____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ November 12, 2000 ____________________________________________________ Guilty of Doing God's Job? by Tom Edwards Though there are many duties that God has placed upon us as His servants, there are also those areas in which it is not our duty--but, perhaps, sometimes we have violated this truth, without fully realizing. For example, have you ever harshly prayed for someone who had either done you--or someone else--wrong; and before you know it, you're asking God that the same type of affliction that person brought upon you (or the others) will also be brought upon this wrongdoer? or perhaps you have some other ``punishments'' or ``chastisements'' in mind that you would like to see the Lord swiftly inflict upon the offender, so you begin specifying these to God in prayer. But though our vengeful ``decrees'' are directed towards a wrongdoer, would we not still be doing wrong for having such a vindictive spirit? This type of retaliation can sometimes occur in the one who has been made embittered by an insult, an injustice, or some other injury--even imaginary ones--and unceasingly carries a grudge over it, which continually refuels the fire of his vengeful thoughts and schemes. But wait a minute...is not man going too far when he begins telling the Lord of what type of wrath to pour out on the wicked? Who are we to make such decisions? Though there are realms in which decisions of discipline or punishment must be made by us--as with the laws of the land, parental discipline, school discipline, etc.--today's article is addressing areas beyond that. For instance, someone terribly humiliates and hurts you by their slanderous remarks--and you're tempted to want to see the same happen to your accuser, so you begin praying to that end, thinking that that will help the person to understand how he has wronged you. Or someone has stolen a sentimental possession from you, and you think that a good lesson for that unknown thief is for someone to steal something of value from him--so you pray that will happen. Or someone has spitefully run a metal object down the side of your shiny, new car...so you ask the Lord that not only will the one who did that have his car badly scratched, but that all his tires will be slashed as well! For those who would feel justified in trying to ``decree'' through prayer such ``punishments'' to occur, they need to read the following: ``Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, `Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord'' (Rom. 12:17-19). It was James and John who made the mistake and were rebuked by Jesus when they were about to command that fire come down from heaven and consume those Samaritans who were not willing to receive the Christ. In His censure, however, Jesus pointed out to James and John that they did not know what kind of spirit they were of (Luke 9:51-56). A retaliatory one is definitely not the kind a Christian should have. There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to see justice done, but we need to be careful lest we have the attitude as if we are the ``judge, jury, and executioner.'' Laws of the land have that responsibility of carrying out proper justice (Rom 13:1-7); and even if we think the verdict too lenient, that would not give us the right to ``improve'' on it by taking matters into our own hands--like the ``lynching parties'' of the old West--so let us not even entertain such thoughts. We will be better people if we don't allow bitterness to take up residence in our hearts. As Paul writes, ``Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger'' (Eph. 4:26). Not all anger is sinful: God's anger, for example, is a righteous indignation; but we need to beware lest our anger leads to unrighteous thoughts--such as in desiring evil for another (regardless of how much they have wronged us or others). May our prayers for our offenders--or the offenders of others--be always out of a spirit of love, with the desire that the Lord will help the wrongdoers to see the error of their ways, repent, and submit to the gospel that their souls will be saved. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:44, ''...love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.'' And in Luke 6:27,28, ''...do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.'' Surely, it should be the desire of each Christian to want to see every lost soul come to Christ--no matter how vile that person has been, and even if that vileness has been directed toward you personally. Such was the case of Stephen: while being stoned to death by a wild and angry mob, his very last words were, ``Lord, do not hold this sin against them!'' (Acts 7:60)--and this faithful follower of Jesus then died. There was no utterance of revenge, no request for a similar end for each of his murderers, no malice in his heart toward these who were manifesting the ultimate hatred toward him. Rather, Stephen's concern for his murderers was for their salvation. Therefore, the next time someone does you wrong and you feel like vengefully praying down a catastrophe that the Lord will bring in that person's life, remember Stephen; and know that anyone who would do you wrong--of whatever the sort--is revealing even more his need for God. For it is obvious that the wrongdoer has either forgotten, has not even learned, or just doesn't even care of how to be the human being the Lord would have him to be. Now isn't that pathetic? God, in His providence, might choose to bring some type of ``chastisement'' or ``punishment'' into the wrongdoer's life, such as through various adversities--which isn't to say that all adversities would be a sign of this--but let us leave that up to the Lord and not think that we need to tell Him the specific methods He should use. For if we do, would we not then be guilty of trying to do God's job? May God help all wrongdoers--in whatever ways He sees best--and us as well, when we go astray that we might all see the error of our ways, turn from them, and return to the Lord. For it is only by abiding in Jesus that we can live in harmony with God now and find a heavenly home in that great eternity to come--a home made not with human hands, but one of which the builder is God Himself--and who can top that?! As Jesus told the apostles, ``In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you...that where I am, there you may be also'' (Jn. 14:2,3). Isn't it great to know that man won't have to build his own dwelling place in heaven? For that, too, is God's job--and, oh, what a marvelous job He can do! ___________________________________________ Cybersex-- Is it Grounds for Divorce? by Tom Edwards With the advent of the Internet and its popularity escalating, more and more people have access to a storehouse of information at their fingertips. And, like the world itself, it reflects a wide range of human interests--from that which is good to, unfortunately, that which is evil, as well. We are now hearing of the term ``cybersex,'' which people experience vicariously through their communications over the Internet--a step up from ``phone sex'' or, perhaps, I should say a ``step down,'' for that certainly is the direction these immoral activities are leading. A similar question of the above title was once asked me. The person was sincerely wanting to know if an innocent spouse could scripturally divorce his or her mate if that mate had engaged in cybersex. Unquestionably, the practice of cybersex would be a sin; and the two people would be guilty of committing adultery in their hearts; but does that constitute the ``fornication'' Jesus speaks of in Matthew 19:9 where He points out that divorce is not to be for any other cause except this? Before the age of computers, I imagine there were similar questions people had about pornography. If a spouse, for instance, knew of his or her mate to be lusting over such, would that be grounds for divorce? It is true that it would be adultery ``in the heart,'' just as in the above example; for Christ taught that ``everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart'' (Matt. 5:28). But, again, would this be scriptural grounds for the innocent spouse to divorce his or her mate? The answer to these questions would be ``no''; for though adultery has been committed in the heart, there was never the physical act of it, which constitutes the ``fornication'' Jesus speaks of in Matthew 19:9. Cybersex would be ``doubly wrong'' when compared to the one who would be guilty of lusting in his heart solitarily, because the former is involving more than one person. And though it is bad enough--and sinful--for just the one person to be committing adultery in heart, is it not even worse to involve another person in that through cybersex? As Jesus states: ''...'It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble''' (Luke 17:1,2). We can also liken fornication ``in the heart'' to another sin that can occur in the heart: John, the apostle of love, writes, ``Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him'' (1 John 3:15). This is a serious matter! Though no trigger was pulled, no knife was plunged, no throat was strangled, nor any other method used to induce death, the one who has a heart filled with hate toward his brother is a murderer in God's sight! The Christian who is guilty of this will not enter the kingdom of heaven because he would then not have eternal life abiding in him--hate has shoved it out. Does this mean, however, that the one who is guilty of murder ``in his heart'' because of his hatred toward his brother, could then be sentenced to death in a court of law? Obviously not, for since there was no physical act of murder carried out, this person could not be executed. But let us remember that to lose out on eternal life because of hatred in your heart--or any other sin--would be much worse than merely being physically put to death. For the one being executed for crimes he has done could die safely in the arms of Jesus, if this one undergoing capital punishment has submitted to the gospel plan of salvation, prior to his death. So cybersex is a sin that will keep one out of heaven (and what could be worse than that?), but it does not constitute the ``fornication'' that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 19:9, which involves the physical act, as the only scriptural grounds for divorce. ___________________________________________ News & Notes Virgie Shank, who was a member of the Danville church of Christ in Kentucky (where I used to attend in the late 70's and early 80's) passed away November 9. Her funeral will be Monday. Let us be praying for all her family and friends. Let us also continue praying for sister Fox and sister Padgett in Lexington that their health might greatly improve. We welcome those of you who are visiting with us today and hope that you'll be able to come back again. We are glad to have you. Would you like to take a free Bible correspondence course? Simply request one today. We would be happy to send you the first lesson. ________________________________________ Avondale CHURCH OF CHRIST P.O. Box 421 1606 Glen Willow Rd., Avondale, PA 19311 (610) 268-2088 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 11:00 A.M. Worship 6:00 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:00 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (610) 925-3567 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://www.mypage.onemain.com/tedwards/avondale ________________________________________