The name Christian is used only three times in the New Testament. It occurs as follows: (1) Luke records that “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26); (2) Agrippa replied to Paul’s powerful, persuasive sermon, “almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28); (3) The apostle Peter states, “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16). Surely it is the name Christian to which James refers when he writes, “Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called?” (James 2:7). The Berkley Version translates this verse, “Do they not slander the noble name by which you are distinguished?” The question is often asked, “How did it happen that the early disciples in Antioch began to use the name Christian?” This is a good question and a variety of answers have been offered. Some, within and without the church, contend that since the disciples were followers of Christ, they assumed the name or took the name Christian upon themselves; i.e. they began calling themselves Christians. Others object to this reasoning and credit the name Christian to non-Christians who spoke in derision of the early disciples. It is the author’s belief that neither answer is correct, but that God himself called the name Christian upon the early disciples in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The name Christian is the new name of Old Testament prophecy promised in the Book of Isaiah when the inspired prophet spoke of things in the …

Causes of Unbelief There are several causes of people not believing God exists. 1. Some think there are contradictions in science and the Bible. They are not aware that what they think is science that contradicts the Bible is not really science, but more opinions. There are things which some think the Bible teaches which contradicts science. 2. Division in the religious world is another cause of unbelief. The atheist, Robert Owen, said in his debate in 1829 with Alexander Campbell that one reason he was an atheist was because of conflicting doctrines of religion. Jesus prayed that all believers in him would be one “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21). 3. Those who claim to be followers of God, but live corrupt lives, cause unbelief. 4. Perhaps some are not willing to be under God’s authority. They do not want to be suppressed in their lifestyles. They get “relief” by not believing in God. Unbelievers Are Believers Too! Those who do not believe God exists are called atheists. Even though they do not believe God exists, they do believe some things which are harder to believe than to believe God exists. In fact, one cannot be an atheist without believing a number of things which are harder to believe than believing God exists. 1. To know that God does not exist one would have to know everything, for if there were just one thing he did not know, that might be that God exists. …

Most men are aware that there comes a time in their life when they just cannot resist the temptation to go to a car dealership and buy a new car. Men can find everything wrong with the old one, when a new one is a possibility. Entering the showroom, you can smell the “newness” of that automobile. It is shiny with new paint; everything is clean from the top to the bottom. We try to convince our wives that the old jalopy is wearing out from the inside out and from the outside in and that it is time to purchase a new one. The problem with all of this is that the “newness” soon wears off. The car is dirty and the “new” automobile begins having problems similar to the old one. Isn’t that the way with things in this life? They are only temporary! Isn’t that what our Lord taught in Matthew 6:19-21? Why is it that we think we can purchase “things” with the view that they are going to last and last and last? The question that we all need to ask ourselves is: What Really Counts? We all can remember the thrill of that new car, house or sofa. But, the “newness” has worn off and it is commonplace. New things soon lose their novelty. Solomon says it’s true of everything….”all is vanity.” Vanity means “breath.” It has the basic meaning of the brevity of the breath one can “see” on a cold morning. It is …

Some in our world have never heard of the Restoration Movement. Others have heard of it, but do not understand the meaning and purpose behind it. Still others have heard, but they have misinterpreted it. It shall be our aim to set forth what the Restoration Movement is and to explain the meaning behind it. The churches of Christ [in a sense, editor] are a present day result of the Restoration Movement. It is our prayer that before you read the remainder of this tract that you put from your mind any prejudice you may have about the church of Christ. In approximately 33 A.D., in the city of Jerusalem and on the day of Pentecost, the church of our Lord had its beginning. This took place following the preaching of the apostles as they presented the Gospel for the first time. All of this is recorded in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. From this point of establishment, the pattern for the Lord’s church is revealed in the New Testament. Every facet of the church is set forth. The time, place and occasion are revealed. The work of the church is very plainly set forth. How God intends for us to worship is also revealed. God has given the organizational plan for the church. In Hebrews 8:5, Moses was instructed to make the tabernacle according to the pattern shown to him on Mt. Sinai. The same principle of following a divine pattern holds true for the church. …

If anything positive came out of that “sinful period” (2 Samuel 11) in David’s life, it was Psalm 51. The king had separated himself from God, he was lonely, guilt-ridden, tormented by conscience and filled with fear. And with good reason — he had given in to lust, committed adultery, engaged in deception and murdered Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. Following Nathan’s indictment and rebuke (2 Samuel 11:1-12), as well as his own initial expression of guilt and sorrow (2 Samuel 11:13), David penned what is considered by many to be “the most heart-searching of the penitential psalms.” It is his lament — a sort of “self-diagnosis” of his own spiritual affliction, as well as a desperate cry for relief. 1. Notice where he went — to God (vv. 1-4). (a) For mercy: “according to the multitude of your tender mercies” denoted the vastness of the Father’s loving kindness (v. 1). (b) For cleansing: Words like “blot out,” “wash” and “cleanse” suggested David’s desire for his soul to be washed as filthy garments might be laundered (v. 2). (c) With confession: He had tried to force his sins out of his memory, but they tortured him, “my sin is ever before me.” Therefore, it was necessary that he articulate them to God (v. 4). (d) In faith: While he realized that he would inevitably give an account for his misdeeds, David trusted in God’s perfect righteousness (v. 4). When we suffer with transgression, iniquity and sin-sickness (vv. 1-3), we too, like David, must …

John wrote, “…we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). We can look at society around us and know this is true, especially concerning honesty. Many do not have a sense of integrity, let alone to take the time to train and ground their children in such. In the days of old, many agreements were sealed on a man’s handshake and his good name. Those days are long since past. In Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians he wrote, “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (2 Corinthians 8:21). What does the Bible teach on the subject of honesty? In this discussion, we shall break it down into three sections: (1) honesty in our speech, (2) honesty in our dealings with others, and (3) honesty with ourselves. Honesty in Our Speeches When we speak of honesty in our speeches, we are of course speaking of lying. Lying is defined as, “to speak falsely.” (The New American Webster Dictionary, New York, NY, Penguin Books USA Inc., 1956 p.309.) This is an area that has been neglected in the training in the home. We try to justify ourselves by making lies in degrees. The Bible is quite clear on the teaching of this subject. In the book of Revelation, we find a very well known passage concerning lying. In a list of those who shall have their part in an eternal …

Historical Considerations Proponents of social drinking astoundingly defy biblical, medical and historical criticism of that for which they and their fellows long (i.e., the pleasurable consumption of alcohol). Historical Considerations prove that non-alcoholic wine was widely used and preferred under both testamental periods in Canaan. Therefore, the evidence contained herein complements the Biblical Considerations. The Hebrew, Greek and English words used for “wine” refer to either alcoholic wine or non-alcoholic wine, depending on the contexts in which they occur. Contexts favorable to the use of “wine,” then refer to non-alcoholic wine — grape juice; contexts unfavorable to the use of “wine,” then refer to alcoholic wine. Please weigh with objectivity the following evidence. Typically, defenders of social drinking, even some Christians, summarily dismiss historical testimony as in their favor — without carefully examining the evidence. Anyone who dares to suggest that often “wine” in the Bible refers to unfermented grape juice is accused of distorting the norm of biblical Palestine regarding the subject. In reality, these accusers are guilty of visualizing the biblical world through contemporary spectacles and impressing our norms on ancient civilizations, far removed from us in time, culturally and geographically. Biblical Era Wine Some reference works to which proponents of social drinking may appeal appear to substantiate the claim that every mention of “wine” in the Bible refers to an alcoholic beverage. For instance, M’Clintock-Strong Cyclopedia of Biblical Knowledge, concerning “wine,” affirms that alcoholic wine is meant in the Old Testament. It is suggested that the original language words translated “wine” literally refer to …

One of the genuine pleasures that come from studying the Bible is to look upon the various characters around whom various stories revolve. One could spend a lifetime doing nothing but studying the characters of the Bible and one would be strengthened spiritually for having done so. There are two kinds of people who are generally mentioned in the Bible. One is those who are very righteous and fully desirous of following God and living a life of faith. The other is those whose lives are very wicked and from whom we learn how not to live as we attempt to serve Christ upon this earth. One of the characters who has always caught my attention and about whom I have had the joy of studying, intermittently through the years, is a lady by the name of Mary Magdalene. Several things can be learned about her from the New Testament and we will take the opportunity of noticing only a very few today. The first thing we wish to notice about this devoted follower of Jesus Christ is that Jesus had at some time in her life cast seven demons out of her (Mark 16:9). What these demons were and how they affected her we are not told, but the evidence supports the view that her heart was filled with gratitude for what Jesus had done for her, and she, along with some other women, became disciples of our Lord. Mary is often accused of being a prostitute, but to …

In the tradition of conspiracy theories is the current interest in the idea that the Bible may contain secret codes, predicting such events as Watergate, the Oklahoma City bombing, the assassination of Yitzak Rabin and the death of Princess Diana. In his 1997 book, The Bible Code, Michael Drosnin claims to have found secret predictions in the Bible for these and other events of note. The supposed code is based upon “equidistant letter sequence,” which is the idea that codes are found by eliminating a certain number of letters or words in order to find “hidden” letters or words. This methodology is supposed to reveal the “death of the Prime Minister” (Rabin) in Genesis 25:11. It is a curious thing how “Abraham” became “Prime Minister” in the translation. It would be easy to imagine that with this technique one could find just about anything he might want to find in the Bible. Why are some people just not satisfied with the simplicity of Scripture? William Tyndale once vowed that he would translate the Bible so that the plowboy would know more of the Scriptures than the clergy of his day. Paul wrote, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Isn’t it sad that some are attracted to a non-existent code in Scripture rather than to the Christ of Scripture and to a simple and single-hearted devotion to him?

Jesus used the “Fish Miracle” to tell the disciples that they would become “fishers of men” (Luke 5:1-11; cf. Matthew 4:18; Mark 1:16). They liked fishing, and Jesus wanted them to continue, but to change the species. He says, in effect, “You have been catching minnows; I call you to catch men.” “Catching people” seems a strange term for evangelism. We catch fish for our good (to sell or eat), not the good of the fish. But the word Jesus used means “to bring life to people” (Jeremiah 16:16-18; Amos 4:2). Christians fish for souls, not to hurt them by removing them from their element, but to save them by bringing them into a different element. It is like transferring fish from a contaminated lake where they are sure to die soon, to a lake of clear, fresh water where they will never die. We rescue people from the world’s deep waters of guilt and despair. We help them find God’s “water of life” (Revelation 21:6), including peace and contentment. Our motivation for “fishing” is not personal gain but love of souls (Hebrews 13:17; 2 Corinthians 12:14, 16). We want them to be in heaven with us. A good fisherman possesses qualities that make him a good soul winner. Consider these: A fisherman must go where the fish are. He cannot stay at home and watch fishing shows on the Sports Channel. He can’t just read magazines about fishing or spend his time looking at Wal-Mart fishing tackle. If he wants a “fish fry,” he …