James, the half brother of our Lord, taught that the body without the spirit is dead (James 2:26), but the opposite cannot be said to be true, for the spirit without to body is not dead! Though the body “returns to the dust” (Genesis 3:19), “the spirit shall return to the God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Jesus more than demonstrated this when referring to God as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, uttering, “God is not the God of the dead [though dead physically, ENM], but of the living” (Matthew 22:29-32). Clearly implied within His astonishing words is a glimpse into the afterlife. Though these great patriarchs had been physically dead for many years, they lived on. Perhaps the most revealing section of Scripture as to the state of the dead is found in Jesus’ teaching about the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Even a cursory reading of this great text reveals a great deal of information regarding life after death (Please turn and read Luke 16:19-31). The following relevant observations can be drawn from the facts of this text: (1) both the righteous and the wicked are conscious after death; (2) after death, some men are comforted, and other men are tormented; (3) this comfort and torment occur while life is still being lived upon the earth and therefore previous to the judgment. (4) The Hadean world, in which these departed spirits find themselves, is divided by a great gulf; (5) one, the Lord stated, …

As we continue our study of New Testament church worship, let us be sure that we truly do examine ourselves “as to whether you (we) are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). There are many excellent examples in the Bible showing that man must worship God according to His commands, rather than just how one might prefer to do so. One such example is found in Leviticus 10:1-2. Here the record states: “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” If one reads the entire account, plus reading God’s commands about the duties of the priests, he will see that a certain fire was required to be used in the lighting of the incense in the tabernacle. Sanctified fire had to be used, and the altar of burnt offering is the only place where such fire could be found. In this account, we have the right people (sons of the high priest), who were at the right place (the altar of incense), for the right purpose (to offer worship to God). However, the record states that these two men offered profane (strange – KJV) fire which the Lord had not commanded. Notice the results: God sent down fire from heaven and killed those men. Why? Because they offered …

Along with preaching at Highland Home and my adjunct teaching at Faulkner, I also work part-time for the Alabama Sports Festival. Among other things, we put on the Alabama State Games each year, an Olympic-Style sporting event with over 20 different kinds of sports, and athletes from beginners to experts, from ages 4 to 84. One of the unique features of our State Games is the Olympic-like Opening Ceremonies. After an athlete registers to take part in the Games, we send them a response that includes a free tee-shirt ticket. On the ticket, it tells them that they can pick up their Opening Ceremony tee shirt between 12:00 pm and 6:15 pm on the day of the Opening Ceremonies. It clearly states when and where to pick it up, and that the shirt is an Opening Ceremonies tee shirt. We have all kinds of people who come up after the opening ceremonies, or to the temporary command center we set up, or call us wanting to redeem their coupons for their free tee shirt. We tell them that they are $5.00 after the opening ceremonies. They will often argue until they are “blue in the face” that they should get them free. They will say, as one lady told my wife, “That is just not fair. Why shouldn’t my kids get one just because they could not come to the Opening Ceremonies?” The Executive Director looked at me the other day and said, “Don’t people read the instructions anymore?” Sadly, …

Have you noticed how there’s a built-in accountability in the universe? If you drive your car off a cliff, gravity isn’t suspended to keep you from falling to your demise. How would that affect the rest of the world’s inhabitants? You have to deal with the consequences of your actions, as unpleasant as that may be. Newton’s third law of motion reflects this, and is sometimes phrased, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This is not only true for physical principles, but spiritual ones as well. Someone who abuses alcohol, for example, may find himself having to deal with the consequences of sclerosis of the liver. Sexuality expressed outside of marriage can bring about all kinds of outcomes, devastating ones physically as well as emotionally. Living outside the parameters God has established for us in His Word can lead to all sorts of problems. Paul reminded the Romans that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Sin not only introduced physical death into the world (Romans 5:12), but spiritual death as well. A life of sin today brings consequences with it for eternity. “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). The picture of Judgment Jesus gives in Matthew 25 concludes that the wicked “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (25:46). The Hebrews writer also states, “For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains …

My wife and I were looking for a tool the other day. We knew or we thought we knew exactly where it was. As we climbed over much clutter in our storage shed, we both came to the conclusion that we’ve got to get rid of this clutter. No, we never found what we were looking for! Maybe, it’s lost in the mess of disorganized stuff, most of which needs to be thrown out. As I thought about clutter in my shed, my mind started to dwell on, how Christianity, through the centuries has become cluttered with doctrines of men. What a challenge, to remove manmade clutter from churches that desire to follow the teaching of the New Testament of Jesus Christ. Question: Can today’s churches be uncluttered from creeds written by men? With this observation, some people will become very uncomfortable and maybe just plain angry. Why should the idea of removing creed clutter from Christianity make folks uncomfortable? I guess it’s the idea that creeds would have to be removed; maybe that’s the problem. We will allow these questions to lie dormant and unanswered. The reader will be his/her own judge concerning the proposal of removing ecclesiastical clutter from Christianity. Since Man Is Responsible for EcclesiasticalClutter, Let Us Consider the Points Below. The Bible gives the answer from whence came the clutter. Notice Paul’s address to the Ephesian elders: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, …

As I look out the window and across the street, I see a beautiful Bradford pear tree in full bloom and a Redbud tree also in full bloom. God, the Creator of the universe, is causing the vegetative kingdom, which has been dormant, to come alive! The display of such beauty that we presently see and will be seeing for weeks to come as the trees bloom and the flowers and shrubbery break forth their radiant colors should cause the believer’s heart to praise and glorify the name of the Almighty God. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 19:1-4: “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork, Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.” Someone has said that there are two books, nature and the Bible, that declare there is a Supreme Being. The heavens and the earth in their splendor and magnificence should cause every person to have faith in God, but that is not the case. The apostle Paul in writing about the depravity of the Gentile world in his day mentions this very thing in Romans 1:18-21: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in …

Since we continue to hear this question discussed, it seems fitting to write an article setting forth in more minute detail some of the prerequisites to answering that, or any other question, and some of the implications that are involved in the idea that prayer can change the mind of an unchanging God. First, let me point out an important principle: Before any question can be answered intelligently, one must have an understanding of the meaning of the terms used in the question.  Too often, preachers and writers try to answer questions before they determine what is being asked. If you were asked “Does x = y?” you would realize that other information must be forthcoming before you can answer properly. The same is true with the question under consideration. The two terms that may have the most ambiguity in the question under consideration are “hear” and “sinner.” Note some of the possible meanings of each. Hear1- To perceive by the ear that a sound has been made (cf. Acts 9:7). Hear2- To gain knowledge of (understand the meaning, cf. Acts 22:9). Hear3- To give attention to (as evidenced by some sort of response, cf. Acts 9:11; 10:4). Hear4- To grant the request or accede to the wishes of. Sinner1- An alien sinner who is rebellious against God. Sinner2- An alien sinner who is searching for and willing to do God’s will. Sinner3- A child of God whose love has “waxed cold” and who, therefore, sins. Sinner4- A child of God who …

Frequently, the question comes, especially from those who are not members of the church, “What does the church of Christ teach regarding marriage, divorce and remarriage, church membership, church government, baptism or cremation?” Such questions are asked because people expect the church to have some kind of official stance on all these questions and many more. These people often innocently assume that churches of Christ are like denominations that have some special statement of faith, creed, manual or catechism that contains all we stand for religiously. They assume that churches of Christ have an official voice and an official creed because churches generally do. If they were to ask these questions of other religious bodies, they could turn without hesitation to some creed, manual, confession or catechism and answer. This would be true of all the “mainline denominations” in our land as well as dozens of other independent denominational bodies. We reckon that in some ways that would be a very handy way of answering quickly almost any question put to these bodies. However, when that question is proposed to a member of churches of Christ, he or she must inform the inquirer that there is no organization in churches of Christ that can answer such questions. No one has ever formulated an official statement of faith, church manual, creed, confession of faith or catechism that contains even the most fundamental matters about what we believe. The reason this is true is because there is no assembly of delegates, council, …

Not unlike ages preceding ours, this world is filled to the full with skepticism. A great measure of this is the direct result of misinformation, misrepresentation, and misunderstanding. Is there anything of which you and I may be certain? When it comes to spiritual matters, the religious arena, it, too, is flooded with similar sentiments of distrust. Why? Misinformation, misrepresentation, and misunderstanding. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a spiritual message upon which you could depend, a message that was so certain, so sure, so steadfast that you never had to fear for a millisecond that it might be swept away in an instant as a huge cobweb? Try the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. While the world hastily builds their golden houses upon quicksand, there is a bedrock foundation that has withstood the test of time. Our Heavenly Father urges you and me to set ourselves apart, to exercise spiritual wisdom in building upon the solid rock (cf. Matthew 7:24-27). In fulfilment of God’s charge to his people during the first century A.D., men, women and young people living in the small town of Colossae, in Asia Minor, had heard “the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:5) when it was declared by Epaphras, “a faithful minister of Christ” (1:7).  God working through this man, they “knew the grace of God in truth” (1:6). The same result may follow today with God working through us. Even today while there are unnumbered messengers throughout the world, all of …