What Would You Pay To Go To Heaven?

By Johnie Edwards

According to a survey reported in the October 24, 1997 USA Today, the wealthiest 1% of families were asked what they would pay for first and how much, stated “they would pay $640,000.00 for a place in heaven.”

Heaven Cannot Be Bought With Money

When Simon tried to buy the gift of God with money, he was told,    “. . . thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:13- 23). The gift of God referred to in this passage was that of spiritual gifts bestowed by the laying on of an apostle’s hand in the first century, before the word of God was completed. Money could not buy God’s gift and it cannot today!

Heaven Has Its Cost

Even though one cannot buy his way into heaven; heaven is not without cost. First, it cost God. It cost God the sending of his Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It cost Jesus his life. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

The Church Had Cost

The church of the New Testament is the saved, “. . . And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). As the apostle Paul bids farewell to the Ephesian elders, among other things, he said, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church which he hath purchased with his own blood ” (Acts 20:28). God demanded the shedding of the blood of Christ to bring the church into existence.

Redemption Has Its Price

Redemption is “. . . in Christ” (Eph. 1:7; Rom. 3:23); but this redemption was not without cost. Peter penned, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from our vain con- versation, received by tradition from your fathers: But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Heaven will cost you being “baptized into the death of Jesus Christ” (Rom.6:3-4) where you contact the blood shed on the cross (John 9:34).

Christians Can Pay For They Are Rich

Paul told the Corinthian Christians, “For we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Saved people owe a debt and must pay. Paul said that he was “. . . debtor, so, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel” (Rom.1:14). Heaven will cost us time to teach others (2 Tim. 2:2), to be holy and godly (Tit. 2:11-12), our time (Eph. 5:16), sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2), money, (1 Cor. 16:1-2), good influence (2 Cor. 3:2; Phil. 2:15), and a life-time of faithful and stedfast service unto God (1 Cor. 15:58; Rev. 2:10). Are you ready to pay the price to go to heaven? Jesus asked, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26).

Quips & Quotes

Church Pews Needed

The church at Midland, Texas would like to purchase four used pews. These need to be approximately 12 feet long. Wade Gamblin, 4731 W. Cuthbert St., Midland, Texas 79703.

Free Tract, “Why I Left The Denominational Church of Christ,” Available

Last year, the article “Why I Left The Denominational Church of Christ” appeared in print. The request for it to be put into tract form has been outstanding. To allow full and free distribution, I have added it to my website. It is laid out in a three-fold tract form, to be printed on legal sized paper, available in Works, Word, txt and MS Publisher formats. Publisher gives the best results. They are “zipped.”  You are welcome to download and copy for distribution as you wish. It is available at: http://users.chipshot.net/~wgoforth/ liberals.zip (Wayne Goforth, wgoforth@chipshot.net, P.O. Box 366, Vernon, TX 76385, 940 553-4920).

Hispanics Have Highest Teen Birthrate “Washington  — The percentage of Hispanic teen-agers who gave birth has surpassed that of black teen-agers for the first time, with both groups more than twice as likely as whites to become mothers before they turn 20, the federal government reported Thursday.

“In 1995, nearly 11 percent of Hispanic teen-agers gave birth, compared with about 10 percent of black teen-agers and 4 percent of non-Hispanic white teen-agers. While the rates for black and white teen-agers have declined in recent years, the figures for Hispanics have continued to rise, driver by a 32 percent increase among Mexican Americans since 1989.

“The figures represent an important benchmark in teen-age birthrates and provide more evidence that Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing minority group, increasingly are suffering from the problems that historically have plagued African Americans. In 1995, for example, the poverty rate among Hispanics was greater than the figure for blacks for the first time. Hispanics also have higher out-of-wedlock birthrates than African Americans and have the lowest rates of high school and college graduation” (Barbara Vobejda and Pamela Constable, The Indianapolis Star [February

13, 1998], A9).

A Biblical Impasse

“Can public school students study the New Testament without learning about the Resurrection?

“No, says the National Council for Bible curriculum in Public Schools. Yes, says U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich, who has ordered the Fort Myers, Fla., school board to scuttle the council’s curriculum and find another.

“The judge said it was difficult to see how an account of the Resurrection could be presented as history without indoctrinating students in the Christian religion.

“Elizabeth Ridenour, president of the council, views the judge’s order as blatantly hostile because it would allow schools to teach the Bible only if they ‘censor out the main issue.’

“The council’s instructional materials reportedly have been adopted by public school districts in 22 states. Its curriculum is a bare chronology of biblical events that implies historical accuracy or at least offers no viewpoints that question it.

“The Resurrection, of course, is the main issue of the New Testament, the core of Christian belief in the divinity of Jesus. There is no Christianity without the Resurrection”

Beer Bottle Epitaph

By Larry Ray Hafley

Harry Caray, the famed baseball announcer who died recently, has been widely eulogized and remembered by those of the world. He was a profane, beer drinking man of the world. In fact, his drinking exploits were so fabled that he was labeled, “The mayor of Rush Street,” a notorious “Bourbon Street” in Chicago.

At the gates of Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs for whom he broadcast, fans brought hundreds of beer bottles and beer cans with flowers and messages stuck therein. They did this as a kindly tribute to their beer guzzling, broadcast hero.

How sad (1 John 2:14-17). Imagine that a man’s life and soul are so trivial, so mundane, so earthy and worldly that his most prominent momento is a beer bottle! The figure, the emblem of his life is an empty beer can with a flower stuck in it! How pitiful. How pathetic.

Before we disdain the man, what of ourselves? What would our memorial insignia be? A pair of dice? A lottery ticket? A dirty magazine? A TV set? How many of us could be represented by a Bible or some form of Bible teaching? Will our friends think it strange that our funeral is surrounded by the trappings of religious and spiritual things (1 Pet. 4:3, 4)? At your funeral, will Bible reading, gospel singing, and prayers seem to be a strange contrast to the life you have lived? If so, you have no right to make light of Harry Caray. Further, you have no right to expect the rest of us to lie for you at your funeral. Your life is telling the truth about you. So which will be most appropriate with which to adorn your casket, a Bible or a beer bottle?

“What Is Wrong With Dancing?”

By Gene Taylor

There was an interesting article by Jennifer Lee in The Wall Street Journal Monday, August 11 (“Before the Fall: Small Church Seeks the Purity of Eden” 1). It told of a church that held “clothing-optional” services.

The one-room church with its lace curtains could be any other small-town church in America until the lay preacher, Harry Westcott, steps out from behind the pulpit naked except for white sneakers and a black watch. The accompanist, his fingers skimming the keyboard of the Wurlitzer, is similarly undressed.

Thus begins the services of a non-denominational church at Cedar Waters Village nudist resort in Nottingham, New Hampshire. This village “claims to be the first Christian nudist resort in the U.S.” It was founded in 1950.

The bulk of the article goes on to relate the argumentation and justification these nudists give for their practices. They include such things as “People were always baptized nude until the second or third century,” “Nude is natural. The philosophy is body acceptance,” and “If you believe that the human body is a creation of God in his own image, there is nothing shameful or harmful about being nude.” I have come to expect such typical rationalizations for such aberrant behavior. As a matter of fact, I heard these same arguments used by a minister of a denominational church in Texas some 25 years ago to justify using an exotic dancer in worship services. It seems that anyone who wants to engage in any practice can somehow justify it.

Some so-called “Christians” are that way. Those who claim to be members of the body of Christ but cling to worldly practices often seek such justification.

Those who claim to serve Christ but enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages try to justify their practice by saying such things as, “Well, Jesus drank wine”; “Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake”; or “You know, the Bible doesn’t condemn social drinking or just having a drink in the privacy of your home as long as it’s done in moderation.” The Bible does condemn “strong drink” (Prov. 20:1; 23:29-32) and drunkenness (Rom. 13:13; Gal. 5:21) and common sense ought to cause anyone in their right mind to realize where the use of alcohol leads. It leads to death from alcohol poisoning as with the LSU student who recently died after pledging a fraternity. It leads to impairment of faculties and death when driving as in the fatal automobile accident of Princess Diana. Be smart enough to abstain from alcohol completely. Even at Cedar Waters Village, a nudist resort, “alcohol isn’t allowed.”

Others who claim to be members of the church justify dancing in much the same way. Quoting again from the article in The Wall Street Journal, it said, “Sexual promiscuity and excessive physical contact aren’t tolerated. All dancing even square dancing — must be done clothed because, as Mr. Westcott explains, ‘Dancing is a vertical manifestation of a horizontal desire.’” Even nudists can see the dangers involved in dancing. Why can’t some of those who claim to be Christians? It is because it is something they want to do and, as we have already seen, when someone really wants to do something, he will go to great lengths to justify it in his own mind and the minds of others. The problem is, though, no matter how he may try, he cannot change the mind or will of Almighty God.