Silence of the Scriptures, Part 2   Introduction A mother is about to bake a cake. She sends her 18-year-old son to the store to buy a gallon of milk. She hands him a ten-dollar bill and tells him she wants the change when he returns. The son heads to the store and then returns 20 minutes later with the gallon of milk, a 2-liter bottle of soda, and 3 candy bars. Dutifully, he hands his mother the milk and change. Upon seeing the change, she asks him why he bought more than the milk. His response, “You didn’t say I couldn’t buy them.” How often do people have that same approach to religion? A lot may deny it, but when you see their practice, it becomes very obvious. People do more or differently than what the scriptures teach.   Bible Examples Build yourself an Ark— In Genesis 6:12-14 we see the story of Noah and the building of the ark, So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah,

  Silence of the Scriptures, Part 1   Introduction In Deuteronomy 29:29, it is written, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” What this means is that everything that is written in the bible is for us; if it’s not there, then it doesn’t matter. People find it hard to believe that God would keep certain things a secret from us; as if it necessary for us to have that knowledge.  It’s a shame that people think that if it isn’t revealed to us that we are responsible to find out the answers ourselves.    Bible Examples of “Not revealed” What was the forbidden fruit? In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden and being tempted by the serpent. Eve informs the serpent that they can eat the fruit of any tree except for the one in the middle; not even touch it (vs. 3). Now, let’s look at verse 6, So when the woman saw that the tree was good fo

 This week's article comes from  Shane Carrington of La Vista Church of Christ Why Four Gospels? Have a great week!

  Misuse of Matthew 7:1   Introduction Aside from John 3:16, Matthew 7:1 gets quoted a lot by people from all walks of life. It’s not just the religious people; all people use this verse as a way of deflating a situation. In Matthew 7:1, Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Does this mean that we can’t judge an individual? A known celebrity once uttered the phrase, “Only God can judge me.” However, that phrase, in itself, is a judgement. Now that’s irony!   Out of Context We make judgments all the time when we meet someone. We looked at the way they’re dressed, their behavior, their mannerisms, how they talk, etc. However, people say that we can’t do this and that we should tolerate their decisions. You’ve heard women say, “My body, My choice” as a support to abortion. But that is a judgment also. Essentially what people are saying is, “Leave me alone, I have a right to live my life the way I want to and you can’t say or do anything to change that.” Again,