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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 8* February 24, 2008
Dog’s & Swine
It is true the gospel is for all, but not everyone is receptive to the preaching of the Gospel. In fact some can become very obstinate about it, speak profanity of the gospel and even blaspheme the message of Christ. For this cause Jesus said “Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.” Matthew 7:6
Just like you don’t give a piece of sacred meat to a dog, or cast pearls into a pig pen, we should move on when that which is of such great value (the gospel) is profaned.
Paul turn away from the rebellious Jews and went unto the Gentiles. “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.” Acts 18:5-6
Jesus taught His disciples to move on. “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye go forth out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet.” Matthew 10:14
The good news of Jesus Christ is to be shared with those who are lost, but we must not continually let a person or persons turn upon us, and despise the message which is so precious without our ceasing to cast the gospel before them.
Stacy Crim
Has the New Testament Been Tampered With?
David Dann
There are some who claim that the New Testament Scriptures were written so long ago and copied so many times that they cannot possibly have retained their original meaning. They would have us believe the New Testament has been tampered with. However, Jesus promised: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Matt. 24:35). His promise is borne out by the weight of the evidence.
1. The King James Version. In 1604 King James I of England authorized the making of a new translation of the Bible into English. This new version was completed in 1611. The King James Version has been widely used for nearly 400 years. Interestingly, nothing that would substantially change our faith or any command of God has been changed in the many revisions that the King James Version has undergone. Therefore, we can be sure that the New Testament can be, and has been, preserved for the last 400 years.
2. The Latin Vulgate. A translation of the Bible from Greek to Latin was made around A.D. 150 and came to be known as the "Old Latin" version of the Scriptures. In A.D. 382 the scholar Jerome was commissioned to revise the Old Latin version. He undertook the task and completed his work around A.D. 400. His revision is known as the Latin Vulgate, which means, "common Latin". The Latin Vulgate was widely used from the 5th to the 15th century and is still used today. The Latin Vulgate can be used to prove that the New Testament can be, and has been, preserved substantially unchanged for 1600 years.
3. The surviving manuscripts. When the New Testament was first written, early Christians made many hand-written copies in the original Greek language in which it was written. These copies are known as "manuscripts". Of the approximately 5,000 known manuscripts of the New Testament in existence, few contain the entire New Testament and some are only fragments. Among the most complete are the Vatican, Sinaitic, and Alexandrian manuscripts, which were written during the middle of the 4th and 5th centuries. These early copies of the Scriptures had not yet been discovered when the King James Version was made, however, a comparison shows no substantial differences between these manuscripts and the text of the King James Version! This proves beyond all question that the New Testament has been successfully preserved for at least the past 1650 years.
4. The early Christian writers. These men, also known as the "apostolic fathers", lived and wrote near the end of the first century and the beginning of the second century A.D. Their writings are filled with quotations from the New Testament. We will consider the writings of only three of these men, Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp. The writings of these three men survive from a period beginning between A.D. 96-110. In their writings we find quotations and references from 25 of the 27 books of the New Testament. The Scripture quotations of these and other early Christian writers are so extensive that the entire New Testament could be reconstructed from their writings. These writers take us back to the time when the New Testament was first written, and their writings prove that the New Testament they had is the same as the New Testament we have today. There is no substantial difference.
Conclusion
The New Testament has not been tampered with. In light of the available evidence, the message as we have it today is the same as when it was first delivered.Ironing the Unseen
Jamey Hinds
When I was a child my mother and grandmother taught me how to iron. My wife is thankful for this instilled ability. Years ago a friend asked if I ironed the bottom unseen part of my shirts—to me the suggestion of not ironing the unseen part of the shirt seemed ridiculous. But it’s a good question; and I answered in the affirmative: I do iron the unseen part of my shirts despite knowing that it will be tucked into a nicely ironed pair of pants. It doesn’t matter that I do this, but there is an important lesson to apply.
Jesus spoke against the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. . . . First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. . . . You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matt. 23:25-28). Genuine Christianity cleans the inside first, then we’ll not only appear righteous, but we’ll be righteous (see Matt. 5:20).
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