Premillennialism?

Is there to be a 1000 years reign on earth as the Baptist people proclaim? Coincidentally, I was asked recently to preach a sermon regarding Premillennialism. Below, is the outline that I used. It should answer most of the questions one may have regarding this topic. Premillennialism 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Thesis: To examine the denominational doctrine of premillennialism and contrast it with what the Bible really teaches about the end of time. Song: I Love Thy Kingdom Lord Introduction: For centuries, extending nearly to the first century, Bible believers have entertained essentially three conflicting views of millennialism or a 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. Postmillennialism: “This interpretation maintains that present gospel agencies will root out evils until Christ will have a spiritual reign over the earth, which will continue for 1,000 years. Then the second advent of Christ will initiate judgment and bring to an end the present order.”1 “Another position views Christ’s spiritual rule as working through preaching and teaching to bring gradual world improvement leading up to Christ’s return. This is the postmillennial view.”2 Postmillennialism is typically viewed today as unproven and thus false since, historically through the present, the Gospel of Christ has not prevailed over the world’s populace despite the passing of about 2,000 years. Amillennialism: “Advocates of this view maintain that no Millennium is to be looked for except that which, it is claimed, is in progress now in this gospel age. This theological interpretation spiritualizes or, rather, gives a mystical meaning to the vast kingdom promises in the OT. Zion …

What About “Same-Sex” Marriages?

[Gospel Gleaner, Vol. 16, No. 3, p. 17.] In today’s news, you hear much about what is called “same-sex” marriages. What is promoted by such is a man married to a man or a woman being married to a woman. What about such marriages? Are they approved of God? In discussing such issues, many want to leave God out of the picture. Some are more concerned about the feelings and the thinking of man than the will of God. As we turn to the Bible, we can see, understand and know how God feels about “same-sex” marriages. “The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:3-6). Concerning marriage, God from the beginning ordained that it was to be male and female to be joined together. In Genesis 2:18, we read that God said, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which …

Some Very Important Questions

Asking questions can be a great learning device. Jesus, the Master Teacher, often asked questions. He did so to focus the attention of people on great truths. Some Penetrating Questions The following are questions for members of churches which if one answers correctly, can be very helpful in his appraising properly his religious status or the condition of his soul. I plead with all who belong to a church to please study carefully the questions and the answers and observations regarding each. In the following questions, by “the church to which you belong,” I do not mean the congregation of which you are a member, but I mean the religious body of which the congregation of which you are a member is a part. 1. Does one have to be a member of the church to which you belong in order to receive the remission of or forgiveness of his sins? If you answer the foregoing “Yes,” and your answer is right, it follows that everyone will have to be in the church you are in to have the remission of his sins. For this reason, the answer of some to the question may be “No.” 2. Does one have to be a member of the church to which you belong in order to live the Christian life? If your answer to this question is “Yes,” and your answer is right, it follows that everyone who lives the Christian life will have to be in the church you are in. For this …

Precious

A bright, new, shiny auto; a brand new house; a particular picture; a sparkling diamond; a gold pair of earrings; even a specific moment in time may well be considered precious by many. If so regarded, precious can have a premium price. To be precious depends on the depth of desire in the heart. If no desire, what was once held as special becomes as nothing, fading in brilliance or common. All worldly goods can be counted as precious and may be desirable, but will also perish with time. Think how the word “precious” was used in the letters to the early church. Simon Peter, when writing, used the word to modify some phrases he penned. He said, “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God” (2 Peter 1:1). Peter knew his faith was precious. It was a faith built on a lively hope. It was God-given. His faith came from hearing and believing the words of Christ. He knew Christ. The opening sentence of his second letter claims he was a faithful servant of his. Peter grew in faith, remembering no doubt the times he failed Jesus. The sinking in the Sea of Galilee and the bitter flow of tears at dawn are but two sharp reminders of his unfaithfulness. Peter hoped for better things and that hope sustained his faith. He stayed with it and came away with a faith purer than gold! Hope and faith demand obedience. Peter obeyed! Add …

How We Got the Bible: A Modern Parable

Imagine what it was like in this very spot where you are sitting 3,500 years ago. Think about the deep, dark forest. The only inhabitants of the area are a few native Indians. It’s a superstitious time with sketchy remembrances of what it was like here several hundred years before. Then one day, an 80-year-old man shows up and begins clearing an area for a building. He works alone. After clearing the underbrush, the man begins digging footings for a building. These footings are not shallow but rather deep, all the way down to bedrock. When the footings are completely dug, the man begins building the foundation walls. Slowly, stone by stone, the foundation walls rise. An apprentice is now working with the man. As the foundation reaches ground level, the old man, now 120 years old, passes the responsibility of continuing the work on the walls to his young helper. The old man dies and the young man carries on. Over the next 1,000 years, the scene repeats itself. The walls of the building slowly rise. Workers arrive, labor for years, then pass on. Sometimes only one man labors on the building. Sometimes two or three men work at the same time. Some of these men know each other, however, more often than not, they are strangers. One might work at one end of the building while the other works at the opposite end. There is no written blue print. Each worker seems only to know what his small …

Special Music

The phrase “special music” is used to describe choirs, quartets, trios, duets and solos in worship services. Webster says that the opposite of “special” is “ordinary.” However, it was a divine order that started what is ordinary, congregational singing, and we find no divine order modifying or supplementing congregational singing. According to the divine order, all of the singers are also the listeners (“yourselves,” “one another”), which fact eliminates special music: speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and plucking the strings of your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19), . . . teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). The divine order is stated again in the book of Hebrews, but it does not say: “By him therefore let a choir or a quartet or a trio or a duet or a soloist offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips, confessing his name,” but the divine order is an exhortation to a whole congregation, or to individual Christians everywhere, omitting not one, “us”: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips, confessing his name (Hebrews 13:15). Special music changes worshipers into two classes, performers and spectators. Special music changes the auditorium into a theater. According to a professor of music in Westmont College, Dr. Gerald Bouma, special music is three things: 1. A congregation …

God’s Judgment on Judas Who Betrayed Christ

Psalm 109 Introduction: According to the heading of this Psalm, David is the composer of it, and there is not real hard evidence to set aside this conclusion. David portrays a person crying out for divine aid against a gang of merciless enemies who were attempting to bring about his destruction through false accusations and treacherous slander. The history of the life of the great King David qualified him to paint this word picture of a betrayed person who was godly in his life, because of the many confrontations that David had with various enemies while he lived on earth. This psalmist speaks of many enemies because he uses the plural number, and yet his focus is upon a single person. In describing this foremost enemy, David, no doubt, draws upon his own experiences with Saul, who pursued him to kill him, with Ahithophel, who betrayed him, (2 Samuel 15) and Shemei, who cursed him when he was fleeing from Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom. When one begins to interpret this psalm, there are two fundamental questions which face him. Who is the person who cries out to God for relief from attack? Who is the terrible enemy who is attacking him? There does not seem to be much within the Psalm itself to answer these two questions. Ordinarily, one would speculate that David, the author of the Psalm, was speaking of his own plight, or a former plight, but that would only be a speculation. The distinguished Apostle Peter shed some very …

Friendship With the World

Friendship with the world is a danger that most Christians ignore. God warns us in the Bible, in James 4:4, that friendship with the world makes one an enemy of God. We are to be in the world, but not of the world (John 17:15-16). It seems that fewer Christians each year are willing to accept this. When one comes to the worship assembly, one is immediately struck by the casual nature of the dress of many Christians. There are sisters in Christ wearing skirts that are too short and brothers in Christ in shorts. These men and women are showing their friendship with the world in the way they dress. When someone has a job interview, he or she takes the time to dress to impress. He or she wants to be hired. That person dresses in a professional manner suitable to the job for which he is applying. Often, we forget that our attitude is reflected in the clothing we wear. Are we a friend of the world or of Christ? We should ask ourselves, “What is going wrong when a Christian comes to worship on Sunday morning and then on Sunday afternoon watches an R-rated movie?” Usually an R-rating on a film means it is full of sex, violence, nudity and other things that the Christian should not want to see. Members of the church of our Lord should carefully investigate anything that they are going to view. If a Christian is seen attending this type of …

Advocacy for Alcohol Rebutted

Amusingly, some passionate proponents of alcoholic beverages audaciously assert that all references to “wine” in the Bible pertain to an intoxicating drink. Of course, irrespective of the political or social mood of America, the Bible is not in any real sense subject to contemporary interpretation. Unlike a dictionary, the meanings of biblical words are changeless and are not dependent upon current usage for their definitions. General Appeal to the Bible Starting in 1820 there was a growing movement to outlaw alcohol. Over the next 100 years, these ‘Drys’ as they were called, were to have a huge effect. In 1880, Kansas became the first dry state. Text books, and even literature, had the mention of wine and alcohol removed from them, nationwide. The Bible, with its many mentions of wine, was a problem, so a campaign was started to convince people that the wine of the Bible was nothing more than grape juice. (Stephen Reiss, Ph.D., C.W.E., “History of Wine,” Wine Education Site, https:// www.Wine Education.com/WineEducation/Text/history.html /. [17 Sep 1998]) To imagine that religious people would attempt, for whatever reason, to distort biblical information is to picture them at their worst. To suppose that generally religious people would heartily accept politically motivated distortion of biblical information is uncomplimentary toward religious people and our government. Such an accusation concurs nicely with efforts by even pious souls to champion beverage alcohol. However, in truth, it is utterly false that every reference to “wine” in the Bible refers to an alcoholic drink. It is true …

Is Baptism Essential to Salvation?

If one were to sit down and read his New Testament without carrying all of the denominational baggage that usually accumulates during our lives here, he would have no trouble at all understanding that baptism is, indeed, essential to the salvation of the immortal soul of man. However, since what we have just suggested is not very likely the case, at least not here in the United States, it is necessary again to set forth some arguments to prove that in order to be saved from past sins, and in eternity, it is absolutely essential for a penitent believer in Jesus Christ to experience immersion in water in order to be saved. Those who believe in salvation by faith only, or by grace only, have denied for four or five hundred years that baptism is part of the salvation that God presents by grace through faith. And though this denial has been at the very heart of many sermons and debates in the religious world, the New Testament of our Lord and Savior has not changed its teaching upon this subject, or on any other so far as that is concerned, in the last two thousand years. And when all is said and done, and the last denial of God’s truth upon this subject has been shouted from the housetops, the Bible will still say what it has always said, and man will still be accountable to what the Bible says regardless of all of the theology that may be …

Why Would A Christian Defend Gambling?

From the streets of ancient Babylon to the glittering Las Vegas strip to the casinos of Tunica, Mississippi, gambling has been a force to be reckoned with by concerned people of all societies. Archaeological discoveries reveal gambling devices dating as far back as 1800 years B.C. In Babylon, headless arrows were used in wagering, and ancient Greeks had dice marked with numbers on four sides. In 1976 the gambling industry set about to change its image. At the Fourth National Conference on Public Gaming, keynote speaker Raymond Blanchard said, “We’ve got to convince people we’re not in the gambling business. We’re in the public revenue business.” This is what we in the state of Arkansas are hearing now as pressure is being brought to bear on the state to eliminate economic shortfalls with casino gambling. Many people see nothing wrong with it. They see no evil. They hear no evil. Even if gambling were to bring needed revenue to Arkansas it is never right to do evil that “good” may come. Solomon wrote, “Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right” (Proverbs 16:8). Paul said, “And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose is just” (Romans 3:8). What Gambling Is And What It Is Not Gambling means “To play games of chance for money or some other stake; to take a risk in order to gain some advantage: to bet, wager.” Artificial …

Adventures of Eddie Cooper

While living in Hanoverton, Ohio, there was a man who was terminally ill with cancer who decided to obey the gospel. We were thrilled with his decision to say the least. But, there were problems with baptizing him. He had tubes through his body that the doctors said could not get wet. Finally, I convinced the doctor that we would do all that we could to keep the openings from getting wet. How to do that was another problem. A fellow gospel preacher by the name of Glen Logston was preaching in Lisbon, Ohio at the time and I asked him if he could come over and assist me with the baptism. I had given this a great deal of thought and came up with the idea of using a Hefty garbage bag to put over him and tying it at both ends to keep the water from getting in. Well, we all got into the water very carefully, making sure that the bag did not leak. As we were about to baptize him, lowering him into the water, the bag filled up with air and did not permit us to completely immerse him. So, I quickly raised one leg on to the inflated bag and pushed with all my might to get him under. It worked!!! Glen could hardly keep from laughing as he watched me trying to push this man in a HEFTY bag down into the water. After baptizing him, we noticed that his head and feet …

Walking on Water

Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:47-56; John 6:16-21 [Interactive crossword puzzle through your Internet browser] You need Java enabled to view the crossword applet. Solution

Miracle of Feeding the Multitudes

Matthew 14:15-21; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:5-14 [Interactive crossword puzzle through your Internet browser] You need Java enabled to view the crossword applet. Solution

The Porter and the Door

In John 10:1-3, we read, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” And verse 9 reads, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” The shepherds would take turns being the porter at the entrance of the sheepfold. The porter was to make sure that no one broke into the sheepfold and stole any sheep. The porter knew all of the shepherds and would not let a stranger come to the door and lie about being a shepherd. The porter would turn him away as a liar, knowing that the liar only wanted a sheep so he could kill it and eat it. The porter would sleep at the entrance. He would lie down across the entrance way. This made him the door. There was no man-made door, so the porter by lying down across the entrance became the door. Nothing could get in the sheepfold without the porter moving. And nothing could get out of the sheepfold without the porter moving. As long as the sheep went through the entrance of the sheepfold and stayed there …

God Created the Digestive System

The digestive system of our bodies is a very central part of our daily lives. We give it much attention, especially as mealtime rolls around. Hunger is indeed one of the most powerful human needs. People who hunger and thirst will indeed make every effort possible to fill those needs, including some very extreme measures, even resorting to murder. When Esau was hungry, he was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of porridge. That may be why Jesus used this very symbolism to teach how we should desire his Word, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). While we might know that we need to eat regularly and enjoy doing so, we generally know very little about this amazing creation in our bodies. Let’s examine some of the basics of how the organs of this system, which are more than thirty feet in length, function to supply the cells of the body wit the materials necessary to keep them alive. This involves some very intricate activities. We are very familiar with the function of the tongue and taste buds, as they make eating the enjoyable activity it is. Once our food has been chewed and tasted, it is swallowed as a “bolus” or ball of food. The esophagus is a muscular organ that pushes our food to the stomach. If we were standing on our heads or even in zero gravity like space, we could still swallow. Once into …

Follow the Shepherd’s Voice

In John 10:4-5, we read, “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” Sheep will only follow their shepherd. They know their shepherds voice. They will not follow a stranger. But notice an important point about this. The sheep FOLLOW their shepherd. The shepherd leads his sheep. He does not drive his sheep. This is the way it was done at the time of Christ. The shepherd spent so much time with his sheep, that the sheep knew that the shepherd only wanted the best for them. They knew he would only take them to good eating places and drinking places. They knew he would keep them safe. So, the sheep did not have to be driven or forced to go in a particular direction. The shepherd would simply walk in front and the sheep would follow. We are to follow Jesus. He is our Shepherd. We are his sheep. Jesus will only give us good things to eat and good things to drink — the words of the Bible. Jesus will keep us safe from danger if we will obey his words.

God Created the Muscle System

Within the body of man and most animals, God has created a group of organs that causes a uniquely animal characteristic, that of movement. The more than 600 muscles in our body allow, among other things, graceful movements, movement of food and even cause our passage into this physical world at birth. Let’s examine how movement is made possible by the muscles of our bodies. There are three distinct types of muscles: the skeletal muscles, the cardiac muscle and smooth muscles. Each of these has been designed with a very specific type of makeup that allows them to function in very different ways. The overall functions of the muscle system include movement, heat production, stabilization of body position and protection. The skeletal muscles are also called voluntary or striated muscle. This refers to how they are controlled and how they look under microscopic examination. Basically, they attach to bones and cause the skeletal system to move. They are controlled by direct signals of the brain when we want to move in a certain way. They contain two very distinct types of proteins — one thick and one thin. This arrangement causes a striped appearance, giving it the name striated muscle. These muscles can produce some tremendous forces, as in the case of “hysterical strength” where humans have done superhuman feats. This is probably possible because the muscle filaments all function at the same time, instead of alternating on and off. The smooth muscles are also called involuntary or visceral muscles. …

The Operator’s Manual

There is just something about the smell of a new car. (Old cars have an odor, too, but it is just not the same.) That new car is just waiting for someone to take it home. Surely, somehow the new car is much the same as any other car, yet it may look radically different from our last vehicle. It seems every new car has more buttons and gadgets than the last one. A glance at the specifications page in the operator’s manual tells the story of dissimilarities between this car and perhaps another car we once had. Driving down the street, we reach for a familiar knob or button, now in an unfamiliar place. Bump! The hand ignorantly crumples against the dashboard, reaching for the lights or windshield wipers. Where is the dimmer switch? How much gas does this thing hold anyway? There is a light on the dash that will not go off; I wonder what it is for? Whether it is driving a new car or assembling a bicycle, man typically tries to accomplish the task according to his own ingenuity. Often mankind only consults an operator’s manual or assembly instructions when he cannot figure things out for himself, and then he is driven to them, reluctantly. Unfortunately, man also uses the same approach concerning himself, God’s creation. While we were not made on an assembly line in some plant, we nevertheless have a Creator. As new cars have operator’s manuals and nearly every manufactured item comes …

The Faith

The phrase “the faith” appears frequently throughout the New Testament and refers to the Gospel. “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). “The faith” stands distinct from the Law of Moses (Old Testament) that it superseded (Galatians 3:23-25). “The faith” is styled as “the word of God” and that to which we must be “obedient” (Acts 6:7; Romans 1:5). “The faith” must be preached (Galatians 1:23) and results in the establishment of both individuals and congregations (Colossians 2:7; Acts 16:5). Not only will some attempt to turn others from “the faith” (Acts 13:8), regrettably, even Christians will “depart” (1 Timothy 4:1), deny (1 Timothy 5:8) and err (1 Timothy 6:10, 21) from it. We, though, are encouraged to “continue” (Acts 14:22; Colossians 1:23) and “stand fast” (1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Peter 5:9) in “the faith.” Scripture admonishes Christians to examine themselves to ascertain if they are indeed in “the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). If we are not found in “the faith,” we are “reprobates” (2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Timothy 3:8). Christians are further urged to be “grounded and settled” (Colossians 1:23) and “sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13). Consequently, we are charged to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3). According to the inspired apostle Paul, “the faith” is the …

What Will We Leave Behind?

If the Lord delays his coming, none of us will get out of this world alive. We have an appointment with death (Hebrews 9:27), when we hope to meet our angelic guide to Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22). Tear-dimmed eyes will last view our casket, and lonely mourners will follow the trail of tears to the silent city of the dead where our bodies will wait for the resurrection morn (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). All desire to leave something worthwhile behind. We want our families left financially secure and to be remembered for making some contribution to society. From Methuselah, who, though he lived the longest, accomplished the least (Genesis 5:26-27), we learn that it is not the length of our lives that counts, but what we do with them. Jesus, though he lived only 33 years, made the most of them. So should we. A Record Of Good Deeds: When they visit the funeral home, will our friends reminiscence about the good that we have done, like Dorcas’ friends did (Acts 9:36, 39)? Will the preacher’s eulogy be long and full? Hopefully, they can remember our kindness to widows and orphans (James 1:27), the food we gave the hungry (Matthew 25:35), the clothes given to those cold, visits to the sick (Matthew 25:36), flowers to the bereaved (John 11:19), comfort for the hurting (Philemon 7) and encouragement we gave the downtrodden (Acts 9:27). When the Herods died, they must have cheered (Matthew 2:16; Acts 12:1). They were not remembered for their good …

The Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7 Introduction The parable of the Lost Sheep is unique to Luke’s Gospel record, though a similar reference appears in Matthew’s account. It should not be thought strange for the same or nearly the same illustrations to be used at different places, at different times by the same speaker. Contemporary speakers (including preachers) do it all the time. Besides, as noted below, the biblical use of sheep and shepherds to illustrate truth appears frequently upon the pages of inspiration. Lockyer concludes that the parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke “. . . must not be confused with The Parable of the Lost Sheep . . . (Matthew 18:1-14), even though the two are told in similar vein.”1 Most of us have our favorite passages of Scripture. Luke Chapter Fifteen is among the chapters of the Bible that provide special encouragement to many souls whose spiritual eyes are trained on the ever approaching eternity, at which time we will meet our Great God and Creator. It is comforting to know of the emotional investment and concern God expends on each individual soul. The fifteenth chapter of Luke is perhaps the most priceless chapter in the Bible. Certainly no chapter is more tender and more lovely. For centuries it has been called “the Gospel in the Gospels” . . .2 Luke 15 contains one parable in which there are embedded three sub-parables: the parable of the Lost Sheep (vv. 4-7), the parable of the Lost Coin (vv. 8-10) and the parable of the Prodigal Son (vv. 11-32) Usually this renowned …