How To Talk To A Liberal
By Jonnie Edwards

Basically, the church of Christ is divided into two camps: conservative and liberal. Conservative folks are a people who believe the Bible is the final authority in all religious matters. Peter said it this way: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). Conservative people are concerned about speaking “as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11), as they rely on the inspiration of all Scripture being “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It’s time we learned how to talk to a liberal.

Talk About Enticements. A lot of liberal churches use all kind of allurements to get people to attend church services. From coffee hour, to gyms and family life centers, are used by some to induce attendance. The liberals need to tell us where the Bible authority is for the church providing these kind of things out of the church treasury. The Bible teaches us that “the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). John said that the drawing magnet is “…they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me” (Jn. 6:44-45). This is our appeal!

Talk About God’s Strictness. It seems that many do not realize that God says what He means and means what He says, rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15). When God told Adam and Eve, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17), God meant that! When Uzzah touched the ark of the covenant, when God had said, “not touch any holy thing, lest they die” (Num. 4:15), He meant that, for “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God” (2 Sam. 6:6-7). Liberals must deal with God’s strictness in regards to such things as they are promoting today.

Talk About What Does The Text Say. Liberals are telling us that words are not inspired; just the idea. Note 1 Corinthians 2:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit used “words.” In fact, Bible words are so inspired that a writer made an argument on just one letter in a word; the letter s seeds and seed (Gal. 3:16). If the words of the Bible are not inspired, we will have to stop making the point that baptism is “for” the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).

Discuss What Matthew 19:1-9 Really Says. All kinds of theories are floating around concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage today. We need to get right to the text of Matthew 19:1-9, read it, study it and teach just what the text says. You might be surprised to learn how many things being said about this subject will be cleared up. The text says fornication is the exception for putting a mate away and remarrying. The text also says that whosoever marries the put away one commits adultery. We just need to leave it the way the Lord stated it.

Keep Sinful Things Out Of Romans 14. It’s common to hear liberals putting whatever they are trying to justify in Romans 14, including doctrinal matters and even false teachers. A study of Romans 14 will not justify such things, since Romans 14 is dealing with things God has received and we can as well. Things which are neither good or evil, of themselves, but personal likes and dislikes are being discussed.

Learn A Basic Rule Of Bible Study. Liberals have never learned a very basic rule that must be observed, when studying a passage, is, “to whom is the Lord speaking?” For instance, many take a passage that applies to an individual Christian in doing good works and apply it to the church. A good example is taking Galatians 6:10 which says, “As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men….” It only takes the reading of the context to see that Paul is writing about “a man”; “if a man”; “let every man”; “a man”; “he that sows and reaps.” These all have reference to an individual and not the church (Gal. 6:1-9).

One of the greatest problems we have faced over the years is a failure to understand and teach that the actions of individual Christians is not church action. Many have been heard to say: “What the individual does, the church is doing it.” Not so, because, “For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Cor. 12:14). A good sample of this can be seen in 1 Timothy 5:16 where Paul said, “If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them which are widows indeed.” If this does not make a clear cut distinction between actions of an individual and the church, I do not know how the Lord could have said it; do you? Also a reading of Matthew 18:15-17 will teach us there is a difference in what one or two brethren do and what the church does. Read it! – The Terre Haute Speaker, July 26, 2020.  

CHRIST AND DAVID’S THRONE
By J. P. Edwards

Such passages as 2 Samuel 7:12-16 and Psalm 89:3-4 promised that the Messiah would sit upon David’s throne. Premillennialists apply this prophecy to the millennial kingdom and deny that Jesus is now sitting on David’s throne.

You may be asking, “What difference does it make?” If we can prove from the Scriptures that Christ is now sitting on David’s throne, the doctrine of premillennialism is wrong, for it denies such. If Christ is now sitting on David’s throne, the premillennialists’ interpretation of Bible prophecy is wrong, and the second coming of Jesus will not result in the establishment of a millennial kingdom on earth.

WHAT IS DAVID’S THRONE? David’s throne was not a literal, physical chair on which David sat. David’s throne is not reserved somewhere for Christ. David’s throne is a position of authority that Christ has in the church. The word “throne” means sovereign power and dignity. Jesus is the Head, King, and Ruler over the kingdom, the church (Mt. 28:8-9; Eph. 1:20-23).

David’s throne was God’s throne, because God gave it to him (1 Kgs. 1:46-48; 2:12; 1 Chron. 29:32). Thus, the throne, although it was on earth, was Jehovah’s throne and rule over His people. Christ sitting on David’s throne is sitting on the throne of the Father ruling over His people (Col. 1:13; Rev. 3:21).

JESUS IS NOW SEATED ON DAVID’S THRONE. Jehovah made an oath to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 that he would sit one upon his throne. Christ was the one God raised up to sit on David’s throne (Acts 2:25-36). Jesus was resurrected to sit in a position of authority in the kingdom, the church.

Christ was to reign on David’s throne while David was dead. Jehovah said, “When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy father, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Sam. 7:12). Jesus was resurrected to sit on David’s throne while David was dead and in his tomb. Peter said, “Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died, and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore prophet, and knowing that God hath sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ…”  (Acts 2:29-30). The premillennialists have Christ seated on David’s throne after the resurrection of the righteous. After the resurrection of the righteous will be too late for Christ to reign. He must be reigning now, while David is dead in the tomb.

The Bible plainly teaches that Christ is now reigning over God’s people on the throne of David. Thus, the doctrine that says that Christ is not now reigning on David’s throne (premillennialism) is unfounded.