JULY 2000 SEPTEMBER 2000 THE READING ROOM HOME
Forgiveness Is Not North And South But East And West
(Kent Heaton)
Forgiveness is the basis of our relationship with the Father. Because of sin and separation from God, man must seek reconciliation. In humility, man approaches God seeking to be cleansed of his sins and be found pure before the Almighty. The mercy of God is so great and awesome to consider the love He has for man to offer redemption. For those that fear the Lord, great mercy is given. He is so great and we are so small yet how great we are seen in His eyes to offer not a small sacrifice in Jesus Christ that through His blood we may be redeemed.
The forgiveness of God is based upon our willingness to forgive one another. Forgiveness is the basis of our relationship to one another. As we seek to be reconciled to God, we must also seek to find that same kind of reconciliation with one another. Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 6:14-15,
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."Our relationship with God is determined by our relationship with one another. If we are unwilling to forgive one another, God will not be willing to forgive us. This is found in our love for one another. John writes in 1 John 4:20-21,
"If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." If I cannot find it within myself to forgive my brother, how should I expect God to forgive me?The way we forgive one another is measured in the manner God forgives us.
"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you ... bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13) The difficulty we have in forgiving one another is how far we choose to forgive.Peter looked at it as an obligation that had an ending point. He said,
"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" (Matthew 18:21) Jesus answers Peter's question with the parable of the unforgiving servant. (Matthew 18:22-35) Our forgiveness from God is the knowledge that our sins are blotted out, remembered no more. David expressed the forgiveness of God in Psalm 103:12 - "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."The image is so clear and so powerful. If you start walking toward the east and continue in that direction always, you will never travel west. The same is true with traveling west. The power of David's statement is God's forgiveness is as far as the east is from the west and how much farther can it be. Men like to think of forgiveness in terms of north and south. If you start walking toward the north and continue in that direction, you will reach the "north pole" and then you will start walking in a southerly direction. The same is true with traveling to the south.
Forgiveness of men many times is, "I will forgive you for a while but then it will end." That is what Peter was asking. The Lord told Peter in a figure, "Peter - forgiveness is as for as the east is from the west. What you are asking is to forgive north to south." If my relationship with God is based upon my forgiveness of my brother or sister, my forgiveness must be as the forgiveness of God. I need to start walking east or west to forgive my brother or sister and not north and south. My salvation depends upon it!
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6:12)An Open Letter To Don Hayes
(Kent Heaton)
In a recent series of radio programs on WDJY, 101.7FM, Don Hayes, a local preacher, has been teaching what he believes concerning the rapture. On each occasion of the program, he has stated that no one will debate the issue of the rapture with him. It is my desire to let Mr. Hayes know that I am willing to debate him on the issues of the rapture and the teaching of Premillennialism. The doctrine of the "rapture" is only a small part of the doctrine of premillennialism. Premillennialism is the doctrine that the second coming of Christ will be "before the thousand years." The word "premillennialism" has four parts to it: (1) "pre" - which means "before"; (2) "mille" - which is the Latin word for "thousand"; (3) "annum" - which is the word for "year," hence "pre-mille-annum" means "before the thousand years." And, the "ism" on the end of the word is a fair indication that the doctrine is of men and not of God.
It is my desire to debate what the Bible teaches about the coming of the Lord. Mr. Hayes believes the Bible teaches the "rapture" and I would deny the Bible teaches such. The doctrine of the rapture would have Christ coming three - if not four times - and the Bible only teaches the Lord will return a second time. Hebrews 9:26-28 says,
"He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."It is my desire to debate the reality of the kingdom of Christ being established on the day of Pentecost and that the kingdom of Christ was prophesied to begin on that day. The doctrine of Premillennialism teaches that Christ will establish His kingdom when he returns. The Bible would deny this teaching. (Mark 9:1, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4)
The third area of our debate would center upon the teaching of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Premillennialism teaches these passages show the coming of the Lord with wars, rumor of wars and the great tribulation. A parallel study of these passages will show all these signs given by Jesus, and recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke took place before 70 A. D. The other portion of this debate would find the truth of Revelation 20 that does not mention anything about the second coming, a bodily resurrection, a reign on earth, Christ on earth, a throne in Jerusalem and that premillennialists pervert the teaching of the thousand years.
It is my desire to show in this debate that Christ cannot return to earth and reign upon a physical throne of David. The Bible clearly shows that Christ cannot be a priest on earth (Hebrews 7:12-14; 8:4) and that He would not prosper on David's throne on earth. (Jeremiah 22:28-30; Matthew 1:11) The Bible does teach that Christ now reigns and will continue to reign until the end. (Ephesians 1:20-23; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26)
The final area of debate would center upon the land promise given to the nation of Israel. The land promise was made through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Israel and that God fulfilled His promise for the nation of Israel to receive the land. (Joshua 21:43-45; 23:15,16) The Jews are no longer the people of God as all men must come to Christ. The nation of Israel (Biblical nation) ceased (Jeremiah 19:10,11; 30:11), Abraham's seed is no longer Jews (Galatians 3:28,29; Romans 4:16), circumcision of the flesh gives way to that
"of the heart" (Colossians 2:11,12) and that conversion to Christ destroys national distinctions (Ephesians 2:14-16).If Mr. Hayes would be willing to debate these issues, we stand ready to prepare for such a debate at a future date.
Parents Who Teach Their Children To Be Disrespectful
(Kent Heaton)
On more than one occasion at a large gathering of people, the speaker is hard to hear because of the talking and loud noises made in the audience. At a school gathering you would think that the students were the ones making all of the noise. Sadly, it is not the students who are being disrespectful of the speaker but their parents. The generation of adults our society is blessed with is cursed with the grave disrespect of authority. We shake our heads in amazement at the troubles of our youth and bemoan the problems faced by young people. Great efforts are being made to understand the troubles of the young mind and answers are sought to address these serious issues. The answer is more evident than anyone wants to admit. Go home and you will find the problem.
The young people have problems today because their parents are teaching them disrespect for authority and for society. In a free world where respect for authority is undermined and torn down, how are we to be surprised at the actions of our youth? Our young people have problems but it is time for the truth to be told: the parents are doing a lousy job training their children. In many cases the parents teach their children there is no need to respect anyone.
Socrates (c.400 B. C.) wrote of his generation: "Our youths love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority - they show disrespect for their elders and love to chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up food and tyrannize teachers." Does that sound familiar?
The Bible teaches,
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord ... Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." (Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:20,21) Children are told to obey the parents but the parents must teach this obedience and respect. Fathers are given the job of training the children and teaching them respect.When mom and dad fail to teach their children to obey and they fail to teach them to respect others, what other conclusion can be reached than problem children? What Paul was writing about was teaching children respect. If a child cannot respect a man here in this world how can he learn to respect God? When the parent is rude to others and shows no respect, why should they be surprised with the child's actions? Our children are - in a large part - the product of our labors. If our children are rude, loud, obnoxious and disrespectful it is because we have taught them or allowed them to behave in this manner. Many times we have taught them by the way we behave.
Suzanne Douglas said, "Children mimic grownups, they ape us to the letter. No matter how much time we take, to try to teach them better." No matter how hard we try, our children will act just like us. Sitting in the auditorium and listening to - not the children making noise - but the parents rudeness and disrespect for those who were speaking tells me that we are raising a generation of trouble. Without respect our children will not respect the laws of the land, the rights of others, honor to their elders and most importantly - these children will not respect God and His word. Then - as a nation - we will cease to exist.
No Tears In Heaven, No Sorrows Given
(Kent Heaton)
Tears come early in life. A young child will cry because they are hungry or cry because they are tired. They may not fully understand the use of tears but they are expressing themselves for the needs of the moment. The tears are based upon a simple desire to be feed, changed or soothed to sleep. As the child grows older, tears will come when they hurt themselves or when they disobey and are punished. Tears will come when their feelings are hurt or a favorite pet may die.
Tears are a part of everyday life. As we grow older, we shed tears for different things. As we become aware of the world about us and the people we know, tears will be shed for the knowledge we have about that world and about those people. Loved ones we trusted would always be there are taken in death and we cry. Pain inflicts our bodies and we bemoan the challenges of disease. Tears of joy even come in a paradox of happiness that brings tears to our eyes.
It is hard to believe that one day we will never cry again. One day we will be in a world where tears will never be heard nor sorrows will be given. The mind will not be burdened heavy with despair and disappointment. The hands will no longer tremble in love for the loss of a loved one. Pain will no longer have a part of our lives to encompass us with tears. One day - not far away - God shall wipe away all our tears.
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4)God will take away death and we will no longer cry. Death is hard to bear and we are unable to understand the depth of sorrow in our loss. Tears flowing unceasing from our eyes and our hearts break in the joy taken from us. God will destroy death in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). With no more death, there will be no more tears.
God will take sorrow away for there will be nothing to sorrow for. There will be nothing to grieve about nor to mourn over. The corruptible body will be changed to an incorruptible body, the tent we dwell in upon earth will be changed to a
"house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8) The afflictions of disease will be taken away and we will have nothing to cry about. The pain that submitted our frail flesh to enormous agony will disappear in death awakening free from the chains of distress.You will not hear a single tear in the presence of God.
"The former things are passed away." What a glorious announcement and a wonderful hope. Life as we know it is here and now but one day it will merely be "the former things." John writes, "And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:17) Everything in our life will come to an end. Everything we think of as lasting will cease to exist. Our lives are only as a breath, as "a vapor, that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14)Robert S. Arnold wrote, "No tears in heaven, no sorrows given, all will be glory in that land. There'll be no sadness, all will be gladness, when we shall join that happy band. Glory is waiting, waiting up yonder, where we shall spend an endless day. There with our Savior, we'll be forever, where no more sorrow can dismay. Some morning yonder, we'll cease to ponder, over things this life has brought to view. All will be clearer, saved ones be dearer, in heaven where all will be made new." There will be no tears in heaven. Will you be there?
Can You Give It Up?
(Kent Heaton)
During the later Perean ministry of Jesus, a young man came to Jesus and desired what he must do to have eternal life. (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23) This would have an appealing sound to Jesus as he witnessed a young person considering such important questions in life. Luke tells us that "Jesus beholding him loved him." What greater question can there be than seeking eternal life? Jesus instructed the young man in the commandments and the reply came, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" It seems an honest heart is seeking after honest things. The young man wanted to do everything necessary to have eternal life. Yet, the young man was unprepared for Jesus' answer.
It may be the young man felt he had accomplished all that needed to be done and he felt secure in his place in Heaven. He was young, held a position of authority, had great possessions and a thirst for knowledge. He was willing to come to Jesus and seek guidance. He came running and kneeled down before Jesus, eager to receive an answer. His respect and reverence of Jesus and His teaching were evident. His final question, "what lack I yet" is where Jesus met the young man on the battlefield of Truth. He was unprepared for the reality of Truth in Jesus' answer: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
He lacked the understanding of the cost of war. Jesus is calling him to battle Satan and the forces of evil. This cannot be done in the comfort of riches, fame, power or honor. All these things matter none when fighting Satan. They must be left behind - given up to win the victory. The only way the young man could follow Jesus was to give up what he loved so much. He had to sell what he had - take his own personal possessions and put a price on each one - selling them all to a world of strangers. Then he had to take the moneys gained by his selling, and give that to the poor. Was he willing to put the price tag of devotion on his own salvation? Could he go home and put everything up on the auction block, watching his private possessions being taken away by hordes of buyers? Could he then take all the money gained in the transaction, the final remnants of his life - "cold-hard-cash" - and just give it all to the poor? The record says "when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."
He loved the things of this world too much to give them up for Jesus. When he came to Jesus the first time, he came on his terms. When he left, he realized that the terms offered by Jesus were too high a price to be paid. He did not run as he did when he came to Jesus the first time - he no longer kneeled before the Teacher, he walked away with his head bowed low. He left with an answer that he was not prepared to accept. What became of the vibrant young man who wanted to know what to do "that I may have eternal life?" He went away sorrowful.
Can you give it all up to follow Jesus? Would you be willing to give up your job for Christ? Could you leave your friends, family, recreation, club, organization, place of honor and position for Christ? He left all for us - what are we willing to give up?