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The Church in Crisis

By Edward O. Bragwell, Sr.
The Reflector - June 2008

I have a sermon titled “Crises in the Jerusalem Church” that I preach from time to time. It is based on notes that I took on a sermon I heard brother Clinton Hamilton preach many years ago. It points to several crises faced by the first congregation of Christians ever. The purpose of that sermon is threefold: 1) to show that even the Lord’s church under the personal guidance of the apostles had problems and 2) churches of Christ in every generation have had problems to solve and overcome and 3) that by studying how Jerusalem weathered its crises we can learn to deal with the crises as they come to churches today.

A study of church history, from its beginning until the present will reveal that the Lord’s church has never flourished for any extended length of time without facing a serious crisis. The results of each major crisis has been that a large segment of brethren (individuals and congregations) have gone into apostasy. At times apostasy has been so widespread that the New Testament church has all but disappeared from the radar screen of recorded history for many years.  Entire Article

From previous issues...

The Bible and Fulfilled Prophecy

(This continues excerpts from an article by Allan Turner in which he examines the proofs that the Bible must be from God because of its pre-knowledge of scientific facts only recently discovered by the field of science. In this installment, he turns to fulfilled prophecy as another powerful proof of the divine origin of the Bible.)

Fulfilled prophecy is another powerful proof that the Bible is what it claims to be. Many years before historical events occurred, the Bible was giving rather detailed accounts of these distant events. In the space that follows, we will examine some of these.


Prophecies About Christ
Henry Liddon is credited with the statement that there are 332 prophecies fulfilled in Christ. The mathematical probability that all of these could be fulfilled in one person by sheer chance alone has been calculated to be the number 84 followed by 123 zeros. Some have suggested that Jesus knew of the prophecies and simply went about the task of fulfilling them. The nonsense of such thinking is absolutely overwhelming when one considers the fact that a “mere-man Jesus” would have no ability to manipulate where he would be born (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6). This prophecy was made at least 700 years before the birth of Jesus. In addition, there are many prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled by His enemies, who would not knowingly fulfill a single verse of Scripture about Him:  Entire Article

The Bible and Scientific Knowledge Part II

(This continues an excerpt from an article by Allan Turner from our last issue. A link to the entire article appears at the end of this installment.)

Ocean Currents
Bible Writers:
1015 B.C.
David said in Psalm 8:8 that God has subjected all things to men, including, “all that swim the paths of the sea” (NIV).
ANALYSIS: The Hebrew word “paths” carries the literal meaning of “customary roads.”
FACT: David knew there were “paths” or “customary roads” in the sea, and that sea life passed through these paths.
History of Science:
1855 A.D.
Matthew Fontaine Maury is called “The Pathfinder of the Seas.” This American is the father of today’s oceanography. A statue of him stands in Richmond, Virginia. Inscribed on the base of this monument is a reference to Psalm 8:8, which mentions the "paths of the sea." His Physical Geography of the Sea was the first textbook of modern oceanography, and he is credited as being the first person to undertake a systematic and comprehensive study of the ocean. There is an apocryphal story associated with Maury's listening to a reading of Psalm 8:8 and determining to find the "paths of the sea" mentioned there, but there seems to be no historical evidence for such a story. Nevertheless, Maury’s systematic and comprehensive charting of the “paths of the sea,” has aided commercial fishermen in finding the schools of fish that are frequently found passing through the "paths of the sea" in search of the food (plankton, etc.) that these currents carry along, just as God's Word had said. Entire Article

The Bible and Scientific Knowledge

(Excerpted from an article by Allan Turner. The website link to the entire article appears at the end of this installment.)

If the Bible is God’s divine revelation, then it is essential that the statements of Bible writers, when describing or mentioning physical laws of the universe, other than allowances for poetic license, must agree completely with all known facts of science (this does not necessarily include theories). In addition, they must do this regardless of the accepted theories and level of scientific knowledge of the age in which they were written. If it can be demonstrated that between the observations of science and a simple, direct interpretation of the Bible narrative there exists a harmony such as would be expected of a book having the same author as the physical world, then this is ample proof that the Bible is what it claims to be—a divine revelation from God. If proof of this can be shown, then you will have witnessed a miracle in the scientific age as unexplainable as any recorded in the Bible. How do I know this to be true? Because, it is beyond comprehension that men who lived 2000 to 4000 years ago could, without this age’s scientific instruments, arrive at the same knowledge as men of science have in the past three hundred years.  Entire Article

Make All Things According to the Pattern

(From a radio program delivered by Jack Thompson of the Whites Park church of Christ on KSHN, Liberty, Texas. Date unknown.)

God has always demanded that men follow His direction in matters of religion. Taking as a text or starting point, Hebrews 8:5, may we all, as fellow travelers to eternity, study together our duty to "make all things according to the divine pattern" as revealed in the New Testament---not my pattern, nor yours, but God's. This is a very practical line of thought for Christians and all men alike, seeing that all men must mold their thinking, their speech, their life and conduct in every way by this divine pattern. We are to be workers for Him and must conform our work and worship to this pattern. It also helps us to teach others the way of life and salvation more perfectly and helps us to fight the "wiles" of error more efficiently.

God says: "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). Hence, man must have a divine guide to be saved. God also says: "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Cain's way, no doubt, seemed right to him, (Genesis 4:3-7), but not to God. Hence, it was the way of death. Nadab, no doubt, did what seemed right to him when he offered strange fire: but not to God, and was smitten of God while in the very act of worship, because he did not follow the divine directions (Leviticus 10:1, 2). NOTE: God did not tell him NOT to offer this kind of fire; neither did He tell Cain not to offer the fruit of the field as a sacrifice; nor did He tell Moses not to smite the rock the second time. When God tells us how and what to do, that forbids our substituting anything else—His commands are both inclusive and exclusive. You, too, may be well pleased with what you are and what you are doing religiously, but you are not the one to be pleased in these matters.  Entire Article

Abraham's Land Promise

by David Padfield

Premillennialism is a doctrine taught by many religious groups in our day. This theory teaches Jesus will return to this earth and set up a literal, earthly kingdom for a 1,000 years. Proponents claim that prior to His return there will be a period of tribulation for seven years (some say three and a half years). Then, according to their speculations, the Lord will reign in Jerusalem (like David and Solomon) and the Jews will receive the land God promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:7.

In 1970 Hal Lindsey wrote a best selling book, The Late Great Planet Earth. He said, "For God unconditionally promised Abraham's descendants a literal world-wide kingdom over which they would rule through their Messiah who would reign upon King David's throne. The Jews who believe in the Messiah will also possess the land which is bordered on the east by the Euphrates River, and on the west by the Nile."  Entire Article