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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 9* March 2, 2008
Responsibility Measured by Ability
In the well known parable of the Talents, Jesus teaches the truth that responsibility is measured by ability. “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one: to every man according to his several ability;…” Matthew 25:15.
God knows everyone of us, and he knows exactly what we are and are not capable of. He has given each and every one of us the ability to serve Him in His Kingdom. One may have more ability than another, but of each one God expects that ability to be used. Every one will be held accountable for how we have used the ability which God has given us.
In the case of the man given one talent, he let his fear get the best of him and he did absolutely nothing. (25:25) The Master of the parable represents God. The truth is that God is was not swayed by the man’s fear. He identifies him as nothing less than a wicked and lazy servant. (25:26) He should have used what God had given Him to the benefit of God’s glory. There was no excuse he was responsible only for what his ability would allow.
The consequence of failing to use our talents to serve God has eternal consequence. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” God knows what we can do.
Stacy Crim
Halo
David O. Lanuis, Jr.
The New York Times ran an article by Matt Richtel, titled "Thou Shalt Not Kill, except in a Popular Video Game at church." Mr. Richtel's article dealt with churches using a mature-rated killing video game named Halo to attract young people. Mr. Richtel had interviewed several church leaders who were using this approach and one in particular, David Drexler, youth director of the Country Bible Church in Ashby, Minn, stated, "The church needs something powerful to compete against the lure of less healthy behavior".
The last time I read Romans 1:16 it still said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jews first and also for the Greeks." Paul as the mouth piece of God says the gospel has the power. Long ago churches stopped using the power of God and started looking for secular ways to attract people. Do we no longer believe in God’s power to save? Do we think we must help God out? That we know more than God does? No wonder we have lost generations of young and old. We have failed to use the power at our disposal, the GOSPEL OF GOD. Beloved, it's time to wake up and quit replacing God’s way with man’s.
It's time to close down the houses of secular education, kitchens, sports, and playing and open up houses of worship! If Jesus were on earth today he would be cleansing the church as he cleansed the temple in his days (John 2:14-15; Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15)
10/22/2007 &
"Examine Yourselves"
Robert Davenport
When a doctor examines a person, it is to see whether or not that person is in good physical health. The Bible teaches that we are to be spiritual doctors and that we are to examine our spiritual body; that is, our soul. Paul exhorted the Corinthian Christians to do so in 2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" We are to constantly guard and protect our spiritual body, just like we do our physical body.
We know that the physical body deteriorates when we fail to take care of it. By the same token, our spiritual body begins to deteriorate when we allow it to become infested with sin. We cannot glorify God in our spirit it is diseased with sin. The only medicine that can cure a diseased spiritual body is the word of God, which is "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16) and is able to save our souls (James 1:21), if we will receive it.
The heart is the key to all physical human existence. It is the physical organ that supplies the body with the oxygen needed to survive and function properly. Likewise, the heart is the source of the Christians life, because "out of the heart are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The Christians "heart" is the organ that determines whether or not he or she is spiritually healthy. A Christians spiritual health or the lack of it is displayed in his/her heart (Matthew 12:34; 15:19).
The Bible emphasizes the importance of a Christian guarding his/her heart because the devil is always seeking to weaken and destroy it (I Peter 5:8). Also, we must take care of our spiritual body because we cannot hide our spiritual condition from God (Hebrews 4:12-13; Galatians 6:7). If our hearts are not fully committed to God, then our spiritual health will gradually deteriorate to the point that we will die spiritually and eternally. If we want to live a long physical life upon this earth, then we have to have periodic physical examinations to determine our condition. Also, if we want to go to heaven, then we must make daily examinations of our own lives to determine whether we are truly "in the faith". A few minutes of self-examination every day could determine whether we grow spiritually and where we eventually spend eternity. Let us all make time everyday for those soul-saving examinations!
Whose Problem Is It?
Frank Himmel
Paul appointed elders in the churches of Galatia at end of his first preaching trip there (Acts 14:23 ). Yet in his letter to those churches, when he got to the subject of erring brethren he wrote, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:1-2 ). More than the elders needed to be involved.
The church at Corinth was rife with problems: wrong attitudes, immorality, false teaching, etc. Timothy, a young preacher, was on the way, but it was not his responsibility to fix everything. Paul addressed a letter to the entire congregation (1 Cor. 1:2 ) in which he outlined what each one should be doing.
The church at Thessalonica faced significant opposition from without. Whose job was it to encourage them? Everyone’s. “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Th. 5:11).
Every Christian is a member of the body (1 Cor. 12:27 ). A problem in the body is therefore everyone’s problem. Elders, deacons, teachers, and preachers have their specific tasks. But let no one sit back and leave all the work to them. Get involved and help. As an old saying goes, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
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