____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ April 9, 1995 ____________________________________________________ WHAT DO YOU SEE AHEAD? by Chuck Bartlett THE CANADIAN DOLLAR IS DOWN, the new budget doesn't look good, the cost of living is high, and the news goes from bad to worse. Everywhere you turn there is doom and gloom. Even a financial planner (friend of mine), who claims to have ``some'' religious beliefs, stated that his comfort is hoping for the Lord to return within the next 10 years! Do you get the idea things look bad? The problem with all the concern over the economy, walking by faith (II Cor. 5:7) is being tossed out the door. Worrying about the future may cause saints to give less to the church and in turn suggest that the church do less. Why? Because times are hard? It sort of reminds me of a preacher story I heard a few years ago. There was this man who had a business set up alongside a busy highway selling hotdogs. Things had been going great for him for years. He put his son through school and managed to save some money. One day his son came to him and imparted some of his knowledge which he gained at a university. He told his father that statistically, people are not interested in hotdogs. People are watching their dollars more closely and frankly, the future doesn't look good. So, on that advice, the father closed up his shop and retired early, and struggled to survive. The fact was, did anyone bother to tell the son that things were going just fine until he came along? Churches will eventually die when faith is lost. There will be no vision, which means efforts to reach out will fall by the wayside. It is true that people are not obeying in vast amounts each year, yet we need to keep pressing forward (Phil. 3:14). I received two phone calls within a week, hearing about preachers who cannot raise support to preach. It is getting harder and harder for men to find the help to devote their lives to full time work. The church at Jordan has always tried to do what it can to spread the good news, and continues to do so. But what if the dollars won't be there down the road? What if something comes up that affect us financially? What if, what if, what if, it can go on and on. As members of the body of Christ, we trust in God and face each challenge as it comes. We have all heard the expression, ``Don't build a bridge until we get there.'' We don't have to borrow troubles from an uncertain future (Matt. 6:34). If people want to borrow from the future, why not good things? What will we do if our contribution increases 20% over the next five years? Will we help more men? You can be sure that will happen. What would the church do if it receives a one time amount that is quite sizable? Would the church think about doing more? You can be sure that would happen. The point I am making is, with all the depressing things going in the world, let's make sure we don't allow it to hold the cause of Christ back. As faith increases, so does the desire to do more for the Lord (II Cor. 9:1-8). Christians find a great deal of satisfaction giving on the first day of the week (I Cor. 16:1-2), no matter what the economy is like (II Cor. 8:2-5). Saints are frugal and when times are hard, they do less eating out, cut back on frills, but the Lord's work always comes first (Matt. 7:33). I do get down from time to time when I sit and listen to our economists. The truth is, it has nothing to do with my (our) spirituality, unless I (we) allow it. The question is, has it been getting to us? May we never drift from our goals as we labour day to day for our Lord. People need the gospel no matter how tough times are, or will be. I am reminded of the faith of Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 says, ``By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.'' Abraham trusted in God, and that's the lesson we need to remember from time to time. In the early church, saints endured during turbulent times, and still they went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:4). It seems the harder the times the more determined children of God are to stand fast. Some indeed falter not liking hard times. On the other hand, others see the need to draw closer to the Lord (Jas. 4:8). What will you and I do? As bad as things seem, we in Canada are far better off than most people in the world. Just read some of the reports from Bro. Barrah. We ought to be encouraged with his determination to persevere. May our outlook be positive and influence others. There is a big difference between a pessimist and an optimist--which are you? -- Via The Jordan Journal, March 8, 1995 ___________________________________________ THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE by Lynn Wessel IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, books will be opened. As we stand before the judgment-seat of God, we will be judged according to our works ``out of the things which were written in the books'' (Rev. 20:12). One of the opened books in this verse is identified as "the book of life.'' It is also called ``the Lamb's book of life'' (Rev. 21:27) and ``the book of life of the Lamb'' (Rev. 13:8). This language identifies the book of life as belonging to Christ and is represented as having the identity of those who will have life eternal. The phrase ``book of life'' occurs seven times in the New Testament with six of its occurrences in the book of Revelation (3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27) and the seventh in Philippians where Paul said, ''...and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life'' (4:3). ENROLLMENT IN HEAVEN The Hebrew Christians were told that they had come to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven'' (Heb. 12:23). Enrolled in this sense is to have one's name recorded as a citizen. Those who have come to the church are honored by having their names registered in heaven as citizens of the New Jerusalem. This enrollment entitles one to live there and have the privilege of enjoying all its rewards and blessings. This verse also teaches what one does to get enrolled in heaven. If those that come to the church are the ones enrolled in heaven, then enrollment takes place by doing what is necessary to become a member of the New Testament church. We are added to the church by obeying the gospel and taking the steps necessary to become a Christian (see Acts 2:38,47). Baptism is not only ``for the remission of sins,'' it is ``into one body.'' Paul said, ``For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body...'' (I Cor. 12:13). The body is the Lord's church (Col. 1:18,24). IMPORTANCE Does it make any difference whether our name is in the book of life? Is it really that important? In addition to what has already been implied, there are references to the book of life that answer this question. One is in Revelation 21 where, speaking of the heavenly city, John said, ``and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life'' (v. 27). There will be no entrance into Heaven without being written in the book of life. Besides being excluded from Heaven, what else does it mean? Another reference answers this question. In Revelation 20, as a part of the judgment scene, John said, ``And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire'' (vv. 14-15). When not written in the book of life, not only is one excluded from Heaven, he is cast into the lake of fire which is the second death--a death in which there will never again be life. This is what Jesus referred to when He said, ``And these shall go away into eternal punishment... (Matt. 25:46). PROMISE WITH A WARNING ``He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels'' (Rev. 3:5). In this passage Jesus makes a three-fold promise to the one that endures to the end: 1). Dressed in white garments, 2). Will not blot his name out of the book of life, and 3). Will confess his name before the Father and His angels. Each part of this promise provides sufficient motivation for every Christian to overcome whatever would prevent them from being faithful. While this is an encouraging promise, it is also a sobering warning. He that doesn't overcome will have his name blotted out of the book of life. If a name is wiped out or erased, it won't be there when the books are opened. This means that a Christian can so conduct himself so as to be lost or suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). Keeping citizenship in Heaven is conditioned upon Christians remaining faithful and obtaining the forgiveness of sin. The Calvinistic doctrine of ``once saved, always saved'' is proven false, even by what the New Testament teaches about the Lamb's book of life. A name once written is not necessarily always written. It can be deleted. A sober warning indeed! Christians need to take heed and do what Jesus told the seventy upon their return during His earthly ministry: ''...rejoice that your names are written in heaven'' (Luke 10:20). -- Via The Dewey Avenue Bulletin, April 2, 1995 ___________________________________________ PSALM 139:1-6 O LORD, THOU HAS SEARCHED ME and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________