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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
"Back To the Bible"
Still the Right Thing to Do
It has been over 150 years since the following words were written:
"If you can induce a community to doubt the genuineness and authenticity of the Scriptures, to question the reality and obligations of religion; to hesitate, undeciding, whether there be any such thing as virtue or vice; whether there be an eternal state of retribution beyond the grave; or whether there be any such being as God: you have broken down the barriers of moral virtue, and hoisted the flood-gates of immorality and crime."
These thoughts are from the McGuffey's Reader of 1854, the book from which most of our great-great grandparents learned to read. Yes, they are quite clear, very specific and extremely critical of a mindset that now has taken over our own nation’s thinking process.
Some may think these words are so ancient that they can have no relevance to our modern way of life. However, reading the remainder of the comments from this honored source, it is obvious that we are experiencing today what McGuffey warned about then:
"I need not say that when a people have once done this, they can no longer exist as a tranquil and happy people. Every bond that holds society together would be ruptured: fraud and treachery would take the place of confidence between man and man; the tribunals would be scenes of bribery and injustice; avarice, perjury, ambition and revenge would walk through the land, and render it more the dwelling place of savage beasts than the tranquil abode of civilized, Christianized men and women."
It can be a bit eerie that a book used as a primary reader 150 years ago could so accurately portray what a society can become when its foundations are abandoned. Is not McGuffey’s term "savage beasts" descriptive of much human behavior today? Was he not right in stating that giving up the principles of the Bible would result in chaos and immorality?
Surely we can see that if abandoning Bible principles results in immorality, then going back to the Bible is the way back to civilized behavior.
Back to the Bible For Doctrine
A major reason for the reign of ethical chaos in our culture is that "religion" has turned away from the Bible to the doctrines of men. There are more than 10,000 different religions in America, most espousing many completely opposing doctrinal beliefs. Had we given heed to Jesus' prayer in John 17, we would have seen this chaos coming. The solution? Go back to the Bible for our doctrine!
Back to the Bible for our Authority
That which "authorizes" most worship today is "I like it" rather than "God said it." Entertainment is high on every agenda, and how "pretty" it sounds has become the major criterion for how and where a person worships today. Going back to the Bible will cause us to follow the Holy Spirit’s imperative that we worship God "in spirit and in truth," John 4:24, and "decently and in order," 1 Corinthians 14:40. When we recognize God's authority, He will be pleased, while we are edified and strengthened.
Back to The Bible for our Moral Standards
It appears that righteous, moral behavior has become the exception rather than the rule. Dead-bolt locks, security systems, "white collar crime," divorce, pornography, child abuse, spousal abuse, and various forms of addiction are the defining terms of our society today.
We are told that trying to enforce "objective" standards is bound for failure. Some are now warning us that "hard, fast rules of morality won't work today," and we have, as a nation, accepted that viewpoint. We have bought into the "if it feels good, do it" mentality. And where has it taken us? Just exactly where McGuffey predicted we would be: Chaos. Injustice. Vengeance.
In 1 John 5:2-3 we are instructed:
"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome."
Back to the Bible for Our Hope
When danger threatens us, it is tempting to look for a hope that rests in military or political strength. They have their place, but our hope is not in bombs and ambassadors, but in the God of all the earth, Jehovah of the Bible. Israel had an army of over 600,000 men, but their hope rested not in their army, but in God.
His promise through Isaiah the prophet is still true today:
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee,” Isaiah 26:3.
Our hope and our faith are in the God that created us and redeemed us by the blood of His Son.
McGuffey's Reader was correct back in 1854, not because McGuffey was right, but because the Bible is right. For our own sake, and for that of our nation, I hope it is not too late for us to “go back to the Bible.”
Carl B. Garner
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“We search the world for truth; We cull the good, the pure, the beautiful, from all old flower fields of the soul; And, weary seekers of the best, we come back laden from our quest, to find that all the sages said, is in the Book our mothers read.”
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Redemption is Centered in Christ Jesus
("Why Did Jesus Have to Die?")
No one who studies the Bible for long can be unaware of the fact that the entire sacred record is centered in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But this question intrigues us: WHY DID GOD’S SON HAVE TO DIE? Was there no other way in which Jehovah could deal with the sin problem? Obviously not! Surely our Father did not choose the death of His Son as a whimsical option! There are several important truths that must be considered here:
First, the Bible forcefully affirms that our great Maker is an absolutely HOLY Being (cf: Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), and as such, He simply cannot ignore sin. The prophet Habakkuk expressed it like this: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong” (Habakkuk 13a). But in the second place, another of the Lord’s attributes is His perfect JUSTICE. Righteousness and justice are at the very foundation of His throne (Psalm 89:14). In view of these facts, namely that God is both holy and just, the irresistible truth is this: SIN MUST BE PUNISHED.
Now if the Almighty were a cold, totally vengeful God [as infidelity has frequently characterized Him], He could simply banish man from His divine presence forever and that would settle the matter. But the truth is, He is not that kind of God! Our Creator is loving (1 John 4:8), and He is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). Here, then, is the problem: how does a loving, merciful God pardon wickedly rebellious man, and, at the same time, preserve His holy justice? The answer to the puzzle is CHRIST!
Paul addresses this very issue in the third chapter of the book of Romans. How can God be just, and yet a justifier of sinful man? Jehovah is able to extend His grace [favor] on the basis of the redemptive life and death of His Son, Jesus Christ (3:24ff). Here is how the heavenly plan was implemented. As an eternal divine Being, the personal Word [Greek: logos] took upon Himself the form of a man. He came to the earth as a human being (John 1:1-4, 14; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 3:16). Christ thus fully shared our nature and the human experience. He was even tempted in all points just as we are, yet here was the difference – He never yielded to temptation, and so, never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).
But what has this to do with us? Simply this – since Christ was a tested person (CF: Isaiah 28:16), and so, found perfect (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22), the Father ALLOWED HIM TO STAND IN FOR US, i.e., to take our place, to receive our punishment. Isaiah summarizes it as follows: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6). Christ thus became a SUBSTITUTIONARY sacrifice, paying the price for human salvation.
In the gift of Christ, Heaven’s mercy is extended; in the death of the Lord, divine justice is satisfied; in the resurrection of Jesus, God’s plan is historically documented!
After the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) carefully document the historical facts of Christ’s death, His burial, and His triumphant resurrection from the grave, the balance of the New Testament record guides the honest mind into the knowledge of how this wonderful plan can be accommodated to the human need.
The book of Acts reveals how men and women of the first century appropriated Heaven’s blessings of salvation to their personal needs. In obedience to the Lord’s plan of redemption (John 3:36 ASV; Galatians 5:6; Hebrews 5:9; Acts 2:38), sincere souls became Christians (cf: Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16), and the church of Christ spread like a burning flame across the antique world! The balance of the New Testament also shows how one is to spiritually mature “in the Lord” (cf: 2 Peter 3:18).
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