The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
June 6, 2004
In
This Issue:
Earnestly
Contending for the Faith
by
Carrol Sutton
If
It Doesn't Work in Theory...
by
Steve Klein
Earnestly Contending for the Faith
(Jude 3)
In his letter to saints, Jude exhorted: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." The faith is the gospel of Christ which Paul preached. In preaching the gospel, he preached "the faith which once he destroyed." (Gal. 1:23).
Saints have a responsibility to "earnestly contend" for the faith. The idea is that we should contend as combatants, and we should do so earnestly. To contend for the faith is to defend the faith! Paul said he was "set for the defense of the gospel". (Phil. 1:17) Writing to the church of the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul said: "...we were bold to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention" (I Thess. 2:2).
In 1 Tim. 6:12 Paul exhorted Timothy to "Fight the good fight of faith..." In Eph. 6:10-18 Paul urges saints to properly equip themselves by putting on "the whole armour of God" and taking "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". They were not to use carnal weapons in their battle for the faith. (See 2 Cor. 10:3-6). As we contend for the faith we must "strive lawfully". (See 2 Tim. 2:1-5).
At Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas boldly contended for the faith although envious Jews "spake against those things spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." (Acts 13:45--46). In Athens (as recorded in Acts 17), Paul disputed "in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." (Verse 17). Some of the philosophers "encountered him," i.e., debated or argued with him and some others said, "What will this babbler say?"
In Ephesus, Paul "went into the synagogue, and spake boldly by the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." (Acts 19:8--10).
The reason why saints are told to "earnestly contend for the faith" is because ungodly men creep in unawares. By their teaching they will endeavor to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness and deny either by their teaching or by their actions (or both) the true God and His Son Jesus Christ! (See Jude 4).
We learn from Titus 1:9-16 that there are many deceivers "Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake."
We must "contend for the faith" by exposing false teachings with courage, boldness and love.
by Carrol Sutton
You Could Be On To Something!
I am told that the French have a saying that goes something like this: "We know that it will work in practice. The question is, will it work in theory?"
It is odd, but there are many things in life that work in practice but not in theory. Bumblebees fly, but theoretically they don't; theoretically they don't have enough surface area on their wings to provide sufficient lift for their relatively large bodies. And so it is that human theories about what will and won't work are often at odds with the designs of God.
In theory, some might say, the church will to have to offer something more than just the simple gospel if it is going to grow numerically. Yet in practice, the churches in the New Testament grew by the thousands without offering recreation, fellowship meals or entertainment in worship. When "the word of God spread" the number of the disciples "multiplied greatly" (Acts 6:7).
In theory, local churches are going to have band together in some formal organization or institution in order to have worldwide impact. Yet in practice, churches without such organizational ties in the New Testament changed the world. Like the church in Thessolonica, from which "the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place." (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
In theory, baptism doesn't have anything to do with salvation -- it is just an outward sign of inward grace. In practice, baptism washes away sin (Acts 22:16) and saves us (1 Peter 3:21).
In theory, if you freely give to those who are in need you'll wind up in the poor house. In practice, when we give freely, God sees to it that we'll have more than enough ourselves. Solomon said, "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days" (Ecclesiastes 11:1). And Jesus commanded, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." (Luke 6:38 cf. 2 Corinthians 9:10)
It's not that God's ways have been tried and found to be ineffective. It's that people don't believe God's ways will work, so they won't try them. In practice, only God's ways will work. "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it" (Psalm 127:1). In spiritual matters, human theories are useless. "The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile" (Psalm 94:11).
By Steve Klein