Articles

By: Johnny O. Trail

    While listening to a nationally syndicated talk radio personality, I was exposed to the idea of “Replacement Theology.” The idea holds that one who states that the church is the manifestation of the kingdom, and the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people is accused of teaching “Replacement Theology.” The talk radio personality opposes this as a doctrine that leads to antisemitism. There are various invalid presumptions regarding replacement theology. 

    This has extremely close ties to a doctrine that is being supported by many protestant denominations in our society. This paradigm argues that the Old Testament Law is still in effect, and we are still obligated to observe various teachings of the Old Testament. While this treatise is in no way aimed at the mistreatment of any ethnic group in our world, any opposition to this position is being compared to antisemitic sentiments. 

    Consequently, part of opposition emerges from teachings connected to premillennial doctrine which is a patently false teaching. While premillennial doctrines vary, Wayne Jackson does a good job of stating the position in a succinct fashion when he says, “To summarize, the premillennial view asserts that Christ came to this earth for the purpose of setting up his kingdom. He was, however, surprisingly rejected by the Jews. Hence, he postponed the kingdom plans and set up the church instead—as sort of an emergency measure. When he returns, he allegedly will raise only the righteous dead, restore national Israel, sit upon David’s literal throne in Jerusalem, and then reign for a span of one thousand years—after which comes the resurrection of the wicked and the judgment.”

    First, the teaching that we are no longer living under the Old Testament law results in antisemitism is non-sequitur logic. It is possible to deny the fact that we are living under the Old Testament economy and, at the same time, be totally against the mistreatment or abuse of Jewish people.  Reasonable people understand this in response to people who practice immorality(i.e. disapproval of sin, but love expressed towards the sinful), and the logic does not fail regarding world religions that deny Jesus as the Messiah. While we do not agree with the denial of Christ as God’s Son, we would love people in various world religions and express concern over their denial.

    Paul was a Jew who converted to Christ when he encountered the Messiah on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-18). There is no denying the deep love that Paul had for his countrymen, yet he knew they could not be saved under the Old Testament Law. Romans 10:1-4 says, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Those Jews attempting to continue under the Law of Moses have established their own form of righteousness and are outside of Christ.  

    No reasonable person could possibly accuse Paul of being antisemitic because of his stance regarding Christ, the Old Testament Law, and his love for the Jews. Notice his words in Romans 9:1-3. “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh.” In essence, Paul was willing to be lost so his kinsmen according to the flesh might be saved. This is an expression of the highest love one can express for the soul of another.

    Consequently, Christians cannot possibly agree with any world religion that denies the Messiahship of Jesus Christ who is the Savior of the world. Matthew 10:32-33 says,  "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” One cannot deny Jesus before men and have his name confessed before the Father.

    Moreover, salvation cannot be found outside of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:10-12 says, “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the 'Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." When various Jews denied the identity of Jesus as God’s Son, they effectively nullified their chance at salvation. The same concept is as true today as it was when these words were spoken by Peter in Acts chapter four!  

    Those who teach “Replacement Theology” have been labeled as “Jezebel figures” who teach that “God changed His mind, and the church has replaced Israel in His covenant.” This teaching has been labeled the “anthesis of what God said, and scripture said.”

    God’s mind was never changed, because He determined that the church/kingdom (cf. Matthew 16:18-19) would be established before the world was created. Scripture teaches that the church, or God’s people, were contemplated before the world was created and prior to the time of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. Ephesians 1:4 says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” 

  God had predetermined that the church would reveal the unsearchable riches that were to be found in the redemption offered through Jesus Christ. This was God’s “eternal purpose” and not merely an afterthought by a God who was fooled by the Jews regarding their rejection of Jesus. Ephesians 3:8-11 says, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

    The suggestion made from the interview cited in this treatisewas that one needs to “study the scriptures” to arrive that the Bible’s teachings on the matter. Sadly, the conclusions reached when one truly examines the Bible are vastly different thanthose who want to argue for premillennial doctrines and the continuation of Moses’ Law. Scripture teaches that the Old Testament law has been taken out of the way and we are no longer obligated to obey it.  Notice what Paul says in Colossians2:13-14. “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

    Any cursory understanding of American law systems underscores that fact. At one time we lived under the rule of the English crown. That law was replaced under the Articles of Confederation. In time, the Articles of Confederation were replaced by the Unites States Constitution. No reasonable person would argue that U.S. citizens are still living under laws prior to the establishment of the Constitution. By the same token, the Law of Moses has in fact been replaced by the New Covenant or the Law of Christ. 

    The church is in fact the chosen people of God under the New Covenant. Notice what the Apostle Peter says about the church in 1 Peter 2:9-10. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” This is not antisemitic (especially coming from a Jewish man named Peter) but a statement of the truth—the church is God’s chosen people.

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Not Of Us

By: Johnny O. Trail

    Sunday mornings find me rising early to study my Bible class notes and my sermons for that Lord’s Day worship assemblies. I will drink my coffee and watch the morning news as I casually review my notes and sermon outlines. During the morning news, segments of time are set aside for commercial advertisements. 

    Just recently, a preacher featured in a thirty second advertisement on one such morning attempted to make an argument from 1 John 2:19 in support of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine of Calvinism. The passage reads, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued (μεμενήκεισαν—remained—JOT) with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” Does this passage support the position he is espousing?

        The argument proffered by the preacher on television in a vain effort to use 1 John 2:19 was that those who become apostate in their faith never had faith to begin with. In an effort to defend the impossibility of apostacy, some Calvinists will say that the apostate individual had a “demonic faith” or “their faith was non-existent to begin with.” In the same breath, people in support of the “once saved, always saved” position argue that people who teach that a person can “fall from grace” (Galatians 5:4) provide no security for the believer.  

   There are some things that stand out from 1 John 2:19.  For one thing, a brother in Christ, Thomas Coffman correctly notesin his commentary that “[I]t should be carefully noted that John did not here write of the false teachers that ‘they never had been of us,’ but that at an unspecified previous time, they were not…there is no suggestion by the apostle that those who departed had never been truly converted at the beginning of their Christian association.” They had all of the externalities of one who was converted but they were not convicted to the extent that they might continue faithfully unto death (Revelation 2:10).  

    We should not be shocked by this because the Bible teaches that there would be heresies among those who were formerly faithful (II Timothy 4:3-5).  Notice what Paul says in 1Corinthians 11:19. “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” The same warning is offered to the church at Ephesus when Paul says in Acts 20:30, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” 

    Guy N. Woods, in his commentary makes the following observations about those who attempt to further the doctrine of the “impossibility of apostasy.” He says, “[They] fall…short of the effort; for they were once with the disciples; they went out from them; one does not go out from a place where he has never been; had they possessed the same love for the Lord and equal desire to serve him as those from whom they went out, they would have continued with them; they did, in fact, continue for a time, and then ceased to be faithful. It follows, therefore, that they simply apostatized from the right way.” 

    If the apostate individual, under the guise of Calvinistic understanding, never had faith to being with, how can a person functioning under that religious paradigm truly know if they have faith or not?! Really, there is less security in the idea that one cannot possibly fall from grace rather than teaching the truth on the matter.

    The TRUTH is one has their sins forgiven at the point of baptism (Acts 2:38) and has eternal life as long as they continue to be faithfully devoted to God (Revelation 2:10). If they become unfaithful, they can fall from grace. Galatians 5:4says, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” 

    In the book of Acts, we have an example of a man named Simon who was just recently baptized and through sinful behaviors was exhorted to repent and pray. Acts 8:13, 18-22 says “Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done…And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.’”

    Moreover, why would Paul encourage the brethren at Galatia to restore one who had fallen if there was no chance of one becoming apostate? Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

    The entire church at Ephesus is warned to repent or their lampstand would be removed from it place. Revelation 2:5 says, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” This is an example of an entire congregation of the Lord’s people who could become apostate unless they repented. If there was no possibility of apostacy, why would Jesus offer this warning?

    Many other examples could be offered from scripture which demonstrate that the impossibility of apostacy is a false teaching. It is a perverted teaching for one to say that once a person is saved they cannot behave in such a way as to lose their soul’s salvation. The Bible reveals the truth on the matter, and we need to teach it accordingly.  

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A Battle for the Heart

By: Johnny O. Trail

    While many conservative Christians have celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we must understand that the battle to preserve the lives of unborn children still rages on in our society. In essence, we are in a battle for the hearts of those who have been calloused by the god of this world. It is sad to reason that we must persuade parents to love and desire their unborn children.

    Every person is responsible for the potential reproductive activities they engage in willfully—men and women. This means that one must be willing to accept the consequences of their decisions to engage in sexual activities. From potentially contracting a sexually transmitted disease, to becoming pregnant each person assumes the “risks” for engaging in sex with their partners.

    Some time back, pop star Stevie Knicks, was advocating for prochoice groups by revealing her decision to abort her unborn child when her group, Pink Floyd, was at its zenith.  She said in an interview, “Fleetwood Mac is three years in, and it’s big, and we’re going into our third album,” Nicks recounted.  “It would have destroyed Fleetwood Mac,” she said of her baby. “I would have, like, tried my best to get through, you know, being in the studio every single day expecting a child,” Nicks continued. “It would have been a nightmare scenario for me to live through.”One wonders about the “nightmare scenario” that Nicks’ unborn child endured at the hands of an abortionist.

    While the focus was on Nicks’ career, questions abound regarding the potential life that she ended in the name of profession and success. Would this unborn child have become as powerful an artist as her talented mother or even greater?  This child might have had an extremely high IQ that provided the cure for various diseases. While this is all speculative, the world will never know the kinds of talent and love that this and countless other unborn children could have brought into the world. 

    An article that discussed Nicks’ decision said, that “Nicks admitted to murdering her baby in exchange for career success: She took the life of her own child for the specific reason of pursuing stardom in the music world. In other words, she committed child sacrifice. In the same way that past civilizations sacrificed their children to enable abundant harvests, victory over their enemies, or improved rainfalls, Americans sacrifice our children to enable success in our careers, more financial freedom, or fewer inconvenient responsibilities. But unlike other civilizations, we do not murder our children in the name of any specific false god or demonic entity. Instead, we serve ourselves as our own gods — murdering our babies as an act of devotion in the cult of our own autonomy.”

    As intimated at the beginning of this treatise, changing and making laws will not stop women from aborting their unborn children. There needs to be a real internal change that orients one toward God and His view of human life—in utero and otherwise. It is very clear that God’s word recognizes the pre-birth nature of life before a baby is ever born.

    Jeremiah was very plain about the nature of his calling to serve as a prophet of God. Jeremiah 1:4-5 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." There was a sense in which Jeremiah was called to be a prophet of God before he was ever born!

    Scripture makes it clear that God knew us a human beings with souls before were ever took our first breath as children.  The psalmist underscores this in particularly beautiful language. Psalm 139:13-17 says, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Why would any person even consider destroying a beautiful child created in the image of God? It is sad and tragic to consider. 

    When Mary and Elizabeth encountered one another, they both had a child that was conceived through miraculous measures.  Elizabeth conceived a child past her child bearing days (Luke 1:36), and Mary was carrying the Messiah who was conceived without an earthly father. Notice how scripture describes the child that Elizabeth was carrying within her womb.  Luke1:41-44 says, “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.’” 

    John the Baptist, the child of Elizabeth, was not described as a “fetus” or a “mass of tissue” or “not alive until the time of his birth.” John was described as a “babe.” Until society reaches the same conclusion about every unborn child human life will continue to be viewed as expendable and burdensome in some considerations.

    We must understand that this is a battle for the hearts and minds of those in our society. No amount of laws will stop a person who is determined to abort an unborn child as evidenced by a recent political campaign in our area.  The only true answer for the problems that plague our world is true conversion to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19). 

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Downstream

By: Johnny O. Trail

    When I was a kid, I would spend some of my Summers in a creek located in Beech Grove, Tennessee. We would frolic in the water with my cousins until my mother told us it was time to go home. Sometimes our play would be interrupted by the cows upstream. If you are downstream from a herd of cattle that are drinking in the same water that you are playing in, you want to remove yourself before the remnants of their visit to the creek float down to where you are. 

    This is a simple concept, but one that might have some spiritual implications. We are called upon to influence those around us, but I fear that we in the church are influenced downstream from the contaminants of the world. Instead of being the purified people of God who are continually striving to be like Jesus, we sometimes conform to the world around us and its impurities. Romans 6:17-18 says, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

    Sadly, some congregations are influenced downstream from worship patterns that are not biblical in nature. We are called upon to worship according to God’s standard.  John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Some have compromised the biblical paradigm in the name of appealing to larger numbers of people and creating a carnival like atmosphere to attract adherents. This should never be our motivation. 

    Some members of the body of Christ are downstream from the culture’s definition of relationships, marriage, and family. The world has trodden headlong into cohabitation before marriage. The Bible clearly states that people are to marry before “living together” and enjoying the blessings of a marital union (Hebrews 13:4). Such arrangements may result in people engaging in sexual immorality. 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 says, “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.” People living together carnally without the benefit of marriage should not be celebrated by the church.

    Moreover, there are some who are downstream from the feminist and LGBTQ+ movement in our society. Whether one realizes it or not, the two groups are related. Various religious denominations have accepted female “pastors” into their pulpits regardless of what Paul said in I Timothy 2:11-12 says, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” Feminists seek to remove all gender differences and this is done through the promotion and support of the LGBTQ+ agenda. 

    Along these same lines of reasoning, pulpits are sometimes being occupied by people who identify as being a lesbian or gay. It is amazing that people who claim to be religious endorse what God has identified as an abomination and put such individuals in front of a church as leaders of their denomination.  Leviticus18:22 says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It isan abomination.” 

    Even the New Testament is clear that such lifestyle choices are sinful. Romans 1:26-28 says, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in theirknowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”

    In one sense, we are all downstream from the pollutants of the world, but that does not mean that we have swim in the filth.When we became children of God, we removed ourselves from the pigsty and were bathed in the waters of baptism which washed our sins away (Acts 22:16). Sadly, we can return to that former manner of living. 2 Peter 2:20-22 says, “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returnsto his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’" 

    Instead of tolerating or endorsing the pollutants of the world, we should be influencing others for Christ. Romans 12:2says “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” We are the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).  As such we need to be working to show others that Christ is the only hope that we have in this life or the one to come.

    We are not to be corrupted by those contaminants that flow downstream to where we are spiritually speaking.  2 Corinthians6:14-17 says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’”

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Too Ashamed

By:  Johnny O. Trail

    Chris Stapelton has a song out entitled "Drunkard’s Prayer.” One line in the song caught my attention when it says, “I wish that I could go to church but I'm too ashamed of me.” I wonder how many people are not coming to church because they are ashamed of something in their lives. The good news is that it does not have to continue to be that way.

    It stands to reason that every person—in and out of church—has done something they are ashamed of. We know this is so because of what the Bible teaches about the matter. Romans3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If any person claims to be without sin, he is a liar (1 John 1:8).

    That being the case, shame should be a part of any sinful activity. When we lose the ability to feel shame for our transgressions, we are in dangerous territory. Jeremiah6:15 says, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD.” One can become so enamored with sin that he dismisses or fails to acknowledge the shame that should accompany such behaviors. 

    Still, there are people who might feel “too ashamed” to come to church because of something they have done. When one examines the church, he finds people who were guilty of every imaginable sin; especially in light of what Paul reveals about the sins of the brethren in the city of Corinth.  He says in 1 Corinthian 6:9-11, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

    There were some crucial differences between those in the world and those in the church at Corinth. For one thing, they had repented of their sins. Paul characterized them as “and such were some of you.” This means that they had changed their former manner of living. While there is shame associated with sinful choices, we do not have to continually make the same mistakes (Romans 6:1). Jesus and the Apostles call the followers of the Messiah to repentance.  Luke 13:3 & 5 say, “ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” 

    The brethren at Corinth were “washed” and the washing “sanctified” and “justified” them in the “name of the Lord Jesus.” The washing mentioned in this passage undoubtedly refers to baptism.  We are told to be baptized so that our sins might be washed away. Acts 22:16 says, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” This washing saves us (1 Peter 3:21) and forgives us of our sins (Acts 2:38).

     Once they were “washed” they were sanctified or set apart for God’s holy purpose. Our sanctification happens at the moment that we accept the grace of God that was extended through the death of Jesus at the point of obedience to the gospel. Notice Hebrews 10:10. “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” A word study of the term sanctification revealed the follow conclusions. “[Sanctification] came to signify something cleansed of contamination. Eventually, the term connoted those who, as a result of their cleansing, have been set aside, as dedicated to the service of God.” Therefore those who repented and were baptized were sanctified or set aside for service to God.

    Next, they were “justified” after their sanctification. If one is justified, he has been spared from the penalty of death. Romans6:22-23 says, “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are justified by faith, but not the type of faith that most people in protestant denominationalism espouse.

    Sanctification results from obedient faith. We must hasten to say that there is more to faith than “personal belief.” Notice Acts 6:7. “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” When one is “obedient to the faith,” he is baptized in compliance with the teaching of Christ (Mark 16:15-16) and the faithful Apostles (Acts 2:38). Paul uses wording in Galatians that clarifies our understanding. Galatians 3:26-27 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”    

    Part of overcoming the shame associated with sin is the changing of one’s life. We who are members of the body of Christ are all repentant sinners. Once we have changed our life, we have no more shame associated with our behaviors. Paul underscores this point in Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

    Unlike the drunkard mentioned in the song (or any other sin one might mention) were are no longer under the mastery of sin. Romans 6:17-18 says, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” 

    We are freed from sin at the time of our baptism and placed in Christ (Romans 6:3-4) to become a new creature. 2 Corinthians5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Since all things have “become new” for the one no longer under the bondage of sin, we have nothing to be ashamed of in Him.    

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Declining Conscientiousness

By:  Johnny O. Trail

    It is unmistakable that common manners and one’s sense of wrong and right in our society have been on the decline for several decades. The behavior of children and parents in our culture reflect abysmal degrees of respect for one’s fellow man and God. A recent article produced by the Institute for Family Studies seems to reveal and expand upon that very fact. 

    When researchers studied the factors that provide the most happiness for a person later in life some interesting facts came into focus. The number one predictor of future happiness and well-being was honesty and self-control.  As a matter of fact, one longitudinal study demonstrates that “children and teens who are high in conscientiousness go on to enjoy better health, wealth, and happiness as adults.”

    Students of God’s word are not surprised by this fact. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control.  Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  The Apostle Peter lists self-control as one of the virtues that needs to be incorporated into our lives. He says in 2 Peter 1:5-7, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”  

    Sadly, our society is not teaching young people to be self-controlled, honest, and to persevere over difficult situations. These virtues have been deemphasized in the public-schoolsystems for better grades, political correctness, and inclusiveness. “Administrators at these schools are determined to be inclusive; they don’t want anybody to feel excluded. So, it’s safest not to talk about values in any serious way, at all.”  

    Surprisingly, the liberal National Education Association was on record in 1951 as having said that educators need to have “an unremitting concern for moral and spiritual values [as a—JOT] a top priority for education.” This priority has become extinct in the political climate the permeates most of the public-school systems in our nation. Sadly, the focus seems to be on test scores and meeting academic standards for the purpose of receiving greater financial support. While we want our children to receive a good education, it should not be at the sacrifice of basic decency and morals in the public setting. 

    Blaming educators seems to be the “go to” solution for all the ills that have befallen our society, but the moral and spiritual instruction of our children is not up to educators. Moral instruction, self-control, conscientiousness, and perseverance begin at home at the directive of invested parents. Ephesians 6:4 says, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” 

    “Parents are the first teachers of virtue.” Instead of parents having a primary role in the formation of their children, they have resulted to “soft parenting.” One writer has observed, “As recently as 20 years ago, it was still common to find parents who would say, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ That is a command, not a suggestion. But over the past 20 years, I have seen that command soften into a question.”

    How do we change this trend? Simply stated, self-control, honesty, and perseverance must be taught at home. Manyparents are not instilling these values into their children and the public-school systems are not interested in teaching values or anything that reflects godly morals.

    This means that we need authoritative parenting rather than gentle parenting.  Parents who are in control tend to have better results in raising their children.  “Authoritative parents understand that good parenting means the adults are in charge—loving but strict.” Godly parents raise their children so that they might understand the importance of authority and the consequences of sinful living.

    Paul’s words echo true some two thousand years later. Ephesians 6:1-3 says,  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘That it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’” Parents were instructed under the Old Testament Law to raise their children to be humble, obedient followers of God. The New Testament advances that same understanding.

    A major part of the instruction parents shared with their children was the Law of Moses. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says,  "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” The Israelites were expected to teach their children verbally and by their example.  

    In sharing God’s law under the Old and New Covenants, parents were teaching their children to respect God as the authority and to respect them in turn. Notice the following portions of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:3 starts by stating, "You shall have no other gods before Me.” The next few passages demonstrate that God alone was to be served, obeyed, and worshipped as Creator and there is no other god (Exodus 20:4-6). 

    After respect for God as an authority is established, parents are expected to be obey and revered by their children. Notice Exodus 20:12 which says,  "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” Without respect for God and respect for parents, children will have no sense of conscientiousness or self-control. Sadly, they are most likely destined for a life of pain and heartache. 

    As parents, it is our job to raise godly, self-controlled, conscientious children. God expects this from His people. The future of the church and our society depends upon the indoctrination of future generations. Our children are too valuable to neglect instruction from God’s word.

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The Necessity of Baptism

By: Johnny O. Trail

    When I examine Bible commentaries, study Bibles, and other writings that seek to exegete scripture, I always turn to passages that mention baptism to see how the commentator treats the Bible regarding the topic. Unless these materials are written by good, faithful members of the Lord’s church, they typically deny the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins and our salvation. 

    Just recently I read a book that says, “While we recognize that Jesus commanded baptism (Matt. 28:19), as did the apostles (Acts 2:38), we should not say that baptism is necessary for salvation.” Sadly, this commentator is not alone in reaching this false conclusion. The statement is self-contradictory upon critical examination. Since Jesus (Mark 16:16) and the Apostles (Acts 2:38) commanded baptism, it is apparent that baptism is essential for one’s salvation.

    Jesus proclaimed that He was the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). If the Master commanded baptism (Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:19) prior to His ascension, then we should obey His words. To do otherwise would be to disregard the “way” that leads to eternal life.

    If something was “commanded” by the Son of God, we need to obey Him.  It is contradictory to proclaim that Jesus is our Savior and not be obedient to His commands.  The Hebrew writer makes it plain that Jesus is the originator and architect of salvation to those who are obedient to Him.  Hebrews 5:7 says, “Who, in the days of His [Jesus—JOT] flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” There is not a single passage in scripture that teaches a disobedient person can be saved.

    At least one commentator has attempted to argue that Paul was opposed to baptism just as he was opposed to re-implementation of circumcision. “The apostle Paul would have opposed the idea that baptism is necessary for salvation just as he opposed the similar idea that circumcision was necessary for salvation (see Gal. 5:1-12).” While Paul did in fact stand in opposition to binding circumcision upon those under the New Covenant, it is not a true parallel to his position on baptism. This argument it totally without merit.

    The same Paul makes a connection between faith and baptismin the aforementioned Galatian letter.  Galatians 3:26-27 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” We become “sons of God” through faith at the time of our baptism. Therefore, we are not saved by faith alone.

    As a matter of fact, Paul’s opening comments deal with those who would pervert the pure message that he proclaimed to those who converted in Galatia regarding the gospel.  Galatians 1:6-9 says, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” The gospel is the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (I Corinthians 15:1-4). We obey the gospel when were are baptized (Romans 6:3-4), thus one who argues that Paul was against baptism finds himself among those that Paul proclaimed were “accursed” for perverting the truth. 

    Paul was himself baptized to have his sins washed away (Acts 22:16). If Paul was saved at the point of simple belief, he would have been saved on the Damascus road. There is little doubt that he became a believer at the point of Jesus approaching him in a blinding light (Acts 9:3-5). Paul understood that he was not saved at that juncture, and he understood that he needed to “do” something given his murderous, blasphemous past.  Acts9:6 says, “So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

    Ananias told Paul what he had to do to be saved. Acts22:16 says, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'” If Paul was saved at the point of belief and prayer, his sins would not have remained.  Instead, the Bible teaches that his sins were “washed away” at the point of baptism—not at the point of faith or prayer.

    Similarly, Paul was not saved by belief alone (Acts 9:3-5) nor prayer. When Ananias finds him, Paul was praying. Acts 9:11says, “So the Lord said to him [Ananias—JOT], "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.”  Here we have the two required elements of the so-called “sinners’ prayer,” belief and prayer.  Still, we know that Paul’s sins were not forgiven. How do we know this?  Given the order of events (chronology), we know that Paul had his sins washed away at the point of baptism (Acts 22:16).

    The same writer engages in ridiculous double talk when he says, “Baptism, then, is not necessary for salvation. But it is necessary if we are to be obedient to Christ, for he commanded baptism for all who believe in him.” If baptism is necessary for obedience, and we have established per Hebrews 5:7-9 that the obedient are the only ones who are saved, then is stands to reason that obedience to the commandment to be baptized by the Master (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16) is “necessary” for salvation.

    How long will our religious neighbors continue to deny what they Bible clearly teaches regarding the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)? We need to examine the Bible and apply what it teaches rather than listening to the doctrines of men.