____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ May 2, 2004 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Breaking Promises (J. S. Smith) 2) Why No Miracles Today? (Larry Ray Hafley) 3) The Testimony Of The Seasons (John R. Hurt) ____________________________________________________ -1- Breaking Promises by J. S. Smith In both testaments of the holy Scriptures, God teaches and demands integrity in His people. Christians should, above all, be people of their word, trusted to do as they say. But what of promises that one makes which he later learns are evil? Are such promises still binding upon him, or does God expect a facet of his repentance to be casting off such vows? Under the Law of Moses Vows made during the Mosaic dispensation were to be considered seriously before being uttered because to break such an oath was sinful. Ecclesiastes 5 succinctly summarizes the position of the law regarding oaths and the danger of making them rashly. "Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God...When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed -- Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands" (Eccl. 5:2, 4-7). Very clearly, the Holy Spirit teaches that failure to fulfill a vow to God was sinful. Vows were quite common in the Old Testament. Jacob vowed upon entering Mesopotamia to give the Lord a tenth of his estate at Bethel (Gen. 28:20-22). We also have the example of a parent vowing to devote her child to the Lord's service in the case of Hannah and Samuel (1 Sam. 1:22-28). Such a vow could be redeemed, however, if the one taking the oath changed his mind (Lev. 27:2-3). The price of redemption was valued in terms of silver so that the oath could not lightly be altered at little expense. A man's vows were considered more binding than a woman's. "If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth" (Num. 30:2). A woman's vow could be overridden by her father or husband (Num. 30:3-16). Finally, the law contained a provision for situations in which a rash oath was made to do evil and later regretted prior to its fulfillment. "Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtless with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it -- when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters" (Lev. 5:4). The remaining verses of this chapter prescribe the manner by which the penitent oath taker can have the priest make sacrifice for his sin. He was not obligated to fulfill the oath he made rashly, especially if it was a promise to commit evil, but was yet a sinner for making the rash oath in the first place. Perhaps the case of Jephthah is an example of a rash oath (Judg. 11). With an idolatrous mindset, he promised to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house if God would give him a victory already assured by the Spirit of the Lord. Following the battle, his own daughter emerged to greet him at home and he felt compelled to sacrifice her. Should he have kept this vow? It does not seem that Jephthah ever realized that it was sinful to commit human sacrifice and so an appeal to redemption or atonement for making a rash oath seems unlikely. Just as clearly, we understand that killing his daughter would be sinful. It violated the law of Moses in that it was murder (Ex. 10:13), and a form of undesirable worship which was worthy of the death penalty (Lev. 20:1-5). There is also the case of David and Nabal in 1 Sam. 25. David sought to purchase food from Nabal while traveling, but was rebuffed and the future king vowed to God that he would wipe out Nabal's family: "May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belongs to him by morning light" (vs. 22). That vow was sinful to make and would have been sinful to execute, as David learned when Nabal's longsuffering wife, Abigail, came to entreat David to spare him. David decided not to carry through with his oath: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand" (1 Sam. 25:32-33). David realized that vengeance belonged to God, not him (Deut. 32:35) and that although he had called God to witness his homicidal vow, fulfilling it would be adding sinful execution to sinful intent. He was grateful someone prevented him from keeping a vow to do evil. In the New Testament When the Lord arrived, He quickly began to teach against forswearing, making vows without any genuine intention of fulfilling them. "Swear not at all...But let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no,' 'no,'" He taught on the mount (Matt. 5:34-37). Christians are to be true to their word and keep their promises, but again one wonders about promises that are made to do evil, perhaps ignorantly, which are revealed prior to fulfillment. Should the Christian keep his vow to do evil or should he repent of it? What of the Catholic priest who makes vows to God to keep his collar for a lifetime but then is converted to the truth? Should he keep that vow or should it be part of his repentance? The same can be asked of the nun and monk. Across America today, homosexuals are being married by liberal denominationalists, claiming to carry God's blessing. Such couples are making vows to God like those heterosexual couples make. What if I have opportunity to teach them? Should I get them baptized and command them to continue living in sin, for it is part of their vow to God? More pertinently, what of the heterosexual couple who marries without Scriptural authority for some reason? Suppose one of the spouses is a put away fornicator, who then is converted. Should she keep her vow made to God to commit adultery, in effect, or should she repent completely (Matt. 19)? The answer to all these questions is obvious. A vow to commit sin should be repudiated as soon as knowledge conquers ignorance. An Example When I was 17 years old and a senior in high school I was faced with just such a conundrum. In March, I asked a young lady to accompany me to the prom. In April, I began visiting the local church of Christ and was taught by Harry Rice and a host of other godly people that modern dancing was lewd and wrong. May was coming and the prom with it and my conscience was nagging at me. Should I follow my newly disciplined conscience and break my prom date or should I be true to my promise to the young lady, who surely would have been rather upset at that late date? I made the wrong choice and kept my promise to her. I committed sin that night in the lewdness of dancing (Gal. 5:19) when I could have made a stronger point on faithfulness instead. I regret keeping that promise; I wish I had broken it and been true to God's word instead. Conclusion Christians should be people of their word and should not make promises rashly. When they vow to be somewhere or do something, they should carry through with it, even if the costs rise for some reason. Vows to commit sin, however, should be repudiated, as David cast off his rash oath to murder Nabal's household, once Abigail brought him to his senses. -- Via Truth Magazine, March 2, 2000 ____________________________________________________ -2- Why No Miracles Today? by Larry Ray Hafley Why are there no miracles today? The reason there are no miracles today is not because God's power is lacking. God could, if he chose, provide a young man with a wife as he did for Adam (Gen. 2). The fact that he does not do so does not mean that he could not. God could feed his people with manna from heaven; he could give them water from a rock, as he once did (Num. 20:11). The fact that he no longer does so does not mean that he cannot. Likewise, the fact that God no longer raises the dead or restores missing body parts, as he once did, does not mean that he lacks the power to do so today (Lk. 22:50, 51). Some claim they do such miracles as were done in the Bible. However, their claims are not supported by their credentials. They give testimony but offer no evidence to substantiate it. In the New Testament, their words were confirmed with signs following, while today those who say they work miracles confirm their signs with words following. The apostles appealed to their works as proof of their words (Rom. 15:18, 19; 2 Cor. 12:12; Gal. 3:2-5). Apostates of today appeal to their words as proof of their works. Thus, they reverse the New Testament process (Mk. 16:20; Acts 14:3; Heb. 2:3, 4). Apostles: "Confirmed Their Word With Signs" Apostates: "Confirm Their Signs With Words" Miracles were performed that men might know whether one had the powers he claimed to have (Matt. 9:6; 12:39, 40; Jn. 10:25, 37, 38). Let those who claim the same powers today produce the same proof. They will not because they cannot. Why is this so? Why are there no miracles today? First, miracles were used in the creation and initiation of the works of God. For example, as noted, the first family was formed by miraculous means (Gen. 2). Now, families are created according to set laws of nature (Gen. 2:24). Miraculous acts occurred in the creation of the church and the revelation and confirmation of the gospel (Psa. 2:6; Acts 13:32-39; Eph. 1:19-23). The church is perpetuated by means of spiritual law (Rom. 1:16; 8:2; 1 Cor. 4:15; 15:1, 2; Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23-25). Second, as previously noted, miracles were used in confirming the word, attesting to its divine origin. That word, affirmed with heavenly verification, no longer needs corroboration and confirmation (Gal. 3:15). John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Jeffery Dahmer, notorious serial killers, were convicted. Their guilt was sustained. Evidence against them was given, proven, and established. Their cases need not be tried again. All one has to do is to appeal to the case, to the law. Likewise, the word has been confirmed. It need not be confirmed again and again. Third, there are no miracles today because there are no living apostles to lay hands on men and impart spiritual gifts (Acts 8:18). Philip could work miracles (Acts 8:6, 13). The apostles had laid their hands upon him (Acts 6:5, 6). However, Philip could not pass the power to work miracles unto others (Acts 8:14-16). Apostles had to be sent to Samaria, where Philip was preaching, so that they could lay hands on certain ones and impart miraculous gifts of the Spirit (Acts 8:18; 19:6). It was "through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given." Since there are no such apostles today, there are no men who can work miracles as Philip did. If there are, we stand ready to try and test them to see whether they are of God (1 Thess. 5:21; 1 Jn. 4:1; Rev. 2:2). If they resist such tests, that ought to tell us something (Jn. 3:20, 21)! ____________________________________________________ -3- The Testimony Of The Seasons by John R. Hurt In the changing of every season, we see powerful, convincing testimony to the truthfulness of the Word of God. Note the reading of Genesis 8:22. "While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, And cold and heat, and summer and winter, And day and night, shall not cease." As we see the splendor of spring, the burgeoning flowers, the green sprouts and the whole of nature come alive again, we know that God's word is true. Just as surely as the green sprouts grow into summer's lush growth and each tender bud blooms into summertime's radiant blossoms, we can rest confidently in the unshakable fact that the Bible speaks the truth. With the coming of fall and all the beautiful colors that make the hues of the greatest Italian artists pale in significance, the Word of God is authenticated. Then, with the arriving of the harsh cold, the falling leaves, and the stark brown bareness of winter's landscape, you may be assured of the indisputable fact that countless centuries have shouted and proclaimed. While the earth remains it shall ever be so! The word of God is true! In this tribute to the veracity of God, this miracle of his creation, do we not also see the answer to Job's ancient question, "If a man dies will he yet live again" (Job 14:14)? Each year we witness God taking the seemingly dead, lifeless plants and reviving again the germ of life within them. In the explosion of new life that follows, all nature is robed in brilliant splendor of the season. Surely, then, it is but a small thing for the creator of this vast universe to reach down to our narrow house beneath the earth and revive again the germ of life within the soul of man. Ah, the changing of the seasons attests to the irrefutable truth of God! ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________