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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 6 *   Number 45*  November 5,  2006

True Riches

In Luke 16:11 Jesus said "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"

True riches cannot be entrusted to a person who has shown themselves to be unfaithful in earthly matters. The Gospel is for the honest and good of heart. (Luke 8:15) The true riches that Jesus speaks of are things that last, like faith, hope and love. (I Corinthians 13:13)

True riches are found by those who have a rich faith.. "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"

True riches are eternal in nature because you can lay them up in heaven and they will not decay or be stolen. (Matthew 6:20) Things like love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self control. There is no known law of God that is contrary to godly behavior. (Galatians 5:22-23) True Riches!

Let us not trust in false riches that will one day vanish away, but let us seek the true riches of God and live forever.

Stacy Crim

Sacrifice

Rick Van Voorhis

There are many who have a problem with the idea of sacrifice, especially those who do not understand the Bible. While this is true outside of the church there are those inside the church who have problems with the idea of sacrifice where it involves blood.

Gandhi wrote; Things that will destroy us are: politics without principle, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, business without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.

One thing God has stated many times is that sacrifice is required to please him (Numbers 28:1-8 is an example) so understanding this requirement should be a concern of us and how sacrifice is in our lives today.

One thing you do not find in the Garden of Eden in the time of Adam and Eve is sacrifice, they were both pure of sin and had not the knowledge of it (Gen 2:25) until the serpent beguiled them and they sinned (Gen 3:1-8). It was the bringing of sin into the world that required sacrifice for atonement and we see that Cain was despised for not offering a good sacrifice as his brother Abel did (Gen 4:1-8, Heb 11:4). All the patriarchs after Adam who were favored by God practiced the art of sacrifice, I believe that this was one of the distinctions between Jacob and Esau, we never see Esau offing a sacrifice unto God but we do see Jacob offering many times (this is besides Esau despising his birthright).

During the time of the Law of Moses sacrifice was prescribed, the Patriarchs offered sacrifice many times but not at set times and for set reasons, and also set out as being primarily a response to sin (the first seven chapters of Leviticus are all about offerings and sacrifices) but also as offerings to peace and prosperity. One could say that with a population in the millions there would be times that the Temple in Jerusalem would have the odor of roasting flesh always there since sacrifices would be going on constantly during the day, this led to the Temple Priests being quite busy.

Now about blood, God has required that blood be offered up for the sins of man (Hebrews 9), always from the best of the herds or flocks, as a substitute for our own blood, which is the due for our sins. This is seen in the figure of Leviticus 4:1-4 where the guilty puts his hand on the bullock and then takes its life (vs. 4). Remember the blood that is offered is the life of the sacrifice so it would be hard for us to pay for our own sins, this is the reason for the substitute offerings and also the reason that they had to be done yearly since they were not perfect.

The perfect sacrifice came in the Christ, who lived a perfect life vulnerable to sins the same way we are (Heb 4:15), even tempted above what we are tempted (Matt 4:1-11) by a special assault from Satan. So by the way of prophesy (Isaiah 53) Jesus became the Lamb that was slain (Rev 5:6-14) to be the author and finisher of our salvation (Heb 12:1-2). It is now incumbent upon us to take hold of that sacrifice and make it ours by putting off the man of sin (Col 2:8-15) and putting on Christ (Gal 3:27). We are unable to die for our own sins but Christ has died for us so we can have hope, totally undeserved, freely given by God.

Why God chose to have blood be required for sin I do not fully understand but he has required it so I do not ask why, just do as the Spirit has spoken to move me and try and live the life Christ lived as an example. I have done things worthy of death, spiritual death, so I have no choice but to come to God on his terms through his beloved Son and claim his blood as my own offering for sin because my own is not good enough. I can sacrifice my time, wealth, and even my life, but it is not worthy of the sacrifice God made through his son for me. Kind of humbling when you think of it.

"Electronic" Addictions

Jim Everett

There are all kinds of addictions – drugs, alcohol, sex, tobacco, etc. All forms of addictions take issue with the characteristic Peter identified as "self control" (2 Peter 1:5-9) – no man/woman addicted to anything is in control of self. "Idiot boxes" (television sets) and now computer games can be just as addictive as other things. These addictions steal our time and hinder purposeful, productive thinking. No wonder people are not interested in the Gospel; no wonder people cannot reason and arrive at valid conclusions -- they no longer think.

I have heard of people who MUST see their daily "soap operas" and they will politely tell you to leave, if you get in the way. No one has time to live in the land of "soap opera" fantasy. I will probably get in hot water about that observation but if you are addicted to the "soaps," then realize that there is nothing that has deadened man’s sensitivity to immorality more than the TV. Few programs have any redeeming value to them. Think about the effect they are having on your lives and how much time they are stealing from your schedule.

Others become addicted to computer games. The game may be completely innocent or it may be inherently sinful -- in more recent times, internet connections provide secretive ways of gambling. Hours so wasted may not only steal needed time for performing necessary obligations in work/home relationships but may also render the individual unable to function responsibly.

Televisions can be good for information and perhaps some wholesome entertainment. Computers are a wonderful tool for research and writing but they can also become a source of temptation. If we have become addicted to that which these electronic gadgets provide, they become just as much a god as any golden calf.

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