____________________________________________________ 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 6, 1993 ____________________________________________________ Eternity by Tom Edwards Every human being lives on the threshold of eternity and from which one cannot turn back. We need to grasp this awe-inspiring truth, that regardless of how long we live, our entire earthly life is but a brief moment in time in contrast to eternity; and it inevitably lies ahead for each one of us--whether we believe in Jesus or not. Death does not destroy the soul of man. The Lord states in Matthew 10:28, ``And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul...." The true essence of man is indestructible; his soul will live forever--whether with or without God. The thought of something existing forever sounds ridiculous to some, for even when we consider the imposing universe, we find that the Second Theory of Thermo-dynamics is true: everything is running down. Stars burn out and cease their shining; living things do age and die; all inanimate objects wear out and eventually become no more. It was Joshua, and also David, who referred to death as a ``going the way of all the earth'' (Josh. 23:14; 1 Kings 2:2). Since this is true--that things continue to run down--how can we assume that the universe has always been? Unquestionably, it had a beginning; and no matter how many years an astronomer or scientist would estimate the existence of a star or a planet, there is still a mind-boggling eternity prior to its beginning to be accounted for. Though man might deny the possibility of anything never wearing out and going on forever, it can be proven by simply looking back through the past and prior to the universe itself. Though the thought of this is overwhelming, the creation bears witness to the fact that God is everlasting. Paul states in Romans 1:19,20, ``because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.'' How does the creation indicate God's eternal nature? Since creation is not eternal, and nothing comes from nothing, then there has to have always been SOMETHING in order to bring the universe into existence. That great SOMETHING, that has always existed, is God Himself. As the very first passage of the Bible tells us, ``In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth''; and where else would an eternal God dwell than in eternity? Eternity is a long time to be without God. Won't you make your choice for Him today by hearing His word, believing it, and obeying it. For then you can know His love and enjoy His blessings now and forevermore. ___________________________________________ THE DEATH PENALTY by Tom Edwards James Russell once said, ``Wherever the death penalty is, there will be no civilization. There will be no respect for human life.'' This might sound good to some who are in total agreement with Mr. Russell's statement, but what if I told you the rest of the story? Paradoxically, Mr. Russell uttered this remark shortly before he was executed for the monstrous crime of murder. It is because there are some who have shown this type of disrespect for human life that capital punishment should be enforced. How could we assume that a stricter judicial system would not be a better deterrent to ward off crime? God's law of capital punishment was carried out for various violations during the Old Testament, such as for striking a parent (Exo. 21:15), blasphemy (Lev. 24:14), Sabbath breaking (Exo. 31:14), witchcraft (Exo. 22:18), unchastity (Deut. 22:21), rape (Deut. 22:25), kidnapping (Exo. 21:16), incest (Lev. 20:11), and even before the law of Moses, the murderer was to be put to death (Gen. 9:5,6). When God brought His wrath upon the disobedient which resulted in the forfeiture of their lives, people were often made to fear the awesomeness of God's power and realize even more their moral responsibility toward living a life of godliness. For example, when Ananias and his wife Sapphira were found guilty of having lied to the apostles and to God, they fell down and breathed their last, while a ``great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all those who heard of these things'' (Acts 5:11). When there is no love for the truth and no fear of God, man is without the proper stimulus that would help governed his life. In speaking of the wicked in Romans 3:10-18, Paul shows that they have ``all turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good...The poison of asps is under their lips...Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths.'' He concludes by saying, ``There is no fear of God before their eyes'' (v. 18), which is a primary reason for their corrupt behavior. By far, it is one's love for God that should be the greatest motivating factor toward living the holy life--for the godly need not have a fear of punishment. But for the unbelieving who do not have a love for the Lord, laws are necessary to help keep them in check. Paul speaks of a similar thing in 1 Timothy 1:9,10: ``realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.'' I am not saying that we should adopt the same standard for the death penalty as those during the Mosaical Age, but there are certain crimes of our time that we should recognize as being ``worthy of death''--instead of a lifelong care and protection for such a violator, in which, ironically, the victim's loved ones often support the murderous criminal indirectly by their tax dollars. As the old retort goes toward those who would say that capital punishment is not a deterrent toward major crimes, when one is being executed for such: ``at least there will be one less person committing them''--and the world will become a little safer. Paul, who served Christ during this gospel age, states in Romans 13:4 that the government ``is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for IT DOES NOT BEAR THE SWORD FOR NOTHING, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil'' (emphasis mine). How else would we think of this phrase, ``bear the sword,'' but in connection with capital punishment? Furthermore, in Acts 25:11, while Paul was giving his defense before Festus, he states, ``If then I am a wrongdoer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die....'' Two things we can note from this verse: first, there are some crimes that are ``worthy of death''; and second, Paul's willingness to submit to such if he had committed crimes worthy of it, indicates his acceptance of capital punishment, for surely he would not submit himself to something that would be abominable unto God. There are still many crimes today that should be classified under the heading of ``worthy of death.'' Though some might feel that it is not showing love to a repeated murderer by executing him, it would be showing love and a protective concern to those who are still living. Let those of us who are Christians take heed to Paul's admonition to pray for those who are in the higher authorities, which includes those in all branches of government, such as the judicial system, that our nation will not grow weary in its war against crime, but will deal with it in a manner that will be pleasing to God above and for the good of the people. ___________________________________________ How a Church Grows by Titus Edwards The American Institute of Church Growth surveyed 10,000 people to find out how a church grows. They were trying to find out how people came to a church initially. Here are their findings: Walk-ins ----- 6% Special Need ----- 3-4% Bible School -----3-4% Preacher ----- 3-5% Visitation ----- 1-2% Special Program ----- 3% Gospel Meeting ----- .0001% Invited By Friend ----- 70-90% These are interesting statistics! It obviously shows the importance of the members of the church being involved in the work. Most people go to the church they do because somebody they knew invited them to. You can be effective in saving others, if you will but try to study with them or invite them to come to services with you. Notice how ineffective it is to have a gospel meeting and convert someone purely from it. Notice that walk-ins count somewhat. Two things come to mind. First, the importance of being friendly to our visitors. Nothing is any worse than for a visitor to walk into a church building, and all of the members are huddled up, talking, laughing and have a good time, but no one speaks to them. They need to be made to feel welcome and wanted. Do you go out of your way to speak to such?? The second thing that comes to mind is the importance of visitor's cards. We need to know who these visitors are, and their address that we may follow up with visits. Let us realize that our main aim is not to grow, but to save lost souls. Church growth is a byproduct of doing that work, but not the purpose of such. Let us also realize our individual responsibility in leading others to Christ. -- from The Harvester ___________________________________________ Selected Sentence Sermons The teeth may be FALSE, but let the tongue be TRUE. A temper is a valuable possession, don't lose it. If you are unkind, you're the wrong kind. Better alone than in bad company. Jumping at conclusions is not half as good exercise as digging for facts. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________