____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ January 24, 1999 ____________________________________________________ The Dry Rot of Moral Relativism by Jere E. Frost One of the more disturbing aspects of random murders by young people is that, after they are apprehended and convicted, many of them show absolutely no remorse. Life is becoming increasingly cheap in the eyes of our youth. Their best hope for some moral stability, and their only hope for salvation, is hearing the gospel of Christ. The gospel needs to be declared from housetops and in the highways and byways with a renewed fervor. Moral relativism has destroyed our youth's moral compass. It denies the existence of God. It denies that the Bible is a proper standard. It openly challenges traditional morals. Values Clarification is the course in our public schools that instructs children to avoid making moral judgments. Nothing is right or wrong, black or white, in an absolute moral sense. They are taught to decide their own values independently of all religious and home instruction. The process quickly becomes self-feeding. Hitler killed over six million Jews in the holocaust. A professor of 30 years at Hamilton College, Robert Simon, was reported (Reader's Digest, Feb., 1998) as never having had a student who did not believe the holocaust happened. But he has had many who would not say it was ``wrong.'' He quoted one student as saying, ``Of course I dislike the Nazis, but who is to say they are morally wrong?'' He doesn't believe in ``judging.'' Such is the dry rot of moral relativism. It is shocking at first. But combine a few factors, and it is natural and understandable. (1) The void of religious instruction: they do not believe there is a divine standard of right and wrong, and life is just animal life whether it be that of an ant, cow or human. (2) The humanist diet in public schools: they are taught that man is only an animal (evolution) and there is no such thing as ``sin'' for that is a religious myth. Right and wrong are to be determined by each person; if others have a different standard, don't judge them. (3) Abortions, the killing of the unborn: We have killed more helpless, innocent babies than Hitler killed Jews. Its clinical respectability enhances the perception of the cheapness of life. (4) The featuring of violence purely for entertainment, and in the daily news: it has virtually no shock value. It is the expected, the norm. A holocaust? ``Yes,'' they say. Wrong? ``Who am I to say?'' they reply. There is a desperate need to convict men of sin. Gospel truth does that (John 16:8; Eph. 5:17). ``Repent or perish'' must ring out (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30). There is a God, and every one of us will give an account to Him. We will be judged (Romans 14:10,12). You--and I--will spend an eternity somewhere. We will spend eternity in heaven or in hell (Matt. 25:46). These simple but profoundly important truths need to be declared to every creature (Mark 16:15). -- The Bulletin of the North Courtenay church of Christ, January 17, 1999 ___________________________________________ "Circumspectly" ``See then that ye walk CIRCUMSPECTLY'' (Eph. 5:15, KJV). How other translations render this: "See then that you walk circumspectly" (NKJV); "Look therefore carefully how ye walk'' (ASV); ``Therefore be careful how you walk'' (NASB); ``Look carefully then how you walk'' (RSV); ``Be very careful, then, how you live'' (NIV). ___________________________________________ Glorifying God ``In The Church'' by Robert F. Turner Eph.3:21 reads, ``Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen'' Thirty years ago, when I first began to preach, this passage was frequently used to emphasize the importance of the church -- and it seems to me the reference was always to the local, organized congregation. (See USE YOUR BIBLE in this issue.) I blush to remember my own use of the passage in my sermon on ``giving''; indicating, if I did not actually say, that we had to use the church treasury for all our work, in order to ``glorify God.'' R. L. Whiteside straightened me out on this long ago, showing me the passage referred to the universal body of Christ, hence to saints, distributively (Eph. 3:10, 15). All the promises of God are in Christ, unto God's glory (2 Cor. 1:20). Faithful service to God through Christ includes both collective work, and that done individually; and God is glorified in both ways. When ``the whole church be come together'' (1 Cor. 14:23-25) teaching may be done by which the unbeliever is made to glorify God. The ``church'' at Philippi sent assistance to Paul, by which God was glorified (Phil. 4:18). And certainly God is glorified when the church relieves those who are ``widows indeed'' (1 Tim. 5:16); even though the word ``glory'' is not attached to these cases. But one is foolish indeed who denies that saints may glorify God in service not related to collective (or congregational) activities. In 1 Cor. 10, Paul discusses the eating of meat that came from animals slain as pagan sacrifices. In such a matter, not remotely related to congregational activity, Paul says, ``Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God'' (Vs. 31). Note -- saints, units of the universal church, acting individually, distributively, may glorify God. For further confirmation, see Titus 2:5,10; 1 Pet. 2:12; Col. 3:17; etc. In reality, many brethren have allowed ``party'' pride and a sectarian conception of the church to warp their thinking on this subject. They speak of ``giving the CHURCH the glory'' instead of ``giving GOD the glory.'' They are confused, when trying to stipulate the ``work of the church,'' because they do not distinguish between the universal church and the local church; nor do they see that the ``church'' may act distributively, or--in the case of the local church--collectively. Add to this the absurd conclusion that ``whatever Christians may do, the organized church, out of its treasury, may do'' and the resultant mess is enough to make a grown man cry. The thanksgiving of many, for the work of Paul, gave glory to God (2 Cor. 4:15). The messengers of the churches, bearing assistance to the needy saints in Jerusalem, glorified God (2 Cor.8:19, 23). And the Philippians were ``filled with the fruits of righteousness'' unto the glory of God. (Phil. 1:11) SERVE GOD FAITHFULLY, and the ``glory'' will care for itself. -- Plain Talk, Oct. 1964 ___________________________________________ Faces Surrounding Calvary: THE JERUSALEM CROWD by William J. Stewart The people of Jerusalem are an interesting group. They had seen Jesus on several occasions, and had come to believe that He was from God. No doubt, they believed that He was the coming Messiah; for as He entered the city, the people crowded the streets chanting, ``Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'' Some people carpeted the road beneath the donkey Jesus road upon with their cloaks, others brought palm branches. He was seen as a King, and thus treated as a King. They had been awaiting the time that God would send His Deliverer. They had been subject to evil authorities for too long; and now, Jesus of Nazareth would arm the people of God to fight, and free them from all oppression. Unfortunately, this is what most of the people thought. They believed Jesus came to fight a physical war, to sit on a physical throne, and to reign as a physical King. Jesus taught otherwise. He taught of a heavenly kingdom. He taught of a home beyond the skies, where ''...neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal...'' Some of the people may have understood; but if there were any, they were few and far between. For even His own disciples struggled with the idea of a spiritual kingdom. They struggled with the idea of Him waging spiritual warfare. They couldn't comprehend the victory over and freedom from oppression being found in humility, gentleness, self sacrifice and complete surrender. We don't hear anything about the crowds until the day Jesus is crucified. As far as we know, they still supported Jesus up until that morning. But that Friday, during the morning hours the multitudes were swayed. The chief priests and scribes persuaded the people that they ought to ask for Barabbas to be released, and for Jesus to be crucified. Oddly, they agreed. They called forth to Pilate, ``Let Him be crucified!'' Pilate spoke back, ``But He is your King!'' ``We have no king, but Caesar!'' came the reply. Days before, perhaps even hours, these individuals backed Jesus wholly. He was a man of God in their eyes. The Redeemer. Now, a mere criminal. What happened? We see here how easily man can be swayed. We see here the power of influential people, the power of the highly esteemed. The Jerusalem crowd supported the cause of Christ. They believed He was the Messiah. But in what might have been a matter of minutes, the Jewish leaders had convinced the people that He was a fraud. We're not very different from these people in Jerusalem. We too are in search of one who will alleviate us of the chains that bind. But, if we are not careful, we can fall to the same fate as they. Those who claim to be religious leaders, we must beware of. The Pharisees had an agenda of their own, and thus they led the people in that direction. They were able to sway the people from one side of an issue to the other with little trouble. Never should our trust be so wrapped in men that we would deny the One sent from God! The Jerusalem crowd serves as a warning to us. If they had only trusted the ``Word,'' they would not have turned from it. But rather, their trust went to the scribes and Pharisees, to the hypocrites! Well did Jesus say, ``Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.'' ___________________________________________ SNAKE HANDLING by David B. Brown NBC Dateline recently (1/31/95) aired what TV Guide stated was ``A report on snake handling among fundamental Christians.'' The segment accurately represented the practices of one particular sect, if not snake handling in general. As the project progressed it was obvious that the reporter was getting caught up in the practice. It was the music which struck him first. The eerie, meaningless chanting accompanied by the heavy beat of tambourines, other instruments and dancing produced a hypnotic effect. When the reporter finally participated in the snake handling, he described it as nothing short of a trance. A skeptic questioned the snake handler: ``Do you believe every word of the bible?'' Answer: ``Every word of it.'' Implication: there are parts of the bible that reasonable people just can not believe. But are there? The supporting verse is supposedly from Mark 16:17-20: ``And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover ... And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.'' The key is a proper understanding of the term ``follow them that believe.'' Does this term require that every single believer have these ``signs''? A review of 1 Cor. 12 clearly shows that this was not the case. 1 Cor 13:8-11 shows that these miracles were temporary, as does Mark 16:20, since the purpose of the signs was limited to ``confirming the word.'' Since God's word has been fully confirmed, the signs have ceased--it is obvious that they have ceased. Equally obvious is that the New Testament is perfect and completed--nothing has been added to it since the first century. What do we need that is not in God's word (2 Tim. 3:16-17)? The only Bible example of a fulfillment of Mk. 16:18 is in Acts 28:3-6. Read it over and notice that no one was worked up into a frenzy or went into a trance. Indeed, it happened by accident! There is no authority for integrating snake handling, poison drinking or any of the other signs into our worship. We would do well to distinguish between gifts and commands. The full truth compels us to reject such fanaticism as snake handling and poison drinking. ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________