A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 2 NO. 20                                             July 3, 2005

CLARITY OF TEACHING!

An article by Bobby L. Graham

The Bible itself is clear in its teaching, leaving no doubt about our responsibilities to God.  The reason for such clarity is the nature of God's will:  it is divine revelation, designed to make manifest the things of the Lord for the benefit of man (I Cor. 2:5ff; Eph. 3:1ff).  The Lord has not left us wondering or guessing about the path of acceptable service. Truth is narrow, demanding, and precise in its very nature, whether the field of geography, mathematics or Biblical truth.

Those teaching Biblical truth must be sure they teach truth, not their ideas, opinions, or ways.  When they teach truth, they ought to do so in love, kindness, and genuine concern for souls.  These motivations and manners in teaching will also demand that they teach it clearly, so that all present might understand.  Too often teachers leave their students in the fog of wonderment or the haze of confusion.  This should never happen.  Truth is too important, souls to precious, and eternity too real for teachers to approach their task haphazardly.  They do nobody a favor by failing to tell them what God wants them to know and to do; they deny them the word of life found in God's Book and endanger all souls involved-teacher and taught souls.

It is easy for teachers to allow clarity to become the excuse for hateful words, just as it is easy for them to claim love as their reason for withholding truth.  The truth is that love will never withhold any needed truth, just as truth will never countenance any vestige of hate in teaching of truth (II Timothy 2:24-26).

Those listening to Jesus and the apostles might have gone away not accepting their teaching, but they never had to wonder what they had taught or their motive in teaching it.  All Bible teachers and preachers must strive for the same objective.

“Some of our preachers are so vague; some times they are months trying to get the people to understand what they meant and what they didn't mean.  There is no necessity for this.  What the Bible teaches on any subject may be so presented that the people will understand it-cannot help but understand it.”  So wrote F.G. Allen in 1879.  N.B. Hardeman used to say that he believed a preacher ought to be able to answer a Bible question about matters of salvation on a postcard and still have enough space to tell Aunt Mary and Uncle Johnny hello.  When teachers teach with question marks instead of exclamation marks, they need to go back to the Bible to learn again what they need to know so they can teach it!

THE PERILS OF SUMMER!!!

BY STEVE NIEMEIER

The dog days of summer are just around the corner!  This is a time of year that finds us very busy.  Whether it is activities of our children, family vacations, and yard work or just enjoying family reunions, this time of the year puts a strain on our time.  For some reason we become a bit more vulnerable to Satan during the summer.  Whether it is the temptation to dress like the world or participate in the activities of the world, we seem to be willing to “loosen” our values in the summertime.  Satan is aware of this and seems to lurk around every corner to tempt us.  We need to be aware of this and stay on guard!  May we all have a safe summer, not only physically but also spiritually!  Please be careful as Satan is targeting you!!!