From the Pen of Paul. . .

Can A Child of God Be Lost?

Note: Here are the notes from my lesson on Sunday night, September 6, that I didn't have time to include.

1. There are 21 books in the New Testament written to Christians encouraging and exhorting them to be faithful. If the child of God cannot fall, then why these books?
2. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). Ezekiel 18:20 declares that "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Unless it is impossible for one to sin, then a child of God's soul can "die" if it sins.
3. To say that one cannot fall from grace is the devil's doctrine. He first taught it in the Garden of Eden to Eve. You can read about it in Genesis 3:1-4. The devil's ministers (II Cor. 11:13-15) are still teaching his doctrine today. It was false when first taught in the Garden; and it is still false today!
4. In order to prevent our souls from seeing death, we must keep the saying of Jesus: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Notice the word "if" which implies that the opposite is true for one who does not keep the saying of Jesus.
5. Christians are told, "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die" (Rom. 8:13).
6. Paul stated that even he had to be careful or he too would be lost. "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (I Cor. 9:27). The margin reads "lest I be rejected." Obviously, if a Christian so lives as to be "a castaway" and thus "rejected" of God, he is lost.
7. In I Corinthians 10:12, Paul warned, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." No need for such a warning unless the possibility of falling really exists.
8. In I Corinthians 11:29, believers are condemned by partaking the Supper "unworthily, not discerning the Lord's body." Paul says such a believer "eateth and drinketh damnation to himself."
9. If man cannot fall from grace, then Christ will not return. Paul, showing that Christ's return was not at hand, stated, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there be a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." (II Thess. 2:3).
10. Willful sin is destructive for the Christian (Heb. 10:26).
11. In II Peter 1:10, Peter mentions "never fall". But never falling for the Christian is based upon an important "if"; "for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." What happens "if" ye do not do these things? Isn't it obvious?
12. II Peter 2:20-21: "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandments delivered them." Notice the tenses. This passage of Scripture falls into the "evident" category that we have been writing about for the past three weeks.
13. I John 2:24: "If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall also continue in the Son, and in the Father." Notice again the conditional "if". If that which was heard from the beginning does not abide in the believer, then he does not continue in the Son and the Father. And since "all spiritual blessings" are "in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 1:3), to not continue "in" the Son means that one is lost.
14. The case of Simon in Acts 8. He "believed, and was baptized" (Acts 8:13). Jesus said that when a person does this he is saved (Mark 16:16). Thus, Simon was a saved man. We then read of his sin in attempting to buy the gift of God with money. He was instructed to "Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee" (Acts 8:17-22).
15. God has a book of life (Phil. 4:3). God will blot some out of the book of life (Exod. 32:33). If not in the book of life, cast into "the lake of fire" (John 20:15).

We have run out of space, but I believe that any honest person who studies these verses carefully will come to the right conclusion.
—Paul M. Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

When Did the Church of Christ Start?

"When did the Church of Christ start? Some say it was started in the 1800s by Alexander Campbell."

The church of Christ started on the first Pentecost day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything in the Bible before this Pentecost day pointed ahead and everything after this Pentecost day pointed back to the church. In other words, everything before the first Pentecost day after the resurrection of Jesus said the church was to come, but after this Pentecost day said the church was in existence.

Within six months of the cross Christ said he would build His church (Matt. 16:18). Please notice that it was in the future. "I will build my church." A little child knows that "will" is future tense. Tell a child, "We will go get some candy" and he will understand that it is in the future tense even though he is only two or three years of age. Jesus said before the cross he "would build his church" (Matt. 16:18); and there are those who say it was already in existence. These people say John the Baptist started Jesus' church.

Mark said that the church, or kingdom, would be established within the lifetime of some standing by (Mark 9:1). If the kingdom has not come, as some contend, then we have some people somewhere that are over 2,000 years old. Of course, it is absurd and ridiculous to think that such is the case. The church is spoken of as being in existence for the first time in Acts 2:47. People were added to it daily. After Acts chapter 2 the church is always spoken of as being in existence. Always before Acts 2 the church was to come or be established, but after Acts 2 it is always spoken of as being in existence. The church is mentioned over 100 times after Acts 2, and in many of those places it is obvious that it was in existence then and there.

There was a great falling away that started about 70 A.D. This falling away went so far that it did not resemble the church that Christ started on Pentecost day. Before Alexander Campbell came to America the church of Christ was already established in America. Campbell became a member of the church of Christ and did much to spread the news about it in this country. Campbell, even though a great scholar and thinker, missed some truth and did not understand the biblical way in some things.

My faith and the faith of many in the church of Christ did not start with Alexander Campbell nor any other uninspired man. If anyone can show me where I have based my faith on Alexander Campbell or any person other than Christ and His Word, then, I will gladly give up the church of Christ. If anyone can prove to me that the church of Christ is nothing more than a manmade institution, then I am ready to change. If anyone can prove to me that the church of Christ started later than the day of Pentecost, then I am ready to give it up.

Every true church of Christ was started by Jesus. Every true church of Christ follows the Bible and the Bible only. Every true church of Christ has the Lord's Supper each first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Every true church of Christ has only vocal music (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16-17). Every true church of Christ stands up for truth (I Tim. 3:15). Every true church of Christ stays separated from the world (I John 2:15-17; James 4:4).

In some cases some churches of Christ have let the gap down and one cannot tell them from the rest of the world. Some are ashamed of Jesus and his church. They are ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16-17). Some compromise the truth and give a distorted view of the people of God. Unless they repent they will burn in a devil's hell for these things (Rev. 21:8; Matt. 25:31-46).

All the faithful people of God are open with the truth. They tell people what the Lord says. They stand up for their convictions. God is displeased with church members that apologize for the teachings of the Bible! I am so happy and thankful to be a member of the Lord's church!
—Malcolm L. Hill