The bible was penned by some forty divinely inspired men over a span of fifteen-hundred years. The last writer put down his pen and rolled up the final scroll of scripture nearly two-thousand years ago. Is such a canon of writings really relevant to modern man? Should we view the bible as pertinent to the affairs of the church today? In this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, we continue a series of lessons on the internal claims of scripture with a look at The Relevancy of the Bible.
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Those who wrote down the scriptures claimed to be inspired of God in doing so. Inspiration does not refer to a vague leading but a specific guidance of the Holy Spirit in choosing the words which would perfectly communicate the mind and will of God to man. The bible is not merely a holy and divine book - it is the very Word of God. In part one of a series about the bible, we look at the bible's claim of inspiration. What does it mean? Why should we believe that claim? What difference does it make? We address those questions in this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak.
Millions of people describe themselves as followers of Jesus but do not have any affiliation or participation with a local congregation of the Lord's church. On the other extreme, others believe that having their name on a church roll or periodically frequenting worship assemblies, identifies them with Christ and thus, numbers them among the saved. Both views are a misunderstanding of the church and the Christian's relationship with the body. In this broadcast of 'Let the Bible Speak', we see what it means to be added to the church by Christ and why the Christian's participation in its collective work and mission is necessary to spiritual life.
The conflict is as old as time itself: God's thoughts versus man's thoughts. Pride and preconception will always blind a person's eyes to the truth. In this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, we learn about a man who had a terrible disease of the body. Even worse, however, was the disease he had within his spirit. Learn what happened when a man who was accustomed to giving orders finally learned to take them.
Our series on Innovations concludes with a look at departures that have taken place from the original design of the Lord's Supper as instituted by Christ. The elements that Christ chose to commemorate His suffering and its result are profound in their simplicity. They reflect the unity and joint participation the church is to enjoy in the benefits of Christ's death and the new covenant that was thereby established. In this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, a look at how the later practice of multiple loaves and cups distorts the beautiful picture Christ originally portrayed in the divine feast.
Women have made an indelible mark on the modern world in business, politics, art, and religion. They have well-proven their intellect and talent to be equal to and in many cases, surpassing their male counterparts. Consequently, the rise of women's liberation and the women's rights movement has opened the pulpits of many churches to females to serve as pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. Is this according to God's will or is it a change to the divine pattern for the work and worship of the church? In this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, we continue our series on Innovations and the Divine Pattern by focusing on women preachers and teachers in the church.
In the 18th century, Robert Raikes saw an urgent need: the education of poor children in England. The dawn of the industrial era led to the working-class children of Great Britain being forced into hard factory labor six days a week. On Sundays, many of these juveniles roamed the streets and fell into trouble. With no public schools and no time nor money for education, Raikes conceived an idea to have churches band together and provide Sunday School's for these indigent children. The bible and other religious curriculum was used to teach reading, writing, and other basic subjects and provided a moral foundation for the struggling youth. The concept caught on and within a matter of a few years the new schools were flourishing and spreading to other lands. What began as a precursor to the public school system, in a matter of time, became an arrangement for local churches to provide outreach to the young people of their communities and to indoctrinate them in the doctrines of their churches. Today, most churches divide into Sunday School classes to teach their membership. What may have been borne out of a pure motive became an arrangement for edifying the church contrary to the arrangement the apostles set forth by divine authority. As we continue our series on Innovations and the Divine Pattern, find out how Sunday School became a prominent part of the work of most churches and why it is opposite to Paul's instructions for the church assembly.
Instrumental music in worship is nearly a universal practice among churches in the 21st century. Was it the practice of the 1st century disciples? Although introduced into the worship of the Old Testament temple, the new testament falls silent about any such use in the assemblies of the church. Sacred history reveals that it took six-hundred years for them to find their way into new testament era worship. Continuing the series Innovations and the Divine Pattern, in this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak we consider the innovation of Instrumental Music in Church Worship.
How and why did the early church practice baptism? As we continue a series on Innovations and the Divine Pattern, we have already shown how the government of the church was corrupted from an arrangement of qualified elders in each local church to a hierarchy of power, eventually becoming centered in Rome. This departure led to a multitude of doctrinal changes through the centuries and swept the church further into error and apostasy. One of the changes that resulted was in regard to the apostolic teaching about baptism in water. Within 200 years, the design of baptism began to change and by 1,300 years after the establishment of Christ's church baptism officially became something other than what the early disciples practiced and it's purpose changed. In this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, we look at the slow evolution of thought concerning this sacred practice and why most religions today misrepresent the bible's teaching about baptism. Is your baptism from heaven or men?
One of the first substantial departures from the apostolic pattern that took place in the early history of the church of Christ pertained to its organization and government. Offices set in place by the apostles were transformed and expanded beyond their original scope. This paved the way for many other heresies in doctrine and practice. The autonomy of the local church is a safeguard against apostasy but the change from elders in local churches to a worldwide hierarchy of power over the universal church allowed churches everywhere to be swept up in error. In this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, we continue the series ‘Innovations and the Divine Pattern’ with a study of ‘Innovations in Church Government.
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Kevin PresleyWith Let The Bible Speak Archives
January 2023
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