Counterfeit

           I was driving in town the other day when I looked up and noticed a billboard.  Because I passed it quickly, I thought it was advertizing Chick-fil-a because of the font, the succinct three-word suggestion, and the picture of a Holstein cow as the mascot.  But, still, it didn’t look right and I didn’t know why.  A day or two later, I passed the billboard again and I actually examined it that time.  What I saw surprised me.  It wasn’t an advertisement for Chick-fil-a, but an advertisement for another restaurant in town.  They had used the same font, the same formula, and even the same kind of cow, but it was different.  And, then I noticed that there was a chicken on top of the cow, something I hadn’t noticed the first time even though it was right there, plain as day.  And, then (this is what took me aback), I actually read what the three-word suggestion said.  I thought it would be advertizing some chicken dish, but I was wrong; instead, it said, “Drink More Margaritas.”  Though there were similar elements between what I originally thought it was and what it actually was, the two were VERY different.  And, I just wonder, out of the hundreds of people who have passed that billboard, how many of them have even noticed the differences or cared.

            You know, this is the case with the religious world today.  There is the Church of King Jesus the Christ (Matthew 16:16-18; Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:33-36; 1 Timothy 6:13-16) and there are religious groups which are similar to it to varying degrees, but VERY different.  The Church of Christ looks to the Bible as THE source of authority for whatever it does (Colossians 3:17) because it is truth (John 17:17; Psalm 119:160) and that which will judge us in the Last Day (John 12:47-50).  This is while the rest of the religious world (despite any declaration to the contrary) looks to some other source of authority (e.g., a Pope, a council, quorum, a handbook, “another testament,” an “indescribable feeling,” etc.) for what it does.  The Church of Christ worships God in both spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24) while the rest of the world “worships” God but do so in vain (Matthew 15:9).  The Church of Christ is entered into by those who have heard the Gospel of Christ and believed it (Romans 10:17) to the point of obedience to its invitation to be saved by it (Romans 1:16-17; 10:9-10; Acts 2:37-47; Romans 6; Colossians 1:13-14).  This is while every other religious organization is entered into by any other means for any other reason.  The point is that, despite some similarities between the Lord’s Church and every other religious group in the world, they are VERY different.  And, again, I just wonder how many of the billions of people who go to counterfeit churches ever notice all of the differences between their church and the One True Church of Christ.  And, I wonder how many of them care.

            We are called to be people who care (1 Corinthians 16:14).  We are called to help the world see the light of the truth and to encourage them to obey it no matter the cost (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 4:2).  Therefore, for the remainder of this week and on, let’s do what we’re called to do.  Let’s talk with our family members and our neighbors and co-workers and schoolmates and so on about the Lord’s One True Church and encourage them to see the differences and appropriately react to the truth, to leave their counterfeit religion and to finally bow before King Jesus.

~Curtis Carwile

“Super-Christians”

            Beware those who boast of superior spiritual qualities or intellectual abilities.  Their conduct will invariably bring grief.

            A young dating couple go on a weekend trip together.  They plan to stay in the same motel room, but to sleep in separate beds.  They don’t really understand the fuss.  They are aware of the terribleness of sin.  They know the pitfalls that fornication presents.  They have given their lives to Christ.  They truly believe that they can handle any temptation that might arise.

            A man in the congregation grows weary of the simple gospel lessons he hears Sunday after Sunday.  He longs for something deep, something that will challenge his intellect.  When he gets the chance to teach a Bible class, he gives the class something to chew on.  None of the same old repetitious material from the book of Acts or the life of Christ will ever be discussed in his class.

            A married woman is constantly in the presence of a single man.  Wherever she is, the young man will be right by her side.  But, don’t worry.  They are people of great spirituality and will profit greatly from each other’s spiritual qualities.

            We are not dealing with the hypothetical; these are real people we have described.  And, the sad truth is that their likes are found in congregations across the nation, creating trouble and causing misery among the faithful to the Lord.

            Their counterpart appears in the scriptures in the form of the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 8:1-13), who gloried in their superior knowledge; who were so “strong” that they could go into an idol’s temple and eat of idolatrous feasts; who thought they were beyond failing; who couldn’t worry about the spiritual weaklings in the church who might be led into sin by their conduct; who were apparently motivated by the “after all, such people ought to grow up and quit being so weak- the church would probably be better off without them, anyway” attitude.

            It is interesting to observe that Paul was not very impressed with this air of spirituality and knowledge manifested by these Corinthians.  To them he wrote, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” (8:1), and further, you know “nothing yet as you ought to know” (8:2).  He reminded them that the weak brother being destroyed by their “knowledge” was one “for whom Christ died” (8:11).  In contrast to their arrogance, he spoke of his own actions in buffeting his body, and bringing it into bondage… lest he himself should be rejected (9:27).  Then, in one final warning he said, “Therefore, let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall” (10:12).

            If you find yourself among those described above, we urge you to repent.  If you are not among them, beware of those who are, and “restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.”  Indeed, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

By: Bill Hall, “Two Men”

Downton Abbey, Society, & Sin

            In Isaiah 5:20, the prophet says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

            For anyone who doesn’t know, Downton Abbey is a television program on PBS.  And, it is a pretty popular show worldwide.  The show is set in the early 20^th century and it revolves around a huge English manor (named “Downton Abbey”) and its inhabitants.  As odd as it may seem, I’d like to tell you a little about two of the characters.  One of their names is Thomas and he is one of the footmen of the house.  He is also a homosexual.  And, if there was any doubt in your mind, very early in the series, that point is made abundantly clear in one particular scene.  For this and other reasons, a lot of people hate this character.  The second character is Lady Mary.  She is the daughter of the lord of the house.  Very early in the series, she slept with a Turkish gentleman.  And, while this was used as a plot device, the fact that she slept with someone she just met that day did not cause a lot of outrage in the show... or in society.

            This is the reason why I bring all of this up: society no longer blushes or even blinks at people sleeping with each other.  Rather, they expect it and they find it odd when they don’t!  There was a time when, if people in polite society did engage in fornication, they would at least be ashamed of it.  But, that is not the way it has been for a long time; people have just forgotten how to be ashamed of such things.  And, it’s getting this way with homosexuality.  What once was an ugly taboo has become fashionable.  What once was a revolting abomination has become mundane and commonplace.  And, mark my words, sooner than we think there will come a day when the same will be truthfully said for things like pedophilia and bestiality. 

            While the world continues to embrace sin, as Christians, we need to do more than keep it at arm’s length.  We need to remember that we are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), striving to perfect holiness every moment of every day (2 Corinthians 7:1).  This means that we are to be set apart from the world, not thinking the way the world thinks about things or doing the things the world does (1 Corinthians 6:11).  This means that we need to acknowledge sin for what it is: damnable (Revelation 21:8).  Specifically, we need to realize that all forms of fornication are sinful (Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 19:4-6).  Even more specifically than that, we need to realize that homosexuality is sinful (Genesis 19; Jude 1:7; Romans 1:24-27).  Also, we need to do more than just realize and acknowledge these things as true; we need to refrain from engaging in these and any other sin, resisting every temptation to sin against our holy and righteous God (James 1:12-25; 1 Peter 5:8-11; Genesis 39:9).  And, we need to openly oppose all sin, like Jesus (John 2; Matthew 21), lest we be considered equal partners in their sin (Romans 1:28-32); to do anything less would be calling evil “good” and good “evil” (Isaiah 5:20).  We need to do all of this all of the time (2 Timothy 4:2) even when people think we’re odd, especially when people find it strange (1 Peter 4:1-6).  Finally, lest we forget the real purpose of all of this: we need to do all of this to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

            Wide is the path to destruction and there are many who find it (Matthew 7:13).  Don’t be one of the many.  Rather, know the truth and stand up for it every day for the glory of God.  May the Lord bless us with wisdom, strength, and courage to do His will!

~Curtis Carwile

"I Will Build My Church"

In Genesis 12:1-3, we read of God’s promise to Abram that, in him, “all the nations of the earth would be blessed.”  In Genesis 17:5, we read this: “Neither shall thy name any more be Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”

            In Exodus, we read of Abraham’s descendants (the Israelites) coming out of Egypt and living under the law of Moses.  In Galatians 3:24-25, speaking of this old law of Moses, the apostle Paul wrote, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But, after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”  The law was fulfilled and nailed to the cross of Jesus the Christ.  Colossians 2:14 says, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.”

            In the Gospel accounts, we read of the lineage of Jesus.  Matthew 1:17 says, “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away in Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”  Later, regarding the birth of Jesus the Christ, Matthew 1:22-24 reads, “Now all of this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is interpreted ‘God with us’.”

            Also in the Gospel accounts, we read of the teaching of Jesus.  In John 17:8, Jesus prayed to His Father, “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest Me; and they [the apostles] have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that thou didst send Me.”  After Jesus was baptized by John, in Matthew 3:17, we read “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased’.”

            As Jesus began His earthly ministry, in Matthew 4:17, we read Him teach “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  In verse 23, we read that “Jesus went all about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”  In Luke 9:27, Jesus said, “But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste death, till they see the kingdom of God.”

            And, in Colossians 1:13-14, Paul says, “[God]Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”

            In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus sent His apostles out with this command: “Go ye therefore into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

            The GOSPEL (which literally means “good news”) of the kingdom is the message of eternal life that Jesus received from God the Father.  In Acts 2:41, we read where 3,000 were baptized in response to the gospel being preached.  In Acts 2:47, God added these to the Church (ekklesia, meaning “a called out, an assembly, or congregation”).  To what church were they added?  Could it have been the church Jesus spoke of in Matthew 16:18 when He said, “I will build My Church.”  The answer has to be YES!  There is no other church mentioned in the New Testament.  None of the churches we know of today (save His true Church) were in existence until 606AD at the earliest.  Speaking of Jesus, Peter said, “Neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12).

--Eugene McNabb

“Ferraris Are American Cars!”

            For some reason, I was recently thinking about my time in the first grade.  Granted, that was a long time ago and most of my memories are fuzzy at best.  However, one thing I do vividly remember is the one cool thing we had in that classroom (aside from me, of course).  It was a set of playing cards.  But, these were no ordinary cards; these playing cards had pictures and statistics of various fancy and exotic cars from around the world on them.  I would pray for rainy days so we wouldn’t have to go outside for recess and so I could stay in and just pour over my beloved car cards.  This is when my love for the Ferrari 250 GTO began. 

            I’m sure that bringing all of this up seems odd.  But I do it for a reason, to tell this story.  One rainy day, when I was re-examining my car cards (specifically, the one of the Ferrari 250 GTO), a classmate of mine told me that Ferrari’s were made in Italy.  I firmly disagreed with him, saying that they were American cars.  This is when he pointed to the part of the card which told about the car’s country of origin and, sure enough, it said “Italy.”  I still didn’t believe it.  So, I looked through the rest of the car cards, picking out all of the Ferrari cards.  And, to my astonishment, my beloved car cards had mislabeled every single Ferrari!  So, I brought them to the teacher and told her about this grave error.  And, she too informed me that Ferrari’s were made in Italy.  Severely unnerved by all of this, I went home and laid my plight before the supreme authority in the land, the knower of all things and one who makes all things right, my dad.  And, it was only after he told me that the cards, my friend, and my teacher were all right that I began to entertain the notion that I had been so wrong for so long.  And, eventually, I came to accept the truth.

            Now, obviously, I didn’t say all of this to just relate some amusing story from my childhood.  I said all of this to illustrate a very relevant point to soul-winners today.  There are a lot of people in the world and, more specifically, in our lives who just believe things which are completely erroneous about what the Bible says.  The time of year in which we are now entering is a perfect example of this.  So many people believe that the Bible speaks of things like “Fat Tuesday” and “Ash Wednesday” and “Easter Sunday” when it clearly does not.  And, when (as a friend) you point the truth out to them, that the New Testament only says to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the Lord’s Day every first day of the week (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 20:7) and that treating man-made holidays the same as this one true Biblical holy day is sinful (Galatians 4:10-11; Matthew 15:8-9), many will simply choose not to believe.  They may even look at what the Scriptures clearly teach and still deny the truth.  Sadly, I am afraid that so many people will accept the truth only after they hear it from God the Father.  But, by then, it will be too late (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

            So, what can/should/must we do?  Three things.  One, we can have faith in God and trust in the power of His holy word (Isaiah 55:8-11; Romans 1:16-17).  Two, we should pray for doors to be opened (Colossians 4:2-4) and hearts to be softened (Luke 8:4-15) for & at the preaching of the Gospel.  And, Three, we must go into all the world, preaching the Gospel that “King Jesus Saves!” to every creature of every nation (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16), whether they immediately believe it or not.  This is what we can, should, and must do to help the lost learn, believe, and obey the truth to their salvation and to God’s glory.  Let us resolve ourselves to do these things, praying for & encouraging each other in these things, as we all strive to glorify God.

~Curtis Carwile

Advertising Sin

I’m not sure if you were aware of it or not but, this past Sunday was the Super Bowl.  And, for the seventh straight year, it was the highest rated event in television history with over 111 million viewers.  The fact is that people love to watch the Super Bowl.  People who don’t even like football will tune in to watch it (this described me for years).  And, while many people tune in to watch the game, many more people tune in just to watch the commercials because they are spectacular!  People love these commercials.  And, already, the most popular commercial of the 2013 Super Bowl was the Budweiser “Clydesdale” ad.  People love this commercial because it is “so heart-warming.”  And, this is the way many Christians feel about it; they love it.

            Why do I bring up this particular ad for our consideration?  I do so to illustrate a point.  When you boil it all down, what is the ad?  It’s a beer commercial.  Despite its “heart-warming” story, it’s an advertisement for sin.

            We know that drunkenness and drinking “just one drink” are sins.  In Ephesians 5:18, we are told not to be filled with wine.  In Galatians 5:19-21, we see that drunkenness is a work of the flesh and a damnable offense.  In First Peter 4:3-4, we see that ungodly people engage in drunkenness, social drinking, and casual drinking and that this should never describe the actions of Christians.  In Proverbs 20:1, we see that it is one of the most unwise/foolish things a person can (and shouldn’t) do.  And, while many Christians know these things, many Christians still loved that commercial.

            You see, this is the way Satan works.  Very rarely will he come to us with horns and a pitchfork, breathing fire and whipping his tail at us in a menacing manner.  Rather, how does the Tempter most often appear to people who care about what is good?  In Second Corinthians 11:14, we are told that people fall into his traps because he disguises himself as “an angel of light.”  Satan puts on the appearance of goodness (like he did with Eve, Genesis 3:1-6).  He gets people on his side with “heart-warming” images and messages.  He tricks people into believing that sin is a good thing (Isaiah 5:20) and that holiness is just “being too uptight” or “no fun” or “intolerant.”

            So often time, we think that Satan is openly attacking us with persecution.  Yet, the fact of the matter is that he is very subtly influencing us in ways we may not even see or recognize (“How can such a heart-warming tale be bad?”).  Satan knows what he’s doing and we need to always be SOBER & vigilant (1 Peter 5:8) and always ready to resist him at every turn (1 Peter 5:9; James 4:7).

            The Devil is out to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8).  However, God does not want us to be destroyed, but rather wants us to be saved from the Death which our sin earns us (Romans 6:23a; John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9).  So, let us not be fooled by the trickery of the Devil.  But, let us always looked to God and obey the truth as is fitting for those who love the Lord.

~Curtis Carwile

God's Redeeming Grace

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Titus 2:11-15 which regards the marvelous grace of our loving Lord.  Paul tells Titus: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.  Let no one disregard you.”

            It is because of who God is (i.e., holy beyond compare, Leviticus 11:44-45) and because of what we’ve done (i.e., sinned against God, Romans 3:23 and Genesis 39:9), we have separated ourselves from God (Isaiah 59:2) and made ourselves subject to His wrath (Jeremiah 10:10; Proverbs 11:23; Romans 1:18; Colossians 3:5-6). 

            Yet, because of the Lord’s great love (1 John 4:16), He had compassion on us and showed mercy to us (Lamentations 3:22) by extending His grace in the form of “Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23), the Son of the living God (John 3:16), Jesus the Christ (Titus 2:13).  And, Jesus showed His great love for us all by willingly sacrificing Himself on the cross in order to atone for our sins (1 John 4:9-11; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:1-10; 5:2) while we were in our sins and enemies against God (Romans 5:6-11).  He did this so that, through His precious shed blood, we might be REDEEMED (1 Peter 1:18-19).  The debt we incurred by sinning against God was paid by Jesus on the cross (Mark 10:45). 

            Now, it is important to note that while that free and indescribable gift (Romans 5:18; 2 Corinthians 9:15) is salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), we must have that “payment” personally applied to our “account,” as it were.  We must come in contact with His blood in order to be washed and cleansed (Revelation 1:5).  This means that we must be baptized (i.e., full-body immersion, submergence, & emergence into water) in His name because we believe in His power & willingness to save for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27).  This is the only way someone can be redeemed, have their sins forgiven, and be saved (Acts 4:12).  If one does not obey the commandment of the Lord and does not come in contact with His blood, then that one is not redeemed and not saved (Hebrews 5:8).

            The grace of God is truly amazing.  And, those who take advantage of it are truly blessed beyond measure.  However, let us understand that there is a personal responsibility inherent in accepting His grace: hopeful reformation.  When we are baptized and have our sins washed away, we are to rise up to walk in a different way, that is, a zealously righteous/godly/sinless way (Titus 2:11-14; Romans 6:6-23; Titus 3:4-8; Colossians 3:1-17), a way which worships Him in our spirits and in the truth (John 4:23-24), looking forward to and hastening the Day when Jesus will return to call us all to the Judgment and the faithful Home to the Father in Heaven (Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:8-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

            Therefore, let us trust in the Lord with all of our being (Proverbs 3:5-6) and be redeemed back to life, living like it every single day in every single way until the End (Revelation 2:10).  And, may all of God’s people say “Amen!” (Nehemiah 5:13).

~Curtis Carwile