THE SPIRIT'S SWORD
Published by
Mt. Baker church of Christ
Bellingham, WA (1860 Mt. Baker HWY)
(360) 752-2692

Editor/Evangelist  Joe R. Price
Volume IX,  Number 01
 
August 28, 2005

"All material is written by Joe R. Price, unless otherwise noted."
 


Times of services:

Sunday:
Bible Classes............9:30 AM
Worship......10:30 & 6:00 PM

Wednesday:
Bible Classes............7:00 PM

Web sites:
Mt. Baker church of Christ  Bible Answers

"...Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers..." (1 Peter 5:2)
Elders
Morris Bass, Rick Holt , Joe Price

"...let them serve as deacons, being found blameless..." (1 Tim. 3:10)
Deacons
Aaron Bass, Rich Brooks, Mike Finn
John Hague, Dan Head

"And take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17)

In this issue:


Gospel Meeting Sept. 25-30, 2005
 

THE MT. BAKER
CHURCH OF CHRIST

(1860 Mt. Baker Highway, Bellingham, WA)

Invites you to our

GOSPEL MEETING

with Evangelist

Dennis Scroggins

(Lometa, Texas)

Sept. 25–30, 2005

Monday-Friday:  7:00 PM
(Sunday:  9:30 & 10:30 AM, 6:00 PM)

                                                                   Sunday:

                                                                        9:30 AM:      This man is the Great Power of God
                                                                     10:30 AM:      Noble Hearts
                                                                        6:00 PM:      The Race is not to the Swift

                                                                   Monday:           Recognizing the Tares
                                                                   Tuesday:          No Other Name!
                                                                   Wednesday:   Give Me Strength!
                                                                   Thursday:       The Fear of Hell
                                                                   Friday:              Zeal Without Knowledge:  A Spiritual Killer

(From I-5 take Exit # 255 and go East 4.2 miles)
more information:  please call (360) 752-2692

Top


Honoring Marriage
Joe R. Price

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Heb. 13:4)

Evidence abounds that more and more people do not honor marriage:
● One fifth of first marriages end within 5 years and one third end within 10 years (1)
● About 43 percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years (2)
● About 11 million people living with an unmarried partner in the U.S. This includes both same-sex and different-sex couples
  (U.S. Census Bureau) (3)
● Same-sex marriages are gaining recognition

On the other hand, the Bible highly honors marriage as:
● Ordained by God (Gen. 2:21-24)
● A relationship for one man and one woman (Gen. 2:21-24)
● A blessing from God (Eccl. 9:9)
● A covenant witnessed by God (Mal. 2:14)
● Providing protection against sin (1 Cor. 7:2)
● An illustration of Christ and His church (Eph. 5:32)
● Regulated and judged by God (Heb. 13:4)

1. The honor of marriage is seen by the place God has given it. Our Creator gave marriage a unique place of honor. We, His creatures, must likewise give marriage its due place in our social structure. The society that fails to do so cannot long endure.

God ordained marriage as an abiding solution to loneliness (Gen. 2:18, 21-24). Mankind has perverted this divine solution with shameful relations that are "against nature" (Rom. 1:26-27). The advancement of "same-sex marriages" (as well as all manner of homosexual relationships) defies and dishonors marriage and the God who gave it.

God established marriage as an underpinning of society. In marriage, the family unit is formed and maintained in which each generation can be taught and trained in righteous living (Deut. 6:6-9; Psa. 78:3-4; Eph. 6:4). Marriage, as God designed it, provides mankind with an environment in which love, honor, service and devotion can flourish (Eph. 5:22-33). Today, however, only 25% of American households consist of what most people think of as a "traditional family"; a married couple and their children. (4) Today, one-third of all births in America are to unmarried women. (5)

2. The honor of marriage is seen in its moral purity. God says the marriage bed is morally pure in His sight (Heb. 13:4). Pre-marital sex is sinful and is not true love. God designed marriage as the relationship in which sexual desires are properly fulfilled, thereby protecting both husband and wife from fornication (1 Cor. 7:2-5). When lust is allowed to enter the heart and that lust conceives infidelity, the purity of marriage is corrupted, families are forever affected, and souls are lost in sin (Jas. 4:4; Prov. 6:23-35; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).

The moral purity of marriage is of little concern to many folks today. One source says about 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an affair at some point in some marriage; others say the number is higher. (6) A 1998 study said about 24 percent of men and 14 percent of women have had sex outside their marriages. (7) Yet, it is precisely when the husband and wife respect and maintain the purity of the marriage bed that the moral, emotional and spiritual security of their marriage is enhanced.

3. The honor of marriage is seen in the permanency God designed into it. "One man and one woman for life, with one exception" is not a worn out cliché; it is the divine mandate (Matt. 19:4-6, 9-12; Rom. 7:2-3). The sundering of marriages is of the devil, not of God (Matt. 19:6). Some of the most common reasons given for divorce (in addition to infidelity) are "we grew apart," "we fell out of love," "we argued constantly" and "we are no longer sexually attracted." (8) Nevertheless, it is pure folly for one to say that "surely God would want me to be happy" in an effort to justify divorce - when that "happiness" means disrupting and separating the very relationship God established for one's happiness.

Christians must be working hard to help save troubled marriages. We must diligently teach the God-given responsibilities of marriage, the blessings of marriage, and the enduring nature of marriage. The one who sunders what God joins together will certainly be judged by the Almighty.

When a man and woman marry, they are "no longer two but one flesh" (Matt. 19:6). No longer to go in opposite directions, they are united for life, forsaking all others (Matt. 19:5). It is past time for marriage to return to a place of honor in the hearts and lives of men and women - for God will judge all who dishonor it (Heb. 13:4).
____________________________________________________

(1) Bramlett & Mosher, Ph.D., "First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States", Advance Data, No. 323, May 31, 2001, CDC

(2) govspot.com/news/reports/family.htm

(3) unmarried.org/statistics.html

(4) National Opinion Research Center, "The Emerging 21st Century Family, University of Chicago, 1999 (cited on unmarried.org/statistics.html)

(5) National Center for Health Statistics, 2000 data (cited on unmarried.org/statistics.html)

(6) Vaugn, Peggy, Monogamy Myth, cited on manhaters.com

(7) Dec. 21, 1998 report in USA Today on a national study by the University of California, San Francisco, cited on manhaters.com

(8) "We Ask, You Answer," Men's Health: Best Life, September/ October 2004, page 18 - source: 1,500 visitors to Bestlifeonline.com, June 2004 (cited on divorcepeers.com/stats26.htm)

Top


You can find the complete outline of this sermon at BIBLE ANSWERS

The Purpose of the Commandment

Scripture Reading:  1 Timothy 1:3-7

1. Men put law & love against each other (law v. love), but God links them:
  a. Josh. 22:5:  Careful obedience is loving the Lord.
  b. Psa. 119:97:  God’s law, the object of man’s love.
  c. Psa. 119:165: Those who love God’s law have peace.
  d. Rom. 13:8-10:  Love fulfills law.
2.  Truth & love unite in Christ (Jno. 14:6; 1 Jno. 4:8).

I.  THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S COMMANDMENTS IS LOVE, 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Cor. 13:1-3.

  A.  Love is Active Good Will toward God and Others, Jno. 14:15, 23; 1 Jno. 2:5; 5:3.
  B.  Remain Sound in Doctrine in order to Properly Love, 1 Tim. 1:3-11; Gal. 1:6-7; 2 Jno. 1-6 (9).

II. THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMANDMENT IS LOVE OUT OF…

  A.  A Pure Heart, Jas. 4:8 (Matt. 5:8).
    1. Heart is the seat of one’s will, & reflects our life, Heb. 4:12; Prov. 23:7; Matt. 12:35 (cf. Jas. 3:13-16).
      a. Pure:  Free of sin, Acts 2:37-38.
      b. Filled with pure thoughts & motives, Phil. 4:8 (Col. 3:16).
    2. Why am I obeying the commands of God?  (Prov. 3:1-8) cf. Matt. 5:19-20 (6:1).
  B.  A Good Conscience, 1 Cor. 8:1-3, 7-13 (9:22; 10:31-33); Gal. 5:14; 1 Tim. 4:1-2 (1 Pet. 3:21).
    1. The conscience is our moral compass.
    2. When trained in purity of truth & love, it is “good” (useful).
  C.  A Sincere Faith.
    1. Faith is the expression of our trust in God; the active response to truth in one’s life, cf. Jas. 2:18.
    2. Sincere:  “unfeigned, undisguised,” genuine, not pretended or impersonated – cf. 2 Tim. 1:5; Col. 3:22-23; 2 Cor. 1:12 (2:17).

Conclusion  Lk. 16:15; 10:25-27 (Eph. 6:24)

Top


NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the light of Scripture)

Is the Price too High?
Joe R. Price

The average cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S. reached $2.61 this week.  You think that’s high?  Well, yes, it is.  But, count your blessings; “The Christian Science Monitor” reported Thursday that “a gallon of gas in Amsterdam now costs $7.13.”  (“Gas prices too high? Try Europe,” Peter Ford, csmonitor.com, August 26, 2005 edition)

This reminds us of the cost associated with our salvation from sins.  Christ Jesus “made himself of no reputation” when He left the glory of heaven and became a man (Phil. 2:6-7; Jno. 1:14).  He emptied Himself of the heavenly glories in order to accomplish our redemption (cf. Jno. 17:5).  Christians are urged to recall our Savior’s matchless humility:  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).  Having left heaven to walk among men, He then paid the price of death on the cross – the sinless for the sinful – as an offering for sin (Phil. 2:8; Matt. 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:28).  He “gave himself a ransom for all,” offering sinners redemption from sin through His precious blood (1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).  Jesus paid a high price so we could be saved (Rom. 5:8-9).

The cost of discipleship is high and very real:  “Whoever does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Lk. 14:33).  Jesus said to “count the cost” of following Him (Lk. 14:25-32). Putting Jesus first in one’s life is the price a true disciple willingly pays (Lk. 9:23; Jno. 8:31-32).

Jesus paid the price of redemption.  We must be willing to pay the price of discipleship to go to heaven.  Or, will we walk away, concluding the price is higher than we are willing to pay (cf. Matt. 19:21-22)?

 Top


Created by Chuck Sibbing - 03/11/2009

The Spirit's Sword is a free, weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA
Send all questions, comments and subscriptions to the editor at: ssword@bibleanswer.com