(Kent Heaton)
In a time when the news is filled with the stark terror of what is worse in our young men and young women, events such as the graduation at Trenton High School refresh the hope and confidence in our youth. Addressing a large crowd of family and friends, two young ladies presented their final thoughts for the graduating class of 1999. While their thoughts were well organized, sprinkled with remembrances of their days in school, adding laughter here and there - what struck me most about these two young ladies was how they ended their speeches.
They did not appeal to the great minds of men who tout themselves as being the answer to the questions of life. Nor was there a plea for the other young people gathered to look to themselves for their guidance. As each young lady finished their speech, they appealed to the highest source of wisdom ever given to man - the word of God.
In a day when God is no longer allowed in many schools throughout our nation, these young ladies raised their voice to affirm the importance of the words of God in the lives of young people. It would have been easy to deliver a stirring speech with great words of great men who would enlighten the minds of everyone in the audience. But the conclusion of the whole matter was considered in light of what God thought - and what these two young ladies believed was important for all to hear.
This should remind us all of the problems and the solutions we have in our world today. In a world that believes the only way to find happiness is to believe only in oneself - a beacon of great faith glows forth upon the hearts of a generation that needs so desperately to know God. The problems with our young people is not the ability to get guns but the inability to know God. Humanism has so evaded our world that we now are suffering the realities of its teaching.
Humanism turns man into a basic animal with no feelings and love for one another. Animals bite and devour one another for supremacy and power. When God is taken out of the schools and out of the homes - man is left a shroud of animal instincts that will destroy and kill and maim. Homes are no longer the bastion of security and love where God dwells. From the shattered remnants of broken homes where children are left with no guidance - to the cry of abortion advocates who would makes us believe we are only animals - to the world of television that glorifies the essence of violence, murder, rape, sexual freedom and pornography. No wonder we have lost so many young people.
But then a Thursday night on a cool evening of pomp and circumstance appears and reminds us of the words of the wise man: "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": (Ecclesiastes 12:1) I am thankful that these two young ladies - having the distinction of being the Salutatorian and Valedictorian of their graduating class - appealed to their Creator for direction.
May God richly bless us with more communities where God can still be spoken of in reverence and awe. Thank you for parents who still seek to instill the old paths in the hearts and minds of their children. Oh, that those who listened to those words would feel the impact of the word of God in their lives. Thank God for a small piece of this world where prayer and the words of God can still be heard and appreciated. Thank God for two young ladies who stood before the world and declared their faith in God.
(Kent Heaton)
When God placed man in the garden of Eden, he gave him laws to live by. God provided all things for man and would care for all the needs of man in every way. The relationship between man and God was based upon God's law and man's willingness to obey those laws.
"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" (Genesis 2:15-17)As laws go, this was a simple law to understand and to obey. With the numerous trees in the garden, man had freedom to freely eat. There was only one tree in the garden that man was forbidden to eat. From the outside, we could look at this law and wonder how it could be misapplied or misunderstood. God's law was simple to understand in relationship to man's obedience.
In Genesis chapter three we find how a simple law of God was made to be a law that was confusing and difficult to understand. The tragedy of this story is that it only took four words to take away the relationship between God and man:
"Has God indeed said?" The devil knew in order to persuade Eve to take of the fruit as forbidden by God, Eve would need to question the will of God. The approach taken by the devil was simple - question God!Following the devil's tempting of Eve to consider the simple command of God as too complex and challenging her to think for herself, she took of the fruit and ate and gave it to Adam and he ate. The devil had won the victory! Man now stood alone and apart from his God. Sin had gained the temporary victory and would for generations upon generations destroy the lives of millions of souls. Only by the victory in Jesus Christ can man now fully understand and overcome the sting of sin. But the story continues.
Today the devil is still inducing people to question the simple commands of God. In the word of God, the plan of salvation unfolds with the majesty and simplistic nature of God's divine word. Man needs to come to God and obey him. Satan whispers,
"Has God indeed said?" While most in the religious world agree in the need for hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) and seeking repentance (Luke 13:3) - coupled with the confession of the mouth (Romans 10:10) - few believe that one must be baptized to be saved.Satan has filled the hearts of so many today who teach the only thing a person needs to do is to accept Christ as their Savior and they are saved. Baptism is placed on the shelf as something good to do but not necessary. The Bible teaches in very simple tones the need of baptism for salvation. Baptism is the completion of one's obedience to Christ. In every case - every case of conversion in the gospel of Christ - every single person - every single person obeyed the law of God in baptism. There is not one example in all of the gospel of Christ where baptism is not shown as the completion of the law of God - and yet today men question God!
Multitudes of scripture teach the necessity of baptism for salvation. Nowhere in God's word does it teach that one is saved by faith alone. Never! And yet many people will hear the saddest words ever spoken to man - "Accept Christ as your personal Savior and you will be saved." These words are sad because if believed - and practiced - the final sad words will be given by Jesus himself when he says,
"I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:23)(Kent Heaton)
As the shadow of the cross hung heavy upon Christ, He prayed fervently for the work He had accomplished and the work He was about to do. The conclusion of His prayer is recorded in John 17 where Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples and for all believers. In the final words of His prayer, Christ prayed for the unity of all those who would believe on Him.
"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."
(John 17:20-23)The ones whom Jesus refers to as
"those who will believe in Me through their word" are all those who today seek to be united with Christ. For all who read the word of God and seek to follow the plan of redemption laid down by God - Jesus prayed "that they all my be one." The manner the world will be able to know that Jesus is the Christ is for the world to see that the believers of Jesus Christ are one. Christ prayed for the unity of all believers.The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and implored them to
"keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3) As a disciple of Jesus in the First Century, Paul understood the importance of unity in all those who seek to follow Christ. The importance of unity was paramount to the fulfillment of God's plan. Paul wrote: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6) The word ONE appears seven times in this passage. The unity of the Spirit is based upon the number ONE.In the religious world today, few would argue about the one Spirit, the one hope, our one Lord, the one faith and the one God. Some would argue about the one baptism. All would disagree about the one body. The
"body" Paul is speaking about is the "church." Ephesians 1:22-23 says, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the CHURCH, which is His BODY, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Emphasis mine)Can there be ONE church? Unity is based upon speaking the same thing.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10) Jesus prayed for all believers to be one! We should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. There is one body or one church. The one church must speak the same thing, be joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Is this the way the religious world is made up? Sadly, no!Jesus Christ prayed and died for one church. He said He would build His church - singular. He did not die for religious division as we have it today. Can man worship God as he chooses?
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12) Man says to worship the church of your choice - God says to worship the church His Son died for - the ONE church found in the pages of the New Testament. Can there be ONE church? The one church is one body made up with one head. The one body is not many churches but one church and only one church.(Kent Heaton)
Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23,24 -
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." From this we learn that God recognizes some worshipers to be "true" worshipers and others to be "false" worshippers. Those who are true worshipers will worship God according to two things: spirit and truth. These are the kinds of worshipers God seeks to worship him - those who will follow His pattern of authority and worship with spirit and truth.Worship to God is based upon authority. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18,
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." From this authority we understand the kind of music God desires from His people. In the New Testament church, the type of music authorized by God is found in 1 Corinthians 14:15 - "What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." Ephesians 5:18,19 "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Colossians 3:16,17 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."It is important to notice the only kind of music given by God in the New Testament is singing. God did prescribe various kinds of music for the Jews under the Law of Moses. Psalm 33:2 and Psalm 150 shows that God authorized the use of the harp, an instrument of ten strings, trumpet, lute, timbrel, dance, stringed instruments, flutes, loud cymbals and high sound cymbals as instruments of worship. However, since the Christian is under the Law of Christ and no longer under the Law of Moses (Colossians 2:14), these instruments cannot be used in worship today.
Many religious groups use a piano or an organ in worship. Is this true worship according to New Testament teaching? The only music prescribed by God in His word for Christians today is singing. Even the early church recognized this as the use of instruments of music was never used for nearly 600 years following the establishment of the church. Early religious leaders spoke out against the use of the piano and organ. Martin Luther (founder of the Lutheran church) "called the organ an ensign of Baal" [McClintock & Strong's Encyclopedia, Music Vol VI, p762). John Wesley (founder of Methodist church) said, "I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither herd nor seen." [Quoted in Adam Clarke's Commentary, Vol IV, p684) John Calvin (founder of Presbyterian church) said, "Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the Law. The Papists (Roman Catholic church), therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things from the Jews. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise; but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostles is far more pleasing to Him." [Commentary on Psalms 33] Charles Spurgeon (renowned Baptist who weekly preached to thousands in London's Metropolitan Tabernacle where no instruments of music were used) when asked why he did not use the organ in worship, gave 1 Corinthians 14:15 as his answer and remarked, "I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery."
Besides what these men may say, God prescribes that singing only be used in worship. True worshippers worship God in Spirit. True worshipers worship God in Truth. Using a piano or organ is neither.