____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ July 25, 2004 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Positively Optimistic (Rick Liggin) 2) The Church's Purpose (Bill Hall) 3) "Seek and Ye Shall Find" (Barney Keith) 4) House of Prayer or a Den of Thieves? (Clarence R. Johnson) ____________________________________________________ -1- Positively Optimistic by Rick Liggin By definition, a "pessimist" is one who is in the habit of or (at least) tends to "expect the worst" (Webster's, p. 1063); he tends to see everything in a negative light. A "cynic" is one who believes "that people are motivated in all their actions by selfishness" (Ibid, p. 353); he tends to "deny the sincerity of people's motives and actions," and so he denies "the value of living" (Ibid). A "fatalist" is one who believes "that all events are determined by fate and are hence inevitable" (Ibid, p. 509). Obviously, all three of these personality traits are negative, and any individual possessing even one of them is bound to be a negative person. But when you have a group that includes people with all three of these traits (a group that includes a cynic, a fatalist, and a pessimist) or (even worse) when you have one person who is characterized by all three (he is a pessimistic, fatalistic cynic), watch out! You surely have a recipe for disaster! Such negative people not only hurt themselves, but also those around them. They're especially a menace to any team effort. Their negativity tends to break the spirit of those trying to press forward and accomplish something good. The fatalist hurts the group by injecting the idea that: "It's no use to try; you can't change things anyway!" The pessimist hurts the group by seeing everything in the most negative way possible--"We've tried that before and it didn't work" or "that's too hard; we'll never be able to do that!" And the cynic hurts the group by questioning the motives of everyone else--"You're just trying to get your own way" or "you're just trying to put yourself forward!" Indeed, such negative people can really "throw cold water" on almost any project and break down team efforts to work together. Now, it ought to be obvious that such negativity cannot characterize Christians. A Christian cannot be a fatalist, since all events are not determined merely by fate, and therefore are not simply "inevitable." God--not fate--controls our world (Jas. 4:15), and He has given men the power to make choices that can change the course of events. The Christian also cannot be a cynic, because cynicism--thinking the worst of everyone else--is just unloving. The New Testament teaches that love "believes all things" (1 Cor. 13:7), and so it always believes the best about others--especially about other Christians. And Christians most assuredly have no reason to be pessimistic. Because we love God and seek to serve Him, we have every reason to believe--to "know that God causes all things to work together for good" (Rom. 8:28). And "if God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom. 8:31). In contrast to being so negative, the Christian is supposed to be an optimist! "Optimism" is exactly the opposite of cynicism and fatalistic pessimism. "Optimism" is defined as "the tendency to take the most hopeful or cheerful view of matters, or to expect the best outcome"; it is the "practice of looking on the bright side of things" (Webster's, p. 999). Such a positive attitude ought certainly to characterize us as Christians. In fact, as Christians, we are to be so optimistic that we can even face the difficult trials of this life with a positive, joyful attitude--"knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (Jas. 1:2-3; cf. Rom. 5:3-5; 1 Pet. 1:6-7). Let me ask you: are you a positive, upbeat kind of person who always tries to look on the bright side of things, or are you one of those negative pessimists who tends to only see the dark side? In local churches, as we try to work together to achieve something good in the cause of Christ, we need positive people--people with an optimistic vision for the future. We don't need negative old "sticks in the mud" who tend to "throw cold water" on all our efforts. If God is for us, who can be against us? Surely He can--and will--cause all things to work together for good. Vision for the future requires us to be positively optimistic. -- Via Think on These Things, April-May-June, 2004 ____________________________________________________ -2- The Church's Purpose by Bill Hall What is the purpose of the Lord's church? Is it to eradicate poverty, disease, social injustice, illiteracy from among men? Is it to bring about a cessation of war and conflict? Is it to campaign for a temptation-free society for Christians to live in? If the church had as one of its great goals the eradication of disease, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish that goal. Could not the same power that enabled one blind man to see have enabled all blind men to see; that enabled one lame man to walk have enabled all lame people to walk; that cured many people of varied diseases have cured all people of all diseases? And could not this same power have been given to the church in all generations? If the church has as one of its great goals the eradication of poverty, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish this purpose. After all, He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He similarly fed four thousand on another occasion. Could not He who did these marvelous works have enabled His church in all generations to feed, clothe, and shelter the impoverished masses of the world through miraculous powers? If the Lord had wanted His church to become a lobbyist group to apply political pressure toward a temptation and persecution-free society in which to live, He would have given instructions in that direction. He did not even lead His church into a direct effort to destroy slavery, but taught the Christian slave to be a better slave and the Christian master to treat his slaves as he would have his heavenly Master treat him (Col. 3:22-4:1). The church's purpose is to save souls and prepare people for eternity--It holds out to the impoverished the hope of some day walking a street of gold; to the suffering a time when there will be no pain; to the sorrowing a moment when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." It tells the tempted and persecuted that there is value in these afflictions, that the testing of their faith is "more precious than of gold," and to rejoice -- It tells all to live godly lives in whatever environment they find themselves. It seeks to change people through the power of the gospel, not society through the coercion of legislators -- Its weapons "are not carnal, but are mighty through God." Its motivating theme: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" When churches become involved in hospital and health clinic work, or when they build schools for the education of their children, or when they see as one of their great missions to provide for the world's poverty, or when they feel obligated to create social upheaval and campaign for human rights, or when they feel called upon to express their views on the government's use of nuclear armaments or whatever, they have a distorted view of the purpose of the church. -- via The Admonisher, Feb. 24, 1985 ____________________________________________________ -3- "Seek and Ye Shall Find" by Barney Keith "Many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 Jno. 4:1,2). One should not be blinded to the existence of error, but should seek TRUTH. Jesus promised that "the truth will make you free" (Jno. 8:32). Truth is the only antidote for error. This truth is accessible to all men alike. Yet there are certain basic considerations which are essential for the sincere truth seeker. Let us notice some of them. 1. THE INITIAL BATTLE IS WITH YOUR OWN WILL. If you really want the truth, you can find it. (Jno. 7:17). The desire of the Holy Spirit is that you "be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17). But you must first make up your mind that your DESIRE is to know. Then you will be ready to begin the search. A "good and honest heart" is first. 2. YOU MUST HAVE A WHOLESOME, RESPECTFUL ATTITUDE TOWARD THE TRUTH. To search for it will be a waste of your time if you do not plan to accept the truth -- whatever it may be. One must LOVE and BELIEVE the truth to avoid God's condemnation. (Be sure to read 2 Thes. 2:10-12.) 3. BE SURE THAT YOUR SOURCE OF INFORMATION IS RELIABLE. God's revealed Word is the only infallible source of religious truth. The Bible writers were inspired of God. They could not err, therefore, in what they spoke by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are God-breathed, perfect, and all-sufficient as a guide for man in his search for forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. (2 Tim. 3:16,17). 4. RECOGNIZE THAT IT DOES NOT LIE WITHIN YOUR PROVIDENCE TO CHANGE THAT WHICH THE WORD OF GOD TEACHES. Be content with what you find in the BIBLE. It is possible for parents to be wrong. Remember, too, that even men who are called "preachers" and "rabbis" have NO AUTHORITY at all to bind upon you any tradition or commandment of men. They are just men--and nothing more. BUT, the Author of the Bible is GOD. The Holy Spirit simply revealed to humanity what was in the mind of God. The Bible alone makes known the will of God for you. Steer clear, then, of any disposition to prevent this divine revelation. It is perfect; you are not. 5. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO HINDER YOUR OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH. A soul (yours) is too valuable. The gospel of Christ is God's power to save. (Rom. 1:16,17). Your concern must be, "What does CHRIST teach me to do to have remission of sins?" Read carefully these passages: Mk. 16:15,16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:10; Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4. The simple requirements of Jesus are FAITH, REPENTANCE, CONFESSION and IMMERSION for the remission of sins. BELIEVE the truth, OBEY it to have your soul purified. 1 Pet. 1:22. Let no one dissuade you from obeying the Author of eternal salvation. Heb. 5:8,9. All who seek salvation in this way WILL find it. THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE. -- Via the Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, June 20, 2004 ____________________________________________________ -4- House of Prayer or a Den of Thieves? by Clarence R. Johnson Just four days before His crucifixion, "Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.' And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. When evening had come, He went out of the city" (Mark 11:15-19). This cleansing of the temple is recorded in Matt. 21:12-13 and Luke 19:45-46. The cleansing recorded in John 2:13-16 had taken place near the beginning of Christ's ministry, about three and a half years earlier. To prove His correctness in driving out the profiteers, Jesus appealed to Isaiah 56:7 and Jer. 7:11. The phrase "house of prayer" indicates a place of worship. The "house of prayer," was also a house of service, of offering, of praise, and a place for learning God's will, Isa. 56:5-8. But since it was set apart for worship, it was not a place for the conducting of business transactions and other matters of little or no spiritual significance. Scholar B. W. Johnson shed additional light on this passage. "A market was held there for the sale of animals and those things necessary for the temple service. Money would be required (1) to purchase materials for offerings; (2) to present as free-offerings to the temple treasury; (3) to pay the yearly temple tax of half a shekel due from every Jew, however poor. All this had to be in a native coin called the temple shekel, which was not generally current. Strangers, therefore, had to change their Roman, Greek, or Eastern money, at the stalls of the money-changers, to obtain the coin required. This trade gave ready means for fraud, which was only too common. Doves [were] required for poor women coming for purification from all parts of the country, and for other offerings." He summarizes: "The language indicates that it was a corrupt and fraudulent traffic, which a corrupt and fraudulent priesthood had permitted to encroach on the worship of God. It is a desecration of religious institutions to use them for worldly gain." If Jesus were to appear in our cities today, much of His temple cleansing would be to do over. Houses of worship should be just that -- places to worship God. Entertainment, recreation, buying and selling, important as they may seem to us, are out of place in the house that should be a house of worship. --Via The Susquehanna Sentinel, June 27, 2004 ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________