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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 5* February 3, 2008
Finishing What We Have Started
There is something to be said about finishing what we have started. Often our lives are cluttered with unfinished projects. Somewhere in my house is a puzzle I started a long time ago. It is all wrapped up in a piece of cloth so I can unroll it and begin again. As I look around I see several unfinished projects.
When it comes to our spiritual life we simply cannot leave things undone for two reasons. One we die, and two we do not know the hour Jesus will come again. (Hebrews 9:27, II Peter 3:10)
It will be a horrible day when we meet our Lord unprepared with our spiritual life neglected. With unfinished deeds (James 4:17), and necessary changes left undone. (Colossians 3:8-10)
The apostle Paul serves as an example of one who finished what he started. (II Timothy 4:7) “I have fought a good fight” Paul had given all he had to fight against the evils of this life. “I have finished my course” He had run the spiritual race of his life to it’s end. He ran the full distance and finished the course. “I have kept the faith” He had faithfully done the Lord’s will and verse eight tell us that Paul expected with all of his heart to receive the promised crown of life from the Lord. We are assured the same crown if we fight and finish.
The physical projects that we leave undone do not compare to spiritual neglect. Let us finish the spiritual race that we have begun.
Stacy Crim
Throwing Away the Key
By Dan Shipley
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”
( James 5:16).
Sin is bad, but covering sin is even worse. If deliberate sin is like putting oneself in jail, then covering such sin is like throwing away the key.
The covered sin — the one a man attempts to hide and refuses to confess — shuts one off from spiritual prosperity and divine mercy. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Th ere can be no trading on God’s mercy because it does not ignore sin. It is not a question of whether His mercy saves the sinner — but whether the sinner will allow it by confessing and forsaking his sins.
In covering sins the sinner spurns the mercy through which forgiveness and salvation are possible. If a merciful God provides the feast, sets the table, and invites all to partake, then how can He be faulted by those who choose to starve themselves? No, “the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save,” neither can limitations be placed on His mercy — except by the rebellious sinner who refuses it. What sin could be more pernicious than the one a man will not acknowledge nor repent of? Little wonder God says such a one “shall not prosper.”
But not only does the covering of sin preclude forgiveness, it easily becomes the launching-pad for yet other sins. Nothing encourages sin like sin. Lies and deceitfulness are popular camoufl age for hiding evil. Th is in turn leads to the development of a compromising attitude toward all sin, both in self and others. Th e unwholesome attitude that permits one sin will soon permit another. Why? Because it involves more than one’s disposition toward a certain unlawful act; it involves his attitude toward God Himself — the One whose law is violated!
When tempted by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph reminds her of his obligations to his master then asks, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9) To wrong his master was bad; to wrong God was worse. How men need Joseph’s perspective of sin and regard for God. Ungodliness is essentially a wrong attitude toward God, the expression of which is lawlessness which is sin (see 1 John 3:4).
No sin can be considered as isolated or insignifi cant. Notice carefully James 2:10–11 in this connection, especially “For He who said” in verse eleven. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
One might just as well talk about the size of God as to make distinctions in “sizes” of sins — for the deliberate practice of any sin constitutes a rejection of Him and His law.
“Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). It is not difficult to understand why no man can prosper while perpetuating disrespect for God in the covering of sins.
Finally, and logically, the practice of covering sins has the effect of hardening the heart (see Hebrews 3:13). How could it be otherwise when one persists in violating a truth-trained conscience? Who could court such ungodliness without a corresponding adverse eff ect on the inner man? “Can a man take fi re in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27). Surely anything that can harden a man’s heart while causing him to dishonor God and shun His mercy is a dangerous sin. It may be that the worst sin is to hide From Plain Talk, Vol. 10, No. 11 ( January 1974)
Wake Up!
Marvin A. Noble
I have never tried it, but I am told that if you drop a frog into hot water, he will jump out. However, if you were to place a frog in a kettle of cool water and gradually heat the water, the frog would stay put and perish in a boiling death. Perhaps you wonder how even a frog could be so stupid as to be unaware of his gradually changing surroundings. Are we any wiser?
When I was growing up, most Christian parents were terribly concerned about the immoral influence of Hollywood films. Those are the old movies that today are shown on TV and judged innocent and harmless -- "family pictures." Now TV news, commercials and entertainment are saturated with lust and violence. Ten years ago people were saying, "If it gets any worse, I'm going to toss my TV set out." Has it gotten worse? Are we a bunch of slowly cooking frogs?
The lulled frog syndrome can also be witnessed in many churches. A few years ago many members were expressing concern about churches being diverted from their work. If what is now sponsored, from church ball teams to video game rooms, from secular education to homes for unwed mothers, if churches had introduced anything like this fifty years ago, members would have jumped clear into the next county. But these changes have been introduced gradually and with little awareness; and the people of God have been lulled to sleep. How grave is their danger!
"Awake you who sleep. Arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:14-17).
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