____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ March 9, 1997 ____________________________________________________ Learning to Yield to One Another by Tom Edwards Let me first of all say that in matters of the faith -- such as in God's plan of salvation, the elements to be used for the Lord's Supper, or the proper view toward stealing, for examples -- there is no room for compromise; but in some matters of indifference, one must be willing and able to compromise at times. I read a little illustration recently about two children who had been in a squabble. The mother, trying to put an end to their commotion, said, ``Hush! You two children are always quarreling. Why can't you agree once in a while?'' In response, her wrangling son explained, ``We do agree, Mama. Joan wants the largest piece of cake and so do I.'' Undoubtedly, Joan and her brother were in need of learning a lesson about compromise -- to have the willingness to give in to the other's wishes. I've often heard people say to others, ``You always must have your own way.'' When the real irony to this is that those who say such are usually totally unaware of all the times in which that person had respectfully bowed to the whims, plans, or desires of others. I would imagine this often happens in the marriage relationship --but how often is it overlooked? We must realize that it isn't the nature of a true Christian to always be ``demanding one's rights'' or to be inflexible in all matters of indifference. Jesus taught this principle when He said, ``And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two'' (Matt. 5:41). As we come to understand the background for this statement, we are made aware that the Romans, of whom the Jews were then in subjugation (and often with loathing and great reluctance), had the right, by law, to command a Jew to perform certain tasks, such as to carry the Roman's military baggage upon demand. Jesus, on the other hand, wanted His people to be willing to go beyond the bare essentials of what the law demanded of them: He wanted them to be willing to go ``the extra mile''; and, by doing this, the Jew would also show by his actions that he was being compelled by a power beyond that of the Roman law; rather, he was being motivated by a power of love -- a power which also prompted humble servitude and continual faithfulness toward that ultimate object of the Christian's obedience, the Almighty God Himself. In similar fashion, Jesus instructed, ``And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also'' (Matt. 5:4). Again, knowing the historical and cultural background of this will help us to better understand the application; and that was that, generally speaking, the Jew -- even the poorest of them -- would have more than one change of ``shirt'' (``tunic'' or inner garment); but only one ``coat'' ( ``cloak'' or outer garment); and, according to the law, this coat could not be kept over night by another who had received it as a surety or pledge. Exodus 22:26,27 reads, ``If you ever take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.'' So, by right, this cloak could not be permanently taken away; but Jesus is saying that the Christian needs to be willing to forgo some of his rights -- to be able to give up at times even those things which both God's Law and man's would allow. This certainly was the attitude of Paul. He said, ``Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble'' (1 Cor. 8:13). The apostle was willing to give up that which he technically had the right to, lest it caused another to fall. One way in learning to compromise in matters of indifference is by striving to truly apply what Paul writes in Philippians 2:3: ''...let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.'' If we are esteeming one another the way God's word demands, it should be much easier to yield to another's plan, wishes, or appeals, out of deference for that individual. For we are to ``not merely look out for'' our ``own personal interests, but also for the interests of others'' (v. 4); and ''...we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Let us each please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, `The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me''' (Rom. 15:1-3). Paul strove to be ''...all things to all men'' that he might ''...by all means save some'' (1 Cor. 9:19-23). In other words, as he states in the beginning of this passage: ''...though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more.'' But this certainly does not mean that Paul was ever a man-pleaser in the sense of compromising the truth of God's word, for to this he was adamantly opposed (Gal. 1:10; 2:5). We need to remember, as someone once said, real ``joy'' means putting... Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last. Even Jesus did not come into this world to be served, but rather to serve -- and to give His life as a ransom for all (Matt. 20:28). May we each strive to follow in His footsteps, to never compromise in matters of faith; but to be able to not always be so insistent on our own ways in matters of indifference. For as Christians, we are to ``If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men'' (Rom. 12:18). And as Paul also writes to the Ephesians, ``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 bond of peace'' (Eph. 4:1-3). Yes, this is the way in which we need to yield to one another. ___________________________________________ ``Exposing Error'' by James P. Needham There can be no doubt that exposing error is as much a part of preaching the gospel as is the presenting of the positive precepts of divine truth. This is undeniably proven by the following Scriptures: Jeremiah 1:10 - ``See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down and to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.'' In this verse are found four terms: three negative (``root out,'' ``pull down,'' ``destroy,'' ``throw down''), and two positive (``build'' and ``plant''). Two thirds of Jeremiah's preaching was to be negative, and one third positive. II Timothy 4:2 - ``Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.'' Three terms are used in this passage: two negative (``reprove,'' ``rebuke'') and one positive (``exhort''). Hence again, two thirds is to be negative. Those non-combative soldiers of the cross who have more sympathy for the espouser of error than for its exposer had better spend more time taking inventory of their own preaching and less of it trying to determine if the combatant soldier is complying with their judgment in the battle. If we learn anything from the above passages it is that MORE of our time should be spent in EXPOSING ERROR than in imparting the positive truths of the word. Anybody who has lived on a farm knows well the lesson. It takes more time to clear new ground of the trees and noxious weeds than it does to plant the seeds once that is done. The same is true in the spiritual realm. It is much harder to UNTEACH people than to TEACH them. It is absurd to even think of going into a new ground and planting seed without first clearing it. It is worse than ridiculous to think of implanting the positive truths of God's word in the hearts of men before they are disabused of the errors of men (Lk. 8:14). Unfortunately, we know some who spend 2/3's of their time in the negative alright, but not in fighting error, but [in fighting] those who are exposing it. They would do well to spend more time worrying about whether they are doing enough exposing error and less worrying about whether others are spending too much! If all would do their share, maybe it wouldn't appear that some are doing too much. All my preaching life I have had to fight error with a mass of compromising brethren about my neck. They usually say they are behind me, but when I investigate, I find they are so far behind me that nobody can tell whether they are supporting the truth or the error! They usually have a lot to say about how sound they are, but generally I have found them to be more SOUND then anything else! They think they have to tell everyone how sound they are, otherwise, they might not find out about it! One would never guess it from their actions -- Lightning kills, not thunder! It is strange how some brethren think they can convince others they are sound when they fellowship error, and fraternize those who espouse it while destructively criticizing those who expose it! ___________________________________________ Live nearby and need a ride to our services? Feel free to call today! One of us would be glad to provide you with transportation. ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES We want to be praying for all the people who had been effected recently by the numerous floodings in the Tri-state area -- as well as for the people in those more distant places, and those also who suffered tornado loss. Mark Copeland uploaded the following from Sewell Hall, dated 3/3/97: ``Brother Yater Tant passed away at his son David's home this morning at 9:48....'' John Trimble writes: ``Today a friend of mine from church was involved in a plane crash. He is not in a life-threatening situation, but has broken his collarbone, arm, and pelvis bones. He is a pilot, and this probably means he will not be flying again. Please pray for him, he will be going through some difficult times.'' Here's an update (2/27) on John Hendrix from his wife Cathye: ``John...was admitted to Huntsville Hospital Tuesday afternoon after doctors discovered an infection in the chest cavity...John is expected to stay in the hospital for a week. There is a chance that this procedure will not work and they will have to do surgery...As of today it looks like this will not be necessary. He is doing very well. Please continue to keep John in your prayers. The time that he spends in the hospital is necessary for a complete recovery. However, it also means that he cannot spend time with his dad who is terminally ill. This is very distressing to him.'' It was good to see Joe Music back with us a couple weeks ago and to meet his wife. They were married recently and are now living in Wheeling, West Virginia. ___________________________________________ ``God Cares'' by Tom Edwards A Frenchman named Charney had been placed in a dungeon for incurring the wrath of Napoleon. There it seemed he was forsaken by all, and in his loneliness and despair he carved on the wall of his prison, ``Nobody cares.'' But to his surprise, one day a little sprout began working its way up through the cracks of the stone floor and reaching toward the light that was coming in through the tiny window at the top of the cell. Every day, Charney would save part of his daily portion of water that was brought to him in order to give it to this plant instead. Because of his care, the plant continued to grow; and soon there was blossoming from it a beautiful blue flower, of which the prisoner soon learned a great lesson. For on seeing this small wonder, the prisoner was moved to scratch out the harsh words he had previously written on the wall and to replace it with the comforting and realized truth that ``God cares.'' You might think that this was the happy ending, but it actually goes beyond this; so, as Paul Harvey would say,  let us now hear ``the rest of the story'': It turned out that the man in the cell next to Charney had a little daughter that would visit him. During one occasion, she learned of Charney's love for the plant; and this news eventually reached the Empress Josephine, who commented: ``A man who so devotedly loves and tends a flower cannot be a bad man.'' Consequently, she persuaded the emperor to set Charney free, which he did. Charney left his prison cell, taking his plant home with him and caring for it the remainder of his days. The story concludes by saying: ``It (the plant) had taught him to believe in God.'' It was such a gentle and fragile object, but still it taught a mighty and an enduring truth to this former prisoner--that God cares! Yes, the Lord truly is concerned for each human being upon this planet; and as Paul shows in Romans 2:4, it is the ``kindness of God that leads one to repentance.'' This, therefore, should be one of our prime motivations for why we serve the Lord--and not merely out of a fear of punishment. Furthermore, John states in 1 John 4:19 that ``We love, because He first loved us.'' But not only should we obey God because He is loving and kind toward us, but also because it is simply the right thing to do! Remember, no matter who you are, God cares for you!!! ___________________________________________ Free Bible Correspondence Courses Are Available Upon Request -- Also Bible Film Slides and Having a Personal Home Study With a Couple of Us From Church ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, 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@wwd.net Gospel Observer Homepage: http://www.wwd.net/user/tedwards/go Religious Home Page: http://www.wwd.net/user/tedwards/religion.htm Scriptures and Footnotes: http://www.wwd.net/user/tedwards/passage.htm ________________________________________