____________________________________________________ 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 25, 1995 ____________________________________________________ "The Way Of Man Is Not In Himself" by Lynn Wessel ``O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps'' (Jeremiah 10:23). Jeremiah is affirming that the way in which man comes to God and walks with Him doesn't originate through any faculty within man himself. Yet, there are countless numbers of people today who are attempting to seek their way unto God through their own self-felt inclinations, whims, and humanistic conclusions. All of mankind needs to be impressed with the fact ``the way of man is not in himself.'' This means that the way of man is not in his: CONSCIENCE Man can't direct his own steps to God by following his conscience. The conscience of man doesn't determine right and wrong; it is not a standard of authority. It is a moral ``umpire'' that calls us ``safe'' or ``out'' by the way it has been trained to call it. Like a watch, it is accurate only when it has been properly set. To be set to act in harmony with God's will, it must be acted upon and trained by God's word. This means the way of man originates in God's word, not in his own conscience. If a man's conscience is not properly taught by the word of God, it is possible for him to sin and not violate his conscience. For example, Paul said to the council, ``Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day'' (Acts 23:1). He later said to Agrippa, ``I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth'' (Acts 26:9). When Paul was doing many things contrary to the Lord and His church, he was doing so in all good conscience. The way of man is not in his conscience. FEELINGS Man can't direct his steps to God by following his own feelings. This eliminates the intuition of man. Intuition is the faculty to attain to direct knowledge or feeling without rational or supportive thought; it is the power to know or feel something without evidence or logical thinking. Jesus said, ``I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me'' (John 14:6). No one can find their way to God through Jesus Christ on their own intuition. This also eliminates the emotions of man. Our emotions are an aspect of our consciousness which involves strong feelings which are felt as a reaction to our awareness and perception of things around us. To direct our steps by emotions is to decide to do something or decide if something is right or wrong by whether we like it or not, or whether it makes us feel secure or afraid, sad or happy. Acting on solely how we feel is subjectivism and is not a representation of how God feels. We may feel that God is pleased with us; but, our feeling doesn't make it so. John said, ``and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight'' (1 John 3:22). Again, the way of man is in the word of God, His commandments and not the intuition and emotions of man. ``There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death'' (Prov. 14:12). ``Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths'' (Prov. 3:5-6). -- Via The Harvester, May 21, 1995 ___________________________________________ Truth--Fixed Or Floating? by Steve Hardin There is a pernicious false doctrine in our society that teaches that truth is relative. According to this doctrine, there is no absolute right or wrong. Instead, the situation determines what is right and what is wrong. Furthermore, what is right on one occasion is not necessarily right under a different set of circumstances. Truth is not absolute or fixed, according to this doctrine. Instead, it is floating and is subject to each set of circumstances in any given situation. This damaging doctrine is taught in a book by Joseph Fletcher called Situation Ethics. In his book we find Mr. Fletcher teaching that stealing, adultery and lying are permissible under certain conditions. He even goes so far to teach that it is a person's ``duty'' in some situations. Notice the following quote about the commands found in the Word of God taken from this book: ``But situation ethics has good reason to hold it as a duty in some situations to break them, any or all of them. We would be better advised and better off to drop the legalist's love of law, and accept only the law of love'' (Page 74, Situation Ethics). Is truth situational? Does right and wrong depend on a certain set of circumstances? Is there no clear cut, fixed standard that I can live by? In Psalm 119:89, we read, ``Forever, Oh Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.'' This teaches the opposite of what is found in Joseph Fletcher's book. Instead of truth being a wishy washy changeable set of principles, God's Word teaches us that it is firmly established and settled forever in heaven. What was condemned in the early days of the church in the first century is still as binding and applicable on Christians today! Just because society changes their feelings about what is morally acceptable does not mean that God's standard of right and wrong changes like the weather. It is in fact the Word of God that will be our standard of judgment and not the fickle views of society (John 12:48). We do not need a new Gospel today as many are advocating. The Word of God is still living, active and ``profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness'' (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). With society accepting and advocating such things as homosexuality, abortion, extra marital sexual relationships and the like, it is time for Christians to let their lights shine in this evil world we live in! We need to stop letting Hollywood and modern day philosophers tell us what is right and wrong. God's Word is and always has been the true standard. God is the source of all truth and this truth is not situational. When God condemns lying and says that all liars shall have their place in the eternal lake of fire in hell (Revelation 21:8), we can believe it and know that lying is always wrong, regardless of any and all circumstances. Either we are going to believe in God and accept His Word as truth or we will make man into a god and worship ourselves. ``But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord'' (Joshua 24:15). -- Via The Harvester, June 4, 1995 ___________________________________________ MUST BE MORE THAN RELIGIOUS by Chuck Bartlett Do you know anyone who is not a member of the church but is considered to be religious? Would you think one to be such if they were a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent? If not, why not? The truth is, if one was guilty of the ungodly traits listed, they can have just as much right to consider themselves religious as those who are not guilty of the wicked acts mentioned. The word religious means devoted to a religious belief, one who is pious and conscientious. Now, before you conclude that a person who is a blasphemer and a persecutor could not be conscientious, don't forget the apostle Paul. He told Timothy, ``I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent man;...'' (I Tim. 1:13). On another occasion, Paul made this statement, ``They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee'' (Acts 26:5). We see that prior to becoming a Christian, Paul was devoted to Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries, and more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal. 1:14). In other words, he was deeply religious. It was this misdirected devotion that caused him to persecute the church beyond measure and tried to destroy it (Gal. 1:13). Although all of what Paul did, he did it ignorantly (I Tim. 1:13), he was still guilty. He considered himself the chiefest of sinners (I Tim. 1:15). Even though Paul didn't realize he was transgressing, he was dead in sin until he obeyed the gospel (Acts 22:16). It should be apparent that just because someone considers themselves religious, it doesn't mean a whole lot, unless their religion is from above. James states, ``If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless'' (Jas. 1:26). There are many sincere people in the world who are committed to what they believe is right. We might respect their dedication, but let us not lose our perspective and think God approves. As James recorded, you can be religious and it be completely in vain--meaning it is useless. James went on to say, ``Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and keep oneself unspotted from the world'' (Jas. 1:27). We can safely conclude that if we are a faithful child of God, then we are religious. That doesn't mean we are a child of God by just being religious. Keeping self unspotted from the world is going to require a whole lot more than being totally committed to a belief. One must be committed to Christ and His teachings (II Jn. 9). Are you? -- Via The Jordan Journal, 4/25/95, Vol. 31, No. 18 __________________________________________ "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________