____________________________________________________ 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 25, 2001 ____________________________________________________ "More Than Conquerors" by Sewell Hall "Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, `Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment"' (Matthew 22:35-38). These words of Jesus should not be surprising. Those who love God are those for whom the world was created. Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these he also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." Observe from verses 29 and 30 that those whom God foreknew and "predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son" were the ones whom He called. But according to verse 28, those whom He called are those who "love God." So those who love God are those He foreknew, predestined, justified and glorified according to His purpose -- the purpose of the ages. Whether we are a part of this great plan depends upon whether we love God. If we do not love God, then we are not among those predestined. The love God asks is not a "touchy-feely" kind of love. The love with which He loved us was certainly not that kind; if it had been, we would not have been saved by His love. His was an active and sacrificing love. Ours for Him must be the same. It must be a love that commits itself to doing the will of God. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:3). This kind of love "seeks not its own" (I Corinthians 13:5); rather is "seek[s] first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Love for God is often tested. Too often, we see someone who has claimed to love God disillusioned by disasters and disappointments. Sickness that takes the life of a child, an automobile wreck that leaves one handicapped, a fire that destroys a home, or the loss of a large investment sometimes cause people to blame God. Some do as Job's wife encouraged him to do: "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9)! This only proves that their love was not genuine. In times of distress, genuine love does not fail (I Corinthians 13:8). "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: `For your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:35-37). Throughout the Old and New Testaments when trials came, those who truly loved God ran to Him rather than from Him. When God demanded that Abraham offer his son as a sacrifice, Abraham confirmed his love for God by proceeding to do it. Joseph's suffering, rather than diminishing his love for God, seemed only to increase it. David's love for God grew as Saul pursued him and some of his most beautiful psalms were written when he was in the greatest danger. Still ringing down through the centuries from a prison in Philippi are the songs of praise from Paul and Silas as they suffered the pain of bleeding backs and bound feet. Truly in all of these things, they were "more than conquerors." If our love for God is genuine, we too will be "more than conquerors." Conquerors merely defeat their enemies; those who are more than conquerors make their enemies their servants and emerge from the conflict stronger than before. When we face "tribulation, or distress, or persecution," etc., we need to see it as a test, a challenge and an opportunity to prove our love for God. And if our love for God does not fail, we can be sure that His love for us will not fail. "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things" (Romans 8:31-32)? "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you,' So we may boldly say: `The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"' (Hebrews 13:5-6). -- Via Christianity Magazine, Sept/Oct 1999 ___________________________________________ Before God -- Before Men by Bill Hall "Take Heed that you do not your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1). True righteousness is primarily "God-conscious" rather than "man-conscious." God is pleased as we sing His praises, or teach His truth, or lead in prayer, or help the needy, or give to support His work, if our purpose is to gain His approval and bring glory to His name. But woe to that person who sings for the purpose of displaying his beautiful voice. Woe to that person who seeks the praise of men as he leads in prayer. Woe to that preacher who "tickles the ears" of his listeners. Woe to that person who gives to be seen of men. When he gains their praises, he "has his reward in full"; none awaits him from the Father in heaven. In keeping with this teaching, the Bible reveals God's judgment of two different couples: one enjoying God's approval, the other suffering His disapproval. God disapproved of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). His disapproval was not because of the amount of their offering. They had brought a very liberal offering. They had even sold a possession in order to give, and while we do not know what portion they brought, they obviously brought what they thought would be sufficient to impress the apostles. But herein lies the key to their real problem: They were more conscious of men's reaction to their benevolence than they were of God's. Had they been conscious of God in what they did, and had they been seeking His approval, they would not have lied. But they did their righteousness "before men, to be seen by them"; and, in their concern for impressing men, they lied concerning the amount which they brought. In contrast to Ananias and Sapphira, there were Zacharias and Elizabeth, of whom it was said, "And they were both righteous before God" (Luke 1:6). While many, no doubt, observed their righteousness and, as a result, glorified the Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16), Zacharias and Elizabeth obviously were not as concerned for man's approval as they were for God's approval. It was God's approval that they sought; it was His approval that they gained. God blessed Zacharias and Elizabeth, choosing them to be the parents of John, the forerunner of Christ. He punished Ananias and Sapphira with immediate death, and, in keeping with Jesus' statement of Matthew 6:1, they "have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." Hypocrisy is loathsome to the Lord. For a person to appear outwardly religious and sincere, while inwardly he only desires the praise and approval of men is to be guilty of gross hypocrisy. Let us seek always to do our righteousness before God to be seen of Him. The glorious and eternal "reward of the Father" cannot be compared with the fickle and fleeting praise of men. -- The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, February 4, 2001 ___________________________________________ Do We Lay It To Heart? by Robert Turner Every parent knows the difference in "Do I have to go?" and "Do I get to go?" "Do I have to go to bed?" means the child wants to stay up. "Do I get to go to the show?" means the child wouldn't miss it for anything. Isn't it strange that some of us will wave those same clear signals with reference to the Lord's services, and not see that we are being just as transparent as our children? "Do we have to go to Bible study?" says the same thing about our desires as it does when voiced by our child. When one asks, "How much must I give?," he is clearly saying, "I do not want to give anything, and would like to know how little will pay the bill." Either that, or he has failed to grasp the most fundamental and essential element in the spirit of acceptable service unto God. There can be no coming to Christ except we deny or give up self (Matt. 16:24). Translated into the context of "doing" this means we must first want to do all possible (100% committed) to serve the Lord. The proper spirit must motivate the doing, or it is shallow and empty -- may even be an abomination in His sight (Hos. 6:6). God told the priest of Judaism, "If ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name...then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessing; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart" (Mal. 2:2). Lay it to heart! That means truly respect God; take Him seriously. The priests had offered polluted bread on the altar (Mal. 1:7); offered blind and lame animals as sacrifice (Mal. 1:8). They said of worship, "What a weariness it is!" (Mal 1:13-14). To make this current, they said, "Do we have to do or give?" "Do it any old way, just get it over with; we want to go home to the TV." And to top it off, when rebuked, they acted so innocent and said, "When did we ever do that?" "Oh, that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain" (Mal. 1:10). Better to close up shop -- call it off -- than to play at worship, and not "lay it to heart." --via The Admonisher, September 25, 1983 ___________________________________________ What Happens to Me When I Die? by Joe Price The word "sleep" is used at times in the Bible to speak of death without any reference to the condition of the spirit or where one goes after death. For instance, consider John 11:11-14, where Jesus used "sleeps" synonymously with "dead." When the body is dead it appears to be asleep -- hence, the figurative use of "sleep." Likewise, when Stephen "fell asleep," this is an expressive way of saying "he died" (Acts 7:60, note 8:1). Death means separation. Man dies when the spirit leaves the body (James 2:26). Luke 16:19-31 is one of the best places to go in the Bible to teach us about what happens to us when we die. Please notice there is nothing stated in the text that says this is a parable. Jesus describes this incident as a matter of fact, an event that actually took place. The realm of the dead or the place of departed spirits (sometimes called Hades or the Hadean realm) is here described as consisting of two parts: one a place of comfort and rest (Abraham's bosom), the other a place of agony and torment. There is no passing between these two states (v. 26). There is consciousness as noted throughout this narrative. One's conduct in life determines where he goes upon death (vv. 25, 27-31). The living cannot effect or change the condition of those who have died. Neither can the dead change the condition of the living. Our choices in this life determine where we go after we die. Recall that Jesus said He would be in Paradise after His death (Luke 23:43). Acts 2:27 says Jesus did go to Hades when He died. Because He was without sin, we conclude Jesus was in that part of Hades referred to in Luke 16:22 as "Abraham's bosom" -- Paradise. This is where every faithful Christian can expect to go awaiting the resurrection of the dead. The unrighteous can expect to enter a place of flaming torment (Luke 16:24). At His return, Christ will speak and all the dead shall rise -- some to a judgment of everlasting life, and others to a judgment of everlasting death (John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Are you ready for death? (Hebrews 9:27) -- via The Exhorter, January 7, 2001 ___________________________________________ News & Notes Sandy Manganello has recently been undergoing tests to determine what type of stomach cancer she has and the best treatment for it. Let us pray that all will go well for her and that her recovery will be swift. The gospel meeting in Philadelphia at the Mt. Airy church of Christ begins this Friday (November 30 -- December 2) with U. G. Baldwin. Being the last Sunday of the month, Randy Frame will be our special speaker during the morning worship hour. Let us also continue to remember Mae Cornette, Margaret Mosier, Joe and Blanche Thompson, Bertha Jones, and Barney Combs in prayer for their health problems. ________________________________________ Avondale CHURCH OF CHRIST 1606 Glen Willow Rd., Avondale, PA 19311 (For postal service: P.O. Box 421) (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://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/avondale ________________________________________