July Meetin Pleasant Run Church of Christ

Pleasant Run Church of Christ Meeting 

 When Christians Sin

By Ron Boatwright

     When we are baptized for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38), in order to be saved (Mark 16:16), God takes away every sin we have ever committed (Acts 22:16).  He wipes our slate clean (1 Corinthians 6:11).  He gives us a new beginning and we are born again (John 3:3,5) and we are raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).

     But after we have been baptized and God has taken away all of our sins, what do we do when we commit other sins?  How do we get forgiveness of these sins?  For the answer to this let us look at the Epistle of First John.  First John was written to Christians who had been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, just as you and I have been.

     1 John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."  Here this verse says we must be doing two things so that the blood of Jesus Christ will continue to cleanse us of all our sins.  1) We must "walk in the light", that is we must be following God’s word in the Bible.  2) Also must "have fellowship one with another", that is we must be regularly worshipping God in His church and working with other Christians.  The original Greek word that is translated "cleanses" in this verse means that there is a continual cleansing going on.  Herein lies the problem with those who have become unfaithful in their worship.  Because they are not having fellowship one with another, they are not longer receiving forgiveness of their sins.

     Then we continue to read the next verse 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  We must repent and ask God to forgive us, and He will.  When we stand before the Lord on Judgment Day we will have no sins and we will go to Heaven.  This is very comforting to know that we are being continually cleansed.

 

GOING TO HEAVEN

Going To Heaven
By Ron Boatwright

      Our number one priority in this life must be to go to Heaven.  Nothing else is as important.  Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  Our soul is the most precious thing we have.  There is nothing that can equal its value.  We read in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  One certainly does not profit in the tragic loss of his soul.

     It is easy in today’s materialistic society to get caught up in the pursuit of materialism if we are not careful.  Our Lord says in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."  Our bank account needs to be in heaven.

     Everyday we need to tell ourselves that the main thing in this life is to go to Heaven.  We read in Colossians 3:2, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."  We should regularly think about going to Heaven.

     Heaven is a prepared place (John 14:2-3) for a prepared people.  It will be such a wonderful place, which is beyond our wildest dreams.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  There is no way that Heaven can be described so we as mortal human beings can understand how wonderful it will be.

     A person will not accidentally go to Heaven.  Going to Heaven is a lifelong race as we read in Hebrews 12:1, "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."  Going to Heaven requires endurance, patience, and persistence.  We must finish the race.

 

 

Bridling the tongue.

Spreading Truth in Love by Bobby Thompson

 

I would like to start out by reading some quotes.

1. It is better to bite your tongue than eat your words. – Frank Sonnenburg
2. The tongue is like a sharp knife that kills without drawing blood – Buddha
3.  You can change your world by changing your words remember death and life are in the power of the tongue. Joel Osteen

 

(Jas 1:26)  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. (Jas 3:2)  For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (Jas 3:6)  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

The sins of the tongue are the most prevalent sins among men today. Many have stumbled because of the misuse of the tongue. Some of the sounds of the tongue are.

Murmuring and complaining (Num 11:1) And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. (Num 16:41)  But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.” (Num 17:5,10)  And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.”

(Num 17:10)  And the LORD said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.”

These are our examples, and this warning is given to us by Paul (1Co 10:10) nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.

Sometimes we complain because we think that we don’t have enough or that other people are doing so well without God. We should simply seek God first and have full assurance that he will take care of us. (Mat 6:33)  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. We must learn to be contented with what we have and not be envious of what others have. (Php 2:14)  Do all things without grumbling or disputing,.  If we do nothing but grumble and complain what will others think about being a Christian?

Profanity and filthy talk. We should not use the Lord’s name in vain.

 (Psa 111:9)  He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name! (Jas 3:10)  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. In today’s world we can easily offend other people by just using acronyms I will not repeat any of those acronyms but there are many of them out there and we should refrain from using them. (Eph 4:29)  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Why should we seek to tear down people when we can build them up with the word of God?

Angry Words we sing the hymn Angry Words are lightly spoken bitterest thoughts or rashly stirred, brightest links of life are broken by a single angry word. Solomon tells us (Pro 15:1) A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Eph 4:26)  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, (Pro 29:11)  A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Harsh and Unkind Words Some people revel in the fact that they can speak ill of other people saying they are being frank and truthful. But in the end the words that they are speaking alienates other people and makes them feel small.

(Eph 4:31)  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

(Eph 4:32)  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Also (Pro 25:11) A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. These are the words we should remember. We should consider who we are talking to and what is the best thing that we could tell that person.

Gossiping The gossiper is an idle tattler, whisperer, and a busy body. Sometimes they tell you everything they have heard and then they make up the rest. 

 (Pro 26:20)  For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. (Pro 16:28)  A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. Gossiping can spread bad words around much like wildfires in California. Everyone is affected by this gossip in the same way as everyone is affected by a wildfire.

 (Lev 19:16)  You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. Paul condemned certain women for being tattlers and busybodies. (1Ti 5:13)  Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. This not only applies to women but also to all of us. Be sure when you open your mouth the good things will be coming out. These are things we should put into our lives so that we will be better and live better and build people up in love rather than tearing them down.

 

 

WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR TRUST?

Trust 12/13/20

 https://youtu.be/xHbehAAmf08

My Church

 “My” Church

Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock, I will build my church.”  Ephesians 5:24 says the church is subject to Christ, and in the following verse that Christ gave Himself for the church.  Colossians 1:24 refers to the body of Christ as the church.  Such verses refer to what we sometimes call the “universal” church, the body of believers who have been “called out” from the world to God, by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

The church consists of all the souls who believe in Jesus Christ, on earth and in heaven (Ephesians 3:14,15).  Acts 11:2 refers to the church which was at Jerusalem, and Acts 13:1 refers to the church at Antioch; such verses specify members of the universal body of Christ who assemble in a specified location.  The church that Christ established, His body, was in Antioch, Jerusalem, and anywhere else where there are believers.

This brings us to another sense in which the word church can be used.  Acts 14:23 says elders were ordained in “every church.”  In I Corinthians 4:17, Paul speaks of teaching the same doctrine everywhere, in every church.  These kinds of verses refer to those “local” churches, believers who assemble in some specified geographic location.  Church can refer to the universal body of Christ, as well as to a localized body of believers. 

In I Corinthians chapter 14, Paul instructs the Corinthian church on how to have an orderly and edifying assembly.  Notice that when he says in verse 19, “speaking in the church”, he’s not talking about speaking inside some building: he means speaking among that local body of believers, speaking among the people.  The local church is the local body of believers, not the building or place where they meet, not the activities they engage in when they come together.  The church consists of the people.  

Likewise, in the same chapter, when Paul talks about edifying the church (vv.4,5,12) he is referring to edifying the members, the people, not the place or the activities.  In verse 23, he talks about “the whole church [coming] together in one place.”  This is what we would refer to as an assembly.  The church exists even when it is not assembled.  The church was still in Corinth even when the individual members were in their respective homes, at work, or somewhere in the city involved in their day-to-day affairs.  When he says the church came together, the members assembled for worship and mutual edification.  In verse 28, he talks about keeping silent in the church, that is, keeping silent in the presence of the members during the assembly, not keeping silent in the building.

So, what do we mean when we say, “I am going to church”?  Is it like, when we say we are going to fish, we are going fishing?  Are we going church-ing?  Perhaps statements such as, “I am going to worship” or “we are assembling” would be less ambiguous.  Or what do I mean if I extend an invitation and say, “you should come to my church”?  Surely, I don’t mean that the church belongs to me, personally.  Sometimes, when we invite someone, they say something like, “I already have a church.”  

Without presuming we know what everyone means when they use any kind of expression involving church, let us keep in mind to what church ought to refer.  There is a universal body of believers in Christ that is His church.  But we can also talk about the local church, the body of believers in our area with whom we personally work and assemble.  When talking about “your” church, whatever you have in mind, remember that you are talking about the people with whom you associate.  When you invite someone “to church” or to “your” church, make sure it is with the understanding that the church (local and universal) belongs to the Lord.  When we talk about “our” church doing this or that, we are referring to what we, the people, do and believe in.

When you invite people to “your” church, you are not inviting them to the building or to the service.  You are inviting them to meet, assemble, study, worship, to engage with the people.  When people visit us at “our” local church, our objective is not to impress them with the building, or anything superficial, but with the people who are the body of Christ.  When visitors are among us, we must make every effort to demonstrate the love of Christ, the sincerity of our belief, our desire for the truth of God, and our compassion for the souls of men.

How do you feel about “your” church?  Do you associate with a group of people you want others to meet and have a spiritual relationship with?  Are you the kind of person who attracts or repulses visitors?  We ought to be proud of our local family, and desire to be the kind of people who are sincerely characterized by the love of Christ (John 13:35).  We should be able to invite others in saying, “let me show where to contact the love of God and true disciples of Christ.  Let me introduce you to these people…”

“These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, that you may know how to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” - I Timothy 3:14,15

Jeremy Koontz