THE SPIRIT'S SWORD (Volume II, No. 4 - March 8, 1998)

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

The Northside church of Christ

Meeting at the North Bellingham Grange Hall

5201 Northwest Road

Bellingham, WA

Visit our Web Site on the Internet: http://www.angelfire.com/wa/northsidecofc

Editor: Joe R. Price

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In this issue:

--Forgiving (Robert W. LaCoste)

--Biblical Principles Of Unity (Part 8):

Agreeing to Disagree On The Revealed Faith and Doctrine

--Sermons:

----Judgments in the House of God (1 Pet. 4:17-19)

----A Man Who Understood Authority (Matt. 8:5-13)

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FORGIVING

by: Robert W. LaCoste

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32)

The need for forgiveness is universal! That is true, for all men sin and make mistakes daily! Men need forgiveness from God and men need to forgive one another!!

The author George Herbert once said, "He who can not forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself." Ben Franklin noted, "Doing injury puts you below your enemy; revenging one makes you but even with him; forgiving sets you above him."

Before any man becomes a disciple of the Lord he must be forgiven by God. And while it is true that the blood of Christ was poured out for all men, men must avail themselves of it and utilize it by way of a penitent and obedient life. (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30) The blood of Christ will not do an individual any good, if that one will not obey the commandments of He who shed it. Forgiveness, in essence is a conditional gift from God. A man by the name of Luke recorded these words, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:46-47) About 3,000 souls were forgiven that day, but on God's terms! (Acts 2:37-41)

So: men need forgiveness, but in order to remain forgiven by God, they must walk in His ways, (1 Jn. 1:7) and do His will. One of the most important aspects of this will is forgiving others! Jesus said, "Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him." (Luke 17:3) A lot of times we ignore the need of forgiveness, for we are too quick and often sharp with the rebukes! Rebuking is only proper, when a motive of restoring that erring one is in existence and if forgiveness doesn't follow should that one repent, then the rebuke then belongs to the rebuker, for he is then in error.

Furthermore, remember this: "if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. 6:15) Does it not seem right that this is so. Why should God forgive us, when we are unforgiving?? Let us realize that should any of us not have the blessing of having forgiveness from God daily, we are lost and without God in this present world with more serious repercussions to occur later!

Our God through the greatest and grandest book every written offers unto us the most sublime spiritual blessings. One of the greatest has to be THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. Shall not we who are God's people manifest this divine characteristic in our lives to those who ask forgiveness?? Oh yes: When God forgives, that's the end of it. HE never in burying the hatchet leaves the handle sticking out!

Biblical Principles of Unity (Part 8):

Agreeing to Disagree on the Revealed Faith and Doctrine

by: Joe R. Price

Some brethren believe that we can disagree on matters of faith and doctrine since we are saved by grace. Hence, they define the true grace of God wherein we stand by affirming that we must "agree to disagree" on some parts of "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (1 Pet. 5:12; Jude 3). It is being taught that God accepts men in spite of doctrinal error, therefore, we must accept one another in spite of differences in matters of the revealed faith and doctrine. This definition and application of grace and unity is foreign to the word of God.

If we are displaying the same grace toward one another that God displays towards us by "agreeing to disagree" on matters of the revealed faith and doctrine, then it is clearly implied that we can disagree with God and still be saved by His grace!! If this is true, then all who left denominationalism upon learning of their error and sin should repent of leaving those churches and return to the grace of God which allows us to "agree to disagree!" Hallelujah for "choosing the church of your choice!" I can go back to the Methodist Church and tell my parents that we don't have to be concerned anymore about our disagreement over matters of faith and doctrine!! God in His grace will accept us anyway!!

If brethren do not wish to leave this implication, then we plead with them to give up their man-made definition of grace with its perverted doctrine of "agreeing to disagree." Feeling the impact of the logical extension and consequence of their doctrine, the reply has been, "I know that some will say that if this be so, then we can disagree on such things as baptism and denominationalism, and we can allow such things as fornication and clear adultery to occur in the church. But I think most people can readily see that this is just a smokescreen."

No, this is not a smokescreen. It is the logical extension of the doctrine of agreeing to disagree. Whenever a doctrine can, by logical extension, be reduced to clear error, the doctrine itself is shown to be false. One cannot simply say, "That is a smokescreen," and make it so. If we must display a grace which agrees to disagree because "God displays" that kind of grace "towards us," then baptism can be included in this discussion. It is doctrine, yet not everyone agrees on it. It is not as "clear" to some as it is to others.

We call upon the "agree to disagree" proponents to apply this reasoning to themselves. Do they show "grace" and receive in fellowship the denominationalist who teaches that water baptism is unnecessary for salvation? God does not (Mk. 16:16). Yet, they will show "grace" to the person who teaches that adultery is a "non-sexual" sin (RETHINKING MARRIAGE, DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE, Jerry Bassett, p. 77-78), even though that teaching is foreign to the word of God (Heb. 13:4)! Why will these brethren allow a man to redefine adultery, but refuse to allow another man cannot redefine baptism? Clarity? Common sense? These are arbitrary, subjective decisions which cannot be sustained by the Scriptures and which do not support the conclusion that we should define grace and unity as "agreeing to disagree."

Imagine if a member of a congregation (where grace is being defined as "agreeing to disagree" on matters of the revealed faith) let it be known that he had never actually been baptized. Further, he let it be knows that he did not agree with the teaching that one must be baptized in order to be saved. What would that church, which pleads for tolerance in matters of doctrine and the revealed faith, do in this situation? They could not be consistent and tell this person that he is wrong (because it would be too arrogant to oppose a doctrinal difference!). (Remember, the defenders of this new "grace-unity" view assert that because we do not have apostles with us today, our own interpretations of the Scriptures are flawed. According to them, we are helpless to know with absolute certainty what is right and what is wrong.) All these brethren could tell that person is that their disagree - nothing more. They would have to be patient and humble and continue to fellowship him. This doctrine forces brethren to

compromise with error, tolerate it and accept it. This is the logical extension or outcome of the concept when put into practice. It is not a smokescreen. Brethren, be warned against the subtlety of false doctrine! (Acts 20:29-32)

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JUDGMENTS IN THE HOUSE OF GOD

{Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4:17-19}

Introduction

1. Eccl. 3:1, 17 - "God shall judge the righteous & the wicked...."

2. 1 Pet. 4:17-19 - The church undergoes judgments (separations).

I. PERSECUTION MAKES SEPARATIONS IN THE HOUSE OF GOD - 1 Pet. 4:12-16.

A. Christians Will Suffer For Christ - 2 Tim. 3:12; Jno. 15:18-21; Matt. 5:10-12.

B. Those Who Are Ashamed Of Christ Will Be Separated From The Reward Of Glory - 4:14-16; Matt. 10:22; 1 Pet. 1:6-7.

C. Persecution Is A Time Of Judgment In House Of God - 4:17-18.

--Scarcely - With difficulty, strenuous activity & exertion - cf. Acts 14:18; 27:16.

II. GOSPEL PREACHING MAKES SEPARATIONS IN THE HOUSE OF GOD - cf. Lk. 12:51-53.

A. Not Every Christian Is Satisfied With Gospel Preaching - Acts 20:29-30; Gal. 4:16; 1 Tim.

1:18-20.

B. Those Who Leave Truth Are Judged (Separated) By Truth - 2 Jno. 9; 1 Jno. 2:19.

III. CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE MAKES SEPARATIONS IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.

A. When Initial Attempts To Restore The Sinning Christian Fail, Corrective Discipline Is Used To Restore The Fallen - Gal. 6:1; Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5; 2 Thess. 3:6-14.

B. Without It, This Church Will Be Separated From Christ: Tolerant, Complacent & Infested With Sin - And Many Souls Are Lost! - 1 Cor. 5:1-2, 6.

Conclusion: We shall not escape the righteous judgment of God - Rom. 2:4.

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A MAN WHO UNDERSTOOD AUTHORITY

{Scripture Reading: Matthew 8:5-13}

I. THE RIGHTS OF AUTHORITY - Matt. 8:8-9 (Lk. 7:7-8); Matt. 28:18.

A. The Right To Rule - 8:9; Psa. 2:6-12; Eph. 1:21-23.

B. The Right To Bless - 8:8 (cf. Rom. 13:3-4); Jno. 17:2.

C. The Right To Judge - 8:9; (cf. Jno. 19:10); Jno. 5:26-29.

II. SUBMISSION TO AUTHORITY - Matt. 8:8-9; Lk. 7:7-8.

A. Not Everyone Is Willing To Yield To Authority (2 Kgs. 5; 1 Sam. 15).

B. Some Willingly Yield To Authority - Matt. 8:8; Jno. 9:6-7; Acts 26:19.

III. FAITH AND AUTHORITY.

A. Living Under Divine Authority Is Living By Faith - Jno. 12:48-50; Col. 3:17;

2 Tim. 3:16-17 (Jas. 2:14-26).

B. Shall We Be Faithless Or Believing? - Matt. 8:12-13