church of Christ

Why the Prophetess?

Charlton Rhinehart Leave a comment

Charlton Rhinehart

The Bible has many examples of women who were able to prophesy in addition to the men who were prophets. Scripture speaks of many false prophets, but the way most biblical prophetesses are described leaves us no reason to regard them as false. True prophecy as we see in scripture is a miraculous gift from God, so we know that God chose these particular women to be speakers of His word. But why the prophetess? Why did God permit women to sometimes be the “spokesman” for His message through prophecy when at other times He forbids women from spiritual leadership in public? The answer to this question might expose the difference in prophecy and other acts of spiritual leadership.

One of the first prophetesses we see in scripture is Miriam, the sister of Aaron (Ex. 15:20). We can infer that her prophecies from God would have been true and right. Perhaps Miriam is most known for the mistake her and Aaron made in Numbers 12 leaving her struck with leprosy for a short time. As with any man or woman of God in scripture, we see those individuals can make mistakes and often do so, but prophecy itself is unique because it comes direct from God without error.

Deborah in the book of Judges is also listed as a prophetess (Judges 4:4). She is the only female judge of Israel, a position that served as a military and civil leader. While Eli was a judge of Israel who also served as priest, Samuel was a judge with priest like duties (not a Levite), the 13 previous judges were only judges. Still Deborah is described as a prophetess also, just like God was with many of them in some unique way.

In the book of Second Kings when Josiah had found the book of the law, he sent the priest and several men to Huldah the prophetess to inquire of the Lord, realizing that they had been living in error for quite some time. Huldah the prophetess spoke to the men by prophecy (2 Kings 22:13-20), specifically addressing the message from God that was to be given to the king and to the nation of Judah. Her prophecy serves as an important example to help us understand that a prophetess was not limited in who she could prophesy to.

The New Testament seems to hold similar examples of female prophets. Anna the prophetess joins Simeon who is telling what Jesus would accomplish at the temple when He was brought as a child (Luke 2). Philip is said to have four prophesying daughters in Acts 21:9, and prophecy among women appears to be a gift that is addressed in the Corinthian letters. Aside from this gift eventually being fulfilled in the completion of scripture, the New and Old Testament seem to hold little difference on the subject of the prophetess.

There is another similarity between the Old and New Testament I would like for us to consider. And that is that neither covenant of scripture has an example of a woman serving as a priest, preaching publicly, teaching publicly on spiritual matters, nor do we see a woman leading public prayers before any assembly with men. When we consider the overall absence of those examples along with the commands of the New Testament for a woman to not lead spiritually over men, we have to wonder; why did God use women at times as prophets to deliver His message to all of mankind? Especially if the prophecies were spiritual guidance for men or entire nations at times.

Although in our eyes preaching, teaching, and prophecy all appear to be much the same, we have to realize there is a significant difference. By our own judgment we tend to think that a person who can prophesy should have authority to preach also, besides that we usually think of the prophet as greater than the preacher being that prophecy is a miraculous gift. Certainly the apostle John for example could preach and prophesy, and had authority to do both. But it is not always the case that a person who delivers a true prophecy from God has the authority to teach and preach also. Let’s consider some examples.

Saul of the Old Testament was selected by God to serve as King of over Israel. Saul was a good and humble man and he served well as King for a period, however with time Saul made some mistakes and God choose David to become the king of Israel because of those failures of Saul. What could have been a moment of repentance and change for Saul became a moment of his true downfall, he began pursuing to take the life of David. In 1 Samuel chapter 19, Saul has made several attempts to kill David and he has reached a point of madness. By the end of the chapter Saul has pursued after David into the presence of Samuel and strips naked and prophesies (v.23-24). Clearly God is not with Saul at this point but rather He is protecting David who narrowly escapes time after time, however God still uses Saul even in his state of madness and sin to prophesy a message from God. Saul was in no position from here to his death that he should have been preaching or teaching men his understandings of God, but God still used Saul in this low point to prophesy.

A similar example is a prophecy made by Ciaphas high priest during the life of Jesus, even though Ciaphas took part in sending Jesus to be crucified. While plotting with the Pharisees and chief priests about the death of Jesus, Caiaphas prophesied, “…that it is expedient that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish” (John 11:50 NASB). The following verse (v.51), tells us this was a prophecy from God concerning Jesus, yet it was done mistakenly while plotting His death. Ciaphas might have done plenty of teaching and preaching also, but those teachings were not in accordance to God’s word. This prophecy from Ciaphas however was directly from God, exactly how God meant it to be delivered.

You might notice, prophecy does not depend on the ability, righteousness, authority, understanding, or any other aspect of the person delivering the prophecy, but it is a message direct from God delivered though an individual. When a person prophesies it does not necessarily authorize the individual lead in any other capacity. This can be seen also in examples such as Balaam’s donkey who spoke to him through God. Balaam himself serves as an example, caught between the bribes of a king and the prophecies God would give him, his prophecies blessed Israel while he desired to curse them. Jesus at His triumphal entry stated that the rocks would cry out if the people were silent (Luke 19:40), can even lifeless items prophesy and fulfill prophecies?

We make a mistake when we associate prophecy with authority. True prophecy is a direct message from God without error regardless of who it is delivered through. On the other hand preaching and teaching – interpreting and representing God’s word and thought comes with great responsibility and in some cases God-given qualifications. Elders are to be “apt to teach” (1 Tim 3:2 KJV), teachers will “incur a stricter judgment” (Jas 3:1 NASB), and women are not to be the ones teaching publicly on spiritual matters (1 Tim 2; 1 Cor 14). Why God chose the prophetess at times to deliver His word has been a stumbling block to many, especially to those who desire a woman to have more roles than she has been given; But with honest study we can see why God used men, women and even other creatures to prophecy His word. Those prophesies don’t contradict or negate God’s instruction for a woman to refrain from teaching and preaching.

Church Conference Organization

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Focus Press has put out a few videos this year calling into question if large church conferences are at odds with the local church. The idea that they were discussing is that a conference with 7000 people is often faithfully attended with much enthusiasm while the local congregation’s assembly is dwindling in many cases. Although Focus Press is a group of individuals who are all part of institutional congregations, they could still see that something wasn’t right about this huge conference but suffering local congregations. They peaked my interest when they mentioned the local church several times and realized the problem though they never reach a definite conclusion. I have since seen several responses by individuals trying their best to show that the two, (the huge conference and the local church), complement one another and that the large conference or lectureship build up the local church – though the original video called that into question. I can’t pass up the opportunity to comment on this as subjects such as these have been my focus for the past two years.

To keep things simple, Christians can come together from anywhere and study, work, or worship at anytime, but we do not see the congregations joining their leadership together in any formal way for any event in scripture. We do not see boards and committees, chairmen or board members over any Christian effort in any of our inspired instructions. The same stands all the more for the local church who might want to hold a gospel meeting, inviting other saints or visitors; the inspired example is the elders and deacons leading the efforts of the church, we again do not find committees or boards in addition doing the work that the elders should directly be handling. A guest speaker or several guest speakers are in line with our examples of the evangelist traveling from one congregation to another in scripture. Saints traveling to visit, worship with, and encourage one another are examples from inspired letters. And Christians coming together to evangelize and help one another in need is what we find the early church doing. Christians meeting together are not wrong, even many Christians from great distances with a speaker from a whole different congregation is not wrong. But sadly the setup some have created and made common of uninspired leadership with boards, committees, combined leadership and funds are not according to God’s pattern all sufficient for us. In such cases the large conference or lectureship is at odds with the local church which God designed and gave authorized leadership for.

Christians can come together from all over for a large number of reasons, but to form such an assembly into something beyond what we have example of puts that Christian effort at odds with the local church, with scripture, and with God. This is exactly how events such as Polishing The Pulpit or Challenge Youth Conference have been organized, with boards, combined leadership, and funds. As much as I appreciate some of the good things taught at those assemblies, I have to realize the structure is wrong. As with all of these organizations, they look beautiful and so good on the surface, but once you learn of the compromises taking place for speakers and hidden errors being tolerated for the sake of the event then you realize with time why God gave us the design for the local church that He did. The local church is the only organized institution that God designed to teach the gospel, we cannot add our own design and structure to make it better . Let’s keep the pattern.

Charlton Rhinehart

The Forgotten Missionary Society

Charlton Rhinehart Leave a comment

Charlton Rhinehart

Around the turn of the century into the 1900’s there was a division happening in the restoration movement. The churches of Christ were splitting and the Christian Church was forming in the process. The divisive factors leading up to that split had been growing for years, but by 1906 the split was official. The two most prominent factors in this division were instrumental music in worship and the use of Missionary Societies in the church. If you are a member of the church of Christ then you are likely very familiar with the scriptural issues surrounding instrumental music; but unfortunately also if you are a member of the church then you are likely unfamiliar with Missionary Societies. There is a reason why we don’t hear much talk about these institutions today even though they were a major factor in our restoration history. I firmly believe that these societies have been intentionally forgotten, because their modern application now hits way too close to home.

A Missionary Society was an organization, institution, or arranged co-operative that combined congregation’s efforts, formed combined leadership, and combined congregation’s finances to carry out various works. There were many various Missionary Societies that the Christian Church established. Some examples include: The American Christian Missionary Society, Illinois Christian Missionary Society, Home Society, Women’s Society, and the Foreign Christian Missionary Society. There was a long list of these societies, many of them having various branches of focus. Some of these organizations focused on foreign missionary work, some of them were intended for stateside missionary work, some of them were used to pay preachers, some to build church buildings, some were to help orphans or widows, to give loans to struggling churches and many similar works like we see denominations collectively doing through their headquarters, yet the Christian Church still claimed to be non-denominational. These societies were financially supported through congregations voluntarily when their elder’s chose which ones to support, but there was also a sense of obligation among Christian Churches to support at least some of them. This ever-growing list of Societies were achieving so many good works that the individuals supporting them were convinced that they had to be pleasing to God. These individuals were willing to divide the body of Christ to establish the societies. But not everything that is good, is right.

Some of the churches of Christ however saw through all the good that was taking place by these establishments and asked the simple question, “are they authorized?” The temptation to be blinded by achievements that seem so good could not allow these societies to go without question. Were they scriptural? Do these institutions match the pattern of the New Testament church? The Missionary Society was no where in the scriptures, nothing in the pages of the New Testament could be compared to them. These institutions were not the local church, there was no scriptural design as to how they should be set up, who should be in charge of them, what those leader’s qualifications should be, where these organizations should get their funding, or what their allowed purpose is. Out of all the great physical needs of the first century, orphans, widows, the spreading gospel, churches being established, and preachers being trained, no society or similar organization was ever put in place as our inspired example. The church – the local church – the autonomous local congregation was what God had established and the local church had the responsibility to cary out the works assigned by God. This could not be delegated to a man-made organization or society that would handle these troubles for them. The church of our Lord was designed with elders and deacons with inspired qualifications yet the more powerful decisions of these collective societies were made by committees, a board of directors, and a chairman. The local church was to care for its own members in need, not an outside group with a separate treasury. The local church was to give to a sister congregation in need, not through an organization (Acts 11:28-30; Rom 15:26; 1 Cor 16:1-2; 2 Cor 8 & 9). The church was to evangelize and teach the gospel to the world and they were not to loose their knowledge of scriptures because they delegated that to a society. The churches could not combine their leadership and their funds to form anything beyond what God authorized. While Christians could work together and our efforts achieve the same goal, we could not establish a collective society of our own design. The Missionary Society was not an establishment that anyone restoring the church of the Bible could support, and so the churches of Christ rightfully opposed these additions of the time.

There is yet another piece of our history that needs to be told as we address these societies, the sponsoring arrangement. The Missionary Societies arose in the mid and late 1800’s and continued their departure away with the Christian Church in the early 1900’s, but man’s desire to establish similar organizations and great works continued to arise in the Lord’s church. In the 1950’s and 60’s a method was made common that gave us a different structure for these same organizations, it was the church sponsoring arrangement. Under this title an eldership of one congregation could “sponsor” a work, their elders would oversee a work just as God intended for His church carry out efforts. But the departure came as these works intentionally grew beyond the work of a single congregation. Other congregations were asked to support the work by giving funds through the sponsoring congregation. Hence, the sponsoring eldership was no longer managing the contribution and efforts of their own flock, but several congregation’s efforts were now being controlled by a single eldership. Lots of excuses can be made to try and justify the sponsoring arrangement, such as how the giving congregations were giving voluntarily or under their own elder’s decision, but they found themselves making the exact same excuses as the contributors to the Missionary Societies a few decades before them. Another aspect of the sponsoring arrangement was that the work being supported often ended up controlling whole congregations in other locations. For example, a sponsoring church and eldership would not just support a preacher the way we see Paul was supported (2 Cor 11:8; Phil 4:18), but whole congregations were being supplied and ruled over by a distant eldership. God never meant for one eldership to oversee another congregation (1 Pet 5:2). Likewise, the works supported from a combined sponsored arrangement such as evangelism would grow so large that the overseeing elders could no longer manage them, hence boards and committees had be established to really run what the elders claimed to be in control of. The sponsoring arrangement was satisfying to many wanting to justify a larger organization in the church. The arrangement provided a way to claim that a single church was carrying out a work just like we see with the local church in scripture, but the details of how the sponsoring arrangement really operates are just as ugly and identical to a separate society organization.

It is time we look at ourselves today as the church of Christ. What have we become? If these Missionary Societies that were so clearly wrong and divisive to the body of Christ have been so easily forgotten, have we once again fallen for the same structures with a different name? Perhaps just a look at a few of our own efforts will reveal that, maybe even the efforts I once held dearly to need to be examined. Gospel Broadcasting Network, GBN is one of those efforts that I loved. GBN is overseen (sponsored) by the elders of Southhaven church of Christ. They are supported by many Christians and congregations, the elders have setup a “management team” made up of men from various congregations along with a director that many of us love. One of the problems is that it is not scriptural for a work to be funded by more than one congregation, let alone hundreds of congregations. Money is a powerful influencer, and God knew that when he designed the local church to be autonomous in giving. God’s gospel cannot be subject to mass funding such as the way that GBN is funded. GBN is an organization that is not the local church, it may claim to be controlled by a single congregation, but many congregations are clearly linked together by this enterprise in an unscriptural way. Am I too convinced by GBN’s good to question them against what I now understand?

The school of preaching in your area is another institution to consider, they are most all organized the same way, an overseeing eldership, a board of directors and a main director, supported by many congregations and Christians. Did God intend for such an institution to hold so much influence over all the preachers and doctrines of His church in a region? Did He intend each congregation to be independent while our preachers were to be connected to an alumni? As we see the failures of the Christian universities we often become strong believers in the schools of preaching, but it took me a long time to realize that we have only created another departure from scripture in the process. Foreign schools of preaching sometimes take this departure even a step further, the director will reside with the school in the foreign land, but the sponsoring congregation and eldership will not even be in the same country. How can those elders really know what the work needs and be intimately involved with it as God intends elders to know their flock? In reality it does not matter if the sponsoring congregation is near or far, neither setup permits elders to delegate their work to a director or a board. And while it is the work of the church to teach, a congregation is not authorized to establish a school institution. We are the church alone that Christ instituted. We cannot create and combine staff from other flocks to be subject to additional shepherds, and we cannot combine church funds in a way that these institutes do.

World Bible School, WBS likewise is an organization with many great achievements, however our efforts become vain when we break the pattern for God’s organization. WBS began to grow many years ago by receiving funding from many congregations. The organization does not feel the need to hide behind the sponsoring arrangement, but operates simply with a president and board. The Bible correspondence that WBS does is a great purpose, but this work that should have been done simply by Christians working together or by individual congregations has been made into a great organization. If you are familiar with WBS‘s corruption in preaching and worship in foreign lands (such as their Gospel Chariot Missions), then you can see the results of creating an institution out of simple good works. In a similar manner the beauty of previously listed sponsored works also loose their luster when you know the details of the compromises that happen for funding and political relations among churches.

The Church of Christ Disaster Relief is an organization we all know well. They operate with a board of directors made up of both men and women. Just like WBS there is no sponsoring church, there is no longer a need in the brotherhood to disguise behind that screen. A quick look at this CoC Relief corporation tells you there is no real agreement on doctrine and no emphasis on the uniqueness of the church from the religious world. Congregations from all over are encouraged to give and congregations from all over give to the organization without question. Conservative and liberal congregations send their contributions, even businesses contribute, those contributions are combined and handed out to anyone in need. Teachings are not emphasized, but giving is. Where are the scriptural qualifications for these board members to even be members of the church when there is no example for such a central agency? What passage would we turn to read about this organization? We read of congregations helping needy saints, congregations gave to the church at Jerusalem during famine, but there was not a separate corporation built to manage it for them. When we replace the institution of God – the local church, we then replace elders and deacons with board members, we replace scriptural qualifications with our own man-made qualifications, and the trend continues as we replace God’s doctrines with our own. With this corporation doctrine has not only taken a back seat but it has gone out the window. Our great intentions are heart warming by our own feelings as we behold the good we accomplish, but the church of our Lord becomes unrecognizable from the denominational world and foreign to the scriptures.

The examples could continue on, I could spend more time in research and tell of how many thousands of dollars roll through each agency per year. Or perhaps I could list how many hundreds of congregation give to each group and what some of those congregations practice. For the schools I could show how many congregations are influenced by the doctrines decided by a school’s directors, or how many congregations they have to please to continue their funding – but I hope that you can begin to see what took me so long to arrive at. Whether we look at conservative or liberal efforts among churches involved with these institutions, these works that have become organizations and institutions are simply modern day Missionary Societies. Not only have we forgotten what Missionary Societies were, we have become totally wrapped up in them under different names but with the same oversight, structure, and funding. Some of them have hidden under a sponsoring eldership, some of them no longer hide at all. Satan doesn’t need to disguise these arrangements anymore because so much of the church has lost the desire for true restoration.

The local church is God’s only divine institution for Christians to work together. The work of the church is to preach the gospel to the saved and lost, to teach and encourage members, to care for needy members, restore the erring, and worship our Lord.1 When we endeavor to expand our efforts beyond what God has authorized for us we may impress ourselves but we are rejecting God’s eternal plan for the kingdom. When we establish additional church institutions that are not scriptural in structure, organization, or funding we are telling God that His church is insufficient and that we know how to run His work better. It was the church that the gates of Hell was promised to never overcome and it was the church that Jesus built – not man (Matt 16:18). It was the church with specific instructions for work, structure, giving, and worship that God designed. It is not our place to combine congregations, treasuries, and leadership into our own designs. It is not scriptural for these central agencies to solicit, combine, oversee, and distribute funds that the local church alone is to manage. In the same way it is the local church that is to teach and preach, not a combined institution working like a denominational head destined for corruption. We can become blinded by all the good we can accomplish by creating these enterprises, but the standard and instruction for us is what we are accountable for, no amount of good can ever replace our responsibility to hold to God’s all sufficient instruction for the church He planned from the foundation of the world. Of all the authors of the scriptures over thousands of years, things that even the angels longed to understand all led up to the kingdom of God made up of autonomous congregations, it is a design we have no right to alter.

A final example that relates to all these matters is found in the life of W.W. Otey. Brother Otey was born in 1867, and he was a young man in 1908 when he challenged the aged and skilled debater J.B. Briney from the Christian Church to a debate on these matters. The debate concerned instrumental music and of course, Missionary Societies. The young farmer W.W. Otey gave an impressive summery, challenge, and defense showing that these societies had no place in the church despite his young age and limited preaching experience. While reading the debate I had to stop and look up to see if Otey lived to see the split over institutionalism in the 50’s and 60’s. If so what was Otey’s position during those times? Brother Otey did live a long life, and in 1951 Otey published a book titled “Living Issues”. In the book Otey wrote of the man-made institutions he saw forming in the church giving examples from his time, and he also wrote about the Missionary Societies that he knew so well. Brother Otey made dozens of comparisons between the societies, the institutions and sponsored works in the book Living Issues. He showed how the arguments for the institutions being formed were identical to the unscriptural arguments given for Missionary Societies. While some men changed their positions when The Gospel Advocate’s quarantine was published and fellowship issues became serious, W.W. Otey remained faithful exposing the similarities between the societies, the sponsoring works, and the institutions.

The sad truth is that we have forgotten what the Missionary Society was and we have forgotten to care about the design of the church in the scriptures. We are packed full of Missionary Societies, central agencies, institutions, and sponsored works. The efforts of the church that are dearest to our hearts are often the ones furthest from scripture. While we teach many distinct truths we have failed to see the log in our own eye that has grown larger and larger in our lifetime. Perhaps these words have brought you to realize what we have created for the first time, I hope you consider these matters in full honesty. The church of the Bible is non-institutional, that is not a biased statement, it is a fact. There are no various church institutions in the New Testament except for the local church itself. We cannot claim that something we create is part of the church when we cannot find anything like it in scripture. There are divine reasons why God did not design these organizations in His plan. When God gave Noah the instructions for the ark Noah wasn’t saved by improving God’s plan, rather we know Noah was righteous because he followed God’s design exactly (Gen 6:22,7:1,5). We can achieve great things through God’s design, by His authorized institution the local church when we get back to upholding her responsibilities. The desire to try to achieve more will always be a temptation for some, but we have to learn that God’s way is the only way that is right and truly good. There is only one blood-bought church of Christ that saves, that church serves God and His children through God’s design alone.

“Now these things, brethren… you might learn not to exceed what is written…” 1 Cor 4:6

“Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.” 1 Cor 11:2

  1. W.W. Otey, Living Issues (Austin, TX: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1951), pp. 27, 49. ↩︎

That’s a lot of Liquor

Charlton Rhinehart Leave a comment

Charlton Rhinehart

There is a restaurant that my family and I often eat at and across the road from that restaurant is a liquor store. I have noticed the store a time or two, once there was a man stumbling around out front of the store that my wife and I watched for a moment, but aside from that I have paid the store very little attention. Recently I was leaving yet again from our favorite restaurant, and as I pulled out onto the main road I noticed that far down from the liquor store was shelves and shelves of liquor. I did a double take as pulled out onto the road watching careful for traffic coming also, but I had to see; was that liquor store really that big? It was that big, the store went down much further in the shopping center than I thought it did. I was impressed to see all the bottles that I did on those loaded shelves, and just to think it stretched all the way down to that entrance and beyond was surprising. I thought to myself, “that’s a lot of liquor”.

I was driving alone this time having drove separate from my family, and that gave me time to think. I wasn’t trying to think on the alcohol, it gives me hardly any temptation and perhaps even more disgust to dwell on it, but still I thought about all those bottles in that store. My first thought was that’s a lot of money – a lot of value to all those bottles, which lead to the next thought, that’s a lot of drunkenness. My mind wondered on still picturing all those rows and rows of bottles, I wonder how many DUI’s those bottles will cause? Worse yet, how many of those bottles will lead to wrecks on the road – or how many family’s will loose someone in one of those wrecks? I wonder how many will lose their job because of one of those bottles, as I thought of the man at work that most recently lost his job to his last DUI. That’s a lot of problems, that’s a lot of liquor.

That’s a lot of hangovers and miserable days. That’s a lot of money, not just the $50 bottles of vodka or tequila, but the wastefulness of a man under it’s influence for the night. That’s a lot of fights, arguments and hurt feelings. A lot of black eyes – physical and to the reputation. That’s a lot of bold words with no thought texted, and lot of apologies and shame in the following days. That’s a lot of foolish choices, that’s a lot of liquor.

That’s a lot cheap laughs at sinful things that should be despised (1 Cor 13:6). That’s a lot of excuses to sleep with a person that isn’t yours. That’s a lot of fornication, adultery and divorce. That’s a lot of broken homes, children with heartaches, and children tempted to turn to sin as they grow up empty. That’s a lot of missed house payments and bankruptcy. A lot of cost to society, but all our city council sees is the initial tax revenue. That’s a lot heavy cost to us all, that’s a lot of liquor.

Half of the liquor stores in my home town are still called package stores because there was a time when we were ashamed to admit what we had permitted to be sold. Instead, when we think of a liquor store or restaurant bar now, we think of dollar signs, good times, and prominent men making big business deals over a drink. We have somehow learned to ignore the true cost of alcohol.

There was a time when I would have liked to walk into that liquor store and pick out a bottle or two like I did at others. A time when all of those rows of liquor would have been appealing to me though I thought I was a Christian, liberalism told me I was fine. I can see beyond the appeal of such folly now thanks to truth and I can see what each of those bottles really are, and I can despise it. I am sure most all of these problems were sitting on one of those shelves of this store, and I am sure at least some of these problems were in each of these bottles. That’s a lot of problems, that’s a lot of  liquor.

“Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink;” (Isa 5:22) NASB.

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper” (Psalm 23:29-32).

The Elder’s Wife

Charlton Rhinehart 2 Comments

Charlton Rhinehart

Throughout the scriptures we find examples of elders leading the church. In Titus we find a list of qualifications for elders, as well as I Timothy gives qualifications for elders, deacons, and their wives. As we look at all the qualifications it is the wife of an elder that we often forget about, but she is one of the most valuable qualifications of this leader in the church.

Among the many roles that we can each have as servants in the kingdom of God, there is no greater honor, respect and responsibility than that of the elders. We always see a plurality of elders in each single New Testament congregation, it is not the job for just one man. The elders who rule well are to be -“…considered worthy of double honor…” (1 Tim 5:17, NASB). We, the church are to – “…appreciate those who labor among you, and have charge over you…” ( 1 Thess 5:12). The elders also – “… keep watch over your souls, as those who will give account…” ( Heb 13:17). Great will be the reward in eternity for many faithful shepherds in the church of our Lord, but likewise great will be the punishment for many shepherds who have allowed their congregation to go astray. The position of an elder is one that holds great reward and accountability.

One of the first qualifications we see an elder is to have is his wife. He must be – “…the husband of one wife…” (I Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6). Peter also having served as an elder (I Pet 5:1-4), makes clear the responsibility of the husband and his wife toward one another (I Pet 3:1-7). We see that the elders’ wives are to be – “…dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things” (I Tim 3:11). If a woman is not to be a leader in the church (I Cor 14:34), if she is not to teach or have authority over the men (I Tim 2:12), then why is her presence such an emphasized requirement? Beyond her presence, why is she required to meet certain qualifications if she bears no responsibility herself? The answer is she does carry a great responsibility.

When I think of the good elders I have seen in the church, I no longer think of just the elder himself but often of him and his wife. One foremost word that comes to mind when I think of the elder and his wife is teamwork. Just scan your church auditorium as we are assembled, find each elder in the crowd, chances are he is not sitting next to the other elders but next to his wife. Watch as worship or classes end, she will get up and likely be one of the busier people. She is sure to be talking with others keeping up with the members concerns, she will seek out visitors and find out if they know about the church or not. Watch who is involved with the many children’s classes, the preparation for them and the coaching for new teachers. Notice how her involvement with the children link her to so many of the families in a special way. If there is any upcoming event in the church she is sure to be involved. Notice who is often working hard coordinating food for the sick, making sure needs are being met, and hosting groups for new Christians or other ladies. Some of the busiest and most involved individuals in the church are the elder’s wives. Sure anyone of us could step up and do many of the same things, but God knew that the elder’s wife would especially be involved in the church’s work. God placed certain qualifications for her because He knew the responsibility she would bear. An elder and his wife are a team in the church, they each lead in very different and very similar ways.

Another aspect of the shepherd’s wife is her counsel. If you have any clue to the elder’s work than you know they make many difficult decisions on weighty matters. If there is trouble in the church they are dealing with it, if there is a family having problems, if there is a member slowly falling away, the list could go on but there are many hard issues that each elder has the responsibility to be involved with. Many of these issues require deep thought, study and prayer. If an elder was to share many of these difficult things with other church members it could likely cause splits as groups take sides, if an elder were to talk about these things in front of his children gossip would be sure to leak out incorrectly at some time or another. An elder needs to be able to share the difficult things he is thinking on with someone intimate, his spouse. Perhaps again God knew this would take place, could any man be in such a hard position and not share his thoughts with his wife? This too is why his wife must meet some qualifications. An elder could possibly be married to a non Christian and meet the requirement of just being married, but if she were not a Christian he could not share these difficult things with her for her compassion and input. God set a requirement of her Christianity and character as a helpmate to the elder. She needs to be of solid Christian character, hence – “…faithful in all things” (I Tim 3:11). She too will be tried by the challenges an elder faces, she too will need knowledge of the scriptures as she counsel’s her husband, that knowledge which only comes with years of study. Her involvement in the church also might bring out facts the elder alone often wouldn’t know. Of course it is not to be that the man is merely a puppet only doing what his wife tells him, the scriptures deal with this also – (Eph 5:22-24; Col 3:18; I Pet 3:1-6), but she is his helper and most intimate friend. Men rely on their spouses’ input far more than they or others realize, God knew the elder’s spouse needed to be a faithful sister in Christ.

An elder’s and a deacon’s wife are one of the most involved individuals in the church leading in ways we often don’t think of. She holds a great responsibility that is more than just setting a good example. As I think about my own children, I would love for my son to one day be able to preach and teach and to defend the church if he is willed that capability. But as for my daughters, they may not ever be behind the pulpit or at an elders or deacons meeting. I know however that they can grow to be just as valuable in the church in ways like these if they are faithful and taught the Lord’s ways. The elder and his wife are a team in the church, how can we ever say that women are so limited in the kingdom?

Public School, Home School, & Sex Education

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Charlton Rhinehart

As my wife and I approach the day we will have to make the choice for our children between home school or public school, I simply wanted to write some of the thoughts we have discussed as we near that day. As it turns out, sex education is a major part of that decision.

As I think about public school and the threats it may hold for a Christian child, there are a few subjects that arise. One of those subjects of course, is the teaching of evolution and the age of the earth, another would be how other school kids might treat a Christian child standing for what is right. The third item that comes to my mind is sex education. Just what are they going to teach my child that is right and wrong when it comes to sex, or as I have always known it, “Family Life Class?”

My wife and I were both raised in public schools. We hold no favoritism toward home schooling, nevertheless we have made some friends over the years that have chosen the home school route, and we can see the value in it. As we think about the above listed threats, we have discussed that we do not want to hide our children from the world. Christians are to be in the world, but not of the world. We cannot hide ourselves like the Amish from society, but we must let our lights shine before men (Matt 5:16). At the same time however, we know a Christian must avoid temptation. You don’t send a recovering alcoholic for a repair in a wine cellar, you don’t leave piles of money around someone repenting of past theft, and we cannot drop our children off in a school that constantly will teach and tempt them with many things we know are wrong! As you can see, there are several considerations.

Of all the threats that public schools hold, one stands out to my wife and I above the rest, sex education. The way science is taught often depends on the science teacher, who often might even be a believer himself. The way other children treat a Christian child often depends on your location and circumstances, but the way sex education is taught is hard to imagine holding any of God’s principals in public school; in fact, I know it doesn’t.

I remember when I was younger one very bored night going through my dad’s books, I happened across a 1986 Freed Hardeman Lectureship book. As I flipped through the book I landed on the introduction which spoke about the city of Memphis threatening to teach these “Family Life Classes.” I read on in amusement as it spoke about just how horrible these sex education courses would be for our children. The editor said, “They intend to expose students in Memphis to their liberal, humanistic view of human sexuality.”¹ Having just completed some Family Life classes at the time, I marveled at their ignorance of how harmless and helpful the classes really were. Now years later, I marvel at my own ignorance, the subtle teachings that contained so many lies that altered my thinking for years.

First and foremost, the Family Life course in public school teaches “Safe Sex.” My first sex education course was when I was in the fifth grade, 1995. I do remember marriage being taught as the ideal place for safe sex, but even in that day, the priority of the class was to teach “safe sex” to those of us who would need to know it long before marriage. This is one of the biggest problems of the course, it is instituted with the wrong motives. The class teachings may acknowledge that marriage is the ultimate solution, but the course has given up on the idea that we will be waiting until then. You might be saying, “is that not a good thing to teach, being that the majority of teens do not wait until marriage?” While I can see that argument, especially from the world’s view, I also have to think how different things would be if we didn’t teach our youth how to do what we are telling them not to do! When we teach our youth the way to have “safe sex” without marriage, how can we be surprised when they have sex before marriage? By the way, is there any “safe sex” outside of a marriage recognized by God? No practice can be taught to keep us from God’s judgment, regardless of other consequences we may dodge (Rom 1:27). There is no safe sex outside of God’s instruction, but Family Life teaches your child that there is.

Another hidden mistake of the class is the way that STD’s are portrayed. Again the truth is not totally ignored, there is the teaching and truly the education of what diseases can be spread through sex. I must say the course does educate well about the reality of those diseases, how they are treated, that there are other ways they can be caught, all things we need to understand. Here again however is some deception, and that is in the emphasis of the way STD’s are spread. The class admits sex is a way for STD’s to spread, but it obscures the fact that sex outside of marriage is the main reason for STD’s. There is a huge emphasis on the innocent who have caught a disease by some other means. Again in my youth I remember my uncle who was a bit random with his comments, telling my cousins and myself that the reason God sent aids was a consequence for homosexuals. We all busted out laughing at him, myself included, his ignorance to think that only gays could catch aids! Again, I now have to look back at my own ignorance instead. Yes, I know anyone can catch aids by any blood to blood contact, but we had been trained that most individuals who have aids got if from some means other than sex, a huge lie. They had taken a truth, and twisted it into a lie, a lie that made sex outside of God’s word look innocent. STD’s were no one’s fault, not the result of any sin, and we truly believed it.

A factor that is often unthought-of about sex education is the circumstance it creates in the family. The dreaded question of parents, “where do babies come from?” is now answered by the school. Not only is that question answered, but all those other questions that come along with it are answered there also. While this may seem like a huge relief to parents and a break from a difficult responsibility, there is a serious consequence to the family. When these difficult questions that every child has are answered by a third party, there is a part of parenting that is left undone creating a missing part of that relationship. One day your son or daughter knows nearly nothing about sex and the changes that lay ahead for their body, a few days later they know nearly as much as you do. There was never a discussion, never a point that you can both relate to made, never even an awkward word spoken, just one day they don’t know, and another day they do. This adds a huge awkward barrier to the parent child relationship, one you may have never even thought of. The best comparison I can think of is a marriage relationship silent about sex, can you imagine how strange that close relationship would be? While it may be different in many ways, there is a similar aspect in parenting, and that is that parents should be looked up to as guides to teach on these questions. When that is left un-discussed, there is something missing in that relationship and guidance, we are leaving out one of the “secret” bonds that cause our children to look to us. All we do is put up a wall of unspoken understanding that we both have that we dare not discuss, a wall that spreads to other aspects of our relation with them.

Finally as I consider the subject of sex education, especially as I think of my own children as they approach school age, there is the new aspect of homosexuality and transgender issues that have become common. My experience with Family Life or Sex Education began over 20 years ago, I can only imagine what is taught now. I honestly suspect homosexual methods of sex are explained and illustrated just like heterosexual sex was when I was in the course. I honestly suspect male and female bodies will be explained as choices rather than what we have been given. I can’t imagine the questions that would be asked in class, or the serious respectful way the teacher would be teaching on such issues that they seek to normalize, but I know they will be there. The government’s relationship with Planned Parenthood comes to my mind, and I have to wonder how related the belief system and teaching is between the two. There is a definite agenda in Family Life classes, and I should have never been part of it, I am certain I do not want my children to have any part of it either.

We are still up in the air on whether or not public school or home school is the best way for our children. We have a couple years left still to decide. One thing is for sure for us however, we will be opting our children out of “Family Life Class.” It may create some ridicule by other children, we may have to study some facts on STD’s and other things, it may cause us to have to teach on some difficult subjects and embarrass our kids and ourselves some, but there is no other choice for us. If you choose the public school route, I encourage you to look into making certain that opting out is going to be an option for you to choose for your children. Be alert when those classes are coming and stay one step ahead. Also, study your children’s classes to know what is taught in other classes. While most give the option to opt out of Family Life, some districts have began teaching these things in other classes that cannot be opted out of. When there is no option to opt my children out of select classes that teach these things, I know homeschooling will be my only consideration. Whatever route you choose, be aware of the deception that Family Life Classes teach, and keep your children from it.

¹ Claiborne, Winford. “Introduction,” Pages viii-x in Ethics for Daily Living Freed-Hardeman College 1986 Lectures. Edited by Winford Claiborne. Nashville:  Williams, 1986.

The Blessing of a Christian Spouse

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Charlton Rhinehart

Myself along with many others have been challenged to write on the benefits of a Christian life by the website, The Preacher’s Favorite Passage, www.thepfp.net. As I thought through the many blessings I wanted to write about, the blessing of a Christian life that I am choosing to write on is the blessing of a Christian spouse.

I first want to say that while a Christian spouse is huge factor in a Christian’s life, I realize that it is something not everyone has. Paul was one who was thankful he was not married or obligated to care for a family so that he could devote more time in work to the Lord (1 Cor 7:7), shame on any eldership today that sets the requirement that a minister be married. I also realize that many Christians are already married to someone who is not a Christian, to such Paul gives commands from the Lord, and challenges them to be the right example (1 Cor 7:10-16). There are also those who because of unscriptural divorce, are not permitted to remarry (Matt 19:9), to them I give some of my greatest respect. Brothers and sisters, be cautious who you choose to marry.

That being said, I truly believe that one of the greatest blessings of a Christian life is having a Christian spouse. The spouse you choose is someone you shape the majority of your life around. That person by their input and your agreement with one another will likely affect where you live, what future jobs you choose, what you do for fun, even what you eat will be a regular compromise with that individual. A person’s character who is this involved in your life is important; here are three traits that make a Christian spouse such a blessing.

A Christian spouse is one you can trust. With such a huge commitment of your own life devoted to one person, trust is mandatory. The Christian character is built around honesty, faithfulness and trust, just as God has been towards us. A secular marriage is also built on these things, but as we know, these attributes in a person often fail. While the same failure can happen in a Christian, just knowing that a person has a commitment to God that they have been faithful to, gives the promise of these aspects so much more meaning. To know that there is a commitment not only toward you from your spouse, but also an obligation they hold sacred before God to be faithful to you. To know that there is not merely a promise to be faithful to you, but that person strives to keep Christ’ command to not even let their heart stray from you alone. To know your spouse stands for the New Covenant’s teaching, that divorce and remarriage is not an option, but only for one reason. While the occurrence of divorce in the church has long been said to be the same as the world, several articles lately have been published  revealing that the divorce rate inside churches are actually much lower than the world. I dare say that divorce of faithful members in the Lord’s true church is very uncommon.  What a blessing to trust your spouse is not only faithful to their vows, but also in every word and to God.

A Christian spouse is an encouragement to your walk with Christ. A Christian’s life is built around service and labor for the Lord, love of His church and the treasure where our heart is, in the Lord. Our joy, our passion, our hope is invested in the kingdom of God, which is the church. You know the feeling that we have when a person we know begins showing interest in the gospel, things such as this is our purpose and joy. I cannot imagine being married to someone I could not share those feelings of hope with when I get home each day! A spouse more than anything is someone you relate to, someone you share feelings with, the one who knows you and you pour your heart out before them.  What a blessing it is to be able share this huge portion of your life: your labors, your hope, even your disappointments of your Christian life with a person holding the same goals. This is the difference in hoping your spouse will allow you to spare some money or time to give to God, or the spouse who is there by your side making a sacrifice along with you in the kingdom. Perhaps this is part of the reason why the most important role in the church, that of an elder, requires a faithful wife (1 Tim 3:2, 11; Titus 1:6). A Christian spouse is a huge blessing of encouragement.

A Christian spouse is a friend forever. We have deep love for the one we marry, even when the beauty of youth fades, often the friendship and bond in a marriage becomes far more valuable with time. It is only natural that someone so close to us would be the one who we are most concerned for their eternal home. As the earthly wedding vows many of us quoted tell us, “until death do we part,” a Christian couple has the assurance they will meet again. Jesus plainly tells us that, “…in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage…” (Matt 22:30 NASB). While our relationship there may be much different, better in ways our human minds cannot yet comprehend, what a blessing it is to know your husband or wife will be there in eternity with you. A Christian spouse is a blessing to know of the assurance you have for the one you love so much.

When God created man, He said “…it is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him,” (Gen 2:18). A spouse is a helper, a helper in the challenges of life, and the greatest blessing of a spouse is a Christian spouse, a Christian helper. Christ chose this Holy relationship to compare His church to, the church which is made up of those He saved. Obviously this relationship is a blessing, and a Christian spouse is a fulfillment of that blessing.  I thank God for my Christian wife, God’s design for marriage and family.

A Fair Lady

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A Fair Lady

Charlton Rhinehart

Yesterday evening my wife, daughter and I went to our local fair. I have always enjoyed the fair, I remember when I was younger being asked in school to write on our favorite season of the year, I would always choose fall. One of the greatest reasons I would give for favoring this season, was the fair. I was anything but a farmer, my city school system didn’t even know what 4-H was, but still I loved the tractors, hit and miss engines, animals, dirt bike races and of course the rides and excitement of being around all the people. As we walked toward the entrance yesterday my one year old daughter began pointing up at the people on the rides way up in the air, being that I had missed the fair for several years in a row now, I was excited myself to see it all again. As we entered the gate by the ticket booth, we entered by the rides which was the main entrance, so naturally being near all the wild rides, was the younger crowd, lots of teens. Something that was obvious right away was how these young people were dressed, wearing far less than they should. We walked straight past the rides at first toward the farm animal area, but the outfits there were not much different. Attractive young girls were wearing very short shorts, a lot were wearing cut off tank tops and when you’re down to just that there is not much left to do to make things anymore skimpy, aside from getting everything to fit tight, which was not left out either.

While there were some adults dressed this way also, the huge majority were high school and college age, the greatest temptation was clearly on our youth. What all this made me realize was what a huge challenge our youth face, not only did it make me realize that, but it reminded me of the reality of this huge temptation I faced ten or so years ago myself. Place yourself back in that position for a moment, you’re in high school, the girls around you are dressed this way, sure there are some policies the school has to keep clothes from getting  too minimal, but the school’s cheerleader and dance team outfits clearly show that policy is a joke. Maybe you were raised in the church, and you know that we have to be like Job, having a covenant with our eyes (Job 31:1), but it’s not just a person or two at the school who we have to look away from, it is the majority of the girls in every class we have. The Bible tells us to be satisfied with the wife of our youth (Prov 5:18), but you have no wife yet, and because of the norms of our society, marriage is years away. And just when we finally get away from the girls for a moment, the talk of the guys is constantly sexual jokes. The list could go on, but this has to be one of the most challenging times in a Christian’s life.

So what is my solution to this great problem? Is it to tell the churches parents not to allow your kids to dress this way, even though the majority of kids do not have Christian parents? Is it to tell you to send your youth away to one of our many church of Christ universities who over emphasize grace and teach sin is okay? No, my advice is simply to the youth who find themselves in this situation right now.

To the young men: You are in a tough situation, there is no doubt about it, there is no denying the challenge you face in our society to keep Jesus’ words, to not even lust after a woman. This temptation will never go away as long as you live, but you have to realize it is at its absolute strongest right now. Satan knows that and he is giving it everything he has to use this to break you from the commitment to Christ you have made. This temptation is a drug, it may not be condemned by those around us like it is, but it is absolutely addicting like a drug. I know you feel like you can just give in to it once, but every time that happens it becomes soooo much harder to break from. I want you to think about your life ahead of you, think about the fact you will one day be married, and that girl who you will be married to in a few short years is somewhere out there right now. You don’t know her name, you wonder what she looks like, what her personality will be, but I promise she is the one who will bring true joy. Don’t  focus on the many girls around you can’t have now, focus on her. Sure it’s hard to focus on someone you do not know, but just know she is just as alive as you are in some location of the world right now, and just as much as you want her to be pure for you, you have to be pure for her also. You don’t want her to be dressing like these girls around you, to be center of all the guys’ dirty thoughts, nor does she want you focused on any of those girls, because she is not dressed like that herself, but she has all the same beauty reserved for you. Focus on her, the reality that she is out there right now, that you will be with her in just a few years, and the purity you want to have for each other and for God, who your relationship will be built around. What seems so far away is just a few years away.

To the young ladies: I know you hear all the time of the temptations you place on young men, and you probably feel like you yourself are not that pretty to cause that, but you are! I am sure you know that girls are just as competitive as guys, maybe in different ways, but you know also the competition to look the best. This will always be a competition your whole life, but it is at its strongest right now, an especial challenge to be sexy, Satan knows this and he is using this to break you from your immersion into Christ. Jesus spoke of those who cause one of “these little ones to stumble” (Matt 18:6), he said of them who do such, it would be better for them to have a heavy millstone hung around their neck and be drowned! When we think of “little ones” we often think of children, but I don’t believe that is who Jesus had in mind, instead he was speaking of Christians, you know we are called children of God (Gal 3:26). Think of the importance that you be cautious in your decisions not to cause someone to focus on your body rather than you. When you see all the other girls getting the attention of the guys, think of your future husband, he is out there somewhere. Just like your greatest desire for him is that he has a loving caring personality, so also the one you are looking for will not be looking for merely sexual attraction, he can see your beauty without seeing bare skin or your shape, he also will be looking for the beauty of your personality, mainly your focus on Christ and His word. Peter said this perfectly in the inspired scriptures of God; “And let not your adornment be merely external – braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quite spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” 1 Pet 3:3-4

Satan’s temptations will never disappear while we are alive, while we must do our best to avoid them, we also know we can never completely escape them. But believe it or not, as hard as it may seem, “…God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able…” (1 Cor 10:13). When Satan’s temptations are at their greatest, it is so important that we keep our hearts in the right place, that begins with where we allow our thoughts and focus to go.

Misunderstood Freedom

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Misunderstood Freedom

Charlton Rhinehart

The Fourth of July or Independence Day is a time that we in America celebrate and remember our freedom as a nation. Like most national holidays, we often ignore their significance, but nevertheless, it is basic knowledge that America is “the land of the free.” Do you remember when you were young what you thought when adults emphasized how grateful we should be to be “free”? I remember especially in the first, second and third grade how often the teachers would point out that America is where we are free, whether it was in music class or literature, we were reminded often. But how did I and my peers of great wisdom respond? – “If we are free, than why do we have to be at school?” Or maybe we would extend it to the dreaded homework, – “I am a free American, I don’t have to do this homework!” Clearly we were missing the point of what it meant to be free.

In the New Testament we also see this same term “freedom,” used to describe Christians. Many scriptures talk about it, take 2 Corinthians 3:17 for example; “Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” You might think also of passages like “the law of liberty” as James describes the New Covenant (Jas 1:25, 2:12). It is apparent that we who are in Christ are free or at liberty in some way, but just like our ignorance of America’s freedom we failed to understand in our youth, so also many fail to understand the freedom that we have in Christ. To make matters worse, not only is it the people’s gossip that causes us to misunderstand this freedom in Christ, but also the majority of preachers and bible teachers also contribute, saying things like “we don’t have to be worried about sin because Christ has set us free.” While a statement like this is not completely false, (we are free from the sins we have repented from), it also happens to be intentionally deceiving, giving the impression that sin is no big deal.

So what is our “freedom in Christ” that the scriptures tell us of so often? And what isn’t it? Our freedom in Christ comes down to two major things, we are free from the complexity of the Old Law (Old Testament), and we are free from the wages of our past sins, which is death (Rom 6:23). The Old Law was very difficult to follow, a heavy burden on those who lived under it, and just as the Hebrew writer says, “…He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.” Heb 8:6-7. In Christ that Old Law is completely done away, something that today’s denominations do not understand (Gal 3:25, Rom 7:6, Heb 8:13). The second point, our freedom from our past sins once we put on Christ is something we all know. We all know that Christ died for our sins. Less known however is how we put on Christ, a passage that describes both points, Romans 6:3 says, “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been Baptized into His death?” and verse 6 says, “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”. When we are buried with Christ in baptism, God at that point removes our past sins as we repent and are baptized for forgiveness, dying to our sinful self and rising to walk in the newness of life.

So what isn’t our freedom in Christ? Freedom in Christ is not freedom from law all together, just as we still have to go to school and do our homework in our free country, we also have a Christian law we must live by in our freedom of Christ. That law is not the Old Law but it is the new law, the law of Christ (1 Cor 9:21, Gal 6:2), the law of the Spirit (Rom 8:2), the perfect law (Jas 1:25) which is the new covenant. That means we cannot choose our favorite apostle and ignore the writings of the rest, but we are to live by all the New Testament’s teachings. Likewise this means that we are not free to let down our guard against sin just because at one point in our life we were placed in the grace of Christ. We can fall from grace, only “if we walk in the light as He is in the light,” will we be continually cleansed by His blood (1 John 1:7). Jesus told us this so plainly in John 8:31-32, saying; “…If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” How often have were heard the latter portion of that passage quoted? Promising us that we can be free, yet how uncommon it is that we point out what Christ really said, that this freedom comes if and only if we abide in His word? Paul in Galatians gives us a warning so similar concerning our freedom. “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh…” (Gal 5:13, cf. 1 Pet 2:16, 1 Cor 8:9). Ask yourself, how have you been looking at God’s freedom he has given you? Just like as Americans and even more so as Christians, we have a great freedom to be thankful for and a heavy price that was paid for it. We must not forget the sacrifices that have been made. But we also need to ask our self a simple question. Are we making our freedom in Christ into something that it is not?

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The Small, Unnoticed Church – from the Valley coc bulletin

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The Small, Unnoticed Church

Charlton Rhinehart

In the well known passage of Matthew 16, Peter answers Jesus’ question asking who the people say that He is. Peter replies that he knows that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus then said to Peter in Matthew 16:18; “… you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it ” (NASB). Jesus promised Peter, the apostles, and all who have read this scripture since then, that once his church was established, it would always be, that Satan could never eradicate His church. Those of us who have been in the Wednesday night study of Acts have had a recent reminder of when the church was established, in Acts chapter 2, 33 A.D. So has the Church Christ established really always existed all of this time, nearly 2000 years?

Not only ourselves, but Catholics also love this passage where Jesus responds to Peter, promising His church, yet they claim it has some different meanings. One aspect the Catholics favor, is that this was spoken to Peter, who they claim to be the first Pope. The other point they claim however, that is more relevant to this article, is that Jesus promised His church would always exist. The Catholic reasoning of this says; if the Church would always exist, then the succeeding church leaders could always be traced back to the very beginning of the church. This is exactly what they claim, taking great pride in their ability to trace their popes and bishops back to Peter and the Apostles. It is remarkable the history the Catholic Church has, but their error is revealed in the very early centuries, where the men they claim to be leaders of their church’s history, actually refute the structure of such an unscriptural church pattern. These early Christian men deny in their writings the authority that the Catholic church accredits to them.

So if the Catholic Church cannot trace its roots though forefathers back to the beginning, how could anyone else? The fact of the matter is that no one can trace their roots back to the establishment of the church by knowledge of all the saints who lived before them. Because the true church that Christ established, was not always the biggest church. The true church that has always-”followed in the apostles doctrine” (Acts 2:42), hasn’t been passed down in a continuous chain of a single denomination. The true roots of the church, that we can trace, is the teachings of the apostles through scripture, by following their teaching and traditions, we can know that we are the church that Christ established and died for (1 Tim 3:15). You see the church is built on the word, anyone, anywhere, anytime can establish a congregation by looking to God’s word and following the pattern we have there. We don’t see those congregations in history, because those congregations were too small, but we know they were always there. Maybe there would be one in a city for a while, one in the country, one meeting in a house, another meeting in secret because of persecution, but somewhere, no matter how small, there was always the church, and Satan could never overpower it.

That is exactly what we are at Valley, small. But if we hold fast to the standard of sound words (2 Tim 1:13), we can know that we are the church that is truly “of Christ”.  I cannot think of any better fitting scripture than what Christ said in Matt 18:20; “For wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” We are small, when just a few miss because of work, travel, sickness, or just failure to be faithful to the assembly, it hurts us, and we really notice it then. But while we need to be here as much as possible, while we need every member we have, we also have to remember, that Christ never promised we would be the most popular, he never promised we would make the history books, but he promised His church would always exist, that Satan will never totally defeat His church. Let’s not give up because we are few, let’s not think that Satan has defeated us, let’s remember Christ and his promise, the great Kingdom that we are (Matt 16:19).