____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ August 15, 1995 ____________________________________________________ Nadab, Abihu, and the "Strange Fire" by Tom Edwards The Old Testament abounds with numerous examples that illustrate New Testament principles, such as in Leviticus 10:1,2, in which the lesson is taught that God will not accept just any kind of worship. It reads, ``Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.'' What was this ``strange fire'' they used? According to the text, it was simply a fire which God did not authorize--apparently, fire from another source. On the Day of Atonement, Aaron was to take ``a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar...and...put the incense on the fire'' (Leviticus 16:12,13). And, as Leviticus 6:12,13 shows, the fire was to be kept burning continually upon the altar. For Aaron to have, therefore, used some other source for fire, would have caused him to violate God's word just as Nadab and Abihu had done. When the Lord specifies a certain way for something to be performed, He doesn't have to enumerate on all the ways in which it cannot be. For example, when God told Noah to build an ark using gopher wood, this automatically eliminated the use of any other kind. The Lord did not have to say, ``And thou shalt not use hickory, cedar, cypress, walnut, maple,'' and so. This principle of ``specific commands'' is seen often in the Bible. Take, for instance, the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine that are to be used in the Lord's Supper. By specifying these two elements--the former to represent Christ's body, and the latter to represent His blood--the use of anything else is automatically excluded. Therefore, to use something(s) in addition to, or in place of, would be to profane the communion. Most people realize this and would find it sacrilegious to add cake and ice cream to the Lord's Supper or to substitute the fruit of the vine with Coke or Pepsi, but why can't they also see this with regard to the music the church is to use in worshiping God; It is to be a cappella, which is singing without the accompaniment of instrumental music. This is because God has specifically commanded His people to ``sing'' for this New Testament age and has never included authority for using instruments in worship (Col. 3:16). Though the use of such was commanded during the Mosaical Period, this is irrelevant to how we are to worship God during this Gospel Age in which we now live. Today it is just the instrument of the heart that is to accompany are singing in praise and worship to God (Eph. 5:19). In Leviticus 10:3 the implication is made that Nadab and Abihu did not honor God, nor treat Him as holy, because they chose to change God's plan and serve the Lord their own way. Do we ever see this happening today? Unfortunately, we do--and not just with instrumental music. Yet we do not have any more right to tamper with God's word in our time than those who lived during the age of Nadab and Abihu. We must search the Scriptures to learn of God's authority, and respect that authority by humbling submitting to it through obedience. May this lesson of Nadab and Abihu help us to not make the same mistake of tampering with God's word--no matter how insignificant it might seem--realizing that if we want to truly honor and worship the Lord, we must do so His way and not our own. ___________________________________________ Working With Elders by Greg Gwin Hebrews 13:17 says: ``Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.'' Surely those ``that have the rule over you'' is a reference to the elders. 1 Timothy 5:17 speaks of ``elders that rule well.'' Now, what are we to do in respect to the elders? ``Obey them...and submit yourselves.'' In what areas should we obey and submit to the elders? In matters of faith and doctrine? Absolutely not--at least not if they teach or instruct us in anything that is different from the word of God (Galatians 1:8,9). We should always ``obey God rather than men'' (Acts 5:29). And so, our submission in matters of faith and doctrine is to the Lord, and not to any man (2 John 9-11). It seems then that the only area where the elders have decision making power--to which we must submit--is in matters of judgment. In the work of any local congregation there will be many judgments to make about our collective work. Where? When? Who? And to some extent, How? These are all questions that must be decided. Now, the elders ought not to attempt to be ``lords over God's heritage'' (1 Peter 5:3). We would hope that they are constantly seeking the input of every faithful member as such decisions are made. But when the final judgment is made--whether it was in agreement with our own personal judgment or not--we have a command: ``Obey them...and submit yourselves.'' The next time you are tempted to question some decision of the elders, or to argue for your own point-of-view, think again about the instruction of Hebrews 13:17. If it is a matter of faith or doctrine, then be ready to stand firmly for what is right. But if it is an area of judgment, give in quickly to the decision that has been made, humbly submitting yourself. ___________________________________________ WHAT COMES FIRST: BAPTISM OR SALVATION? by Brent Lykins This is a question often pondered upon by many. Our denominational friends sometimes believe that salvation is the one that precedes. But is that really the case? Let's take a look at what the Bible says about this. There are many verses that come to mind when talking about baptism along with salvation. Some are: Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, I Peter 3:21. Let's take a close look at a few of these. Mark 16:16 says, ``He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.'' This is a plain black and white passage. The answer is right there. But still, some try to state that when you believe as in the first of this verse is the very instant that you are saved. Baptism then follows to show as an outward sign. Acts 2:38 states: ``And Peter said unto them, `Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.''' The gift of the Holy Spirit is talking about salvation. But as before some try to twist this around. As stated before, some say that the believe or repent part of the verses before the baptism itself is the instant that one is saved. This would imply that believe or repent would have the same meaning as saved in the previous verses. This would also mean that the Greek meanings of the words would be the same. Correct? The Greek word for ``believed'' in Mark 16:16 is ``pisteuo''; this is not the same Greek word as what ``saved'' is translated from. ``Saved'' comes from the Greek word ``Sozo.'' So we see here that the believe or repent in front of the baptism is not referring to salvation. It is merely referring to some of the necessary steps of the plan of salvation. So we see by evidence that baptism is needed and precedes salvation. ___________________________________________ Mirror One day a rich man of miserly disposition visited a rabbi, who took him by the hand and led him to a window. ``Look out there,'' he said. The rich man looked out into the street. ``What do you see?'' ``I see men and women and children.'' Again the rabbi took him to a mirror. ``What do you see now?'' ``I see myself.'' Then the rabbi said, ``Behold, the window there is glass and the mirror is glass also. But the glass of the mirror is covered with silver. No sooner is silver added than you cease to see others and see only yourself.'' -- Selected ___________________________________________ "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace...And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:1-3, 32). ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________