Ready! Set! Go!
"They shall mount up with wings like eagles" 
(Isaiah 40:31)

 

Volume 6—Number 1 January  2004

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

READY: Cause and Effect

SET: Maintain Good Works

GO: Search For Truth: Lesson 1 
 

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A Monthly Publication of the Church of Christ  at Duluth, Georgia 
to equip the saints in reaching 
the lost through example and evangelism. 

Editor 

Skip Andrews 
3239 Highway 120 
Duluth, GA  30096 
770  476-2159 
email: Skip Andrews
 

Produced under the oversight of the 
elders at Duluth, GA
 
 

Rod Rutherford
Dennis Hatchett
Skip Andrews
 

This paper is sent free to all who request it.

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Thank you, Conyers, Georgia

When this paper began five years ago, the elders at Conyers, Georgia, helped greatly by working with us in fellowship and finances.  Bobby Wood has served as co-editor from the beginning because he is such a wonderful example of a soul-winner in personal evangelism.

Conyers is unable to continue the financial support ($100/month), so Duluth is taking the responsibility.
But I want to say a public “Thank you” to Conyers for their help.  Ready! Set! Go! has been a dream of mine for many years.  Getting it started was not as easy as it could have been, but we have now begun the sixth year.

Occasionally we receive help from our readers.  Now that R!S!G! has expanded to include two regular inserts (“Families Matter” and “A New Commandment”), we will be encouraging you to help a little more if you can.

Please read the inserts and ask for more if you can use them.
    — Skip Andrews
 
 

Our basic text for this page of  “Ready! Set! Go!” is 1 Peter 3:15, which says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (NKJV).  The word “defense” (“answer” in the KJV) is from the Greek word apologia, which gives rise to the English word “apologetics.”  This has reference to the study of those things that prove the existence of God, the deity of Christ, and the fact that the Bible is the only written word of God.

I would like to present articles on this page during 2004 that can serve as helps in the area of Christian Evidences.  These truths should be known and understood by Christians for our own faith, as well as for use in teaching others, which is exactly what Peter requires of us in our text.

The first four articles will deal with the existence of God.  There are three classic arguments that can help people to come to a knowledge of His existence.  They are—

• CAUSE AND EFFECT (Cosmological argument)
• DESIGN IN NATURE (Teleological argument)
• MORALS AND ETHICS (Moral argument).

In these verses, David affirms, “God does exist.”  He affirms that the evidence is everywhere!  God has left His fingerprints on everything He has done!  The Bible begins with the statement that God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).  There has never been any reason or any properly used evidence that would justify any other explanation for the beginning and the arrangement of the universe.
Other passages that can help in understanding these things include Acts 14:15-17 and Romans 1:18-20.  For example, in Acts 14, Paul teaches that the things that God has done teach us that He is good; while in Romans 1, Paul affirms that the universe testifies to His “eternal power and Godhead.”
On the basis of the comments made by inspired writers and speakers in these scriptures, we can proceed to learn about specific ways by which the existence of God can be proved.
So, our next three articles will give brief treatments of the three classic arguments that are listed earlier.

(Note: for a more extensive treatment of these and other points, see ROCK-SOLID FAITH, HOW TO BUILD IT, by Bert Thompson, Ph. D., Apologetics Press, Inc., 230 Landmark Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117-2752.)

In Titus 3:8, Paul wrote, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men” (NKJV).  In previous portions of Titus, Paul had taught that there is a great significance in “works.”  On the sinful side, there were some whose works were a denial of God (1:16).  On the righteous side, there were some whose works were proof of the fact that they were pleasing to God (2:7; 3:1).  The will of God is that His people will be zealous of good works until “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (2:14).
I would like to give a list of some of the things that we ought to do in order to please God and to show our neighbors how wonderful the Christian life really is.
Brotherly love is a work of obedience to God that involves us in the lives of other Christians so that we can travel from here to heaven together.  The cooperation, fellowship, worship, and helpful deeds we do for one another are powerfully described in the book of 1 John.
Benevolence is a work of obedience that is a continual part of the life of the people of God, for we will always have the poor, unfortunate, sick, and bereaved around and among us.  Jesus taught this in His actions and in His words (Luke 10:30-36).
Being a good citizen is something that our neighbors ought to be able to see in us very easily.  No matter when or where a Christians live, the word of God requires submission to the law of the land as a sign of our submission to God (Romans 13).
Ethical decisions and moral standards that harmonize with the will of Christ should be a part of our daily presentation of maintaining good works to the people around us who have not obeyed the gospel.  The New Testament is filled with principles and motivations for Christians to conduct ourselves as we should.  And we are to live by these things in all circumstances (Titus 3:1-5)!
Priorities also show our non-Christian neighbors what really matters to us.  So let us maintain good works regarding our use of time, money, career, and leisure (Matthew 6:19-34).
Attitudes about any number of things can impress our neighbors, or they can expose our hypocrisy before them.  Let us work daily to have the best attitudes we can have toward events, people, and principles—for our own benefit, and for the benefit of those who are watching us to see how much our “Christianity” really means to us (1 Peter 2-12)!
Words—the positive and negative use of the tongue—are among the quickest things that can make or break our efforts to reach lost souls.  At all times, and in all places, our words should be spoken in such a way that people can see that we have standards that matter to us (Ephesians 4:25-32).
Our general manner of life must fit the example left by Jesus and all the faithful.  How effective are we going to be as Christians in a sinful world if we do not really work at living the way we should?  The entire “Sermon on the Mount” is designed to make this point (Matthew 5-7).
Our use of the first day of the week is critical in maintaining good works, for if we do not show ourselves to be devoted to the God of heaven by being true worshippers, all of our other messages to the lost lose their meaning and impact (Hebrews 10:19-39).
In other words, maintaining good works means that Christians are to be “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1,2).  In the last six chapters of Romans, Paul teaches the same things that he taught in Titus.
So, let us “let our light shine” by maintaining “good works” as “living sacrifices” so that our neighbors will desire to know more about the life that Christians live.

(Note: During 2004, we will promote and say a few words about the Bible study lessons that are a part of the “Fishers of Men” program.  For more information, contact Timothy Wilkes at 800 338-1530).

The first lesson has fifteen sections of questions relating to the existence of God.  The student answers “yes” and “no” questions under each heading in order to progress through an orderly examination of some of the proofs of God’s existence and characteristics.

This will help the student and his teacher to know where the student stands in his knowledge and acceptance of the truth.  Obviously, in a world full of paganism, skepticism, doubt, and even atheism, such a study is very important at the beginning of an orderly series that will lead the good ground hearer to ultimately obey the Christ.

A key element of this lesson is five questions that are noted at the beginning of the study.  Then, at the end, the lesson affirms that the Bible is the only book that answers these questions.  Note them carefully:
 

1. Where did I come from?
2. Why am I here?
3. Where am I going?
4. Why will I die?
5. Will I be judged?

As a goal of R!S!G!, we want to encourage all readers to be as involved in evangelism as possible.  These tools are among the best that are available today. Please take the time to find out more about “Fishers of Men.”
 
 

Truth for the World: 

Contact us for a free wall 
calendar for 2004

We have printed 1000 of these for people to use through the new year.  There are several helpful features in these calendars.  First, there is a page for each staff member and his family so that you can learn about the various works we do at Truth for the World.  Second, there is a daily Bible reading program, with the references typed in on the day that they should be read.  Third, there are several teaching charts that can help people learn things about the Bible.  And fourth, there is information about other works and tools that Duluth makes available for Christians to use in teaching the word of God.

Please contact us by phone (770 476-2159), mail (3239 Highway 120, Duluth, GA  30096), or e-mail (duluthcofc@duluthcofc.org) for one or more copies of this calendar!  They are free, and they will soon be gone.