flynn034

Where Differences are Allowed and Where they are not Allowed   Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak,...

  When you read John 3:16, you hear God say this:   “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”   When you read Acts 2:38-39, you hear /God say this:   And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”   So in one place, Jesus says that whoever believes should have eternal life, while in the other place, Jesus’ apostle says that God forgives the sins of everyone whom the Lord calls to Himself through repentance and baptism.   What is going on here? Which one do we listen to?   The gospel of John shows what Jesus told people while he was with them on earth 2000 years ago.   The Book of ...

The Church of Christ: Nondenominational 1 Corinthians 1:10-13     Our fundamental thesis is that the New Testament condemns division and denominationalism is, by definition, division. Therefore, the church of Jesus Christ is not and cannot be divided into denominations. The church of Jesus Christ in Corinth was having some problems of division among them. Let’s take a look at Paul’s words to the church at Corinth in 1 Cor 1:10-13.     What do we learn from this text?     1.) We are all to “agree.”     2.) There are to be “no divisions” among Christians. That’s clear enough, isn’t it? There are to be no “denominations” among Christians (cf. Rom 16:17). The word translated “dissensions” here means “division into opposing groups, generally two - ‘division, discord.’”     3.) We are to be “made complete” in the...

Many people ask this very question. It comes from a sincere desire to read and understand the Bible - just as God intended - for God did not give us an unintelligible book. He knows we can understand His word, and He gave us that word to comprehend. However, the Bible is a book which must be "rightly divided' as Paul said to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:15). One must study the Bible in order to properly discern its teachings. Timothy was commanded to study and read the Scriptures (1 Tim. 4:13). The fact that he was so commanded means that it was possible for his study to be productive and useful. As Christians, Peter exhorts us to add knowledge to our faith (2 Pet. 1:5). If we achieve this knowledge, it will come through study of God's word. No one will be miraculously endowed with scriptural knowledge in our generation. If Bible study is to be profitable to us, we must make the proper approach to Scripture. Bible reading is different than reading the newspaper or a novel. Following ...

He Went on His Way Rejoicing   Rob Davis suffered with cerebral palsy, but he made the most of his life.  After the death of his father, Rob moved into a facility operated by Rainbow Omega, a faith-based nonprofit that cares for adults with developmental disabilities.  Rob died in 2010 after a brief illness.  His mother, Dottie Glenn Travis, recounts his life in her 2017 memoir, “R-O-B spells Joy!”  In her memoir, she recounts the day when Rob became a Christian:   In June of 1968, the Churches of Christ in Denver were having a joint campaign in the downtown civic center.  We went each night.  People were responding and being immersed in a portable baptistery.  Rob sat in his wheelchair.  Every night he tugged on his dad’s coat, pointing to the front, indicating that he want to respond to the invitation.   At the last service, he was so persistent that Bob finally whispered to him, “After the meeting, we will...

The Spann of His Life   Joey Spann, minister of the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, TN, thought he was going to die.   Spann was one of the shooting victims when a masked man firing a gun entered the Burnette Chapel church building on Sunday morning after worship services on September 24, 2017.  The gunman killed one church member and injured seven others, including Spann and his wife.   Spann tried to stop the shooter as he entered the building.  He threw a wooden crate at the man and ran toward him, but Spann collapsed.  He had been shot.   "He shot me in the chest and shot again and shot again.  I heard the bullet go by my head.  Another one tore my hand up," Spann said.  "I just continued to cross the vestibule and fell down on the other side of it."   He thought he was going to die.   So he prayed.  He didn’t pray, Holly Meyer reports, to be saved by the church members who applie...

Water Baptism       In a juvenile jail class I was once asked the question, "What does baptism have to do with salvation from sin? Isn't baptism just a bunch of water?" That was a sincere question which demands a Biblical answer!      Yes, baptism involves enough water to immerse the believer. John the Baptist baptized his converts “in Aenon near Salim because there was much water there” (Jn. 3:23). “Much water” is needed for one to be "buried with Him (Jesus) into death" (Rom. 6:4). The rich meaning of water baptism is that it is a beautiful reenactment of faith in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. Jesus died for our sins. Through repentance we choose to die to the practice of sin. As He was buried, “we were buried with Him through baptism into death" (Rom. 6:4). As He was raised from the dead, our old man of sin was raised with Him from a watery grave to walk "in newness of li...

The Train Story   In the 1960s, Vienna, Austria and Communist-occupied Budapest, Hungary were worlds apart, separated by the Iron Curtain.  Vienna was basking in the new freedom of liberation from Nazi domination; Budapest was suffocating under Russian occupation.   Ivan Martos, however, was like a breath of fresh air in Budapest when Lynn Camp and a co-worker visited there, seeking people who professed faith in Christ.  Camp describes Martos as “one the friendliest and happiest, most positive and enthusiastic of God’s creatures.”  Martos worked as an officer of the National Bank of Hungary.  Because of his position, he would travel to Vienna twice a year to attend banking conferences.  These trips enabled Martos to visit with Camp and other Christians regularly.   It was during one of those summer trips that when Martos got off the train in Vienna, Camp immediately knew something was wrong.  “Before we could even leav...