“CHRISTIAN” NOUN or ADJECTIVE?

The word “christian” has come to be used in the religious realm as an attachment to any and every thing that is desired of a person as their justification for that particular religious activity. Today, we read of ‘christian’ ministries, ‘christian’ fellowship, ‘christian’ schools, ‘christian’ weight-loss centers, etc. Even the media’s use of the word evidences this. Any activity or endeavor that is religious in nature is identified as such by calling it a ‘christian’ ______________.

However, Biblical usage proves these modern-day concepts to be in error, reflecting the attitude that prevails in religion – great zeal for God, but void of Bible knowledge (Romans 10:1-3). The word means to be ‘like Christ’. The root word is ‘Christ’ and the suffix, ‘ian’ means ‘like’ or ‘pertaining to’. Thus, the suffix ‘ian’ attached to the root word Christ simply means ‘like’ or ‘pertaining to’ Christ. The word ‘Christian’ is never used in scripture as an adjective. It is always a noun. The term is found 3 times in our Bible and all in the New Testament:

·         - Acts 11:26 – “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.”

·        -  Acts 26:28 – “Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian’?"

·       - 1 Peter 4:16 – “If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”

The prophet Isaiah had prophesied of the time when whoever would ‘join himself to Jehovah’ and ‘keep His covenant’, would be given “an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:5). Matthew quoted Isaiah’s prophecy that justice would be proclaimed to the Gentiles (Matthew 12:18 with Isaiah 42:1-3). The apostle Paul cited Isaiah’s prophecy of the time when Gentiles would hope in Jesus in Romans 15:12 (cf. Isaiah 11:10).

This name for God’s people would be given AFTER, not BEFORE Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the Gentiles. This explains why the Jews who were converted to Jesus in Acts 2 were NOT called Christians, for this name was connected with the Gentiles by Isaiah. Until Gentiles had God’s justice proclaimed to them, they had no hope (Ephesians 2:11-12). Their hope could not exist prior to their salvation (which was also true of Jews). AFTER Gentiles had been converted, THEN disciples were called Christians (Acts 11:26).

Faith (Hebrews 11:6) – While faith in God and in His word had been commanded prior to Jesus; the faith that is associated with the new birth (John 3:3-5), pertains to something that is to be believed uniquely about Jesus. Specifically, there must be faith in the power of His blood. His blood was shed for the atonement of all humanity’s sins. The blood of animal sacrifices was never understood to be for the remission of sins (Hebrews 10:1-10).

Repentance (Acts 17:30-31) – Repentance was demanded of God’s covenant people Israel in the Old Testament era, but now the purpose for repentance is linked to Jesus. God now commands all men (Jew & Gentile) to repent in order to enter a covenant relationship with Him. We read that God, “…hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness BY join them THAT MAN WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED (JESUS); whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raise HIM from the dead.”

Confession (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-11) – While acknowledgment of God has always been man’s duty; NOW, acknowledgment that God hath made Jesus both Lord and Christ must be confessed, not only by the “house of Israel”, but by “every tongue”. The reason—God has “…highly exalted HIM (JESUS), and given HIM (JESUS) a name which is above every name…”. Jesus is to be confessed as “Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 

Baptism (Romans 6:3-5; 17-18) – We are baptized into Jesus through immersion into His DEATH. We were buried…with him through baptism unto death…if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection…whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness. It is AFTER this obedience to this FORM OF DOCTRINE that freedom from sin occurs for both Jews and Gentiles. 

We read in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

The term Christian is NOT to be used to justify what we desire to offer to God, but properly it defines for us ONLY the things that Christ exemplified in His life. By this we can know what activities are acceptable for us to follow. A Christian seeks to be like-Christ in all aspects of his life. Individually and collectively, we are obedient to Him as He was obedient to His heavenly Father. Thus, the matter is determined by God; not man.

6/25/22

UNDERSTANDING: “ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD”

 “Let my cry come near before thee, O Jehovah: give me understanding according to Thy word.” (Psalm 119:169).

Understanding can be deceiving. To be of benefit, our understanding needs to be as is stated at the end of the verse above… “ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD”. This was the plea of the author. In this psalm there are utterances of respect held toward it; reasons why such respect exists; and the many benefits of honoring and obeying God’s word. So also, there are many hymns that we sing which are similar pleas for understanding “according to Thy word”. One such hymn is titled: LOVED ONES (#499 – HYMNS FOR WORSHIP). It mentions four areas in which understanding according to God’s viewpoint is much needed.

UNDERSTANDING PAIN: “O Lord, help me maintain, an understanding heart; so I can overcome the pain, when those I loved depart.” (Stanza 1)

An understanding heart is something to be maintained. God’s help is necessary. The wisdom needed comes from the Bible. We must pray for strength in our commitment to follow God’s will (John 7:17). We must study with an open mind, seeking to apply the will of God to our life that we may be an example for others to follow. God’s word is clear as to why pain and death exist. The good news is, both can be endured and overcome by faith and obedience to Christ (1 John 5:4-5; Revelation 2:7, 11).

The ‘loved ones’ in this hymn are referring to brethren in Christ. While there are similarities in the pains experienced in a physical family, the message applies to God’s spiritual family, the church. The ‘departure’ described here is not of physical family relocating. The parting of brethren can be for the sake of the gospel (Acts 20:36-38); or because of differences (Acts 15:37-39). Certainly, it would apply in the dissolution of a marriage as it could be for the right or the wrong reasons. 

UNDERSTANDING PARTING: “Lord, help me understand, that loved ones move away; but carry into future lands, Thy word, learned yesterday.” (Stanza 2)

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). What a joy it is when parents have taught their children the fear of the Lord and the children have yielded to their teaching “as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1-4). The blessing and responsibility of a parent is to prepare the child for eternity. Then when the child “leaves and cleaves”, it is a joy, knowing that the gospel will be spread by their lives wherever they move. This follows the example of those in Acts 8:4 who “went everywhere, preaching the word”. Again, when parting is for the sake of spreading the gospel, brethren understand why it is needful and support the sacrifices made by each other.

UNDERSTANDING FAILURE: “Help me remember, Lord, when loved ones fail in sin; with kindness, they can be restored, and feel Thy love again.” (Stanza 3)

We’ve all failed (Romans 3:23). We need to understand that those who come after us will also fail. It is especially hard when family members fail. It must be dealt with. It is hard to be kind when rebuke is needed. We need to realize that the only hope for the transgressor is God. He desires the salvation of all (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). When a child fails, the parents often feel that they too failed in their responsibility. It is a severe trial of faith in having to choose between God and the loved one. Jesus has told us, “…a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37-37). Brethren also fail. Jesus also taught us through the apostle Paul that with kindness, restoration of the joy of salvation is possible (Psalm 51:12; Galatians 6:1).

UNDERSTANDING DEATH: “And Father, comfort me, when loved ones pass away; remind me, Lord, Thy children see, their love another day.” (Stanza 4)

This last stanza helps us to see why the ‘loved ones’ are referring to spiritual family rather than physical family. “Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15). Parting is but for a while when a child of God undergoes physical death. God has reminded His children that they will see their love another day. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

6/19/22

“BUT THE BIBLE SAYS ‘THIS’…”

We can’t take one verse from the bible and say it is the whole truth.  The bible gives many verses pertaining to the same subject so that it can be understood in its entirety.  For instance, reading Numbers 14:23-24 without regard for any other verses, would lead one to believe that Caleb would be the only person to inherit the promise land.  However, from Numbers 14:29-31 we can see the full picture: “The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.”  

A common verse used to justify social drinking in today’s society is John 2:6-10, where Jesus turned water into wine. However, in Proverbs 23:30-32 we read “Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper.” This passage talks about fermented (when it sparkles) wine as something to stay away from.  In addition, from 1 Peter 4:1-3, we can see that the Bible clearly distinguishes between the terms ‘drunkenness’ and ‘drinking parties’ thereby showing us that social drinking is just as sinful as drunkenness.

Prayer is one of the many duties of a Christian. This duty that has become increasingly idle in many people’s lives, while other people misuse the act of prayer for greed or personal gain. But are those prayers heard?  Many people turn to Matthew 21:21-22, which reads  “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”  Many people make the argument that if you believe, then all you need to do is just ask and it shall be done.  Is that correct?  In John 9:28-33, we read “Then they reviled him and said, ‘You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from’. The man answered and said to them, ‘Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing’.”

If God doesn’t hear sinners, then how is their prayer going to save them?  We read in Acts 10 about a man named Cornelius, of whom it is written that he was a devout, God-fearing man. He was a praying man, yet he was still in his sins.  Acts 10:3-4 reads, “About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, lord?’  So he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God’.”  How is it then that God heard his prayers?  God knows the hearts of men – Cornelius wasn’t saying a sinners’ prayer for his salvation, he was worshipping God (though incorrectly) so a means was sent to him to make things right with God.  Cornelius sent for Peter as he was instructed, and then heard the word preached.  As a result, he and his house were converted the only way the Bible says one can be saved – Acts 10:48, “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”

David Wayne Hankins 
6/10/22