According to Vines respecting “faithfulness”: The word faithful itself has to do with trust, loyalty, being trustworthy and true. Thus, a person who is unfaithful as a child of God is faithless. Such a one is lacking in faith. He demonstrates that he is given to breaking promises to God. This type of child of God is untrustworthy in his stewardship to Christ. “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (l Corinthians 4:2 NKJV). Each of us would do well to ask himself these soul-searching questions, “Will I be able to pass this test on judgment day? Am I faithful as a steward? Can my Master (My Lord and Savior) completely rely on me? Can He count on me to be totally trustworthy to carry out my commitment to Him and His church?” (2 Corinthians 5:10). How is it that so many members of the church seem to be so complacent, lukewarm, indifferent and, yes, even unfaithful in their service (with regard to their stewardship) to the Master, Jesus Christ, and to His bride the church? How can people consider themselves to be faithful members of the church when they are unfaithful in attendance (Hebrews 10:25; Matthew 6:33)? How can people consider themselves to be faithful when their giving is irregular, and they fail to give as they have been prospered (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)? How can people consider themselves to be faithful when they neither participate in nor support the regular work programs of the church? Would an

Absenteeism is a problem within any congregation of the Lord’s people. I do not know all the reasons for this, nor do I sit for hours trying to figure it all out. However, it is good from time to time to be reminded of our spiritual needs, which are met by being present for the services of the church. Because of Saul’s hatred for David, David had to be absent from the feast of the New Moon. “Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty’” (1 Samuel 20:18 NKJV). Jonathan loved David, and when David was absent, Jonathan missed him. Because we love our brethren today, they are missed when they are absent. Christians have a responsibility to the local congregation. Whenever we are absent, it not only affects us, but we also affect our brethren who are present. Absenteeism shows disrespect for elders who have planned and set aside this special time each week for our spiritual nourishment. “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13). “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Absenteeism affects the preacher who has planned a sermon to meet the needs of a congregation, which does not show up for it. How could it be thought to be mandatory for the preacher to be present at all

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). The two desires go together. They are used here to express strong spiritual desires and needs. The original word was used in the Greek classics to express “seeking with eager desire.” On other occasions in the New Testament, it is used to express “an ardent craving, and intense yearning, a profound sense of need.” When you stop and think about it, even in everyday life, hunger and thirst are powerful impulses. If left unfulfilled, we would eventually die. We need to keep in mind that we are composite beings. That means that we are two-fold beings. We are composed of a body and a spirit (Genesis 1:26-27; James 2:26). This may be observed as well in what the Lord said in Matthew 4:4. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Physical bread can feed the physical man, but it cannot feed the spirit of man; only the Word of God can do that. We have a soul to feed as well as a body. The man of the world has no appetite for spiritual things. We must be careful for what we hunger and thirst in the spiritual realm and in the world! The worldly man craves what is physical. He looks to the material. He seeks what is momentary, the temporary. He seeks fleshly gratification. He does not realize and

In order to arrive at truth on any subject, we must bring an open mind to the examination of the Word of God. We must determine that the Bible will be allowed to settle all questions. It and it alone will be the final source of authority in all matters of faith and practice (Romans 4:3; Galatians 4:30; 2 Timothy 3:l6-17; 2 Peter 1:3). This approach to the sacred oracles rules out any appeal to creed books or any appeal to loyalty to ancestors over and above the Bible (1 Peter 4:11; 1 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 22:18-19; Galatians 1:6-9). Come to the Word and study for yourself (2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11). We learn from Hebrews 11:6 that it is impossible for a man to come to God without faith. Paul taught in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Paul told the Ephesians, “The sword of the Spirit is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). We learn some of the power of that word in Hebrews 4:12 and Romans 1:16. The Word of God, then, is the instrument by which the Holy Spirit operates on the spiritual heart of man (whether alien or Christian). God appointed faith to change the spiritual heart of man through teaching (Romans 10:17), then repentance to change the life (Matthew 21:28-31; 3:8), confession of faith in Christ as a declaration of change in allegiance (Matthew 10:32-33) and baptism into Christ to change one’s state or relationship

We read in Joel 3:14, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision.” Man is a creature of choice, and throughout life, he will be faced with many decisions. Some of these, of course, will be more critical than others and will carry greater consequences. Each person must realize that he is responsible for his own life and for making his own personal decisions. This is especially true with regard to those that have a direct bearing upon his soul and where he will be in eternity when his life on earth has ended. “Then the dust [body] will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 NKJV). Also read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. Will I Make the Decisionto Serve God or Satan? As accountable beings, we have the capability of making this choice. Notice what Joshua said in Joshua 24:14-15. “Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah. And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.” Please notice that the decision was

Each preacher, parent and teacher may be compared to a sculptor who is working with a beautiful piece of marble, trying to chip away a little here and there until he at last has created a masterpiece. Yet, as preachers, parents and teachers, we are seeking to use God’s Word and Bible principles to chisel and to shape ever so carefully the heart of a person. We love others, and we want them to be the best they can be. Of course, we realize that in the case of a child, there is an active response of the child involved as well. We see both sides of these matters involved in the following passages. “Except Jehovah build the house, They labor in vain that build it…Lo children are a heritage of Jehovah; And the fruit of the womb is his reward. Happy is the man that hath a quiver full of them” (Psalm 127:1, 3-5). “Train up a child in the way that he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). “Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor thy Father and thy Mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 5:1-4). As parents and teachers of God’s Word we will

The Christian life is to be a life of growth and development. “We are to desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby unto salvation” (1 Peter 2:1-2). In 2 Peter 3:18 we read, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” We also learn from Hebrews 5:12-14 that with time and opportunity God expects us to grow as His children. One of those avenues of development is to make sure that our lives are characterized by purity. In Matthew 5:8 in the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” First, one must purify his soul in obeying the truth. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:22-23, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently.” As a penitent believer who has confessed his faith in his Lord, one must be baptized into Christ for the remission of his past sins (John 8:24; Luke 13:5; Romans 6:3-6; 10:9-10; Acts 2:38). Peter stressed the need of growth and development in the Christian life (2 Peter 1:5-11). Second, one must be concerned with purity of heart or life. Psalm 24:3-4 reads, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart.” “But the end of the charge is love out of a

The Called Out The word that we find translated “church” in many of our translations has been translated from the Greek word ekklesia. Here we are dealing with the “called out feature” of God’s people. These are the people who have been called out of the world by the Gospel. That is they have had the opportunity to hear the saving Gospel of Christ. They have believed it (John 8:21, 24; Hebrews 11:6) and obeyed it (Romans 10:16-17). Hearing the truth with an open mind is what produces faith. They completed their obedience by repentance, confession of their faith in Christ and by being baptized into Christ for the remission of their past sins (Acts 3:19; 8:37; Romans 6:3-6; 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; 22:16). They had been called out of the world of darkness into the marvelous light of truth and love (1 Peter 2:9). They had cast off the works of darkness and had put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12). The church and the saved are the same. The Kingdom of God This refers to the government feature of the church. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). The word “kingdom” refers to the government feature of the church. Christians live under the Kingship of Jesus. We are under his ruler-ship, leadership and control. He is Lord of lords and King of kings. “Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed

God said unto him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?” I would ask that you read Luke 12:15-21. Here we find the parable of the foolish rich man. Here we find a rich man who had lived by a philosophy of life that many have unfortunately adopted today. It is as follows, “I am not concerned about the future from the standpoint of the wellbeing of my soul. I am going to live for the satisfaction of my fleshly passions today. I am going to live for self. I will eat, drink and be merry. My belly is full. I have enjoyed an abundant harvest. I will continue to build to have room for my material blessings.” One can readily see this man showed absolutely no interest in spiritual matters. As worldly people look at things, they would have deemed him a wise and a successful man. God called such a man a fool. His lack of concern about his soul came home to haunt him, as it will for all who follow in his steps. This parable is a challenge to all of us to examine our purposes and goals in life. All opportunities to correct the wrongs in his life were about to come to a sudden and tragic end. God said to him, “This night shall thy soul be required of thee” (Luke 12:20). What a sobering reality! Do we seek to

It has long been recognized that we can learn a lot about a person when we see how he responds to pressure. Look at Paul while in prison. There is much to be learned as we study the life of the great apostle Paul. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep: In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me (presseth upon my daily), the care of all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) His Pen Though Paul was in prison, he would not allow prison to rob him of his pen. Just think how poor this world would be without his prison epistles, among which is the great Book of Philippians (Philippians 1:1). His Preaching Paul would not let prison rob him of or hinder him in his preaching in the palace or

“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:1-10) Luke is the only writer who records this wonderful story that so many children have sung about in children’s classes and in VBS over the years. There are many wonderful lessons to be gleaned from this reading other than

An epitaph is a memorial inscription. Over the years, after either attending a funeral or having preached someone’s funeral, I have walked through the cemetery to pay attention to the oldest grave marker there and also to notice the different epitaphs inscribed on the tombstones. I have often wondered how different those words would read if God was the one who briefly summarized each life by inscribing an epitaph on each tombstone. On the humorous side, I am reminded of the story of the man who had too much to drink and had decided he would take a short cut home. His wanderings led him through the local cemetery late at night. He stumbled upon a grave, fell down and passed out. When he awakened the next morning, he lifted his eyes to read these words from the tombstone. “As I am now, someday you soon shall be, so prepare yourself to follow me.” He thought on those words for a little while, and then he took a marker from his coat pocket and scribbled underneath the epitaph his own words. “To follow you, I am not content, until I find out which way you went.” Seriously, all of us need to be more concerned about what is going to become of us when this life is over (Job 14:14; 19:25-27; 1 Corinthians 5:10; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)! Good Epitaphs Jesus – A good summary of his life is found in Acts 10:38. He “went about doing good.”

It is imperative that we study the question of how men are made believers. Emphasis needs to be  given to the fact that men are brought to a saving obedient faith by believing and obeying the Gospel of Christ, and not by a direct operation of the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:16-17; 1 Peter 1:22; Acts 2:37-38). Especially in this article, I want to call our attention to several passages of Scripture that call us to always walk in and remain faithful to the truth of God’s Word (3 John 4). There are three passages of Scripture, one located near the beginning of the Bible, another located about the middle of the Bible and the final one found at the end of the Bible that set forth various warnings about tampering with God’s Word. We will notice these first, and then, we will look at some of similar import. (1) Deuteronomy 4:2 reads, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 12:32 says, “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (2) Proverbs 30:6 records, “Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (3) Revelation 22:18-19 warns, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him” (Hebrews 2:1-3). Webster’s New American Dictionary briefly defines “neglect” as “1. To omit performance of, as a duty. 2. To fail to care for, as, he neglects his home. 3. To disregard, as he neglected my principal argument. Syn. Slight. To neglect is to fail to give proper attention to some duty or obligation; to disregard is to neglect intentionally; to slight is to treat with indifference and often contempt. Ant. Attend to, perform.” One does not have to abuse his body in order to lose his physical health. All he has to do is to neglect it. If he does not take proper care of himself and provide proper nourishment and exercise for the physical man, it will eventually catch up with him. The same principle applies in the spiritual realm. “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For

M… is for Mama. Mama is the one we called on when we were small, to soothe all our aches, pains, bruises and cuts. Oh, the magic of a mother’s tender touch, some comforting words and a loving kiss, and how quickly it made everything better (Proverbs. 31:15, 21, 27). O… is for others. Mom always thinks of others ahead of herself. She will do without something she wants so her husband and children may be cared for (Proverbs 31:20). 0… is for overtime. I think of the many hours of toil by loving hands staying busy to care for children, cook meals, clean house, laundry and a thousand other things (Proverbs 31:15). T… is for tenderness, teaching and togetherness. Nothing can match the tender care of a mother with an infant child. Mothers are incomparable teachers. Truly, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Mom keeps the home fires burning, and is usually the glue that holds the family together through thick and thin (Proverbs 31:21, 25, 31). H… is for helper, homemaker, humility and honor. Through the years, I wonder how many times we have said these words. Mom, could you help me with this? Mom, would you please do this for me? So much work and effort in taking care of our home and we get it all done for free! This surely shows humility. “Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3;

Paul told the young preacher Timothy, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:15-17). We are told by Peter in 2 Peter 1:3 that “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” Friends, we have been given the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25). We are to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). We are not to go beyond that which is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). We are to abide in the doctrine (that is the teaching of Christ) (2 John 9-11). We cannot have fellowship with those, or even encourage those, who depart from it or go beyond it. A special curse rests on any man who comes with a different gospel than what the apostles taught (Galatians 1:6-9). The Gospel of the first century is sufficient for the twenty-first century and every century thereafter if God sees fit for time on earth to continue (Matthew 24;35; Romans 1:16-17). I affirm that the Bible is all sufficient and that it, therefore, meets

“Unfeigned” literally means not being hypocritical. Originally, it meant one who was real and not just a play actor on a stage, acting out a part. He is genuine. Unfeigned love is, therefore, sincere affection without admixture of deceit; it is true affection. It is not in word only. Thus, we have in 1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another with a pure heart fervently.” They had purified their souls through their obedience to the truth. They had heard the word of the truth of the Gospel and had obeyed it (John 17:17; Romans 10:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). They then had the same spiritual parentage. They had become children of God. They had now been added to the New Testament church (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 12:13). They had the same spiritual Father. They had become brothers and sisters in Christ. They were to love one another with a pure heart fervently. “Fervently” is from ektenos and describes an emotion that is forceful and warm. We read in 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all things, being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins: using hospitality one toward another without murmuring.” He described a warm, ardent love. The word from which fervent comes is Ktenos. It originally had to do with music, referring to the drawing out, of the stretching of a music string. The point being that children of God are not to love one another halfheartly

Revelation 3:15-16 reads, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” This was written to the church at Laodicea. This also means, of course, that Jesus knows each of us individually inside out (Hebrews 4:13). The whole of our lives lie openly before him; nothing remains hidden. The Lord gave an evaluation of the congregation at Laodicea. The church was neither hot nor cold. Trench says that the Lord is expressing deep regret at this condition. Jesus is not saying that He wished that they had never come under the influence of the Gospel, but rather He is giving emphasis to His disappointment to their lukewarmness, over their lack of zeal and concern about spiritual matters. Notice verse 16. “So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” Lukewarm (chliaros, one of the various forms of chlio) means, “to become warm, liquefy, melt” (Thayer). Here the word is used metaphorically to express a condition that produced nausea. A beverage that is hot or cold could be refreshing; but a drink that is tepid and lukewarm produces only nausea and vomiting (Leviticus 18:28; 20:22). The Lord was saying, “Your half-hearted, hypocritical lives make me sick.” He charges that they are neither cold (Psuchros) nor hot (zostos – boiling). They were attempting to make a deadly compromise. There can be no real commitment to Jesus if a person decides to remain cold at the same

In Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29 and 3:6, 13, 22, we have this admonition, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” We see Christ walking in the midst of the churches. He is the Great Inspector. He sees everything that is taking place in all the congregations. He does the same today (Hebrews 4:12-13). He bids all to take heed to His Word. What is meant by ‘hearing’ in these verses? Cruden’s Concordance points out that the word “hear” is often used for the listening to the Word of God with a firm purpose to obey His commands. Those having ears to hear are willing to listen to God’s Word. They are to give heed to what is said. “He that hath an ear” is to call attention. It is a personal challenge to each of us to recognize the authority of Christ (Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:21). Who is to hear? Each individual is addressed and charged with the responsibility of hearing. This command cannot be obeyed by mere passive listening, but demanded is an active obedient response to what is heard with the consequence that the judgment of God will fall upon the disobedient (John 12:48; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). How many people pretend to listen to the Word proclaimed and then choose not to obey it? “All ye, assemble yourselves and hear” (Isaiah 48:14). “O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:29). Who is to be heard? We are to hear Jesus the Christ. He “hath the sharp