God said of Job that he “was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). What a wonderful epitaph. To be “perfect and upright” is to be complete. One becomes this way, and only becomes this way, as he listens to and follows God’s Word. To fear God is to hold Him in deepest reverence and highest respect. One who lightly uses the phrase “Oh my God” is not one who has such reverence for Him. Job also “eschewed” evil. He hated it. He had contempt for evil. He avoided evil. If God said it was a sin, Job hated it as sin. It would not have mattered to him how many of his friends or relatives may have practiced; it was still sin. Wouldn’t you like to live in a community where everyone would be like Job? Heaven will be that way.

Ephesians 4:16 “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” For a congregation to accomplish the various works that are set before it, every member must “supply” his/her part in the work of the Lord. When we are all working together we can be successful. There are some things that should be noted about this. 1. Not everyone does the same thing. We all have our own abilities and interests, and we can help the congregation by using them to the fullest. 2. In every effort of any kind, we should work together in love and with a concern above all for the good of the cause of the Lord. Maintaining a good attitude toward one another is so very important, and one of the things that Satan will make every effort to destroy. 3. There is no unimportant member, and no more important member. We are all coworkers in a mighty body, and we should always know that we are important to the cause of Christ, no matter what our abilities or talents are. 4. We should pray for the local congregation that we may be “fitly joined together” and that we can take full advantage of “that which every joint supplieth.” 5. Paul says that if every part works together in “effectual working” that this working together will …

Most of us are probably familiar with the statistics about Islam’s growth rate being higher than that of Christianity. Over the last century, Muslims have increased from 12 percent to 21 percent of the global population. This is not to say, however, that there are not those who leave Islam to convert to “Christianity” (using the term in the general sense, not necessarily New Testament Christianity). Between 1991 and 2007, Muslims who have converted filled out a questionnaire on why they left Islam for Christianity. The respondents came from 30 countries and 50 ethnic groups, and represent every major region of the Muslim world. Most interesting in this survey was the question as to the most important influence in their decision to change. They ranked “the lifestyle of Christians” as the most important influence. Specific examples included an Egyptian contrasting the love of a “Christian group” with the unloving treatment of Muslims among themselves. Others noted loving “Christian” marriages. Many Muslims who faced violence at the hands of other Muslims did not see it in the “Christians” they knew. Such examples obviously had a positive impact on them. This just reinforces to me that the most powerful tool we have in evangelizing is the Gospel at work in our personal lives. Those of us who possess the truth of the Gospel must live by the truth of the Gospel if we’re to impact those with whom we live and interact on a regular basis. Jesus emphasized this in the Sermon …

One Of my fondest remembrances from my youth was hearing my mom and dad sing. They loved to sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” One of their favorites, and mine too, was  “The Jericho Road.” Dad’s bass voice could make that old song ring! It is a grand spiritual song with a solid message. You remember the story that takes place on the Jericho Road—how the man was waylaid by thieves, robbed, beaten and left for dead. Along came a Levite and a priest who offered him no assistance. At last came a Samaritan, despised by the Jews, but in this case, a good man who had compassion on the one in need and distress. Read for yourself for the details (Luke 10:25-37). Most of us will never see the actual Jericho Road going down from Jerusalem to Jericho with its steep descent and places where robbers can hide. However, as the song suggests, we experience the Jericho Road. It is the road of life with its responsibilities, opportunities, hazards, toils, difficulties and dangers. Yet, the road will not be near so dangerous and difficult if we take Jesus along as our traveling companion. He will take our cares and worries (1 Peter 5:7), give us healing for our soul’s diseases (Mark 16:16), and He has already paid the cost (1 John 2:2). Finally, we must realize that the Jericho Road may prove to be costly, unpopular and difficult. It cost the Good Samaritan in terms of time, trouble and treasure—but his is the eternal reward. So too, will it be for us. Which …

The expression “better felt than told” has been sprinkled throughout literature and has been a common idiom for a long time. I have heard this type of statement many times, and mostly it is associated with religious emotions. If you have been around some religious folks, you may hear some say, “I know I am saved, it’s a better felt than told experience.” I have heard some say, “I wouldn’t take a stack of Bibles for how I feel.” You may have heard such type remarks worded in a different fashion. The idea is that their faith and belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord is an arousing and emotional one. They feel like they are saved! Along with this type of poignant, moving hyper, such like people feel that the Bible is also a very mysterious book that cannot be understood. The conclusion for them is that their unexplained and mysterious sensation is better felt than told. Further, with these emotions comes the belief that one can be saved by a miraculous work performed upon them by God. Their personal inner emotions are the sum and total of their evidence that they are saved. The denial of easily understood biblical teaching is part of their lot. With this rejection, they deny “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Do I doubt their sincerity? No, I do not! Yet, with this form of emotional self-salvation, they are rejecting the Word of God. …

The lines were very long as we waited for our groceries to be checked. The Hispanic family right in front of us consisted of a lady with two of her children and a nephew who she was raising. The small girl sitting in the buggy was so cute. The boys were ages eight and nine and were fine looking children. The older boy looked me straight in the eye and said, “I don’t speak English,” and then he smiled from ear to ear. He was so cute and his beautiful smile and his childish humor reminded me so much of one of our grandsons who lives in North Carolina. While we were waiting we also did a lot of visiting with this family. Of course the boys spoke good English. They said that people just assumed that they spoke Spanish instead of English because of their physical appearance. In just a few minutes our hearts were touched by these beautiful children. The mother said that they were moving back to Houston, Texas. The chances of seeing this family again is very doubtful. I could not help but to be moved emotionally when I contemplated that they might not be taught of Jesus Christ. Upon arriving home, I prayed a short prayer for them and for all the children of the world that they might learn of Jesus. All of God’s children are beautiful and precious in His sight. Even in our own city you see children of various races and nationalities. It doesn’t …

The majority of denominational teachers ridicule some of the commands of God, such as baptism, as “mere ritual” or “ceremonialism.” We are reminded of a statement of Jesus in Matthew 23:23, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law; judgment, mercy and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” He expresses the same idea in Luke 11:42. Notice carefully that He did not say, “Forget about the things you consider trifles.” He said, “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” We have no right to take any command of God and suggest that it is not important. However, we do have the right and responsibility to know what things are more basic and central, and put proper emphasis on them in our teaching and living. Because some religious leaders scoff at ceremonies, God has ordained that we need to make a distinction between “ceremonies” and “ceremonialism.” The Law of Moses, given by the authority of God, authorized certain washings of hands of the priests before offering sacrifices (Exodus 30:21). These were ceremonies ordained of God. Yet, the Pharisees had apparently considered washing as an act of great importance of itself, and had added many washings (Matthew 15:1-2) that had nothing to do with what God had commanded. Thereby, they had made void the Word of God by their traditions (Matthew 15:16), partly because they had …

Why would a man choose blindness over sight? Why would a man choose darkness over light? Why would a man choose hatred over love? Why would a man choose a thief like Satan,  over God’s gift from above? Why would a man choose the broad path to destruction, over God’s great guidance and patient instruction? Why would a man choose his own opinion and speculation, over God’s Word made known by the Spirit of Truth’s revelation? Why would a man choose filth, separation and alienation, over God’s cleansing power and glorious sanctification? Why would a man choose hunger and starvation, over the bread of life provided freely to all within his holy nation? Why would a man choose unquenched thirst, over drinking from the fountain of life to be not cursed? Why would a man choose death over life? Why would a man not choose peace and unity, over religious division, confusion and strife? Why, oh tell me why?

Introduction: Tribulation comes into the life of a Christian in many forms and can be described in many different words and terms—heartache from loss, extreme illness, death, loss of health incurring long periods of suffering and anguish, financial hardships, family troubles (husband and wife, parents and children, between siblings, etc). It can come from extended separations from the family and the church, especially during wars and world conflicts. Tribulation may come by religious discord between brethren, persecutions from those within and without the body of Christ. Affliction of heart and soul may come upon us when difficult decisions are to be made—job changes, church problems, marital discord, moves, etc. These things and many more can cause afflictions and tribulations to God’s people. Yet Trouble Came (Job 3:26) Without doubt, some of the tribulations that come our way are unexplainable and seem to have neither rhyme nor reason. We have no control over these things, but there are other times when we wonder how we got ourselves into this “mess” that has resulted in distress and tribulation. The stresses of life bringing on hardships and afflictions often come as a result of sinful activities characterized by less than faithful service, poor attendance to the church, making decisions without considerations of Christ and His kingdom, being materialistic in preferring the things of this life with spiritual thoughts pushed into the background. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33). Paul, the apostle would say to us that we are to …

From time immemorial every time someone has wanted to ignore the teachings of Scripture, substitute another book for the Bible or begin writing some religious dogma that cannot be found on the pages of sacred Scripture, he has begun an unashamed attack on the Word of God. Almost always this attack begins with the accusation that we need the book they want as a bible, or that we cannot trust the Bible because it is full of contradictions. Almost every false religion in the world from Islam right down to some of the cults that came into existence in our country in the last two hundred fifty years, we have heard the cry go up, “You can=t trust your Bible, it is full of contradictions.” The next most frequently heard cry is: “You can=t trust your Bible; it has been translated so many times that it is no longer reliable.” To all these people we issue one simple challenge—show them to us! Friends, it is a show of very poor grace on the part of people who are a cult, but are wanting to be recognized as an important American denomination to advertise about family values and some other such subject, offer to send you a King James Version of the Bible if you will send your name and address to them, when in reality they want to send you another book that contradicts the Bible. This book was written by a mere man, whose morals are highly suspect, to …