INDIVIDUAL OR CHURCH?

                                                by Jimmy R. Mickells

I was recently given a bulletin with an article in it that asked this question: “Where does the Bible make a distinction between the individual member and the church in the work of the Lord?” May we notice together that the word of God answers this question very clearly? The reason that some contend that there is no distinction between the two, an individual and the church, is that they want to practice something for which the church has no authority. There are differences between what a church is authorized by God to do and what an individual can do.

In 1 Timothy 5:16, Paul made this statement, “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.” This passage very clearly makes a distinction between what the individual is to do, the believing man or woman that has widows, versus the responsibility that the church has, let not the church be burdened. The church was to help those who were “really widows.” Notice the stipulation that the apostle gave before she was to be taken into the number. “Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work” (2 Timothy 5:9,10). This is the answer to the question above.

As an individual, I can give money to the Red Cross, support the American Cancer Society, help Alive Hospice, contribute to a political party or candidate, etc. As long as what I'm doing is not evil, I can spend my money (given to me by God) in whatever way I deem best. This is not true with the church. It can only act as authorized by God. He gave her work to do. Can the church contribute to the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, etc.? Absolutely not! Why? It has no authority at all to use the funds collected on the first day of the week, by free-will offering, to be used for something other than what we read about in the Bible.

Many churches of Christ today are using the Lord's money to provide things for members (and non-members) that the individual should be supplying. It is not the work of the church to provide entertainment, gyms, camps, social meals, etc. As a parent, I'm to provide these things for my children. I have responsibilities that I must fulfill and I cannot and should not expect the church to do what the Lord requires me to do. Is there a difference between what an individual can do and what the Lord's church can do? Paul says there is! Will you accept the answer that is given? We must never be guilty of involving the church in some work that God has not authorized it to do. Remember the words of John, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 9-11).

The Most Dangerous Disease

by Jeff Curtis

Some people suffer from a dangerous condition called “hardening of the arteries.” The medical term for this condition if “arteriosclerosis,” and is defined as “a chronic disease in which thickening and hardening of the arterial walls impair blood circulation.” A person who had this disease is in danger of suffering a stroke or heart attack.

An even more deadly disease is the “hardening of the heart.” Pharaoh had this problem. In Exodus 8:15 it says that Pharaoh “hardened his heart and did not listen” to God’s messengers. The Lord had just sent the second plague, frogs, upon the land of Egypt, as Moses had predicted. Pharaoh relented and asked Moses to remove the frogs, saying that he would let Israel go (8:8). Moses agreed, Pharoah named the time, and the frogs died. However, Pharoah didn’t honor his word; her refused to let the people go. He “hardened his heart.”

When we consider the hardening of Pharoah’s heart, we will notice how people today can be afflicted by the same problem.

How was Pharaoh’s heart hardened? Exodus sometimes says that Pharaoh hardened his heart (8:15), while other times it says that God hardened his heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1). Which one is right? Did God harden his heart, or did he harden his own heart? If we say that God did so, does that mean that Pharaoh had no will of his own, that he was unable to make any choice except the one that God imposed upon him?

The best solution to the problem is to recognize that Exodus first emphasizes that Pharaoh hardened his heart and then states that God hardened his heart. Both 4:21 and 7:3 speak of what God would do in the future; only after Pharaoh had hardened his heart does the text say that God hardened it. In other words, after Pharaoh had hardened his own heart, then God further hardened it. Pharaoh had decided on the road he would travel, but God perhaps gave him a push down that road or possibly made his road that much more difficult. We can be sure that Pharaoh had free will, just as we do. He was responsible for his own choices, and God will hold him accountable for the choices he made.

When we consider more carefully what happened when Pharaoh hardened his heart, we conclude that Pharaoh’s disease involved…; 1) persistence and stubbornness, 2) refusal to hear God’s Word, 3) unwillingness to accept abundant evidence of the truth of that Word, 4) arrogance and pride, and 5) a lack of compassion for people.

How can our hearts be hardened? “Hardening of the heart” is also a problem today. The New Testament says that some have their consciences “seared with a hot iron” (1Tim. 4:2; KJV). Also, it speaks of people who hardened their hearts (Mk. 6:52; Acts 19:9) and warns us against the hardening of the heart (Heb. 3:8, 13, 15; 4:7).

2Thess. 2:10-12 describes some who will “perish” because “God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.” Who are these people who are sent along the path to destruction by God Himself? They are individuals who “did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” In other words, if a person does not love or believe the truth but takes pleasure in wickedness, then God may send them a “deluding influence” so that they will believe a lie and perish eternally. If we, like Pharaoh, deliberately choose the wrong path, God will not hinder us from taking it. Really, He may speed us on our way.

If we persistently refuse to hear His Word in spite of the evidence for its truth, then we have hard hearts. If we are full of pride and lack compassion for others, then we are like Pharaoh.

We need to remember that the hardening of the heart is more dangerous than the hardening of the arteries because it can lead to eternal death. God’s Word softens a hardened heart. The story of the cross and the Christ who died for us can dissolve that wall we have put up between us and God’s mercy.

Let’s come to God in faith and obedience.