|
|
|
The
One Issue By
Joe Fitch Paul
was invited to the Areopagus. The "somebodies"
in "Men
of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was
passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an
altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you
worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world.... "
(Acts 17:22) His
sermon did not resemble his address in Antioch of Pisidia. There he addressed
"Men of Two
young men knock at your door. They introduce themselves as "elders"
wanting to study with you. You are ready -- with a long list to debate --
beginning with guys who hardly shave calling themselves elders. Yet, that is not
the real issue nor is their strange doctrine! With the basic issue unsettled,
you never settle any others. First settle the core issue; all others fall into
place. Why do Mormons believe such strange things? They accept Joseph Smith as a
prophet of God -- and teach his doctrines. Was Joseph Smith God's prophet or a
fraud? If God's prophet, all his doctrines must be accepted. If a fraud, all his
doctrines fall with him. Examine
Smith's book -- The Book of Mormon. It is the first witness against Joseph
Smith. His first edition was riddled with mistakes -- revised in later editions.
"Jesus who is the Father”
was changed to "Jesus who is the son of
the Father” -- no small change! An inspired book, yet with such a
glaring error? Historical revisions were necessary he placed people in the wrong
places and at the wrong times. Obvious errors requiring edit after the first
edition! A lengthy list of revisions of the first edition brand Joseph Smith as
a fraud prophet. Call the second witness! The Book Of Abraham -- offered and
translated by Joseph Smith. The companion volume was a grammar for the language
of that book -- also written by Joseph Smith. The problem? The book does not say
what Joseph Smith reports -- has no reference to Abraham -- is a plain Egyptian
funeral scroll! The grammar is a farce! What of Joseph Smith as a prophet? Call
the third group of witnesses; they testify of get rich schemes, deceitful
practices, womanizing. A prophet of God? Hardly! Yet, it is the one issue
Mormons must confront. The
one issue with Jews? Totally different than with Mormons! Jesus himself defined
the issue: "Therefore I said to you
that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will
die in your sins" (John
8:24). Is Jesus the Messiah? That is the Jew's fundamental issue. The law,
circumcision, Sabbath -- there is no point addressing these with a Jew. None
will be settled until Jesus' claim as Messiah is settled -- and if he is
Messiah, all will be easily settled by his authoritative word. For every Jew,
Messiah is the issue! Where then shall we start? Start where Paul started in
Jewish synagogues! Then Paul, as his custom
was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the
Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise
again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the
Christ." (Acts 17:2) And
Apollos well knew that necessary tactic -- "he
vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is
the Christ" (Acts 18:28). The issue was -- and is -- vital to
converting Jews. It explains "fair
minded" Jews who "searched
the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so"
(Acts 17:11). From Andrew
forward, they victoriously announced: "We
have found Messiah" (John 1:41) -- the most fundamental issue
for Jews -- and others as well. The
one issue? With signs and wonders pointing to Jesus as Messiah, Jesus focused on
just one issue -- rested his whole case on just one sign -- "For
as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this
generation" (Luke 11:30). One sign for proof -- succeed or fail!
"For as Jonah was three days and three
nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt. 12:40). It was
the fundamental message voiced by Christians -- just as Paul reminded: "For
I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose
again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor.
15:2-5). An empty tomb is the basic issue -- supported by a host of witnesses
who saw him alive after his death (1 Cor. 15:5-8). How important is this
issue? "...if Christ is not risen, then
our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty." (1 Cor.
15:14). Do not ignore or overlook the basic issue! & The
Hoax of Evolution By
Tim Haile If
you say something often enough, loud enough, and with enough confidence, people
tend to believe you. This is what has happened with the theory of evolution.
Though a “theory,” Darwinism is presented as absolute fact, both in public
schools, college universities and TV programming. I remind the reader that a
“theory” is something that has not yet been proven. It is a supposition. For
100 years, geneticists have believed that the fruit
fly might provide the evolutionary evidence that has been lacking.
These flies were selected for their short generation times and for having only
four pairs of chromosomes. However, according to a recent study, after 100 years
of research, in laboratories all over the world, scientists have concluded that
the fruit flies are the same as they were 100 years ago. Their DNA is unchanged.
This was the result, even after the fruit flies were “subjected
to all manner of mutation-inducing phenomena, including hosts of chemicals and
radiation treatments, to try and accelerate evolution-mimicking mutations.” Those
of us who affirm the creation model
of origins [Genesis 1] are accused of being “fools” for believing in an
unprovable model of origins, yet the evolutionist also has his unprovable
model. Is he also a “fool?” Or is he just a hypocrite
for calling Bible-believers fools? We are told that, “the
fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Ps. 14:1;
53:1). The design and orderly arrangement of the universe do imply the existence
of an intelligent designer (Ps. 19:1, 2; Rom. 1:20; Acts 14:17). & Everybody
Gets a Mulligan By
Mike Johnson For
those of you who are not golfing fans, you may not understand fully the title of
this article.
A mulligan is a do-over. It is an opportunity
to take another shot because the first one was
no good. I have used many mulligans in my time, especially in the early years.
Mulligans
also work in our interpersonal relationships.
Marriages need mulligans. When a spouse forgets a birthday, is the
marriage over? When one says something in the heat of the moment
that is offensive, is the marriage over? All of our relationships with
people require some mulligans every now and then.
God
made mulligans a part of the Christian life.
Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother who sins
against him. Jesus responded, "...seventy
times seven." (Matt. 18:21-22)
Each person gets at least "seventy
times seven"
mulligans. God
grants me mulligans in my relationship with
Him. 1 John 1:9 makes us this
promise, "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.” In
golf, we never
give more than one or two mulligans. God doesn't say that there is a limit to the
number of mulligans I get. All He says
is that I must confess the sin. I'm sure glad God gives mulligans, too!
& BULLETIN
DIGEST |