Understanding Expediency

Let me start by saying that this is a Biblical lesson. The concept of expediency is taught in God’s word and it is vital that we understand what it means. We shall first start with the apostle Paul speaking on this when he wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful to me, but all things edify not.” (I Cor. 10:23). The word expedient means to be helpful; however, not all things are helpful.

The easiest way to understand what is considered expedient would be the place of worship. Local churches are required to assemble on the first day of the week to worship God (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:1-2; Heb. 10:25, etc.). The scriptures reveal that brethren set up a time and place for them to fulfill the Lord’s desire (I Cor. 11:17-18). Knowing that it is expedient for the brethren to rent or purchase a place to assemble, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration.

Would it really be in the best interest of a local church consisting of two families to go out and build a million dollar facility? The answer is obvious – no, this would not be helpful. Having a place to meet is expedient, but there are times wisdom dictates that something that is lawful, in and of itself (finding a place to meet) can be the wrong thing to do.

The same thing can be said for a congregation that wants to evangelize. It’s an expedient to use TV as a tool to share the gospel. But if a local church cannot afford to fund such an effort, it would be unwise to engage in it.  This is why the Lord Jesus stated clearly the need for His followers to use “righteous” judgement (Jn. 7:21-24). 

Keep in mind that expediency is not some sort of loophole for the local church to do whatever they want with church funds. Staying with the discussion of the church building: it’s one thing to rent or buy, it’s another matter altogether for a church to rent or buy a meeting place to use it for social events. It’s the lack of discernment that has opened the door for religious groups to use the building for a daycare, Boy Scout meeting place, providing chicken dinners and celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. Folks, these do not fall under the area of expediency. They fall under the realm of being unscriptural.

The best way to clear this up is by looking at two passages of scripture. First, in I Corinthians 11:22, after rebuking the brethren for turning the Lord’s Supper into some sort of meal, Paul said, “What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.”  Now, before we examine this, let’s now note a text in Romans 16, where Paul speaking about Priscilla and Aquila, mentioned, “Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” (vr. 5). 

Now, can brethren have social events in their own homes? Of course they can. I don’t know where the brethren were meeting when they were rebuked by Paul for turning the Lord’s Supper into a feast. Could they have been meeting in someone’s home? Possibly. Even so, does that mean the apostle could not have said what he did in I Corinthians 11? Not at all. Brethren could just as easily turn the Lord’s Supper into a feast even if meeting in someone’s home. The fact is, the church comes together to worship God His way (Jn. 4:24). When brethren have finished their worship, the brother and sister can now go back to the regular use of the home and even be hospitable (Rom. 12:13).

When brethren own a church building, it was bought with the purpose for which it is to be used. The local church doesn’t use its funds to build a kitchen or gymnasium onto the meeting place. Why not? It’s because it isn’t expedient. It doesn’t aid in worshipping God. In other words, it is not a help, it’s a hindrance. You don’t mix the two. Those who don’t understand expediency fail to see the error in using their church building for whatever use they see fit. This doesn’t respect the word of God.

                                                                                               Chuck

Supply and Demand

We all know that this title relates to the offering of a product to the consumer. For example, if there is a huge demand for a certain tool, then a company will do what they can to supply that need. On the flip side, if there is very little interest, there would be no need to supply that need. This is why businesses come and go. Those that survive have found a product that continues to be in the demand.

So, just how do we get excited in spreading the gospel, when Jesus Himself stated that there won’t be much of a demand for it (Matt. 7:13-14)? The answer is simple. Even though many people don’t want the truth, there is a huge need because everyone needs it (Mk. 16:15). Unlike any business today, people can live without whatever new invention comes along. However, everyone NEEDS the gospel whether they believe it or not.

The danger comes when you lose sight of what people need in favor of what people want. Let’s face it, if someone knew that lots of people wanted a product that isn’t available, they would do what they can to make it. Sadly, in the religious realm, you have those who have decided to preach what people want rather than what they need. This is exactly what Timothy was warned not to do (II Tim. 4:2-5). 

There is a reason why there are so many religious groups today, and why more and more churches of Christ have drifted away from the pattern in God’s word, it’s called supply and demand.  People have lost sight of what man really needs. This should not surprise us. We see it in that way people are raising their children. Kids are getting anything they want, because it is easier to let them decide what’s best for them. How sad that is!

This reminds me of the mindset of Israel of old when everyone did right in his or her own eyes (Judges 21:25).  Mankind would do well to remember the words of Jeremiah when he stated, “It’s not within man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jer. 10:23). Yet, that’s exactly what you see in the religious realm. People starting their own sects, creating their own doctrines; designing “better” and more appealing worship. This may supply the demand, but our God demands we stop supplying their wants!

Paul admonished Timothy with these words, “remain in Ephesus that you charge some that they teach no other doctrine.” (I Tim. 1L3). Why Paul? Those teachers are having some “good” results. That’s just the problem, people think that any sort of success is God approved. It’s as if the Lord is interested more in quantity than quality. That is simply not the case. If anything, it is the opposite. Oh, yes, our Lord is not willing that any perish (II Pet. 3:9), but that desire of wanting everyone saved doesn’t mean He will overlook sin.

The interest in the quality is taught over and over in scripture. When it comes to worship, it is to be done in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24). The doctrine taught must ONLY be the doctrine of Christ (II Jn. 9). There is also no better church that the one Jesus built with His own blood (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28; Rom. 16:16). It simply doesn’t matter to the Lord if His people are the few. After all, the Lord is not there to please man, it is man that must please the Lord (Heb. 11:6). Take note that pleasing self doesn’t necessarily mean it is pleasing to the Lord.

Looking at things from the Lord’s standpoint in examining supply and demand, saints should be motivated to do all they can. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Matt. 9:37). This is why we find the Christians in the early church, when persecuted, went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:4). Was there a large demand for the gospel? Yes, even if people didn’t want it. The key thing is that there are people looking for the truth and that is a demand that needs to be supplied. Are you doing what you can to supply that need? For people to find what they seek (Matt. 7:7), there needs to be children of God there pointing the way to Christ.

                                                                                            Chuck

Understanding Inferences 

Have you ever wondered how the early Christians knew when to gather together when the Bible didn’t state where and where on Sunday? Was it just a coincidence that all the brethren showed up at the same place and at the same time (Acts 20:7)? It is reasonable to conclude that the church decided this ahead of time.

Knowing there had to a decision that needed to be made, did they do this with Biblical authority? The skeptic will jump in and say no because there isn’t a book, chapter and verse to tells them when and where. That is not true. The passage is found in I Corinthians 11:17-29. This is where Paul pointed out that brethren were to gather to take the Lord’s Supper. You cannot fulfill that command without understanding necessary inferences. No one can function in this world without doing such.

For example, a mother tells her child to clean their room today. Is that enough information for the child to get the job done? Absolutely. They will use their legs to walk into their room. They will use their eyes to look around. They will use their hands to pick up things and put them where they belong. They will schedule time that day to get it done. Now, if the child doesn’t do the job because their mom didn’t provide all those inferences, will the mom accept that? Not a chance.

The question is, does the principle of inference, open the flood gate so people can infer anything they want? No. There are boundaries. Going back to the mother and child example. If the child gets their baby brother to clean the room, they violated the command – “you clean your room.”  If the child opts to clean it another day, they violate the command. If the child opts to clean their parent’s room, they violate the command.

Abiding in the teaching of Christ (II Jn. 9), consists of doing what we are told by thinking about the inferences that are connects with what we are told. Look for next week’s bulletin where we deal with aids and additions, in understanding authority.

                                                                                              Chuck

Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and Muslims

For Christians, when they have a desire to teach people that belong to other religious sects, they need to go to the heart of the matter. After all, it was Jesus Himself who stated, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (Jn. 8:24). Therefore, children of God must ask, “What do you believe about Jesus?”

What’s vital is seeing the need to get clarification. After all, the three religious sects mentioned in the title would say, “Yes, we believe in Jesus.” However, the fact is, none of them believe the Jesus you read about in the Bible. Not one of them believe that Jesus had pre-existence and that He is God (Jn. 1:1; Heb. 1:8). Is this really that big of a deal? Let’s see where their denials took them.

Book of Mormon, the Quran, and the New World Translation

You can make claims that Jesus was born of a virgin; performed miracles and that He was a prophet. Yet, to strip Him of His deity opens the door to additional “revelations” to justify additions to the Bible. It was the Father that said that He has spoken unto us in these last days by His Son (Heb. 1:2). This message is complete (Jude 3). Knowing the scriptures are sufficient to make man complete (II Tim. 3:16-17), why would there be a need for additional writings?

The Bible is inspired but not reliable

Not only with the three religious groups under discussion, but along with other religious people, you often see people picking and choosing what they want to accept in the Bible. The statement I have heard in the past is, “Yes, we believe in the Bible as long as it is translated correctly.” In other words, on the points we disagree with it’s because we believe that is a wrong translation, tha the Bible is corrupted in that part.

Such reasoning is ridiculous. The same evidence used to support the parts that are accepted as being true, provide the same support for all other Bible teachings. Again, Christ put it this way, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Jn. 12:48).  Since the apostles were promised by our Lord to be guided into all truth, they spoke by revelation of Jesus Christ, thus we have all His words (Jn. 16:13; Gal. 1:12).

You need to put your faith in other men

Whether it be Joseph Smith, Mohammad, or the Watchtower Society; people are people deceived and influenced to follow someone else. Coming back to our Lord’s words once again, He made the proclamation that, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through Me.” (Jn. 14:6).  This is the point of contention with these other groups.

People have been lured away by these groups thinking they are very similar to what Christians believe. The truth is anything but that. This is why one must learn not only what people believe about Jesus Christ, but what they don’t believe about Him. You can’t have it both ways. When it comes to our Savior, He is the whole package, you can’t take just part of Him and be right with God.

                                                                                             Chuck

It is easy for us as Christians to dismiss the theory of evolution, since we know that God created all things in six (24 hour) days – Genesis 1 & 2. Even though this is true, we need not put our head in the sand and think that the theory of evolution is going to fade away.

The truth is, many evolutionists don’t consider their belief as a theory, but as fact, which is how it is coming across in our schools and news media. It is easier to not think about it than deal with it. We, as God’s people, need not be afraid to defend the truth. Let us not think that creation is harder to defend than evolution, because it isn’t.

Defending creation begins with God (Gen. 1:1). Our faith in our creator is to come from evidence. The Hebrew writer stated, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1). As we look around and see the world, we see order and design, which points to a designer. The apostle Paul revealed that there is so much evidence that man is without excuse for not believing in God (Rom. 1:20-21).

It must be noted that there is nothing recorded in the Bible that does not agree with science and archaeology. This may not convince the atheist, but it helps Christians defend their faith.

The root of atheism

If the basis for creation is faith in God, the root of atheism is man wanting to be god. This may sound odd, but consider the following words found in an article written by Aldous Huxley, entitled, “Confessions of a Professed Atheist”. Huxley says, “I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning, so I looked for reasons to assume it had none. My problem was not with the spiritual. I just concerned myself with proving there was no valid reason why I should not do just as I wanted to. The philosophy of meaninglessness was an instrument of liberation. We wanted freedom from political and economic systems and liberation from morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”

Now it is clear, the idea of Darwinism is to force upon humankind the “survival of the fittest” idea – might makes right – me first. Which would explain the rationale of killing off the sick, elderly, and handicapped. Evolution is a vain attempt to create (ironically, they are creationists in a sense) an uncaring, selfish, and self-centered society.

Evolution: More questions than answers

There is a good reason evolution is called a theory – due to the fact it is not based upon FACTS! The false (ridiculous) assumption made is that the world is 4 ½ to 5 billion years old. Since no one was around to say what the world was like, all their measuring systems begin with this false premise (age of the earth).

Even if you grant the dating process, this creates more problems for them. If the earth is, in fact, billions of years old, the evolutionist immediately has difficulty with true science. Scientists say that the sun is shrinking at the rate of five feet per hour. If we apply evolutionary principles and work backwards, adding five feet per hour, the sun would have been too large for life to exist on earth.

Another fact relates to the rapid rate of decay of earth’s main magnetic field, in accordance with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Scientists have calculated, since 1835, the decay 

of this field, and measure it at about 5 percent per hundred years. Yet, with the evolutionist’s time factor, there would have been a time when the magnetic field would have been so strong it would have ruptured the earth and split it apart. The list can go on and on. They need time and lots of it for their theory, but time is not on their side!

Creation much easier to believe

It is ludicrous for atheist’s to say that only Christians have to use faith to believe. Look at the following list and determine which is easier to believe:

1. God created the world or some cosmic energy blast brought the world into being?

2. God created everything, or did nothing create everything?

3. God created man or man evolved from slime?

4. The world shows design which points to a designer or points to a fluke explosion?

5. True science supports the Bible or evolution?

This short article only scratches the surface of the wealth of information we can use to show the problems with evolution. Let us not think that Biblical truths do not have a leg to stand on. It is the opposition that doesn’t have a leg, nor will it ever. It has often been said that people who believe in God are fools for having a blind faith. The fact is, it’s the opposite. When people open their eyes to the evidences that are all around, one would have to be blind not to see them.

                                                                                            Chuck