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The Cornerstone
This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the Chief Conerstone." Acts 4:11
Pulbished to Support the Work of the West End Church of Christ, Richmond, Virginia
Volume 8 * Number 7* February 17, 2008
Putting Away Childish Things
When men grow up, they put away childish things. (I Corinthians 13:11) At least they are suppose to.
We expect childish things from a child. Pouting, temper tantrums, tattling, and arguing about nothing are par for the course as children learn to control their tongue and emotions, but what about men who behave in such childish manners?
Screaming at the television, pouting about a team loss, tattling to the boss about another employees behavior or arguing about nothing is speaking like and having the understanding of a child. There comes a time that men must grow up.
Putting away childish things can be hard. We often observe young men caught between childhood and being an adult. They desire to be all grown up, but they have yet to put away childish things. There is however no excuse for an adult who refuses to act like one.
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:25-32
Stacy Crim
Is It Worth Your Soul?
Cade Somers
A sixteenth-century German story tells of a man named Faust who, in his quest for forbidden or advanced knowledge of material things, summons the Devil who offers to serve him for a period of time, at the cost of his soul.
The 1979 song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” depicts a similar plot; albeit, it derives from the Bible’s warning against spiritual bargaining.
Jesus warned us not to allow Satan to keep possession of our souls (Mt. 16:21-26). He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me…For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul” (v. 24,26)? Is there anything worth allowing Satan to possess your soul? In the end, it won’t matter how well you could fiddle life’s tunes. All that will matter is whether the tune you played was harmonious to the will of God.
Is your soul worth attending the "church of your choice"?God’s choice is really all that matters. One has liberty to choose what shoes and shirt he puts on in the morning, but as far as choosing of what church to be a part, our will must submit to God’s. There is only one church Christ built (Mt. 16:18; Ep. 4:4; 1:22,23); therefore, first, look for the church that wears Christ’s name. Then, investigate churches to find which uses no creed but the Bible, teaches “sound doctrine” (Tit. 2:1), worships “in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24) and upholds godly living in each of its members (Ja. 1:27). If one doesn’t care to find the church of Jesus Christ, then he doesn’t care about salvation – God has “added to the church” the ones who are saved (Ac. 2:47).
Is your soul worth preferring practically everything to church attendance?
“Some long lost cousin, three or four times removed, is coming to town” – “My dachshund is sick” – “This week is my vacation”; If these or similar thoughts have interfered with your ability to reason and spurred random absences from assembling with the saints, you may want to reconsider your devotion to God and the church (cf. Mt. 6:33). Read excuses offered to Jesus in Matthew 8:21,22 and Luke 14:16-24. Nothing non-life-threatening or easily avoidable should take precedence over Christian worship, study and living. Excuse-making must be stopped.
Is your soul worth leading an immoral personal life?Having your cake and eating it too is fine if taken literally and if it is your birthday; however, a life lived to this axiom, indulging to the fullest extent of carnal sumptuousness, is altogether inappropriate (Ro. 8:6-8; cf. He. 11:24,25; Tit. 2:12). Why give up heaven and your soul to college coed parties, tobacco and drugs, vulgar language, indecent dress, covetousness, arrogance or anything else?
If by your actions or thoughts you’re bargaining your soul to the Devil, please come to realize it is not worth it. The Father, Christ and His disciples love you and desire your salvation. Give your soul to God.January 13, 2008 - Weatherly Heights Huntsville, AL
The Tragic Disciple
Allen Dvorak
There is something tragic about the person who has great opportunity and yet fails to take advantage of it. Few people illustrate such tragedy better than Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. Chosen by Jesus early in His public ministry as one of His apostles, Judas had the opportunity to be with Jesus for about three and one-half years. During that period of time, Judas no doubt saw many miracles and listened to the teaching of Jesus on numerous occasions.
At the same time that Judas was in the company of the only individual who has ever lived without sin, he was engaged in thievery, stealing from the common funds of the apostles (John 12:1-6). At some point, he decided to profit monetarily through a betrayal of his Master. He went to the chief priests and offered to deliver Jesus to them. He received thirty pieces of silver in exchange for his promise to help them take Jesus into custody in a place where it could be done with the least public uproar.
Matthew's account of his actions indicates that Judas' behavior was the subject of prophecy (27:9-10). It has been argued by some that Judas didn't have any choice, that he had been selected by God to commit the foul deed of betrayal and could not avoid doing so. I don't agree with this idea; the Scriptures reveal that the devil "put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him" (John 13:2). God, in His omnipotence, can anticipate how a man will react before he is even faced with the temptation. Jesus, as Deity in the flesh, knew the character flaws of Judas when He selected Him as an apostle and was aware later on that Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray Him (John 13:21-26). I am of the opinion that Jesus anticipated how Judas would react when faced with the tempation of some easy money gained in a nefarious manner. Nevertheless, it remained Judas' choice.
At the last supper, Jesus identified His betrayer in front of the other apostles. Judas left the supper and arranged for Jesus to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He even identified Jesus to the multitude in the garden by kissing him in the manner of a disciple greeting an esteemed master. After Jesus had been "tried" by the Jews and led off to be punished by the Romans, Judas was filled with remorse and brought the money back to the chief priests, confessing his sin of betraying innocent blood. In a stunning act of hypocrisy, the Jewish leaders would not put the money back into the temple treasury because it was blood money and so they purchased the potter's field in which to bury strangers (Matthew 27:1-8).
One final choice - Judas, one of the most privileged of humans, went and hanged himself. What a sad waste of opportunity and potential! What are we doing with our opportunity to be a disciple of Jesus?.
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