Religious Changelings

Religious Changelings
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

We are living in an age that is obsessed with “change.” North Americans recently watched the “change” mantra literally dominate a presidential campaign. Millions of people voted for a particular candidate on the mere basis of his constant call for “change.” Many of these voters knew absolutely nothing about this particular candidate’s actual views and positions on vital issues. They knew only that he was “for change.”

The clamor for change, however, is not limited to politics. It is a cultural mindset, and as such, it permeates the entire fabric of our society. This includes religion. Sadly, the change mentality exists among religious people, even among those who call themselves “Christians” and claim the Scriptures as their exclusive guide of faith and practice. God does not change (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8), and his word does not change (Psalm 119:89; Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:25; Rev. 14:6), but these “servants of God” are constantly looking to change something.

Solomon said, “My son, fear the Lord and the King; do not associate with those who are given to change” (Proverbs 24:21).

Not all change is bad. Change that constitutes repentance is good and necessary (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 2:38; 17:30). In repentance, one changes his mind and his direction with respect to the practice of sin. However, Solomon speaks of a change that is so dangerous and wrong that he urges his son to not associate with those who are “given” to it. He has reference to innovators. These are people who resist and reject established norms, patterns and standards. They are not comfortable with the notion of things having to be done a certain way. Their inclination is to do things differently than do others.

Pride and rebellion drive the spirit of change. Proud people simply believe that their way is better. They see their different way is being better by mere virtue of the fact that is their way - the way that they invented! Rebellious people are those who cast off the restraints of law, often divine law (see Jeremiah 5:5), simply because they want to have their own way and do their own thing. “Every way of man is pure in his own eyes…” (Prov. 16:2). Let us remember that God has an unchangeable law. Faithful service is rendered to God by observing that unchangeable law.

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com. Visit www.parkwaychurchofchrist.com.

Christmas Time Religion

Christmas Time Religion
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

Religious sentiment tends to increase during Christmas and Easter. And even though we admit that a small amount of attention to Bible topics is better than none at all, we do not want people to be deceived into thinking that this seasonal “religion” is sufficient for their souls. There is more to serving God than just attending a “Christmas” or “Easter” church service.

Interestingly, it is the churches themselves that have actually fostered the notion that special religious services should be associated with Christmas and Easter. Christ’s gospel contains no instructions authorizing or requiring such special services or assemblies. The New Testament makes every Sunday equally significant. New Testament Christians assembled upon the first day of every week to give (1 Cor. 16:2), to remember the Lord’s death through the observance of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-26), and to pray, sing and study (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 14:26-33). No particular Sunday service was any more or less important than others, for every Sunday has been divinely prescribed as our day of worship. The concept that certain religious services are any more or less spiritual than others is a mere human opinion. It is not founded upon Scripture.

This raises an important question: Why do some people encourage the commemoration of events that God has not told us to commemorate, and refuse to commemorate an event that God has told us to commemorate? The Bible does record the birth (Matt. 1:18-2:12; Luke 2:1-21) and the resurrection of Christ (Matt. 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20). And though we must believe these gospel facts, nowhere does the Bible authorize the establishment of certain holy days or procedures for their commemoration. However, the Bible quite plainly instructs us to commemorate the Lord’s death (by the Lord’s Supper, Matt. 26:26-29; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-33), stating the day of the week on which this is to be done, and even implying the frequency of observance. With the approval of an inspired apostle, the disciples at Troas assembled “upon the first day of the week” to observe this memorial. Inasmuch as every week has a “first day,” we are to observe the Lord’s Supper upon the first day of every week. Let us commemorate what God would have us to commemorate. In so doing we will worship weekly, not just annually or biannually.

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 - Email: timhaile@mac.com. Visit www.parkwaychurchofchrist.com.

Homosexuality and Gay Marriage (Part 1)

Homosexuality and Gay Marriage (Part 1)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

Defenders of homosexuality and gay marriage have traditionally gone to great lengths to avoid Bible teaching when making their case. However, Newsweek.com recently published an article that attempts to use the Bible in actual defense of gay marriage. Lisa Miller’s article was published December 6, 2008, and is entitled, “Our Mutual Joy.” The article contains numerous errors and Scripture misrepresentations. Before addressing her specific arguments, lest us see what the Bible does teach about homosexuality:

Genesis 18, 19 record events that transpired before the Law of Moses was given, during the patriarchal age. Angels in human form visited Abraham and confided in him that God intended to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin. Upon seeing these “men” (angels) enter Lot’s house, the men of Sodom, both “young and old,” surrounded the house and called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them” (Gen. 19:4, 5). For those who claim that God incinerated Sodom and Gomorrah because of their “inhospitableness,” rather than their homosexuality, I cite Jude’s words in the New Testament. Jude wrote, “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7).

Leviticus 18:22 - “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman: it is an abomination.” This passage is a part of Mosaic Law. Incidentally, the very next verse condemns bestiality. “And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman giver herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.” Homosexuality is classified with bestiality because both constitute sexual perversion. Under Mosaic Law these sexual sins were a capital offense. Leviticus 20:13 says, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” Those convicted of this type of sexual immorality were to be executed. If we were under the OLD Testament Law today, society would be divinely obligated to execute all who engaged in homosexual and bestial behavior. Of course, we are no longer under the Law of Moses, with its requirements of physical punishment for various moral and ceremonial violations. However, we are under the New Testament, and it also condemns these types of sexual behavior as being sinful and wrong. More to come…

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com. Visit www.parkwaychurchofchrist.com.

Work Out Your Own Salvation

“Work Out Your Own Salvation”
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

Though Bible students are always pleased to hear Scripture cited, they also know that Scripture can easily be taken out of context and misapplied. When context is properly represented, partial citations can be applied effectively. However, misapplication is far more likely to occur when partial citations are made. This may come as a surprise to some folks, but Bible verses are not established by their subject matter! Translators use chapter and verse numbers, not to distinguish topics, but to expedite study. Some Bible subjects span more than just one verse or even one chapter of Scripture. Partial Scripture citations can be dangerous if the context is not taken into consideration.

The words of our title come from Philippians 2:12. The very next verse begins with “for,” which introduces reason. Thus, verse 13 definitely needs to be considered with verse 12. Paul said, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, {13} for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

In an effort to prove that salvation is obtainable through many different organizations, ways, paths and methods, some people cite only the words, “work out your own salvation.” But is Paul really telling people that they are at liberty to be saved however they choose? Is he saying that every person is authorized by God to concoct his own scheme of redemption? No, Paul’s admonition has a context. Notice that, just before this admonition, Paul had commended these saints for their sincere obedience. There can be no obedience without command to obey! Whose commands did they obey? Then, immediately after the admonition, he said that this obedience amounted to God working “in” them. The conclusion is unavoidable: These saints “worked out” their “own salvation” by obeying God’s will! They did not “work out their own salvation” by obeying their own will. Salvation is for those who “do the will of God” (Matthew 7:21). This can be demonstrated by reading the account of their conversion in the book of Acts. The Philippians were told to believe and be baptized, and that is what they did (Acts 16:30-33). They did exactly what Jesus had told the apostles to tell people to do (Mark 16:16). One “works out his own salvation” by knowing and obeying God (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

Visit our website at www.parkwaychurchofchrist.com. View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.

Proposition 8 and Gay Marriage

Proposition 8 and Gay Marriage
Tim Haile, for the Parkway Church of Christ

Proposition 8 was an amendment to the California state constitution that restricts “marriage” to a union between a man and a woman. It bans “gay marriage.” The amendment passed, but it has created a firestorm of controversy in California and in other places. Gay activists have invaded churches and disrupted their worship services, trampled crosses at demonstrations, and boycotted businesses whose owners favored the anti-gay-marriage amendment. Gays are now working to remove this decision from the hands of the California citizens by taking their case to liberal courts. We shall see where this ends.

Of course, all Bible believers were very pleased with the election results relating to the prop-8 amendment. The Bible teaches that marriage is for one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-6). It teaches that like all other illicit sexual relations, homosexuality is immoral (Romans 1:26,27; 1 Tim. 1:10; Jude 7).

Gays and lesbians are presently making two faulty arguments in there efforts to protest the recent California election results and legitimize their behavior: 1. They classify gays as just another “minority group.” 2. They equate “gay marriage” with “interracial marriage.”

1. It is faulty classification to classify gays with “Blacks, Jews, Hispanics and Women.” Being “gay” has to do with a particular sexual preference. Being “black” or “white” has to do with race, not sexual behavior. One’s color has nothing to do with his morality. The fact that it is possible for one to engage in sexual perversion whether he is black, white, brown or yellow, male or female, proves that homosexuality is a behavior! It insults and denigrates legitimate classes of people, like Blacks, Hispanics and women, to classify them with some type of sexual deviancy. There is nothing inherently wrong with being black, white, brown, male or female, whereas there is something wrong with practicing homosexuality.

2. No sin is committed when a black man marries a white woman, or a white man marries a black woman! The Bible stipulates “man” and “woman” but it does not stipulate race. It is a specious and godless argument for one to equate “gay marriage” with “interracial marriage.” We must rise up in opposition to those who would redefine God’s institution of marriage and the home.

Parkway Church of Christ, 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. Worship Times: Sundays at 10:00AM and 6:00PM - Bible Study: Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM. Radio: Sundays at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com

The Church of Oprah Winfrey (Part 2)

The Church of Oprah Winfrey (Part 2)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

I pointed out in last week’s article that Oprah Winfrey is now attempting to help her followers spiritually, not just socially and psychologically. The problem is that her religious concepts are rooted in New Ageism, rather than the Holy Scriptures. Oprah’s website showcases the teachings of a prominent new age philosopher named Eckhart Tolle. Oprah cited the following statement from Tolle as being one of her “favorites:” “Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free.” This is classic new ageism. It suggests that truth is not contained or expressed in a divine communiqué, such as the Bible. They believe that truth is subjective, not objective. The new-ager believes that truth is buried within oneself and must be discovered by “conscious awakening.”

Perhaps you noticed that the last part of Tolle’s statement is identical to the words of Jesus in John 8:32. Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Of course, Jesus taught that people would be made free as a result of knowing the truth of God, not the truth of themselves. Tolle adapted the words of Jesus to his own concept of “God” and “truth.” New Ageism sees “all as one,” and thus “God” is in all things. The technical term for this is monism. The new-ager finds “God” when he “finds himself.” This was once said to be accomplished by transcendental meditation. Tolle’s term for it is “enlightened perception.” The Bible reader is reminded of Jeremiah’s words: “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23). “Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). We must look to Christ for Truth.

Sadly, this fact is denied by Oprah Winfrey. She told an audience, “One of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is only one way. There are many paths to what you call God.” This statement is based upon the New Age belief that Jesus was just one of many who achieved “enlightenment.” They compare and equate Jesus to Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, and any others who attained to such “a state.” Bible believers must beware! These people are preaching “another Jesus” (2 Cor. 11:4), and their Godless doctrines must be challenged and rejected.

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.

The Church of Oprah Winfrey (Part 1)

The Church of Oprah Winfrey (Part 1)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

Some people wish to be “religious” or “spiritual,” but they do not wish to follow the Holy Scriptures. They reject the Church that Jesus built, and establish in its place their own brand and concept of “church.” Hundreds of human religions have been formed from the rejection of Bible truth. Some of these have been fairly inconsequential, while others have affected millions of people. The more popular, charismatic, wealthy and influential the founder/leader of the new movement, the larger and faster growing that movement.

One of the newest of these religious movements is that of the talk show host, Oprah Winfrey. In her determination to help people with their problems, Oprah has delved into the spiritual realm. And while Oprah may have helped a lot of people through various psychological hardships, she is no prophetess. To the contrary, her new concepts of God amount to blasphemy. Oprah has the help of prominent new age philosophers like Eckhart Tolle, whose works are prominently featured on her website. Tolle speaks and writes much about “enlightened perception” and “conscious awakening.” His concepts bear a striking resemblance to those of Buddhism. God is not seen as a transcendent personal being, but as a feeling. Heaven is not a real place, but a state of mind. Oprah Winfrey said, “God, in the essence of all consciousness, isn’t something to believe, God is, and God is a feeling experience and not a believing experience. If religion and God for you is about believing, then it is not truly God” (Oprah Winfrey, In a Recorded Interview With Eckhart Tolle).

Oprah's "God" is not a supreme being, but a supreme essence and feeling. This is completely contrary to the teaching of Scripture. The Bible teaches that God’s existence is independent of man’s thoughts, feelings and actions (Acts 17:24-29). God is “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2), and He does not change (Malachi 3:6). He preexisted the universe (Genesis 1:1).

Oprah’s religion also denies the concept of sin. And with no sin, there is no need for any type of sin sacrifice. Her religion focuses upon the development of a certain mental state that is free of negative thoughts. One can see how this new religion has such an appeal to its millions of followers. There is no doctrine to learn, no commands to be obeyed and no risk of damnation. (More to come…)

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.