Fasting: "When," Not "If"

by Don Pruitt


All of us at times are frustrated by our spiritual impotence. Sometimes we know our prayers do not go higher than the roof. We go through periods when we cannot accomplish what we would like to accomplish. Paul experienced this same problem. He said, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Romans. 7:18-19). We are all familiar with that feeling. The apostle explained that the trouble lies within ourselves. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Galatians 5:17). We wrestle with our weaknesses. We perform our worship and spiritual duties as though we are simply going through the motions. We lack the ability to focus our lives. The problem most of us have is that we see ourselves as physical beings trying to be spiritual, rather than spiritual beings that have certain physical experiences. One of the best ways God gave us to bring the flesh under control is fasting.

To fast is to abstain from food or to abstain from certain kinds of food for a period of time. There is nothing intrinsically wrong or sinful about food. Nutrition is a physical need. Perhaps the best way to look at fasting is that it is a spiritual means to an end. The Word of God talks about fasting more than seventy-five times. Saints almost never talk about it. Many Christians believe that fasting is an Old Testament practice. Yet, this subject is mentioned in the New Testament nearly three times as often as the Lord's Supper. The brotherhood is informed about the Lord's Supper, but largely ignorant about fasting. I have been a member of the Lord's church for more than thirty years and have never heard a sermon on fasting. I was nearly forty years old before I knew that the Lord intended for me to fast.

Types of Fasts Three different types of fasts are mentioned in God's Word: the normal fast, the absolute fast, and the partial fast. The normal fast is most often mentioned and occurs when one abstains from all food, but not fluids. "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered" (Matthew 4:2; cf, Luke. 4:2). These passages show that when the fast was over He was hungry but not thirsty. Physicians tell us that the human body can go long periods without eating, but cannot survive more than a few days without drinking. On the occasions in the Old Testament when people abstained from fluids for long periods, they must have had some Divine assistance (Deuteronomy 9:9, 18; Exodus 34:28; Jonah 3:1-10).

The absolute fast is one in which the participant neither ears nor drinks. Perhaps the most familiar example was when a blinded Saul was waiting in Damascus, "And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink" (Acts 9:9). Also, on the occasion when Queen Ester went before the king to intercede for the Jews who were to be exterminated, she requested fasting since her life was in grave danger. She told Mordecai, "Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). These passages and others show that an absolute fast is distinguished from other fasts in the Bible by the participants neither eating nor drinking.

The third type of fast mentioned is a partial fast and is found in Daniel 1:12-15. The partial fast occurs when one restricts himself to a certain type of food, such as the vegetable pulse that Daniel ate in this text.

"Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat."

When, Not If "Are we commanded to fast?" is a question that has troubled serious-minded Christians for many years. Even though the New Testament gives no such command, it clearly implies (A Necessary Inference) that Christians are to fast. Two scriptures stand out as the most critical in seeking the Lord's will in this matter.

In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus spoke of three religious activities that spiritual people perform. In verse 2 He said, "Therefore when thou doest thine alms ..." In verse 5 He said, "And when thou prayest ..." In verse 16-18 He said, "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fasteth, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

Notice that the Lord does not say "if ye fast," but "when ye fast." He speaks of fasting in the same way He speaks of alms giving and prayer. We are to give alms, pray and fast. When we do them, we are not to be hypocritical in their performance. Why do we practice the first two activities and not the last? Why do we believe alms giving and prayer are New Testament responsibilities, but that fasting belongs in Old Testament times? In this text it is obvious that Jesus assumes that spiritual people fast, but they need instruction on how to do it properly.

Another passage that seems crucial in understanding the necessity of fasting is Matthew 9:14-15. "Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."

The Pharisees fasted ritualistically. One said, "I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess" (Luke. 18:12). The followers of John the Immerser were fasting regularly, too. But on this occasion, the disciples of Jesus were not fasting. When criticized, Jesus explained that while the Bridegroom was with them it was a time for feasting, not fasting. However, He said there would come a time when His disciples would fast. When is that time? Was it during the legalistic system of Moses? No! Was it while Jesus was on the earth? No! Will His disciples fast after He has left the earth? Yes! The only sensible way to view this passage is to understand that the Lord's disciples would fast during the New Testament age—in the church! Jesus makes this clear as He continues in Matthew 9:16-18:

"No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved."

An honest hearer cannot escape the force of the Lord's teaching in these passages. He made it very clear that He expected His disciples to fast. Even though we do not fast with the ritualistic regularity of the Pharisees in the Old Testament dispensation, New Testament saints must fast in this age! When Paul looked back over what was involved in being a servant of Christ, one of the many things he listed was "fastings often" (2 Corinthians. 11:27; 2 Corinthians. 6:4-5). We need to be like Anna, a widow of over one hundred years of age, who "served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke. 2:37).

Benefits of Fasting Most of us want to know, "Why should I fast? What is in it for me?" We can be assured that the Christian receives a number of benefits when he fasts properly. We learned earlier in the Sermon on the Mount that we can fast improperly and for the wrong reasons. Fasting is a great deal more than a weight-loss program. Dieting is a physical activity. Fasting is a spiritual one. In Zechariah 7:4-6, the people of God were fasting, but it was not anything spiritual and God was not pleased. He said, "When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?" Fasting must be God centered!

First of all, fasting is a discipline that will help us to grow in personal sanctity. One of the obvious reasons we have trouble being spiritually-minded is the appetites of the flesh are so strong. The body controls what we do and when we do it. We usually do not eat because we are hungry. We eat because it is time to eat. We have been taught that we must eat three good meals each day. We have taught ourselves to snack between meals and before bedtime. The world has lined the streets of our cities with fast-food places to satisfy every varied taste. One of the sins of Sodom listed in Ezekiel 16:49 was "fullness of bread." Even in the church we are driven to the table. We cannot seem to have the preacher to our house unless we feed him. If you start to invite someone over after worship, the lady of the house says, "Not tonight. I don't have anything fixed to eat" Every "get-together" of saints is built round refreshments. And then there are those all-day dinners. We used to have "dinner on the grounds and singing on Sunday." Now it is just an all-day dinner! The only time Christians come together is to eat or worship. And even while we worship, we watch the clock because if it lasts too long, lunch will burn! We must get the flesh under control and the spiritual man in charge! Paul said, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians. 9:27). Even our sexual appetites are to be controlled by the spiritual man. "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency" (1 Corinthians. 7:5).

David speaks of "when I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting" (Psalms 69:10). Psalms 35:13 says, "But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting: and my prayer returned into mine own bosom." I do not understand a great deal about the chemistry that occurs in the human body during a fast, but I do know that we are humbled. Humility is a vital part of Christianity. It is the soil in which the Christian graces grow. Brethren, since humility is a basic ingredient of true holiness, it is needful from time to time to humble our souls with fasting.

Secondly, fasting will also change your prayer life. Many of us simply do not pray as we should. And when we pray, it seems so lackadaisical repetitious, and self-centered! We must pray fervently. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16b). This word fervent means "zealous, intense, hot or boiling." That is the kind of prayer that will avail much. But does that sound like a description of our prayer life? In Jeremiah 29:13, God said, "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." There is a seeking and searching for God that is to be done with commitment. How do we seek God with all our hearts? The prophet said in Joel 2:12-13, "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God."

Notice again the connection of fasting and humility. When we combine our prayers with fasting, it increases the urgency with which we seek God in order to be heard on high. When Ezra and the people of God were returning to Jerusalem from the captivity of Babylon, he said,

"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, 'The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake Him.' So we fasted and besought our God for this: and He was entreated of us" (Ezra 8:21-23).

When Saul of Tarsus was waiting in Damascus to be told what he must do to please God, he spent three days in blind darkness, fasting and praying. Over and over again we can see in the work of God the undeniable connection of humility, fasting, and prayer There is tremendous power in the combination of these three.

That brings us to the final benefit that I will mention in this treatise. Fasting and prayer are used in Scripture to charge the mind of God. The mind of God is awesome. He lives and rules in the lives of men. This is our Father's world. He has revealed for us His unchangeable Word. We must live in obedience to His divine will. Concerning His providence and some of the everyday affairs of our lives, there are occasions in which we seek to change the mind of God. We are concerned about events in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. We pray for the sick. We are commanded to pray for the sick. We pray believing. When someone is gravely ill and it appears God has determined their end, we pray and ask Him to spare that life and return their health to them. When King Hezekiah was sick unto death, God sent Isaiah to tell him to "set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live" God had made up His mind. The king would die. But Hezekiah wept and prayed, and God changed his mind! Even before the prophet left the king's palace. God told him to return and tell the king that he would be healed, and his life increased fifteen years (2 Kings. 20:1-7).

When David sinned with Uriah's wife, God said "the child that is born unto thee shall surely die." When the child became sick, David knew the verdict. The mind of God had been revealed. 2 Samuel 12:16 says, "David therefore besought God for the child: and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth." He laid there for seven days and fasted. When David heard the child was dead, the record says in verses 20-23,

"Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, 'What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.' And he said, 'While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.' "

While David was trying to change God's mind he fasted and wept for seven days. But when God did not change his mind, there was no animosity. David got up and bathed, changed his clothes, and went to worship the Lord. Then he broke the fast Also we must see that there was no anger toward David from God for trying to change his mind.

When Jonah finally got to Nineveh he cried, "Yet forty days. and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Jonah 3:5-10 says,

"So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, 'Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them nor feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?' And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them and He did not."

When this destruction was at hand, these people proclaimed a fast, repented, and cried unto the Lord. As a result, the Lord changed his mind! God spared the very city He had doomed.

In each of these occasions, these ancient people who faced an emergency situation called upon the Lord with fasting. These passages demonstrate there is tremendous power at the Christian's disposal. The combination of humility, fasting, and prayer can be a great force in a Christian's life. It can even change the mind of God. We need to utilize that power. Before we can change the world by the power of the Gospel, many of us must change ourselves and grow in these Christian disciplines.

We can see from this study that the Lord intended for His people in this age to practice the discipline of fasting. He taught us to fast. He taught us how to fast. And he taught us the benefits of fasting. It is this writers hope that Christians everywhere will seriously consider this Bible subject.

Practical Suggestions If you have never fasted, may I offer seven practical suggestions:

1) If you have serious health problems such as diabetes or heart disease or are advanced in age, please check with a physician. I do not wish to discount what I have taught from the Word of God, but I do remind you the people of the Bible had fasted all their lives. Their bodies were used to what would be a real adjustment for your body.
2) Do not begin with a long fast. Try a fast that lasts for twenty-four hours. Then perhaps the next week or so you might fast thirty-six hours. Build up to a forty-eight hour fast. You may get uncomfortable, or dizzy, or feel weak. When this occurs, at the beginning you might drink a small amount of unsweetened fruit juice. Grape juice is my favorite. But as you continue to fast and gain more experience, you should leave off the juice and drink only water. You will probably have headaches when you begin to fast. These are largely caused by not having coffee or tea in your diet. Do not be concerned about them. They will soon pass.
3) After you have fasted for forty-eight hours on several occasions, you might wish to fast four to seven days or even longer You will discover after the first few days the hunger will pass and you will experience a sense of euphoria. Your energy level will increase. Your mind will become clearer and more focused. Be very attentive to what your body tells you. Depending on your body make-up, somewhere between 21 to 40 days your body will run out of its reserves and begin to feed on important body tissue. When this happens, you will become hungry again, and that is the time to break the fast.
4) Let me remind you again that it is physically dangerous if one goes more than two or three days without the intake of fluids.
5) Do not eat large meals before or after a fast. An extended fast should be broken with fruits or juices. The digestive system has been inactive for a long period. Be careful not to overeat.
6) Read some books about fasting. Look at this subject from both the spiritual and physical standpoints.
7) Be in charge of yourself!

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Silence of the Scriptures: "Where The Bible Is Silent, We Are Silent"

by George Battey
last update 28 May 2020

"If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God"
(1 Peter 4:11).

These inspired words inspired a motto. In 1809 Thomas Campbell gave a sermon in the House of Abraham Altars between Mt. Pleasant and Washington, Pennsylvania. Campbell closed his speech with a famous motto: "Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent" (West, 1:47).

This popular slogan is interpreted in two different ways. Some believe when the Bible is silent, this silence is permissive. It means Christians are permitted to do anything they can possibly dream up and others should be "silent" and not condemn them since the Bible did not explicitly forbid their innovation. Others believe when the Bible is silent, such silence is prohibitive. They interpret Bible silence to mean Christians are forbidden to do anything not authorized either explicitly or implicitly. Additionally, there is disagreement over what constitutes silence.

This study will attempt to accomplish two basic things:

(1) Define exactly what is meant by "silence" and
(2) determine whether silence is permissive or prohibitive.

WHAT IS SILENCE? Everything in the Bible is taught in one of two ways (1) explicitly or (2) implicitly. If something is taught explicitly, this means it is "fully and clearly expressed, leaving nothing implied" (American Heritage Dictionary) "The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1) "When the Spirit expressly says," that is another way of "explicitly saying" In this case, the Spirit is saying fully and clearly that some will depart from the faith and nothing is being left to implication in this particular case

If something is taught implicitly it is "implied or understood though not directly expressed" (American Heritage Dictionary). Implication is not silence. Here is an often committed mistake — assuming an implied statement is tantamount to silence. Instead, implication is another way of expressing truth. When God implied keeping the Sabbath Day holy every week (Exodus 20:8), He was not being silent about weekly Sabbath observance. When God implied a resurrection in the Old Testament (Mark 12:26-27), He was not being silent about the resurrection.

Silence, then, means the absence of all instructions — both explicit and implicit. Silence means there is not one single passage which even implies a doctrine or practice. The question under consideration is this, "When the Bible does not even imply a doctrine or practice, is it permissible with God for Christians to teach the doctrine or practice the ritual?" To put it another way. When the Bible does not even imply something, is something now authorized?

EXPLICIT, IMPLICIT & SILENCE To illustrate silence, consider the following illustration (Beals, 63-66). Suppose three mothers each give their son a grocery list and send the son off to the store The first son looks at his list and sees the following items fruit, meat, white potatoes, box of cereal.

The first thing on this list is fruit, so the son is authorized to buy oranges and apples. Apples and oranges are included in the word "fruit." This is implication. Oranges and apples are not authorized explicitly, but rather, implicitly; If someone argued the list was "silent" about apples or oranges, they would be wrong. The list. is not silent about these items. These items are implied and implication is not silence.

Looking at the list the son is wondering if he may buy white bread. It is admittedly possible that white bread could be authorized, but the son will never know by looking at the first word on the list. "Fruit" does not authorize white bread explicitly and it does not authorize white bread implicitly. If somewhere on the list white bread is authorized that will be fine. There is no logical contradiction between fruit and white bread. In other words, when the mother specified "fruit" that alone would not prevent her from later authorizing white bread. In order to know about bread, the son will simply have to keep reading his list.

The son continues down the list and sees meat, white potatoes and a box of cereal, but he finds nothing about white bread. He discovers his list is silent about white bread. Nothing even implies white bread. Since nothing even remotely implies white bread, this son is forbidden to purchase bread. If he purchases a loaf of bread anyway, he will have to add to the instructions given by his mother, for her list was silent about this item.

The second son looks at his list. He see the following items: 12 ears of corn, 2 tomatoes, loaf of bread, 3 steaks: This list actually says something about white bread when it says "loaf of bread." It does not explicitly say white bread, but it implies white bread, by the generic term "loaf of bread." This list, then, is not silent about white bread. If this son buys a loaf of white bread, he will not be adding to the instructions his mother gave him.

The third son receives the following list: loaf of white bread, 1 pound of cheese, 12 eggs, hamburger: This list also says something about white bread. It mentions white bread explicitly. Like the second son, this boy will not be adding to the instructions his mother gave him if he buys a loaf of white bread.

In summary, here is a difference between the three grocery lists. First notice that list #2 and list #3 differ from list #1 in that they both mention white bread. There is also a difference between list #2 and list #3. List #3 mentions white bread explicitly while list #2 mentions it implicitly. Remember, it would be incorrect to say list #2 does not mention white bread. It actually does mention white bread by implication and implication is not silence.

The Synagogue Now consider the oft-asked question dealing with the synagogue. "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues" (Matthew 4:23). An argument is often advanced called the "synagogue-argument" The synagogue-argument says:

a. The Old Testament Scriptures were silent about synagogues;
b. Yet Jesus Himself approved of going to synagogues and preaching in them;
c. Therefore, the synagogues demonstrate Bible silence is permissive.

In response to the synagogue argument, the question must be asked: Was the Old Testament truly silent about synagogues? To answer this question, consider the word synagogue. The English word "synagogue" comes straight from the Greek SUNAGOGE. This noun derives the verb SUNAGO which is a compound word. The prefix SUN - is a preposition meaning "with." The root AGO is a verb meaning "to go." Literally, the word means "to go with" or to gather people together. So the word means a gathering of people, an assembly and then the place where the assembly occurred — the building.

The question being asked is: Did the Old Testament authorize assembling people together in a building for the activities in which Jesus and others engaged? The answer is: Yes it did. All one has to do is find an Old Testament passage (or combination of passages) which authorizes the kinds of actions that were performed in a synagogue. One could look for passages which have to do with assembling or public teaching. To find such passages, one might take a concordance and begin looking up words like: gather, assemble, law, teach, read, etc.

Here are two passages. "When all Israel Comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess" (Deuteronomy 31:11-13). Again, "Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice" (Psalms 50:5).

In these and other passages is found explicit authority for assembling and implicit authority for a building The implicit authority is seen by the fact that the command to gather people together to hear the Word of God requires some place. It is absolutely impossible to gather people together and teach like these passages require without some place to do the gathering and teaching. Someone's house is a place, outside under a tree is a place. Being where there is light is a place. Being where there is not a blizzard is some place. A building, like a synagogue, is some place. When the Old Testament Scriptures authorized a place by implicit teaching, the Scriptures were not being silent about that place. Remember, implication is not silence. Therefore, the Old Testament was not silent about synagogues. Synagogues were authorized by implicit permission.

The synagogue argument falls short of proving silence permits. The argument begins with an erroneous assumption --- that assumption being the Old Testament is silent about synagogues. Assumptions prove nothing under the best of circumstances, and they certainly prove nothing when they are erroneous to begin with. The Old Testament was not silent because it implied the synagogue "[The Babylonians] have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land" (Psalm 74:8) There were "meeting places" in which the faithful met in to read the law. These meeting places were burned up when the Babylonians invaded the land. Were those meeting places authorized? Yes, they were authorized implicitly as a permission. Synagogues were not required, but they were permitted by implication.

Church Buildings The synagogue-argument brings to mind the next most often cited question: The "church building argument." The church-building argument says the Scriptures are silent about church buildings and yet most brethren accept church buildings. The argument goes forward from that point and wants brethren to accept other things which the New Testament Scriptures are truly silent about — things like preaching during communion, women teaching from the pulpit during non-Sunday assemblies, vacation Bible school and other innovations. Yet, as with the synagogue-argument, so with the church building-argument, the question needs to be asked: Is the New Testament truly silent about church buildings?

To answer this question, one must first look at the word for assembling people together. The New Testament records this command, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). The word "assembling" in Greek has the word "synagogue" for its root (EPISUNAGOGE). This word means an assembly of people. The verb form of "synagogue" is found in Acts. 20:7, "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight." Notice the disciples "came together"? This is the verb SUNAGO from which synagogue derives. Both of these passages explicit authorize brethren to assemble people together and they implicitly authorize a place.

Just as the Old Testament implicitly authorized a synagogue, the New Testament implicitly authorizes a church building. Church buildings are authorized by implicit permission. Synagogues and church buildings are not examples of Bible silence because the Bible implicitly teaches both. Silence means the absence of all teaching. Silence means:

(a) there is no Bible passage which explicitly teaches something and
(b) there is no Bible passage which implicitly teaches it either. Remember, implication is not silence.

Interpreting Silence When the Bible is truly silent about some action, there are four possible ways of viewing that silence:

(1) silence forbids,
(2) silence permits,
(3) silence requires, or
(4) no way of knowing.

To illustrate, Massachusetts a few years ago had the following law: If a traffic light is red and no sign or policeman is present giving instructions, then motorists are forbidden to turn right while the light is red. In this case the state of Massachusetts was saying silence forbids. The only way one can know how to interpret silence in this case is for the government to reveal this information In other words, there must be revelation for people to know how to interpret silence.

In contrast with Massachusetts, the state of Georgia has a different law: If a traffic light is red and no sign or policeman is present giving instructions, then motorists are permitted to turn right while the light is red. In this case the state of Georgia is saying silence permits.

It is possible, if a state wanted, to make a law which said: If a traffic light is red and no sign or policeman is present giving instructions, then motorists are required to turn right while the light is red. In this case the state would be saying silence requires.

To make the illustration complete, it is also possible that a state could be so ambiguous that motorists have no way of knowing what to do when they come to a 'red light that has no instructions and no policeman.

These scenarios exhaust the four possibilities of how to interpret silence (1) silence forbids, (2) silence permits, (3) silence requires, or (4) no way of knowing.

As mentioned earlier, the only way of knowing how to view silence is for the governing authority to reveal how to understand and interpret silence. When it comes to interpreting the Scriptures, God must also reveal how to interpret silence.

No Way Of Knowing? First, consider the "no-way-of-knowing" possibility; Some people truly believe the Bible is unclear and ambiguous about how to interpret silence. Therefore, the conclusion drawn by some is: People must be allowed to decide for themselves what to do when the Bible is silent.

There are at least three things wrong with this belief. First, if people are allowed to decide for themselves, some might decide to go ahead and participate in something which the Scriptures are silent about. The "no-way-of-knowing" position says, "Let people decide for themselves and if they decide to participate, they must be allowed to do so and no one should condemn them." In this case the no-way-of-knowing position is actually saving: "When there's no way of knowing what to do, then silence permits." To put it another way; the "no-way-of-knowing" position is saying: "When there is no way to knowing; one knows what to do — go ahead and participate." This position is self-contradictory. A position which is self-contradictory is false.

Second, according to the Bible, God gives His people complete instructions about what to do. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If the Scriptures make God's people complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work, those Scriptures cannot leave someone guessing about how to interpret silence. In order to be all-sufficient the Scriptures cannot leave out instructions about silence. If instructions about silence were left out, the man of God would not be thoroughly equipped nor would he be complete.

Third, if there are no instructions about what to do with silence, then Romans 14:23 comes into play. This passage states, "He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin." This is the "when-in-doubt, don't" rule.

To illustrate the "when-in-doubt-don't" rule, imagine driving on crooked, hilly road, behind a slow driver. Responsible drivers would know the slow car cannot be passed if there are any doubts about passing safely on a crooked, hilly road one might never know for sure about oncoming traffic. In such a situation, one needs to simply breathe deeply, relax and enjoy the slow drive through the country. The rule is: "when-in-doubt-don't."

Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), if the Scriptures are unclear about what to do with silence, honesty would cause the Christian to admit he has doubts. Romans 14:23 teaches when one has doubts about something, he should not do it simply because it could he sinful. Therefore, if there were truly "no-way-of-knowing" how to interpret silence, the honest Christian would eventually be driven to the position: silence forbids.

Silence Requires? Next, consider the possibility that silence requires. No one really believes God requires a Christian to perform the action about which the Scriptures are silent. This possible scenario is only mentioned for the sake of completeness — discussing every possible way of interpreting silence.

As mentioned above, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 stresses that every good work is contained in Scripture. It is enough to say: "There cannot be a work required by God which is not contained in Scripture."

Only Two Options In reality there are only two viable options. Either:

(1) silence forbids or
(2) silence permits?

There is no third alternative.

The position of silence-permits rests on the idea that anything a person can dream up is allowed unless there is a Bible passage explicitly forbidding the action. This requires belief in the explicit-only doctrine. The silence-permits doctrine is the "but-it-does-not-say-not-to-so-it's-okay-to-do-it" doctrine. People holding this position say things like:

• "The Bible does not say, 'Thou shalt not have instruments.'"
• "The Bible does not say, 'Thou shalt not have drama plays.'"
• "The Bible does not say; 'Thou shalt not have children's church.'"
• "The Bible does not say, 'Thou shalt not have Bible classes.'"
• "The Bible does not say, 'Thou shalt not have individual cups."
• "The Bible does not say, 'Thou shalt not have church sponsored recreation"

The list could go on and on.

The position of silence-forbids rests on the idea that everything Christians do must be authorized by either Jesus or His apostles (ambassadors). If there is no authorization (explicit or implicit), God's people are forbidden to do the thing under consideration.

This position is saying that when the Bible is silent about something that silence is significant. In other words, this position is saying God is communicating His will by what He says, and He is also communicating His will by what He does not say. This is called legislative silence. Legislative silence is when the law is purposefully silent about an action and that silence is viewed as expressing the intent of the lawmaker.

The weight of evidence falls overwhelmingly in favor of the silence-forbids position. Consider just a few of the many passages which demonstrate Bible silence forbids.

Cain & Abel "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain

was very angry; and his countenance fell" (Genesis 4:1-5). Abel offered his offering by faith (Hebrews 11:4). Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Therefore, in order to offer his offering by faith, God had to have given instructions. God's instructions required the shedding of blood — the offering of a lamb.

Cain's sacrifice was not of faith. He offered something God was silent about. God never gave instructions about offering the fruit of the ground. Since Cain offered an unauthorized sacrifice, his offering was rejected and he himself was rejected in the process. This story confirms: silence-forbids.

Nadab & Abihu "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD" (Leviticus 10:1-2).

Here is fire which God did not command. God was silent about the fire these priests used. Silence meant the fire was not even implied. [I believe the issue here is not of "fire," but of where the fire is to come from. See Leviticus 16:12 d.c.]. Consequently it was unauthorized. Silence meant the priests were forbidden to do what they did.

The Jerusalem Conference They wrote this, letter by them: "The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law" — to whom we gave no such commandment" (Acts 15:23-24). To teach something which the apostles never commanded was forbidden. The position of silence-forbids is corroborated in this passage.

The Lord's Deity "For to which of the angels did He ever say: 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You'? And again: 'I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son'? ... But to which of the angels has He ever said: 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool'?" (Hebrews 1:5,13)

Here are three questions regarding the deity of the Lord. The questions are based on the silence of the Scriptures. Because God never said these things to any angel, all men are forbidden to teach Jesus is an angel. These two verses teach the silence-forbids doctrine.

The Lord's Priesthood In Hebrews 7 the Scriptures discuss Jesus' priesthood. Jesus could not be a priest according to Old Testament law because He did not come from the tribe of Levi. "For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood" (Hebrews 7:14). This argument is based on the silence of the Scriptures. Jesus Himself could not be a priest under the Old Testament system because of silence.

Silence does not authorize; --- it forbids.

Since silence forbids and since the law was silent about someone from the Tribe of Judah being a priest, Jesus Himself was forbidden by the law from being a priest. "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law" (Hebrews 7:12). In order for Jesus to become our High Priest, the law had to be changed. The law forbade Jesus' priesthood by its silence.

The "Do Not Add" Passages All of the "do not add" passages teach the same lesson: Silence forbids. When God is silent that silence is significant. He means something by His silence. Over and over Christians are warned not to add to the Scriptures when God is silent about something. "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2)
"Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar" (Proverbs 30:6) "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city and from the things which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19)

In all of these passages men are forbidden to do two things;

(a) add to the Word and
(b) subtract from the Word.

"Do not add" refers to the silence of the Scriptures. Something which the law is silent about may not be added to the law

Bible Complete
To illustrate what's happening, let a large circle represent the Scriptures. Add God's Complete Will (2 Timothy 3:16-17) "complete" "thoroughly equipped" "every" good work "X" Since the circle represents "every" good work, it also represents God's completed revelation — the New Testament Scriptures. Second Timothy 2:16-17 teaches that "every" good work is contained in the Scriptures. Now, let "X" represent a doctrine or practice which the New Testament Scriptures are silent about. In order to teach this new doctrine or participate in this new practice the teacher would have to "add" to the Scriptures — something Christians are strictly forbidden from doing. Silence, then, becomes significant. Silence forbids

Various Questions Understanding the doctrine of "silence forbids" assists in answering several questions:

1. Why does the church of Christ not baptize babies? The Lord's church does not baptize babies simply because the New Testament is silent such a practice and silence forbids. No one is allowed to add to the Word and in order to baptize babies, someone would have to add something that is not there.

If someone asked for authorization to baptize adults who believe in Christ, that could easily be done with Passages like Mark 16:16 or Acts 2:38 could be offered as authority for baptizing adults. However, there is no authorization to baptize babies. Not one single passage even necessarily implies infant baptism. Since everything taught or practiced must be authorized (Colossians 3:17), and since there is no authorization for baptizing babies (silence), the baptism of infants is wrong because silence forbids.

2. Why does the church of Christ immerse? Why is sprinkling not acceptable? The Lord's church does not sprinkle people for baptism because the New Testament is silent about sprinkling and silence forbids. No one is allowed to add to the Word and in order to sprinkle, one would have to add something that is not there.

By contrast, if someone asked for authorization to immerse, passages like Acts 8:38 or Romans 6:3-4 could be offered as authorization. But where would one go for authorization to sprinkle?

3. Why does the church of Christ not use musical instruments? The Lord's church does not use mechanical instruments of music because the New Testament is silent about mechanical instruments and silence forbids. No one may add to the Word and in order to use instruments, one would have to add something that is not there.

On the other hand, if someone asked for authorization to sing (make vocal music), passages like Ephesians 5:19 or Colossians 3:16 could be offered as authorization. But where would one go to authorize instruments?

Often people want to go to the Old Testament (to David and the Psalms) Yet the church is not under the authority of the Old Testament "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine" (Acts 2:42) The New Testament church did not follow Moses. It followed the apostles' doctrine. The Old Testament was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). The church looks to Jesus and His apostles for authorization today (Matthew 17:5). This is the meaning of the church "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20).

4. Why does the church of Christ not many other things which denominations do?
• Why are Bible classes opposed?
• Why are individual communion wafers rejected?
• Why will the church not use fermented wine in communion?
• Why are individual communion cups rejected?
• Why is a second offering of the communion on Sunday evenings not practiced?
• Why does the church not take the communion to sick people at home?
• Why does the church not build and maintain gymnasiums?
• Why does the church not build and maintain hospitals, nursing homes and orphan homes?
• Why does the church not build and maintain schools and colleges?
• Why are choirs not organized and utilized?
• Why is hand-clapping not practiced?
• Why is religious dancing considered wrong?
• Why are religious drama performance not organized and presented?
• Why do the members of the church not call their preachers "pastor" or "reverend"?
• Why is the "guilty party" in a divorce not allowed to remarry?
• Why does the church not teach sinners to simply pray for salvation?

The answer to all these questions is the same. None of these things are believed or practiced simply because the New Testament is silent about each of these things, and silence forbids. The Lord never gave His people the right to add to the holy Word and, in order to do any of the above mentioned items, additions would have to be made to the Word. Scriptural authorization should be given for everything the church does. Nothing should be taught and nothing should be practiced for which there is no Scripture (Colossians 3:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The doctrines and practices of the church must rest in the wisdom and authority of God and not in the wisdom of men (Proverbs 3:5-6; 14:12; Isaiah 55:8-9).

CONCLUSION God's people must show respect for the Scriptures. The Scriptures cannot be broken (John 10:35).

• Christians are told to have Scripture authorization for everything they do (Colossians 3:17).
• Everything Christians need to know or do is contained in the New Testament Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
• Christians cannot think beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6).
• If anyone comes and does not bring the teaching of Christ, brothers and sisters are not to receive them into their houses nor wish them success (2 John 9-11).
• If anyone teaches something not taught by the apostles, they are accursed from God (Galatians 1:8-9).
• If anyone tries to worship in a way which is not authorized, their worship is worthless to God. (Matthew 15:9).


This is serious business. Eternal destinies are at stake here. Great care should be taken to make sure what is taught and practiced is actually authorized. Great care should also be taken in how the Scriptures are handled, being honest and careful to draw out of the Scriptures only what is actually there and not reading wishful thinking into the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15).

The words of Moses are most appropriate here,
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law"

(Deuteronomy 29:29).

"Where the Bible speaks, we speak and where the Bible is silent, we are silent."

4605 NBU, Prague, Oklahoma 74864, gbattey@yahoo.corn

WORKS CITED American Heritage, Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Co 1996 Electronic version
Beals, George F, How Implication Binds And Silence Forbids—Studies In Biblical Hermeneutics P C Publications 1998
New King James Version, Thomas Nelson 1988 edition
West, Earl Irvin The Search For The Ancient Order — A History of The Restoration Movement 1849-1906 Gospel Advocate 1964 Vol 1

Please Contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 (cell)for comments, questions, further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.

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Are You A Christian? Menu

1) Are You A Christian?

2) Being Just A Christian

3) What Must I Do To Be Saved?

4) True Repentance

5) Unity in the Church

6) Fasting --- When not "if"!

Return to Main Menu - Home

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Being Just a Christian

You can be just a Christian! Does this sound strange? With thousands of religious bodies in our country, it might appear impossible to be a Christian without being part of a denomination. It is not only possible, but there are actually thousands of "Christians only" in this and other nations.

The churches of ChristWho are these people who seek to be only Christians? The congregations of which they are a part are usually known as the "churches of Christ". The this term is not used in a denominational sense, but is intended to denote their desire to belong to Christ’s Church. The Bible says, "All the churches of Christ greet you." (Romans 16:16). However, it is just as correct to describe the church of which we read in the Bible as "the church of God" (1 Corinthians 1:2), "the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27), or "the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). These and similar Biblical phrases are nor proper names, but descriptive expressions which show how the church is related to Christ and His Father.

A Distinctive PleaWe have a distinctive plea. Of course, in many ways we agree with others striving to follow Christ. We believe in the divine inspiration of the entire Bible, and that it is sufficient to guide us in all matters of faith; in the death of Jesus Christ, and His atonement for our sins; and that after death all men will be rewarded or punished in another life for the way they have lived here. And with all people of real religious conviction we insist that moral principles of Jesus are absolute truths to be exemplified in the personal righteousness of the child of God.

The Bible OnlyHowever, we not only believe that the scriptures are inspired, but also convicted that the New Testament must be our ONLY guide in religious faith. God’s Word frequently warns us against changing the divine message (See Galatians 1:6-9). We, therefore, have no creed or catechism to present, but accept Christ as our only creed and the Bible as our only guidebook. In this way we are prevented by an erroneous creed from accepting any teachings except which may be learned from God’s Word.

Restoration Rather than ReformationIt is obvious to thinking people that the religious world is badly divided. Great leaders such as Martin Luther and John Calvin sought to correct erroneous teachings and practices. But the reformers often started at different points and thus arrived at different conclusions. Division rather than unity has resulted.

We, on the other hand, plead for the restoration of apostolic Christianity, rather than a reformation of existing religious bodies. Since all agree that the early church was right, we should also be able to agree that we cannot be wrong if wee succeed in reproducing that church today in every essential part. While many things have changed in the twentieth century, the teachings of Jesus and His apostles have not. Truth is absolute and unchangeable. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17) and can save today as surely as in the first century, if applied in the same way. "The truth will make you free", (John 8:32).

Should you visit the congregation you will find it worshipping God as did the early disciples --- "in spirit and truth," (John 4:24). You will observe that it partakes of the Lord’s supper, or communion, every Sunday. This is because we are following the example of the early Christians who assembled every first day of the week to "break bread" (Acts 20:7). Likewise, in every other way the church seeks to reproduce New Testament Christianity --- in organization, in work, and in other area of teaching.

How To Be Just a ChristianIn few places is there so much disagreement as in answering the Bible question, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). Here again, we must reply by going to the scriptures for the answer. The Bible teaches that Christ shed His blood for our sins (Matthew 26:28), and that without it we cannot be saved (Hebrews 9:22). But what does Jesus require of us to "know assuredly" or believe that Jesus is "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36, Matthew 10:32). When these people on the day of Pentecost then asked for further information, they were told, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). The Bible teaches that there is only one baptism today (Ephesians 4:5), and that baptism is by immersion in water (Acts 8:36-39), in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Today we teach (as did the apostles then) that for Christ’s blood to remove our sins we must as believers in Him repent, confess our faith, and be baptized. As we are thus saved from our sins, the Lord adds us to His body, the church. "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47). "For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13) the saved, then, are in the body (or church) of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23); one cannot be saved and be outside the body.

The early disciples were Christians only. Although we live 1900 years later, we too can be Christians only if we will follow the same teachings given to these first followers of Jesus Christ. Christ said, "The seed is the Word of God" (Luke 8:11). Just as surely as a planted acorn will produce only an oak, so God’s Work will produce Christians and nothing more. We invite your earnest consideration to this plea and a thorough investigation of the practices of the first century church.

Our goal is to worship God and live our lives as closely as possible to the New testament pattern in the Bible "Speaking where the Bible speaks, silent where the Bible is silent.". If this is your goal also, or if you have any questions, or would like to thoroughly study what God’s Word, the Bible, has to say about these subjects (or any other), You are intuited to attend the Sunday morning worship service of a congregation near you, or call us and we can arrange for a private study in person, by mail, e-mail, or on the internet.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17). Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

WE WELCOME YOUFollowing the instructions of the Scriptures, members of Christ’s body assemble as congregations for worship, encouragement, and Bible study. The congregation in your community welcomes you to investigate the Bible with us. With a spirit of brotherly love we would seek to reconcile any differences by following the Bible ONLY. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired word, the ONLY reliable standard of faith and practice. We desire the unity for which Christ prayed and which the Bible emphasizes in the expression, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Together we seek to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement. Please e-mail me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com for comments or further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.

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True Repentance

What is Repentance? The topic is Acts 3:19. Read through verse 21 to better understand the context. It reads this way from the New King James version:

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, so that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began."(NKJ)

From the NIV It reads this way:
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you --- even Jesus . He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through the holy prophets." (NIV)

I am only going to deal with the first part of the verse which is about repentance, because of a lack of time.

REPENTANCE

"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given us assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (NKJ) (Acts 17:30-31) There was a time when God allowed ignorance of His Word as an excuse, but now He does not. He now commands all men everywhere to repent. The Jews were once the only ones given God's Word. Now God will allow us no excuse for not obeying His Word!

A few verses that show the necessity of repentance are:
(Matthew 3:2) John the Baptist many times said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!."

(Matthew 4:17) "From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

Jesus in Mark 1:14-15 said,"... Repent, and believe in the Gospel.'" (NKJ)

In Mark 6:12 Jesus sent the 12 disciples out two by two and the Bible records, "so they went out and preached that people should repent."

(Luke 16:29-31) The rich man in hell asks for Lazarus to be sent to his father's house to warn his brothers about hell, "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"

These verses show us not only the necessity of repentance, but the consequences of not repenting.

From this we can see that repentance is necessary for salvation, but what exactly is repentance? Is it just feeling sorry for something, or what? Lets look at the definition of the word:

- Strong's: (3340) from the original Greek word met-an-o-eh'-o to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally feel compunction): repent. From 3326 (denoting accompaniment, or together) and 3539 (to change, transfigure, or transform).

Thayer's: (3340) to change one's mind, i.e. to repent (to feel sorry that one has done this or that; conscious of their sins and with manifest tokens of sorrow, are intent on obtaining God's pardon; to change one's mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins.

Vines: METANOEO - to perceive afterwards, (meta- after, implying change, noeo - the seat of moral reflection

Let's see if this is verified by the Scriptures:
(Titus 2:11-12) "For the Grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteous, and Godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." (NKJ)

The fruits of repentance are seen in our lives, which reflect God's teachings: good works, a righteous life, and a zeal for the things of God!

(2 Corinthians 7:9) "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance... for Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation ..."

(Acts 26:20) Paul said of both Jews and Gentiles (which includes everyone), "... that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance." (NKJ)

But, what are "works befitting repentance"? The NIV reads, "... prove their repentance by their deeds. " What deeds does it take to prove our repentance?

Let's look further into God's Word. In Luke 3:8-14, John the Baptist told the multitudes, "... bear fruits worthy of repentance ..." and when asked, "What shall we do then?", he answered, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise." To the tax collectors, " Collect no more than what is appointed for you." To the soldiers, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." (NKJ)

Each person was required to look at himself and see what he had that could benefit others. Each person was to look at their lives and see how they were wrongly treating others, and correct that action, or actions.

When Zacchaeus was converted by Jesus in Luke 19:5-9 he said to Jesus, "Look Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore foretold. ' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house ...'"

Here repentance invoked an immediate reaction: Zacchaeus was wealthy, so he gave half of his wealth to the poor. He was a tax collator who had been used to defrauding people as part of his job; he gave the money back fourfold to show his sincerity. Just saying I'm sorry because someone expects it is not repentance. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of actions!

But is there more to this than just repenting?
(Acts 2:37-38) The first Gospel sermon preached by Peter to those who had crucified Christ. "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (NKJ)

"Repent and be baptized" to have their sins forgiven.

(Luke 17:3-4)"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
R
As baptized believers, we are both to forgive if someone wrongs us, and to repent if we wrong others. We are to continue doing this even if our habits continue to overshadow our resolve. until we leave that sin behind us. We are to forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ as they try to work through and overcome their faults.

(Acts 8:22) Simon, a baptized believer, after he had tried to buy the power the Apostles of giving gifts of the holy spirit by the laying on of their hands, was told to, "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." (NKJ)

This shows us that as Christians we are to "repent" and pray for forgiveness when we sin.

A few more verses:
(Revelations 2:4-5) Although the church at Ephesus had many good works they were told, "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 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 it's place --- unless you repent." (NKJ)

Those at Ephesus are praised for many "good works". But are told to "repent and do the first works" or else God's judgment would come on them. What were their "first works"? They have lost their enthusiasm for the worship and progress of the church. They were not untiring in their devotion to the church and the spread of God's Word as they were against false teachers. They are to remember their first zeal for God.

As we apply this to our lives, we are doing well if we do not allow our early enthusiasm for worship and the spread of God's truth to grow dim. If God's judgment was to come on those at Ephesus if they did not repent, would it not also come on us, if we are in that condition?

(Revelations 3:3-5) To the church at Sardis: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name from the book of life"(NKJ)

Most of those at Sardis are Christians in name only. They have "defiled their garments"; they are living lives contaminated by the evil of sin. If they do not repent and change their lives Christ will come upon them "as a thief" to bring judgment upon them. This verse is one that shows a Christian can lose his salvation if they continue in sin. "He who overcomes ... I will not blot his name from the book of life" verifies this. This applies to each and every one of us!

It takes more than just making it to church a few times each week. Repentance is a change of life-style. Our life then conforms with the pattern put forth in the Gospel of Christ. If it doesn't we're just wasting our time. God doesn't want "lukewarm Christians". He wants total commitment to Him and His Word. Less than that is a waste of our time and eternity, and is an insult to God!

WHAT CAN YOU DO? You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17). Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

Please contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 (cell)for comments, questions, further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.

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Prove All Things

by Don McCord
"Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" --- what a divine, inspired imperative! What a motto for life's challenges, responsibilities, expectations! This is all-inclusive as to things --- "all things," nothing left out. This is all-inclusive as to persons --- no one left out. It is indeed possible to "prove all things," or Paul would not have so plainly enjoined: we are not dealing here with things impossible, rivers uncrossable, an exercise in futility. Indeed, we are concerned with a very practical and fruitful undertaking, though it may appear, and in reality is, an awesome one. I am reminded of Paul's admonition to the Philippians, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" this down-to-earth, soul-satisfying, strengthening admonition is never out-dated, never obsolete. I do not know of a better, nobler way of spending life's little day down here; what better, more enduring eulogy would be given a person than "he/she spent his/her days down here proving all things, holding fast to that which is good." How much more pleasing to God would the church be if all the members did just that; so pursued and applied the kingdom of God could and would defeat the kingdoms of men.

Those choosing a title for a study such as this can do no better than lift it right out of the Scripture text itself. Our title of this study and this lesson is just that. The Amplified phrases it, "But test and prove all things until you can recognize what is good; to that hold fast." The New American Standard has it this way: "But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good." The New International Version renders it, "Test everything . . . Hold on to the good." Marvin Vincent in his Word Studies of the New Testament says of our title, "a general exhortation not confined to prophesying." The interlinear says, "All things prove, the right hold fast." Dr. William Barclay in his translation has it this way: "Test everything, hold fast to the true thing."

The context of any text is so necessary if we are to understand and implement it properly. With this in mind I implore your patience while I read verses 12-28, with a brief exposition; listen, please --- what a compendium, brief though exhaustive, of what it is all about down here:

"And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you [beseech, that is, I beg you, please; he is, as it were, on his knees]; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded [discouraged], support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man: but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. [If you want to read the finest commentary on the "holy kiss" that I have read, you need Brother Irvin Barnes' booklet on the subject --- scriptural, logical, easy to apply.] I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

It is my sincere conviction before God the Father, Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit and the angels, and you, that the Word of God provides for us guidelines, criteria whereby we may "prove all things." Surely, this is the case in view of the command itself. We are not left to wander in a maze of doubt and confusion as to this great undertaking; there is a way of doing what we are told to do. Here we tread cautiously, prayerfully, carefully. These scriptural criteria are as follows:

• Is the thing tested lawful?
• Is the thing tested lawfully expedient?
• Is the thing tested a matter of liberty, indifference?
• Is it a violation of the witness the Spirit bears with our spirit?
• Is the thing tested a violation of conscience?
• Is the thing tested a violation or disruption of unity?
• Is the thing tested a violation or disruption of fellowship?
• Is the thing tested a violation of the law of consistency?
• Is the thing tested a substitution for the divine pattern?
• Is the thing tested a violation of types and shadows?

Is the Thing Tested Lawful?There is indeed a law to govern us as we "prove all things." James assures us in James 1:25, the New International Version, "But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it --- he will be blessed in what he does." This must be the law of Christ. In Psalm 119, David speaks repeatedly, in this the longest psalm of them all, and the longest chapter in the whole Book, of "the law of the Lord," "His testimonies," "His ways,' "precepts," "statutes," "commandments," and "judgments," and how binding they are. When a thing tested is contrary to the law of Christ, it cannot be right. Example: Baptism --- immersion, sprinkling, pouring? Tested by the law, we determine that baptism is immersion, and not sprinkling or pouring: we "hold fast that which is good," therefore. A divine pattern sanctioned by law cannot be set aside, ignored; commandments, as part of law, are to be kept; binding examples, as part and parcel of law, are to be followed. Any practice when tested by law that comes up short is not right. There is a reason why we list being lawful as the first criterion for testing things in religion; a thing, a practice, has to be lawful of necessity. This will be amplified as we proceed.

Is the Thing Tested Lawfully Expedient? There are indeed expedient things, but they can never impinge upon law in our testing, we must ever bear this in mind. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition says of "expedient:' "Useful for effecting a desired result; advantageous, convenient." W. E. Vine in An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says: "Intransitively, to be an advantage, profitable, not merely convenient." Example: At the Lord's Table, age-old arguments have been made, some are good, and some an not. The plate for the loaf is an expedient matter. No law is impinged upon there is no interference with the divine pattern --- and there is a pattern. Some who apparently do not understand lawful and expedient things, get confused --- it is argued by them that both the plate and the cup are expedient Not so, simply because the cup comes under law, commandment, binding example, and cannot therefore be expedient. The plate for convenience, an expedient, is used; the cup, as a matter of law, is used --- to do otherwise is to violate law. This meeting house is a matter of expediency; the church must have a meeting place, be it a building like this, a private home, an "upper room," a rented facility --- no law is hereby infringed upon.

Is the Thing Tested a Matter of Liberty or Indifference?Matters of liberty cannot, must not, go counter to law; in practice, matters of liberty must not violate a divine pattern. Let us observe the chart:

The Divine Pattern Vs. Liberty in Four Particulars

PatternBaptism -(immersion) (burial)
Mark 16:16; Romans 6:4

Music — singing;
Ephesians 5:19; Colosians 3:16

Communion — cup, loaf, fruit of the vine;
Matthew 26, Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Corinthians 11

Teaching — one assembly, one man
at a time, women silent;
1 Corinthians 14LibertyBaptism - baptistry, river, outside, inside, lake, river, ocean

Music — books, notes, directing, number of songs

Communion — material, size, time, plate, cloths

Teaching — blackboard, notes, pulpit, meeting
house, pews

Is the Thing Tested a Violation of the Witness ---
the Spirit Bears With Our Spirit? Paul says in Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God"; this is the King James Version. The Amplified says: "The Spirit Himself thus testifies together with our spirit, assuring us that we are the children of God." The New International Version says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." Paul says in Ephesians 6:17, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Surely, His Spirit witnesses with our spirit through the Word. In 1 Corinthians 2:11, Paul observes, "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."

Bearing Witness: Romans 8:16; Ephesians 6:17; 1 Corinthians 2:11

Is the Thing Tested a Violation of Conscience?The word "conscience" appears in something like thirty-one New Testament verses, it does not appear in the Old Testament. Conscience is defineth as that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God; that process of thought which distinguishes what it considers morally good or morally bad, commending the good, condemning the evil. Paul speaks of a "good conscience" (Acts 23:1); a "pure conscience" to Timothy, and "a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men"(Acts 24:16) He warns, when we wound a brother's weak conscience, we sin against Christ. Surely when a thing tested is found to violate the conscience, it cannot be the "good."

Is the Thing Tested a Violation or Disruption of Unity?"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity," the Psalmist said (Psalm 133:1). "He that soweth discord among brethren" is to the Lord abominable (ProverbS 6:19). Surely, the thing tested that would cause division, disunity in the Lord's church cannot be good. There is surely a ground of unity upon which all can unite.

Is the Thing Tested a Violation or Disruption of Fellowship?If so, the thing tested cannot be right.

Is the Thing Tested a Violation of the Law of Consistency?Again, if so, the thing tested cannot be right. Example: The use of the instrument to accompany singing in the assembly has been tested, and found time and time again to be wrong. The law of consistency demands that if the instrument is wrong in the church, such innovations as the Sunday School, individual cups are also wrong; they all stand or fall together. Tested, they fall; the use of all three is not good. One cannot be wrong and the others right. God's plan is always consistent.

Is the Thing Tested a Substitution for the Divine Pattern?Note again the chart, "The Divine Pattern vs. Liberty in four particulars."

Is the Thing Tested a Violation of Types and Shadows?Paul writes in Hebrews 9:24, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true . . ." This is the King James Version. The New International Version says, "only a copy of the true one;" the Amplified says, "only a copy, and pattern and type of the true one." The church must be under consideration; the old tabernacle must have been a type of it, a mere shadow. Example: In the tabernacle there was the table of shewbread, a type of the Lord's table. On the table of shewbread were twelve loaves of unleavened bread. There was a sane, sensible reason for twelve—there were twelve families or tribes of the Lord's chosen; so, on the Lord's Table one loaf of unleavened bread. There is a same, sensible reason for one, not twelve or two, but one --- there was one lamb to a house, a type of the loaf, one loaf to a house of worship. The blood of the one lamb to the one house was caught in one basin. Interestingly, the Hebrew word from which we get "basin" can be translated "cup." No wonder on the Lord's Table in one congregation of believers there is one loaf of bread, and one cup of the fruit of the vine. The thing tested must not violate types and shadows, when they are evident.

ConclusionMatthew Henry, in commenting on "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," has this to say:

"This is a needful caution, to prove all things: for, though we must put a value on preaching, we must not take things upon trust from the preacher, but try them by the law and the testimony. We must search the scriptures, whether what they say be true or not. We must not believe every spirit, but must try the spirits. But we must not always be trying, always unsettled: no, at length we must be settled, and hold fast to that which is good. When we are satisfied that any thing is right, and true, and good, we must hold it fast, and not let it go, whatever opposition or whatever persecution we meet with for the sake thereof."
Box 1773, Covina, California 91722


Please Contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 (cell)for comments, questions, further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.

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The Church Belonging To Christ

In Prophecy, In
Promise, In Fact
by Irvin Barnes

The Establishment of the Church of Christ Jesus made a definite promise in Matthew 16:18, when he said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”

Jesus clearly affirmed that the church would be His. It would belong to Christ. This statement, by itself, is sufficient to eliminate man-made churches which wear names of human origin. Since the church which Jesus promised to build was going to belong to him, it should wear his name. Please see Acts 4:12.

Did Jesus ever build His church? If so, when and where did it begin? Is it still in existence today?

Several expressions are used in the scriptures to refer to the church. Each term or expression describes a characteristic of the church and therefore helps us understand the nature of this wonderful institution.

First: the word “church” means the called out. In reference to the church it means the called out of the world.

In Bible times town criers would stand in the streets at some conspicuous place and report news events. The crier would call out to the townspeople to come and hear some late breaking news event. Those who gathered to hear him speak were said to be the “called out.”

The church is composed of those who have answered the call of the gospel.
2 Thessalonians 2:14, “to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (all verses NKJV)

The gospel is “the power of God to salvation,” Romans 1:16, “the gospel of your salvation,” Ephesians 1:13 and the thing “by which also you are saved,” 1 Corinthians 15:2.

In order to be saved by the gospel it is essential to hear the gospel, Romans 10:17, to believe the gospel, Hebrews 11:6, to repent of past sins, 2 Peter 3:9, to confess with the mouth the name of the Lord Jesus, Romans 10:9-10, and to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16 and 1 Peter 3:21.

Jesus said in Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved;”. Acts 2:47, declares, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

It is, therefore, in this manner that sinners are called out of the world by the gospel and added to the church. This is the way “the called out” or the church came to exist and the way it continues to exist in the world today. The church is truly “the called out of this world.”

Second: the church is sometimes called the kingdom. The church locally, in a congregational sense, does not constitute the kingdom of Christ in the universal sense. The church in the universal sense, however, is the same thing as the kingdom of Christ. It is in this sense that the church is made up of all that have been saved from the day of Pentecost to the present and all who may be saved from now until Jesus comes again.

The church is called the kingdom to show it is a monarchy ruled by Jesus alone as the head or king over His kingdom.

In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus promised to build his church, then in the very next verse He promised the apostles the keys to the kingdom. It is incompatible that Jesus promised to build the church and then in the very next breath said, “Here is the keys to an altogether different institution.”

Jesus is truly the head over His church. Ephesians 5:23- 25, “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.”

Is Christ the head of the religious institution of which you are a member? Most professed Christians would automatically answer, "yes!" But have you, would you, go to the historical records of your church and see where and by whom the religion was founded and who is currently the general overseer or head?

Does your church have a ruling board, a general superintendent, an elected president or a convention head? If so, can you truthfully say, Jesus is the head?

Please do not become upset with me or with the word of God. Please answer for yourself in an honest and unbiased manner. If your church is tapped into a universal headquarters, can you really say Jesus is the head of the organization? The Bible no where. mentions the idea that the church would be divided into districts, synods or conventions.

Third: the church is also called the family of God. Ephesians 3:15, “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” This denotes fellowship in a family relationship between members of the church as brothers and sisters in Christ as children of God.

Fourth: the church is called the body of Christ. Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the body, the church:” Ephesians 1:22-23, “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Fifth: the church is called the house of God. 1 Timothy 3:15, “but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The Church In ProphecyProphets of God foretold of the establishment of the church centuries before Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

Isaiah 2:2-3, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

The word church does not occur in this passage. The term “house of the God of Jacob” however, is used. We have learned already the house of God is the church, 1 Timothy 3:15. So, this is definitely a prophecy about the church.

Three points stand out in this prophecy:

1. All nations shall flow into the house of God.

2. It shall come to pass in the last days.
3. The law and the word of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem.

WHAT was going to happen? The Lord’s house was going to be established.

WHEN was it to be established? In the last days.

WHERE was all this to take place? The word was scheduled to go forth from Jerusalem.

WHO? was to be involved? All nations would flow unto the Lord’s house.

Daniel 2:44, says, “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” Since the kingdom and the church is the same institution, this too is a prophecy concerning the establishment of the church.

The Church In PromiseTwo promises were made by Jesus in Matt. 16:16-19.
1. “I will build My church.”
2. “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

It will come out later in this study that the apostles were present at the establishment of the church in the city of Jerusalem so they began binding and loosing the law or the word of the Lord as Jesus had promised.

The promise of “binding and loosing” was unique to the apostles. This promise does not apply to any “Tom, Dick or Harry,” who might go out claiming a latter day revelation. Numerous are the preachers in our day who claim God is giving them new revelation, often the message they bring is contrary to what is already revealed in the scriptures! These preachers claim the right to bind these new ideas on the world.

Such claims have resulted in new religions, old religions with a new twist---neither of which can be found in the Bible. We must put our confidence only in what can be found in the scriptures. If you wish to “try” a preacher to determine if what he preaches is the truth or not, then ask him to show his teaching to you from the Bible.

Fulfillment of the Prophecies and PromisesTwo accounts, Luke 24:44-52 and Acts 1:2-12, are given of a conversation between Jesus and the apostles. During this visit, the coming kingdom was discussed. The time frame in which this conversation took place is important. Jesus had been crucified, buried and resurrected. After His resurrection yet before His ascension He was seen of the apostles and spoke with them of things pertaining to the kingdom of God, Acts 1:3.

Please open your Bible to Luke 24:44-50. Note the similarity between what Jesus told the apostles and the prophecy of Isaiah.

Isaiah: word of the Lord to go forth from Jerusalem. Jesus: repentance and remission of sins to be preached beginning in Jerusalem.

Isaiah: all nations would flow to the house of God. Jesus: preaching was to be done to all nations.

To save space the passage will not here be quoted, so please open your Bible to Acts 1:2-10 and note the following points:

1. Jesus was with the apostles.

2. Jesus talked with the apostles of the coming kingdom.

3. Jesus told the 12 apostles not to depart from Jerusalem. Why Jerusalem? Because this was where the prophet had said the law and the word of the Lord was to have its beginning.

4. Jesus told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Ghost which would bring them power.

5. Jesus told the 12 that they would be witnesses unto Him in all nations.

6. Jesus ascended and the apostles went to Jerusalem to wait for the promise to be fulfilled.

The Church Becomes a RealityPlease continue on in your open Bible to Acts chapter 2. Please remember the points of prophecy and promise listed below. Beside each point is a scripture reference from Acts 2, which shows the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the coming of the church.

1. All nations shall flow unto it: Acts 2:5 and 7-12.

2. Shall come to pass in the last days: Acts 2:16-17.

3. Would begin and go forth from Jerusalem. Acts 2:5.

4. Power would come with the spirit. Acts 2:1-4.

A portion of the people out of every nation were present, representatively fulfilling the “all nations” of Isaiah 2:2-4. The last days began on Pentecost. This all took place in Jerusalem.

The questions: who, when and where, are satisfied or answered by what happened in Jerusalem on Pentecost day.

Who? All nations. When? In the last days. Where? At Jerusalem. What? The church had its beginning, Acts 2:47.

Many of those who heard him were pricked in their hearts at the preaching of the apostle Peter and cried out saying, “what shall we do?” How did Peter reply? Did he say, “Hold up your hands and repeat the name of Jesus over and over.”? Did he tell them, “All you need to do is to believe.”? Did he command them to “pray through”? He told them none of these things. He told them what Jesus told him to tell them! Jesus had said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name beginning at Jerusalem.

Therefore, Peter told them to “repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”, Acts 2:38.

“They that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls,” Acts 2:41. Reading on to Acts 2:47, the Bible says, “The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” Some translations say, “such as were being saved.”

The word church with reference to the church of Christ is used in the existing sense for the first time in Acts 2:47. All other references to the New Testament church up until this time in the Bible is stated in the future tense, such as, “I will build,” or “the Lord’s house shall be established,” etc.

Therefore one must conclude that the church which Jesus promised to build became an actual, factual, existing institution on the first Pentecost following the resurrection of Jesus. The Church of Christ began in Jerusalem in about the thirty-third year of the first century.

Bible Study QuizPlease circle “T” if the statement is true. Circle “F’ if the statement is false.
T F 1. Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my churches.”

T F 2. Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”

T F 3. Names in religion are totally unimportant for example, it really makes no difference what name Christ’s church is called. Acts 4:12.

T F 4. The church is called “the body of Christ”. Colossians 1:18.

T F 5. There is “one Lord, one faith and many bodies.” Ephesians 4:4-5.

T F 6. The church is not the body of Christ. Ephesians 1:22-23.

T F 7. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, and one Lord. Ephesians 4:4-6

T F 8. When Jesus said, “and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:’ e was promising the power of special revelation by the spirit to the apostles only.

T F 9. When Jesus said, "and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:” he was promising the power of special revelation by the spirit to Joseph Smith, Ellen White, Charles Taze Russell, Mary Baker Eddy, the Pope of Rome, Oral Roberts, Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

T F 10. The Church of Christ had its beginning in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection and was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus as its chief cornerstone.

T F 11. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and since He is seated at the right hand of God in heaven it is accurate to say the church has no earthly headquarters.

T F 12. The headquarters of the church is in Springfield, Missouri.

T F 13. Since Jesus is the head of the church and since the church is guided by the scriptures only, there is no need of a general superintendent or convention president.

T F 14. The Bible says nothing about the church being divided into denominations, synods, districts or diocese.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17). Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

WE WELCOME YOU Following the instructions of the Scriptures, members of Christ’s body assemble as congregations for worship, encouragement, and Bible study. The congregation in your community welcomes you to investigate the Bible with us. With a spirit of brotherly love we would seek to reconcile any differences by following the Bible ONLY. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired word, the ONLY reliable standard of faith and practice. We desire the unity for which Christ prayed and which the Bible emphasizes in the expression, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Together we seek to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.

Please contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 (cell)for comments, questions, further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.

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