Religion and/or Righteousness?

            The other day, I saw a sign in someone’s front lawn which said, “Stand up for religion.”  This got me thinking about the world in which we live: with all of the different religious groups practicing various forms of what they call “worship,” is there a difference between religion and righteousness (i.e., doing what is right) OR can you practice the religion of your choice and still practice righteousness?  To answer this question, I’d like to direct our attention to four different passages.

            The first of these passages is Colossians 2:23 which says “These things have the appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”  What is Paul talking about here?  Isn’t he talking about those who don’t hold fast to the Head for the edification of the Body (2:19), but those who only concern themselves with the commandments and doctrines of men (2:22)?  And, isn’t this the most common kind of religion we see in the world today?

            In our second passage, we see what Jesus has to say about this type of religion.  In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus says, “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.  And, in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”  Jesus makes it very clear and to point where it is beyond debate that this type of self-willed religion, where people “worship” according to their own thoughts and desires, is not real worship.  Thus, neither is it righteousness because it is NOT what is right!

            This type of religion, in all actuality, is the same type of “worship” that we see in our third passage.  In Mark 15:17-20, we read this: “And they clothed Him with a purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’  Then, they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat upon Him; and bowing the knee, they worshipped Him.  And, when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.”  These soldiers had no interest whatsoever in actually worshipping the King of kings.  And, so many people today are just like these soldiers, mock-worshipping God.

            This type of religion is not what God wants.  Instead, He wants what we find in our fourth passage.  In John 4:23-24, Jesus says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  THIS is righteous worship as God has requested us to do.  And, unfortunately, this is NOT the type of worship most people offer up to the Lord.

            May we always strive to focus more on righteousness than on religion, on what is right rather than what is popular.  And, may we always worship God with all our heart, in spirit AND in truth!

By: Norbert Maudlin

We Three Kings?

            If you were to go to some public place and ask a random smattering of people how many kings came to see the baby Jesus, what would you suppose would be the most common answer?  I imagine the answer you would most likely receive would be “three.”  And, again, I imagine many would attribute their answer to the numerous nativity scenes they had seen in their lifetimes.  Now, if you were to ask those same people what the names of those kings were, how many of those people would be able to come up with some names?  While many would not even offer a guess, I imagine that there would be some people who would come up with the names “Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar.”  And, I imagine that some of them might even attribute their answer to a Greek manuscript written in Alexandria, Egypt around 500AD.  And, if you were to ask these same people from where these kings came, what different places you would get as answers?  Persia?  India?  Arabia?  China?  And, I imagine that one or two of them might possibly attribute their answer to something having to do with the gifts brought to the baby Jesus.

            Now, what’s the purpose and point of this thought exercise?  Well, how many kings

came to see baby Jesus?  Also, what were their names and from where did they come?  To answer these questions, let’s look at the only place in the Bible which mentions these men, Matthew 2.  In Matthew 2:1, we read this: “Now, after Jesus was born on Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.”  And, in Matthew 2:11, we read this: “And, when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him.  And, when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  So, how does the Bible answer these questions?  To spell it out for us: no kings came to see baby Jesus because they were not kings, but wise men, and because Jesus was not a baby at the time of their visit, but a young child.  And, as far as their names go or the specific countries from which they came, we’re simply not told.

            You see, this is the purpose of all of this: to plainly illustrate the fact that most people simply do not know what the Bible actually says.  And, the scary part is that most people don’t even know that they are fantastically ignorant and incorrect regarding what the Bible says.  And, who knows?  Maybe we are a part of this group from time to time. 

            And, the point of all of this is to encourage us, when someone says “The Bible says this,” to not take anyone’s word for it, but to pick up a Bible and to diligently study these things out like the those noble-minded Bereans (Acts 17:11).

            You know, it is disheartening to consider just how many people are blind to their own Biblical ignorance on what people might call “small things” like this.  And, at the same time, it is heart-breaking to consider their blindness to the vitally important things like salvation and the work of the Church.

            Therefore, let us all “gird up the loins of [our] mind[s]” (1 Peter 1:13) and constantly “give attention to reading” (1 Timothy 4:12) so that we will “always be ready to give an answer” (1 Peter 3:15) and lovingly correct those who contradict the truth.  Let this be our hourly prayer and our daily focus and may we all be found worthy of this most noble of efforts.

~Curtis Carwile

From The East To The West

            Have you ever done something that people just won’t forget about it?  I grew up at the Manslick Road Church of Christ in Louisville, Kentucky.  And, while I was younger, I enjoyed things like climbing up the outside of the church building and kicking one of our elders in his shins (in all fairness, he had it coming; he would tease me relentlessly about my curly blonde hair).  Well, I’m older now and I haven’t done things like that for more than a quarter of a century now.  And, despite that, every time I go back to Manslick, he doesn’t miss the opportunity to bring up my former immaturities.

            Now, we may laugh at things like that because they are done in good spirits.  But, at the same time, we all know people who refuse to let the past die and keep bringing up our past sins.  Maybe it’s an enemy we’ve made over the years, maybe it’s a spouse or a parent, or maybe we do it to ourselves.  And, it may be that we begin thinking about how horrible sin truly is: that, aside from the myriad of earthly consequences, our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2), both in this life (1 John 1:6) and in the “life” to come (Romans 6:23a; Revelation 21:8).  And, the worst part of our sin is that, no matter what the sin is, we perpetrate it against the all-loving Heavenly Father (Psalm 51:4).  And, because He is all-loving, the only sufficient sacrifice for our sins was the perfect and innocent blood of His only Begotten Son, which He freely offered on the cruel cross of Calvary (Hebrews 9:26-28).  What a thought to entertain: that not only did MY sins bring about the death of an innocent man, but that it was the death of the very Son of God!  What a horrible thing sin is!

            And, as we mature in our faith and come to better understand just how mortifyingly horrible sin is, we may begin to think that there is just no way God could forgive us of our sins or, that, if He did, He still remembers them all and will not hesitate to use them against us.  If this is the case for you, then, to you, I offer a few passages of encouragement to ease your mind.

            In First Timothy 1:15, Paul tells Timothy that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”  Paul may be using hyperbole here, but just think about what he did before becoming a Christian.  He consented to the death of righteous Stephen (Acts 7:58) and fiercely persecuted the Church (Acts 8:1, 3; 9:1-2).  And, yet, Jesus came to save even Him... and DID (2 Timothy 4:6-8)!  If Jesus could forgive Paul, He can and will most definitely forgive us of our sins when we come to Him in humble obedience to the Gospel call (Acts 22:16).

            And, be assured that He will completely forgive your sins.  The Lord will wash completely away your iniquities (Psalm 51:2; Ezekiel 16:9; Ephesians 5:26).  He will completely remove your sins far from you.  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

            Finally, though we and others may remember our past transgressions, we are promised that the One Person who will not is God.  In Hebrews 9:12, the Lord says to those in the New Covenant: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  The Lord forgives and then He forgets and what a wonderfully comforting thought to any guilt-ridden soul!

            The Lord doesn’t want us to live a life of guilt and shame, but a life of hope and joy (Romans 15:13).  Live that life!

~Curtis Carwile

The Scriptures Are Our Guide

            Two different views exist as to how one comes to a knowledge of God’s will.  The first view is that one comes to this knowledge by carefully reading and understanding the scriptures; that Jesus promised His apostles that they would be led into all truth by the Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13); that they, along with other inspired men, wrote that truth in the scriptures; that when we read what they wrote, we may “understand [their] knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:3-4); that the scriptures, consequently, are an all-sufficient guide from earth to Heaven.

            The second view is that each child of God is led in some direct way by the Spirit in understanding God’s will.  People are often heard to say, “God is leading me into the understanding,” or “in this way,” and in saying his they mean that He is leading them through some direct guidance.  While they do not disregard the scriptures altogether, they feel that they are led in some additional way into an understanding of God’s will, applying John 14:26 and John 16:13 to every “believer.”

            The writer confesses to holding the first view and would ask those who hold to the second view the following questions:

            (1) If, indeed, all believers are led directly into an understanding of God’s will, why was it necessary for the first converts to continue “steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42)?  Would they not have had the same understanding of God’s will as the apostles had?

            (2) How do we explain the differences in doctrine and practice that exist among those who claim to be led into their understanding directly by the Lord?  Differences abound among those who claim direct guidance, while the scriptures teach only “one faith” (Ephesians 4:4-6).  Is the Lord really leading all these people into conflicting ideas?  Is He the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33)?

            (3) If you could accurately communicate to me—either orally or in writing—this understanding into which you have been led, could I place as much confidence in it as I do in the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, etc.?  Could I continue steadfastly in your teaching as the early Christians did in the apostles’ teaching?  If so, how would I know to continue steadfastly in your teaching rather than in the teaching of some person whose understanding conflicts with yours?  With all of these conflicts, would we not have to go back to the Bible to know what was right?  And, wouldn’t that, in reality, take us to the first view stated in this article, which I already accept?

            The truth is—the scriptures are God’s divine truth (John 17:17).  One can read and understand them (Ephesians 3:3-4).  They are all-sufficient as a guide from earth to Heaven (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  They will provide the basis for our judgment in the Last Day (John 12:48).  Read them carefully and obey them in love.

~Bill Hall, Two Men…, pgs.58-60

Biblical Thanksgiving

            In Second Corinthians 9:8-11, Paul tells us this: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.  As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.’  He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

            You and I are ridiculously blessed (or “enriched” as Paul put it here) in ways which are too numerous to even begin to count, are we not?  For example, many of us will be traveling in the comfort and convenience of a car to the comfort of a warm welcome, a warm home, and a warm stove (and, not to mention the warm glow of the TV as it brings to us parades, football, and old movies).  Truly, there is a lot to be thankful for, not just on that one day of the year, but on every day of the year.

            It is good for us to give thanks to God for all He has done for us (Psalm 92:1).  The Lord our God is good (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:29; 136:1).  I encourage you to pause your reading of this for just a moment and think about every specific thing God has blessed you with and has done for you today.  If you were to count them and name them one by one (as the song we sing suggests you do), how many could you list?  When you begin listing every specific thing, that list grows quickly and seemingly endlessly!  This is what God has done for us: He has extended to us His tender mercies in so many ways that we don’t even recognize most of them.  And, He does this every day.  He is so good!  And, far above all of the daily blessings, He has blessed us with His own Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins so that we could be saved from our sins and go to Heaven in the end.  “Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)!  He has given us THE victory in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

            It is because of all of this that we should praise the Lord and thank Him for all He has done and all He has promised to do.  We should thank Him in proclaiming both His greatness and His goodness throughout our lives to everyone we meet (1 Chronicles 16:8; Psalm 107).  I offer a challenge to you: over the next week, tell everyone you meet something for which you are thankful to God.  And, if I might challenge you a little more: try and make it something different every time.  Additionally, let us not just tell people that we are thankful, but let us show it by singing praises of thanks to the Lord and let us never be silent (Psalm 30:12)!  Likewise, let us thank Him in every prayer we offer, continually and earnestly praying to God with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2). 

            The Lord is so good to us, it is beyond our ability to fully comprehend just how good He is to us.  Let us always thank Him in everything we do for everything He does (Hebrews 13:15; Psalm 119:62)!

~Curtis Carwile

What’s So Great About Heaven Anyway?

            Every time we get together as a congregation of Christians, we talk about a lot of different things.  However, as we talk about all of these things, there is essentially only one thing that we really ever talk about, and that’s getting to Heaven.

            Heaven is a place which is so awesome that we can’t even begin to understand just how awesome it is!  And, just about every Bible writer talks about this in some way or another.  And, yet, there are many in the world today, people we run into on a daily basis, who ask the question: “What’s so great about Heaven anyway?” 

            Well, there are a lot of great things about Heaven.  One awesomely great thing about Heaven is that it is a place of eternal life.  In the book of Revelation, the beloved apostle John is given a glimpse into Heaven and is allowed to relate his entire vision as best as he could.  And, in Revelation 22:1-2, John is shown that, after the Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), Christ’s bride (i.e., the Church, Ephesians 5:25-29) enters the Holy City (Revelation 21:2) where there is “the River of the Water of Life, bright as crystal, flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city” and where “on either side of the River [was] the Tree of Life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.  The leaves of the Tree were for the healing of the nations.”  Heaven is a place of eternal life.  Everything about it is Life!  Heaven is a place where no one will ever die or have the fear of dying ever again!  And when we look at this world where millions of people die every day, we begin to understand why Heaven is so great.

            Another reason why Heaven is so great is because it is a place where there is no more sorrow.  In Revelation 21:4, a loud voice from The Throne said, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  Can you imagine that, a place where there is not even the threat of sorrow or pain EVER?  In this world where pain is just a part of every day life, it is difficult for us to imagine what it would be like if we weren’t in some pain some time throughout the day.  And, in Heaven, the promise of the God who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18) is that Heaven is a place where there will NEVER be ANY pain or sorrow.  How awesome Heaven is!

            And, one final thing that makes Heaven so great is that it is a place of eternal fellowship with God Almighty.  In Revelation 21:7, we are told by God Himself that “the one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”  To be with God forever, how awesome is that?!  And, to be granted the privilege of glorifying Him in eternal worship (Revelation 22:3)?! 

            Truly, Heaven is so great!  But, its greatness will only be experienced by those whose robes have been washed clean of the stain of sin (Revelation 22:14).  So, if have not yet been baptized, you have no right to Heaven and that’s not what God wants for you.  God the Spirit and the Bride (i.e., those who are already saved) invite you to come and drink of the water of life (Revelation 22:17).  And, to those who have already answered the Gospel call, Jesus Himself encourages you to “Be faithful until death” so that, when He returns to call us all to the Judgment, He can give us the crown of eternal life (Revelation 2:10b).

            Heaven is so great; let us not dare miss it!

~Curtis Carwile

Welcome!

Greetings, Peace, and Grace to you all!

          My name is Curtis Carwile.  I am the full-time evangelist of the Northwest Church of Christ in Evansville, Indiana.  And, I would like to use this first post to explain some things about the church and the purpose of this weblog.

          The Northwest Church of Christ is group of Christians who have been washed clean of our sins & sanctified to the Lord (Acts 2:37-41; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:4-7) and who have dedicated their entire lives to following Jesus (Acts 11:26), to try & show Christ in us (Galatians 2:20).  Our intent & purpose is to glorify God in this life and in the life to come (1 Corinthians 10:31).  We know that the Bible is God's only inspired & holy word to mankind and the only way to truly know His will (2 Timothy 3:16-17); this is why we will only follow what it teaches and speak only what it says, with boldness & courage.

          And, this brings us to this weblog.  The purpose of this weblog is to be a tool for the studying of the Bible and for the spreading of the Gospel.  In concordance with this purpose, it will be updated every week with articles from our congregation's bulletin and other pieces of information and encouragement as I see fit.  Specifically for our congregation, this blog will also be updated with reminders of upcoming events such as our Children's Bible Drills, home character studies, and singings.  This is going to be an invaluable resource for this congregation and anyone who chooses to benefit from it.

          So, may the Lord bless all of the work done in faith by the Northwest Church of Christ.  And, may He especially bless this work.
~Curtis Carwile