[Power (Southaven, MS: Southaven churchof Christ) Vol. 9, No. 2, February 2000, p. 3.] A common expression in religious circles is that of “joining the church” (whatever church that might be). It is so common, it is assumed to be correct. Therefore, when it is learned that one does not “join” the Lord’s church, but is added to it by the Lord himself (Acts 2:47), many are surprised and confused. The phrase “joining a church” places all religious groups on equal ground, making one as good as the next. It suggests that one may simply take his choice, as he would a civic club. Both the terminology and concept involved in “joining the church” are foreign to the New Testament. The church in the New Testament is the one body of Christ (Ephesians 4:5). How does one enter the church of Christ mentioned in the New Testament? Religious groups have their various ways of entering their churches, whether it is relating a convincing “salvation experience,” being voted on as a candidate for membership, being baptized to enter a denomination or “getting saved” at the mourner’s bench. In these groups, “getting saved” is one thing and church membership is something else. Many say church membership is not essential to be saved, but they recommend it, and if you want to join their church, you must do one of the things suggested. In Acts 2, we see God’s way as opposed to man’s way. In this chapter, we find two things: (1) people …

Important Issue Because of much grave and gross misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches about water baptism, I felt compelled to present some insights on this subject. Frankly, I know of no more serious issue facing the church than the need for Christians to have proper insights and understandings of what the New Testament says about water in connection with salvation from sin, so they can help poor, lost sinners understand what they need to understand in order to be saved. The masses are bombarded constantly on television with false concepts and schemes of men relative to how to be saved. So, I know of no more serious an issue than that of getting the masses to understand what the Bible teaches about God’s scheme of redemption! We can become so involved in what we may think are important issues that we forget what are some of the most serious and important issues of all! Constantly, I hear men tell the lost that all they need to do to be saved from their sins is to repeat something like this: “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins; come into my heart so I can be saved.” Then, those who repeat such words are assured that Christ has saved them! Nothing in the New Testament indicates that such is the way an alien sinner can be saved and become a Christian. So, much misunderstanding by so many is indeed a big and grave issue that should truly concern all Christians! What Is …

I. Jesus’ Worry Worry is “a troubled state of mind” (Webster). During his earthly life, Jesus, knowing that the cross was ahead, was “troubled” (tarasso, John 12:27). He told his apostles that he would be “ridiculed, violently abused, and spit upon,” beaten “with a whip” and killed (Luke 18:32-33). Vividly he announced, “I came to throw fire on the earth, and how I wish it was already kindled! I have an immersion to undergo, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:49-50). “Now my life is troubled! What shall I say?” (John 12:27). If he had been self-centered, he would have prayed, “Father, save me from this hour” (John 12:27). But being unselfish and dedicated, he said, “I came to this hour for this reason” (John 12:27). The reason was that he had left the “glory” (John 17:5) and riches of heaven (2 Corinthians 8:9) to go to the earth “to save the lost” (Luke 19:10) by pouring out his blood in a cruel death (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 5:7). Unveeringly, he stayed with his commitment. But he was worried, enduring a severely “troubled state of mind,” about midnight, in the garden of Gethsemane before his death the next day. He told Peter, James and John that he was “deeply grieved, even to death” (Mark 14:34). Then, all alone, he “fell on his face,” praying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup [of death] pass away. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew …

It was obvious that she (i.e., Christ’s bride at Philippi) wasn’t feeling her “normal” self. Typically, she was a hardworking, energetic and active (Philippians 1:5-6) lady, but in recent days, she was uncharacteristically weak and uncoordinated. A family member suggested that she set up a doctor’s appointment (Philippians 4:3). Her symptoms didn’t demand an immediate visit to the ER, but they couldn’t just be ignored either (Mark 3:17). That nagging “ache” served as overt evidence of a deeper, underlying problem. Then too, failure to get treatment might make her more susceptible to other, more serious, ailments that could threaten her entire system (1 Corinthians 12:26). Her doctor, a trusted family practitioner, ran a few tests and confirmed his diagnosis — she had suffered a small “fracture” (Philippians 4:2). As a result, he recommended a combination of therapies and scribbled (Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:16) a prescription on his notepad — Philippians 2:4-7: Take A DAILY DOSE of joy. “Rejoice in the Lord always…” (v. 4). Unlike Paul, who could find joy within the confines of a Roman prison, some members of the Philippian fellowship experienced despair. They focused on the dispute (i.e., fracture) between Euodia and Syntyche (which in turn, affected the whole congregation). The apostle cautioned against this inappropriate emphasis and suggested that the saints needed to “keep on rejoicing” in view of their relationship with the Lord (Matthew 5:10-12). EXERCISE gentleness. “Let your gentleness be known to all men…” (v. 5a). The word translated “gentleness” means strength under …

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). When I was in the United States Air Force, I was taught that the sergeant was the “backbone” of the military. In the same sense, the teacher is the “backbone” of the church. He is the “line supervisor” in the work of edification of the body. James 3:1 (ASV) reads, “Be not many of you teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment.” Wait a minute! Did James really say that? And what about Hebrews 5:12, “For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food.” Is this a contradiction? The simple answer is: Of course not! One need only look into context to see what James is telling us. He is not saying that we should not teach, but that we need to be careful what we teach. There are entirely too many passages that speak to us as teachers to deny that every Christian has some teaching responsibility. The apostles and prophets recognized their teaching responsibilities. Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 14:19, “howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words …

In the day and time in which we live, we are hearing a great deal about the word “tolerance,” both in the secular world and in the religious world. There was a time when people firmly believed in certain things and they would without fear or rancor stand for those things. In the past, we had the era of the great debates, in both religion and politics, but the present climate seems to be that one should take the position that everyone can be right about everything, and that we should not question what a person believes so long as he is sincere in that belief. (One does not know how one could know of the sincerity of another unless one would accept every person’s unilateral statement of his sincerity.) When one ascribes to this point of view, that means that the sincere Hindu is as much of a child of God as a sincere Christian. There may be some who claim to be Christians who believe this, but there are no sincere Hindus who do! All of us practice tolerance to some degree or another, whether we agree with certain ideas or not. For example, those of us who are members of the churches of Christ, with but a very few exceptions believe that baptism is essential to the salvation of the human soul. Other religious bodies agree with this, but disagree on what constitutes baptism. Other religious bodies take the position that baptism has nothing to do with …

The word law means “a rule of action.” It is frequently used in Scripture: the “law of Moses” (Malachi 4:4), “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) and “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). Our consideration narrows to the law of Christ for salvation (James 1:25). Much confusion exists because religious people generally fail to understand that God has more than one law of pardon for sinful men. What is pardon? It is to release from penalty, restore as before, to offer forgiveness of sins. The Bible shows that there are two laws of pardon because there are two types of people who need pardon from their sins. The Lord has given one plan for one not a Christian in becoming a Christian. He has given another plan for the spiritual return of an erring Christian. All responsible people are divided into two categories: spiritual aliens or citizens of the kingdom of God (Ephesians 2:19-22). God gave the formula for forgiveness to suit the sinner’s spiritual condition. Confusion arises in applying the wrong law to those under consideration. The religious world tries to make one law of pardon apply to all men. The law of pardon, which applies only to a Christian in error, is often erroneously applied to those who have never obeyed the gospel of Christ. God’s Law of Pardon forthe Alien Sinner (Mark 16:15-16) An alien sinner is one who is not in the kingdom of God (Ephesians 2:11-12). That is, such a one has never accepted Christ, …

Nehemiah 4:16-18. The context of this passage is the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem in the days of the return following Judah’s seventy years captivity in Babylon. The great work of Nehemiah as a wise and faithful governor is seen as he stood upon his guard against enemies of opposition to the work. The emphasis in these verses is upon balance. How important is balance? When a baby is learning to walk, he needs balance. When a child is learning to ride a bicycle, he needs balance. When a young man is learning to preach the Gospel, he needs balance. Gospel preaching should be characterized by beautiful balance. The principle of Joshua 1:7 applies to preaching as well as to life. Second Timothy 2:15 will not permit extremism. Foy E. Wallace, Jr., once said, “Truth is always found between extremes.” Amen! The skill of Nehemiah and the returnees in rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem is seen in their striking a balance between the twin necessities of work and war. He kept half of them busy in the work (Vs. 16). He kept the other half in a state of watchfulness with the implements of war in hand (Vs. 16). He kept every worker ready with a sword at his side (Vs. 18). If the “things written aforetime were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4), what might we learn from this? Two primary lessons suggest themselves just here. First, there is the lesson of a division of labor in the church. …

Samson is called the strongest man in the Bible. He would also be in the running for the weakest man in the Bible. AS STRONG AS SAMSON WAS, HE WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO …OVERCOME BAD COMAPNIONS. “Samson went down…” (Judges 14:1) is true both geographically and spiritually. We begin here to notice the reckless attitude that will dominate his adult years. Instead of staying within Israel’s borders, he went into enemy territory to find friends. He deliberately chose evil associates — the woman of Timnath, a harlot in Gaza, and Delilah of Sorek (14:1-3, 7; 16:1-20; cf. Proverbs 1:10-15; 4:14) — and these relationships eventually destroyed him. As Christians, we are not to see how close we can come to evil and not be tainted. The words put off in Colossians 3:8 mean, “to move out of and away from.” As Israel had to get out of Egypt and then move away from its borders, so Christians leaving worldly evil must put some distance between it and themselves. We should be careful about our associates for four reasons. (1) We will be judged by those with whom we associate. Most people know the old saying is true, “Birds of a feather flock together.” We tend to gravitate to people who are most like us (cf. Amos 3:3). The Bible teaches that Christians are the “salt of the earth,” “light of the world” and “a city which is set on a hill” (Matthew 5:13-14). As such, Christians cannot be friends of the world …