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"...Shepherd the flock of God which is among
you, serving as overseers..." (1 Peter 5:2)
Elders
Morris Bass, Rick Holt , Joe
Price |
"...let them serve as deacons,
being found blameless..." (1 Tim. 3:10)
Deacons
Aaron Bass, Rich Brooks, Mike Finn
John Hague, Dan Head |
"And take...the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17)
In this issue:
Born in Sin?
Pouting (J. S.
Smith)
Sermon Outlines:
Noteworthy News:
Seventeen and Responsible or
Not? (William Jay Horsley)
Born in Sin?
Joe R. Price
Man’s greatest problem is
sin. Sin is our greatest problem because it causes our spiritual death –
separation from God both now and eternally: “For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
(Rom. 6:23; see Rom. 2:1-11). The problem of sin is universal: “For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
Many people believe that
when we are born we inherit the guilt of Adam and Eve’s sin, and are thus,
dead in sin from birth. The Westminster Confession of Faith
(accepted by the Presbyterian Church and others) defines the doctrine of
“Hereditary Depravity:”
“They (Adam & Eve, jrp) being the
root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death
in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from
them by ordinary generation” (Ch. VI, 3; The Book of Confessions,
6.033).
That is, the guilt of Adam and
Eve’s sin was charged to every person who has ever been born. That, dear
reader, is false doctrine.
The Bible teaches that sin’s
guilt and punishment passes to all men “because all sinned” (Rom.
5:12). It does not say we die “because Adam sinned.” There is a big
difference.
Sin is committed, not
inherited. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the
guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of
the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezek. 18:20). That should forever
settle the matter for Bible believers. We do not bear the guilt of father
Adam’s sin: we bear the guilt of our own sin. Jesus died to cleanse our
own conscience from our own sin (Heb. 9:14; Acts 22:16). Paul was “alive
once without the law” (Rom. 9:9). When would that have been if not
during the moral innocence of childhood? But then, “the commandment
came, sin revived, and I died” – he grew to moral capacity and
responsibility, he sinned against the law of God, thereby causing him to die
(Rom. 9:9). He was not born in sin; he chose sin and it caused his
spiritual death.
But someone asks: “Wasn’t
David born in sin?” David acknowledged the sin-filled world in which he
mother lived and into which he was born (Psa. 51:5). But, David also said
he had personally committed sin (Psa. 51:3-4). David’s life illustrates
what happens to us all: “God made man upright, but they have sought out
many schemes” (Eccl. 7:29). Sinful schemes lead to death (Rom. 6:23).
To be freed from our own sin, we must be “born again” of water and
the Spirit (Jno. 3:3, 5; Acts 2:37-41).
Top
Pouting
J. S. Smith
Anyone who
has raised children or ever meet one has seen him or her pout. Mommy doesn’t
fork over a quarter for the gum ball machine or Daddy tells him to stop
hitting his sister with the dog and the pout is on. Lower lip protrudes,
chin droops, tears well, spirit disappears.
Children
pout when they don’t get their way and often when they are chastened for
doing the wrong thing. Sometimes you tell them not to play with their food,
and they exclaim, “Fine, I won’t eat at all.” They pout because they think
they are punishing their parents, and if parents cave into the pout, they
will never see an end to the behavior.
Pouting,
however, is not a behavior that automatically ceases on the day of one’s
baptism or eighteenth, birthday, whichever comes first. Husbands and wives
pout when unwillingly put on the compromising side of some matter. Church
members have even been known to pout.
Should an
elder or parent make a critical comment to a Bible class teacher, some will
exclaim, “Fine, I just won’t teach class anymore.” If their pout is in low
gear, they may choose the silent approach instead and just refuse ever to
sign up again.
Maybe
someone makes a suggestion about the communion preparation, building
cleaning or something else. The person responsible for things feels reproved
and rejected and throws on the pout face. “Fine, I just won’t do anything
anymore!”
Some pouters
go so far as to threaten to take their membership elsewhere when they
receive the slightest criticism or the sincerest rebuke. Friend, this is not
what Jesus had in mind when he admonished people to come to him “as little
children.” Childlike trust, yes; childish immaturity, no.
Can you
imagine Apollos pouting because of the correction wrought by Aquila and
Priscilla (Acts 18)? Can you see Peter’s lower lip sticking out after Paul
rebuked him for hypocrisy (Gal. 2)?
Spiritual
maturity includes the ability to accept suggestions and even corrections
without going to pieces and putting on a martyr face. God chastens us
because he loves us and our parents have done the same (Heb. 12:1-11).
Usually, when a brother in Christ conjures up the courage to suggest or
correct, he has the same selfless motive -- to help. Either he is trying to
save a soul from death (James 5:19-20) or he is just trying to help me be a
more effective steward of God’s gifts and opportunities. Not all suggestions
are good, just as not all rebukes hit their mark, but it takes honest
meditation to determine what is actually helpful. Rather than resorting to
defensiveness and pouting, accept another’s assistance in the spirit it is
given and do all to the glory of God, even if that means sacrificing a
little of your own.
“Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little
children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt.
18:3)
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Faith & Friendship
Scripture Reading:
John 15:9-17
1. Rom. 12:9-16 – Catalog of the
privileges & functions of friendship.
2. Friend: A companion of life, endearment. “Those who are interested in
our happiness, concerned for our welfare, rejoice in our joys, weep with our
tears; who counsel & cheer us & are always ready to aid us, these are our
friends.” (Dick Blackford)
3. Being the right kind of friends is a matter of faith in Christ, because
He has taught us how to be friends to one another – Jno. 15:9-17.
I. CHRISTIANS NURTURE THE
QUALITIES & TRAITS OF FRIENDSHIP
– Jno. 15:9-12.
A. The Faith to Love Another,
Prov. 17:17: cf. 1 Sam. 18:1 (Jno. 15:12, 17); Ruth 1:16-18.
B. The Faith to Trust & to be Trustworthy (Jno. 15:14), Psa. 62:8; Prov.
11:13; 25:19.
C. The Faith to Give True Counsel – Psa. 55:12-14 (Jno. 15:15); Prov.
27:6; Psa. 141:5; Gal. 4:16; Prov. 27:9, 17, 19.
D. The Faith to Show Compassion to Others – cf. Job 6:14-15 (Jno. 15:13,
16); Rom. 12:15; Col. 3:12; 1 Cor. 12:26.
II. BEING A BETTER FRIEND.
A. The Faith to be Friendly,
Prov. 18:24; Heb. 13:1-2; Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 12:25.
B. The Faith to be Respectful of Others – Prov. 25:17; 27:14.
C. The Faith to Share Life with Others – cf. Phil. 2:3-4; Eccl. 4:9-12.
Top
For more on The
Roman Catholic Church, please go to
http://www.bibleanswer.com/rcc2.htm
The Roman Catholic Church
Scripture Reading:
Acts 20:27-32
I. THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH.
A. RCC Claims the
Church is Infallibly Preserved.
-THE BIBLE: Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Co. 14:37; Ep. 5:17; 1 Ti.
4:1-3; 2 Ti. 3:16-17.
II. THE PAPACY.
A. RCC Claims the
Primacy of Peter.
-THE BIBLE: Matt. 20:25-28; cf. 2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11; Matt. 16:19; 18:18;
John 20:23; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18.
-Peter was not a Pope, Matt. 8:14; 1 Cor. 9:5; Acts 10:25-26; 1 Pet.
5:1; Gal. 2:11-14.
III. THE SACRAMENTS.
1. Baptism.
2. Confirmation.
3. Penance or Confession
4. Holy Eucharist.
5. Marriage (Matrimony).
6. Holy Orders.
7. Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction).
IV. OTHER MAJOR
DOCTRINES.
A. Priesthood, 1 Tim.
2:5; Heb. 7:25; 1 Jno. 2:1.
B. Sin, Ezek. 18:20; Rom. 5:12-13, 1 Jno. 5:16-17; Rom. 6:23.
C. Purgatory, He. 9:27; Lk. 16:26; 2 Pet. 2:9
D. Mariology (Veneration of Mary).
V. ORGANIZATION OF THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
A. Hierarchical in
Structure, Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1; 1 Pet. 5:2.
B. Ecclesiastical Councils, Acts 15:1-2, 24; Gal. 2:6; 2 Tim. 3:16-17.
Top
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the
light of Scripture)
Seventeen and
Responsible or Not?
William Jay Horsley
Recently the United States Supreme Court ruled that those who commit capital
murder as juveniles cannot be executed for their crimes (the court ruled
otherwise as recently as 1982). The court cited evolving national and world
opinion on the death penalty and the specious argument that those under 18
haven't yet developed the moral capacity to fully understand all the
ramifications of capital murder as the basis for its ruling. But the same
court continues to strike down laws limiting the right of minors to
unlimited abortions without the consent of - or even informing - their
parents.
Hear the illogic of human wisdom:
***a teenager killing a person outside the womb - a murder for which they
are not fully responsible.
***a teenager killing a person inside their womb - a murder - sorry, "a
decision" - they are fully ready and allowed to make.
This logic might be the object of pity or ridicule if it weren't so deadly
serious to its victims. The only consistency of this logic is that it errs
both times on the side of death.
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