In Season and Out Bulletin: July 2020

In Season and Out The Hope Set Before Us Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, by: Edward O. Bragwell, Sr. with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2). It would be hard to find a sadder commentary on the human pre- July 2020 dicament than the one given by Paul concerning the former condi- Volume 9 tion of the Gentiles. He says they were “without Christ, … having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). In between Issue 6 saying they were without Christ and without God, he describes them as “having no hope.” Google’s definition of hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” It is the fuel that keeps one going during hard times. It gives the Christian strength to endure perse- cution and indignities, heaped upon him because of his willingness to live true to his faith and share it, while most folks are rejecting it. This hope is not a pipe dream of eternal optimists. It is not manu- factured by emotional manipulation by a skilled motivational spe- cialist. It is a reasonable hope (1 Peter 3:15) – one for which solid reasons or facts can be given beyond mere subjective feelings. It can be proclaimed and defended using objective evidence. The Hebrew writer speaking of “the hope set before us” (6:18), describes it as the anchor of the soul (6:19). It offers something “sure and steadfast” for people to embrace while living in a world of trouble. It transcends this world: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Going back to Hebrews 6, we are impressed with the three-fold basis that we have for this hope set before us. 1. The certainty of God’s promises. These promises come from One, who by His very nature, cannot lie (6:18; cf. Titus 1:2); nor change with time (cf. Hebrews 13:8). They come from One who takes His promises seriously – not being “slack” concerning them (2 Peter 3:9). They come from One whose track record of promise keeping is absolutely perfect. His 1

promises to Abraham are prime examples (6:13-15). The length to which God went to assure us of the certainty of His promised hope is beyond awe- some. Not only was He willing to give His promise, which of itself would be unchangeable, He backed it up with His oath that by two unchangeable things we can be doubly assured of one day realizing the object of our hope. 2. The redemptive work of Jesus. When Jesus entered into heaven He, as high priest, carried His own blood--the blood shed on the cross for our redemp- tion (6:19-20; cf. Hebrews 9:12). There He made it possible for souls from both the new and old covenants to be redeemed from sin (Hebrews 9:15). Without this there could be no forgiveness, thus no hope. He has entered as our forerunner, signifying that we can be the “after-runners” because of what He has done for us. His redemptive work not only involved his dying for our sins, but also His being “raised for our justification” (Roman 2:25). His redemptive work did not end with his death. It also involved His resur- rection and ascension into heaven with His blood and taking His seat as both King and High Priest. There He remains until He comes again to redeem the resurrected bodies sufficiently changed into spiritual bodies suited for heav- enly existence (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:35ff). 3. The diligence of our service. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and pa- tience inherit the promises.” (6:10-12). This shows that our “full assurance of hope” is, at least partially, based on our showing diligence in service until the end. (Cf. Rev. 2:10). One of the reasons Paul gave for confidently declar- ing that he had the crown of righteous awaiting was that he had fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7-8). There is very little in this world to generate a sense of security within us. The evening news brings reports of harm and threats on every side. What passes as religion is more frightening than comforting to the spiritually minded. We learn more and more of the passing of our peers. Mixed in all that are the constant re- ports of false doctrine (old and new) pulling many away from “the faith.” Is there any light at the end of this tunnel? Yes. A thousand times, yes. It is that hope that is set before us that keeps us from making shipwreck of our faith in the midst of these storms of life. We can calmly weather these storms knowing we are firmly anchored to the One gone on before us to prepare a place for us. 2

Nobody Tells Me What to Do! by: Jim Everett “Nobody is going to tell me what to do” is an attitude altogether too common in our current culture. It is a result of pride and self-will and takes issue with re- quired “submissiveness” (Romans 13:1-5; 1 Peter 5:5-6; James 4:6-10). Parents do their children a grave injustice by not teaching them to have respect for authority and to accept obligations and responsibilities they have in life. Surely, an essential part of child’s growth is independence – within reason. But the child left to himself without restraint, who is not taught respect for the authority of parents, is a child who will be rebellious against all authority – cf. Prov. 29:15-17. Do you as a child resent your parents telling you what to do, and do you yearn for the day when you will be away from home and the control of your parents? You better en- joy home while you can – this “making your own decisions” thing is not all it is cut out to be. Also, learning that there must be the respect for civil authority is critical to being a good, productive citizen but it is even more crucial to a proper relation- ship with The Lord – it is the humble and submissive heart in which God can work. God is God – The Ruler of the universe Because God is God, the creator, he is sovereign and has the right to tell the created what to do (Micah 6:8; Matthew 28:18-20). His power demonstrates his sover- eignty, for the same power to heal is the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:1-ff; 9:25-26). When Jesus commanded demons to come out, they had to respond to his authority (Mark 1:22-26). Though his sovereignty is inherent in his nature, not all men acknowledge his right to rule their lives. Therefore, how we perceive God determines how we will respond to him (Romans 11:22; Matthew 8:5-ff). It is either “now” or “later” God does not force obedience, though He has reacted to man’s disobedience in times past directly and the consequences were disastrous – note Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Peter 2:6-11). Samuel told Saul that “rebellion is as witchcraft and stubbornness is as idolatry…” (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Having traced the sequence of events in Christ’s existence from perfect equality to humility in flesh then to exaltation finalized, Paul affirms that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Jesus as Lord, (Philippians 2:5-11). It is either now or later – it will hap- 3

pen, even if it is wrenched from defiant lips. God wants from man loving obedi- ence – but do not be mistaken by believing that freedom to choose means that we escape final accountability for our actions (cf. Matthew 25:14-30; 31-46). From authority to authoritative How we treat the word of God says everything about our real respect for the au- thority of God. If man does not believe in God, he will not submit to a way of life he describes as “mythological superstition.” Even among religious people, there are those whom I describe as the “humble arrogant” – while displaying themselves as humble and pious they disregard the need for authority from scripture for religious practices. If we believe in the true God, then accepting scripture as the revelation of God is no problem (John 7:17) – we want to know what God wants us to do. Conversely, those who want their own ways find that understanding the Bible is fraught with many difficulties. Closing their eyes, they say, “We cannot see” (cf. Isaiah 6:1-6; Matthew 13:13-17). That perception is the beginning of all substitu- tion and perversion. If I am wed to my preconceived ideas, I will always to seek to justify what I am doing rather than understanding heaven’s decrees. The real test comes when there is a conflict between God’s will and mine. If I obey God as long as God says what I like, then that is not real obedience – it is self serving and my own will I am doing, not God’s. However, if my perception of God is that He has the right to tell me what to do, and I want to do whatever He wants, I do not really have many problems about understanding what he says and complying with his will. God wants to have fellowship with us, but it will only be upon the surrender of our wills to his. He is the Lord who has the right to tell us what to do – it is EITHER NOW OR LATER. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18–20) 4

Godly Living in an Ungodly World by: Sewell Hall “Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world.” Titus 2:12 The character of a Christian is never completely stabilized until he accepts the fact that he is a square peg in a round hole. He is committed to live a godly life in an ungodly world. This is required not only by the passage above, but by many others. Godliness has sometimes been defined as “godlikeness.” Though a simple defi- nition, and not seriously misleading, it is still not exactly accurate. Godliness is rather a word that described an attitude toward God. W. E. Vine, an authority on New Testament words, says that it “denotes that piety which, characterized by a godward attitude, does that which is well pleasing to Him.” This “godward attitude” may be illustrated by comparing a confirmed bachelor with a devoted husband. The bachelor makes all his decisions on his own with his own interests the primary, or only, consideration. The faithful loving husband is different. Every decision is made with concern for his wife. He may not al- ways decide to do just what she would Study Opportunities wish, but he always calculates her reaction and acts with that in mind. Sunday Bible Study: 10:00 AM She is so much a part of him that she Sunday Worship Assembly: 11:00 AM cannot be disregarded. Wednesday: 7:30 PM God is so much a part of the think- Meeting Location: ing of a godly man that He cannot be disregarded. Every decision takes 74 Perrywinkle Lane into account what God has said or Huntington, WV whether God will approve. God’s word is searched to find even the slightest email: [email protected] hint as to what God’s will might be phone: 304-208-5996 in any given situation. Prayer has a major role in his search for solutions Everyone Welcome! to life’s problems. As suggested in 5

Vine’s definition, pleasing God is the goal of his life; displeasing God is that which he most desires to avoid. With this description of godliness in mind, it is clear that the world around us is ungodly. The average man on the street never gives God a thought in choosing his occupation, his life’s companion, or his place of residence - to say nothing of his recreation or wardrobe. He may give God a passing thought on an occasional Sun- day morning, and he may not be particularly immoral, but to say that God domi- nates his life would be to overstate the case by a considerable margin. And those who are The ungodly man finds it difficult to Christ’s have crucified understand the action of the godly. the flesh with its pas- The godly have faith, and act in view of, and with consciousness of One sions and desires. whom the faithless, physical eye can- not see. (Galatians 5:24) The ungodly and faithless Egyptians must have found it difficult to un- derstand why Moses “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (Hebrews 11:27). The latter part of the verse explains it: “For he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” The ungodly world is not content simply to misunderstand the godly man. It has ever persecuted those who were different. “Yea, and all who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus explained to his dis- ciples: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). As ungodliness increases in our world, the godly man may expect to be more and more the object of ridicule. True conversion involves the crucifixion of the flesh with the lust and passion thereof (Galatians 5:24). This is putting to death that part of our personality that is concerned with what men may think of us and what they may do to us. It is changing masters, so that pleasing God is our sole concern. Only then can we “live godly in this present world.” 6

The Church’s Purpose by: Bill Hall What is the purpose of the Lord’s church? Is it to eradicate poverty, disease, social injustice, illiteracy from among men? Is it to bring about a cessation of war and conflict? Is it to campaign for a temptation-free society for Christians to live in? If the church had as one of its great goals the eradication of disease, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish that goal. Could not the same power that enabled one blind man to see have enabled all blind man to see; that enabled one lame man to walk have enabled all lame people to walk; that cured many people of varied diseases have cured all people of all diseases? And could not this same power have been given to the church in all generations? If the church has as one of its great goals the eradication of poverty, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish this purpose. After all, He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He similarly fed four thousand on another occasion. Could not He who did these marvelous works have enabled His church in all generations to feed, clothe, and shelter the impoverished masses of the world through miraculous powers? If the Lord had wanted His church to become a lobbyist group to apply political pressure toward a temptation and persecution free society in which to live, He would have given instructions in that direction. He did not even lead His church into a direct effort to destroy slavery, but taught the Christian slave to be a better slave and the Christian master to treat his slaves as he would have his heavenly Master treat him (Col. 3:22-4:1). The church’s purpose is to save souls and prepare people for eternity - It holds out to the impoverished the hope of some day walking a street of gold; to the suffering a time when there will be no pain; to the sorrowing a moment when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” It tells the tempted and persecuted that there is value in these afflictions, that the testing of their faith is “more precious than of gold,” and to rejoice - It tells all to live godly lives in whatever environment they find themselves. It seeks to change people through the power of the gospel, not society through the coercion of legislators - Its weapons “are not carnal, but are mighty through God.” Its motivating theme: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” When churches become involved in hospital and health clinic work, or when they build schools for the education of their children, or when they see as one of their great missions to provide for the world’s poverty, or when they feel obligated to create social upheaval and campaign for human rights, or when they feel called upon to express their views on the government’s use of nuclear armaments or whatever, they have a distorted view of the purpose of the church. 7

Daily Bible Reading August 2020 August 3 Hebrews 1 August 18 Hebrews 9:11–28 August 4 Hebrews 2 August 19 Hebrews 10:1–18 August 5 Hebrews 3:1–6 August 20 Hebrews 10:19–26 August 6 Hebrews 3:7–19 August 21 Hebrews 10:27–39 August 7 Hebrews 4 August 24 Hebrews 11:1–11 August 10 Hebrews 5 August 25 Hebrews 11:12–23 August 11 Hebrews 6 August 26 Hebrews 11:24–40 August 12 Hebrews 7:1–10 August 27 Hebrews 12:1–17 August 13 Hebrews 7:11–28 August 28 Hebrews 12:18–29 August 14 Hebrews 8 August 31 Hebrews 13 August 17 Hebrews 9:1–10 church of Christ in Huntington P.O. Box 943 Barboursville, WV 25504 Mail To: www.inseasonandout.com 8