____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ January 6, 2002 ____________________________________________________ Made Alive With Him by Dan Shipley When the apostle Paul preached the gospel, he preached the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (I Cor. 15:1-4). And, equally important, he showed how every believer identifies with Christ's sacrifice in order to procure its benefits. Indeed, salvation is made dependent on the believer's fellowship with the death, burial, and resurrection of his Saviour. Accordingly, there is a death to be experienced by every believer who would live with Christ. "But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him" (Rom. 6:8). As Paul shows in Rom. 6:2, the Christian is one who has died to sin. None can make a rightful claim to being "of Christ" who has not "crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof" (Gal. 5:24). Where else but in repentance does the believer determine to "put off the old man with his doings" (Col. 3:9)? Thus, he "reckons" (considers) himself to be dead unto sin (Rom 6:11) and determines that sin shall not have reign and dominion over him (Rom. 6:12,14). That means no longer live unto themselves, but "unto him who for their sakes died and rose again" (II Cor. 5:14). When Christ and not the world determines how we live, we can say with Paul that "the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14). In view of such truths, it is obvious that a crucified self is no less important than a crucified Christ! The fact that He "died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3) has real significance only to those who are willing to die to sin. Then, as every believer dies with Christ, he must also be buried with Him. Paul shows that this burial is in the waters of baptism and no other place. "Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism into death" (Rom. 6:4). As Whiteside says, "We are not baptized into the literal death of Christ, but into the benefits of His death, including freedom from sin. A person is not completely dead to sin till he is separated from it, and that separation takes place in baptism" (Commentary on Romans, p. 29). The death to sin that is resolved in true repentance is consummated in baptism. Any man who ever put on Jesus Christ is a man who was baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27), and any man who was ever baptized into Christ was buried with Him in baptism (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). This burial in baptism cannot be the sprinkling or pouring that some call baptism because the word itself means immersion or submersion. Finally, the believer who has died and been buried with Christ is also raised with Him to a newness of life (Rom. 6:4). This is possible because of what happened in baptism. As Jesus promised, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk. 16:16). Saul of Tarsus was told that his sins would be washed away in baptism (Acts 22:16). Remission of sins is promised to such believers as will repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). With the forgiveness of sins we are made alive together with Him (Col. 2:13). This life comes only with this death, this burial and resurrection. -- Via Plain Talk ___________________________________________ The Power of Simplicity by Bill Hall Jesus Christ had a deep appreciation for simple things. His teaching was profound, but always simple. He reached the hearts of His hearers, not with high-sounding philosophical jargon, but with illustrations and "to the point" teaching. He could see in a farmer sowing his seed, or a lily showing its beauty, or a shepherd leaving his flock to seek one lost sheep, or a loving father welcoming a wayward son, a lesson that could teach some spiritual truth. His apostles were chosen from the humble class. He could appreciate people, not for what they possessed, but for what they were; and, in some cases, not for what they were, but for what they could become. He recognized true quality, and true quality is often found in the simple and humble. The worship He ordained was simple in nature. "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul spoke to them" (Acts 20:7). Even the poorest could worship, for all that was required of a material nature was a little bread and fruit of the vine. Those of little talent could worship, for God was listening in view of the heart rather than the beauty of the voice. He authorized a simple organization for His church, with each congregation appointing its own bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1). There were no denominational associations, conferences, or synods. There were no inter-church organizations or societies. Yet, through the simple organization given the church by the Lord, the world of the first century was thoroughly evangelized and the needy among them provided for. The Lord knew that success in His work would not be brought about through complexity of organization, but through dedication, faith, and commitment on the part of His followers. We make a terrible mistake when we try to substitute the former for the latter. Why this simplicity? "That no flesh should glory in His presence" (I Corinthians 1:29). The complex systems that men devise tend to bring glory to themselves rather than to God. To return to the simplicity which our Lord ordained might not be impressive to the worldly-minded, but, then, Jesus Himself is not very impressive to the worldly-minded. Besides, our purpose is not to impress the worldly-minded, but to please God and bow in submission to His will. Let us do away with our super projects and complex systems. Let us learn to appreciate simple teaching and simple ways. Above all, let us learn to appreciate Bible teaching and Bible ways. We like the following quote from Ed Harrell: "How foolish we are to think that God will be impressed with our voices when we sing; after all, He hears the angels sing! How foolish to think He will be impressed with our cathedrals; remember, He made the Grand Canyon!" What He is seeking for is a heart that is pure, loving, and obedient to His will. And that's simple. -- The bulletin of the New Georgia Church of Christ, March 11, 2001 ___________________________________________ What Kind of Race Are You Running? by David Posey We know Christianity is a race and it must be run with endurance. But why do you run? The answer can make all the difference in the world. We thought it was just another routine run to the rifle range, but it turned into a tortuous marathon. Seems a new company commander wanted to test our mettle and did it by forcing us to run the whole 8 miles. We did it in combat boots, with a full pack on our backs, and our M-1 rifles at "port arms" (held out in front of the body). The crisis came when, instead of turning toward the barracks at the normal place, the Captain made us run around the massive parade field at Fort Ord. At that point, one-by-one, exhausted GIs fell out of the run and were summarily abused by the various drill sergeants scatted through the company. Fearing the abuse, I continued. Soon though, thoroughly spent, and feeling I couldn't grab another breath of air, I slowed down and was about to crumple to the ground in a heap, not caring what the DI's did to me -- nothing could be as bad as this, I thought. As I slowed down, my best friend at the time ran up to me and said, "David, you can't quit; you're a squad leader" (it got me out of guard duty). So now I had two compelling reasons not to drop out -- fear and guilt. Somehow I summoned the strength to go on and, shortly after, the CO called a halt to the run. I had finished the race, but barely, and only because I feared the consequences of not finishing. Compare that to the case of being asked to run in a marathon for the benefit of someone who, five years ago, risked his life to save the life of your daughter. You still get exhausted, you still "hit the wall" at some point and you still end up barely able to breathe. But you finish the race, because of the love you have for the man who, virtually, gave his life for someone you love. Now, in both of these situations, the race was run and completed. But who do you suppose would be more satisfied? Who ran a more confident race? Who felt better about the race itself? The Bible says, "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith" (Heb. 12:1-2). Paul says, "run in such a way that you may win" (I Cor. 9:24). Those who run the Christian race out of fear and constant guilt may still finish it. But they are not going to be very happy doing it -- they will be like I was running around the parade ground at Fort Ord. But those who run the race because they are so full of gratitude for what God has done will not only finish the race, but will also be confident and satisfied. And that's only right for, after all, we are "complete in Christ" (Col. 2:10). -- David Posey, via Focus Magazine, March 2000 ___________________________________________ "Ye Are Bought With A Price" by Bill Mosley Paul said, "for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God's" (I Corinthians 6:20). The apostle has shown the Corinthians that sin is to be no part of their lives. He relentlessly pursues sin with a view to its destruction. He specifically notes that they are to "flee fornication" (v. 18), and then hauls the matter into the light of the Spirit of God which exposes it: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" (v. 19). He then slays that sin at the cross, saying "ye are bought with a price." And what a price that was! They were no longer their own, but belonged to somebody else! That is the great fact -- "ye are bought!" The worldly might say this is mere merchandising, and that is precisely the point -- "bought with a price" expresses the term with a double force. "With a price" indicates the greatness of the cost, that being the very life of the Son of God. The great alternative is there -- either we are bought, or we are not redeemed! But Paul asserts that Christians have been bought, and that brings consequences, the obvious one being, "ye are not your own." When a thing is bought, it then belongs to the one who bought it. Christians, who compose the body of Christ, the church, belong to Him; they are His people. The conclusion then is that we are not ours to indiscriminately do what we wish. Our bodies, says Paul, are a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). Therefore, we are not free to abuse and misuse it; it must be used in service to the one who owns it. Suppose someone took something that belonged to us and appropriated it for his own selfish ends without our permission. Such would not be acceptable to us. So it is with Christ -- we must use our entire being as he has directed in his word. When we finally realize that "we are not our own" -- that we, as it were, are the "property" of Jesus Christ -- only then will we be able to dedicate and devote ourselves entirely into His service. Our problem seems to be that we verbally assent to belonging to Christ, but often the proverbial "Indian giver" in us comes out and we "take ourselves back." No, it must not be this way. When one gives self to Christ, he must give all the way and for all time. We can belong to Christ nominally or actually. The real thing will come out in the way that we demonstrate our willingness to belong to Christ in this life. There is no better proof as to whether or not one realizes that he has been "bought with a price" than the way he lives his life before God and other men. -- via "Put The Brethren In Remembrance" ___________________________________________ News & Notes We want to be remembering Sandy Manganello who will be having surgery for stomach cancer January 9. I'm sure that she and her family will appreciate our prayers. ________________________________________ evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (610) 925-3567 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ________________________________________