The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
July 17, 2005
In
This Issue:
Test
Yourselves
by
Bubba Garner
The
United Church of Christ is not of Christ
by
Kent Heaton
Trouble
by
Steve Klein
Test Yourselves
I always cringed when the teachers gave us progress reports in school. They were usually issued halfway through the grading period, and they gave us some indication of what we needed to do to pull our grade up before the end of the term. Some students didn't need to do anything, but for me it was always a dreaded reminder that it was time to kick it in high gear.
Progress reports show us where we are in relation to where we ought to be. They cause us to reflect and examine and change so that we can be more productive, more successful, more prepared for what lies ahead. They're called quarterly statements in the financial world, yearly check-ups in the medical field, but what about in the realm of religion?
"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you -- unless indeed you fail the test" (2 Cor. 13:5)?
This is a Biblical principle and expectation. Paul speaks of the need to consistently inspect ourselves to see what progress we have made toward achieving our spiritual goals and how much we have grown since our last examination. We ought to reflect on our weaknesses and make plans to guard against them so that we will be better prepared for our next battle. This involves measuring ourselves according to the perfect law of liberty, to evaluate our commitment to do all that He has commanded us to do.
The standard is the word of God. Not the elders, not the preachers, not the brethren, but the infallible, ageless word of God. It is the revelation of the mind of God, and it alone has the authority to tell us what we must do to be saved. It alone has the authority to give us the principles that should guide our behavior in how we treat one another. Examine yourself in relation to what you have done and what the Bible says you must do. How do you measure up?
The purpose of this progress report or self-examination is to see if Christ is in us. If He is not, then we have failed the test. Our problem is that we fill our minds and our bodies with the filth of the world and expect Him to dwell in the midst of it all. Think about it - is Jesus Christ in you? Right now?
In school, progress reports were given with ample time to make the necessary corrections and changes so that you could bring your grade up before it was finalized. If you don't like the report of your self-examination or perhaps you failed the test, won't you take the time to make yourself right with God? What better way to start this new week than with a renewed dedication and a new life? After all, the final exam is coming.
--Bubba Garner
Southside Reminder, July 26, 1998 (Vol. 1, No. 3)
The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "But thou shall say unto them, This is a nation that obeys not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receives correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth" (Jeremiah 7:28). The news of our day unfolds daily how a nation once built upon the fundamental teaches of the Bible refuses to obey the voice of the Almighty. The correction given through the hand of God has gone unnoticed and truth no longer remains in the land. The United States of America is no longer a nation under God but under the god of man. A clear example of this is how more and more man-made religions bow to the dogma of humanistic teachings by embracing homosexuality as acceptable to Jehovah God. Nothing is further than truth - the real truth.
The United Church of Christ announced recently the acceptance of homosexuality as acceptable before God. This should not come as any surprise to Bible believers for the United Church of Christ is not of Christ but of man. The United Church of Christ was created by man on June 25, 1957 out of a combination of four man-made religions: (1) The Congregational Churches of the English Reformation with Puritan New England roots in America; (2) The Christian Church with American frontier beginnings; (3) The Evangelical Synod of North America, a 19th-century German-American church of the frontier Mississippi Valley, and; (4) The Reformed Church in the United States, initially composed of early 18th-century churches in Pennsylvania and neighboring colonies. [www.ucc.org/who/history.htm]
The church Jesus died for and established is found in the Bible as beginning on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem (Acts 2). The UCC has no relationship with the churches of Christ that establish all truth by the word of God (1 Peter 4:11). The church of the New Testament stood against homosexuality and practiced the purity of the word of God and rejected the word of man (Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Ephesians 5:5,6; Revelation 21:8,27). The Hebrew writer clearly sets forth God's view of marriage in Hebrews 13:4 - "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers (immoral) and adulterers God will judge."
The reason the UCC has adopted homosexuality as acceptable is because they do not accept the Bible as the "sole source of divine instruction, and that Scripture must be interpreted in today's context" (Article published July 5, 2005, Gainesville Sun, Gainesville, Florida). Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Love is based upon God's will, not the will of man. Homosexuality is immoral and whatever man defines as a "same-sex marriage" is an abomination in the eyes of Jehovah God. The honor of marriage is found in a man and a woman for life (Romans 7:2,3). The Lord brought a woman to the man in Genesis 2 and said it was very good. No man-made religion will ever change that!
What did Jesus say about the United Church of Christ and all churches made by man? "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matthew 15:13-14). The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:89 - "Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven." Amen.
-- Kent Heaton
-
You don't need references or a credit check to borrow trouble.
- "Borrow trouble for yourself if that's your nature, but
don't lend it to your neighbors." --Rudyard Kipling
- "Trouble knocked on the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried
away."- Benjamin Franklin
- Worry is the interest you pay when you borrow trouble.
- "The righteous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to
the wicked instead." -- Proverbs 11:8
- "He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, but trouble will
come to him who seeks evil." -- Proverbs 11:27
- "In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but
in the revenue of the wicked is trouble." -- Proverbs 15:6
- "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." -- Psalm 46:1
-- compiled by Steve Klein