Woodland
Hills Church of Christ
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Sunday, February 11, 2007 Volume 51, Issue 5 Truths Believed Among Us It is not unusual, during home Bible studies, for someone to ask, "What does the church of Christ believe about _______?" Obviously, the question should be "What does the Bible teach about ________?" There are, however, some truths that should be believed among us. It is truth that God is. "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) God is the ever present, all-powerful Creator of the universe. God knows everything about us and He cares deeply about our eternal destiny. It is truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Peter said, "We have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:69) Jesus died, was buried and rose again to make our salvation possible. (I Corinthians 15:1-4) Jesus lived a perfect life and therefore serves as our example. His teaching was with authority. (Matthew 7:29) It is truth that the Bible is the word of God. In John 17:17 it is declared that God's word is truth. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." Scripture must be studied with a desire both to learn and to obey. No book can ever have such an impact on your life as the Bible. It is the inspired word of God! It is truth that sin is man's problem. The Bible teaches that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) The miseries of this life are caused by sin. Sin brings a terribly payday. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Christians must be on constant guard against sin! It is truth that life passes quickly. In James 4:14 life is said to be life a vapor. "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Think of the funerals you have attended. Read the death notices in the newspaper. Think of those that have gone on. As they are today we all shall soon be. Life passes by quickly and we all know this to be true. It is truth that all should obey the gospel. Christ saves all that obey and only those that obey. "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.' (Hebrews 5:9) Only those willing to obey Jesus will be saved. "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46) Gospel obedience includes hearing God's word, believing in Jesus as the Christ, repenting of sins, confessing Christ as Lord, and being baptized. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47) Disobedience is a tragic thing. Those that fail to obey are condemned. It is truth that not everyone will be saved. The Bible teaches that few will be saved and many lost. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Only those that have learned truth and been obedient to it will be saved. Let's face the fact that the majority will be lost. You cannot expect to enter that narrow gate without living the Christian life. It is truth that how you live is important. The way you live your life will determine your eternal destiny at judgment. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (II Corinthians 5:10) How many people think, talk, hear and do will determine where they will spend eternity. How are you living? "Are you living right, should you die tonight, is it will with your soul?" It is truth that God desires our worship. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24) God desires, God deserves, and God expects our worship. Singing, praying, preaching, giving and the Lord's Supper are the items of worship ordained by Our Father in Heaven. (Ephesians 5:19; Acts 2:24; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Matthew 26:26-30) Faithful Christians worship faithfully! It is truth that there will be no second chance after death. The rich man in Luke 16 proves this fact. There was no second chance for him. It was too late. "Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." (Luke 24:26) It is truth that Christ has only one church. The church is Christ's body. God "put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all thins to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:22-23) "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6) It is not enough just to be in a Church. You must be in the church that is in the Bible. If you are not a member of the church mentioned in the Bible you certainly should be! It is truth that Satan tries to cause is to be indifferent. Complacency or indifference is a terrible spiritual state. "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16) There is no such thing as pleasing God while being just a casual Christian. It is truth that there will be a judgment after this life is over. The Bible teaches that we have appointments with both death and judgment. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) Each person is accountable to God for his life. (Romans 14:12) Can you even imagine what that great day will be like - that great Day of Judgment and accountability? Do not put off doing what you know you should. Opportunities pass quickly. Are you doing that which meets with God's approval? Is your life built on truth? "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
FAMILY NEWS OUR SICK/HOMEBOUNDWoodland Hills Family: Jane & Janice Nolen, Mary Evelyn King, Edd Marie Agnew, Marvin Allison, Mary Glenn, Joe & Arnell Horn, Marti Patchell, Evelyn Coleman Friends/Relatives: Dot Holmquist, Teresa Thomas, Marilee Miller, Melanie Beatty, William Wilson, Edwin Hill, Joyce Keough, Sherrel Wayne Lawhon, Earl Shipman Nursing/Assisted Living: Clemmie Allison, Alton Brown, Essie Brown, Mary Mullinaux, Ernestine Barron Out-of-Town: Roy Nichols, Virginia Baxter, Mary Billingsley, Chris Sangster, Bobbie Ann Ridgeway, Jason Redding VanSickel WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS BABY BOY SHOWER SERVICE GROUP #2 OUR RECORD THANK YOU LADIES DAY Collierville Church is located at 575 Shelton Road. CAN YOU HELP? 1961: Jan. 12,19, 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16. 23; Mar.
2, 9, 16; Nov. 22, and Dec. 15, 29.
THE PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT The parable of the unforgiving servant is fairly easy to understand, but rather difficult to practice. The world’s views on "forgiveness" closely mirror the attitude expressed by the servant who was forgiven much, but refused to forgive little. This parable highlights the folly of such an attitude and gives the reason why such should not ever occur spiritually. While Roman law attempted to protect the debtor, and while the Law of Moses had strict condemnation of those who treated debtors poorly (Ezekiel 18:8-17); Nehemiah 5:6-13), the reality in the time of Christ was that those who owed and could not pay were dealt with very severely. In many cases, regardless of the reason, they were tossed into jail. Obviously, one in jail was not able to work and pay the debt. Jewish leaders of the day indirectly encouraged such punishment with their misinterpretation of the concept of "an eye for an eye." That Scripture originally governed the right of those charged to be punished with a punishment that was equivalent to their crime. Yet the modern interpretation encouraged vigilanteism if due process was not satisfactory. In addition, the Rabbis also taught that a man should forgive another three times, but not a bit more. When Peter prompts this parable but asking, "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" he was asking a natural question given the situation of the day (Matthew 18:21). The parable that Jesus tells is one of a servant who owes his king ten thousand talents. How much is ten thousand talents? It is so much that no ordinary worker during that day could pay it even if he saved every ‘dime’ of what he made for his entire life. This servant is called before the King and upon the realization that he cannot pay the king makes preparation to sell the man and his family in order to recoup some of his loss. The servant, greatly distressed at such a terrible fate, pleads with the king for mercy. He claims he will pay–though he knows (and the King knows) he cannot. The king had many options, but the one he chose is remarkable. He forgives the entire debt! The same servant, now free from debt, promptly goes out and finds one who owes him about fifteen dollars. He demands his payments–it was rightfully his. He hears the debtor begging for mercy, yet shows no compassion and tosses him in jail. But his fellow servants witness the event, and report back to the king. As the servant stood again before his king, he heard him say, "O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou pleaded with me: Shoulders not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee" (Matt. 18:32-33? The king was very angry, and promptly put the wicked servant in jail till he could pay (an impossibility). The application of the parable was given by Christ when He said, "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother his trespasses" (Matt. 18:35). This parable is easy to understand; yet very hard to practice. This type of forgiving is not the type where one pretends to be okay in public and then gets home and rants and raves. It is not the type where one feigns forgiveness and then blasts the actions privately in gossip sessions. This forgiveness that God requires is the type that God gives–that is, the offense is never brought up again. If we want the forgiveness that God provides we must be a forgiving people, especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Mike
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