This and That

I pull out various items of interest from the newspaper, magazines and Internet, hoping that it may lead to an Abundant Life article. Sometimes the pieces fit perfectly as an illustration or starter for an article. Sometimes they don’t. However, some of them are just too good to pass up, even if they don’t lead to an entire article. So even though I don’t want to write a lot about these items I do want to pass them along with a few ideas and observations.

Here are some interesting thoughts from a denominational news service (note the use of “church” to mean “Christendom”) on gambling:

(AgapePress) - There was a time when gambling was considered a vice and a crime in this country. Things have changed. Today, 39 states have state-sponsored lotteries and the church no longer takes a strong stand against gambling.

Approximately six weeks ago, Andrew “Jack” Whitaker of West Virginia announced his plans to donate $17 million — 10% of his $170 million gross winnings of a Powerball jackpot — to three Church of God pastors. One of the pastors said, “That’s a blessing to have that kind of backing.”

Shortly thereafter, David Rush (a Florida man) sent $100,000 from his $14 million Florida Lotto jackpot winnings to the Salvation Army in Naples, Florida. But Salvation Army Maj. Cleo Damon told Rush that he couldn’t take his money and returned the check.

A spokesperson for Damon said Damon believed that taking a stand against gambling and then taking winnings from the lottery would have been hypocritical [Mark’s note - now what would make him think that?!]. Yet, Lt. Colonel David E. Grindle (Salvation Army Chicago Divisional Commander) was quick to point out that Damon’s decision was purely his own and didn’t reflect Salvation Army policy regarding such gifts [Mark’s second note: I believe the translation of Grindle’s comment is “Next time send the check to me because I’ll take it.”]

The fact that churches and Christian organizations would even consider accepting gifts from lottery winnings clearly demonstrates how the church has weakened in its opposition to gambling. Have we forgotten that lotteries are a form of gambling, and that gambling is a sin that destroys thousands of lives?

Pastor Scott Thomas understands this principle well. According to Family News In Focus, he faced a very difficult situation several years ago when a deacon in his church offered a portion of lottery winnings for a building fund. Thomas refused the gift and stood on the principle of Christian separation. “I’ve just always believed that God doesn’t need to use chance to build his Church,” said Thomas. Furthermore, he added that impoverished people largely play lotteries and the church shouldn’t profit on the backs of the poor.

Despite Thomas’ opposition, however, the church wanted the money and fired him. They accepted the gift and built the building. As a result, attendance has dropped from 165 to fewer than 50 people a week. Thomas says: “Several of the members have called me and said, “The albatross around our necks is that we are now known as the lottery church.’”

Recently, Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, wrote an editorial entitled: “Don’t Play the Lottery for Me!” Piper’s editorial sums up, what I think, ought to be the position of every church on whether to accept gifts from gambling winnings.

Piper wrote: “We are followers of Jesus. He had no place to lay His head and did not accept the demonic temptation to jump off the temple for the jackpot of instance recognition. The Calvary road is not paved with Powerball tickets, but with blood. The Church was bought once by One who refused the short cut of instant triumph. It will never be bought by those who dream of riches. Don’t play the lottery for Bethlehem Baptist Church. We will not, I pray, salve your conscience by taking one dime of your plunder, or supporting even the thought of your spiritual suicide. Let the widow give her penny and the laborer his wage. And keep your life free from the love of money.

Mark’s concluding thought: when churches are so desperate for money they will take the wages of sin something is very, very wrong.

I wonder how many of us have some misconceptions about the geography of Palestine? In a Bible history blog Marvin Hunt noted that the area we know as the “Holy Lands” really isn’t very big. From Jerusalem to Nazareth is only 98 miles. From Jerusalem to the Dead Sea is 18 miles and to the Sea of Galilee only 80 miles. The Mediterranean Sea is but 36 miles from Jerusalem. From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is about 65 miles, but the Jordan River winds its way on a course that takes 200 miles to connect them! Measuring from Dan to Beersheba (what Bible writers often use to express from north to south) is 140 miles.

It really shouldn’t be that surprising how close everything is in Palestine since Jesus walked everywhere He went. If Galilee and Judea were laid out like Texas the Lord wouldn’t have been able to be in Galilee one day and appear in Jerusalem just a few days later - at least not without miraculous means! No one walks from El Paso to Texarkana in four days! When you think about the measurements given above you can see the Holy Lands would fit comfortably in east Texas. Maybe that helps us better “see” the world of the Bible.

Finally, a note about liberalism. So many churches of Christ today seem well content to take their place as just another denomination among all the churches in “Christendom.” To do that a church must come to believe that all churches are right, that people should go to the church of their church, and that “all roads lead to heaven.” Of course, if water baptism is necessary to salvation (as the Scriptures teach, Acts 2:38; 22:16) then churches that teach faith-only salvation are not right and they are not helping people. They are teaching a false gospel that only leads people astray.

Richland Hills church of Christ has taken the lead in departing from the pattern of the New Testament, especially with the introduction of instrumental music in worship. However, they have steadfastly maintained that water baptism is necessary to be saved. They have teaching on their website that strongly encourages baptism. Yet how the leadership of the Richland Hills church really feels about baptism may well be found in a news note from the Christian Chronicle. There it is reported that “about 2,000 people attending a recent Wednesday night service at the Richland Hills church of Christ held their hands in the direction of a beleaguered Baptist church and asked God to help their neighbor overcome financial problems.”

One might wonder about the “holding of hands in the direction” of the Harvest Church in nearby Watauga (clearly a practice imported from Pentecostalism) but what really catches the eye is Richland Hills praying that God will help an institution that teaches error about salvation! Harvest Church’s website says “Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present age. However, they are not to be regarded as a means of salvation.” That is a direct contradiction of the Scriptures and much of what Richland Hills even claims to believe. The article in the Chronicle went on to note that members of the Richland Hills church even went on to start a fundraiser to help the church with its $7.5 million debt load!

Either Richland Hills’ teaching on baptism isn’t what they want brethren to think it is or they have a real consistency problem. You can’t teach baptism is essential to salvation and then work to help a religious group that undermines that very teaching! Liberalism’s ideas destroy more than how a church worships, don’t they?

Thanks for reading this issue of Abundant Life, and for your continued support of this publication. See you next month!

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