____________________________________________________ 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 4, 2001 ____________________________________________________ Your Late-In-Life Repentance by Rick Liggin The Amorites who had previously possessed the land of Canaan had been an extremely corrupt people-so corrupt, in fact, that God had driven them out of the land in order to give it to His own people, the nation of Israel. But now, some five hundred or more years later, under the influence of one man, the southern kingdom in Israel (Judah) had become even more corrupt than the Amorites had ever been. Who was this one man that so terribly influenced Judah? It was King Manasseh. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and his reign lasted for fifty-five years. We are told that "he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel" (2 Ki. 21:2). The list of his sins is repulsive--even to those who may not care much about God. He involved himself in all types of idolatrous worship, including that of human sacrifice; he even made some of his own sons "pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom" (2 Chron. 33:6). Furthermore, he shed so much innocent blood that Jerusalem was said to have been filled with it "from one end to another" (2 Ki. 21:16). And worst of all, Manasseh encouraged the entire nation to become immoral: we are told that he "seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel" (2 Ki. 21:9). In consequence of his sins, God caused Manasseh to be led away with hooks, bound in chains, into Assyrian captivity (2 Chron. 33:11). Then Manasseh repented! Yes, believe it or not, in captivity he actually humbled himself greatly before Jehovah and begged for God's mercy (2 Chron. 33:12-13). So genuine was his repentance that God actually allowed him to return to Jerusalem to finish his reign. And when he returned to Jerusalem, he followed through with his repentance by removing all the idols, restoring the true worship of God, and by ordering the nation to serve Jehovah again (2 Chron. 33:14-16). But sadly, Manasseh's own repentance had no affect on the heart of his son, nor did it change the heart of the nation in general. The many years of his wicked influence simply had too strong a hold on the people. Evidence for this is rather clear: when Manasseh died, we are told that "Amon his son became king in his place...and he did evil in the sight of the Lord as Manasseh his father had done" (2 Chron. 33:20-22). Though Manasseh, himself, had a change of heart, his late-in-life repentance could not undo all the awful damage already done by his previous involvement in depraved wickedness. Isn't there a lesson in all of this for us? Most assuredly there is! When you choose to spend a good portion of your life actively pursuing wicked and licentious deeds, do not be surprised if it tragically affects others around you. Your refusal to do right will influence others--including your own family! And even though you may repent later on in life, you cannot undo the damage you have already done! Yes, some may follow your lead and turn from their sins too. But scores of others will never even know of your repentance, and almost certainly will never change. And oh how broken your heart will be, if some of the casualties turn out to be members of your own family--maybe even your own children! Now is the time to put a stop to any evil influence you may be on others. Later on in life may be too late! -- Via Think on These Things, October-November- December, 2000 ___________________________________________ God Is Good, So Will He Punish? by Jon W. Quinn "These things you have done and I have kept silence; You thought I was just like you; I will reprove you, and state the case in order before your eyes" (Psalm 50:21). The Lord, through the Psalmist, wanted to make something clear. It bears repeating today. He is not just like us. Since the beginning of time, mankind has tried to refashion God into man's image. He has made golden calves, idols of Molech and Baal, and today theologians debate one another seeking to prove that God is what they want Him to be. One thing about God, as revealed in the Bible, that really upsets many today is the idea that God would punish people for sin or rebellion. In the movie "Oh God," God is portrayed in a comical way and is much more like what people would like Him to be. He is kindly, easy going and never angry "except on His bad days." Well, what about the flood? The movie explains, "That was just a plumbing accident." Yes, people seem to want to believe in that kind of God, sometimes bungling things and not capable of Divine wrath. Our generation has done it again. We have refashioned the true and living God of the Bible into something more to our liking. But we know it doesn't really work like that, don't we? Mankind's whims and preferences about what we want God to be do not change what He really is. The fact is that God is indeed capable and willing to dispense wrath justly and righteously even as He is willing and able to dispense grace lovingly and mercifully. God Is Not Just Like Man "May it never be! Rather, let God be found true though every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). Think about it: if God says one thing and every man on earth says another, which is right? God is! Those in the Psalmist's day were in many ways like people today when it came to sin. It wasn't all that serious to them, and because of that, they assumed it was not all that serious to God. They were wrong. They were wrong when they thought that since everybody sins and sin is so commonplace, that it must not be serious. "God must not punish it as the Bible says He will, because that would involve too many people being punished." While it is true that God takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked, whether few or many, the fact remains that He has said that such will be punished (Ezekiel 18:30-32; Matthew 7:22,23). They were also wrong in supposing that because God is loving and merciful (and He is!) that He would never punish anyone. He has responded to our need for salvation graciously and powerfully, and at great cost to Himself. His Son has paid the price for our redemption on the cross (Romans 3:24-26; 5:1-6; John 3:16). But we must respond to God's grace with faith; without faith we cannot please Him (Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 5:8,9; 11:6). They were wrong as well when they decided that God's patience meant sin did not concern Him as being serious. The Lord tells us not to treat lightly His forbearance. Do not take it as a license to go on sinning but rather as an opportunity to repent and make ourselves right with God (Romans 2:4-10; 2 Peter 3:3,4). Many Fail to Understand That God Is Righteous, Absolutely "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace..." (Hebrews 13:8,9). God's standard for what is righteous and moral has not changed. Human societies come and go, and with them human customs and standards of behavior. Today we live in a society that glorifies sin and rebellion against God while belittling righteousness. Things have changed...but not with God. We may well wish He would change right along with us, but He will not. Why? Because He is righteous and holy; and if we are to be acceptable to Him, we must walk in His light. He will not walk in our darkness (1 John 1:6-10). When we stand before God in judgment, we will be judged according to our deeds (2 Corinthians 5:10). This judgment will be righteous and perfect. If it does not meet with our approval, there will still be nothing we can do about it. There will be no appeal, no escape, no pardon from the governor. God is without injustice (Deuteronomy 32:1-6). The only answer is for the sinner (that would be all of us) to surrender himself or herself, completely unto God's will as he or she places personal faith in the grace of God through His Son Jesus. God Has Both The Ability And The Will To Punish Sin "It is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). The flood was no plumbing mishap, and the final day will not involve an accidental grease fire. This age will conclude in a purposeful removal of the things that exist... the earth and everything in it. If we have not dealt with our sins in God's own way, as revealed in the gospel, in this life then we shall answer for them in the next life. Sin builds a barrier between man and God, and there is only one power in the universe that can tear down that barrier. It is the blood of Jesus Christ. In His name, we enjoy forgiveness (Acts 2:37,38; 4:12). Apart from Him, we are lost, lost, lost. -- Via Expository Files ___________________________________________ What Do You Look For In Christ? by Howard Hooper John, chapter 6, is a turning point in the ministry of our Lord. Those seeking Christ were eager to see the miracles and receive the transitory material and physical benefits there from. This chapter opens with a great enthusiasm for Jesus and ends with a great apostasy. Why? Is it that they had a false notion as to the purpose for His coming and the establishment of His Church? The miracle of feeding the five thousand in this chapter was really an attempt by our Lord to sift and separate the true from the spurious disciples. This attraction sadly brought to the surface an interest of the multitude which differed from our Lord. Today so often we hear people say, "We are just shopping for a church." Others, "We are changing churches because this one has so much more to offer." What are they searching for? Yes, many churches are offering their social, recreational and temporal programs to improve the quality of life. Christ had no problem attracting people to Him, those seeking the food that perishes. Jesus wanted to make them focus on eternal matters, on Him spiritually, the incarnate Son, crucified, glorified and the life-giver. As Christ tried to move the multitude along from seeking to make life here better to getting them ready for life after death, they objected. The value of leaving off the transitory for the permanent did not impress them. They objected to what the world has objected to in every generation. The Bread of Life is not interested in adulterating his spiritual goal for lost sinners with social and recreational programs to promote secular needs. These activities were not important to Christ; they are not the purpose for which He came, nor the work of the church which He established. At the end of this chapter the crowd dispersed, leaving Jesus with the twelve. With such a colossal failure as this, why didn't Christ change His approach? Could He not have attracted and held the people by incorporating the social needs as an important element in conforming with His teaching? Why do you believe Christ came into the world? To give you success? To advance the spirit of His law whereby men can formulate doctrines of what Christ can do for you? To gain self-fulfillment in physical and temporal benefits? You may object to the purpose for His life and teachings, the purpose of the purchase by His death on the cross, the purpose for the existence of His church, yet without these there is no salvation. -- Via the Cogburg Road Bulletin ___________________________________________ News & Notes Free Bible courses are available upon request. The Gospel Observer is 11 years old today! Feel free to visit its website, at the following address: http://www.mypage.onemain.com/tedwards/go ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________