Sound Teaching

A study of the derivation of the greek word (gehenna) which is translated in our New Testaments as “hell” is very helpful toward understanding the abominable nature of that eternal torment. Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30). Continue reading “Gehenna (Hell)” →

An archaeological discovery in 1979 revealed that the Priestly Benediction, as the verse from Numbers 6:24-26 is called, appeared to be the earliest biblical passage ever found in ancient artifacts. Two tiny strips of silver, each wound tightly like a miniature scroll and bearing the inscribed words, were uncovered in a tomb outside Jerusalem and initially dated from the late seventh or early sixth century B.C. — some 400 years before the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

But doubts persisted. The silver was cracked and corroded, and many words and not a few whole lines in the faintly scratched inscriptions were unreadable. Some critics contended that the artifacts were from the third or second century B.C., and thus of less importance in establishing the antiquity of religious concepts and language that became part of the Hebrew Bible.

So researchers at the University of Southern California have now re-examined the inscriptions using Space Age photographic and computer imaging techniques. The words still do not exactly leap off the silver. But the researchers said they could finally be “read fully and analyzed with far greater precision” and that they were indeed the earliest.

In a scholarly report published last month, the research team concluded that the improved reading of the inscriptions confirmed their greater antiquity. The script, the team wrote, is from the period just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent exile of Israelites in Babylonia.

Ft. Worth Star Telegram, October 2, 2004

Analysis:

Some modernists believe that the Old Testament is fiction, written in the 4th century B.C. by the inhabitants of Canaan who rose to power at that time. The claim is that the intent of those individuals was to give the new rulers a place in the history of that land, and thus give credence to their claims for power.

This inscription serves to illustrate the bias of these claims. The text is written in the ancient form of the Hebrew language, and as one expert noted, “‘The new research on the inscriptions suggests that that’s not true,’ (the claims of these modernists), Pitard said. In fact, the research team noted in its journal report that the improved images showed the seventh-century lines of the benediction to be ‘actually closer to the biblical parallels than previously recognized.'”

Note: The following article originally appeared in the Miami Herald on September 7th, before Ivan hit the coast of Alabama, and caused several deaths in the Florida Panhandle)

MIAMI – (KRT) – Charley, Frances and Ivan. Three major hurricanes. Two assaults on Florida already and possibly a third by next week. Get used to it. This is the new normal.

Scientists say we are in a period of enhanced hurricane activity that could last for decades, ending a 24-year period of below average activity. They also say the law of averages has caught up with Florida, with a change in atmospheric steering currents turning the state into a hurricane magnet…

…A sobering thought: Between 1941 and 1950, seven major hurricanes – with winds higher than 110 mph – attacked Florida. “And that doesn’t include the other less powerful hurricanes,” Goldenberg said. That 10-year period fell in the middle of a cycle of heightened activity that began in 1926 and persisted until 1970.

Now, the combination of complacency bred during a long lull between 1971 and 1994, the new hyperactivity since 1995 and the ongoing mega-development of Florida’s coasts frightens emergency managers and scientists…

…All the other numbers tell the same tale: total storms, total strength, total duration, Caribbean hurricanes, October and November hurricanes, each at least 100 percent – in some cases 500 or 1,000 percent – higher since the lull.

“That’s a humongous increase,” Goldenberg said. “This is striking. This is not a little signal. It would be like saying the average temperature is 15 degrees warmer than last summer. It’s huge. It’s huge.”

Worse, atmospheric steering currents have changed to our disadvantage.

During the beginning of this active period, a persistent and beneficial bend in the jetstream carried hurricanes away from Florida. Now, that phenomenon had disappeared, replaced by a persistent ridge of high pressure over the Atlantic that is pushing them toward Florida.

What can you do?

Only one thing: Prepare.

Mary Ellen KlasMiami Herald

Analysis:

The brethren in Florida have been hammered in recent weeks by the hurricanes mentioned in the article above. As forecasters indicate that September and October are the peak seasons for hurricane activity, it is possible for several more storms to hit the coast this year.

We need to keep all in the path of such storms in our prayers, but especially our brethren. As Paul exhorted the Ephesians to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 2:18).

Note: The following email exchange is in response to an article posted on the Soundteaching website. The lady, who we will call “Alice” (not her real name) continues to respond. We will continue to try to teach her. This exchange serves to establish that our web presence is helping to spread the gospel.

Hi Stan,

I just read your message on belonging to a church to be saved. I must in all consciousness tell you that you are wrong. The ONLY requirement to being saved is calling and believing on the name of Jesus. The body of Christ is the church weather you are in a physical church or not. The disabled lady who cannot go to church…is she condemned? The Pharisees went to church but were condemned for their legalism. The thief on the cross didn’t go to church but he called upon Christ and Christ said He would be with him in paradise. At that moment he was part of the body weather he was in a physical church or not. I love church and I love going to church but going is not a prerequisite to be saved…ONLY believing on Jesus. With your message you condemn so many people to the sin of guilt or of not being good enough to go to heaven because they don’t go to church. I agree that the church is great for keeping people accountable to the rest of the body…it is important but NOT a requirement for salvation.

Thank you for your time,

“Alice”

“Alice”,

I truly appreciate your reading messages from our site, and would encourage you to go and read the article you refer to again, as you seem to misunderstand what I have written.

Continue reading “An Interesting Exchange” →

J.W. McGarvey once made a statement to Jesse Sewell, on the subject of Fellowship, which is very interesting.

“You are on the right road, and whatever you do, don’t ever let anybody persuade you that you can successfully combat error by fellowshipping it and going along with it. I have tried. I believed at the start that was the only way to do it. I’ve never held membership in a congregation that used instrumental music. I have, however, accepted invitations to preach without distinction between churches that used it and churches that didn’t. I’ve gone along with papers and magazines and things of that sort. During these years I have taught the truth as the New Testament teaches it to every young preacher who has passed through the College of the Bible. Yet, I do not know of more than six of those men who are preaching the truth today. It won’t work.”

As told to Jesse Sewell in 1902 or 1903.
1950 Harding College Lectures

In the late 1800’s, as the dispute over the instrument and Missionary Societies raged, many sought to maintain that fellowship as McGarvey did. Continue reading “A Principle of Fellowship” →

Gibbons, in his well respected work entitled, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, lists 7 reasons he contends were the major culprits resulting in the fall of the greatest of the ancient empires. The seven reasons listed are:

1. The divorce rate rose.
2. Taxes got higher
3. More public money was spent for welfare.
4. The craving for greater pleasure and leisure increased.
5. Sports appeared to get more exciting, more brutal.
6. The building of gigantic armaments continued.
7. Religion was thought by many to be on the decay.

Now, it doesn’t take a genius to see the parallels of the ancient society with our day and time. And this is a pretty strong indicator of the present state of our society as well. Continue reading “Decline and Fall” →

“When angry, count four; when very angry, swear.” ~ Mark Twain

“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” ~Colossians 3:8

In the Monday, January 12, 1998 edition of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, an article on the subject of Cursing appeared in the Life & Arts section. The article is a good example of unbiased reporting, as it just reports the societal trend of increased cursing and swearing, while not commenting on the appropriateness of the trend. I do not intend to be unbiased however, in commenting on the trend. Continue reading “Curse and Effect” →

Websites that reunite old flames are being highlighted by counselling firms in the UK as a factor in the rise of divorce rates in England and Wales.

The number of divorces in England and Wales continued to rise in 2003 to reach a total of 153,490, marking the third consecutive year of rising divorce rates according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). For the first time, the internet, and more specifically dating sites and sites that reunite old friends, are being mooted as factors behind the increase in marriage breakdowns.

“There are of course a number of reasons behind the rise in divorce rates,” said Christine Northam, a spokesperson with Relate, a counselling firm, “but chat rooms and sites which reunite friends make it easier for unhappy husbands or wives to meet other people and possibly go on to have an affair.”

Relate, which counsels couples facing divorce or separation, has noted that one in ten of the cases it deals with are indicating that the internet has played a role in the situation. “We have noticed in cases where a partner is having an affair, one out of ten couples have said that the affair began online, either on a chat site or reuniting site,” Northam explained to ElectricNews.Net.

ElectricNews.net
Wednesday, September 01 2004 by Deirdre McArdle

Analysis:

This news item indicates another possible danger which accompanies internet access. However, the danger is less in the internet access itself, and more in the desire of the one who involves him or herself in the situation.

Continue reading “Net Gets Blamed for High UK Divorce Rate” →

“AFTER JESUS Christ was baptised by John the Baptist, he saw “the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased’.” (Mark 1:10-11, Revised Standard Version).

Compare that with this new translation: “A pigeon flew down and perched on him. Jesus took this as a sign that God’s Spirit was with him. A voice from overhead was heard saying, ‘That’s my boy’!” There are many such chatty or doctrinally denuded passages in Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures, an exceedingly loose New Testament paraphrase by Britain’s John Henson, a fundamentalist-hating Baptist.

Should we call it the Boy Bible, or the Pigeon Bible? Good as New is the wildest, wackiest and possibly worst of those trendy attempts to update Holy Writ. Billed as “women, gay and sinner-friendly,” it has stirred up a minor ruckus in Canada and Britain, but less chatter in the United States. ‘…’

“…Call it arrogance or deception, but Henson freely changes what the Bible itself says. The Apostle Paul taught that “each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband” and that if unmarried singles or widows “cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:2,9).

Henson’s version: “My advice is for everyone to have a regular partner. … If you know you have strong needs, get yourself a partner. Better than being frustrated!” Likewise, Henson has Jesus re-writing the Ten Commandments: “Don’t take away someone else’s partner” (Matthew 5:27). In 2004, this clearly implies approval for unwed heterosexual and homosexual couples, possibly including temporary live-ins. Henson simply chops out things he doesn’t like.”

Richard N. Ostling, AP Religion Writer

Analysis:

This Bible paraphrase will no doubt be embraced by radical feminists, homosexuals and liberal theologians, and has actually been endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglican Church.

Continue reading “New Bible – Trendy or Heretical?” →

Aug. 17, 2004 – A quarter of a million pottery shards from small jugs, an underground pool, a foot-washing stone and wall carvings unearthed in a large cave west of Jerusalem could be the first archaeological evidence for the existence of St. John the Baptist, according to a forthcoming book.

“The Cave of John the Baptist,” by British archaeologist Shimon Gibson, “presents the first evidence that can be directly linked to the Gospels and to a major figure in the birth of Christianity,” reads the book’s synopsis.

News Brief by Rossella Lorenzi
Discovery News

Note: Picture is of the entrance to what some believe is the cave of Jon the Baptist

Analysis:

As always, such discoveries by archaeologists cause great sensation, and excite our imaginations. You may remember the ossuary recently discovered, which contains a reference to Jesus on its side. Though excitement was initially great, and some still claim it is direct archeological proof of Jesus’ existence, most now believe that the inscription was added later, and is not genuine.

Continue reading “John the Baptist’s Cave Claimed Found” →

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were guilty of many sins. They bound man-made tradition upon the Jewish people (cf. Matthew 15:1-6). They were often guilty of hypocrisy, putting on a great show of religion, while falling far short of God’s requirements of righteousness and love (cf. Matthew 15:1-9). They desired the praise of men, and designed their worship to be ostentatious displays of false piety (cf. Matthew 23). One of the common sins of the Pharisees’ was the prominent self-righteous attitude that characterized many in the party. Continue reading “Self-Righteousness” →

The September 18, 1996 edition of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram ran an article on the subject of gambling. It was found on the opinion page, and authored by the nationally syndicated columnist, William Safire. In his article, he gives two quotes from Senator Richard Lugar, as he was addressing a group called the Christian Coalition. I would like for you to consider the two quotes: Continue reading “The Spread of Gambling” →

While the Son of God walked on earth, he expressed his love for all men. Jesus even loved the “unlovable.” A wonderful example of this compassion is seen in John’s record of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in John 4. Despite a national disdain the Jew felt toward Samaritans, Jesus started a conversation with the woman by requesting of her a drink of water. The woman recognized the singular nature of this and said, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (vs. 9). Jesus was the Christ, and his saving work went beyond national boundaries and prejudices to include all men. “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He'” (vs. 25-26). The grace of God was extended even to the despised Samaritans, indeed to all men, (cf. Acts 11:18). Continue reading “The Samaritans: A Despised People” →

More than a third of all Americans who are connected to the Internet have used it to access religious and spiritual information, a recent Pew Research Center study shows. Moreover, there has been a significant increase in the daily use of the Internet to access religious information. What researchers call “religion surfers” almost doubled to 35 million from 18 million between March 2000 and November 2002. The growth appears to be only “slightly linked” to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. The most recent research found that not only has interest in religion held since 9/11, but it increased 25 percent during the subsequent 15 months. The poll found Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 to be the least interested in searching out religious material (24%), while those ages 30-49 (33%) were the most interested.

Religion Today/ Agape Press
via MissionNet

Analysis:

The internet if often in the news because of its abuses. Pornography is rampant, stealing is common, and the private nature of obtaining the information and material allows such sinful activities to go, for the most part, undetected.

Continue reading “One Third of Web Users Seek Religious Information” →

The question under consideration, “Must one be a member of the church to be saved?”, is commonly asked, and easily answered. Scripture clearly reveals that fellowship in the church, as defined by God, is essential to the redemption of man. Simply put: Yes, one must be a member of the church to be saved. This assertion being made, it must be sustained and explained. Continue reading “Must One Be A Member of the Church to be Saved?” →