DISCIPLE

This article by William MacDonald was written in the 1960s, but it seems to have been written for today. Spiritually we are in a shocking condition. The status of many local fellowships is bad news, and deteriorating by the minute. It is fairly well known that there have been scandalous cases of immorality involving even elders and full-time workers. Of course this type of news never gets into the magazines; there everything is sweetness and light. But the awful truth is that some respected spiritual leaders have fallen into gross sin in recent months and the only reaction seems to have been to hush up the whole thing, lest the word get out and our reputation be impaired. We have been arrogant, and have not rather mourned ( 1 Cor. 5:2 ). And that isn’t all. We have become materialists to the core. Supposing that gain is godliness, we have degraded ourselves to the worship of money. We have become more proud of the number of successful businessmen in our chu...

by William MacDonald                             Spiritually we are in a shocking condition. The status of many local fellowships is bad news, and deteriorating by the minute.     It is fairly well known that there have been scandalous cases of immorality involving even elders and full-time workers. Of course this type of news never gets into the magazines; there everything is sweetness and light. But the awful truth is that some respected spiritual leaders have fallen into gross sin in recent months and the only reaction seems to have been to hush up the whole thing, lest the word get out and our reputation be impaired.     We have been arrogant, and have not rather mourned (1 Cor. 5:2).     And that isn't all. We have become materialists to the core. Supposing that gain is godliness, we have degraded ourselves to the worship of money. ...

by Bruce Hulshizer from the August 2016 issue of Milk & Honey http://www.stw1982.com/2016.html 1. Read These Verses In Your Bible: Romans 1:18-2:16 Immoral people know God and will be judged for their evil lives (chapter 1 verse 18 to 32). Some people might want to say they do not know there is a God. But God has shown everyone that He is the powerful One who is greater than them. Everyone can look at the order and greatness of what God made. There is no possible way the universe just happened. They know there must be a mighty Creator!      The real problem is that people know there is a God, but they do not want to give God glory. They want to be their own boss. They do not want to have to listen to their Creator. They ignore God.      So, men have made “god” into something they make with their own hands. God is awesome, but men changed Him into someone little! They imagine a “god” that is not true.      They ...