Category Uncategorized

Sep 5 2008

A Capella only. Mandate or Myth?


The first time I heard a congregation sing a capella I loved it. Now, having been a member of a church of Christ for over eight years I still love the absolute beauty, the primitive feel, to good a capella singing. Wednesday nights at our church we meet in what was years ago the main auditorium and the acoustics compliment singing. It is wonderful to hear!

I will never forget when I was first given a “proof text” for a capella only singing in church. When the man read Colossians 3:16 my reply was “That’s it?”. I am amazed that this issue is still a hot issue in coC circles. Only the role of baptism is mentioned perhaps as much.

In only a few days after Peter’s first gospel sermon there were in Jerusalem several thousand new Christians. And, we know that they met together and worshiped. Interestingly, it would be at least twenty to twenty five years before the Apostle Paul would write what is now purported to be “authorization” for a capella only singing in worship gatherings. I am not suggesting that these earliest believers did not sing a capella, what I am saying is that they had no scriptural mandate to do so. And, the few who likely had some part of the Old Testament, or heard it read, did not find any such “authorization” in it. In fact they would have learned the opposite from the OT. When Ephesians and Colossians were finally written the context of neither “proof text” even hints that Paul’s intention was to prohibit the use of musical instruments in worship.

I was recently reminded that many coC people consider this issue to be a “salvation issue“! This could be used in the seminary class room as a case study on poor Bible scholorship and interupitation of Scripture.

A capella singing by Christians is a beautiful experience. It is a rich tradition and is worth continuing and passing to generations to come. However, it is foolish to tell anyone the Bible demands it. And I thnk even sinful to consider someone lost who does not agree.

Your opinion?

His peace,
Royce

Sep 2 2008

Christianity is Christ


Christianity is Christ.

Christianity is not:
   . Going to church
   . Living by the Golden Rule
   . Doing acts of kindness
   . Being a member of a certain church
   . Being right about certain Bible doctrines
   . Doing certain things on Sunday
   . Living a life of piety and self denial

Christianity is Christ.

When a person becomes a Christian:
   1. His sins are forgiven
   2. He is given eternal life
   3. He becomes God’s child both by birth and adoption
   4. He becomes an heir of God’s bounty
   5. He is declared not guilty of sin
   6. He is declared just
   7. He is declared righteous
   8. He is indwelt by God the Holy Spirit
   9. He is sealed by the Holy Spirit
 10. He is gifted by the Holy Spirit
 11. He is promised resurrection
 12. He will never perish
 13. He will never die
 14. He is in Christ
 15. Christ is in Him
 16. He is hidden with Christ in God
 17. He is held in God’s hand
 18. Christ will never leave him or forsake him
 19. He has access to God in prayer
 20. He is a priest
 21. He is a partaker of God’s nature
 22. He is seated with Christ in the heavens
 23. He has been chosen by God
 24. He has been elected
 25. He has been predestined to be a son
 26. He has been called
 27. He has been glorified
 28. He has been washed
 29. He has been cleansed
 30. He has redeemed
 31. He has been added to the body of Christ
 32. He has overcome the evil one
 33. He has been counted worthy
 34. His eyes have been opened
 35. He has a new ability to love unconditionally
 36. He can say no to sin
 37. He is at rest
 38. The ordinances of the law are no longer against him
 39. He is free
 40. He is not condemned
 41. He will never be condemned
 42. He is not appointed to wrath
 43. He will be rewarded
 44. He has treasure reserved in heaven
 45. He is kept by the power of God
 46. He cannot be separated from God
 47. He has the Son of God
 48. He has the Father
 49. He has joy
 50. He has peace with God
 51. He has the peace of God
 52. He is one with God
 53. He is loved by the Father just as He loves Jesus.
 54. He has been born again
 55. He is a new creation
 56. He has God’s law written on his heart
 57. He died with Christ
 58. He was raised with Christ
 59. Christ is his life
 60. He is in the kingdom of light
 61. He has been granted repentance
 62. He has been given faith
 63. He has been given precious promises
 64. He is an ambassador of Christ
 65. He is an alien on eath
 66. He is a citizen of heaven
 67. He is a lover of good
 68. He hates sin
 69. He loves his brother
 70. He hears the apostolic teaching
 71. He abides in Christ
 72. He stands in grace
 73. The Holy Spirit assures him he is safe
 74. Christ is his life
 75. He does sin as a lifestyle
 76. He has Christ as an advocate for him in heaven when he does sin
 77. He walks in the light
 78. He knows the voice of Jesus
 79. He follows Him
 80. He will not follow another.
 81. He has victory over death, hell, and the grave 
 82. He is being made like Jesus
 83. He is created for good works
 84. His greatest good is to glorify God

There is more but these quickly come to mind. Not one of them is man’s own doing. Everyone of them is true and relevant and experiential because of the person, work, and resurrection life of Jesus Christ. The only basis, the only ground upon which our salvation rests is Christ.

When a sinner changes his mind about the course of his life and puts his whole trust in Jesus He does not give that person anything apart from Himself. You see, what a lost sinner needs is life, he is spiritually dead. He needs righteousness for he is unrighteous. He needs redemption, for he is a slave to sin. He needs light because he is in darkness. He needs bread from heaven because he is starving. He needs the water of life for he is thirsty. He needs to be set free because he is under control of the evil one.

Christ can give nothing more than Himself. He Himself supplies every need. He is life, He is the light of the world, He is righteousness, He is our peace, He is our assurance, He is our joy, He is our glory, He is our hope, He is the author of our faith, He is the rock upon which we stand.

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.” Religion will leave you wanting. Church membership and attendance will leave you lacking. Acts of kindness, giving to the poor, and even martyrdom will leave you dead in your sins. Only our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ is able and willing to give you life, forgiveness, righteousness, and peace.

We are only accepted by God “in the beloved“, we are only chosen “in Him“. The mystery of God that was hidden in ages past is this, “Christ in you, the hope of glory“. That’s it, Christianity is Christ and can be nothing less, and nothing more is possible.

“Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life”(1 John 5:10-12 ESV)

It is hard to imagine how anyone could misunderstand this clear message from God’s word. Sadly, many just don’t seem to get it. Like the legalists Paul addressed long ago in his letter to the churches of Galatia who insisted that Christians be circumcised, many today insist on adding to what Christ accomplished over 2000 years ago and what God planned in eternity past.

Many preach a salvation that is “God’s part and your part”. Your part is to repent (change your mind) and believe on Jesus Christ. If you have Him (A very big “IF”) what more can you possibly imagine you need? There is nothing on earth or in heaven that is a substitute or a supplement for what Christ has accomplished on behalf of sinners. Trust Him alone, He will not always wait.

By grace are you saved.

His peace,
Royce

 

Sep 1 2008

White’s Ferry Road Relief


It doesn’t seem that long ago that that we were gearing up for what would be WFR Relief’s greatest domestic challenge, Hurricane Katrina. It’s time again. As I type this post Gustav is due to make landfall just west of New Orleans as a catagory 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph. I am very thankful that state and local governments, FEMA, and the residents of the gulf coast are much better prepared because of lessons learned well from Katrina and Rita.

It is very likely that Gustav will not be nearly as bad as Katrina but it will still leave thousands of homes and business flooded from the expected 15′ storm surge. Thankfully about 90% of the residents of the hard hit areas have evacuated. But when they return they will need lots of help mucking out buildings, hauling debris, cutting downed trees, etc. WFR Relief is ready to help.

For over 35 years WFR Relief has been the clearing house for information, the distribution of volunteers, materials, food, water, and money. I have alwys been amazed at the generosity of church of Christ people who open their check books to assist those who are hurting after a natural catastrophe. I know many of my readers will want to give what you can to help. Please consider going to our website to make your contribution. It is easy and simple. Click CONTRIBUTE to give.

If you have questions, have volunteers who want to help, or need to talk to us for any reason please call 318-396-6000 beginning Tuesday morning. Until then you can contact my wife Carol Ogle, the Relief Coordinator for WFR Relief at 318-348-2291. My hope is that the storm will diminish somewhat before it makes landfall. It looks as if it will hit the most suitable area of the gulf coast where there is fewer residents than any other stretch of shoreline.

There is another storm gaining strength and predictions, although early, have it going to Florida or further up the Atlantic coast. There is much to do. We need people and funds but more than that we need your prayer support. Thanks for your concern and consideration.

His peace,
Royce Ogle

Aug 30 2008

The Palen pick, risky or brilliant?


Right away the expected criticism came from every corner, “She doesn’t have enough experience to be a heart beat away from the presidency!” Interesting observation in view of the fact she has more as a VP candidate than the presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket.

Here are the pros and con’s as I see them:

  • Executive experience. Governor of Alaska, Mayor of her hometown.
  • Pro Life. Gave birth to the last of her 5 children knowing he had down’s syndrome
  • Pro 2nd Amendment. Lifetime member of the NRA
  • Proven tax cutter
  • Experienced at using the veto pen to reign in wasteful spending
  • Roots out corruption even in her own party
  • Attractive. Was runner up in an Alaska beauty pageant
  • Smart. Able to speak several coherent sentences in a row without reading them. Only Joe (the mouth) Biden can do that better.
  • Hunter and angler
  • Rides snowmobiles
  • Likes the United States Military. Her son will deploy to Iraq on Sept 11th.
  • Respects her husband of 20 years even in public!

Con’s:

  • She is not at the top of the ticket.
  • Uhhh……….hmmmm….can’t think of any more

This is very bad news for the Obama ticket. Woman will really like her and since ladies by the millions were left swinging after the demise of Hillary, she will undoubtedly bring many of them to the Republican column in November. McCain’s choice of this talented lady is a gut punch to Sen. Obama and his team. Expert were predicting a 10 point lead for him by next week, it an’t gonna happen. The spread is 8 points at this moment but wait until this time next week. This will be a repeat of what happened in 2000 when Gore’s lead went to about 10 points after he announced Joseph Leiberman as his running mate but in only a few days the reace was a dead heat and he lost in the end.

McCain has been a huge disappointment for me and millions of other conservatives and in view of that I believe this was the smartest thing he has done thus far. Palen disagrees with him on global warming and I expect her to also disagree on immigration reform. She is a nice balance to the GOP ticket and I really believe she may prove to be the key to a victory in November.

If McCain-Palen looses in November we haven’t seen the last of this special lady. I would love to see a Hillary vs. Palen battle for the white house. On one side a career politician who will do or say whatever the polls require to win and on the other a lady who is not in the least politically correct. One one side someone who pretends to be pro second amendment and on the other a lady who kills animals and eats them. One who is married to a liar and womanizer….oh whats the point of going there, there is no contest.

This is my favorite time of the year! Hand to hand combat in the political arena. I can’t wait ’til Monday.

On a different and somber note. I hope the storm calms and causes no major damage. Louisiana and the Gulf coast is just getting on their collective feet, we don’t need another hit now.

Royce

Royce