A word of warning is given by the hand of our Lord’s half-brother, James, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (3:1). It is, in some respects, a difficult passage. However, with a little thought, and some careful comments from wise pens, we will try to make it simple to understand. First, let us notice a couple of things it is not: Discouragement. It cannot mean James wants to discourage people who can from becoming teachers. This would not be adequate to perpetuate Christianity, as it is a taught religion (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; 2 Timothy 2:2). From the pen of Robert R. Taylor, Jr., “This rather strange exhortation is not intended to discourage dedicated teachers who have made proper preparation and dispense nothing but sound doctrine in their lessons” (Studies in James and Jude, 35). Damnation. It obviously does not mean all teachers are condemned. The words greater condemnation are rendered “go to law [or, “court,” rek]” in 1 Corinthians 6:7. They are translated stricter judgment in the New King James Version. J.H. Thayer, Greek scholar, defines the word “judgment,” as, “a matter to be judicially decided.” Those who occupy the position of teacher, which particularly was a much-coveted role [rabbi] among Jews of James’ day, will be held accountable to a degree comparable with their opportunity. Our Lord taught the same when he said, “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall …

The descendants of Abraham “confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. They who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were remembering the land that they had left [Chaldea, Genesis 11:28], they would have had an opportunity to return. But they longed for a better–that is, a heavenly–homeland. God was not ashamed to be called their God, and he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13-16). Jesus said that “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; . . . I go to prepare a place for” those who believe “in me” (John 14:1-2). “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). When he fulfills his promise to “come again,” “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7). In the meantime, when those who believe in Jesus are baptized, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit come invisibly to dwell in their “bodies” (John 14:23; Acts 2:38; 5:32; 1 Corinthians 6:15). Accordingly, since they “have been bought with a price,” they are exhorted to “glorify God in” their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). “Also, I assure you” (said Jesus), “that many will come from the east and west and sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in heaven’s kingdom” (Matthew 8:11).

In Lois’ Bible she had glued a selected piece: Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life–In disappointments,In the thoughtlessness of others,In the insincerity of those I trusted,In the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.Let me put aside myself,To think of the happiness of others,To hide my little pains and heartaches,So that I may be the only one to suffer from them.Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path.Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me.That it may make me patient, not irritable.That it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow,haughty, and overbearing.May no one be less good for having come within my influence,No one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble for havingbeen a fellow-traveler with me in our journey toward eternal life.

When Jesus began giving the signs of the coming fall of Jerusalem in Matthew 24, he told his disciples, in verse 9, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”We are not sure how others would have responded to such a prediction, but had we been living in that time and found ourselves among those to whom this statement was made, we doubt that such a prediction would have made us very happy. The prospect of being drawn before tribunals, legal or otherwise and being sentenced to flogging, scourging, even execution for preaching the Gospel of Christ would not be a great incentive to continue to do so. Perhaps many would have thought that this would be a good time to become “secret disciples” until this period of danger and death was over. We are sure that many disciples, when they learned of what they were going to suffer, were like those in John 6:66 in that they “went back and walked with him no more.” However, there were myriads of brave souls, who with the strength they could draw from the Lord, resolved to follow him no matter the cost. If one begins to study the Books of Acts, he is impressed with the great success of the Gospel, perhaps to the point that he overlooks the terrible “tribulations” that the early disciples suffered. Their first “run ins” with the Jews seemed innocuous enough. …

I read one article and heard two sermons that, if I understood them correctly, taught that all we do in life is worship, if we are Christians. It may be that the basic idea that all three of them were trying to establish is that worship does not consist of a few rituals performed in a church building, or that a person may go through the “five acts of worship” and still miss the real center of New Testament Christianity. It may be possible to go away from a “worship service,” having done very little worship and no service at all. If that is all they were trying to establish, we heartily agree with them. But all three made such statements as: “all of life is worship” and “everything a Christian does is worship,” because his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and he is supposed to present his body a living sacrifice, and that all we do in word or deed is supposed to be done to the glory of God. We teach that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). We teach that we do not need to come together as a corporate body every time we worship. That is, we may worship individually, anywhere, anytime. But, we deny that all of life is worship, and that everything a Christian does is worship. God has rules for corporate worship as a body that do not apply to the individual solitary worshipper. We need to …

It is often stated by students of the New Testament that there is very little emphasis placed on the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans in A.D. 70. However, when one begins to study the New Testament, he is amazed at the number of references to the final fall of the once holy city. Jesus himself spent considerable time to speak a great deal about the fall of the city of Jerusalem and the destruction of Judaism as a religious force in the world. As a matter of fact, the Olivet Discourse of our Lord, especially as reported by the inspired Matthew, captures a significant amount of copy in the New Testament. In Luke’s record of the events that took place on the very day Jesus was crucified, we find a significant prophecy of the fall of Jerusalem, even as he made his way to Calvary to die for the world. Luke pointed out that a great number of people, including many women of Jerusalem, followed him to Golgotha, and as they did, they mourned and lamented Jesus. This means they wailed aloud as they followed him to the place where he would die. Hearing this lamenting, Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which …

Have you ever been going through some old religious books, magazines or Sunday School literature and seen one of those pictures of what was considered at the time to be a clean cut American Christian family? There was Dad with the plain black suit and tie, hair neatly greased and parted to one side or cropped to a plateau shaped flat top. Then there was Mom in a dress that appeared to be made out of a giant pink piece of pipe with huge white buttons glued down the front, topped off with a hat that had been molded from a small cookie tin. Her hair was stiff and flipped up on the ends like the anchor of a big ship. Then there were those glasses! I truly believe that you could take the most beautiful woman in the world, put her in a pair of those awful willow shaped lenses and she’d be instantly changed into the most unattractive female in the place. A couple of kids were always present in these pictures, clones of Dad and Mom. Junior with his flat top or crew cut, white button up shirt, pants pulled up to his chest, white socks shining and Sissy with a dress made out of a smaller piece of pipe, and like mother like daughter, the same ugly optical apparel. Get the picture? If you were around thirty or forty years ago you probably have a family photo that’s very similar or you were at least part …

There are many individuals who think that the churches of Christ do not have music in our periods of worship to God. However, that is a misconception. We do in fact have music always in our homage to the Heavenly Father. In fact, this writer has never attended a worship period wherein there was no music. But, you must understand that the word ‘music’ is generic in usage. The specifics of music are ‘instrumental’ and ‘vocal.’ Vocal music is an integrated part of acceptable worship. In Hebrews 13:15, we read, “Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name.” Also, the general populace would be greatly surprised to learn that the churches of Christ use an instrument in their worship to God. This, of course, will be rather difficult to believe since those individuals who have visited our assemblies have never seen an instrument with the visible eye. The New Testament clearly demands that an instrument be used in the praising of God in our songs. If this is not done, such will not be acceptable to God. Christians who desire to please God have no choice in this matter. They must use an instrument in church music. In short, the New Testament requires the usage of the instrument, and, the specific instrument is mentioned in the Word of God. But, let us observe that the word “sing” in the New Testament comes …

Not long ago a young man (a teenage Christian) was asked where he went to “church” (meaning worship). He responded: “I go to (name of the church), but if I could find a “church” (he meant a congregation) where I could have more fun I would go there.” This statement represents a very pitiful condition that is all too prevailing in our time, in a society that is said to be the most “entertainment oriented society” in history. There is nothing wrong with good, wholesome entertainment in moderation. But when it becomes so prevalent as to contaminate or interrupt spiritual obligations and worship activities, then the very nature of genuine Christianity is compromised with the profane. Both the person who demands to be entertained at “church” and the “church” that is willing to entertain is not worthy of the name Christian and the demands of Christianity. How despicable would these appear in the eyes of those souls under the altar,”those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9)? How could any right-thinking person in an entertainment mode appear in worship at the foot of the cross in the presence of the anguishing Christ? The genuine Christian life is not an easy one; in fact, it can be (and has been at times) exceedingly harsh, as the above quote indicates. And at the best, it has always been a very serious matter. The misconception at the time of conversion of Christianity …

By far the best book that I have ever read in the area of public speaking is Public Speaking for Ministers by Arthur Stevens Phelps. For twenty-four years this book has “spoken” to me. It is truly a masterpiece, a book of proverbs for preachers and is keenly practical. It is like a psychological textbook for evangelists, written by one who knows about that of which he writes. In the area of the work involved in preaching Phelps said, “The uninitiated have no conception of the tremendous drain speaking makes on the physical powers. I have found a half-hour’s address equal to a day’s work in the fields. Joseph Parker declared: ‘Preaching is self-murder; it is shedding of blood.’ It often takes three days to recover the virtue that goes out of one during an earnest appeal, even when the body is in the pink of condition” (31). Of the difference between the Sunday morning and evening sermons I have long appreciated the studied conclusion of Mr. Phelps when he sagely says, “The secret of the second speech of the day, which has proved such a mystery to many, rests on good psychology. To win a triumph in the morning is to court failure at night, through over-confidence. Your mind is not on the evening appointment: it is on the morning victory. Whereas, if you fail on the first occasion, you are more than likely to be rewarded by making a clean sweep at night. Before honor goeth humility” (34).

The Christian’s life is pictured in the New Testament as a warfare “against spiritual wickedness in high places,” and in our preparation forthwith we must be able to stand (Ephesians 6:10-18). It is also called a “race” in which the participant runs with certainty striving for the prize of that incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). These figures stress the importance of faithfulness on the part of the Christian as he molds his life by heaven’s dictates. As in any race, a good start does not guarantee a successful finish. David saw godly men cease, and “the faithful fail from among the children of men” (Psalm 12:1). Paul told the Galatian Christians that they “did run well,” but someone hindered them from obeying the truth (Galatians 5:7). The Gospel demands faithfulness to the very end (Revelation 2:10). 1. Some Who “Fell by the Way.” Both testaments are replete with examples of those who had the power to start on the right course in life, but did not stay. Of the 600,000 fighting men who were “saved out of Egypt,” and sung the song of deliverance as they emerged from their “baptism into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,” only two persons–Joshua and Caleb–entered into the land of promise (Numbers 14:27-38; 24:63-65). They shared the first salvation, but failed of the second because of unbelief. The point is that we might receive the present salvation from sin that the Gospel offers, and yet fail of an entrance into heaven. “He that believeth …

Rudolf was the product of a very religious home. As an adult, he was a quiet, mild-mannered family man. History records that he was also an adept farmer. Much of his success in agriculture was due to a strict emphasis to detail, and not just his prowess with seed and soil. An acquaintance in government took note of Rudolf’s proficiency in the field and offered him a position in the current administration. As expected, he proved himself to be a capable leader. In staccato-like fashion, Rudolf enjoyed a rapid series of promotions up the political hierarchy. He was a man bound by habit. Each morning began with breakfast with his wife and five children. On his way to work, he would stop momentarily and enjoy the sweet fragrance of the blooms in his well-tended flower garden. He followed a strict work ethic; his days were filled with a routine of staff meetings, decisions, gathering information and issuing directives to his subordinates. At the close of his shift, Rudolf would return home to the warm embrace of his adoring helpmate. His children happily greeted him upon his arrival, because he often brought them little gifts from work. His loyalty and dedication earned him the trust of the highest-ranking official in the party. In 1940, he was assigned to a post 37 miles west of Krakow at the largest factory of its kind in southern Poland. Despite the relentless demands of his employer, Rudolf was able to meet his daily quota of …