A struggle many of us might have is, “Who needs to be converted?” We find many people who seem more dedicated or of better character than those in some of the Lord’s churches. Do these good people need to be converted? When I lived in Lamar, Missouri, I made friends with the husband of a lady who began attending where I preached. He was one of the nicest, most modest and unassuming men I have been around, being both helpful and considerate. A person could not ask for a more polite companion. He had been a math instructor in a university and later became the highly respected brains for an engineering company. His only responsibility was to sit in the office and solve the problems that arose in the company’s operations. The few years I knew him, when we fished and hiked together, I never heard him say an unkind word or use profanity. He came to church to hear me preach. As a fellow human being, I have not been around a more enjoyable person. However, he was an atheist, an unbeliever, which I could not get to obey the Gospel of Christ. Did he need salvation that is in Christ? Worlds of Good People Outside and inside of religious and church circles are many respectable people that have excellent reputations and community standings. Christians have parents, children, relatives and friends who are some of the top crust of the world, and in many cases more upstanding in character than

Denominational churches as well as churches of Christ are seeing an exodus of children from their congregations. Along with other factors, parental attitudes and actions are helping to affect this departure because of their failure to teach, direct, discipline and supervise their children. Wrong Attitude The attitude of parents toward the elders, preachers, teachers and members can cause children to develop a bad attitude toward the church. A lady invited me to eat the Sunday dinner in her home. Most of the time she spoke maliciously against the leaders and members. During her tirade, she bewailed the fact that even though she had contentiously taken her son to church, after he left home, he no longer associated with the church. Her evil speaking against the church must have influenced the attitude of her son to resolve not to associate with such an undesirable group of hypocrites. Lack of Biblical Training Because of a special series of lessons planned by the teen Bible teacher, a member, a professional counselor, was asked to teach his class of around eighty. The substitute teacher brought to class Bible references written on slips of paper that he planned to hand out to class. Not one student raised a hand when he asked for volunteer readers. He then asked for those who brought their Bibles to hold them up.  Only one Bible was held up, and that by a visitor. Appalled at this, he asked how many failed to take their math, English and history books

Central to Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus. Paul correctly wrote, “And if Christ be not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! …If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:17, 19). Throughout the Gospels, women were mostly in the background, even though some of them supported Jesus and the apostles out of their personal means (Luke 8:2-3). When Jesus faced the most important and trying circumstances of His earthly ministry, women stood by Him when men fled in fear (Mark 14:50). Their staying by Jesus during those dark hours made it possible for them to be able to be the first to tell the good news of His resurrection. Jesus’ Teaching Jesus’ main effort during His personal ministry was to see that the apostles received adequate instruction to carry out their ministry and testify of His resurrection (Acts 10:40-41) after He ascended back into heaven. They were the only ones who are recorded to have been with Him when He revealed His impending death and resurrection. The only exception was when the Jews asked for a sign. Jesus responded, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19-21). Jesus spoke to the apostles of His death and resurrection after the following events (Consider the context of the following verses to determine to whom Jesus was speaking.): Peter’s confession that He is the Christ (Matthew 16:21-22; Mark 8:31; Luke

God would not have given qualifications for elders, as found in the New Testament, if they were not important. The first word, “blameless,” in the list given by Paul (1 Timothy 3:1-7) may be an introduction to the other requirements. In other words, the rest of the qualification may be an explanation of what is meant by “blameless,” “without reproach.” The man who is “above reproach” is the man who has those qualifications that are next listed. The first quality of the “blameless” man is that he is to be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2; also required of deacons 1 Timothy 3:12). This probably includes two areas of thought: (1) He is not to be like the pagans, a man with many wives and (2) he is to be true to his one wife, not given to being interested in other women. Only One Wife Timothy was in the Gentile world when he received Paul’s letter. Just because a person became a Christian did not mean that he immediately gave up all pagan practices. Some men may not have completely cleaned up their lives, so had more than one wife. Even today, there are some in various congregations who are remarried without scriptural reason. Before they can serve, they would have to correct this situation. Surely, no one would argue that a man could be an elder if he had two living wives. Dedicated to His One Wife The phrase, “husband of one wife,” is translated in

The assumption that God desires women’s role to be determined by culture is false. In no case does the Bible teach that women are to look to society for their religious practices. Paul taught that women are to live by God’s plan for them (1 Corinthians 11:7-9; 14:34-35; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). Peter presented godly women and Sarah, not culture, as models for Christian women (1 Peter 3:5-6). The women in Paul’s day were involved in leading roles even as women of today want to be involved. Substantial evidence exists to indicate that women held many of these public offices and were expected to exercise their public religious duties just as men were. Woman’s names are recorded in a wide variety of official inscriptions recording-and honoring-their public service and generosity. They maintained temples and sponsored games, procession, and sacrifices (Rose Shephard Kraemer and Mary Rose D’Angelo, Women and Christian Origins, 86). In agreement with this Abrahamsen wrote: Women served as priestesses and other leaders in most pagan cults, including Diana, Isis, Livia, Dionysos and Liber and Libera. They were active participants in liturgies, composed hymns and rites, administered temple and cult finances, organized feast day celebrations, played music and made leadership decisions that affected large numbers of people (Valerie A. Abrahamsen, Women and Worship at Philippi: Diana/Artemis and Other Cults in the Early Christian Era, 194. Nevertheless, the Hellenistic age was generally a time of the emancipation of women…But in spite of the opposition, women in Paul’s day had considerable freedom of movement, rights in

Luke recorded in Acts 21:26-27 that Paul purified himself in the temple along with four other men and paid their expenses. Did Paul sin? Four possibilities have been suggested: (1) Yes, without question he sinned. (2) Yes, but qualified by saying it was a mistake but perhaps not a sin. (3) No, but with some reservation as to his doing what was right. (4) No, he did not sin but did absolutely what was right. All four answers pose some problems, but if number four is not the correct, we have some serious problems. Notice the following: (1) If Paul sinned, then he did so at the advice of James, Jesus’ inspired brother who wrote the book of James. (2) If Paul sinned, then he did so based on the advice of elders who were probably inspired. The letter sent to the Gentiles by these same Jerusalem elders stated that it seemed good to the “Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:28), which must mean that they were directed to their conclusion by the Holy Spirit. (3) If Paul sinned, he did so as an inspired apostle after calmly considering the rightness or wrongness of his act. Some have pointed out that Peter made a mistake (Galatians 2:11-13) by withdrawing from eating with the Gentiles. Peter did this under social pressure to conform to a social tradition not to an inspired brother of Jesus and Jerusalem elders. Paul acted based on a doctrinal principle not on a social principle. Peter was corrected by

God has not promised to grant the requests of those who are not Christians. Scripture reveals that there are prayers God will not respond to in a positive manner. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalms 66:18). “Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin” (Psalm 109:6-7). “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12, quoted from Psalm 34:15-16). In order to receive what we request, we must: (1) be God’s people who are called by his name (2 Chronicles 7:14); (2) ask in Jesus’ name (John 14:13); (3) ask in faith (James 1:6-7); (4) ask for right things (James 4:3); (5) keep God’s commandments and do those things pleasing in his sight (1 John 3:22); (6) ask according to his will (1 John 5:14). No non-Christians in this Christian age were ever told to pray for anything, much less told to pray to be saved, to be forgiven of their sins. Bible examples. Sinners on the day of Pentecost were not told to pray to be forgiven. Peter, in Acts 2:21, quoted an Old Testament passage (Joel 2:32) which

Does the Bible consistently use the term “children” to mean two or more or does it also use it to mean one or more? This is a question that arises in the selection of elders because of the statements, “having his children in submission” (1 Timothy 3:4, NKJV) and “having faithful children” (Titus 1:6). Perhaps everyone would admit that having more than one child might help in determining whether or not a man can control his household. What might seem desirable might not prove to be biblical. Only by considering how “children” is used in the Bible can we determine if “children” means two or more or if it can mean one or more. Children in the Old Testament The statement is made, “But Sarai is barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30) and was “childless” (Genesis 15:2). Later it is recorded, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children” (Genesis 16:1). If she had given birth to one child would it be said she bore no children? Later, Sarai said to Abraham after the birth of Isaac, her one child, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age” (Genesis 21:7). Sarah considered she had children after having given birth to one son. Concerning Rachel it is said, “She bore Jacob no children” (Genesis 30:1) and of Hannah she had “no children” (1 Samuel 1:2). If Rachel had one child, would it be proper to