THE
SPIRIT'S SWORD |
Times of services: Sunday: Web sites: |
"And take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17) In this issue:
Gospel Meeting Sept. 24-29, 2006
The Mt. Baker
church of Christ
Invites you to our GOSPEL MEETING with Evangelist Dennis Ross (Camden, South Carolina) Sept. 24–29, 2006
Monday-Friday:
7:00 PM
Learn about New
Testament Christianity!
(From I-5 take Exit # 255
and go East 4.2 miles)
Are Babies Born Sinners? A prominent theological doctrine is that humanity inherits total depravity from Adam and Eve. According to this belief we are completely disposed to evil and utterly void of good from birth. Consider the following: “Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit....By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.” “They 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. “From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.” (The Westminster Confession of Faith," Ch. VI, 1-4; The Book of Confessions, 6.031-6.034) The Bible says the person who sins, dies because of his own sin. The son does not bear the guilt of his father (Ezek. 18:20). We do not bear the guilt of Adam’s sin. Spiritual death entered the world through Adam’s sin, but spiritual death comes to each person when each person sins. This is the clear and simple statement of Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Advocates of this false doctrine think they find Biblical support for their doctrine by going to Psalm 51:5. David wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” Was David speaking of his own sin, his mother’s sin, or the sinful world into which he was born? David was not referring to his own sin at birth. Infants have no knowledge of good and evil (Deut. 1:39). Yet, in context, David spoke of God desiring “truth in the inward parts” and God making him to “know wisdom” (Psa. 51:6). David is not speaking of his spiritual condition as a child. Paul was spiritually “alive” prior to having moral capacity and responsibility toward the law (Rom. 7:9). When Paul was a child he was innocent of sin. So was David. Furthermore, the word of God says that “God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (Eccl. 7:29). Human beings are upright when they come into this world. Human beings seek out sin; we do not inherit sin. David could have been referring to his mother’s sin. Since “all have sinned,” she would certainly be included in that number (Rom. 3:23). David was most likely referring to the world’s sin. He did not speak of “my” iniquity or “my” sin, but of “iniquity” and “sin.” The thoroughly sinful environment of the world into which David was born gave occasion to his own corruption; he chose to sin like the rest (see Eph. 2:1-3). In contrast to sin’s corruption, God desired David to be thoroughly absorbed by truth and wisdom (51:6). According to Psalm 51, this was now David’s intent as he sought God’s forgiveness. The kingdom of heaven is entered by those who are “converted and become as little children” (Matt. 18:3). Conversion means to change from one form or state to another. If children are born sinners, is Jesus telling us to change into sinners to be saved? Furthermore, when one converts into the moral likeness of children (which, according to Calvin, is totally depravity), wouldn’t that mean that prior to the conversion he was innocent? My, what confusion is caused by the doctrines of men! David was not born a sinner and neither were you. Babies are not born in sin; they are innocent of sin. We chose to commit sin, and our sin produces our spiritual death. The gospel save sinners, not babies (Mk. 16:15-16; Rom. 1:16). You can find the complete outline of this sermon at BIBLE ANSWERS Scripture Reading: Jude 20-25
1. Spiritual weakness is real & challenges us. We must face
it in ourselves & help others who are weak, 1 Cor. 16:13; Eph. 6:10 (Matt.
26:41; 1 Ths. 5:14). I. REASONS FOR SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS. A. Immaturity (spiritually undeveloped), 1 Cor. 3:1-2;
Heb. 5:12-13 (1 Pet. 2:2; cf. 1 Jno. 2:14). II. SYMPTOMS OF SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS. A. Weak in Resistance: III. WHY IS SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS SO BAD? A. Left Unattended it Becomes Willful Sin, Heb. 10:26. IV. RESPONSES TO THE WEAK, Lk. 13:6-9. A. Support the Weak, 1 Ths. 5:14. Conclusion Jude 20:25: Grow in faith & help others be strong. You can find the complete outline of this sermon at BIBLE ANSWERS Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:7-10 What is the church? What kind of people make up the church? How & when does one enter it? I. WHAT IS THE CHURCH? A. Definition
(ekklesia): “to call out of,” Matt. 16:18-19. II. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CHURCH. -What kind of
people? (Acquired, redeemed) III. ENTRANCE INTO CHRIST’S CHURCH, Acts 2:47. (How? When?) A. Baptism & Entrance
into the Church of Christ.
NOTEWORTHY
NEWS
Raise Your Hand We take for granted the casual motion of raising our hand about our head. Not Claudia Mitchell, who lost her left arm in a motorcycle accident in 2004. But she may be able to take it for granted some day. Mitchell is the first woman amputee to receive a thought-controlled prosthetic arm. The devise is controlled by the user’s brain and improves on earlier prosthetic arms. She can use the new arm to carry a tray or open a jar just by thinking about it. Jesse Sullivan was the first person to receive one of these prosthetic arms. A double amputee, he was fitted with his device five years ago. “To make the new arms work, Mitchell, Sullivan and four other patients underwent a procedure called ‘muscle re-innervation,’ in which shoulder nerves that originally went to the amputated arm are grafted to chest muscles. Thought impulses are received by the graft, muscle activity is picked up by electrodes that send signals to the arm’s computer and then the arm’s six motors cause the required movements. “About five months after the surgery, Sullivan was able to activate four different areas of his major pectoral muscle. A contraction in each area leads to a different action, such as opening and closing a hand. “A natural arm is able to make 22 discrete movements, said Gregory Clark, a professor of bioengineering and a prosthetics researcher at the University of Utah.” (“Amputee controls bionic arms with a thought,” CBC News, 14Sep06) Research and development continues. I wonder how many human thoughts it took to invent and refine this amazing arm. We take for granted the intelligence it took to design it. Yet, evolutionists tell us to believe that the human arm with its “22 discrete movements” just came into being by random chance over billions of years! No, design demands a designer. “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works” (Psa. 139:14). The First Intelligence, God, made intelligent man in His image. |
Created by Chuck Sibbing -
09/18/2006
The Spirit's Sword is a free,
weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA |