____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ March 26, 2000 ____________________________________________________ "...Except Ye Repent" by Bobby Graham ''... but unless you repent you will all like-wise perish'' (Luke 13:3). The same requirement here stated regarding certain ones is elsewhere applied to all people, for ``God commands all men everywhere to repent'' (Acts 17:30). Because it requires a change of mind and subsequent life, repentance probably is the most difficult command of the Lord to obey. Involved in such obedience is a change from whatever cherished beliefs, practices, and attitudes conflict with God's will to a life of service to God. Necessary to this change is one's admission of his own wrongdoing, as well as the producing of fruit befitting repentance (Acts 26:20). From such a course there is no recourse for one desirous of pleasing God. The coming judgment is used by the Lord's apostle in Acts 17:30 to promote repentance. In this study notice the emphasis placed upon repentance throughout the New Testament. Its Meaning The parable concerning the two sons asked by their father to work in his vineyard clearly reveals the meaning of repentance. In Matthew 21:28-32 we learn from the instruction to the sons and their reactions, combined with the textual comments, that repenting is a change of the will or the mind. While his admission of wrong was necessary, such did not constitute repentance. Nor was repentance his sorrow for disobedience to the father. His change of mind, which identifies his repentance, was not the entirety of what was needed in his case. He needed to go to work as requested by the father. Simply stated, repentance is that change of mind influenced by the Lord's Word, leading to one's change of course or life. The liar must cease his lying, the murderer his murdering, the gossiper his gossiping, and the adulterer his adultery. In each of these cases of sin, the sin continues as long as the act of sin is committed. Adultery exists on the same basis as the other sins, in that it is a sin committed as often as the two persons illegally commit the sexual act. The decision to put away one's mate is not adultery, but it sets up the situation in which the sexual act in another marriage continues to be adultery as long as it takes place. The civil marriage of the two, lacking the divine privilege of remarriage to each other, can never change a sinful act into one approved by God. Contrived definitions do not alter the Lord's teaching about repentance. If the sexual act can continue with God's blessing, then the act of gossip or lying could also continue. The same command from the Lord calling for a halt to the one also demands a cessation of the other. John's Preaching of Repentance In Luke 3:1-8 we see John proclaiming a baptism ``of repentance'' unto the remission of sins. His was the work of preparing people for the Lord's ministry, as seen in Isaiah's prophecy quoted here concerning the spiritual preparation needed by them. The language of road building was used to convey the idea of making the spiritual way ready for the Lord, but the real changes needed were in the individuals addressed by John. Fruits worthy of repentance were demanded by him on the part of those designated as a brood of vipers, who needed to flee the wrath to come. He warned that every tree failing to bring forth good fruit would be cut down and cast into the fire. Repentance was essential on the part of these if they were to be able to ``see the salvation of God.'' Jesus' Teaching Of Repentance As Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, he told the people in Galilee to repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:14,15). It is obvious that any desiring to be included in the kingdom (under the rule) of Jesus Christ must repent. Repentance is one of the demands of the gospel, for submission to heaven's king requires it. One simply cannot continue to go on in his own willful way if he wants to be in the Lord's kingdom. Even when the kingdom was near in time, Jesus made it clear that only the penitent could receive or enter it. Repentance Under The Great Commission When Jesus commissioned his disciples to preach to people of all nations, beginning in Jerusalem, he told them to proclaim repentance. Luke's reference to this one requirement indicates it to comprehend even the belief and baptism elsewhere seen to be part of man's response to their preaching. Its universal application (all nations) shows all people to be amenable to God's will and in violation of it. The rest of Jesus' charge indicates God's part is remission of sins to the penitent. The repetition of repentance and its coordinate role with baptism in Acts 2:38 indicates that repenting is not God's exclusive requirement. Proper motivation for repentance is found in Paul's writing in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11, along with its fruits in life. Only godly sorrow, that prompted by the realization of doing wrong against God, will produce the desired effect. Among Christians repentance is also a requirement when they sin against God. Just as Simon was told to repent in Acts 8:18-24, so must one today so that the thought of his heart be forgiven him. To the saints in Ephesus the Lord sent the directive to repent, as well as to the complacent Laodiceans (Revelation 2:5; 3:19). The comments concerning repentance's demand in altering one's life, in the section on definition of the word, apply with equal force here in regard to the erring child's need to stop all practice of sin--murder, lying, adultery, or whatever. Before one can repent he must become aware of his sin and be sorrowed by it. In such sorrow he must desire to amend his life in harmony with the Lord's will and then bring forth those fruits of repentance already noted in this study (Psalm 51:1-3,17,7,13-15). Many will be lost in the final day because of a failure to repent, even many claiming to be God's children. Let us all be careful that we not become stiff-necked, refusing to repent. In fact, every lost person will be in torment because he failed to repent. -- Via Watchman Magazine, February 2000 ___________________________________________ The Future of Fatherhood by Andy Diestelkamp With the advent of cloning and genetic manipulation some rabid feminists have been foaming at the mouth about the possibility of no longer needing men for any reason. Until recently men have supposedly only been needed for procreation, but now we are being declared obsolete. Some males may wring their testosterone deprived hands over the very thought of being relegated to the likes of the dodo bird, but most of us have more important things to be concerned about than the continual dripping of contentious women (Prov. 27:15). Confidence in the word of God (Gen. 3:16) and godly women (Prov. 31; Tit. 2:3-5) should allow men to merely laugh (Psa. 52:6) at the ignorant clamor of foolish women (Prov. 9:13). Having said all that, it is important that men see that we are, in large part, responsible for the foolishness of these women. Our failure to be what God has called us to be as husbands, fathers, and leaders has contributed to the delinquency of our sons and daughters. Selfish and carnal attitudes have produced everything from modern Neanderthals to wimps. Laziness is to blame for the chronic spiritual neglect of the family. Cowardice accounts for the lack of strong male leadership in the homes, churches and communities. The products of all of this are unhappy marriages, neglected and untrained children, and a misguided society. It is not hard to see that the failure of men to be what God has called them to be creates a cycle that is neither easily nor quickly reversed. Thus, fathers, the future of fatherhood is in our hands. God has provided the standard by which we are to love, lead and train. The only question that remains is whether we have the will and the courage to be the godly men that God has called us to be. The answer to that question will in large part determine the direction our posterity will go. Fatherhood will not be the dominant force for good that God intended if it is not first anchored in the firm foundation of a stable, loving marriage between a man and a woman of common faith. The scriptures are rife with examples of spiritually mixed marriages and where they led. Men and women who want to provide the greatest opportunity for a successful family to the second, third, and fourth generations will seek marital bonds only with those who intimately share their faith. It is very important that a man treat his wife with the honor that she is due as a joint-heir (1 Pet. 3:7). It is the role of a husband to love, nourish and cherish his wife (Eph. 5:25-33). In performing this role as Christ did toward the church, a father provides his sons and daughters with an admirable example. When a man treats his wife as merely a slave in bondage to his whims, he provides his sons and daughters with an example of an abuse of power. Sons will grow up to treat women the same way, and daughters will either find men just like daddy and/or stereotype all men to be the oafs that their fathers were. While the example of a father and mother in a strong, committed marriage is important and prerequisite, successful fatherhood involves more than example. It demands training. Children need to be taught why mommy and daddy love one another and why they love God. Sons and daughters need to be taught how to love God, one another, and their future spouses and children. It is the responsibility of fathers to see to it that their children are trained (Eph. 6:4). While certainly a father is at liberty and wise to use any and all who can help him raise his children in the Lord, I fear that laziness has many fathers doing more delegating than being actually and intimately involved. This is no better illustrated than in spiritual training. Our culture has essentially turned the spiritual training of children over to churches. Local churches now bear the burden of trying to impart doctrines, morals and character to the members' children. Feeling that burden, many churches have felt compelled to spend great amounts of money on flashy, cutting-edge teaching props to keep the attention of our easily bored children. If fathers were more diligent in their efforts to inculcate their children with the word of God when at home, and when traveling about, and at bedtime, and at breakfast (Deut. 6:6-9), then the simple discussion of spiritual topics would be ample stimulation for eager participation in the classroom. However, having said that, it must be conceded that even many of the classes that are offered by churches do not show much diligence, amounting to little more than coloring books and fill in the blanks. Intelligent training and discussion at home will result in spiritually intelligent children; and they, along with an enthusiastic teacher, are all that is necessary to having a dynamic class. That is time well spent. The classes offered by a local church should only be considered a positive, reinforcing supplement to the primary training received at home. To our shame the home as a haven of protection and a center of learning has been neglected, if not abandoned, for the convenience of turning the training of children over to governments and churches. This laziness becomes the norm and the standard by which our sons and daughters will train our grandchildren, and the cycle continues. Sons are not taught to value a woman by her desire to bear children, love them, and guide the household, but by her outer appearance and financial potential (1 Tim. 2:9-15; 5:14; Tit. 2:4,5). Daughters are not trained to value a man who will provide her and her children with spiritual leadership and direction, but one who can provide them with social status and material wants. Finally, it is going to take courage to be the fathers that God expects us to be. The world will mock, ridicule and even hate the values and principles that we must teach our children to successfully lead our families in the paths of righteousness. We will be charged with brainwashing and teaching hate. Even some brethren may say we are being over-protective, controlling, and strange. When Christians are losing more of their children to the world than they are keeping for the Lord I'd like to try, for a change, dealing with the problems of being over-protective rather than the problems of not being protective enough. In a world that is out of control, I prefer controlling to the alternative. In a culture where materialism, divorce and neglect are the norm, I'll take strange. While the feminists and social engineers of our time are looking forward to the day when fatherhood will be but a distant memory of an ancient culture, we need men to step forward and unapologetically be patriarchs with the mind of Christ. Haughtiness and elitism are not needed or helpful, but humility and holiness are. The philosophies of men have produced moral confusion and have destroyed many families and even more souls. Fathers with spiritual vision will see this and diligently seek to sow the peace and stability of God's word into the hearts of their children. Such courageous action will secure the blessings of liberty [in Christ] for ourselves and our posterity as it bears good fruit for generations to come (Jas. 3:13-18). -- Via Think on These Things, October-November-December 1999 ________________________________________ CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kemtucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 5:00 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________