Plain Winnie Sue

(A Parable)

By John Waddey

Winnie Sue was a plain girl. Born of Christian parents, she had good upbringing and training. They instilled in her heart strong and strict Christian values. They also discouraged her from worldly friends, dress and manners that might reflect poorly on her faith. Given her plainness and simplicity of dress and countenance, poor Winnie was not among the most popular girls at her school.

As Winnie watched the young men flocking around the other girls who dressed stylishly and improved their appearance with makeup and fancy coiffures, she came to resent her plainness and strict upbringing. When she went away to college, she gradually cast off the teachings of her parents. She quickly learned that the more she imitated her worldly girl friends, the more the boys took notice of her. By the time she finished he four years of school Winnie was the "belle of the ball." She looked and acted just like all the other young ladies on campus. Only occasionally did she find time to worship with God's people. That was mainly when she went home to visit her parents. Later in life when Winnie had married and had daughters of her own, she began to reflect on her life's experiences. At 35 her parents’ rules did not seem so extreme. The lessons learned at church seemed very reasonable. She convinced her husband that it would be best if they resurrected some of those old standards for the training of their own children. At night, Winnie often reflected on her years in college and felt ashamed that she had cast away for popularity, the values that she now wanted her girls to embrace. In her prayers she asked God for forgiveness of sins she had drifted into.

Observation tells us that the leaders of some Churches of Christ are like Winnie. To them the church is so plain in her adornments, her worship is so simple and old fashioned, her doctrine is so limiting. With these limitations, how can she ever be popular with her worldly neighbors? Like Winnie, they are eager to cast off those old biblical restraints, and apply the make-up and dress of the world. Popularity with their neighbors, they surmise, is reason enough to abandon the old paths (Jer. 6:16).

Sadly, most of them never recover themselves. The further they go in pursuit of worldly honor and recognition, the less inclined they are to go back to the ways set forth by Christ and his apostles. In time, faded and jaded, one would never guess that once they were truly the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23-25). He that hath ears, let him hear. &

WHY SOME DON'T BELIEVE #1

By Bill Walton

I have sometimes been asked: “If the evidence supporting our faith in God is so strong and so convincing, why doesn't everyone believe?” So, in the next few articles on this page, I'm going to tell you why they don't believe. And there are a variety of reasons.

In the first place, many people do not believe because they have not seen the evidence. Anyone who really looks at the vastness of the universe, the existence of life in the universe, the complexity of living things, the orderliness of nature, and the moral sensibility within man, must conclude that it couldn't just happen. The evidence of design all around us, and within us, makes it obvious that there must be a Designer. The creation provides abundant evidence of the Creator, and every honest person intuitively understands that there must be a Creator (Heb 3:4; Psa 19:1-4; Rom 1:19-20). And understanding this ought to lead us to seek Him.

But while the creation proves there is a Creator, it does not prove that the Creator is the God revealed in the Bible; and it does not prove that Jesus is the Son of God, or that the Bible is the Word of God. We must look to other kinds of evidence for that, and some people have not seen the evidence that would support faith in the God revealed in the Bible, and faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and the Bible as the Word of God. The evidence is there. It is abundant, and it is compelling. But they haven't seen it. You might ask, “Why haven't they seen the evidence?” And I would answer, “In many cases, they haven't seen it because they have no interest in seeing it.” Like the hogs eating the acorns under the oak trees, they couldn't care less where it comes from. They have no interest in anything beyond the here-and-now.

In my college days I once had a conversation with a young man who was expressing his skepticism concerning these fundamentals of the Christian's faith. I listened for a while, and then I asked him, “Have you ever read any books that deal with the scientific accuracy of the Bible, or the historical accuracy of the Bible, or the prophetic accuracy of the Bible?” He said, “No, I haven't.”  Then I asked, “Have you read any books in the area of Christian evidences?” And again, he answered, “NO.” He was content with skepticism and doubt and had no interest in trying to resolve his doubt. It wasn't that he had found the evidence for faith weak and lacking, it was simply the fact that he had no interest in seeing the evidence. &

Christian Victory

By Eddie R. Littrell

To indicate to us the reason the commandments of God “are not grievous” (1 John 5:3), the apostle directs our attention to the final goal and the means by which we may attain it. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the vic­tory that has overcome the world—our faith" (v. 4).

He argues that the commandments are not weighty, galling, or burdensome for, despite the difficulties, hardships, and tribulations we necessarily suffer as Christians, all such will eventually result in victory. Those who triumph over all such things con­quer the world. Hence, we need not fear failure nor contemplate defeat. Those who are begotten of God—who do not keep on willfully sinning—will be victorious in this life and in the life to come.

We see here, as elsewhere in the scriptures, evidence of the conquering power of faith. It enables us to “flee fornication,” to flee “youthful lusts,” to “resist the devil,” and to yield ourselves servants of “obedience unto righteousness.” It enables us to avoid the entanglements of the world—to “come out from among them, and be separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). It enables us to reject false teachers and their doctrines (Matt. 15:9). It enabled our forefathers who possessed it, and will enable us, to triumph over the seductions of Satan, who “Walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). It filled them, and it will fill us, with the deter­mination to serve God no matter what difficulties, obstacles, and impediments Satan puts in our way. Isaiah sings to God, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” (Isa. 26:3-4).

Paul encourages us to see the worthiness of our steadfastness and perseverance, “knowing that [our] labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). And he shows that with determination of faith, nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:31-39).

The great examples of faith, in Heb. 11:4-40, remind us of the effectiveness of undy­ing faith and tremendous courage. These overcame the world by their faith. The reason is clear­ly stated by the writer: they desired “a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Heb. 11:16). It was because of this hope that they endured the hardships of life knowing that ultimate victory was to be found in God.

We must, however, realize that the victory over sin, through faith, is not just a one-time victory. There must be constant victory because there is continuous struggle. The faithful individual continues to “over­come the world” because God’s seed continues to abide in the faithful individual (1 John 3:9; see also Luke 8:11).

We need to be mindful of the fact that, even though our lives have their ups and downs, no matter what comes our way, we too, can have the victory found in Jesus Christ. &