“LITTLE MATTERS”

NOTE: The following article was written by Benjamin Franklin. This Benjamin Franklin (1812-1878) was a descendant in the fourth generation from the brother of the statesman and philosopher, Benjamin Franklin. He became a gospel preacher and preached during the time of the Restoration Movement.

It may seem strange that a human body, weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, would be disturbed by a little thorn in it, not an eighth of an inch long! But, strange as it may appear, it is a fact. And you cannot accustom the body to it by piercing the thorn in deeper and deeper, till the body will become easy and comfortable; but you can in that way produce irritation, then inflammation, then mortification, and then death. Death has been produced in this way many times. He is no friend to the body who continues to push the thorn in deeper and deeper, nor is he who would excuse him in so doing, or encourage him in it. There is but one remedy, and that is to remove the thorn. Even if you have to make the wound much larger than it is, the thorn must be removed, or the end will be death.

There are cases in which a thorn might be pierced into the flesh an inch, and produce no pain or irritation; but they are cases where there is no life in the flesh. A thorn pierced into a dead body will produce no pain or irritation. A dead body has no power to resist it, and will make no effort. This is the reason precisely that a thorn produces no irritation or pain when pierced into certain bodies. They are dead bodies. It is no indication that the body is not alive and in healthy condition, to find it resisting foreign matter, and making an effort to remove obstructions; but when it cannot do this, the body must die. It cannot live and the obstruction remain, at least, only for a short time. But who will permit even a little thorn to remain in his flesh? We care not how little it may be; it is foreign, it is irritating, and, unless removed, will produce death.

It was a little thing for Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. Thomas Paine inquired, “What harm was there in eating an apple?” This is the watchword with all the unlawful things that people desire to do. “What harm is it?” When we worship according to Scripture we never inquire, “What harm is it?” It is not in doubt, and calls out no such inquiry. It is not under any suspicion. To worship according to Scripture is manifestly right. Why should we lag in anything in doubt, under suspicion, and repulsive to any portion of the body, when we have a divinely-prescribed worship held in no doubt?

It was a little thing for Achan to take a Babylonish garment, some silver, and a wedge of gold, and secrete them in his tent; but when he came to confess, it was not a little matter (Joshua 7:19-26). It was a little matter for Uzza to “put forth his hand to hold the ark;” but he fell dead on account of it (1 Chronicles 13:9). What became of them who offered strange fire on God's altar? “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” (Leviticus 10:1-2). That was a little matter; only slightly tampering with the worship; simply introducing a new element, which the Lord commanded them not, or did not command them. It is a fearful thing to tamper with the worship.

In one word: If “every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward” in God's dealings with men in former ages, “how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:2-3)? If God allowed no departures in the typical worship, why should we assume that he will permit it in the worship typified? If everything had to be done according to the patterns given to Moses in the typical dispensation, how can any man infer that we may depart from the substance? We had better take heed now. We may not add anything, nor take any away from what the Lord gave. We may not preach any other gospel, or even pervert the gospel of Christ.

Some of the little matters now among us will be found sufficient to stop the ark of God, and cause more than three thousand to be defeated. If Moses were to address some of our men, he would say to them, as he did to Aaron, “What hath this people done to thee that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?” or as Joshua said to Achan: “Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day.” Let us hear and live.

12/26/21

“AND THE DISCIPLES WERE CALLED…”

He was born in Kelvedon, Essex, to a family of clerics. His father and grandfather were Nonconformist ministers (meaning they weren’t Anglicans). At age 15, he broke with family tradition by becoming a Baptist. He attributed this conversion to a sermon heard by “chance”—when a snowstorm blew him away from his destination into a Primitive Methodist chapel. The experience forced him to re-evaluate his idea on, among other things, infant baptism. Within four months he was baptized and joined a Baptist church.

His theology, however, remained more or less Calvinist, though he liked to think of himself as a “mere Christian”. “I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist”, he once said. “I DO NOT HESITATE TO TAKE THE NAME OF BAPTIST, BUT IF I AM ASKED WHAT IS MY CREED, I REPLY, ‘IT IS JESUS CHRIST’.”

Later on, he would write: “I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let Christ’s name last forever. I look forward with pleasure, to the day when there will not be a Baptist living. I hope they will soon be gone. I HOPE THE BAPTIST NAME WILL SOON PERISH; BUT LET CHRIST’S NAME ENDURE FOREVER.”

Who was this individual? It was Charles Spurgeon. The question for your consideration is this: “Was Mr. Spurgeon right in the initial statement about the Baptist name; or the latter statement? (Quote is from Spurgeon Memorial Library, Vol. 1, page 168).

“And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).

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12/11/21

THOUGHTS ON OUR WORSHIP

Moses told the children of Israel these words regarding their worship when they would live in the land of Canaan: “These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. YOU SHALL NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THAT WAY.” (Deuteronomy 12:1-4).

There are a number of lessons we can take from this story. We find that it DOES matter HOW God is worshiped. In the second place, we see from the worship of the Canaanites that worship can be wrong! God gave instructions to Cain and Abel, to Noah, and to Abraham regarding how He was to be worshiped. The Law of Moses had instructions for the nation of Israel to follow in their worship. Likewise God has given instructions in the New Testament as to HOW He is to be worshiped, specifically, WHAT acts of worship to render, and HOW to render those acts. While worship commands have changed down through time, one constant has remained: obedience to what God commanded.

This helps us to understand why the Lord’s death is to be observed as well as how often the Lord’s Supper is to be observed. It is why we don’t assemble on Saturday, but rather on Sunday; why animal sacrifices are NOT offered today, whereas they were commanded under the Law of Moses. This also explains other changes in worship today that differs from the worship under the Law of Moses, such as the use of instruments and dancing (Psalm 150:3-4 versus Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), along with the place of worship (John 4:20-24).

Jesus also pointed out how worship can be in vain because of error in the message. This is seen from His words in Matthew 15:8-9: “...in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Let us remember and learn why Moses gave the warning, “YOU SHALL NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THAT WAY.”

God hasn’t left worship up to us, to decide and do as WE please. Let us respect HIS will in the matter of worship, and the spiritual blessings in Christ are ours to be enjoyed, chief of which is the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:3, 7).

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12/11/21

“THANKFUL WORSHIP”

So many of the hymns we sing are about blessings. “Count your Blessings”, “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, “Blessed Assurance”, “Amazing Grace”, “The Love of God”, and “Come Ye Thankful People, Come” are just a few such hymns.

This past week the national holiday of Thanksgiving was observed. Thanksgiving is special and unique for those who have responded to the gospel call. Being born anew (John 3:3-5), is in itself a blessing of blessings. Our worship is to be performed with thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15). Thanksgiving is a part of our prayers (1 Corinthians 14:16; 1 Timothy 2:1). Our contributions to the gospel cause are to be with thankfulness (2 Corinthians 9:7). We abound with thanks every Sunday as we observe the Lord’s Supper because of redemption and forgiveness we have by his body and his blood (Colossians 1:14). Our fellowship with God and one another is made possible by the preaching of the gospel for which we abound with thanksgiving (Philippians 1:5; 4:15).

Although other passages could be added to these, all of them would fit the summation made by the apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:3-4: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”. For these, all who are in Christ are blessed above and beyond all others.

In view of these promises mentioned by Peter, how might God’s people thank God for them? The prophet Micah asked this same question years ago when he wrote, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?” (Micah 6:6). God’s answer has resounded throughout scripture. It needs proclaimed again and again by his people today: “GOD HAS TOLD YOU O MAN!” Micah goes on to say, “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? The voice of the Lord cries to the city—and it is sound wisdom to fear your name. Hear the rod and of him who appointed it!” (Micah 6:6-8). In all these things which God has told us lay two paths. They are called “the way of life and the way of death” (Jeremiah 21:8); and “life and prosperity or death and adversity” (Deuteronomy 30:15). We need to choose the path of life as we thank God for His blessings, for we can follow a path of death if we don’t do as God has told us. It may seem strange that our expressions of thanksgiving could actually be sinful, but that is exactly what God has “told us” in His word. We exercise wisdom when we thank Him as He has ordained. 

We find from Romans 1:21 that in being UN-thankful, we fail to glorify God. We also fail to glorify God when we disregard what God has declared about expressing thanksgiving. As this relates to worship, many disregard God’s instructions on assembling. The rationale is that “I can worship God in my own way or on my own”. It needs to be remembered that God has decreed that His people come together to give Him thanks. This is why we read of the solemn assemblies of the children of Israel under the Law (cf. Leviticus 23:36; Numbers 29:35; Deuteronomy 16:8). God commanded His people to come together for worship!

In the psalms we find repeated mention of God’s people assembling:

~ “I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.” (Psalm 66:13-14).

 ~ “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:1-2).

~ “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4).

God has ordained for the church to assemble for worship today. We find examples of the church assembling in the New Testament: (1 Corinthians 11:17-18, 24, 33; 14:23, 26; Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). The singing we read of in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 cannot teach and admonish one another apart from being assembled together. This why we find in Hebrews 10:25 these words: “…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Let us express our thankfulness to God in the greatest way possible: doing what the Lord requires.

12/5/21

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