THE VOICE OF GOD

JESUS CHRIST SAID HE WOULD BUILD HIS CHURCH.

"I will build my church..."  Matt. 16:18.

THE SCRIPTURES DECLARE HE BUILT ONLY ONE.

"There is one body..."  Eph. 4:4.

"He is the head of the body, the church..."  Col. 1:18.

DIVINE PROPHECY AND INSPIRED HISTORY AFFIRM THAT THE CHURCH OF CHRIST BEGAN IN JERUSALEM, ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST, 33 AD

THE VOICE OF HISTORY

THE RECORD OF THE PAST 19 CENTURIES REVEALS THESE FACTS

CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PROMINENT RELIGIOUS BODIES:

  TIME                PLACE               FOUNDER                   CHURCH

  606 AD            Rome                  Boniface III                 Catholic Church

 1520 AD           Germany            Martin Luther             Lutheran

 1534 AD           England              Henry VIII                  Episcopalian

 1536 AD           Switzerland       John Calvin                Presbyterian

 1550 AD           England             Robert Browne          Congregational

 1607 AD           Holland             John Smythe               Baptist

 1739 AD           England             John Wesley               Methodist

 1830 AD           America            Joseph Smith, Jr.         LDS (Mormon)

 1830 AD           America           William Miller            Adventists

 1866 AD           America           Mary Baker Eddy       Christian Scientist

 1872 AD           America           Charles T. Russell       Jehovah’s Witnesses

-From "The One True Church"

So said God to Israel in Leviticus 19:17.  What God expected of Israel is magnified under the gospel of Christ (Matt. 5:43-48). Hatred is malicious animosity toward another person. It is a blight upon human relations. It is a cancer that destroys unity and harmony in the world and in the body of Christ. We do well to review the Bible teaching against hatred in order to guard ourselves against this unholy, sinful attribute.

1. Hatred is akin to bearing a grudge (Lev. 19:18). Holding a grudge is but one of the outward manifestations of hatred. When "love your neighbor as yourself" is obeyed, hateful grudges cease.

2. Hatred stirs up strife (Prov. 10:12). Like a spoon stirring a pot, hatred foments contention.

3. The person who hates another and tries to hide his hatred is a liar (Prov. 10:18). “He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself; When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart; Tough his hatred is covered by deceit, His wickhedness will be revealed before the assembly” (Prov. 26:24-26). We cannot hate a person and hide that hatred without showing ourselves to be a liar.

4. Hatred does not satisfy the soul (Prov. 15:17). Hating someone brings no resolution, no reward. Why not rather sow contentment by cultivating love toward others?

5. Hatred condemns the soul (Gal. 5:20-21). It is a work of the flesh, driven by fleshly lusts. One who hates is not being "led by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16-18, 22-23).

6. Hatred and its companions must be discarded (Eph. 4:31-32). Hate never works alone. Its partners in evil include bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, railing and malice. All of these must be put away and replaced with kindness, tender hearts and forgiveness (v. 31-32).

7. Hatred is characteristic of darkness (1 Jno 2:9, 11). The Christian who hates his brother is blinded by sin and walking in darkness. Hatred never illuminates the soul. It only plunges one into blackness.

8. Hatred causes one to live in death; the hater is a murderer (1 Jno. 3:14-15). A mark of spiritual life is brotherly love, while hatred is a mark of spiritual death. Hatred murders one's life with God as it murders brotherly relations. Hatred causes spiritual death.

9. The Christian who holds hatred in his heart cannot love God (1 Jno. 4:20). It is completely inconsistent to proclaim love for God while hating a brother in Christ. If we cannot love our brethren (whom we see), how can we love God (whom we have not seen)? God is love and He will not accept those who hate others (1 Jno. 4:8).

Hatred is a menace. It is a destroyer. In Christ, hatred is replaced with genuine love, especially for those we once hated (Matt. 5:43-48). 

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Our Adoption as Children of God

Conclusion
1. God wants more children! His house has room for all, Jno. 14:2.
2. God family will grow when you become a Christian and heaven will rejoice, Lk. 15:7.
3. Become an heir of God through Christ; be adopted by God, Gal. 4:7

Conclusion
Bible is not fables, 2 Pet. 1:16. It is God's revelation of Himself, 1 Cor. 2:9-13; 1 Thess. 2:13.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the light of Scripture)