____________________________________________________ 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 14, 2004 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Following Him (Cecil Willis) 2) Aliens Exist -- Who are They? (Andrew Lehman) 3) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- Following Him by Cecil Willis In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." There are several lessons regarding living the Christian life to be learned from this brief statement of scripture. The Negative Element There is a negative element in being a Christian. Jesus said that one must learn to "deny himself." Self-preservation and self-care may be laws of nature, but self-denial is a lesson that one must learn by divine grace. Modernism would advise that negative preaching should be eliminated. Self-deprivation would not be recommended by modern child psychology. Hedonism rules our day. One ought to do whatever would make him happy, says the modern hedonist. However, Jesus not only taught self-denial; He also exemplified it. In overcoming during His temptation, Jesus denied Himself bread, deprived Himself of all the kingdoms of the world, and He denied His pride the right to control His actions. In emulating our Master, we must also learn the art of self-denial. Paul taught, "Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not himself . . ." (Rom. 15:1-3). The essence of the struggle to live the Christian life is denial of self. Paul said that one must deny "ungodliness and worldly lust" in order to live "soberly, righteously and godly in this present world" (Titus 2:11,12). The tensions that cause the struggle in living the life the Christian must live result from the conflict between flesh and spirit. The struggle each one must undergo is the struggle to see whether flesh will control spirit, or whether spirit will control flesh. The blessing will come only to those who "overcome" (Rev. 2:11). Until one begins to deprive himself of leisure and things of this world, he is not serving the Lord sacrificially. Self-denial is the price that one must pay if he is to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. The Positive Element But the negative element alone is not enough. It is not enough merely to deny oneself. There are many inanimate objects which could boast of not doing certain sinful things. It is not enough not to do wrong; godly living requires positive, affirmative action of us. Jesus said one must "take up his cross daily." But what does it mean to take up one's cross? To Jesus, taking up His cross meant shame. It was considered a cursed thing to die on a cross (Gal. 3:13). But because of the joy set before Him, Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12:2). The shame was set at naught by Him because of the greater joy before Him which He could accomplish by His death. However, when we live and talk like Jesus, we also will be reproached like Him. One of our favorite songs asks, "Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, there's a cross for everyone, and there's a cross for me!" The Christian must take up his daily cross of shame and reproach, and follow Jesus. But to Jesus, taking up His cross also meant responsibility. Jesus abhorred the cross. His flesh cringed at the thought of its agony. In His anguish Jesus cried, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Lk. 22:42). His flesh would have avoided the cross, but if salvation was to be provided, He had to provide it by enduring the cross. The cross therefore meant responsibility to Him. There is plenty of responsibility to be borne by those of us who would be His disciples. There are some who would avoid responsibility. They shirk their duties as disciples. They prefer to get "lost in the crowd" of some large congregation so that personal responsibility can be dodged. But discipleship demands that one "take up his cross" daily. The Progressive Element In addition to a negative and a positive element, being a Christian also involves a progressive element: "follow me." This expression suggests that there can be no "stand-still" Christian. A Christian is like a train crossing a mountain; it either keeps going forward, or it begins rolling backward. Living the Christian life is like riding a bicycle; one must either keep moving or fall. Following Christ demands that we stretch forward to the things that are before; that we press on "toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-16). The Christian's life must be one of growth (2 Pet. 3:18). Every day one should pitch his tent a little nearer Canaan's happy land. Sometime, in an effort to show that certain actions are incompatible with the life expected of a Christian, the question is asked, "Could you take Jesus there?" But perhaps a better question would be, "Could you follow Jesus there?" We should remember that the Christian does not have Jesus on a noose, leading Him here and there. Instead, he must follow Him! And following Jesus would not lead us to some of the places that some who wear His name are found. Daily we should sing, "I'm pressing on the upward way, New heights I'm gaining every Day, Still praying as I onward bound, 'Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.'" -- Via Truth Magazine, XVI: 2, pp. 3-4, November 11, 1971 ____________________________________________________ -2- Aliens Exist -- Who are They? by Andrew Lehman Evidence shows that aliens have been inhabiting Earth for many generations. Although they lack the traditional green skin and bulbous eyes, their ways of life are foreign to the world. Additionally, their stay here appears to be temporary as they journey towards their true home, as if they are some sort of pilgrim (except without the tall buckle hats and black powder muskets). Who exactly are these strangers? And where are they going? In I Peter 2:11, Peter addresses his brethren as "strangers and pilgrims." Christians are these strangers (aliens) and pilgrims of whom both he and I are speaking. When one is an alien in a foreign land, he finds the ways of the homeland dweller to be strange, and the homeland dweller views him as not belonging. Similarly, we are to find the ways of the world to be strange. We are to refrain from them and find solace in Christ. Because we are different, those of the world will view us as outsiders, but we should not seek to adopt their ways. Although we are not to embrace the ways of the world, this does not mean that we are to be unaware of them. Knowledge of these evils allows us to fight against them effectively. A soldier who is ignorant of the enemy will be quickly gunned down. Our awareness of evil can keep us safe. Just as a child can notice a wasp's nest and perceive its danger to avoid being stung, so can we realize the evils of the world and remain out of harm's way. As pilgrims we are on a journey through the world going toward heaven. We are focused on our goal; we do not err from the path, and we embrace only that which will aid our travel. This is not a leisure vacation for us. We follow our map (the Word) strictly and check it constantly to remain on course. To succeed in our journey we are to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul (I Peter 2:11) because these things distract and prevent us from achieving our heavenly goal. By this, our conduct is to exhibit honesty before the world (I Peter 2:12), which includes submitting to governmental authority (I Peter 2:13-18). Even though aliens are not permanent residents, they are responsible to be law abiders. Our focus is to be on Christ and heaven, not the world. We are to be viewed not as worldly citizens, but rather as temporary residents on a pilgrimage bound for heaven. So, who exactly are you? And what are you doing here? ____________________________________________________ -3- News & Notes I was sorry to hear recently that John Pitman, who had been a gospel preacher for many years, passed away November 6 at the age of 81. He and his wife Lou had attended with us at the Tri-state church of Christ in Ashland, Kentucky, for almost a year and a half, after his last full-time preaching job in Louisa. The commute to Ashland from their home was about 50 miles (one-way); and with both of them having physical ailments to contend with, this was certainly commendable of them and a manifestation of their love for God. John preached for us occasionally, as well as elsewhere from time to time. From Kentucky, they then moved to North Carolina in 2001 to be near family, as John's health declined even more. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson Disease. In addition, on September 16, the Pitmans' son Joe passed away just several days prior to his 59th birthday. Let those of us who are Christians be remembering all the family and friends in prayer. The gospel meeting at the South College Drive church of Christ in Lafayette begins today and will continue through Friday (Nov. 14-19). Rick Liggin will be the speaker. Be sure to note that weeknight services will begin at 7:00 -- instead of 7:30 (as some of us initially thought). ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________