The Cornerstone
This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief conerstone." Acts 4:11
Volume 6 * Number 6 * February 5, 2006
Salvation, a Gift from God
God’s grace is a manifestation of His great love for all of mankind. His grace is described in Scripture as a "gift"
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8
It is a gift because at no time and in no way could man do anything to redeem himself in the sight of God. The wages of his sin is death. So when God reached out when He did not have to, He gave man a great gift, the gift of salvation. When He forgives man, through the blood of His Son, when He did not have to, indeed it is a great gift from God.
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Hebrews 2:9
"That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:7
Stacy Crim
When There Is No Line Of Morality
(Kent Heaton)
Children kill their fellow students in the classroom and on the campus of our schools. Disgruntled employees kill their fellow workers and many innocent bystanders. Gangs dance through the streets of our cities spreading death in their wake. Homosexuality is viewed as an "alternate lifestyle" and its acceptance is portrayed as normal. Pornography reeks from the airwaves of television and the internet in volumes unchained. School libraries are filled with books describing the degradation of man's thirst for sexual pleasures.
These trends shock and dismay the public at large and yet the public is to blame for the continued rise in these levels of immorality. When immorality rises it is because the moral fiber of the society has been taken away. No longer are there clear lines of morality that will keep these acts from occurring. Because of the cry of "rights," we have given over all authority and ability to regulate the immoral acts of those who would impose their "freedoms" upon all. Freedom of expression has come to mean that I can do anything I want to do and no one can deny me that right. Is it possible for a society to live without law? Is it possible for a society to exist without a standard to live by?
Children kill other children because they have been taught they have the right to express themselves by murdering their fellow students. If you have a disagreement at work, you have the right to kill those who oppose you. The perversion of homosexuality is seen as a lifestyle that is healthy and normal. Television has become the venue of sexual exploitation and viewing pleasure as well as the instrument to show how violence is the means to justify the end. Our school libraries cannot ban certain books because of the "rights" of those who impose their level of immorality upon our children. Is there any question why our society is in so much trouble today?
The sad part about humanity is that it has such a short memory. The most important subject taught in school should be history. Mankind has been around for a few thousand years and yet he can never learn from the past. History shows what happens when men seek their own way and fail to draw a line of morality. Is it any wonder then when we bury our dead children and live in fear of one another because of what is happening in our world?
During the days of the Judges, this statement is made: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) Does this sound familiar? Is this not what we are seeing today? With no law everyone will do what they please. David tells us what the root of this kind of action is founded upon: "An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil." (Psalm 36:4)
Solomon said that nothing was new under the sun. What we are experiencing today is the same lawless mind of man when he sets upon himself to do as he pleases. Until we have the courage to draw the line of morality and stand by it, we will be destroyed as a nation. As a people we must draw the line in our lives and in our words. School officials need to have the courage to draw that line. Our bodies of government must draw the line and have the courage to stand by it. As a people of God, we must draw the line of morality in our lives and let God's Word be the rule by which we measure our lives. If not, we are a lost nation. We shall become as all nations who did what was right in their own eyes. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes." (Proverbs 12:15)
March 2000 The Reading Room of Trenton Church of Christ
-adapted from an article by Wilson Adams
As a group, what takes up more shelf space than
most any other item at the grocery store? It's cereal! Americans like the convenience of starting the day by eating an instant meal you can just pour out of a cardboard box.