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William Stewart

Will You Obey the Gospel? An Important Life Decision

gospel, vineyard
via Jill Wellington | Pixabay.com

As the apostle John closes his gospel account, he states of the ministry of Christ,

 …there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.(John 21:25)

Quite simply, we do not have all the details of Jesus’ work and teaching while upon the earth. But what is given is sufficient

…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.(John 20:31)

Does Psalm 87 Authorize Instrumental Music in the Church?

music
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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been engaged in three separate discussions on the use of instrumental music in worship. One of the folks I am conversing with asked me to consider Psalm 87 and a possible application to the church. I am confident that his inquiry is honest. I am equally confident, having studied the text, that it does not authorized the church to use instrumental music. Let’s consider the text here.

First, may I suggest that you read through Psalm 87. It will take just a minute or so, since it is only 7 verses long. Keep your Bible open so you can refer back to the content of the Psalm. I’ll reference it verse by verse as we study.

Never Lost: The True Gospel Survived Every Attempt at Apostasy

gospel
via Pexels | Pixabay.com

As I prepared to write an article this past week, I saw a quote which resulted in the original topic being put on the shelf, and this article about the true gospel being penned instead. The quote comes from an essay entitled “Ecclesial Deism,” written by Bryan Cross, a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism. In his essay, he wrote:

The Mormons believed that the true gospel was recovered in the early nineteenth century by Joseph Smith. I believed, as a Reformed Protestant, that the true gospel was recovered in the early sixteenth century by Martin Luther.

Even Among The Rulers – Jewish Leaders Who Believed

Jewish Religious leaders
via Gemini

The apostle John, recording a discourse of Jesus before the people of Judea stated:

…even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue… (John 12:42)

The religious leaders of the Jews are often portrayed as a crowd of unbelievers, and rightly so, for that was the manner of most. And yet, John speaks of some who did believe in Jesus. As we look in the gospel accounts, we will see occasional references to these rulers who believed, most of whom did not openly display their faith in the Lord.

Jephthah’s Vow: A Promise Made to the Lord

Jephthah gave his word
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The words in our title today were spoken by Jephthah, a judge in Israel. This man made a foolish vow to the LORD, stating,

If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s; and I will offer it up as a burnt offering. (Judges 11:30-31)