The Proclaimer
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD

Edited and Published by Jack Critchfield

In This Issue:
The Challenge Of Being A Christian
Experts Are Usually Wrong
Tell No Man
I Do, But I Don't

The Challenge Of Being A Christian
Jack Critchfield

There is no greater challenge than that of being a Christian. But there is also no greater reward for pursuing the way of righteousness. The demands of the gospel make better people of us, and of more value to those around us as we strive to walk as Jesus Christ direct (1 Pet 2:21). It is not an easy way, but the rewards are well worth it.

While Jesus was walking upon this earth, he marked to path as one of self-denial (Lk 9:23). The apostle Paul also wrote of self-denial when writing to the Corinthians. He said, "...bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (2 Cor 10:5; 1 Cor 9:27). Some, however, will not meet the challenge of the gospel because of their lack of conviction and desire.

The demanding nature of being a Christian is based upon the integrity of the Bible. It takes no effort to follow Satan, but Jesus Christ will accept only the most devoted (Lk 14:33). It simply will not work to try to compromise the lackadaisical attitude of mankind. Jesus made it clear that the message of salvation cannot be compromised (Jn 10:35; 15:3). It reveals that God gave His best for us; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16).

Being a Christian demands our very best because it is demonstrated by purity of life. The basic fundamental values of the religion of Christ can be seen in His life. He "was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin...Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (Heb 4:15; 2 Cor 5:21). The scriptures tell us that he "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). The same values that are seen in the life of Jesus are to be seen in the dedicated demeanor of fervent disciples of the Lord.

All too often the word receives a faulty impression of the way of the cross because of our failure to portray the ethics of godliness. Paul wrote, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death" (Phil 1:12-20). What demands the gospel places on the devotees of the Savior!

Being a Christian is also challenging because it is built upon the deity of the Master. Jesus was not "just a man." The scriptures tell us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:1-3, 14). Jesus has the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68), a name above all names (Phil 2:9) and a glory unsurpassed (Jn 14:6). No one who has ever lived comes close to His splendor and influence. Napoleon, in his speech to General Bertrand, said, "the spirit of Christ overawes me."

Being a Christian is great because it brings optimism, hope, and joy into the daily walk of children of the heavenly Father. Trusting in the Lord (Prov 3:5) instead of the trinkets off this earth gives us the enrichment that only the hope of heaven can leave to us. Hope includes faith, but it also includes assurance. We have that assurance because of Jesus: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet 1:3-5).

Christians never look back at a life of sin, but press on to the beautiful home of the soul. As parents, we choose early in life to indelibly etch into the fabric of our children's lives that we, "wait for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb 11:10).

Let us rise up and meet the challenge with firm commitment and deep resolve.
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Watch your thoughts, They become your words.
Watch your words, They become your actions.
Watch your actions, They become your habits.
Watch your habits, They become your character.
Watch your character, It decides your future.
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Experts Are Usually Wrong
Ron Lloyd

Mark Twain said that published critics are those who have the greatest opportunities for knowing the least about the object of their criticism. We see this demonstrated repeatedly and yet we are taken in by so-called authorities dealing in expertise. The supplement to the newspapers is testimony to the awe in which authorities are held. There is no end of advice on various areas of life. Too often Christians take the advice of society's experts.

Columnists and talk show celebrities spew out advice that deals with human relations and especially the family. Christians sometimes seek advice in these places of the spiritually dead when they should open the scriptures, which insure our names to be written in the book of life. Often a series of studies in the church on the family will find quotes from psychology and psychiatry equally if not in excess to Biblical quotes. Man's history begins in Genesis 2 with the Creator's design for the home. Jehovah's one man and one woman for life arrangement is considered an anachronism and is referred to as the nuclear family. Statistics show that the family structured as God would has declined with the passage of time.

Expert worldly advice is now given to the single parent family due to divorce or the single person who has never been married and wishes to adopt. In the case of women wishing to bear a child sans marriage, advice is proffered. Families in which parents are of the same sex have begun to be included. Exceptions and exclusions to God's family plan occupy most of the expert's time. The dysfunctional family is much in the public eye. Not much is said of the old fashioned, God-given family because it is out of step with modem thinking.

Proverbs 17:6 speaks God's wisdom, "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers." The father or grandfather who does not appreciate this blessing is poor for his lack of appreciation.

The family of the virtuous wife and mother sings her praises in Proverbs 31:28; "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." The apostle writes of Sarah's regard and love for Abraham in 1 Peter 3:6; "Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord-." Sarah is recommended as an example to wives of all ages. Children are counseled to "obey their parents, in the Lord," and to honor or revere their parents, "that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."

Christians are familiar with these scriptures. People, in general, would like to have such warmth and beauty in their homes. Yet, generally in the hustle and bustle of today's world the family is neglected. The neglect is not in the provision of what we call "the necessities." The love and concern which permeates these passages concerning the home as God would have it is often lacking in many homes because emphasis is placed not on "spirit blessings," but upon things which find their value in "the lust of the flesh, the lust of eye and the pride of life." Many modem homes find both parents working out of the home in order to provide material things for their children. The parent who is a Christian weighs carefully this option and selects it only when there is no other choice.

In the quest for a proper society for children, school, community and often, religious organizations provide this or that social group. These groups center around intellectual interests, artistic and athletic abilities or perhaps a combination of such things in order spend leisure time. Preoccupation with these activities set them firmly in the schedule of life and often encroaches upon or replaces the interest in spiritual things. The most important group, called the church, may be neglected or given less than the first consideration that God would have. The law God gave Moses required the first of everything of those who loved and kept God's commandments, Moses wrote in Deuteronomy that the law was given for the good of God's people. These are eternal principles of any law of real value.

Paul commented on the relationship of God to man and man to man in I Thessalonians 5:11-22. Paul envisioned God's spiritual family holding the elders in high regard and being concerned about those in the church who are weak in faith. He concluded that the saint is to "follow that which is good, both among yourselves and, to all men." Retaining purity and sanctification are on-going and all consuming (time consuming) tasks. Hear the inclusiveness of verse 23: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This helps us to understand how a saint's body is "a living sacrifice."

The saint's family is not patterned after the world; but after Jehovah's garden pattern. God's spiritual family is so designed and does not conflict with the physical family. Godly families seek God's expert advice over man's fluctuating counsel. God is never wrong. With summer and vacation time approaching parents who are saints will take care that schedules do not conflict with the spiritual family. Old retired folks should also remember that they are not retired from example. There are no vacations from things of the Spirit.

via the Good Report, May, 2000

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"The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. And the people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance."

(Psalm 33:10-12)

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Tell No Man
James Strickland

In Matthew 9:l8-26, Jesus healed a woman with an issue of blood, and raised the daughter of a certain ruler. As He left that place, He was followed by two blind men, who were crying out to Him: "Have mercy on us!" It seems obvious that they wanted Him to heal them --- to give them their sight back. Jesus asked them if they that He could do what they wanted, to which they both responded by saying: "Yea Lord." Jesus touched their eyes and immediately, they could see! Jesus told these two men not to tell anyone about what had taken place. Did they obey Him? No they did not! The text tells us that they "spread abroad His fame in all that country" (vs. 27-31).

Now, why do you suppose that these two men didn't do as Jesus wanted? Could it possibly be that they were SO happy to be able to see that they just HAD to tell what happened to them? Put yourself in their position. You're blind - you want desperately to be able to gee. Someone comes along with the ability to make you see again. Wouldn't you jump at the chance? Of course you would! It would be only natural for you to do so. After having received your sight back, wouldn't you tell everyone you came in contact with about the fact that you were blind, but through the intervention of some person, you are now able to gee? Again, it would be natural for you to do so.

Consider - in our text of Matt 9, we have two men, blind, who want to see. So they ask the one person whom they believe has the ability to grant them their wish. He does it, and they go and tell everybody they meet all about it - even though it is contrary to the wishes of the one who made them well. Now, don't get the idea that this is an isolated case, because it isn't. In Mark 7:32-36, we find a similar case. A man was brought to Jesus. He was deaf and had a speech impediment. The people who brought him asked the Lord to "put His hand upon him. Jesus took this man aside from the crowd, put His finger in the man's ear, then spit and touched the man's tongue. Looking up to heaven, Jesus uttered the phrase, "Eph-pha-tha, "which means: "Be opened." Immediately, the man was able to hear, and to speak plainly. Again, Jesus instructed the people to tell no one (vs. 36), but they went all everyone what had happened. Another instance of this kind is found in Mark 1:40-45.

Why was everyone telling what had occurred on these occasions? I submit to you that it was because they COULDN'T keep it to themselves. They were so happy that they just HAD TO TELL! Now, think about this - these people acted this way because they were healed of physical infirmities. I submit to you that there is disease in existence in the world today that is far more terrible than what was afflicting the people in the above mentioned cases. That disease is SIN. And yes, there is a person who can heal this disease. That person is the SAME healed the blind men, and the deaf man, and the man who had leprosy. The person who is able to cure the dread disease of sin is Jesus Christ. He is ready, He is willing, and He is wanting to make everyone whole - free from sin.

Think about when we were overcome by this disease called sin. Think about when we learned what the Great Physician wanted us to do in order to be free from the disease of sin. And think about how happy when we did what He asked us to do.

The main difference - in our case and the cases above, is that Jesus wants us to tell. He WANTS and COMMANDS, us to tell the world that there is a cure for sin. Look at what He says - - - "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising then in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching then to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt 28:19-20). In Mk 16: 15-16, Jesus tells us to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Are we like those people who were healed by the Lord of physical infirmity? Are we telling everyone with whom we come in contact about the ONE who has the cure for the greatest ill of the world? Brethren, we should be GLAD to share the good news of salvation with all we meet, and we ought to feel as though we HAVE TO tell the good news of salvation!

In Acts 4:3-21, Peter and John, when they were arrested and questioned, and then warned about speaking in Christ's name, told the Jewish rulers that they "cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Basically, they were saying, "We have to tell what has happened! And, you decide on what we should do - listen to you, or listen to God!" They were determined to do as the Lord wanted them to do. Are we willing to follow their example? Are we SO happy about the great things that have been done for us that we just HAVE TO TELL? If not, we need to make some adjustments in our thinking.

In truth, our love for the Lord should constrain us to tell others about Him, about His sacrifice for us, about His plan for the salvation of man. He says - "if ye love Me, keep My commandments" (Jn 14:15). Along these same lines, the apostle John says, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous" (1 Jn 5:2-3).

Isn't God's love, and the great gift bestowed upon men worth telling? Of course it is! Allow me to invite your attention to words of this song, which says SO much for us, and to us:

"If the name of the Savior is precious to

If His care has been constant and tender and true,

If the light of His presence has brightened your way

O will you not tell of your gladness today

Don't we OWE it to the Lord to tell others about Him? Think of what these words are saying and let us ponder them well:

"When in the better land before the bar we stand,

How deeply grieved our souls will be;

If any lost one there should cry in deep despair,

You never mentioned Him to me."

O let us spread the Word where'er it may be heard,

Help groping souls the light to see,

That yonder none may say, 'you showed me not the way,

You never mentioned Him to me.'

A few sweet words may guide a lost one to His side,

Or turn sad eyes on Calvary;

So work as days go by, that yonder none may cry,

You never mentioned Him to me.

You never mentioned Him to me,

You helped me not the light to see,

You met me day by day and knew I was astray,

Yet never mentioned Him to me."

It would be a terrible thing, if we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and someone makes this accusation against us. Therefore, let us make sure we share the gospel (good news) of Jesus with everyone we can.

via Meridian Messenger, March, 1998

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"For if we sin willfully after we have received a knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."

(Hebrews 10:26-27)

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I Do, But I Don't:
Jim Sasser

I believe in proper methods, but I don't wear the name "Methodist". I believe in baptism, but I don't wear the name "Baptist". I believe presbyters (or elders) should oversee the local church, but I don't wear the name "Presbyterian". I believe one should be holy, but I am not a "Holiness". I believe Jesus was reared in Nazareth, but I am not a "Nazarene". I believe that these are the "last days" in which we are now living, (Heb. 1:1) and that we are called to saints, (1 Cor. 1:2), but I am not a "Latter Day Saint". I believe the church should be catholic, (universal) but I don't wear the name "Catholic". I believe in unity, but I don't wear the name "Unitarian".

According to some arguments (?) used to justify the religious wearing of human names, I would really have a name. I would be a Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Holiness, Nazarene, Latter Day Saint Unitarian, Catholic, Christian! WHEW! What a name! However, I don't wear those names, which glorify a person, a method, or a doctrine. I wear the name of Him who was crucified for me; and in whose name I was baptized. (1 Cor. 1:13). Salvation is in no other name, but the name of Christ, (Acts 4:12). That's why I am pleased to wear the name "Christian", (Acts 11:26), the "new name" God gave to His people after the Gentiles had seen His righteousness (Isa. 62:2), and which glorifies God (1 Pet. 4:16).

Yes, I do believe in methods, baptism, presbyters, etc., but I don't wear divisive human names, which may honor the teaching, but not the Author and Finisher of our faith", even Christ. If you obey the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16), you, too, can be simply a Christian and wear the name of Christ, which is embodied in the very word "CHRISTian."
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Jack Critchfield, Editor & Publisher
403 Coit Way, Salinas, Ca. 93907
jcritch@jps.net