The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
November 28, 2004
In
This Issue:
Christianity
-- A Taught Religion
by
Frank Jamerson
"Put
in More"
by
Steve Klein
Christianity -- A Taught Religion
Under Judaism, or the Old Law, people were born into God's family by having Jewish parents, and then they had to be taught to "know the Lord." Jeremiah, the prophet, said that the day would come when "they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord..." (Jeremiah 31:34). This passage is quoted in Hebrews 8 and applied to the New Testament. Therefore, under the New Covenant, people must be taught to "know the Lord" before they can enter God's family.
Jesus emphasized the importance of teaching when he said, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me" (John 6:45). In Matthew's account of the "great commission," Jesus said, "Teach all nations" and, after baptizing them, "teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 20:18-20). Christ also stressed the importance of teaching when He said that "the seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11). Just as there can be no harvest without seed, there can be no child of God without the word being taught and obeyed.
Every child of God should learn to teach others. The writer of Hebrews said, "For when by reason of time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not solid food" (Hebrews 5:12). Paul told Timothy, "And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2).
There are some conclusions that we would like to make from these facts:
Christianity cannot be inherited. A person who was "raised in the church" (by parents who were Christians), does not automatically enter God's family. God has no grandchildren! Each person must be taught the word. Many who were "raised in the church" have left their "inherited religion" because they were not taught. Both parents and churches have neglected to plant the seed while the ground was receptive. We must not assume that our children will grow up believing the truth, we must teach them!
Infants cannot be in the church. Under the Old Covenant, those who were born of Jewish parents were automatically in God's chosen family, but having Christian parents does not make one a Christian. Children must be "taught to know the Lord" before they can obey Him, just as their parents had to be taught. This implies that when children grow to the age of accountability, they must act individually. Sin is not inherited; neither is forgiveness.
The truth must be obeyed. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Paul taught the same truth when he said, "But thanks be to God, that whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness" (Romans 6:17,18). One who is ignorant of truth cannot obey it. One who believes error cannot obey the truth. When Jesus said, "He that hath heard from the Father and hath learned, cometh unto me" (John 6:45), He was talking about hearing and learning the truth.
The importance of teaching the word should be recognized by every child of God. The job of teaching the lost world is too big to be left to a few "full time" workers. Every Christian should be awake to the importance of teaching the truth.
The rapid growth of the early church was the result of "teaching." Those who were scattered from Jerusalem because of persecution went everywhere "preaching the word" (Acts 8:4). This is what they had been doing before they were scattered too! One of the greatest needs of the church today is for brethren, all of us, to get busy teaching God's word to those who know it not. Weak members need to be taught and grounded in the truth. Our children need to be taught. Our friends and neighbors need to be taught. God has charged each Christian with teaching because we need to do the teaching! Teaching not only benefits the one being taught, but also the one doing the teaching. When Paul said that God "is not served by men's hands, as though he needed anything" (Acts 17:25), he implied that God is served by men's hands because men need to be serving. We may see the point clearly by thinking of an art teacher. Suppose that she gives an assignment to a student and the student goes home and gets his mother to do the drawing! The purpose of the assignment has been thwarted. God did not intend for us to shift our responsibility of teaching to someone else. Each of us needs to do his part. Let's arise and teach!
By Frank Jamerson,
via Guardian of Truth, April 15, 1982
"Put in more" is the quotation that serves as the title for this article. It comes from Mark 12:43 where Jesus spoke it, not as a command, but as a description of what someone did. A poor widow who gave only two mites to the temple treasury had "put in more" than many rich people, although they had "put in much." Jesus explains that all the rich had "put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood" (Mark 12:44). It is plain that Jesus wanted His disciples to learn to give like this widow.
Giving Sacrificially
It was reported in the news this
past week that Bill Gates gave $3 billion to charity in 2004.
Financier Warren Buffet gave $2.5 billion. These figures are
impressive to say the least. But would Jesus say that they gave
as much as the widow? I do not know how much these men gave in
proportion to their livelihood, but it is safe to say that they did
not give their "whole livelihood."
The kind of giving that Jesus commended required personal sacrifice. The rich would not miss the great sums that they gave, but the widow would dearly miss her two mites.
As far as giving to churches goes, the average member of a denominational church in the United States gives about 2.4% of his income. Is that percentage so low because times are hard economically? No! During the Great Depression, church giving was at 3.6%. It fell during World War II, then rose again, to 3 percent by 1962. The past four decades have seen a slow but steady decline. And you have to remember that these statistics are just averages. Studies have shown that 75% of the giving is done by 25% of the members in most churches. That is to say, many members are giving far below the average 2.4% of their income.
Giving up Control
Many very rich people "put in much"
to support causes that they themselves have an interest in.
Both Gates and Buffet give to their own foundations that support
causes that they favor. Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel
Corp., and his wife, Betty, pledged $275 million for ocean research
and eradicating hospital error through enhanced nurses training (the
latter gift stems from Betty's negative experiences in medical facilities).
We applaud their generosity, but we wonder if it would be as great if
they were not the ones who determined where the money was to be spent.
If we truly give, we give up control. While we possess property or money it is in our control (cf. Acts 5:4). But when we give it, control passes to the new owner. When we give money to the Lord's cause, it is His! Its spending must be guided by His will, not ours. This lesson is lost not only on billionaire philanthropists in our society, but also on brethren who insist on doing things with the Lord's money that He did not authorize. No church has ever built a gymnasium, fellowship hall or human institution because Jesus said He wanted it!
Giving Liberally
In Romans 12:8, "he who gives" is
commanded to do so "with liberality." To give
"with liberality" is to give freely and abundantly, not
measuring out in small portions. God exemplifies this kind of giving.
He "gives to all liberally and without reproach" (James 1:5).
Do the rich give this same way? On average, the nation's richest 1% -- who own two-fifths of U.S. wealth -- donate just 2% of their incomes each year to charity. As we've already noted, the average church-going American does not do much better. If God gave to us with the same "liberality" that we give to Him, how would we fare?
While the giving of billionaires grabbed the headlines this past week, I wonder how Jesus sees it. As He watches you and I give to His cause this morning, would He say that we "put in more"?
.by Steve Klein