DISCIPLE

  by Stephen Hulshizer (1941-2019)     In my travel among the assemblies it is evident that the general spiritual condition of many of them is poor. Attendance is often a small portion of those who would claim to be in fellowship. Worldliness has made inroads and it is manifested in a lack of commitment to the local assembly and by a strong commitment to careers, hobbies, sports, and recreation.     Another very evident need is for godly oversight, men who are committed to caring for the Lord’s people even though it means great personal sacrifice. In many assemblies there is no identifiable leadership and the Lord’s people go from week to week like sheep without a shepherd. In other gatherings there are those who have been identified as elders, but who do little or none of the work involved in shepherding the Lord’s people. Thankfully, there are those assemblies with identifiable and godly overseers who with personal sacrifice care for the sai...

     Recently UK politicians have been grappling with the decision as to whether there should be a second referendum, a ‘people’s vote’, regarding the recently negotiated Brexit deal between the UK and the other twenty-seven members of the EU. The UK Prime Minister and others argued strongly that the people had already spoken in 2016 and a majority had made it clearly known that they wanted to leave the EU. Such are the demands of democracy: the people must have their say!      In John 19.15 we read of a very serious choice that was made by the people who thronged the narrow streets around the Praetorium on the day the Lord Jesus was being tried by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Convinced that the ‘prisoner’ before him was completely innocent of every charge made against Him, and therefore totally undeserving of punishment of any kind, let alone death, Pilate attempted to gain a favourable response from the baying mobs...

  by Camilo Vásquez “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” (1 Pet. 1:6).     How long will this pandemic last?  Some health authorities indicate that from the time the first case is detected it will be 12 weeks till the height of the crisis is reached, and from there the effects could last up to two years.     Although this pandemic affects the entire world and is not directed particularly at God’s people, it is still a trial of faith for every believer.  For example, we are told that in the days of the Roman emperor Claudius there was a great famine in all the territory dominated by Rome. This affected even the church in Judea and mobilized the brethren in Antioch to send relief (Acts 11:28-30).     Peter speaks of the trials of God’s people as lasting “for a season,” which means “briefly.” But God’s idea of brief is different from ours. This...

Commenting in 1 Timothy 2:2, J. Allan writes, "The NT provides clear instruction for believers in their attitude to imperial and civil authorities in Rom 13:1-6; 1 Pet 2:13-17; Titus 3:1. This passage takes the matter further. The men who comprise such authorities often are the object of hatred. In the NT period these men were frequently the originators, and the administrators, of edicts against the believers. In the days immediately subsequent to this epistle the believers were living in mortal fear of the magisterial powers of local administrators. The answer did not lie in rebellion or civil rights protests but in prayer for the salvation of the men. The words of the Lord Jesus were certainly applicable: 'Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you' (Matt 5:44). For the names of such men to be publicly mentioned in prayer would be a testimony to the supernatural grace in the hearts of the believers. "It is an interesting fact that the recor...

excerpt from "The Atonement," by William Blane The Atonement was no business act In which the Savior did contract, To undergo so many pains, That He might cleanse so many's stains. He gave His all — His life's blood flowed To reconcile the World to God. 'Twixt God and man, to close the rent, The spotless Lamb of God was sent, If all the sins of Adam's race, With perfect justice to each case, In Heaven's balances were laid, They would be utterly outweigh'd By Jesus' death. The value lies All in th'infinite sacrifice: When Christ for man was crucified, Th' Creator for the creature died. . . . What means a universal call If there be not enough for all? As if the Saviour passed some by While He for others' sins did die, And that, though all are told to come, There's but provision made for some; Or that, in some mysterious way, God means not what the Scriptures say. Let hampered minds the...

This excellent article was posted originally on the Israel My Glory website at the following address: https://israelmyglory.org/article/covenant-theology-whats-in-it-for-israel/      We encourage you to visit their site. Westminster Abbey, London Covenant Theology (as opposed to Dispensational Theology, which is what we believe) is a system that attempts to develop the Bible’s philosophy of history on the basis of two or three covenants. It represents the whole of Scripture and history as being covered by these covenants.      Covenant Theology did not begin as a system until the 16th and 17th centuries. It did not develop in the early church or the Middle Ages. 1 Kaspar Olevianus (1536–1587) was the founder of a well-developed Covenant Theology “in which the concept of the covenant became for the first time the constitutive and determinative principle of the whole system.” 2      The system started in ...

        These are three popular current concerns, even obsessions, and their impact (no pun intended) is far reaching. People everywhere wonder if they will die, or if all life on earth will be snuffed out by these things. The news media obsess and stir up great clouds of worry, even panic, which keeps people tuned in, but provides no solution. Instead of letting the media tell you what to be concerned about, consider what God, the Creator, has to say. Coronavirus      We indeed sympathize with all who are suffering from Coronavirus, pray for them, and encourage everyone to take prudent and timely precautions. It is a difficult time, that should remind all humanity of its fragility and the shortness of life.  Through the tireless efforts of science and medicine they cure one disease, and we applaud them, but then another pops up, more difficult to treat. There are two things you should know.     Fi...

Think, don't guess. 1. Who am I? I walked on earth and talked on earth, Reproved man for his sin. I’m neither in heaven or in hell, And never shall be therein. 2. Name it: What is greater than God, Worse than the devil,  Poor people have it, And if the rich ate it, they would die? 3. Who are we? There are four of us and you may read, Some think we travel with great speed. But evil is that for which we came, We’re known by color, so what is our name? 4. What am I? The sacrifice on me was laid, While the prophet cried out as he gave A word to the king, whose hand he must bring Back to life as up from the grave.”

by David Dunlap  Dispensationalism is renown for its masterful defense of its sincerely-held theological convictions. In the past, its loyal detractors and critics usually lay outside its theological camp. Now, however, one of the strongest and most concerted challenges to traditional dispensationalism has come from within. An increasing number of former traditional dispensationalists are now proposing substantial changes, this new view being called “Progressive Dispenationalism”. Progressive dispensationalism began on November 20, 1986 in the Dispensational Study Group in connection with the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Atlanta, Georgia. Since that time, this revisionist view of dispensationalism has made a profound impact upon leading dispensational theological seminaries and Bible colleges.  What is Progressive Dispensationalism? This new form of dispensationalism purports to be “a return to the roots of Americ...