I have been reading a book about antagonists in the church. Most churches have them. They are the troublemakers. They bring trouble to paradise. It gives a psychological profile of such people, and offers advise as to how they should be dealt with. I have made the statement that I wish I had read this book thirty years ago. It would have saved me a lot of grief. I think that every elder and every preacher and every church leader should have this book in their libraries. But, there have been antagonists in the church from the very beginning. Diotrephes was one of them. John had this to say about him in 3rd John, verse 9-10: “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deed which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.” Diotrephes was a man with overwhelming ambition. We don’t know if he was an elder, a preacher or an average member of the church. But whoever he was, he was bound and determined to have first place. He was not content to play second fiddle. He loved to put himself first. He desired to have a following. He did not accept authority. He would correspond with those today who are going to have their own …

As I was reading James 4:1-3, I was struck again with some important lessons which need emphasis. First, there is a statement concerning wars and fighting among them. Since we have much of the same among ourselves, it is appropriate to examine the answer he gives. Is it possible that much of the fussing that goes on in the Lord’s church is a result of lusts that war in our members? We have examples in the ONE NATION UNDER GOD program of persons who are living on social security sending in a few crumpled one-dollar bills with a note saying, “This is all I have. Use it for the glory of God.” One man on social security with salary borrowed on his life insurance and that of his wife and children and said, “Here is $10,000. I will mortgage my house if I need to that I may help more.” When we contrast that with the attitude of some who claim to be interested in getting the Gospel to every person in the world, but have not contributed a dime to such programs, we are sad. It is doubtful if those who give sacrificially have the kind of lust in their members that prevents answered prayer. My primary thought in this article has to do with the statement of James, “Ye have not because ye ask not; ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss.” While Christ was on earth, there is no record of which I am aware of anyone …

When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he greeted them with tender and complimentary words. He remembered their “work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope…” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). He admired them for receiving the Word of God even in much affliction (1:6; 2:14). He gave them accolades for being such a good example to the churches in the area (1:8). Paul appreciated these brethren. Paul had preached in Thessalonica to get the church started there (Acts 17:1ff.) As usual, there were some who gladly obeyed and others who bitterly opposed the teaching. In this case, those who were bitter became also aggressive. Upon not finding Paul, they aimed to punish some of those who had become Christians. Jason and some brethren were dragged to rulers of the city. They were accused of turning the world upside down and harboring those regarded as criminals (Paul and company). Such a troublesome beginning probably caused the church there to develop a closeness in the oft-sung-about blessed tie that binds. While Paul felt emotionally close to so many churches with which he had association, his words in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 express a special tenderness: But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you — even I, Paul, time and again — but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown …

I’m a terrible shopper. My motto is get in and get out!The longer I’m in a store the more frustrated I become. I don’t enjoy shopping, and I probably never will. I avoid it if at all possible, but once in awhile I find it unavoidable.  Not long ago my wife asked me to stop at the supermarket and pick up a couple of things. As I walked up and down the aisles, I spotted red raspberries. Knowing how much she enjoys them, I hurriedly picked up a container and headed for the checkout.  The next day, to my dismay, I watched as she discarded half of them. They were rotten. Needless to say, I should have inspected them more carefully. What’s the point? Good fruit requires careful inspection. There is more than one kind of fruit. Jesus used this analogy to warn of the dangers of false teachers. He said, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20). Faithful men of God will be recognized not by the claims they make, but by …

Please Read Luke 7:36-50 Jesus had an unusual lunch one day with a Pharisee named Simon (Luke 7:36-50). During the course of the meal, a prostitute1 came into the courtyard and approached Jesus. Since their custom was to remove sandals and recline on pillows while eating, when she came up behind him, she stood over his bare feet. She noticed that they had not been washed by the host (a common custom), so she knelt beside him and began to wipe his feet clean with the hairs of her head (picture this!), expressing gratitude for what he had done.2 All this, as you might imagine, was quite embarrassing to Simon! Under normal circumstances, he would not even walk on the same street with this woman. Now she’s on his property, affectionately greeting his Guest. What should he do? How can he graciously handle this situation? Why was Jesus letting her do this? Simon used the circumstances to form an opinion about the validity of Jesus’ claim to be a prophet. He figures no true prophet would allow such a woman to touch him, so he either did not know what kind of woman she was (thus lacking a prophet’s discernment) or knew and did not care (thus lacking a prophet’s holiness). Simon’s conclusion: Either way, Jesus was no prophet. Of course Simon did not verbalize these thoughts to his Guest, but the whole time Simon was reasoning this out, Jesus was reading his mind. Simon “said” more than he meant to that day. …

Those who are enamored with the Dispensational Premillennial view of the “end of time” believe that the 14th chapter of the great prophecy of Zechariah deals with a description of the present and future enemies of the present nation of Israel and the salvation of the city of Jerusalem during the reign of Christ on earth. While we thoroughly understand that Christ will never reign on earth, and the Bible nowhere speaks of such, the Premillennialists, nevertheless, insist that he will. They assert that Zechariah 14:1-3, which reads,”Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle” (Zechariah 14:1-3 NKJV), contains a description of an approaching battle they call Armageddon (a word found nowhere in the Greek New Testament), which will come to an end when Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives to overthrow his enemies and begin his millennial reign. Let us test this interpretation to see if it is in harmony with the rest of this great chapter. Since we do not have space to insert the entire chapter, we will summarize as follows: (1) Zechariah …

The story is told of a preacher who was once preaching in an old-fashioned tent revival. During this revival, a couple young men decided to so harass the preacher so that he would pack up and leave town. So one night after the preacher had started into his sermon, one of these young men stood up and asked, “Hey preacher! What’s the difference between a preacher and a fool?” Without missing a beat, the preacher responded by saying, “You two come up here and stand beside me a moment and I think the audience can see the difference.” It wasn’t the preacher who packed up and left. Of course, while we may get a chuckle out of the above story, hindering the Gospel is no laughing matter. And while we would never stand up and so rudely attempt to impede the Gospel, we may be guilty of hindering it in other ways. Do you think you’re helping or hindering when you miss worship services, fail to attend Bible classes, criticize the preacher and song leader for their weekly “performance,” and fail to financially give to the work of the church? Do you think you’re helping or hindering when you whisper and pass notes all through worship, refuse to join in the singing, gossip about someone and dress provocatively? If today God chose to strike blind, as he did in Acts 13:6-11, all of us who were in some way hindering the Gospel, would you have to have someone help you …

God has revealed the information that mankind needs, recognized as objective Truth, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). God has formed three institutions on the earth: (1) the home (Genesis 2:22-24); (2) civil government (Romans 13:1); and (3) the church (Ephesians 3:10-11). Each of these three institutions is to be guided by God’s inspired Word. In submitting to his Will, each institution has opportunity to support the others. Yet, when one of these institutions goes astray from God’s Will, the proper balance of righteousness is lost. If the church strays from the Truth, the home is not taught God’s Will, and the government is abused (i.e., tax exempt status). If the home strays from the Truth, the purity of the bride of Christ suffers, and the government may be employed in dealing with illegalities. When the government enacts ordinances that are contrary to the plan of heaven, the home is divided through unscriptural divorces, and the church is ridiculed in society. Our culture is facing such immoral waywardness, due to its straying away from God’s Will. The home is being plagued with immorality with the practices of same-gender marriages and legalized unions. The church is being attacked for its stand on the Truth pertaining to the sin of homosexuality (i.e., Romans 1:26-27). The government is being called on to recognize the joining of …

Because of his courageous defeat of the gigantic Goliath, David, the shepherd lad of Bethlehem, became the hero of Israel. King Saul “set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people” (1 Samuel 18:5). David’s fame spread as he traveled through the hamlets of Palestine; women danced and sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” The King, however, was hardly impressed with these musical eulogies. In fact, he was “very wroth,” and so, “Saul eyed David from that day and forward” (1 Samuel 28:7-9). Presently, envy conceived and Saul began to make attempts to have David slain. From place to place he pursued him. How dark and depressing must these days have been to that noble Hebrew youth. The inspired penman of 1 Samuel informs us that on one occasion, David (perhaps in desperation) fled to the king of Gath (Philistine territory). Quite possible he was confined for a period, for the sacred narrative characterizes him as being “in their hands” and again, finally, he escaped: to Adullam (1 Samuel 21:13; 22:1). What tearful times these were! Later David penned two psalms relating to the incident just mentioned — Psalm 34 and Psalm 56. It is to this latter one that attention is especially called at this time. The superscription of Psalm 56 asserts that it is a psalm of David, “when the Philistines took him in Gath.” Though these superscriptions are not a part of the …

Recently, while sitting in my study, I received a phone call from a woman who could be classified as a typical elderly grandmother. She was sweet and sensible. During the course of the conversation, she told me, “I see angels. I’ve seen them all my life. God speaks to me through them.” I asked her to relate one of those experiences. She told of a time when her teenage grandson was three years old. While babysitting him, she became upset that he would not settle down and go to sleep. Going in to admonish him, she lay on the bed with him. It was then, she said, that a “whole angel” appeared, having large wings, longish hair, and a face like Christ. She said he was blinding white and held two round circles over the head of the grandson for what must have been ten minutes. She said she sat perfectly still and quiet, then finally the angel said to the toddler, “I’ve come to take care of you.” Then, she said, he left as gracefully as you could ever imagine. There is no doubt in my mind that this dear lady believes she saw this. Other people have told me angels appear to them. You may have been told similar stories from family members or friends. Sadly, most people (including Christians) know way too little about angels. As a result, cupid-like creatures or winged beings right out of medieval paintings dominate people’s concepts of what angels are. In fact, …

A request has come: “Explain your understanding of Matthew 10:23.” The verse says: “When they pursue you in one city, escape to another. Indeed, I assure you, that you will by no means have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of man comes.” On the last day of Jesus’ first appearance (for some 35 years, B.C. 5-30 A.D.) “two men in white clothing” said to the apostles: “This Jesus…will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Some 25 verses of the New Testament state that Christ “shall appear a second time” (Hebrews 9:28). Since so much is said about his second appearance, still in the future in 2002 A.D., what is the meaning of Jesus’ words in 29 A.D., that his apostles would not have finished a preaching tour “through the cities of Israel until the Son of man comes”? The explanation is that, though there are only two visible appearances of Christ (one for some 35 years in Palestine, and one to be at the end of the world (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Peter 3:7), there was an invisible coming “in his kingdom”: “Indeed, I assure you, some standing here [in 29 A.D.] will not taste of death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). It was Sunday, May 28, A.D.30, with Jesus personally in heaven, but present invisibly in Jerusalem, when his kingdom was established. He heard the Father’s coronation words: “Your …