The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
November 5, 2006
In
This Issue:
Apology
without Confession
by
Steve Klein
Homemade
Ice Cream
by
Bill Holt, Jr.
Apology without Confession
In the news this past week there was much ado about a statement made by Senator John Kerry which cast a poor reflection on our military personnel in Iraq. Speaking at a college in California last Monday, Kerry said, "You know education if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, if you don't, you can get stuck in Iraq." Many took Mr. Kerry's words to mean that troops in Iraq are stuck there because they are unintelligent. Democrats and Republicans alike called on him to apologize. Two days after John Kerry made this comment to students in California, he released the following statement: "I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended." Read Mr. Kerry's statement again. Is he admitting to saying something wrong? Well, no. What he actually admits is that his words were "misinterpreted" and made to "wrongly imply" something which they did not actually imply. But even though in his eyes the real problem lies with those who misinterpreted his words, Mr. Kerry nonetheless apologizes to those who were offended.
Mr. Kerry's approach to apology is not unique to him. It has been used by politicians from both major political parties often enough. I bring it to your attention here, not to condemn a particular politician or party, but to illustrate a common problem that has even crept into the church. Somehow we've gotten the idea that we can smooth things over with those against whom we have sinned without actually admitting that we've done anything wrong. More than once, I've witnessed brethren come forward at the conclusion of a worship assembly to ask forgiveness "if" they have done anything that "might have" offended someone. The underlying problem here of course is pride. We are too proud to admit that we've done wrong.
Friends, the Lord expects us to confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness. James 5:16 commands, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another. . ." If we have not been convicted of a sin or if we do not believe we have done anything wrong, how can we possibly confess it? To confess something means to acknowledge it or admit to it! David said, "I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin" (Psalms 32:5). Rather than sounding uncertain that he had even committed a sin, David said, "I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me" (Psalms 51:3). Do you acknowledge your transgressions?
-- Steve Klein
Hot summers and homemade ice cream go together like baseball and hotdogs. One summer we had a group of friends over for hamburgers and homemade ice cream. I was working on the ice cream freezer when one friend said he never had any luck with homemade ice cream. "It just never freezes," he said. Having learned in chemistry the effect of salt on water, I went on and on about salt. "The key to good homemade ice cream is the rock salt. The more the better." Another friend, a man of few words who happened to be a PhD, said, "If salt is so all-fired important, why do you put all that ice in there?"
Leonard's point was a good one. I was guilty of over-emphasizing one part of a whole formula. The formula is Ice + Salt + Motion = Frozen Ice Cream. All components are necessary. When it comes to God's will, sometimes we over-emphasize one part of God's message and leave out other equally important components.
The Pharisees in Jesus' day did this. Jesus charged, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the other undone." (Matthew 23:23) Their over-emphasis of tithing left other important matters lacking and Jesus called them hypocrites.
Today we hear a preacher teaching we are saved by grace alone. "Nothing man does affects his salvation." Pure Calvinists (followers of John Calvin) call it "irresistible grace." That is, whether you want to be saved or not, you will be if God is determined to save you.
Another preacher says we are saved by faith only. "No work a man can do has any bearing on his salvation." Only one verse in the Bible says anything about faith only, and it teaches that you can't be saved by faith only. "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:24).
Another preacher, perhaps at a funeral, preaches a person right into heaven on the basis of "she was such a good person, and did so many things for others. How can anyone think that such a person isn't in heaven right now?" That is salvation by works only. Others have rituals that must be complied with so that one can be saved.
A careful look at God's word reveals that each of these approaches is only a part of a whole formula. Ephesians 2:5 "...by grace you have been saved..." Romans 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith..." James 2:24 "a man is justified by works..." The whole formula is Grace + Faith + Works = Salvation. To ignore part or overemphasize one part of God's plan is to misapply the clear teaching of God.
This is clearly seen the first time the gospel was ever preached. In Acts 2, Peter preached the first gospel sermon and teaches that God sent Jesus (grace), the people needed to believe it (faith). When they were convicted by his preaching, they asked what they should do. They were told to repent and be baptized (works) for the remission of sins (salvation). Be it homemade ice cream or God's word, the formula only works one way.
-- Bill Holt, Jr.