THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume VI
October 2011
Number 4
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
P. O. V. AND THE
BIBLE
A businessman
was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional manager. He asked
each applicant the simple question, “What is two plus two?”
The first
interviewee was a journalist. His answer was “twenty-two.”
The second
applicant was an engineer. He pulled out a calculator and showed the answer to
be between 3.999 and 4.001.
The next person
was a lawyer. He stated that in the case of Jenkins v. the Commissioner of
Stamp Duties, two and two was proven to be four.
The last
applicant was an accountant. The businessman asked him, “How much is two plus
two?”
The accountant
got up from his chair, went over to the door, closed it then came back and sat
down. He leaned across the desk and said in a low voice, “How much do you want
it to be?”
The Lord prayed
that all believers would be one; consider what He says. “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in
you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have
sent me.” (John 17:21) He knew
that religious division would cause the world to reject the way of truth.
Divisions, which result from varied biblical interpretation causes countless
harm to Christianity.
There are those
who exhibit the same type approaches to Bible study as the journalist, the
engineer, the lawyer and the accountant in our story.
The journalist
looks beyond the obvious; others assume the question is a mathematical problem;
but not the journalist. He seeks out an answer different than all others and
admires his acumen at finding a truth(?) that others cannot.
The engineer
prides himself in exactness. The answer must be analyzed to its most
rudimentary level.
The lawyer
appeals to the laws of men as the standard for his answer. He sees only the
wisdom of men, a wisdom by which he judges everyone and everything.
The accountant’s
point of view is that public opinion is the determining factor. The answer is
based upon the present circumstances. Times change, therefore, answers to
questions must also change to fit the time, common knowledge, and/or public
opinion.
Just as each of
the applicant’s point of views colored their answer to a simple question, our
point of view will color our understanding of biblical teaching. Biblical Truth
is singular, so when disagreement occurs, regardless of the subject, someone is
wrong, maybe both. This ought to be an incentive to a more thorough
investigation of Scripture. It should also restrain us from rushing to judgment
about brethren who may disagree with us.
The point of
view we bring to Bible study determines how we interpret a given passage of
scripture. Hence, it is the responsibility of each individual to approach Bible
study with this knowledge and the determinate self-discipline to overcome
personal prejudices. Can we accomplish this important task and therefore
understand the singular truth contained in the God breathed, verbally inspired
Scriptures. The answer is yes, if we have a good and honest heart. The problem
is not in the Scripture; the problem is in man’s obstinate desire to please
oneself rather than to please God.
When we are
challenged on our positions of faith, use the challenge to “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is
in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Never shy away from investigating your personal
motives. You may find prejudices that will keep you from Heaven.
-
The Editor’s
Page
In It To Win It!
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught
us to, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the
gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter
by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life,
and those who find it are few.” (Matthew
7:13-14)
He goes on to say, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Man has the propensity to think. He is
not talking about me, or, that won’t happen to me. Really! Notice that the
condemnation comes upon those who do not do “the
will of my Father who is in heaven.” This statement is speaking of the will
(commandments) of God. How often do you evaluate your life in this context? Do
you ever ask yourself, am I living up the standard God has set for me?
One of the complaints often heard is, it
is too hard to live as a Christian. Isn’t that what Jesus said? “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard
that leads to life.” James tells us, “Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know
that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness
have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in
nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
Why do we fear trials in our life? Why do
we think that the life of a Christian should be filled with all the pleasures
the world has to offer? Do not the words of Jesus in this portion of the sermon
admonish us to endure the hard things of life? Heaven is a prepared place for a
prepared people. I know you have heard that one before. However, it is still
true. I am persuaded to believe that there are going to be a lot of surprised
and disappointed people on the great Day of Judgment. And, all of them will not
be denominational people either. Why would I say such a thing as that? Because
far too many Christians think they can just drift along, neglecting their duty
to the Lord and then go to heaven in the end.
Consider the following taken from the
same context. “Everyone then who hears
these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house
on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the
rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be
like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and
great was the fall of it.” (Matthew
7:24-27)
There are ‘storms’ of life that come upon
us that test us to the core of who we are or should be. The problem is that too
often men try to face these ‘storms’ without having built their faith upon the
‘rock’ of Jesus’ words. When people face life without building upon the words
of Jesus, they will fail and great will be their fall when they face God in the
Judgment.
Yes, the gate to Heaven is narrow and
hard; Jesus said it is. That does not mean it is impossible to go to Heaven. It
does mean that going to Heaven is going to take our energy and determination.
We cannot lay back, put our feet up and take our ease. We must put forth the
effort, regardless of how much energy that takes, to be a Christians who gives
one hundred and ten percent at all times.
We must be in it to win! Anything less
and we will be cast away from God. Are you in it to win?!
WORKING FOR THE
MASTER
STRONG VS WEAK PREACHING
Have you heard the one about the Mississippi Squirrel of Ray Stevens’ fame?
Well, when Ray was a boy he carried a squirrel to church services. The
inevitable happened. The squirrel got loose. After visiting awhile in Harv
Newman’s overalls, that little squirrel found his way to the amen corner where
sat sister Bertha Betterthanyou and as they say the rest is history.
You should have seen the look in her eyes when that squirrel jumped her
garter and crossed her thighs and she jumped to the floor and said “Lord, have
mercy on me!” As the squirrel made laps inside her dress, she began to cry and
then to confess to sins that would make a sailor blush with shame. She told of
gossip and church dissention, but the thing that got the most attention was
when she talked about her love life and she started NAMING NAMES!
The aforementioned song is humorous, but it also has a point to make. Now,
Mr. Stevens’ point, no doubt, is that hypocrisy is rampant in religious
America. However, I would like to suggest another point. Naming names is a
necessary part of preaching truth. “I
charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the
living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be
ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete
patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound
teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers
to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and
wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy
4:1-4)
I don’t suggest that we be ill mannered or malicious. We must speak the
truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15) But,
neither should a preacher tip-toe through the tulips for fear we will offend
someone. Catering to the feelings of sinners is like allowing a sick child to
dictate what medicine they will take for their illness, both will die.
John the Baptist called those Pharisees and Sadducees, who came to him for
baptism, offspring of vipers. He demanded they bring forth fruit of repentance
before he would baptize them. (Matthew
3:7-12) Too often, we are willing to baptize someone without evidence of
true conversion.
Jesus was not as soft spoken as some want to believe. On one occasion, the
Pharisees confronted Jesus about His disciples eating with unwashed hands, thus
violating the tradition of the elders. Jesus responded by saying, “… ‘And why do you break the commandment of
God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and
your mother,' and, 'whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you
say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, ‘what you would have gained
from me is given to God,’ he need not honor his father.’ So, for the sake of
your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did
Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines
the commandments of men.’ And he called the people to him and said to them,
Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person,
but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.’ Then the disciples
came and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they
heard this saying?’ He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not
planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the
blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’” (Matthew 15:3-14)
Notice what Jesus didn’t say. He didn’t say, “Will you disciples excuse me
while I go and apologize to the Pharisees.” He didn’t say, “I am sorry I was so
blunt.” If Jesus had gone to the Pharisees, what would He have said, “I am
sorry I told you the truth.”
Paul instructed the evangelist Timothy, “As
for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the
rest may stand in fear.” (1 Timothy 5:20) When preachers shy away from
rebuking sin, their message becomes weak and ineffective.
The preacher must rebuke the sinner and expose false teaching. However,
this must be done with love in the heart for the lost in order for it to be
effective. The point is that strong preaching containing God’s truth, when preached
in love, is the preaching needed to change people and the world. Anything less
will not accomplish its intended purpose.
If some doesn’t want the error of denominational churches condemned
publicly, what do you suppose they would do if preachers began reproving
sinners by name in the sight of all?
THE LAST WORD
Blessed
Are the Pure in Heart
By Gary Henry
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God” (MATTHEW 5:8).
THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT MUST BE PURGED FROM
OUR HEARTS IF WE ARE TO SEE GOD. Some of these things must be eliminated
because they are impure. Others, while not morally unclean, must be removed
simply because they draw our affections away from God. We must learn to love
God with hearts that are whole and minds that are single. Our hearts must be
PURELY given to God, without mixed motives or competing loyalties. Without a
pure passion to see God, we will not see Him (Matthew 5:8).
PURITY. Even in our day-to-day lives, there is
a wonderful freedom that comes from pure devotion to God. We may not realize
how much we’ve been weighed down and held back by the multitude of our lesser
concerns until we finally put these things in their place and focus
wholeheartedly on God. There is really nothing in the world quite as liberating
as purity!
POWER. Samuel Johnson observed that those “who
attain to any excellence spend life in some one single pursuit, for excellence
is not often gained on easier terms.” In a similar way, those who attain
spiritual excellence are those who make God their “single pursuit.” Our focus
must be the laser-like concentration of the devout, not the weak glimmer of the
indifferent.
PROMISE. The fervent hope of those who are pure
in heart is that they “shall see God.” As goals go, this is the greatest one
that we can contemplate. The enjoyment of God’s presence is the very purpose
for which we were created. According to Jesus Christ, this promise can only be
obtained by the pure in heart, but if anything is WORTH the price of purity, this is it. “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is
pure” (1 John 3:3).
Each of these
good things — the purity, the power, and the promise of single-minded devotion
— is available to every person. The truth by which God enables us to lead this
kind of life is not so hard to understand that it is beyond our reach. If we
forfeit the privilege of seeing God someday, it will not be for a lack of
ability or opportunity. It will be for a failure to make life’s basic choice.
“Spiritual
truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a
question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart” (Oswald Chambers).
Gary
Henry – WordPoints.com
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WHAT MUST
I DO
Hear: Rom
Believe: Heb 11:6
Repent: Lk 13:5; Ac
17:30
Confess: Matt
Be Baptized: Ac
TO BE
SAVED?
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Editor: Glen Young
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