Month: October 2023

By Joe Slater Via Bulletin Gold

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high
time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is
nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
Saturdays and Sundays used to be my opportunities to “sleep
in.” School was out, and church wasn’t a priority. On school
days, however, my parents would say, “It’s time to get up! You
don’t want to be late for school.”

Some of the Christians to whom Paul wrote in Romans needed
to wake up! Physical sleep wasn°t the problem; Paul used sleep
as a metaphor for their spiritual lethargy.

Who knows why they had become sluggish? Being the capital
of the empire, the city of Rome contained every vice, every
philosophy, and every strange religion you can imagine.
Christians might well struggle to stay true to the gospel. How
should they interact with different religious groups? What should
their relationship to the government be? How should they treat
fellow Christians and people in general? Wrestling with such
issues can make you tired and sleepy!

Paul exhorts: “Wake up!” Why? Because “now our salvation
is nearer than when we first believed.” This salvation refers not
to our initial cleansing at baptism, but our ultimate salvation
when the Lord takes us to Heaven. Paul wasn’t saying that Jesus
return was imminent, but our departure to be with Christ
(Philippians 1:23) draws nearer every day.

Our challenges aren’t identical to those of the Romans, but
vice and false religions confront us too. And the same lethargy
infects us, especially after we’ve been in Christ several years.
Time draws shorter for each of us every day. That being so, may
God help us to wake up!

By Ronald Bartanen Via Bulletin Gold

Congregations usually identified by the term “churches
of Christ” consists of a people who want to be known
individually as Christians, in honor of Christ. We have no
earthly headquarters, and take as our one rule of faith and
practice the New Testament seriptures. We endeavor to be
neither more nor less than believers in Christ were from the
beginning. We believe that, as New Testament believers,
when we believed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God
who died for our sins and was raised from the dead (1 Cor.
15:1-4), repented of our sins, confessed our faith and were
baptized (immersed) in the name of the Lord Jesus for the
remission of sins, the Lord added us to His church (Acts
2:36-38, 41, 47). We have not desired to join a denomination,
all of which were unknown to the apostles Christians.

What we do “in word or in deed” is not dictated by
and early denominational councils, but is to be “in the name of (by
authority of) the Lord” (Col. 3:17). Our plea is for
restoration of simple New Testament Christianity as
established by Christ and taught by the apostles, with
Christ as our creed, and the inspired word as our infallible
guide. This alone can be a sufficient ground for the unity
of be lievers, for which Jesus prayed prior to His crucifixion.
(John 17:21).

A plea that we have commonly heard and voiced has
ben “Let us call Bible things by Bible names, and let
us do Bible things in Bible ways. Let us speak where
the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.”

By Jell Aretle – Via Bulletin Gold

One of the key teachings of the Bible is that faith is essential
to pleasing God. In Hebrews 11:6, we read: “And without faith it
is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him.” This verse shows us two important aspects
of faith: belief and action.

Belief means trusting that God is who he stays he is and that he
will do what he promises. It is not enough to have a vague or
general idea of God; we need to know him personally and
intimately through his word and his Spirit. We need to believe
that he is the creator, the sustainer, the redeemer, and the judge
of all things. We need to believe that he loves us, cares for us,
and has a plan for us. As Romans 10:9 says: If you declare with
your mouth, Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in y our heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Action means living in obedience and submission to God’s
will and commands. It is not enough to have a mental assent to
God’s existence; we need to demonstrate our faith by our deeds.
We need to seek him earnestly, meaning with sincerity, diligence,
and perseverance. We need to follow his guidance, obey his
instructions, and fulfill his purposes. We need to worship him,
serve him, and honor him. As James 2:17 says: “In the same way,
faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Faith is essential to pleasing God because it shows that we love
him, trust him, and depend on him. Faith is the foundation of our
relationship with God and the source of our spiritual growth and
fruitfulness. Faith is not something we have once and for al; it is
something we need to cultivate and nurture every day. Faith is
the key to unlocking God’s blessings and promises in our lives.

As Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope
for and assurance about what we do not see.”

By Joe Sluler – Via Bulletin Gold

 

We cannot fully comprehend the horror Jesus faced that night
in Gethsemane. A merciless scourging awaited Him, followed by
nails being driven through His hands and feet. For six endless
hours searing pain would wrack His battered body as He
struggled for every breath.

But that scarcely begins to describe our Savior’s woe. Who
can fathom the agony of taking the whole world’s sins and
bearing them in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24)? No wonder
He cried out, “0 My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from Me” (Matthew 26:39a). Yet even as He pleaded, He knew
there was no Plan B. Unless He stayed the course all the way to
the cross, no sinner could be saved. Therefore, He continued,
“nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (26:39b).

Jesus had no Plan B when He sent His apostles to preach His
gospel to the world. Not that long ago they had scattered like a
covey of quail when Judas brought the Roman soldiers and
temple police to arrest Him. Peter had denied three times that he
even knew Jesus, much less that he was His disciple. Would you
entrust those men with the most powerful and desperately needed
message the world will ever know? Jesus did! And ten days after
He commissioned them, they demonstrated that His confidence
in them was fully justified. About 3000 souls believed and
obeyed the glad tidings that the apostles proclaimed boldly. From
that point on, the church grew by leaps and bounds.

You and I are still part of Jesus’ Plan A. He is still the one and
only way anyone can come to the Father (John 14:6), and His
gospel is still God’s power to save (Romans 1:16). He has no
Plan B, so don’t bother looking! Just follow Plan A, the plan
“ordained from the foundation of the world!” (1 Peter 1:20).