Grinnell, Iowa
church of Christ
Newspaper Ads 3
21st Week (December 14, 2003)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
Jesus addressed the matter of wearing religious titles. In Matthew 23:1-12 we have this record. “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
1
*******************************************************************************************
22nd Week (December 21, 2003)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
Religious division is clearly decried in scripture. The adage, “Join the church of your choice” cannot be validated in scripture. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?”
(I Corinthians 1:10-13). The church established by Jesus (Matthew 16:18) was purchased with His blood. He said in John 8:31, “If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” Thus, to be called a “Christian” one must adhere only to the doctrine of Jesus Christ and wear His name alone. His body is composed of obedient individuals (Galatians 3:27) and it is one body (Ephesians 4:4-6). Are you just a Christian?
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
23rd Week (December 28, 2003)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
It's not enough just to hear or read the doctrine of Jesus Christ. He said one must do His doctrine in Matthew 7:21-24. “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” James, the brother of the Lord, said in James 1:22-25, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Our final judgment will be based upon how well we have done the Lord's will. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21)
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
24th Week (January 4, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
Jesus expects His disciples to do works as a part of their salvation. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:41-46). Indeed we are saved by God's grace...but not apart from works! “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
25th Week (January 11, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
In the summer of 1974 the musical group Blood Sweat and Tears made the song “And When I Die” popular. One of the lines in that song said, “I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell.” Both heaven and hell are very real places. Jesus said in John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” We find in Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Heaven is real; Jesus is there now by His own testimony and that of the inspired writer of Hebrews.
On the other hand, Jesus said in Luke 12:5, “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” Hell is real. The ungodly will go there.
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
26th Week (January 18, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
When Jesus returns, it will not be to set up His kingdom for it exists now. “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus to Pilate in John 18:36. When sinners are baptized, immersed in water, they are translated “...into the kingdom of God's dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). I Thessalonians 4:16-17 says of Christ's coming, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
The disbelieving and unrighteous will be dealt with at the same time. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints...”
(II Thess. 1:7-10).
The day of His coming will be “...as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (II Peter 3:10).
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
27th Week (January 25, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
God hates divorce. “...Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. 16For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away...”
(Malachi 2:14-16).
“The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” (Matthew 19:3-9).
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
28th Week (February 1, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
Children are expected to obey their parents. God decreed through Moses in Exodus 20:12, Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. God's expectation was that children comply with that commandment. When asked the requirements for eternal life, Jesus reminded the querist, Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. (Luke 18:20). The divinely inspired writing of the apostle Paul recorded in Ephesians 6:1-3 says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
There is a consequence for disobedient children. Included in a long list of detestable, damnable acts in Romans 1:30 is, ...disobedient to parents… The consequence of such is spoken in Romans 1:31, Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death…
It is the responsibility of parents to teach and demand obedience from their offspring. When they do so, God is pleased; the family, the church, the schools, the community, and the nation is far more peaceful and productive.
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
*******************************************************************************************
29th Week (February 15, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
There are many man-made traditions which are not a part of Christianity - contrary to popular belief. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day polluted Judaism in the same way. First and foremost, understand that if a religious practice cannot be established from New Testament doctrine it is not Christianity! Jesus is on record in John 8:31-32 saying, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Jesus chastised the scribes and Pharisees for imposing their tradition as genuine Judaism. In Matthew 15:3 He said, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Then Jesus further says in Matthew 15:7-9, Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The season of Lent is a tradition of men...not doctrine of Jesus Christ...and consequently is not Christianity. 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 (II John 9).
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
********************************************************************************************
30th Week (February 22, 2004)
HEED THE WARNING
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCE
Have you ever given any consideration to the religious name you wear? Perhaps it's your opinion that it is of no consequence. The divinely inspired apostle Paul addressed the matter in I Corinthians 1:10-14. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.” In this passage there is divine instruction spoken against: (1) Division (2) Embracing any posture but speaking “the same thing,” being of “the same mind ,” and “in the same judgment” (3) Aligning oneself religiously with anyone but Jesus Christ Who was crucified and in Whose name one is baptized. Does the religious name you wear honor the theology of Wesley, Zwingli, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Ellen G White, Calvin, Luther, et al? Were they crucified for you? Think soberly and...
Heed the warning; avoid the consequence!
Church of Christ
1402 3rd Ave
Grinnell, IA 50112-2119
www.grinnellcoc.com 641-236-6052
********************************************************************************************
Click above to get to the next pages
This page was last modified: