FELLOWSHIP IN CHRIST

ORIGINAL SIN? “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:...”   Romans 5: 12 As we look again at the subject of sin and its consequence, it takes no time to realise that we have opened up another “can of worms”. How amazing, that those who struggle with so many doctrines of the Christian faith seem to hone in those doctrines which carry the burden of “not being in the Bible”, or so it is claimed! Original sin , according to most Christian theological doctrine, is humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways: ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency in all men and women, with a tendency toward sin, yet without collective guilt. It is also sometimes referred to as man’s “sin nature”, something so drastic as to indicate man’s total depravity, or automatic guilt, in which all humans stand condemned through th

Vol.   24    #4    No 255     February 2012 AD      THE CHURCH IN A CHANGING SOCIETY “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil (one). They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”   John 17: 14-17. The Church, and by that I mean us - the people of God, have struggled with this scripture for centuries.   It has proved to be a word from Christ Himself that has either condemned us for our lack of obedience, or caused hurtful separation from society’s inhabitants and turned some of us into virtual hermits. Of course the truth is, Christ never set out to cause either condemnation or separation with this teaching - man has successfully accomplished that for himself! However, Jesus most certainly did point out that there was a c

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? “And the keeper of the prison..called for a light..and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas..and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ” Acts 16:27- 30. Our scripture above holds, without doubt, the most important question a man or woman could ever ask of God or man! Before we explore Paul’s answer to the terrified jailor it must be noted that the jailor’s question contains many pre- supposed positions which had been held by that seeker of salvation. In order to understand what was transpiring here, and what dilemma had overtaken the man, we need to know that he was not seeking an escape from the earthquake which had just shaken the his jail (for he had already escaped injury) his concern was for his spiritual welfare, not his physical wellbeing! His escape from death had highlighted a fact that all human beings must face sooner or later: What happens when I die ? Is it, on the one hand, as the late Kerry

THE RAPTURE: THE FORGOTTEN PROMISE “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air….” 1 Thessalonians 4:16 - 17. It has been said, “What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve.” In other words, if one knows nothing of a “thing” or a “happening”, then one is not worried about it. This simplistic half- truth is generally nothing more than a sop to those who are happy to wander through life ignorant of those things which can enrich and enlighten. Ignorance of a truth, any truth, can diminish a soul who might otherwise have benefited greatly by the knowing. In a sense, Mark Twain’s nineteenth century classic “the Prince and the Pauper” highlighted this fact very clearly when two boys traded places for a laugh. Their innocent d

    AWAKE, AWAKE!                                       “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”          Romans 13:11- 14. This past twelve months has proved to have been something of a “culture shock” to this writer, for not only have I ventured into the company of the unsaved of the world, in order to reach them with the Gospel, and at the same time keep physically active, I have also reeled to and fro in the company of the “questionable” in the Church! One has to be very careful about making judgment about the salvation,

OFFENDING THE HOLINESS OF GOD “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory...Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” ISAIAH 6:3,5. Isaiah’s reaction to the holiness of God, should stand as an example to us all for our own on-going responses to the presence of God! Sadly it is not always so! My personal experience over the last twenty five years has been to observe a sharp decline in many churched people’s understanding of just Who it is they ‘worship’! The “Holiness of God” is, it seems, a subject which seldom sees the light of day. Better perhaps, in the minds of many preachers, is the exhortation of the hearers to become successful, rich and over-comers of every adverse situation in which we may find ourselves. Appealing as this m

THE LOST POWER OF SIN TO CONDEMN “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you ..And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin: but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”   Romans 8: 8- 10. Human speech must be numbered amongst the greatest blessings which God has bestowed upon His creation. Sadly, like all things given from on High, speech can be abused, misused or misunderstood. Beloved, even the Church of Jesus Christ has not escaped the pain that results from argument, from slander or false teaching. One need only observe the great divisions which exist between the denominations of the Christian Faith to see that this be true! Christian Doctrine, the foundation of Christ’s Church, has alas been blamed for its many schisms and separations, but that is not true! False doctrine is the culprit of division - never truth! Words mean different things