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Mt. 6:33 pretty well answers this question. “Seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness…” The kingdom of Christ is the “church of Christ.” In Mt. 16:16, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Then Jesus answered: “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood had not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Mt. 16:17-18 “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” v19-20. In the preceding verses, Peter confessed Jesus as the Son of the living God Mt. 16:16 Jesus blessed Peter and said, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…” The ROCK was the confession Peter made that Christ is the Son of God. Some have taught that PETER was the rock the church was built upon. NOT SO. The ROCK is the fact that Christ is the Son of God, DEITY. The church is the “CHURCH OF CHRIST’, not the church of Peter. Jesus purchased the church with His own blood – Acts 20:28. Therefore the church is the church of Christ. Jesus said it was. I will build MY church.” Mt. 16:18 Jesus claims it. Jesus died for it.
God has done His part for man’s salvation. We must do our part. Jesus died for us. We must submit to His teaching, the New Testament, and put Him first in our lives. When Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of Go…”, He meant DO IT. Jesus did NOT mean 2nd, or last place, but first, do it. God has standards for us to live by. We cannot change those standards. We will be judged by such, therefore it is important to learn them to live by them. THE BIBLE IS THE STANDARD OF AUTHORITY for it is of God. What we need to know is in the Bible. STUDY IT. Truth In Love, Vol. 6, No. 12, December 2013 By tradition churches of Christ have always been know for thier book, chapter, and verse, please, for all they practice and teach. They have been known for people of the BOOK. If there is scripture for it, we are for it. Silence does NOT authorize. We must have authority. Col. 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” In the name of the Lord means by His authority, New Testament authority.
What the New Testament authorizes and what the early churches in the New Testament practiced, is what we can be sure is right for us today. We call it, command, example, and inference. When we have such, we can know it is right for churches today to do or observe. For example, in Acts 20:7, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to brfeak bread, Paul preached…” Scholars agree this is the Lord’s supper weekly, for a certain day of the wee (our Sunday). In the early 1800’s in the USA, many churches of Christ were started fdor the people wanted truth in doctrine, worship, and practice. Book, chapter and verse, please, book, chapter, and verse. We today of the Eagle Park church of Christ want the same. Truth In Love, No. 12, December, 2013
Many “preachers” teach, and many people believe, that the Bible cannot be understood by all men ALIKE. They believe that it means, and should mean, one thing to one man and the very opposite thing to another man. Thus, some religious bodies teach baptism is essential to salvation and other say NOT SO! Some teach you can fall from grace after being once saved and others say NOT SO! AND, many people thing that all are right regardless of the position people take on these and scores of other subjects.
GOD SAYS WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE, ALIKE! First, IF we understand it, it is alike. Can every pharmacist understand your doctor’s prescription alike? If two men understand something, they understand it alike. If one man understands that 2 + 2=4 and he is right, all other men who understand it conclude the same. Anyone who disagrees misunderstands it. No matter how honest a man in error is, he is still wrong. The same is true with the BIBLE. When two disagree, both may be wrong but at least one is wrong. The Bible does NOT say one thing to one person, and the opposite to another even though they may think it does. One may be honestly wrong, but he is still wrong no matter how honest. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”Gal. 1:6-8. God assures us that we CAN understand the Bible. In Eph. 5:17, “but understand what the will of the Lord is” Again, “Whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of ‘Christ:” Eph 3:4. For sure, God is going to judge us according to the Bible – Jn. 12:48; Rev. 20:12. The Bible teaches that, “The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all me every where to repent.” Acts 17:30. Ignorance is n0 excuse today. All of us have Bibles and are literate. God revealed His Word (ICord 2:10) so that there is not excuse. DO YOU KNOW GOD’S WORD? Truth In Love, Vol 6, No. 11; November 2013
Expect to find friendly people who are interested in you. Expect to hear a Bible centered lesson, and one you can understand. (Plain gospel preaching and book, chapter and verse given for each point.) Expect the service will las about one hour. (the Bible classes before the assembly start about an hour before the assembly). Expect to hear Bible truth teaching both the positive and negative found in the Bible. You may hand in any Bible question you desire and it will be answered with book, chapter, and verse. Expect to have Jesus Christ held up as the example for all men to follow (I Peter 2:12) We would also be happy to study with you privately in your home or in one of ours. Truth In Love, Vol 6, No 11, November 2013 |
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