Ironworks

            Does almost count? There are a good amount of people that would think so. If you have ever had employees that you have managed, you would be familiar with this idea first hand. Over the years, I had many employees that were almost on time. Perhaps the most telling was a young man who worked for me whom we will call Pete. Pete was one of my line cooks who was scheduled quite often to open. I enjoyed working with Pete, he was a hard worker, and fun to be around. When it came to opening, the company policy was that there must be at least two employees present to enter the building. Pete would not show up on time, but was consistently 5-10 minutes late. He would even at times say, “I almost made it on time.” I tried all sorts of approaches to getting him to show up on time, but he rarely was there at 8, if ever. Our conversations usually ended with “sure boss, I’ll try.” I suppose he was almost persuaded. However, does almost count? Why do ...

            Jesus said, And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38). Each must consider how costly this proposition truly is in light of the Scripture. Upon consideration, we understand that New Testament Christianity is an active religion abounding in commitment to the Christ. Shall we consider the cost of taking up our cross to follow Jesus? It will Cost Your Confession Leading up to this command, the Lord made statements to show the prerequisites of carrying the cross. He made it clear in Mathew 10:32-33 that one cost would be confession of Christ before men. The Greek word for confess used here is homologesei, which means to speak the same thing. When we speak the same thing as Christ, we will affirm His doctrine and those of His apostles We cannot devolve into synthetic sectarian doctrine, but rather we must speak the message of Christ and Him crucified (cf. 1 Cor 1:23). Failing to do so is to...

            “I will not be a part of the church any longer because it is full of hypocrites.”  Have you ever heard such a statement? It is a deeply distressing thing to hear when all you want is for a dear brother or sister to make it to heaven. To be a hypocrite is to be walking contrary to God’s will, and contrary to what is best for you and your fellow man. In this article, I want to explore hypocrisy, what it is, and how to prevent this sin.  What is Hypocrisy?           Hypocrisy is the act of pretending to be something that you are not. Judas is a classic example of a hypocrite. He chose evil and had betrayed the son of man, and he kissed him appearing to be righteous (cf. Matt. 26:49). Peter also was hypocritical in that he denied the Lord to make it appear he was not with Him (cf. Matt. 26:69-75).  The Pharisees and scribes were known for their hypocrisy, inasmuch that Jesus repeatedly called them su...

“I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ “  Philippians 1:3-6           Last week it was announced that a new Disneyland-like family-themed amusement park is coming to Green Country. With this announcement, there has been much excitement and some apprehension. Some of the latter comes from all the required work, especially infrastructure that will have to be taken into account with increased tourist traffic in the area. Roads will have to be built, others improved, and there is much work to be done. Have you ever noticed all the ongoing work on our highway system? It is likely that some projects will never come to an end. How does this reality of our lives relat...

                    Over the past few weeks, there have been some who have asked about tips on taking notes in your Bible. This is a great thought, especially for those who purchase a new Bible. If you are beginning to take notes and highlight it is a pretty big commitment as you probably would like a system that you can use consistently. We will look at some tools in order to help in your note taking, as well as give a little guidance for writing in your Bible. Tools to Consider           There are several tools that you may want while writing in your Bible. You may want to start by purchasing a small ruler to go with your Bible (a Bible bag may also be preferred). You need this so that you can underline in a straight line (if you want to be particular). Some people may not care, but if you want things neat and you don’t have a steady hand, this is a must.           T...

          It has been said by many young people that they do not think they should have kids because of the state of the world. In the Lord’s church, we have done a pretty good job of making our brethren aware of the condition of the world. I think we all could do better in assuring our young people that raising godly kids is possible and it's God’s intention for His people.  God commanded it.            In the garden after God created a woman from the flesh of Adam, he said, “And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen 1:28). God said this knowing that He created man with free will, which means man could choose to sin. God still told Adam and Eve to have kids. The world was not simply created to be uninhabited. ...

     Unconditional election is the doctrine held by many individuals in the religious world. “Unconditional election means that God does not foresee an action or condition on our part that induces Him to save us. Rather, election rests on God's sovereign decision to save whomever He is pleased to save.” Simply put, the doctrine of Unconditional Election states that you simply do not have to do anything to be saved. There is no command you have to follow, no submission to God’s will. Rather, God takes your free will from you and forces you to be His child.       Edwin Palmer, who served as executive secretary on the NIV Committee on Bible Translation, and was coordinator of all translation on the NIV said. “Foreordination means God’s sovereign plan, whereby He decides all that is to happen in the universe. Nothing in this world happens by chance. God is in back of everything. He decides and causes all things to happen that do happen. He is not sitting o...

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” John 18:37-38      The world says that truth is subjective, never absolute, and subject to one’s perception. In fact, you will often hear people speak of “my truth.” I suppose that is fine if you identify with the same truth found in the Word of Truth. Sadly, this is most often not the case. Sadly, we the church are not doing all that we could to plant the seed of truth in the hearts and minds of those we encounter on a daily basis.       Truth is an extremely valuable commodity. Truth is always the opposite of falsity. I cannot say something that is false and make it true. Water is not dry. Green is not orange. Wrong is not right. It is written, “Woe un...

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants' fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. John 18:36      Worldliness: we are warned of it in the Word of God frequently. Even though you hear it spoken against in Bible studies and sermons, it still creeps into congregations every year. Yet it does not usually start on a Sunday or Wednesday meeting. It usually starts with compromise from the people. This is evident in the days of old as men failed to obey the commands of God. In one generation after the death of Joshua, the people of Israel knew not Jehovah, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel (Judges 2:10). A nation that was called to be the people of God descended into a nation in which every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25). Brethren, this is why we must always be on guard for the temptation to fall into the snare of worldline...

       We often speak of how important it is to study God’s Word. New Testament Christians must remember some basic rules of Bible study to help us to, “handle aright the Word of truth. (cf. 2 Tim 2:15). Who Is the Speaker?      A fundamental rule to Bible study is to consider who is speaking. Could you imagine what would happen if we did not consider the speaker? Take for instance Job 2:9. “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? Renounce God, and die. “  The speaker is certainly important wouldn’t you say? Who Is It Given To?      We would all agree that certain imperatives and instructions in the Word of God were given to specific people at a specific time. If I were to apply Genesis 6 to myself and start searching for Gophar wood to make an ark, someone would clearly say that this passage is not applicable to you. Let's remember to apply that same reasonable logic to other passages.  What Is ...

“I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ “  Philippians 1:3-6      Have you ever noticed all the ongoing work on our highway system? It is likely that some projects will never come to an end. Even in recent months, a new federal infrastructure package has been a source of much debate in the houses of Congress. How does this reality of our lives relate to our lives in Christ Jesus? When we look at the words of Paul, we certainly can understand we are a work continually in progress. Our Fellowship is Contingent on Furtherance of the Gospel       The Lord commanded that we are to take the Gospel and preach it to all creation (Mark 16:15-16). This Gospel is wha...

        And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?  2 Kings 1:2-3                    Imagine you know you have a good old drill at home, say a DeWalt or a Makita, and it works just as it is supposed to and the batteries are charged. Yet because you do not have it in your hand, you go out and buy an inferior brand with less power. Sure it is new, but it is truly not even capable of getting the job that your superior drill can do.     ...

  And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 1 Kings 12:16               We all want favor, from our parents, our spouse, and our supervisors. Each of us enjoys being valued and appreciated. When there is no favor, value, or appreciation, we feel like we are outsiders. It makes us feel like we have no hope. This can teach us much about Godly leadership in the world, our homes, and the Lord’s church. In first Kings 12, we see the son of Solomon, Rehoboam, is now king of a united kingdom of the 12 tribes of Israel.              At the beginning of his reign, Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and made a request of thei...

    Have you ever wondered about why in the footnotes your Bible might say the oldest manuscripts and some other authorities omit verses 9 to the end?   The reliability of Mark 16:9-20 is supported by an abundance of evidence.   The alleged controversy comes from textual critics who elevate the two of the oldest manuscripts over others (Vaticanus and Sinaiticus). What the critics fail to mention is that three out of five of the oldest manuscripts include verses 9-20, and that is just the manuscripts in the original Koine Greek. There are many translations in other languages that include verses 9-20 including the Coptic, Egyptian, and Ethiopic amongst others. All of these predate the fourth century Vaticanus and Sinaiticus as they appeared slightly after the first century A.D. In addition, there is evidence that some church fathers, which include Irenaeus, quote Mark 16:9-20 which affirms that this passage was accepted Scripture in the early years of the church. T...

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24     What do you do when you hear some form of information? You may accept it as factual, or you might not believe it at all. When we are young, we may not believe the stove is hot. In fact, possibly the orange glow of the burner or open flame is appealing to the eye and the warmth is nice feeling on a cold day. However, if you chose to touch it, you will certainly be burnt and certainly believe what your mother may have warned you about. Belief is established when presented with truth, yet, when we hear truth, we have the option to believe it or not.      In matters of faith, belief is an integral part of the God's plan for saving man. Last week I wrote about hearing, and that it is the basis of that plan. We must hear, but what do we do once we hear? If we are...

Last Sunday morning, I preached on the subject of alcohol. It was presented to show that no bit of alcohol is safe, social, or condoned by the Bible. I felt it necessary to share a few more answers that are often cited as possible contradictions to God’s command regarding alcohol consumption. In 1 Tim. 3:3 some of the qualifications of Bishops (Elders) are given. It is written that the elder is not to be given to wine. Yet, in verse 8, we find that for a deacon to be qualified, he must be not given to much wine (cf. 1 Tim 3:8). This presents a potential problem for many who are confused. Yet, if we remember, a warning against excess does not approve the action in and of itself. Consider Ephesians 4:26. Paul writes, “ Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”  Does that mean that wrath is okay to be practiced before sundown? By the logic of the social drinking proponent, it must. If we go a little further in the same passage, we find a description of the Godly wife of a deaco...

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  1 Cor. 9:19-22 What are you willing to give? That will be the question that is posed repeatedly in the new sermon series. It has been laid out last month that God is the great provider, Jehovah Jireh, who has lavished us with a grace that can cover all of our sins. Considering that, how can we give and be better givers? The first thing we can do is give up. I know that is not the most common of encouraging phrases, but it is truly per...