible.

Too many preachers have chosen to go into preaching for the wrong reasons. Ease of work, popularity, and riches are all things that are foreign to a true minister of the Word. Paul labored tirelessly (2 Corinthians 11:23-33; Acts 13-28). He was unpopular on the whole (Acts 14:1-5, 19; 16:16-24; etc.). He certainly was not rich (1 Corinthians 4:9-11). If these are the reasons a man decides to preach, he will be worthless to the cause—a hindrance and enemy (Philippians 3:17-19)!

There are many needs in other countries which can only be met by the financial contributions of brethren in North America. (This is an understatement if there ever was one!) That having been said, it is tragic to note how many churches and brethren have soured on supporting overseas’ work because of either the actual abuse of funds or the fear thereof. Further, all would lament the bad that has come from unwise use of funds. Let us all do our best to take care in our use of the funds we raise for mission work “avoiding this, that any man should blame us in the matter of this bounty which is ministered by us” (2 Corinthians 8:20).

If forgiveness by the blood of Christ is unconditional for the child of God, why is it not the same for the alien sinner? As noted, Jesus shed his blood for him, too (John 6:51; Hebrews 2:9). If the child of God is forgiven without conditions, as per the windshield wiper, why doesn’t the same rule apply to the child of the devil?

The New Testament makes it clear that one is neither condemned nor saved by virtue of his diet. Still, if one garners spiritual benefit from fasting, he should not be discouraged in the exercise. His fasting should not become a public venture or means of self-exultation, however. This occurs far too often among those proud of their self-sacrificial custom.

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For over 2,000 years now, the Lord has been calling people by the same gospel as Peter here preached and as he preached in the house of Cornelius. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He and He alone has the right to direct our lives. He is Lord. He is Christ, God’s own anointed. Based on who He is, and what He has done, we owe our allegiance to Him in all things.

Do trips to the doctor exasperate you as much as they do me? It seems like there is something wrong when you pay a guy fifty dollars to tell you that you are too fat! Even though it is the truth, it seems to me that I should not have to pay fifty dollars to hear a doctor tell me what I could have told him by looking in the mirror.

During my last doctor visit, the nurse was somewhat more kind in breaking the news. Her way of expressing it made me consider the problem from another angle. She looked very surprised when she had to adjust the balance weights upward and then said, “You hide your weight well.” I had never heard that before, nor do I believe she looked very closely or she would have discovered where I was hiding it. But it did make me think about something. Let us suppose that one could “hide the weight” from others, would it change the weight total? Would it change the effects of the added weight? No, the effects remain the same whether hidden or obvious. There is no relief from the effects of the physical burden by hiding the problem. Whether the nurse, the doctor or the patient think the burden is hidden, it still exists and the effects remain.

Anyone who shares my problem of being overweight can understand how you can bear a burden everyday, but fail to think about it in that light until forced to do so. The extra weight has its effect upon one every day, but we just fail to think about it until we look in a mirror, step on scales or face reality due to some other factor. Whether conscious of the problem or not, the need for relief from the ill effects remains.

There is a parallel to be drawn between a burden often present on the spiritual man. Just like the physical body can be quietly burdened by a load, so can our soul. The effects of a burdened soul, however, are far worse than the increased risk and fatigue associated with a physical burden of added weight. The burden associated with the spiritual man may have eternal consequences.

The Bible teaches us that our sins are heavy burdens upon our soul. David spoke of such saying, “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” (Psalm 38:4). Other passages refer to sin in the same way. Sin is a burden too heavy for any person to lift from the soul.

But the burden of sin is not always apparent to the sinner or those surrounding the sinner. Sometimes the sinner is deceived by sin (Hebrews 3:13). Some sins are kept secret (Psalm 19:12; 90:8). Some people conceal their sins from others (Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 29:15). Does that change the effect of the sins? No, the wages of sin is still death (Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

However, the Word of God also makes plain the means by which we can find rest from the heavy burden of sin. When we look to Jesus, we find the needed help in taking our sins away. Notice His promise of help:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Paul told the Christians to whom he wrote that they were dead spiritually as a result of their sins, but were made alive by the grace of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10). Salvation is not earned by man. Regardless of what one does, he does not merit forgiveness. Man is not strong enough to lift the load of sin himself, but Christ can and will.

The fact that Christ promises to lift our burden of sin by His grace does not free us from meeting the conditions He commands. Grace may well be extended conditionally.

If a speaker offered a $1000 to each person in the audience who got out of his seat, walked to the front, and took the money from the speaker’s hand, would the recipients have earned the $1000 by meeting those conditions? Obviously not, it was still a gift! That gift was conditional, but it was no less a gift.

So it is with Christ and the gift of salvation. He says, “Come to Me” and “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Those are conditions for us to meet in order for Jesus to lift our burden of sin, but His cleansing is still by grace. In order for us to understand what is entailed in those conditions, we must see what else the Bible says about the subject.

Immediately before He ascended to heaven, Jesus spoke of the conditions upon which He would save us. At that time, He laid down in plain terms how we “come,” “learn,” and take His “yoke” upon us in obedience. Christ says it this way:

“And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

When we come and learn of Christ through the Gospel and take His yoke in obeying that Gospel, we meet the conditions of Christ and we receive the gift of salvation from our sins. We do not merit salvation by meeting those conditions any more than the people earned $1000 by meeting the speaker’s conditions. It is still a gift of grace!

Some today question the conditions of faith and/or baptism set by Jesus as being essential. When one teaches that both conditions are essential to receive salvation, some accuse that one of teaching that we merit salvation by works. Why would they so misrepresent simple, plain, Bible teaching?

If Jesus had said, “He who believes and is baptized will receive $1000,” I doubt that anyone would question either condition as essential to receive the $1000. Why do some reject the conditions when something far more valuable, salvation, is at stake?

Jesus’ offer still continues as it was originally given. He will lift the load of our sins and give us salvation if we will but respond to Him in obedience to His will, meeting His conditions for gracious pardon.

For every soul burdened down with sin, there is rest in Christ. The dreadful toll of sin can be exchanged for the joy of salvation in all who will obey Him. Though some may doubt it, the conditional offer of rest from the burden of our sins constitutes the only way to salvation offered by the grace of God. Failure to realize that our burden of sin is the root problem for our spiritual ills does not change the effect. Whether we, a nurse, our friends, a loved one or anyone else think we hide our burden well, the problem and its effect remain until we receive the gracious gift of forgiveness and rest for the soul found in Christ.

Therefore, while “temperance” can have reference to one not drinking alcohol (1 Peter 4:3-4), we see that the definition of temperance encompasses much more than not drinking. The term “temperance” has an effect on all aspects of our lives as we learn to control our thoughts, words, and actions. As Paul said, “…bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That is temperance!

Among the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:23 is gentleness. As a fruit, it is something to be cultivated and brought about in maturity, and it is what the God who planted us desires that we produce. The New Testament shows that the word describes temperament or character and a way of behaving towards others.

Sadly, far too many Christians have an evaporating faith as stated in Hosea 6:4: “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away.” But this does not have to be the case. Let’s strive to have a greater and stronger faithfulness to our God. So, how do we develop this greater and stronger faith? Basically, by studying the word of God and applying it to our lives in every way (not just the areas we want).

In all we do, let us labor for the spiritual beneficence of all men. A kind word, the touch of a hand, a financial contribution, an ear to the troubled soul, a card of encouragement or sympathy, or a word of warning or carefully constructed criticism are all encompassed in the goodness of our glorious God and Saviour, Jesus the Christ.

If we want to convert the lost we must first be kind. If we want to regain our erring brother, we must first be kind. Kindness shows our compassion, our consideration toward them. It shows our harmless nature and it can prove our sincerity is real. Trust comes to those who first are kind in their dealings with others. It is the stamp of Christ in our character. If it is lacking in us, it is why we are unsuccessful or ineffectual in our teaching and our example to others. Please remember to be kind!

Longsuffering is a fruit of the Spirit, the opposite of it is a work of the flesh. As we contrast the two, it is easy to decide which we want in our lives. Not only is longsuffering essential to living a God-pleasing life, it is also essential to living a happy life. So we can say that it has great promise in the life that now is, and in that which is to come.

Jehovah is a God of peace; the gospel is a message of peace; those who lean upon God know a peace that passeth understanding. Have you been baptized into Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-27)? Have you been translated into his kingdom wherein we experience redemption and forgiveness (Colossians 1:13-14)? If you were to die tonight, would you rest in peace? If not, obey God while there is time and opportunity (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)!

When we walk in the Spirit, we will have the fruit of the Spirit, including joy. This joy is derived from a love for the Lord, His truth, His kingdom, and the souls of men. It does not just happen, but is the result of a concerted effort to follow the precepts of God. Again, this joy will not be attached to the ever changing standards of men, and therefore fleeting, but it is anchored to the eternal truth and promises of our Savior. Do you walk in the Spirit and have His fruit? The presence or lack of joy in your life is one indicator.