DISCIPLE

“Father, I have sinned.” Luke 15:21        It was not until the prodigal son returned repentant that the father ran out to meet him, fell on his neck and kissed him. It would not have been righteous to administer forgiveness until first there was repentance. The scriptural principle is, “...if he repents, forgive him” (Lk. 17:3) There is no record that the father sent help to the prodigal as long as he was in the far country. Actually, to have done so would have been to obstruct the work of God in the rebel’s life.      The Lord’s goal was to bring the wayward one down to the dregs. He knew that the son had to come to the end of himself, that he would never look up until first he had hit bottom. The sooner the wanderer got to the husks, the sooner he would be ready to break. So the father had to commit his son to the Lord, and wait for the crisis of extremity. This is one of the hardest things for parents to do – especially for mothers...

  by Higgins, A. J. The Challenge     Isn’t everyone gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus? If you have ever tried explaining to one of your friends that you are part of a group of believers who do not take any denominational name but gather to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have probably been confronted by this challenge. In their sincerity and simplicity, many take Matthew 18:20 to apply to any and every time that two or three believers meet. It hardly matters whether it is over coffee, pizza, or a Bible. And it certainly applies to when they “go to church” and meet with other Christians.     But what does it mean to be gathered to the Lord’s Name? Is it applicable to any gathering of believers at any time? To any group who meets for whatever purpose? The Context     A reading of Matthew 18 will make it clear that the context for the Lord’s statement in verse 18 is a local church and not an informal gathering of fr...

Why a “Back Seat”? Crawford, Norman         The expression “back seat” is not found in the NT. The “seat (or room) of the unlearned” may be anywhere in the building, so long as those who occupy it can observe the “breaking of bread” and it is outside the circle of fellowship. The verse normally appealed to when this practice is challenged is, “Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?” (1 Cor 14:16).      It has been contended that the word “unlearned” in this verse must be interpreted as meaning that the person was ignorant or unlearned in the tongue that was being spoken. Surely he was unlearned in the tongue, but a reading of the first 15 verses of this chapter will show that everyone in the assembly was ignorant of the meaning of the tongue....

by A. W. Tozer “Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of  God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them.   The curse of worldliness     I hear Jesus saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). As the Church stands now, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as being somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God left among them. I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how things turn out. I would like to live t...

Text: Hebrews 11:24-27     Moses renounced his association with Pharaoh and the Egyptian government. I wonder if any of us fully realize how much that decision cost him? He gave up more than most political and social hopefuls among Evangelicals have ever dreamed of. Yet, according to the logic of many professing Christians in our times, he should have stayed. After all, didn’t they need believers in politics and government? ·   He could have used his position to fight for a better life for the      Lord’s people. ·   He could have been a friend in high places. ·   He could have impeded corruption and godlessness in the      Egyptian government. ·  He could have gotten a movement started, rallying people to      clean up government.        But Moses, having thought it over, chose to suffer with the people of God. It was, accord...

Separation From Evangelicals      Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them. The curse of worldliness     I hear Jesus saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). As the Church stands now, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as being somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God left among them.     I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how th...

by Alan Summers (Scotland) This is a subject that divides Christians. Some believe that a Christian should be involved in politics so that the Christian's view of the world and Christianity's moral values can be brought to bear on the legislative process. Others believe that Christians should not be involved in politics because the aims of Christianity are not political. They feel that since Christians will never command the support of the majority, there is little point in trying to influence a process that can never conform to Christian values. Who is right?      In New Testament times authority was largely in the hands of kings whose authority was based on hereditary right or military power. Rome may have had its Senate and Israel its Sanhedrin, but parliaments elected by the citizens of a country were completely unknown. Hence when we read passages that discuss the Christian's relationship with "the powers that be" (Rom. 13:1), we will not find gu...

Lovingkindness and Mercy  Do Not Preclude Discipline     While the kindness of God to His congregation was past telling yet His discipline, to maintain the testimony in holiness, was very strict.  Transgressors were to be put out of the congregation for eating leaven (Ex. 12:15-19);  for eating blood (Lev. 7:27) ; for eating the peace offering while defiled, or after the second day (Lev. 7:20); for seeing a brother’s or sister’s nakedness (Lev. 20:13); for touching holy things while unclean (Lev. 22:3); for compounding holy oil (Ex. 30:33); for neglecting the Passover (Num. 9:13); for neglecting the water of purification (Num. 19:13); and for neglecting circumcision, etc.      They were to put to death the idolater (Deut. 13:9); the blasphemer; the false prophet (Deut. 13:5-11); the presumptuous sinner (Deut. 17:12); the Sabbath breaker (Ex. 31:14); the wizard (Lev. 20:27); the stranger who came nigh as a priest (Num. 18:7); murd...

Sad to say, we have known men who seriously considered abandoning the shepherding of the church in order to run for political office. Is this not like the hireling of John 10 who does not care for the sheep? We have known men and women who would not go door to door doing gospel work, but who would give hundreds of hours to political campaigning, door to door voter registration, and spend who-knows-how-much money and time on the campaigns of their favorite political party. The professing Christian should ask himself, is the hope of the world to be found in politics, and can politics solve the really important problems? Did Christ or the Apostles get involved in politics? Consider the excellent answer of my friend and mentor William MacDonald, who has been promoted to glory. THE WORLD OF POLITICS by William MacDonald Now let us think of the world of politics. We often hear the well-worn argument, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." The t...

NOTE: Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this article on websites, or in tract or book form, with the condition that nothing be changed, omitted or added, and that proper credit be given to the author. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Christian & Politics “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4). One would think that after a verse like that, no further commentary would be necessary. However, in light of increasing involvement of professing Christians in politics it has become necessary to expound more specifically such texts. Every Christian is a soldier of the Lord, and like it or not, is engaged in warfare. And one reason why so many wage an ineffective spiritual warfare, not being able to “fight the good fight of faith,” is entanglements. This world system dangles before every Christian various spider-webs of entanglem...