Discouragement

By RJ Evans

The devil uses various cunning and deceptive means to lure a child of God back into sin. One of the strongest and most pervasive is discouragement, to which many Christians succumb. The Hebrew writer said, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed” (Heb. 12:12-13).

Trying to cope with the present, while worrying about the future causes people to become discouraged. Someone once said, “God gives us strength to bear our present burdens, but He never calculates for us to carry over yesterday’s grief and borrow on tomorrow’s worry.” We must, with God’s help, bear today’s burdens, and let tomorrow take care of itself. Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:34).

Allowing others to “get us down” can also be a cause of discouragement. For example, we invite someone to worship services, and with their assurance that they will definitely be there, we excitedly await their coming. But suppose they don’t show up. What do we do? While that is disappointing, we should not allow it to get us to the point of deciding not to ever invite anyone else to services. Disinterest on the part of some is disheartening and sad, but there are others who are just as lost and would love to hear and obey the gospel. We must keep on working until we find those who are desirous of truth and spiritual matters. Yes, men often let us down, but may we ever be mindful of the Lord’s promise: “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5).

Sometimes we become discouraged by the small number of Christians who make up the local church where we worship. But rest assured, if we are worshiping God “in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:24), the Lord will be with us when we meet— “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).

Sometimes when our sins are rebuked by the preacher or the elders, we get discouraged (as well as offended) and become unfaithful. However, we should appreciate their efforts and their interest in our salvation. Preachers have been given the charge to “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). Concerning the elders, Christians are told to “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17).

It is true; we all may succumb to discouragement at times. No doubt, Satan uses discouragement to lure Christians back into his domain. But we must resist the devil (Jas. 4:7). We must therefore resist becoming discouraged. We have too much for which to be thankful here in this life, as well as the glorious hope and promise of everlasting life in heaven. Paul admonished, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

We close with an old story, written by Bruno Hagspiel, about the time when the devil decided to go out of business. It helps us understand the thrust of this article:

Once upon a time the devil decided to go out of business. He offered all of his tools for sale. He attractively displayed the whole bad looking lot: Malice, Hatred, Envy, Jealousy. Each was marked with a price tag.

Apart from them lay a harmless looking wedge shaped tool, very much worn out, but priced higher than any of the others. Someone asked the devil what tool that was.

“That’s discouragement,” he replied.

“But why is it priced so high?”

“Because,” answered the devil, “discouragement is more useful to me than all the others. With discouragement I can pry open and get inside a person’s conscience, when I cannot get near him with any other tools. And once I’m inside his conscience, I can use him in any way that suits me best. It is so much worn because I can use it with nearly anybody, since very few people know that it belongs to me.” &

"Supplement Your Faith" #7

By Bob Myhan

In order to continue being "partakers of the divine nature," we must "make every effort to supplement...steadfastness with brotherly affection." (2 Peter 1:4-6, ESV) This is "the fraternal or family affection the Christian has for his fellow Christians. It is the love that recognizes the difference between the church and the world, between the followers of Christ and [the followers] of the devil" (James M. Tolle: The Christian Graces, p.57).

Having "brotherly affection" means not having a respect of persons—showing affection to certain brethren while withholding it from others (James 2:1-9). We should therefore not limit demonstrations of affection to those in certain age groups or to those with certain personality types or to those with certain outside interests or to those in a certain income bracket or to those with a certain level of formal education.

Having “brotherly affection” means stressing spiritual, rather than material, and physical commonalities. The Lord's people are enormously diverse generationally, temperamentally, culturally, economically and intellectually; however, we have the same faith (2 Peter 1:1), the same spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3-14), the same hope (1 Peter 1:3,4), the same Benefactor (1 John 3:1), the same salvation (Jude 3), the same Savior (Eph. 5:23), the same love for the Lord (1 Peter 1:8) and the same persecutions (2 Tim. 3:12).

Having "brotherly affection" means demonstrating discipleship to one another. This is to be done in a number of ways: speaking kindly one to another (Eph. 4:31; Col. 4:6), returning good for evil to one another (1 Peter 3:8,9), respecting one another’s conscience (Rom. 14:13,21; 1 Cor. 8:9,13), preferring one another in matters of judgment (Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:3,4), assisting one another in time of need (Rom. 12:13; Gal. 6:2), sharing one another's grief (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:24-26), restoring one another when necessary (Gal. 6:1; James 5:19,20) and just plain following the "golden rule" (Matt. 7:12).

Do you, dear reader, have this fraternal affection for the brethren? Do you demonstrate it in these and similar acts? (If not, please notice Matt. 25:31-46.) &

MMLJBC

By Bob Myhan

The letters in the above title should be read “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Before the Cross.” They stand for the doctrine that, except for their accounts of the resurrection and ascension, these four books are part of the Old Testament rather than the New Testament.

It is thought that, since the New Testament age began on Pentecost as recorded by Luke in Acts two, neither the first chapter of Acts nor any part of the four gospels could be part of the New Testament. But, of course, since the Old Testament was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:13-14), it is alleged that the last chapter of Matthew, the last chapter of Mark, the last chapter of Luke, the last two chapters of John and the first chapter of Acts — being in neither the Old or New Testament — are inter-testamental [between the testaments].

This is pure sophistry — clever but unsound reasoning; the indisputable and undisputed fact that the events up to and including the death of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, occurred during the Old Testament age does not make those books "Old Testament" literature any more than the indisputable fact that the events rehearsed by Stephen as recorded in Acts 7 occurred during the Patriarchal and Old Testament ages makes that chapter part "Patriarchal" and part "Old Testament" literature.

Furthermore, all four gospels — in their entirety — were written after Pentecost by men who were “ministers of the new covenant” (2 Cor. 3:6). &