____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ May 1, 1994 ____________________________________________________ Summing It Up by Tom Edwards From my article that dealt with Romans 10 in last week's bulletin, we should be able to deduce that salvation cannot be based on merely a few passages--when there are actually more that pertain to the subject. For example, since all who ``call(ed)'' upon the Lord would be saved (Rom. 10:13), we can safely say that the term ``call'' is actually ``summing up'' all those things God demands one must do in order to be saved. What are those things? Simply read through your New Testament, and make a note of those things which are shown as being needful. You will find a need for faith (Jn. 3:36; Rom. 5:1; Gal. 3:26), repentance (Luke 13:5; Acts 2:38; 26:20), confessing faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38, Matt. 10:32,33), baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; Jn. 3:3-5; 1 Pet. 3:21), and continuing in a life of faithfulness unto God (Matt. 10:22; Heb. 10:39; Rev. 2:10.) It has been pointed out in prior articles that ``faith'' is sometimes used in this way as ``summing up'' all that one must do in order to be saved--that it is being used ``comprehensively'' or as a ``synecdoche,'' in which all the steps toward salvation are implied or to be inferred. The other day I ran into another verse that well illustrates this. It is speaking about ``love.'' Notice Romans 14:9,10, ``For this, `You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is SUMMED UP in this saying, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law'' (emphasis mine). What does it mean to ``love'' your neighbor? Is this merely an emotion one has for others? Is it just a ``mental thing?'' According to the verse, the term ``love'' is used to ``sum up'' various things: the one who truly loves his neighbor, will not commit adultery with his neighbor's spouse; he will not steal from his neighbor; he will not covet things that belong to his neighbor; he will not murder his neighbor, etc. My point is that we learn about this kind of love (agape) from the New Testament. As we learn more and more about it, our understanding of ``love'' is enlarged; and then when we read a passage that speaks about loving our neighbor, we realize that love is being used comprehensively to stand for many Bible-based principles that are to govern our actions with our fellow man. To try to make an argument that a certain passage that mentions love for others ``does not say that one cannot steal from his neighbor'' would be irrational because of what other verses teach about this. The same is true with faith. One particular verse might mention merely the term ``faith.'' How are we to interpret it? In view of the context and in the scope of other verses that further express this. As we then take in the panoramic view of the New Testament, we not only see that our faith must be coupled with obedience, but also what that obedience is to be. Similarly, we should ask ourselves, ``Do I really love Jesus?'' Again, what is this kind of ``love'' we are to have for the Lord? Merely an emotional feeling? According to Jesus, it involves much more than that. In John 14:15, the Lord states, ``If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.'' Apparently, loving Jesus involves many things, including our very actions. By examining the Scriptures carefully, we can be made aware of these necessary involvements--His commandments. I imagine there are many similar terms in the Bible that ``sum up'' a wide variety of activities. To enumerate on all those activities, each time that particular term or phrase is used would certainly make quite a tome out of the Bible--perhaps to such a bulky extent that we would have to tote it around in a wheelbarrow. For instance, what if each time the New Testament spoke of the need to ``be faithful,'' to ``walk in the light,'' to ``abide in the vine,'' ``to walk by faith,'' etc. it went into great detail specifying every activity which was involved in the doing of such? Since these phrases are expressing the need to keep the commandments in the New Testament....I think you get my point. Let us realize that various terms and phrases are used in the Scriptures--not just faith and love--which sum up a wide array of involvements. We must, therefore, investigate God's word for ourselves that these things will become clearly evident to us. By doing this and incorporating those sacred teachings from the Scriptures, our own lives will then be also summed up with that unique and meaningful word: "Christian''--which definitely stands for many things itself. A Christian is one whose life is characterized with willing obedience to his heavenly Father. He prays; studies the Bible; teaches others God's truth; tries to win lost souls; takes of the Lord's supper every first day of the week; gives of his means cheerfully on Sunday; sings spiritual songs with his brethren; attends church faithfully; abstains from sin (What a comprehensive term!!! The Bible speaks of many things that are sin.); and strives to live righteously. Simply put, he's a ``Christian.'' Are you a Christian? Do you have the faith that sums up what God requires of you? Are you striving to develop the love that sums up how your thoughts and actions are to be toward God and toward your fellow man? Won't you ``obey'' the Lord today? (Oh, that sums up a lot too, doesn't it? It's hard to mention Bible terms or phrases without using many of them that imply various other actions as well; or, in other words, terms that are used in "summing it up.") ___________________________________________ SORROW AND COMFORT by Tom Edwards Psalms 30:5, ''...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.'' The overwhelming and debilitating effect of intense grief can virtually disable the one so stricken. Encountering unhappy events, such as being bereft of loved ones through death, being jilted by a sweetheart, having close friends move away, and numerous other sad occasions can often cause one to feel sorrowful, dejected, and alone. Moments of woe, like these, can suddenly make us forget of the many times of joy and gladness which we have already greatly relished; and they dim our vision from the brightness of tomorrow. It's times like these when life seems hardly worth the living; and since grief comes to virtually all of us, let us consider a few things in which God's word has to say about sorrow and comfort. The Lord doesn't promise His faithful follower an exemption from the hardships and challenges of life, but He does give the strength to endure and overcome such griefs and obstacles. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul shares the comforting truth that the Lord will never allow a person to be tempted beyond what that individual can withstand, for God will also provide the way of escape for His faithful follower (1 Cor. 10:13). The Lord is always there to help us through our trying times. So whether in sorrow or gladness, it is to Him that we need to constantly turn. Perhaps one of the greatest passages that express why we should do this is 1 Peter 5:7, which is said in connection with why we should pray to God; and the answer being ''...because He cares for you.'' Let us take this thought to heart. The Lord wants us to pray to Him because He loves us and is greatly concerned for our wellbeing. Now what motivation could be greater than that?! At the death of Jesus' friend Lazarus, the Lord manifested His sympathy in the form of tears. As the shortest verse in the Bible tells us, ``Jesus wept'' (Jn. 11:35). The context shows why He cried: ``When Jesus saw her (Mary, TTE) weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled'' (Jn. 11:33). Apparently, the Lord was grieving because of the sadness He saw in the others. As we begin considering sorrow, the greatest anguish of man, however, should be in view of his having sinned against the Almighty God. This remorse should be a godly sorrow that will lead to repentance and reformation of one's life (2 Cor. 7:8-11). Concerning this, Isaiah, prophesying 700 years prior to the Lord's incarnation, foretells that Christ bore our sins and carried our sorrows by being ``pierced through for our transgressions'' and ``crushed for our iniquities'' (Isa. 53:4,5). In the very same context, the Lord is described as being a ``man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief'' (Isa. 53:3). The burden of sin should be a sorrow for everyone, but Christ can lift this weight from us and replace it with His joy and blessings because he took this burden of ours upon Himself. Surely, His great accomplishment at the cross should gladden the heart of every true believer. There are many crushing hardships that effect the people of the world, and each of us needs the strength that God can give through His word to overcome these difficult trials of our faith. Will we lose hope in God when the road grows dim? or will we be like that great patriarch Job who was able to maintain his trust in the Lord though he lost virtually all he had--his livestock, his good health, and even his children? The comfort of the Lord transcends the physical and the superficial and can dwell in our hearts to alleviate all our distresses. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul states in 2 Corinthians 1:3,4: ``Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.'' And he further declares in 2 Corinthians 7:4, ``Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.'' Whether in joy or sorrow, may it always be the Lord whom we lean upon for our daily strength and guidance; for He can lightened the heavy load of our grief and abundantly add to the coffers of our joy. ___________________________________________ "For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor. 5:1-4). "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:51-53). ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________