It is perhaps the most dangerous thought we can entertain. It seems right. It must be right. In fact, it has to be right. Webster calls it an “assumption.” “A fact or statement taken for granted.” Note the key phrase in that definition, “taken for granted.” An assumption is neither truth nor reality; it is not fact. An assumption is merely personal conjecture. It is an unsubstantiated belief or idea based often times upon the circumstances in my own life. David assumed a soldier who had been away from his wife would immediately return to her tender affections. The king couldn’t control his sexual appetite (2 Samuel 11:2-4), and so he figured Uriah could not either (vv. 6-9). Sarah assumed couples well in to their retirement years could not have children (Genesis 18:10-15). She figured that because she had lived past the years of childbearing, any idea about a future “seed” (Genesis 22:17-18) simply wasn’t possible. Isaac assumed his wife and younger son would be honest and forthright (Genesis 27). The Patriarch had previously engaged in deception himself (Gen. 26), but he did not think that other members of his family would follow his example. Herod assumed an infant referred to as “King of the Jews” might attempt to usurp his power (Matthew 2:1-8). His insecurity led to the murder of many innocent children (v. 16). The Jews assumed the Messiah would overthrow Roman tyranny and oppression. Their prejudices and false interpretations (Acts 1:6) blinded them to the possibility of a spiritual Deliverer. A lot of …

In studying the validity of one’s baptism, this question will often present itself: “Does one have to be baptized more than once?” Usually after a study of the New Testament church, one will conclude that he has been in error religiously speaking, professing membership in a denomination and realizing that in so doing, his worship has been vain (Matthew 15:9), and his conversion faulty. Perhaps, he had water sprinkled or poured upon him in the name of baptism or perhaps he was merely baptized to evince membership in a particular denomination, as an outward sign of an inward grace. The word baptism has always and will always mean immersion. Present day religious manuals, creeds and confessions have altered the meaning to authorize what they already believe and teach. Secular dictionaries define words by their present-day acceptance and often will give faulty meanings. For example, Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language defines the word “baptize” as: “to dip (a person) into or sprinkle with water as a symbol of admission into Christianity or a specific Christian church and of washing away sin.” This religious fallacy (which is widely taught and accepted) will undoubtedly give false hope to many good people. Baptism is a burial in water for the remission of one’s sins (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:38-39, et. al.). Obviously then, one who has had water sprinkled or poured upon him in the name of baptism has never been baptized in a biblical sense and is therefore still in his …

No one appreciates a liar. The Book of Revelation tells us that all liars shall have their part that burns with fire and brimstone. Solomon, too, spoke of the difference between a true and a false witness. In Proverbs 14:25 he said, “A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.” Let us keep this in a religious context and notice what Paul commanded of Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16. He wrote, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing so you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” In short, he was telling Timothy to teach truth that will deliver the souls of men. Still staying in the religious context, let us look at the warning of Peter as found in 2 Peter 2:1-3 where he says in part, “…there will be false teachers among you who will…bring in destructive heresies…and many shall follow their destructive ways…they will exploit you with deceptive words.” Herein is the difference in the church of the Lord and every denomination of man. One is built upon truth that can be verified by searching the Scriptures; the other is built upon the doctrines, creeds, dogmas and opinions of men, which constitute destructive heresies. On the Day of Judgment, in which would you want to be?

In one of His parables, Jesus told of a farmer whose fields brought forth bountifully. This lets everyone who has ever farmed know that this man was a hard worker. The fields of a lazy man grow more weeds than they produce grain. However, near the end of this parable, God calls this man a fool. An analysis of the parable tells why. First, he left God out of his life. He gave God no credit for what he had been able to acquire as a result of God’s blessings. He left his fellow man out of his life. Everything was “I, my, mine.” Like so many today, he thought that his soul could be satisfied by material things. “Soul, you have much goods laid up…eat, drink, and be merry.” He thought he had time that he did not have. “Much goods for many years…” He talked about years while God talked about “this night.” God called this man a fool. Jesus said, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Do any of these actions and attitudes describe your way of life? If so, don’t you think that it is time to change?

Many small congregations, due to a lack of qualified men, do not have elders and deacons. It is not possible to put men in just to say that you have elders, when they are not qualified. I believe, even for those congregations, however, it is important to understand the organization that God intends for the local church. Philippians 1:1 speaks of the only biblical organization for the local church, and this local arrangement is the only biblical organization for the church universal. It speaks of bishops, deacons and members. First Timothy 3:1-4 and Titus 1:5-9 give the spiritual and physical requirements for an elder or bishop. First Timothy 3:8-13 gives the qualifications for deacons. Evangelists or preachers are not listed in this organizational list. There are a few reasons for that. First of all, the evangelist is given the authority to preach the Word, but not to carry authority over a congregation except the responsibility to proclaim the message of God. Secondly, the preacher works under the authority of the elders like other members of the church. Remember that the elders of the church at Antioch laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas as they were about to leave on the first missionary journey. This expression of approval also showed their authority over Paul and Barnabas and the work upon which they were about to embark (Acts 13:3). This article is not about the qualifications of those who fill these positions, though that is, of course, important. Rather, I want …

In recent years, we have seen various religious groups ignore doctrine to unite in fellowship and purpose. In a politically correct society, where acceptance is the watchword, doctrine doesn’t matter anymore. In fact, one noted denominational preacher put it bluntly: “We’ve got to get past this thing about doctrine.” To many, all that matters any more is accepting God as Father and Jesus as the Son of God; everything else is simply extraneous and optional. This is all fine for denominations who do not acknowledge the authority of Scripture anymore. However, the Lord’s church will not participate in such, if it is to hold true to its calling. Jude candidly points out we are to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). There is only one faith that God has given which leads to salvation (Ephesians 4:5), not many variations of it. To abandon it is to pervert the Gospel of Christ and subvert the work God accomplishes through it (Galatians 1:6-9). Obedience through faith to the revealed will of God is what He desires (Matthew 7:21-23). To be candid, but honest, denominationalism is not of God, but of humanity, and it will not commend one to God. There is only one church (Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:4). While we may share certain tenets with denominations, the Lord’s church is not a denomination, but His blood-bought church, which alone is to be “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Our …

Bart D. Ehrman is an agnostic. He is highly critical of the Word of God and believes that the Bible is a work of mere men and not the revealed will of God. In believing this, he rejects and belittles the Bible. He has authored twenty plus books that advance his agnostic beliefs. “He joked that atheists think agnostics are wimpy atheists and that agnostics think atheists are arrogant agnostics.” It is my opinion that Mr. Ehrman is an arrogant agnostic. I noticed in the 30th of March 2009 edition of Newsweek magazine a very short article that publicized Mr. Ehrman’s latest book, “Jesus, Interrupted.” Found on page 16, the article is entitled, “Dear Lord, Let’s Agree To Disagree” by Adam B. Kushner. Under the subtitled, “The Evidence,” Mr. Kushner writes in part concerning the New Testament, “Most of the 27 books were written long after Christ’s death, and only eight of them were actually written by the people initially credited as authors. When the New Testament became canonical, there were lots of Gospels floating around. Why did some endure but not others? ‘Unclear’ Ehrman writes, but it surely reflected contemporary biases.” The Bible “did not descend from on high,” he writes. “It was created, down here on earth.” All of Mr. Ehrman’s critical remarks have been answered over and over again by true biblical scholars. Concerning his claim, “there were lots of Gospels floating around,” this is not true! Notice following evidence, “Though a few of the Apocryphal Gospels are of …

In September of 1995, I purchased a book written by Lynn Anderson entitled, Navigating the Winds of Change. It was and is a manual on “How to manage change in the church.” It is not to be understood by the author of the book that all changes would be acceptable to him, however, he does mention several changes that could be made that would be considered unscriptural by the majority of Christians. It is evident that many brethren are in the process of implementing the author’s suggestions and methods in introducing unscriptural practices to the various assemblies in their congregations. First of all, on page 150, brother Anderson writes: “Change things at an appropriate pace. William Bridges, who wrote Managing Transitions, says that ‘the real problem is not in bringing about change, but to keep too much change from happening too fast.’ The attitude of many seems to be: ‘If next year would help, immediately will cure everything.’ Sometimes the urgency of the convinced ignores the feelings of the unconvinced. This is both unloving and counterproductive.” An eldership would be wise in consulting with the local membership about some changes that would affect the entire congregation. For example, it would be best if the elders would suggest a period of trial concerning the changing of the times of the Sunday morning assemblies before implementing the change suddenly within a week’s time. I know personally of a case wherein the elders arbitrarily changed the times and did so immediately, and some of …

Last year I was picking blackberries when an inspiration for an article came to me. Today, however, I went again and was again inspired. It was not the kind of inspiration that Paul had, but it may be worth considering. As I picked berries, the thought occurred to me that there are many lessons that relate to principles of personal evangelism. First, if you are more concerned with being bitten by chiggers, stung by yellow jackets, scratched by briars or other trivial things than you are with picking berries, you will never be a great berry picker. If anything is more important to you than glorifying God by being a fisher of men, you will never be a great soul winner. Second, you may find them where you least expect. If you are really interested in picking berries, you will discover them by the side of the road or in little patches hidden here and there in the field. It does not really matter if you are ready. First Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear.” Third, you either get them when they are ripe and ready or you do not get them. In my 50 years of experience in trying to do personal evangelism, I have noted two significant things, both of which are bad. There are those who are …

The blood of Christ is the central theme of the Scriptures. It is the scarlet thread running from the beginning of time to the present. Jesus Christ is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:18-20). Jesus, when He instituted the Supper in His memory, said, “this is my blood of the New Testament, shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). In spite of all that the Bible has to say about the blood of Christ and the salvation purchased by it, many reject the need for the blood outright or simply see no necessity for it. To the modernist, the idea of salvation by blood is repulsive. As an example, Today’s English Version, also known as Good News For Modern Man, in 36 passages translated “blood” out of this version. The Greek word for “blood” is haima. Some other word was substituted in these places, 16 of which directly pertain to the blood of Christ. Here is one example of this anti-blood persuasion. In Colossians 1:14 the KJVreads: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” The TEVreads: “By whom we are set free and our sins are forgiven.” The word “blood,” though in the original text, and essential to the sense of the verse, is left out entirely! The Jews since the death of Christ on the Cross are depending on the blood of animals for their salvation, not accepting the teaching of the New Testament that “it is not …

In Matthew 10:40, Jesus spoke these words to those disciples who were being sent out on what we call the Limited Commission: “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” We are sure Jesus had direct reference to the Jews who would receive the disciples into their midst and hear what they had to say about the Messianic kingdom and the Messiahship of Jesus. The Lord had previously warned these men that they were going to be persecuted and abused by those to whom they were to preach, and for that reason He sounded the warning, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Consequently, the Jews who accepted these disciples into their towns and villages and patiently heard the message they were to deliver would be the very ones who would receive Him as Messiah and Lord, and those who did that would also receive God in the sense that they would submit to His will and find their way into the everlasting kingdom of Christ. Today, there is no way we can literally receive those messengers whom the Lord sent on that commission, for they are long since deceased and gone on to their eternal reward. At the same time, there is a sense in which we can either receive them or reject them. We can do …

What Makes Up Your Spiritual DNA? Who are you? Who is your father? Of what spirit are you? Our physical identity is considered so important in our modern world, and DNA is an amazing tool used by the scientific community to aid in the identification process. When questions arise about who is the father of a child, a determination can often be made apart from “the wisdom of Solomon.” Just as every one of us have a material/physical identity, so we additionally have a spiritual identity that holds even greater significance for us all. Have you taken time to consider how one’s spiritual identity has far-reaching consequences beyond one’s physical identity? Some may try to conceal their spiritual identity from their fellowman while they work in avenues that are detrimental to the kingdom of heaven. Such is the case with those Jesus aptly described as being ravening wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). Let’s recognize the following pertaining to spiritual identity. Our Actions Are Inseparably Linked to Identity Jesus taught the Jews of His day their identity was not truly linked to Abraham (as they were quick to affirm) because their works had no association with the works of Abraham. Their works were quite dissimilar. Jesus went on to say, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth…” (John 8:44). Does our daily behavior manifest in a clear and …