____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ September 7, 2008 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) The Central Place of Attitude (Philippians 2:1-4) (Warren E. Berkley) 2) The End of the World (Irvin Himmel) 3) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- The Central Place of Attitude Philippians 2:1-4 by Warren E. Berkley If your attitude is not right, I don't think you can fix anything else! Everything else in your life depends upon attitude: Your participation in worship; Your responsibility to your spouse and children; Dealing with people; Handling temptation; Enduring suffering; Being properly related to other Christians. If your attitude is not right, you cannot effectively handle, or deal with or fix anything else. It is as Solomon wrote in Prov. 4:23, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." If we will develop good focus and clarity about attitude, that will put us in position to properly approach every other aspect of practical life. Just look at the words and phrases packed into this little paragraph: love, affection, mercy, and joy and then, consolation in Christ; comfort of love; lowliness of mind. Further, observe what is forbidden: selfish ambition and conceit. This is about attitude, and this attitude of unselfish humility is essential in order to please God, follow Christ, have personal peace of mind, and to live in harmony with others. We cannot be united with each other until we are first united with Christ. Our relationship with God through Christ is the basis of our good relationship with each other. And when we address the subject of unity, we need to be sure we work from the right place, and the right place is in Christ. If I'm living in Him, and you are living in the same place, we will be able to be united in attitude. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself." Earlier in Philippians, reference is made to preachers who may deliver the right message but their motives are wrong. Back in 1:16, there is the reference to preaching Christ from selfish ambition. Teaching from this text I recently said: For a man to think about elevating himself above another is never a right thought! I said -- For a preacher to worry about why some other preacher has more attention, or more praise or acclaim? There is never a time when that kind of thinking is justified. Now, here in Phil. 2:3, we are back to that and it is exceedingly important for every one of us to get this. "Selfish ambition or conceit" just has no good place in our attitude. Never a time... Never a place... Never a circumstance... No occasion ever, when we should be driven by selfish ambition or conceit. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit...." "Nothing!" Just forget it! These immature, selfish attitudes can never be justified. And I think we all realize, where there is selfish ambition and conceit, people don't get along and the Lord's work is not done. Isn't that right? You show me a group of people where there are power plays . . . battles for personal prestige . . . rivalry . . . desire for recognition -- it is ugly; there is discord, division, and tension people can see and feel. Selfish ambition kills churches, dishonors the cause, makes people sick, and offends God. So let's make up our mind, we will have no part in it! I need to make a specific choice. You need to make a specific choice that you will not have a parade in your own honor and that you will not exalt yourself and look down on others. You will not praise yourself, boast, or act in any conceited way. We need to learn what good attitudes are in keeping with the gospel of Christ, then evaluate ourselves, review that teaching, and determine personally: we will do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. See more about this in Jas. 3:13-18; Eph. 4:1-3; 1 Cor. 3:1-3 and Matt. 18:1-5. "...in humility, consider others better than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3b). Now let's be honest, sometimes we come to a passage in the Bible like this, and our first thought may be, "That doesn't really mean that! That has to be an exaggeration. There must be some interpretation, figure of speech, literary form, something!" Honestly, sometimes we seem to want to unload the Word, taking the power away. While there is such a thing as hyperbole, I'm convinced -- in this context -- looking now at the last phrase in verse 3 in Philippians 2, we need to let this stand, and be challenged by it: "...consider others better than yourselves." If we try to take something off of this or minimize it through some sophisticated explanation, I think we're going to wind up putting ourselves above others, and arranging ourselves above others will take us away from everything this passage says about genuine humility. Add verse 4 for further explanation: "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Our selfishness may not be well concealed. We talk about ourselves . . . We get upset when people don't pay attention to us . . . We expect people to treat us in a certain way, and we are almost defensive before we meet people -- wondering if they will give us the attention we believe we need. We may have our greatest interests directed to what people can do for us, rather than what we can do for them. Self-centered preoccupation is just not very graceful. Our good brother, Walton Weaver, helps us with this in his commentary: "But Paul says the Christian must esteem others better than themselves, not merely view them as equals. This is to be done, not because it is the natural thing to do, but because as Christians we are commanded to do it. Jesus in his example showed it is the proper thing to do, and he taught that it is the mark of true greatness ... It was for this reason that the apostles commanded it. True unity among brethren is impossible without humility on the part of each Christian" (p. #77, Truth Commentaries, Philippians, by Walton Weaver.). -- Via Expository Files 15.1; January 2008 ____________________________________________________ -2- The End of the World by Irvin Himmel Among many religionists there is an expectation that Christ will come again and reign on earth. Some believe that the eternal abode of the righteous will be on the same globe which we now inhabit, following a remodeling, renovating, and purifying. Many are anxiously awaiting a utopian world of tomorrow -- a perfected terrestrial dwelling. All I know about the future is what is plainly revealed in the Bible. I invite you to consider a passage that describes what is in store for the material world when Jesus makes his second appearance: 2 Pet. 3:10. The Day of the Lord The expression "day of the Lord" may be found in various passages, and it does not always refer to the same event. The Old Testament prophets spoke of a time of Jehovah's pouring out divine wrath as the "day of the Lord" (Isa. 2:12; Jer. 46:10; Joel 2:1; 2:31; Mal. 4:5). The reference might be to an invasion from a foreign power, a time of captivity, or any execution of judgment. When Peter writes, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night," he is looking ahead to the time of Christ's coming. This statement is included in Peter's reply to the scoffers who say, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (v. 4) He shows that the same divine power that made the earth a suitable dwelling place for man (verse 5) and that brought the flood (verse 6), keeps the heavens and earth in store, "reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (verse 7). Then he shows that God does not consider time in the same way that men think of it, so time does not cancel the divine promise (verses 8, 9). Christ will come suddenly and abruptly. As men in Noah's time were not expecting the flood, "so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Warning that he would come unexpectedly, Jesus said, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." He compared his coming to the unexpected approach of a thief, again warning, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Matt. 24:36-44). Peter advances the same thought in our text, saying the day of the Lord will come "as a thief in the night." The Heavens Shall Pass Away In that great and notable day, "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise." The Bible speaks of "heavens" in different senses: (1) the celestial realm where God dwells, Christ reigns, angels live, and the righteous shall inherit eternal life (I Kings 8:27; Matt. 6:9; Psa. 2:4; 103:19; Heb. 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:1); (2) what we call outer space, the region where the sun, moon, and stars are located (Psa. 8:3; 19:1); (3) the firmament or atmosphere just above the earth (Gen. 1:6-8). Peter's statement obviously does not apply to the eternal heavens but only to the heavens that may be considered as part of the material world. The Greek word translated "pass away" (parerchomai) means to "disappear, vanish, perish" (Analytical Greek Lexicon). Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." This presents a contrast between what is destined to disappear and what is destined to remain (Matt. 24:35). When Jesus comes in that final day, the heavens which belong to the temporal universe will vanish. The Elements Shall Melt In addition to the passing away of the heavens with thunderous roar, "the elements shall melt with fervent heat." By "elements" is meant the primary materials out of which something is composed or formed. Thayer defines stoicheia ("elements") as "any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite whole take their rise... 1. the letters of the alphabet as the elements of speech ... 2. the elements from which all things have come, the material causes of the universe . . ." (Greek-English Lexicon). All of this means that the basic ingredients that are the constituent parts of the temporal universe shall melt. The word for "melt" in verse 10 is a form of luo, translated "dissolved" in verses 11 and 12. The word for "melt" in verse 12 is from tekomia. The first word means "to loose," or "to break up, demolish, destroy," or "to dissolve something coherent into parts, to destroy" (Thayer). The second word means "to become liquid, to melt; to perish or be destroyed by melting" (Thayer). So Peter is saying the elements are going to be broken up, demolished, or destroyed by melting. The Earth and Works Shall Be Burned Up "Burned up" translates a form of katakaio, meaning "consume by fire" (Thayer). This is the word used in Acts 19:19 where it is reported that the people of Ephesus brought their books of magic and "burned" them. The books were not purged or renewed by fire; they were consumed. (Two or three ancient manuscripts use a word in 2 Pet. 3:10 meaning "discovered" or "laid bare," instead of "burned up." Thayer says this reading is "strange but improbable" (P. 261). "Burned up" is well supported by ancient manuscripts and fits the text better.) Note what is going to be burned up: the earth and the works that are therein. This includes all the works of nature -- the towering peaks, rolling hills, winding streams, extended plains, forests, mighty oceans, peaceful valleys, underground mineral deposits, springs and lakes, rocks and caves. It includes all the works of man -- expensive homes, sprawling cities, lovely parks, fertile farms, beautiful gardens, enormous skyscrapers, dams and highways, art and books, machines and merchandise, stocks and bonds, money and jewels, weapons and tools. The earth and all the works that are in the earth shall be consumed. The passing away of the heavens that are a part of the material universe, the melting of the elements, and the burning of the earth will take place on that great day. This will be the end of the temporal world. The termination of the physical order of things is inevitable. Peter promised a new dwelling place for the righteous, described as "new heavens and new earth" (verse 13). This new home is not the old remodeled and made over. The righteous will dwell in spiritual bodies (I Cor. 15:44), not flesh and blood bodies, in that new habitation. John says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." The temporal world is for the physical man; the new habitation will be for the glorified man (Rev. 21:1). -- Via Truth Magazine, XV: 38, pp. 8-10, August 5, 1971 ____________________________________________________ -3- News & Notes Due to Hurricane Gustav, we have not been able to assemble at the church building on Myrtle Street, since our last service on August 31. A large, falling tree did major damage when it broke through the roof over the auditorium. We also had additional roof damage over the class rooms, due to the strong winds, which led to more water damage. Fortunately, however, all of the members made it through the storm okay -- though most of us were without power for several days. For at least the next two Sundays (September 14 & 21), we will be assembling in the meeting room of the Hampton Inn (at 203 Rushing Road) in Denham Springs. If you are going to be in our area and would like to attend our services, we will be meeting there at our regular times for Sunday: 9:15 (Bible class), 10:00 (morning worship), and 4:00 (afternoon worship). If coming in on I-12, use exit 10 for Denham Springs. Turn north at the end of the exit ramp onto Range Avenue. Then drive the short distance to Rushing Road, where you'll make a left. Hampton Inn will be on the right, soon after you make that turn. Feel free to come and be with us. We would enjoy having you! ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________