Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth

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Suzy Fitch

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Elaine Nordman

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"Take the Challenge"

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 George Müller Biography - George Müller was one of the early brethren in the United Kingdom who is known for his work of faith among orphan children by running his organization by faith to provide for their needs.

"May it not be the will of God that I should establish schools for these children, asking Him to give me the means?"

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101 Ways to Teach a Memory Verse

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As passages such as Deutonomy 13:12 Deutonomy 17:4 -7; Deutonomy 19:17-18 teach that it must be the whole assembly that shall exercise discipline, does not the same apply in 1 Corinthians 5:4" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:4 and Matthew 18:15-20" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:15-20?

Is it not the cause of much division inside assemblies, that this is not carried out? (1 Corinthians 1:10-12)." TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 1:10-12). If there are divided opinions as to discipline, is it not more godly to wait on God till all are of the one mind and heart, even though the evidence may seem very plain?

The Lord is with His people at all times, with the two’s or three’s or the many, as well as with individuals, but the special presence of Matthew 18:20" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:20 is conditioned on their being gathered together to His Name—”eis to onoma”—that is, not promiscuously or for some social end, a meal or conversation, etc., but around His Person for prayer, or worship, or the remembrance of Himself. The same word is used in 1 Corinthians 5:4," TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:4, though the name is not actually mentioned there as the gathering centre (eis to onoma) but as their authority for gathering (en to onomati). They were not coming together as an assembly to investigate the case, that had already been done by the Apostle and those responsible, with the help of any immediately concerned, but to carry out the discipline enjoined.

There is nothing to lead us to suppose there had been any canvass of the brethren or sisters before this, much less that such was contemplated at their meeting. Nor do I know of any Scripture for a parallel proceeding. Such an idea would imply that all in the assembly are qualified to judge the “pros and cons” of the matter,
which is quite contrary to the fact. If all were qualified to be overseers, then there need be none. In the case before us, how could the sad and sordid details be laid bare to all? In the same way in the case of Reception; all who are present hear the name announced for fellowship, and if they know any “just cause or impediment”, they should inform the elders, but otherwise they naturally trust in those who have the case in hand.

In cases of discipline, there are at times two or three who side with the evil-doer. I know of no Scripture which enjoins that everything must be held up, until these come round to the united judgment of elder brethren. The Apostle puts it in 2 Corinthians 2:6" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 2:6: “Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many” (or as R.V. has: “by the many”—margin; Greek “the more”). As Alford suggests, it was very unlikely that the anti-Pauline party were unanimous in the action of 1 Corinthians 5." TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5. When once disciplinary action has been taken, it is very important that all should respect it.

It is indeed grievous when the reverse is the case. It is a curious phenomenon, but there are those who seem automatically to take sides with any who have been dealt with. It is a misplaced charity and a misnamed impartiality, and such only succeed in bolstering up evil-doers, and in undermining the confidence
of brethren in themselves.

W.H.

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UNFERMENTED WINE

Are not Christians who believe that unfermented or nonalcoholic wine is nearer that used by Christians in the early days justified in using such at the Lord’s table?

It is well not only to have beliefs, but also to be able to justify them from the Word of God or from real facts, admitted as such. Otherwise our “beliefs” may degenerate into personal opinions or even fads. I have never heard any proof that the wine used in the Scriptures was not ordinary fermented wine, as is produced in all wine-producing countries today. Fermentation is an ordinary process of nature and cannot but occur when wine is made. The wine used in the Bible made persons intoxicated, if taken in excess, and that used by the Corinthians, when they came together ostensibly to keep the Lord’s supper, was of the same character, as 1Corinthians 11:21" TARGET="_blank">1Corinthians 11:21 (“another is drunken”) shows. It was indeed a sad state of things, but the apostle did not solve the difficulty by changing the liquid used, but by changing their ideas of the Lord’s supper from a meal to an act of remembrance.

Really “unfermented wine” is a contradiction in terms. If it is not fermented, it may be a red liquid, it may be even a concoction of raisins, but it cannot be wine. The late W. Hunter of Manchester, used, I believe, to say that “unfermented wine,” was on a par with “unfrozen ice.” This being said, the wine need only be of such a strength as will preserve it sufficiently, so as not to necessitate the opening of a new bottle every week.

W.H.

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Printable Nativity Scenes

A printable manger scene for your Sunday school craft.  This Christmas, create a creche with the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the wise men and the shepherds at the stable in Bethlehem the first Christmas night.

This printable nativity scene can be printed, cut and taped in less than one hour. 

Click here or the picture to download the printable PDF file.

Other Printable Resources

If you are a Bible class teacher, you may also be interested in the items in the Sunday School section of this site.

- Word puzzle creators to create your own crossword puzzles and word games.

- Sunday school worksheets ready made for almost every story in the Bible.

- Other printable activities such as a printable 3D model of the Tabernacle or a 3D printable model of Noah's ark .

- Subscribe to The Encourager, a monthly newsletter for Sunday school teachers.

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Luke 16:25-31" TARGET="_blank">Luke 16:25-31  But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.  (26)  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'  (27)  And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house--  (28)  for I have five brothers--so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.'  (29)  But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'  (30)  And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'  (31)  He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

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What is the meaning of our Lord’s words, “He that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13)" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 24:13)? Why was this promise made? To what time does it apply?

In interpreting words of Scripture it is very important, before attempting any general application, to understand the original intention of the speaker, that is, first to interpret the words in their context. What then is the “end” spoken of here, and what did the Lord mean by being “saved”?

We notice that the disciples’ question was, “What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age?” This word (sunteleia) is much the same as is used in the other occurrences of the chapter for “end” (telos), and seems to include the general winding up of things. It occurs before in Matthew 13:39-40" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 13:39-40 and 49 as “the end of the age.” The Lord in His reply warns against mistaking for the end of the coming storm, its premonitory rumblings—”wars and rumours of wars.” “But the end is not yet,” He says (v. 6), for wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes are only “the beginning of sorrows” (v. 8).

Before that “end” there must intervene terrible persecutions against the disciples of the Lord (of whom those addressed were the living representatives), and all will not pass through these unscathed: “many shall be offended,” and shall even apostatise from the faith. “And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. And because inquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure to the end” (i.e. of this great tribulation)—that is, shall not apostatise—”shall be saved,” in the sense, I believe, of being preserved alive.

Apostasy will not be the means of safety, but standing firm. This sense of physical preservation we find in other places. “God is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe,” “Eight souls were saved by water” (i.e. Noah and his family); and in this chapter also at verse 22 we read: “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened”—reminding us of Paul’s words on the ship in Acts 27:31" TARGET="_blank">Acts 27:31 “Except these (the sailors) abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.”

We may notice in closing that the scene of these happenings will be Judaea; the temple will be rebuilt, and when a special sign spoken of by Daniel the prophet is seen, let all the disciples “flee into the mountains” (v. 16). It will be “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7)." TARGET="_blank">Jeremiah 30:7). Let them pray that their flight be not on the Sabbath day. Before the end, the Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed everywhere as a witness. No doubt, the words we are considering may be used by extension to-day.

The best proof of reality is continuance in the faith. “Enduring to the end” is the outward and visible effect of the new-birth. It is those who are most truly in Christ who will feel most their need of being kept by the power of God, and consequently their faith will be in exercise. There were false professors in the early churches, who forsook the assembling of themselves with their brethren, and it is to be feared that such exist to-day. Jude speaks of them. They may boast of their correct knowledge of God, but alas their works sometimes seem to give the lie to their profession. The prayer of the true believer will be increasingly and to the end, “Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe!”

W.H.

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Could our Lord have returned to heaven without going to the Cross?

This idea used to be put forward as a possible suggestion for illustrative purposes. What a wonderful ending to our Lord’s life it would have been had He gone straight up to heaven without dying! but without asserting that this was a possibility. Of later years this supposition has become an affirmation, put forward as though there was a clear “thus saith the Lord” for it. Especially have speculative teachers, who love the sensational, asserted this in connection with the Transfiguration on the Holy Mount. In reality this was the most unlikely moment for such a thing to occur, had it been otherwise within the range of God’s purposes, for such an event is never hinted at in any of the three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration.

In Matthew 17" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 17 this comes just after the Lord’s first clear announcement of His passion: “Jesus began to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things”, etc. (Matthew 16:21)." TARGET="_blank">Matthew 16:21). In Mark 9" TARGET="_blank">Mark 9 likewise the account is preceded by the words of Mark 8:31," TARGET="_blank">Mark 8:31, “The Son of Man must suffer,” etc., and so in Luke 9" TARGET="_blank">Luke 9—the reference to the sufferings in Luke 9:22" TARGET="_blank">Luke 9:22 as a necessity, is followed by a glimpse of the coming Kingdom glory.

Far then from a choice being offered to our Lord on the Holy Mount of returning to heaven without dying, I believe this prophetic view of the coming Kingdom glory was to cheer the disciples in view of the certainly coming Cross. There is an additional fact given us in Luke, namely, the subject on which Moses and Elias conversed with our Lord in the glory —“They spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.” Certainly Peter tried to turn Him from this purpose in Matt. i6, but was met with a stern rebuke.

The momentous scene in Gethsemane clearly shows, however, that the Lord was a free Agent in redemption. He was under no fatalistic necessity to redeem men, but He was “the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world,” and He had said to Nicodemus, “The Son of Man must be lifted up.” Later we hear Him saying, “For this cause came I unto this hour,” and “The Son of Man came . . to give His life a ransom for many.” These two sides of truth are seen at Gethsemane. His holy human will rightly shrank from contact with sin, and the Divine abandonment involved; but as a Divine Person His will was able to say, “Nevertheless not My will but thine be done.” When Peter sought by the use of the sword to defend His Master, the latter says, in Matthew 26:52," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 26:52, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” but immediately adds, “But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”

In John 18:11" TARGET="_blank">John 18:11 we have an additional word, “The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” which, coming either before or after the other words, gives us the balance of Scripture. It was with “wicked hands”—the voluntary act of murderers—that men crucified and slew Him; but it was also with holy hands that He by a voluntary act, and by the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God (Hebrews 9)." TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 9). He could say with equal truth, “No man taketh My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself,” and “this commandment have I received of My Father” (John 10)." TARGET="_blank">John 10). There was no fatalistic necessity for our Lord to lay down His life, but there was a moral necessity, and it is very unprofitable and unsound specula tio to assert the contrary.

W.H.

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The sentance scramble maker program will take any sentence that you make and turn it into a word scramble program like those you find in the newspaper.  The sentence scramble maker is designed to make Bible verses into word scramble puzzles, but you can use any sentance you like and scramble it.

Click here to go to the Sentence Scramble Maker.

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What are we to gather from the scriptural reference to Melchizedek?

Was he a man of God of his time—a priest of the Most High, indeed, or was he actually the Son of God?

In dealing with this perennial question one wishes to recognize the views of some esteemed brethren who take a contrary view to that expressed here. They believe that this was a Theophany or appearance of the Second Person of the Godhead in a temporary human form (all such theophanies being necessarily Christophanies), and that Melchizedek was actually the Son of God. But is there nothing in the fact that he is said to have been made “like unto the Son of God”? You don’t say a man is like himself; he is himself, but he may closely resemble someone else. However, many such theophanies occur to us—the man who wrestled with Jacob at Jabbok, the man with sword in hand who appeared to Joshua, the angels who appeared to Gideon and Manoah, etc.

One thing characterises them all. At first the appearance seems only human—an ordinary man, but at the end the superhuman, nay the Divine, character of the appearance is manifested. Note this in each of the cases referred to above. This is entirely absent in the case before us. In no sense are we informed that Abraham recognised Melchizedekas Divine, but he did recognise him as a king and as a priest of the Most High God, who ministered to his bodily needs and was greater than himself, therefore able to bless him and worthy to receive tithes from him. Again, Christ might have appeared as a King, but surely not as King of a well-known place as Salem or Jerusalem. Whoever Melchizedek was, his office as priest only shews that God in calling Abraham for a certain object, had not for that left all the world in darkness, but still had notable witnesses, outside His purpose concerning His chosen people to be. Those who stand for the deity of Melchizedek rely much on the expressions used by the Spirit of him in Hebrews 7" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 7: , and make rather “in and out” efforts to shew how each expression applies to Christ. I believe the whole effort is in vain, for these expressions if forced to apply to Christ must be interpreted either of Him in incarnation or of Him before incarnation, and this cannot be done.

As a matter of fact, I believe there is one point and only one which the Holy Ghost would emphasise by His silence in Genesis 14" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 14:  concerning the parentage, genealogy, birth and death of Melchizedek, and that is the conventIonal continuity and endless character of His priesthood. The meaning is not that this man was actually without parents nor that he is alive somewhere to-day, but that by the fact that he appears suddenly on the page of Scripture and that no mention is made of his decease, he is thus qualified to be an apt figure of Him Who is Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek and Whose Priesthood can never pass to another.

W.H.

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