The teachers of the Premillennial theory lift a multitude of “promise” passages from the Old Testament—passages which turn on promises and prophecies, many of which are figurative and poetical in nature—and without regard to context, they apply the passages to the future. These teachers refuse to observe how that in the events of history those Scripture references have long been fulfilled. Since their theory concerns the Jews, Canaan and Christ they have a distorted view of the Abrahamic promises and their fulfillment. Since so much of the Bible is taken up with the fulfillment of these promises, should they be found wrong here, their whole system will be found to be in error.

The National Promise
In Genesis, God promised Abraham, “And I will make of thee a great nation” (Gen. 12:2). This promise was renewed in several places (Gen. 13:16; Gen. 15:5). When God made this promise, Abraham » Continue reading “Have the Promises of Premillenialism been Fulfilled?”

It must be noted that it is next to impossible to give a definition to this term premillennialism which all millennial teachers would accept. There are various approaches made by different teachers of this theory, and each one professing to believe it will have some peculiar twist to it that others would repudiate. However, there are certain views which are so common among millennialists as to justify a general definition. It is fundamentally the idea that there will be a literal one thousand year period during which Jesus Christ shall return to this earth and reign in Jerusalem on David’s throne; the Jews will return to Palestine and Christ will rule over them in a material kingdom; this thousand years stands between the second coming of Christ and the final judgment of all. The prefix “pre” means we are living before that time. The suffix “ism” means this idea has been crystallized into a dogma.

This doctrine is extremely popular with nearly every denomination or sect holding to some form » Continue reading “What is the Doctrine of Premillennialism?”

Millions of dollars are being spent to build/support student centers, church lodges, swimming pools, fishing ponds, youth retreats, homes for unwed mothers, hospitals, recreation youth centers, gymnasiums; sponsoring talent shows, youth banquets, boy scout troops; or support colleges and other institutions for various reasons from the church treasuries.

Are such things really the work of the church? Where is the Biblical authority for supporting such works? Surely the Lord’s church needs to be hard at work, but at God’s work, not man’s. What is the work of the church?

The apostle Paul revealed the work of the church in writing to the Ephesian brethren: » Continue reading “What Is The Work Of The Church?”

As we continue to explore the avenues of Christian worship, we come to the act of giving. Along with praying, the Lord’s Supper, reading and preaching the Word of God, and singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, giving is an act of worship. It is God’s will that Christians return a portion of that which He has given to each and every one of us as a free will offering. God has always asked His people to freely give of their means in the form of an offering:

Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. — Exodus 25:2 NAS

The responsibility of giving is still required of God’s people. Paul told the Christians at Corinth: » Continue reading “How Should The Church Raise Money?”

Contributing to the misunderstandings relative to the Lord’s Supper is the doctrine of transubstantiation. This doctrine holds that, when blessed by the priest, the bread becomes the physical body of Christ and the cup becomes the literal blood of our Savior—though the outward appearance of the bread and the fruit of the vine remain unchanged. This is an unobservable change in the substance of the communion elements according to Roman Catholic dogma. Their words “Eucharist” and “sacrament” are terms not found in the New Testament.

The Roman Catholic Church introduced this doctrine of transubstantiation about a thousand years after Christ established His church. In the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Sess. XIII, this doctrine is set forth: » Continue reading “What Is The Doctrine Of Transubstantiation?”

In recent years, people have been advocating the partaking of the Lord’s Supper on any day of the week. Some churches have partaken of it only three or four times a year. It is only natural that this question would arise by those who sincerely want to know what the Bible teaches regarding this subject.

When one considers everything the Bible has to say about the Lord’s Supper, you will find no statement, example or implication that saints in apostolic times observed the communion on any day other than “the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7). By that same token, you will find no Bible authority for New Testament Christians living to observe the communion on any day other than “the first day of week.”

According to the New Testament, the early Christians met on the first day of each week, the Lord’s Day, and observed the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Spirit, through Luke, stated, » Continue reading “When Is the Lord’s Supper To Be Served?”

The great importance of the Lord’s Supper can be seen by the fact that Christ Himself instituted the Supper. On the night of His betrayal and after celebrating the Passover we read:

And while they were eating, Jesus took {some} bread, and after a blessing, He broke {it} and gave {it} to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave {it} to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. –Matt 26:26-28 NAS

The bread, representing the Lord’s body, and the cup, representing His » Continue reading “Is The Partaking Of The Lord’s Supper Important?”

One of the first impressions obtained by a visitor to our services today is the fact that mechanical instruments are conspicuous by their absence. Being so commonly used in churches of today, the fact that we do not use mechanical instruments of music causes surprise and wonder on the part of many and not infrequently the question is raised, “Why do churches of Christ refuse the use of instruments of music in worship?”

Essential to a proper understanding of this matter are two very important questions: First, “What is the purpose of our worship anyway?” The Scriptures are crystal clear that our worship must be for the purpose of pleasing our Heavenly Father, inasmuch as that is the design and end of all of our worship. Jesus said, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and » Continue reading “Did The First Century Church Use Instrumental Music In Worship?”

From the time “the morning stars sang together” at creation, and “all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7), to the song of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 14:1-5), singing is given great emphasis in the Bible.

Christianity is the religion of song. Ours is a courageous, victorious, singing faith. The privilege of singing praise unto God is part of a wonderful heritage—one of the grand blessings God gave His people. Singing has been a powerful force through the centuries. Our singing probably expresses and reveals our faith as truly as anything we do.

The divine motivation of singing is expressed and enjoined in the Scriptures: » Continue reading “Why Do We Sing In Worship?”

As the church was established in Acts the second chapter we read of the Christians worshiping in harmony with God’s will. We read that, “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 NAS). Among the acts of worship mentioned is “prayer.”

Unfortunately there are many in our modern world that refuse to believe that God hears and answers prayers. These skeptics consider prayer a delusion. Even among Christians there are many who do not make use of prayer as God intended. With them prayer is often infrequent and ineffective. While they say they believe in prayer, they act as if they do not. Perhaps this is because they have never been » Continue reading “Is Prayer An Essential Requirement In Worship?”