Children of Promise

Galatians 4:28

Isaac was Abraham and Sarah’s son of promise. Through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. In Galatians chapter four Paul uses and allegory (a parallel symbolic meaning) of Hagar who gave birth to Ishmael, and Sarah who gave birth to Isaac. Each mother would represent a covenant with God. Hagar’s servitude would represent the covenant of bondage that Israel was under because there was no means to have a complete remission of sins. Sarah’s freedom would represent the covenant of freedom found in the Law of Christ when one has a complete remission of sins.

Christians are children of the free woman because a child of God is no longer under the bondage of the old law that could not take away sin. The are free from sin under the new law of Christ.

Galatians 4:3-5 "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

(Part II)

Jerry Vinson

In Jesus' prayer for unity, He realized that great harm would result if His disciples failed to be united in faith and practice. He prayed, "That they all may be one...that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:21). Jesus knew that without this unity among believers, the world would deny that He was sent by the Father. Unity among believers, based upon accepting and following only the "apostles' doctrine" is a compelling force that helps conquer disbelief in God and Jesus Christ. But, division among believers generates unbelief and skepticism in the world. Jesus knew it when He prayed for unity! Denominationalism (division) necessarily results if men use and bind religious standards and creeds other than, or in addition to, "the apostles' doctrine." Examples can include such writings as the Standard Manual for Baptist Churches, the Catholic Catechism, the Philadelphia Confessions of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, Luther's Small Catechism, the Methodist Discipline, the Book of Mormon, etc. Each of these is a different religious standard from the other, not to mention a different religious standard from "the apostles' doctrine."

Unity in faith, doctrine, and practice is impossible if men follow a standard other than, or in addition to "the apostles' doctrine." The contradictory religious creeds of denominationalism are a major cause of the skepticism and atheism among people in the world. Do you doubt it? Read on!

Charles Darwin was once a seminary student at Cambridge who was preparing for the clergy in the Church of England. He disagreed with the creed of that church and could not go into "Holy Orders." He later became an unbeliever whose name is most known for its connection to the theory of evolution. Charles Smith, the first president of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, became an atheist after his Methodist pastor denied the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus as the Bible teaches. Robert Owen, a European of the 19th century, became an atheist after investigating the writings of a number of theological creeds.

This list of names could be easily multiplied! In each of these instances, it was not "the apostle's doctrine" which led these men of the past into atheism. It was either a man's denial of that doctrine, or the contradictory theological and denominational creeds that produced skepticism, agnosticism, and atheism.

I could add to this list of atheists and agnostics by mentioning people I have either known or visited. Not one of them attributed their unbelief to "the apostles doctrine." They always mentioned the contradictory beliefs and practices of denominationalism for their unbelief and skepticism! Accepting and following "the apostles' doctrine" alone leads to unity in faith, doctrine, and practice among believers, while embracing other religious standards produces division which leads people into skepticism and atheism. Friend, atheism is just another bad fruit on the "tree" of denominationalism! That's not good!

It is strange to me that defendants of denominationalism believe it is a good thing. Their thinking is that, because God made each man different, we all have preferences, likes and dislikes. Consequently, denominationalism provides a way in which people can choose the church that matches their personal preferences and beliefs. Some even say that God established denominations in order to accommodate man's different preferences. There are serious problems with this view!

First, what the apostles taught in one church, they taught in every church (1 Corinthians 4:17; Colossians 4:16). This produced unity in faith, doctrine, and practice in all of the churches - not denominationalism (division) that catered to subjective personal preferences or to beliefs that contradicted apostolic doctrine.

Second, "God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1 Corinthians 14:33). Religious confusion necessarily results when those who claim to believe in and worship the same God believe and practice things that contradict one another, as well as things that contradict "the apostles' doctrine." Seriously consider this - since denominationalism causes confusion, and God is not the author of confusion, then we can be absolutely certain that God is not responsible for, nor does He approve of denominationalism! Friend, confusion is another bad fruit on the "tree" of denominationalism! That's not good!

Realizing that Jesus said, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit," we have briefly considered just a few of the many bad fruits on the "tree" of denominationalism. At the very least, this "tree" produces the fruit of division, the fruit of atheism, and the fruit of confusion. No matter where we may pick from the "tree" of denominationalism, we will only get bad fruit

So, "What are our choices?" We can ignore these facts concerning denominationalism and say, "It doesn't really matter." Or, we can have the courage to stand against denominationalism and follow the way of Christ without denominationalism, just like we find it in the Bible. We can seek unity in faith, doctrine, and practice based only upon "the apostles' doctrine," regardless of what others are doing. Friend, the choice you make really does matter!

Which choice will it be for you?

www.sandiachurchofchrist.com

Albuquerque, New Mexico