____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ June 4, 2006 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) "Face to Face" (Bill Robinson) 2) The Everlasting Fire (Harold Fite) 3) Lost (Steve Klein) ____________________________________________________ -1- "Face to Face" by Bill Robinson The apostle Paul wrote, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully even as I have been fully known" (I Cor. 13:12). At the time of this statement the NT had not been completed -- it was known "only in part." Thus, Paul was writing in anticipation of the full disclosure of God's final revelation to mankind revealed in the NT. Spiritual gifts were not an end within themselves. They were merely the "vehicle" through which God was making known His revelation in part (I Cor. 12:31). Through the revelation available to them, prior to the completion of the NT, they were only able to "see in a mirror dimly." Have you ever walked into a dimly lit room (bathroom) where there was a mirror and thought someone was there, only to turn on the light and see yourself fully reflected in the mirror? In a sense, the revelation of God, as it was being unfolded during the first century, was like that. It is for this reason James would speak of those who "look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act -- they will be blessed in their doing" (1:25). The word "perfect" carries with it the idea of fruit that has reached its maturity. Initially, as the NT was being revealed in the first century, it was like a farmer watching his tree bearing fruit -- first the blossoms, then the budding out of the fruit, until the fruit reached its maturity. It is interesting that Paul speaks of God's disclosure in the NT as revelation (Eph. 3:3-5). Indeed it was! The word revelation means an unveiling or an uncovering. In this sense, God was unveiling His face that we might truly know Him and His will. When we want to sit down with someone and talk to them about a matter we sometimes say we want to speak with them "face to face." What we mean is, we want to personally disclose to them more fully information about a matter. Certainly, when we turn to the Lord through the NT revelation we are able to see God "face to face" and ourselves as we are known by Him. There is full disclosure. This same imagery is used in connection with the OT. Paul reminded the Corinthians (2 Cor. 3:4-11) if Moses' face shined with such glory after his "face to face" meetings with God (so that he had to veil his face as he spoke to the people), then what are we to make of the glory of the law Moses delivered, since it was a law of condemnation and not justification? Paul's argument is, that whatever significance one attaches to the glory of Moses' law it had a greater aim than itself. Consequently, the glory of the law would pass, as it gave way, to the surpassing glory (light) of the revelation of Jesus Christ. A candle (the law of Moses) provides necessary light in the darkness of the night. However, once the sun rises (the Christ) the light from the candle is surpassed. It is by the greater glory (the NT revelation) we are brought unveiled -- "face to face" with God in Christ. The veil over Moses' face concealed the full glory of God, which for the time (the OT dispensation) was only reflected in the law and the institutions of the OT. Those things pointed to something greater. Namely, the full disclosure of God's glory revealed (unveiled) in Jesus Christ -- who is the "effulgence of God's glory" (Heb. 1:3ff). The veil is no longer over Moses' face concealing the glory of God -- in Christ it is set aside. Yet the veil remains today for some, concealing the surpassing glory of God, because in their hearts (minds) they trust in the law of Moses, or some other human system of faith, to save them. Thus, Paul reminds his readers it is only "when one turns to the Lord [Jesus Christ], the veil is removed...And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:12-17). Only through the NT can one come "face to face" with the glory of God with assurance for the present and hope for a better future -- a surpassing glory indeed! ____________________________________________________ -2- The Everlasting Fire by Harold Fite Fire in the domestic realm is beneficial. By it we cook our meals and warm ourselves. Fire also destroys our possessions and our lives. Fire can inflict intense pain upon the human body, disfigure it and destroy it. One has only to go to the burn center in Galveston, Texas, to witness the horrible results of fire on flesh. God frequently used fire to punish the disobedient. He rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen. 19:24. He brought hail mingled with fire upon the Egyptians, Ex. 9:23. By fire, God destroyed 250 men who were in rebellion, Num. 16:35. God sent fire upon Nadab and Abihu to devour them because they acted without His authority, Lev. 10:2. Someday the heavens will be dissolved by fire and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 2 Pet. 3:12. I have observed flaming fire consuming industrial buildings and felt the scorching heat two blocks away. I have seen huge furnaces in which fire generated incredibly high temperatures. In both instances I thought, "This must be, in a small measure, what hell is like." People fear fire, and respect it. Yell "fire!" in a crowded room and people panic and rush madly for the exits. In their hysteria some have crushed others to death fleeing from the searching and searing flames bent on engulfing them. Here we have a paradox: while people will flee from fire, millions are racing toward the fire of hell -- actually inviting it. Hell is a place of fire. The Scriptures describe hell as a "lake of fire" (Rev. 20:14); "furnace of fire" (Matt. 13:42); and "hell fire" (Matt. 18:9). It is into this fire that the ungodly will be cast. How terribly frightening to contemplate being thrown into a lake consumed by fire, or into a suffocating, searing furnace of fire. This is just a hint of what the fire of hell will be like. Whatever the nature of that fire, God used the word that would best describe hell. If it is a metaphor it is a "likeness or similarity set forth as reality." The punishment of fire is far worse than anything we have seen, heard, or imagined. Fire produces pain. Those who go to hell will be tormented by fire. Jesus said, "There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:42). The rich man died and was buried, "and being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame'" (Luke 16:23-24). The nature of this fire is "everlasting." Jesus will ultimately say to those on His left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Jude describes it as "eternal" (Jude 7). Jesus warns us that if we place our members at the disposal of sinful desires we shall be cast into hell fire, "where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For everyone shall be salted by fire" (Mark 9:48-49). There are two destructive forces: the worm and fire. Both suggest to us the permanence of retribution. The worm dieth not, therefore the gnawing anguish never ceases. Those in hell are "salted with fire" (preserved); therefore, the results remain constant. "The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night" (Rev. 14:11). Just think, to be in constant agony forever, with no hope of escaping the horrors of hell. "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor. 5:11). - Via The Susquehanna Sentinel, May 14, 2006 ____________________________________________________ -3- Lost by Steve Klein A popular television show depicts a group of plane crash survivors stranded on a tropical island. The characters on the TV series, which is aptly entitled LOST, all have dark pasts that appear to account for their presence on the island. Robinson Crusoe and Gilligan have nothing on these fictional castaways, whose lives are daily filled with mystery, uncertainty and mutual mistrust. The word lost also aptly describes the spiritual condition of the majority of people in the world today (cf. Matthew 7:13). They are lost because they have followed the twisted paths of poor choices, sins and misdeeds. They are so lost that they don't know how to get home. They've no idea where to turn or which direction to take. Sadly, Satan has done an excellent job of keeping the lost from consulting the map that shows them where they are and how to get home. Using cunning devises such as humanism, false science, liberal theology and modernism, Satan has been successful in getting much of the world to doubt that Christ is truly God's Son and that the Bible is God's word. Truly, as Paul said, "if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:3). The lost need a rescuer -- a Savior. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). The Lord promised to "bring the blind by a way that they knew not." He said, "I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them" (Isaiah 42:16). But the lost must recognize their Rescuer, and be willing to follow Him. The trouble is that, although the lost are truly lost, they may not know it. In the parable of the lost coin, the coin has no awareness of its condition, but it is still lost. Even so, many in the world are lost, but don't know it. "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble" (Proverbs 4:19). Yes, many are lost. Few if any of the lost will read this article. Who will inform them that they're lost? Who will tell them about the gospel? Who will point them to their Savior? Will you? -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ in New Georgia, February 26, 2006 ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________