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Depression: Cause and Cure
 

“Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression; but a good word makes it glad” (Prov. 12:25).

According to one recent source, about one in five American adults — that’s over 46 million people — suffer some form of chronic depression, ranging from prolonged sadness to psychosis. Some of these unhappy people are undoubtedly victims of biological imbalances that require medical treatment.

However, in many cases the root problem must be sought in the hearts of the victims. Their depression is simply a state of mind they bring upon themselves by how they choose to think. This proverb points to anxiety as the chief culprit in creating mental gloominess. The Hebrew word means “fear, dread, anxious care.” When a person allows his mind to be consumed with worry over his problems — or potential problems — he is sure to become depressed.  Entire Article

Why The Gospel Is God's Power Unto Salvation

 
By R.L. Whiteside

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..." (Rom. 1:16a).
In many sermons and articles emphasis is placed on "the" before "power," as if it were the deciding word in this sentence, whereas it is not in the Greek text. It seems odd that we should emphasize a word that Paul could have used at that place, but did not. Perhaps Paul's emphasis may better be seen by reading as follows: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power unto salvation." Paul emphasizes the idea that the gospel is God's power for saving men—not his creative power, but his saving power; not the power by which he created man, but the power by which he saves men. If men are saved at all, God must do it; and if God saves man, he does it by his own power—by his power for saving man. Paul affirms that His power for saving man is the gospel. That cuts off any other power or means for regenerating, or saving, man.  Entire Article

By Wayne Jackson

In the book of James, the inspired writer exhorts: “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:14-15).

The sick are still among us. And virtually no one questions the fact that the church should have elders today, where qualified men can be found. Should elders, then, in connection with their prayers, be anointing the sick with oil?

Though this procedure has not been practiced by churches of Christ in modern times (as a general rule), some are suggesting that it ought to be a part of our ritual. How should this matter be viewed?  Entire Article

Many cults and denominations have long taught that hell is not eternal, but lately it has come to my attention that brethren may be entertaining the thought. Let me be blunt...if hell is not forever, neither is heaven! But, you never hear someone teaching that. Everyone wants heaven to be never ending, but hell...well, it just does not seem right that someone be punished forever. And that is exactly where man gets off track.

God claims in Isaiah 55 that His thoughts and ways are not ours. And Paul says in I Corinthians that never has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for us (2:9). So, when we think something just does not seem right, that does not make it so with God.  Entire Article

By Frank Jamerson

Under Judaism, or the Old Law, people were born into God’s family by having Jewish parents, and then they had to be taught to “know the Lord.” Jeremiah, the prophet, said that the day would come when “they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord…” (Jeremiah 31:34). This passage is quoted in Hebrews 8 and applied to the New Testament. Therefore, under the New Covenant, people must be taught to “know the Lord” before they can enter God’s family.

Jesus emphasized the importance of teaching when he said, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me” (John 6:45). In Matthew’s account of the “great commission,” Jesus said, “Teach all nations” and, after baptizing them, “teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 20:18-20). Christ also stressed the importance of teaching when He said that “the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). Just as there can be no harvest without seed, there can be no child of God without the word being taught and obeyed.  Entire Article

by David Padfield

In giving the Ten Commandments, Jehovah declared, "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). The wise King Solomon said the adulterer "destroys his own soul" (Proverbs 6:32). The apostle Paul tells us "fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4).

The Greek word for "adulterer" (moichos) is found in such passages as Luke 18:11 and 1 Cor. 6:9. An adulterer is one "who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another" (Vine's Expository Dictionary Of Biblical Words, p. 14).

People often ask, "Why is adultery so bad? What harm does it cause?" While modern society sometimes winks at adultery, God will hold adulterers accountable (Revelation 21:8).

When the great patriarch Job gave a speech affirming his moral character, he said, "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down over her. For that would be wickedness; yes, it would be iniquity worthy of judgment. For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase." (Job 31:9-12). In verse 11, some translations use the words "heinous crime" instead of "iniquity" to describe adultery.  Entire Article

Some folk prate about "having the truth" when it is evident they can't give chapter and verse for their contention. I wonder how they know they have the truth? When Jesus said, "Thy (God's) word is truth;" (Jn.17:17) He stated the dependability of God, and the accuracy and integrity of His teaching. In a sense, people are "set apart" by false doctrines and practice, (witness sectarianism) but Jesus prayed that the Apostles might be set apart by their acceptance and adherence to TRUTH.

All who have access to the word of God "have the truth" — to learn, believe, obey. But many seem satisfied to hold aloft this "Holy Bible" — the outward aspect of truth, yet give little attention to the contents of the book. By reading a verse now and then, and making use of some Bible terminology, they suppose their doctrines are "based on the Bible."

A thing is neither wrong nor right because we have always done it. Can we safely assume that our forefathers were infallible? We use the term "always" rather loosely when we refer to a practice of thirty, fifty, or even one hundred years. The gap between the early church and the practice of the church today is spanned, not by succession, but by the seed which is the word of God. (1 Pet. 1:25)  Entire Article