“By what authority are you doing these things?” The chief priests and elders asked Jesus this question (Mt 21:23-27). Jesus replied by asking them a question: “I will ask you one question … John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” Since they could not answer Jesus, neither did He
“Do Not Go Beyond What Is Written” (I Cor 4:6). This command was written to the church in Corinth. They had trouble with division because some did not hold their teaching, their behavior, their worship to the “pattern of sound words” (2 Tim 1:13). Unity among Christians is only achieved and maintained by “speaking the
A recent president of our country made an appeal for our country to follow the Bible “as a chart” for our lives. It is indeed a chart, a map, a blueprint. Man “cannot direct his own steps” (Jer 10:23). There is a “way that seems right” to us, but it leads death (Prov 14:12). The
“Baptism” is a verb which expresses a specific act. It is anglicized from a Greek word (ßaptizo) which means “to dip, submerge.” Sprinkle and pour are from entirely different Greek words, never applying to baptism in the Bible. It is not possible to express the act of immersing by another act or ‘mode.’ To say,
Go ahead, guess. 12 inches? 11 inches? 10? 13? You can’t know until you take a ruler and measure. Only by using the same ruler will all answers be the same. Let us apply this principle to religion, where all the answers are different. How does one become a Christian? How should we live? How
“Remember the days of old … ask thy father and he will show thee … when the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance” (Dt 32:7). Look back at the role of Christianity in the founding of our nation. We will discover shocking facts and truths that have been buried under the lies of
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome three years before he arrived, it was nothing like what he had expected when he wrote the letter. He wanted to come with joy and find rest with Christians (Romans 15). But Acts 28 tells how different it turned out. He wanted to appear as
What God HAS said is important. Of equal importance is to respect what God HAS NOT said. Notice: Jeremiah 19:5-15 speaks of the children of Israel sinning by worshiping in ways “which I commanded not.” The prophet repeats their sin of Baal worship “which I commanded them not” (32:35). When God gave commands in the
Many things are commonly practiced among churches about which the New Testament says nothing: song books, microphones, pews, printing machines, P.A. systems, videos, etc. There is a realm of freedom for Christians to use modern conveniences. An expedient is “that which benefits or helps one in keeping specified instructions.” When God gives a command to
JUST WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? With nearly 1200 religious groups recognized by the IRS, one probably knows little about any particular church. Just what is distinct about the church of Christ? Are they worldwide? What is their message? How are they governed? About half of the 27,318 congregations are in the USA and the rest