____________________________________________________ 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 2, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) God's Pattern (Wayne Greeson) 2) Perverting Jesus and Scripture (Andy Diestelkamp) 3) Spiritual Defilement (Clarence Johnson) 4) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- God's Pattern by Wayne Greeson Patterns are an important part of our lives in many ways. When a contractor builds a house, he follows a pattern known as a "blueprint." When a mechanic repairs your car, he uses a pattern known as an auto repair manual. When a mother sews a dress for her small daughter, she follows a "dress pattern." And when your favorite cake is made, the cook followed a pattern called a "recipe." In each case there is a standard pattern to be followed to achieve the desired results or the correct end product. The pattern must be followed or the end product will not be faithful to the original pattern and the results could be disastrous. The house not built to pattern may leak or worse, it may collapse; the car not repaired by the manual may run like a "lemon" or not run at all; the dress not made by the pattern may look more like a clown outfit; and the cake not made by the recipe could wind up unfit for the family dog. Many people who have the common sense to recognize the need to faithfully follow patterns in their everyday lives, fail to recognize the most important pattern of all . . . the Bible. God has always provided a pattern for His people to serve as a guide to worship and service acceptable to Him. In the Old Testament, God led the children of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt down to the foot of Mt. Sinai. There God called Moses up the mountain and gave him a "pattern" of laws and a "pattern" for a place of worship for the Jews. As God gave Moses this divine pattern, He also gave a warning: "According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so ye shall make it" (Ex. 25:9). And He repeated this warning: "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee in the mount" (Ex. 25:40). Following God's pattern, the Jews constructed the tabernacle, a tent, and fashioned all the articles for worship to be placed within and without the tabernacle, the brazen altar, the laver, the golden candlestick, and table of shewbread, the altar of incense and the ark of the covenant. For over 500 years the tabernacle served as the place of worship for the Jews. Not all the Jews heeded God's warning through Moses to follow His pattern. Two priests determined to disregard God's pattern of worship and follow their own worship. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron "offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not" (Lev. 10:1). The consequences of violating God's divine order were immediate and dire, "And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord" (Lev. 10:2). God's drastic punishment of these two men was for our benefit to teach us to treat His pattern with respect and obedience. When David became king of the Jews, he planned to build a permanent place of worship, a temple, in the city of Jerusalem. While David was not allowed by the Lord to actually build the temple, David did make all the plans and preparations for the construction of the temple which he passed on to his son Solomon to complete. As David commissioned Solomon to build the temple, he explained the source of the blueprints, "`All this,' said David, `the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern"' (1 Chron. 28:19). David urged Solomon to follow God's pattern in the commands of His Law as well as building His temple. Despite God's warnings, again the Jews failed to faithfully respect and keep God's pattern. Towards the end of his life Solomon drifted away from God and His commandments. Following Solomon under the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, more Jewish kings were unfaithful rather than faithful to the Lord. Because of the apostasy of the Jews, God allowed them to be taken into captivity and the temple to be destroyed. While in captivity in Babylon, God sent a special vision of the temple to the prophet Ezekiel. In the vision Ezekiel saw a man with a measuring rod measuring God's temple and all the articles in it. Why? What was the meaning of the vision? "Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern" (Ezek. 43:10). Just as God gave the Jews a pattern through Moses and David, He has given us a pattern of work and worship through Christ and His apostles. The Old Testament, the tabernacle and the temple were only "a copy and a shadow of heavenly things" that are now provided for us by Christ under the New Testament. The pattern Christians have to follow is complete and sufficient. It is complete as it has "given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3). It is sufficient as it "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). As God warned the Jews not to violate or tamper with His pattern, He warns us also. 1. We must obey God's pattern. It is necessary to obey "that form (pattern) of doctrine which was first delivered to you" (Rom. 6:17). To fail to obey His pattern leads to sin and spiritual death (Rom. 6:18-23). 2. We must walk by God's pattern. The inspired apostles, led by the Holy Spirit are an "example" or pattern for us to learn from, imitate and walk after (Phil. 3:17; 2 Thess. 3:9). 3. We must keep God's pattern. "Hold fast the form (pattern) of sound words, which thou hast heard of me. . ." Paul instructed (2 Tim. 1: 13). 4. We must make all things by God's pattern. As Moses was warned to follow the pattern of God in all things, so God warns us in the New Testament ". . . for `See,' sayeth He, `that thou make all things according to the pattern . . ."' (Heb. 8:5). Will you heed the warning? -- Via Guardian of Truth, March 19, 1987 ____________________________________________________ -2- Perverting Jesus and Scripture by Andy Diestelkamp "Of making books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh" (Eccl. 12:12). The wise preacher was not condemning the writing and publishing of books or the value of study, but he was admonishing us not to lose our perspective of what is most important. "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13). A couple of months ago an Associated Press article ran in several newspapers advertising another book that has been made. This book takes the position that Jesus of Nazareth both approved of and participated in homosexual activity. This is not an original idea, but it is one that is being heard with greater frequency now that our culture is becoming more tolerant of the practice of homosexuality. People are always looking for ways to validate the choices they or their friends or family members have made. It should come as no surprise that the mindset that enables people to be more tolerant of behaviors, which the Scriptures bluntly describe as vile and shameful (Rom. 1:26,27), also enables them to revise history. Such twisting of the Scriptures by the advocates of homosexual practices reveals that their goal is not mere tolerance of their lifestyle. They are seeking acceptance and affirmation. They want their choice of sexual expression embraced as equal to the union of marriage. In seeking to justify their choices, practicing homosexuals have typically ignored the scriptural references that condemn their behavior. Another author wrote, "The point is not really whether or not some passage in the Bible condemns homosexual acts; the point is that you cannot allow your moral and ethical decisions to be determined by the literature of a people whose culture and history are so far removed from your own. You must dare to be iconoclastic enough to say, `So what if the Bible does say it? Who cares?"' (Robert Williams, Just As I Am, Crown, 1992, p.42). The cafeteria-style approach to the Scriptures, which allows people to pick and choose what they want and then ignore the rest, is convenient but not very consistent. The Episcopalians' recent efforts to appoint a homosexual bishop makes one wonder if they ever bother to read what Paul had to say about that important position (1 Tim. 3:1-7). It is one thing to ignore the Scriptures. It is quite another to "spin" them and turn Jesus into a practicing homosexual. To do this takes a perverse imagination. Positive references to strong, loving relationships between people of the same sex (Naomi and Ruth, David and Jonathan, Jesus and His apostles, etc.) are interpreted by a few as homosexual innuendoes. We have raised a shallow generation of people who equate love with sex, and now some of those people are trying their hand at biblical interpretation. From a purely biological perspective it may seem irrelevant who copulates with whom. Indeed, since many learn from their youth that they are just highly-evolved animals, animal-like behavior should be expected. Still, people have "hang-ups" over things like "consent" and "love" that make it clear that there is more than a biological perspective to consider when it comes to human sexuality. Just because one has an urge doesn't mean that it is valid to act on it. Just because there is passion and strong desire doesn't mean it is right. There are still laws against prostitution, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, and rape-for good reasons-and none of those reasons are biological. There are spiritual and moral perspectives that must take precedence over the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:16). The Scriptures plainly warn, "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9,10). Paul writes, "Such were some of you." Notice the past tense! What happened? They were washed, sanctified and justified "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (vs. 11). It is ludicrous and blasphemous to suggest that Jesus ever approved or practiced anything in that list. Don't be deceived! -- Via Think on These Things, July-August-September 2003 ____________________________________________________ -3- Spiritual Defilement by Clarence Johnson The Pharisees and scribes had rebuked Jesus and His disciples for not following the traditions of the rabbis in their special hand-washing procedures before eating. Jesus denied that there was an obligation to follow such traditions -- and then showed that some of their traditions even contradicted the plain commandments of God. For instance, they had a tradition of dedicating a certain portion of their wealth to the temple, and then ignoring their obligation to provide for their aged parents. Jesus said such tradition clearly violated God's revealed law. We are reminded of certain religious traditions today that likewise set aside the clear commands of God. 1 Timothy 3:2-4 says that a bishop must be married and have children, yet some modern day religious groups insist that a bishop must not be married. In Matthew 23:9, Jesus commanded His disciples, "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven," yet some churches traditionally call their religious leaders by this forbidden title. As Jesus returned to the hand-washing question, He declared, "There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man." (Mark 7:15). Later, when His disciples asked for further explanation, He said, "Whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated... What comes out of a man defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." (verses 18-23). Jesus is simply saying that their humanly devised ceremonial washings were not spiritually necessary. There would be no spiritual defilement because someone did not honor such traditions. We do not become spiritually defiled by the things we eat, or by the dirt that may be on our bodies. Spiritual defilement begins in the heart. Not the blood pump, but the heart as the seat of emotions, desire, will and intellect. When a man harbors evil thoughts, schemes and plans in his heart, he is involved in that which will defile him spiritually. James elaborates on this theme in James 1:14-15, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." Solomon wrote "As he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). We are not defiled by rejecting human traditions, but by violating the revelation of God. -- via Susquehanna Sentinel, October 19, 2003 ____________________________________________________ -4- News & Notes Let those of us who are Christians continue praying for Agnes Shuff, who received 3rd and 2nd degree burns on her hand and arm, respectively. She was told by the doctor that it will be several weeks before the continual pain will go away, and it especially hurts for a few hours each day after the arm has been treated again and re-bandaged. I was also sad to hear that Rosemarie Chaffin of Charleston, WV, passed away Sunday afternoon. She was only 63. Her husband Ron has preached in Chesapeake, WV, for many years and had also preached for several years in Africa, prior to that. In addition to being survived by her husband, she also had six children, seven grandchildren, a sister, and many friends. Let those of us who are Christians be remembering all of these people in prayer, during this time of sorrow. One of Mark Turner's brothers and two of his sisters-in-law were involved in a serious car accident recently. A grandmother with three of her grandchildren were in the other vehicle, which appears to have gone through a stop sign. One of the children, a 3-year old, has already died; another, who is 8, has been put into a drug-induced coma to aid with her healing; and the third, who is 10, has been already released from the hospital. The grandmother remains hospitalized, but is in a stable condition. Mark's relatives suffered broken bones and trauma. At his last report, however, he didn't know the full extent of their injuries. He solicits prayer for all of these -- and especially for the children. Let us also continue to remember Joe Thompson of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, who has about reached the end of his days. Let those of us who are Christians pray that he will be ready to meet God and can depart from this life peacefully, when that time comes. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________