By: Undre Griggs, Jr. We have all noticed there are thousands of divisions (denominations) among the followers of Christ. A division is defined as the action of separating something into parts. In similar fashion, a denomination is defined as a separate branch of the church. But why are there so many divisions among the church? The Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit helps us understand what creates divisions. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV): I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. It is likely we all agree there should be an earnest desire for Christians to be united in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. It is less likely we find the same consensus when it comes to agreeing with one another. Divisions come from our disagreements and our unwillingness to be perfectly united in mind and thought with God and the brotherhood. We have to desire truth (fellowship with God) and we have to deeply love one another (fellowship with brotherhood); as love and truth (words of the Lord) will last forever. 1 Peter 1:22-25 (NIV): Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. Divisions (denominations) will continue as long as we are unwilling to focus on the word that was preached to us in the Bible. Jesus Christ is the founder/perfecter of our faith and we need to remove the opinions that contradict that understanding. We must stop slowing ourselves down with all the additional concepts; standing firm in the principles that our creator set in place over two centuries ago. Reminding ourselves that anything created after or added to perfection would only unsettle the perfection Christ formed. Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. One of the vows commonly found in Western weddings is the promise to love through the good times and the bad. Marriage is a promise before God to stay with someone until death. We recognize that we will grow old and that we will change. We comprehend some of those changes may draw us closer together, while other changes may push us further apart. We understand there may be unforeseen events that can challenge that commitment, but it is our responsibility to exhaust all options available. We are but an obedient child to the standard our Father has set on what love is. Romans 5:8 (ESV): But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. To make a long term relationship work requires a commitment that few achieve. To make a relationship work, we must give the most of ourselves when our spouse deserves it the least. Christ made it clear, loving and treating others well when they are loving and treating you well is not saying much. Luke 6:32-34 (NIV): "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.” Understanding how difficult this can be, we must constantly remind ourselves of the perspective we are to have. Loving our spouse (or anyone) through the “bad times” is much easier when we have a humble heart. The wages of all sin is death, and while we may personally believe some actions are “more bad” than others, our love can cover a multitude of sin (1 Peter 4:8). We only need to be willing to forgive and show mercy to our loved ones, as God forgave and showed mercy to us (Matthew 6:14-15). And while it may not always be easy, there is nothing more difficult than being judged without mercy because we didn’t show mercy to our loved ones. James 2:12-13 (ESV): So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. You cannot help but notice the sharpness of criticisms Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Not only did Jesus call them wicked and adulterous (Matthew 12:39), He compared them to a man who was repossessed by demons due to his own shortcomings. Matthew 12:43-45 (NIV): “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” There is a lot we can learn about the relationship between man and demon from these verses. Once an unclean spirit was excised from a person, it travels through dry places seeking rest without victory (v. 43). If you consider that the gospel of Jesus provides the water of eternal life, it is no surprise the void of God would be a waterless, desolate, and barren place. John 4:14 (ESV): But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” It is humorous how the demon states it is going to return to the house it left as if it chose to leave in the first place. The reality is the demon was thrown out by God when the person dedicated their life to Christ. Unfortunately, this person lost Christ along the way and when the demon returned, the house was still clean, but empty (v. 44). In an attempt to strengthen its hold on the man, the demon brought reinforcements (v. 45). The number seven in this verse should be considered “many” as seven denotes perfection, whether good or bad. Considering that Christ described the demons as “more wicked”, we are able to observe that demons appear to have degrees of wickedness. Throughout the Bible we see passages that speak on a saved soul straying from righteousness would have been better off to have never known Christ (2 Peter 2:21). 2 Peter 2:21 (NIV): It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. This parable is consistent with that lesson and a humble reminder that salvation is a marathon we cannot win on our own.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. This is the question that God asked Jonah after he was not happy with the mercy God showed the people of Nineveh (Jonah 4:4). Jonah was a preacher who believed his personal feelings about sinners were more important than God’s longsuffering that all should be saved. Jonah seemed to believe if the people of Nineveh were informed of God’s displeasure with them, they would surely repent… and he was right. Jonah 3:7-10 (NKJV): And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. The story of Jonah is a lesson of obedience, humility, and understanding what we are trying to accomplish. If our goal is to save the lost, then we shouldn’t be upset when an “enemy” becomes an “ally”. As Christians, we may occasionally find ourselves judging an action (even against the faith) as unforgivable. When that happens, we may stop thinking about how to save him or her, and start thinking about what fiery judgment awaits them. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, but we should not be hoping or find pleasure waiting for anyone’s destruction. We shouldn’t feel so comfortable that we say, if this Bible study doesn’t work, there is nothing else I can do to help them. Imagine if God had that same attitude. Imagine if God said, if I take them out of the land of Egypt and they still worship idols, I don’t know what to do? We must remain humble and understand how fortunate we are that God sent His son to die in our place. We must celebrate every time a soul is saved and mourn every time a soul is lost. We must find joy, not frustration, in the fact that our God is gracious and merciful towards all His creation. Jonah 4:1-2 (NKJV): But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, One who relents from doing harm.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. There is a high standard to which the churches of Christ will be judged on the Last Day. We find a glimpse of that standard when the church of Ephesus is judged. Christ is going to judge the works of the congregation, the work ethic of the congregation, and the ability of the congregation to endure for the faith. He is not only going to gauge our knowledge of the truth, He is going to note our willingness to adhere to the Word and whether we tolerate false teachings. Revelation 2:2-3 (NIV): I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. The judgment of a faithful church does not end there. As we find throughout the Bible, our judgment has a personal component unique to our effort and talents. Much like our willingness to forgive is how we will be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15), and the manner in which we judge others is how we will be judged (Matthew 7:2); the work we put in at our strongest, is the standard Christ expects us to uphold throughout our ministry. Revelation 2:4-5 (NIV): Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. If we find ourselves speaking about what we use to do more than what we are doing, we are on the wrong path. If we frequently speak on the Bible Studies we use to have, the classes we use to teach, the people we use to visit, the doors we use to knock, and the fellowships we use to attend; we are slowly losing our first love and our salvation. There is no benefit in a congregation growing sounder in doctrine if their willingness to preach the good news disappears. To be victorious, a congregation will need to recall their greatest year and emulate that year every year. Revelation 2:7 (NIV): Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
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Dean Road
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