Clapping as an Accompaniment to the Worship

Excellent reasoning and research regarding this unscriptural  innovation into the worship by Wayne Jackson.

Clapping as an Accompaniment to the Worship by Wayne Jackson.  

2 John 9-11, Doctrine or Deity?

What about 2 John 9-11? Two basic views prevail, regarding the phrase “doctrine of Christ.” Does it refer to (1) the doctrine ABOUT Christ (i.e. His deity); or (2) the teaching OF Christ; the body of doctrine known as “the faith”? What does the Bible teach?

When the “doctrine of Christ” is viewed as referring only to the teaching about Christ’s deity; then one must concede the fact that those outside of Christ and His church are in a right relationship with God and His Son!

Examine 2 John 9, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” “Whosoever” includes Christians and non-Christians. Inspiration states, “He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” To interpret this to mean only the deity of Christ, one would have to conclude that “whosoever” recognizes or confesses that Jesus is come in the flesh is in a right relationship with God and Christ!

Can one be saved by stating “Jesus was literal man, literal God, and truly the Son of God”? If this were the case, the gospel plan of salvation would have no purpose or meaning! This would conclude that one could obtain salvation by faith alone! The doctrine of Christ is the total of specific facts, commands, and promises as taught by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his apostles. It is the “apostles doctrine” (Acts 2:42). The meaning is: what the apostles taught! It is not the doctrine ABOUT the apostles. The apostles doctrine includes the same teaching as the doctrine of Christ; the same specific commands, facts, and promises! The New Testament is the apostles doctrine. This same principle is found in Matthew 16:12. “Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Also notice Revelation 2:15, “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.” Is the doctrine mentioned here the doctrine ABOUT the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Nicolaitanes?, or, does it refer to the teaching done by these groups? It refers to the teaching they gave! The doctrine of Christ is the same as:

“the will of my Father” (Matthew 7:21)

“If ye continue in my word” (John 8:31) “the truth” (John 8:32)

“preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35) “doctrine of the Lord” (Acts 13:12)

“the gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16)

“law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2)

“the mystery” (Ephesians 3:3)

“will of the Lord” (Ephesians 5:17)

“the traditions” (2 Thessalonians 2:15) “law of liberty” (James 1:25)

“the faith” (Jude 3)

The doctrine of Christ is the teaching done by Christ and his apostles!

The following statement of Carroll D. Osburn, shows the logical progression of believing that the phrase “doctrine of Christ” can only refer to His Deity, and not to the New Testament.

There should be room in the Christian fellowship for those who differ on whether more than one cup in communion is acceptable, whether the communion bread is to be pinched or snapped, whether one can eat in the church building, whether funds can be used from the church treasury to support orphan homes; whether the Lord’s Supper must be taken every Sunday, or whether instrumental music is used in worship. There should be room in the Christian fellowship for those who believe that Christ is the Son of God, but who differ on eschatological theories such as premillennialism, ecclesiological matters such as congregational organization, or soteriological matters such as whether baptism is ‘for’ or ‘because of’ the remission of sins. Rather than arrogantly misappropriating 2 John 9 as a sectarian slogan to denounce as ungodly all those with whom one disagrees on the wider array of religious topics, one should remember the adage ‘Christians Only…Not The Only Christians’ (The Peaceable Kingdom, p. 90-91).

 

Frank Van Dyke shows the fatal results of rejecting the “Doctrine of Christ” (2 John 9) as being the teaching of the inspired writers and Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The logical conclusion of this false position is “faith only,” which is condemned (James 2:24)!

“He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” If to abide “in the doctrine of Christ” simply means to accept him as God’s Son—to believe this truth and nothing more—then whoever believes this has both the Father and the Son. If he has the Son, he has life. “He that hath the Son hath life” (1 John 5:12). To have life spiritually is to be saved. Now see the conclusion: Whoever abides in the doctrine of Christ—just believes that he is God’s Son—has the Son, has life, or is saved; therefore the argument proves salvation by faith only! (Gospel Advocate, Vol. LXXXIII, No. 49. December 4, 1941, p. 1159).

SM

Evolutionary Philosophy

Click here for audio of the sermon on Evolutionary Philosophy (5-3-2009) by Brett Pharr.

Introduction
1. Psalm 19:1-3
2. Two ideologies that shape our societies thinking
3. Results in Social and Political debates
4. Nothing new – Romans 1:18-23
5. The current champion of Humanism is Evolution

I. The Foundations of Evolution
A. Whether admitted or not, the foundation of Evolution is the ideological philosophy of Epicurus in the 4th Century BC
B. The Roman poet Lucretius, around 100 BC, expanded on Epicurus’ teachings and took it further by giving more detailed explanation
C. Sir Isaac Newton – the eternal atom – became the first cause
D. Textual Criticism – In a time when Christianity was politically strong, the ability to directly attack belief was difficulty, thus was born the science of textual criticism to begin to whittle away at Christian thought.
E. Charles Darwin – rooted his biological explanation in the physical world that Newton described
F. Later Science – the complexity of life AND – atoms are not eternal, rendered Newton’s foundation as wrong…no viable origin of life explanation – aliens, crystals, Big Bang—where is the first cause?
G. Notice that evolution is a hypothesis that has no beginning and end. It cannot explain the origin of life and it cannot demonstrate through observation and repeatability the sustainment of cross-species migration. Its primary root is a philosophy to destroy ongoing and afterlife accountability to God.

II. Three fundamental fallacies of Evolution as a system and its incompatibility with direct Bible principles.
A. Cross Species Migration Genesis 1:21,24,25 – after its kind;
B. Uniformity of Natural Law vs., episodic interruption 2 Pet. 3: 3-7
C. Evolution, through natural selection infers that the world, nature including mankind, is improving

III. The Social, Moral and Theological Implications of Evolution
A. Survival of the fittest is the theme of natural selection – therefore might makes right, the law of the jungle. Contrast that with the Golden Rule
B. Sanctity of Life
1. The full title of Darwin’s book “Origin of the Species by means of Natural selection and the preservation of favored races in the struggle of life”.
2. No species really, and therefore nothing that is inherently human. The superior humans are the real humans – Hitler and the Holocaust – Abortion, Euthanasia, Genocide
C. Sexuality morality – Romans 1:26-27
D. And religion itself Evolved Jude 3

IV. Theistic Evolution – Some have tried to reconcile evolution with the Bible
A. The problems with that should be obvious – reconciling two polar estimates
B. All attempts involve reconciling the Bible to science, not the other way around

Conclusion
1. John 8:32
2. 6 literal days – foundation has been proven wrong, and a thesis can not be demonstrated
3. It is no hope but “wishful” thinking by those that think the opposite of “direct his steps”
4. Swagger, Anger at foolishness, and Accountability

Statesmen Versus Superstars

Henry Kissinger wrote in his memoir “Years of Renewal”: “The great statesmen of the past saw themselves as heroes who took on the burden of their societies’ painful journey from the familiar to the as yet unknown. The modern politician is less interested in being a hero than a superstar. Heroes walk alone; stars derive their status from approbation. Heroes are defined by inner values; stars by consensus. When a candidate’s views are forged in focus groups and ratified by television anchorpersons, insecurity and superficiality become congenital.”

A superstar, not a statesman, today leads our country. That may win short-term applause from foreign audiences, but do little for what should be the chief foreign policy preoccupation of any U.S. president: advancing America’s long-term interests.

Karl Rove – Wall Street Journal / http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124044156269345357.html

The Result of Drifting

Sounds Like Socialism…

A study of Communism reveals that it is a spectacle of vice and depravity, seething in the more of materialism, and literally crawling like a snake in the dust of agitation, ever ready to strike and release its venom. It is an atheistic philosophy, villainous in nature, corrupt in principle, and immoral in practice. It is the very essence of hypocrisy and falls under the condemning words of Jesus: “They say, and do not.” It is a contradictory philosophy which glories in zigzags, inconsistencies, and broke promises; a degraded system which has elevated vagrant politicians to despotic lords who have bombarded the world with their infidel attacks upon God, the Bible, and a free society which respects the dignity of man; an assemblage of bombastic and conceited claptraps which exploits man; a system of wayward vanity and selfish ambition which foments struggles and squabbles, revolutions and wars, from the lowest level to the highest plane in every organized democratic society; a system that feeds on human carion and then vomits the mass of corruption upon a helpless people that survives; an ideology which has raised up madmen, selfish, brutal, and horrendous, in their quest for world enslavement, which they gleefully and blasphemously seek by defying God and defiling man. At no other time in the history of man has an ideology so notoriously prostituted the talents, the labors, and the freedoms of so many people. The culminating point in their infamy is to throw the nonsense of all their ill-spent lives into the creation of a one-world government, controlled by the Party dictators. If this seems hard, remember there are no soft words that will describe a hard system.

—- Bible vs. Communism by Leroy Brownlow (1961), p. 9.

The Bible And The Sears Catalog

A number of years ago I taught a class on church history. At the conclusion of the study the class made a tour of various sites in Kentucky associated with the restoration of New Testament Christianity during the last century and the early part of this century. One of the sites visited was the Lexington Theological Seminary. This institution, when it began, was known as The College of the Bible and, for some years, was a citadel for emphasis on, and loyalty to, the Bible. J. W. McGarvey was its leading personality and most influential teacher for many years. However, the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) gained control of this institution, and its history since then has been one of a continual plunge into the depths of theological liberalism. This was illustrated when I, during our tour, asked the Librarian of the seminary, “Do your faculty members subscribe to a doctrinal policy regarding the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible?” In response he shouted, “No! There are things in the Bible that are not as true as things you read in Sears Roebuck Catalog!” After publishing it for more than 100 years, Sears ceased publication of its catalog a few years ago. However, the Bible lives on. Regardless of the blasphemous attacks of unbelief, there is a Book which will outlive the Sears Catalog (and every other book). It never grows out of date. It withstands the assaults made against it. The word of the Lord endures forever (2 Tim. 3:14-17; 1 Pet. 1:24-25).

Charles Pugh III

Lethargy and the Church

Brother David Lipscomb used to say, “Brothers and sisters, we are playing at religion.” Unquestionably, lethargy is one of our greatest problems in the church of our generation. Thus, there is a need to arouse the church therefrom.

- Wendell Winkler Lecture in The Restoration: The Winds of Change.

Brother Winkler’s lecture needs to be read, meditated upon, preached, taught, and relayed to the people in our pews. He presents the definition, examples, areas, causes, the cure, the antithesis, and the tragedies of lethargy in the church today.

By clicking on the following link you can download it in PDF.

The Need Of The Present Day: To Arouse The Church From Its Lethargy.