22 January 2020

ALWAYS FAITHFUL

It must have been a very emotional scene as the Marine Commandant visited the young men who lay wounded on their hospital beds following the terrible truck bombing of their barracks in Beirut on October 23, 1983. One young marine, who was critically wounded and could not talk because of the tubes in his throat, made a sign with his hands as the General visited him. It was soon understood that he wanted a pen and pad in order to write something. Upon receiving them, the marine wrote the words “Semper Fi”, short for “Semper Fidelis”. The message, “Always Faithful” is the motto of the Marine Corps. In the face of death, in pain and discomfort, here was a person loyal to the cause, faithful even until death. Our hearts are filled with admiration for young men with such courage, fortitude and faithfulness. My mind was filled with exhortations from the Holy Scriptures regarding the faithfulness of Christians to the Captain of our salvation, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:10). The encouragement in Revelation 2:10, “Be thou faithful unto death…” must be understood in the light of the context. Many of the saints in Smyrna were being imprisoned and not a few were being killed because of their love for and their loyalty to the Lord. Regardless of the severity of the persecutions, Christians were urged to be faithful to Christ even if it cost them their very lives. If they would not recant but die confessing Christ, the Lord promised them “the crown of life.” Oh, how we need to emulate the traits of courage and faithfulness of the young marine, and especially of our brethren in the first century, many of them dying horrible deaths. The example of faithfulness exemplified in the lives of men and women of every age needs to be imitated today. No greater example of endurance and faithfulness to the Lord can be found than that of the apostle Paul. Think of his rejection, his suffering, and his imprisonment; yet, he never wavered in his faith. He, too, could have written, “Always Faithful” at his death. In fact, this is what he did write during the last days of his life on this earth: “For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). His faithfulness cost him his life but he received that “crown of righteousness” from Jesus Christ. It is truly disheartening to learn of brethren, after many years of faithfulness, falling from the grace of our Lord. Some apostatize because of apathy, others because of carnality, while many falter because of their unscriptural marital relationships. Some apostatize from Christ, embracing religious errors and practices. How foolish for a person to ‘quit the church’ because of hurt feelings or an injury to one’s pride. In contrast, it is so wonderful to know of brethren who remain faithful to Christ all their lives. I spoke at the funeral services for an elder of a congregation where I had formerly served as a preacher. It was with confidence and assurance made possible by God’s grace, love and the death of Jesus Christ, that it could be said that this brother had gone to be with the Lord. It could have been written on his grave marker, “Always Faithful”. Whether your life may be taken because of your love for the Lord, or whether you live until you die of natural causes, may it be written of you, “SEMPER FIDELIS!”

20 January 2020

2020 VISION

It is suggested that we have our eyesight checked at least every two years. The ideal vision is 20/20. Most of us, as we grow older, need some assistance to enable us to see. Thus, we are fitted with glasses from time to time. In the matter of evangelism, we often suffer because of the lack of spiritual vision. That infirmity is called ‘myopia’ which has to do with nearsightedness. So many Christians can only see that which is near. We are not looking far enough. We are confined within the walls of our church buildings. We are in need of having our eyesight improved by the Great Physician who can heal our partial blindness. We desperately need some “eye salve” to anoint our eyes that we may see the fields “that are white already unto harvest (Revelation 3:18 John 4:35). He whose eyes are as “a flame of fire” (Revelation 1:14) has written us a prescription that will give us 20/20 vision. It is recorded in Acts 20:20: “how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house.” First of all, it needful that we teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Second, note the methods used by Paul in the proclamation of that which was profitable. He said that he taught the gospel of Christ both publicly and privately. The persecuted prisoners of the Lord had earlier utilized these avenues in preaching Jesus as the Christ every day “in the temple and at home” (Acts 5:42). Personal evangelism and the public proclamation of the gospel go hand in hand. This formula was very effective in the first century. The church grew rapidly in the city of Jerusalem (Acts 4:4; 5:14; 6:1). The church today relies greatly on the public teaching of the gospel, generally ignoring the second half of the formula used by our brethren during the infancy of the church. The truth is that the church is not growing in many locales simply because the members do not have proper 20/20 vision. The word of God is not increasing and the number of disciples is not multiplying (Acts 6:7) in our society today. Oh, we do ‘swell’ our numbers periodically due to the moving of members from one place to another, but, true numerical growth comes about when souls are being added to the church when they obey the gospel of Christ (Acts 2:38, 47). The fact is non-Christians seldom frequent our assemblies, even during special efforts such as gospel meetings. There are individuals who are hesitant to come to our church buildings. We must go to them. (Isn’t that what the Lord told us to do in the great commission, recorded in Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15?) The congregations that are experiencing numerical growth of disciples are those churches that are complimenting the public proclamation of the gospel with the individual/private teaching of the word. It may be the showing of filmstrips; an open Bible study or it may be conducting a Bible class in one’s home. The method is a matter of indifference as long as it is in harmony with the principles of the New Testament. What we need is a genuine commitment from Christians to become more involved in instructing sinners to come to Jesus Christ where there is salvation from sin and where there is the hope of eternal life (II Timothy 2:10).