I could not help myself; I had to select this topic as my final bulletin article here at Flatwoods. As Amber, Roman, and I prepare to transition to our new work in Kittanning, PA the conversation of how much we will deeply miss each of you has been discussed in great length. The genuine, Christian love that we have witnessed at this congregation will never be forgotten and we hope that our family has touched your hearts as much as you have touched ours. What has brought our family solace in these stressful and exciting times is that we know we will see those of you that are in Christ someday soon (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Whether we see each other again in this world or in the next, we will meet again.

What unites this Church family and keeps us together? Our love for Christ and being a part of Christ’s Church is the glue that binds us as one. When a Church is not united nor focused solely on the Lord, it becomes a dysfunctional family that cannot be pleasing to God (1 Cor. 1:10-15). Notice with me all the similarities a Christian should have with His brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul wrote, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6). Did you notice all the “ones” mentioned in that verse? We may have personal differences, but when it comes to doctrinal things, we must be united! There is only one Gospel of Christ and there is no room for division (Gal. 1:6-10). Those in Christ have a lot in common and at the center of our lives ought to be our risen Lord. When we contact the saving blood of Christ through baptism, we give up our old lives and live a new life in service to Him (Rom. 6:3-8). Have you considered what that means for all Christians? We should be living the same life; a life dedicated to serving Jesus. The reason this congregation is a cohesive family is because those that meet here put the Lord first; may that always hold true.

Since the Church is held together by a common love for Christ and Christians have put Him on in baptism, we also share a common hope of living with our Savior one day (Rom. 6:9-11). I can genuinely say I love each of you and it will bring me tremendous joy to see this group once again physically, but the joy we will have when we are together with Christ in Heaven is much greater and incomprehensible (Phil. 3:20-21). This congregation has battled through a devastating pandemic that has affected each of us more than we would care to admit, but one day we will be reunited at a place where there will be no death, sickness, nor tears (Rev. 21:1-4). All obedient and faithful Christians have this glorious eternity to look forward to and I long to be there with many of you (1 Cor. 15:20-28).  The only sad reality about this joyous and blessed truth is that those outside of Christ will not be there and they will have no one to blame, but themselves (2 Thess. 1:8-9).

If you are outside of Christ’s body and you considered me a friend while my family labored here, do you not realize that you could call me brother if you only obeyed Christ (Matt. 12:46-50; Gal. 3:26-29)? As a friend, I care deeply about your soul and I want you to know what awaits you in eternity if you perish in a lost condition (Rev. 20:11-15). I can think of no greater joy than if I were to hear that a friend of mine who was lost, decided to come to the Lord (Lk. 15:1-7). Give up being my worldly friend and instead become my brother or sister in Christ Jesus.

-Brandon Foresha

Romans 14:23 ends with the phrase, “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  Sometimes well-meaning brethren may use this phrase to prove that there must be scriptural authority for what one says and does.  They use the word “faith” here to refer to the Gospel, the body of truth that God has delivered in His word, as it is used in Jude 3.  The Bible certainly teaches that we need to live by what God says (Matthew 4:4); the faithful will not dare take liberties where the scripture is silent (Colossians 3:16-17; Hebrews 7:14).  Though the principle is true, Romans 14:23 is not a verse that teaches this.

The context of Romans 14 demands a different meaning for the word “faith” than Gospel truth.  Romans 14 is a discussion on matters of conscience and how the strong ought to give up certain liberties in order to avoid causing the weak to sin.  This discussion does not terminate at the end of the chapter either.  The first seven verses of Romans 15 continue the discussion of the strong bearing the infirmities of the weak.   Some of these matters were in regard to eating certain meat (Romans 14:2) or setting aside special days (Romans 14:5).  No doubt these matters arose because of the Jewish and Gentile backgrounds from which the members of the church came.  One of the major themes of the book of Romans is Jew-Gentile relations in Christ.

Thus, when one comes to the question in Romans 14:22, “Hast thou faith?”, it is evident that “faith” here refers to personal conviction, not the system of truth to which Christians adhere.  This is the same meaning of “faith” in verse 23.  Reading verses 22 and 23 together makes it abundantly clear, “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  The lesson is that a man should not engage in anything that goes against his conscience even if it is not wrong in itself.  Additionally, the conscience of weaker brethren ought to be respected by the stronger.

Let us resolve to live by what the Bible says instead of taking the silence of the scriptures as God’s consent.  Let us be aware of the personal convictions of others, respecting the conscience while patiently instructing.  Moreover, let us resolve to use the proper verses for teaching Biblical truths.  If we are not careful it is very easy for us to use a verse in a way it was not meant to be used.  The point that we may be making is true, but truth is not helped when the scriptures are misused.  As we all grow in our knowledge of the scriptures we recognize more fully the meaning of verses and ways we might have misused them in the past.  We must continually go back to the Bible to avoid misusing scripture in the future and, when we have the opportunity, kindly show others where they have misused scripture.  If we are Christians, we ought to be able to help each other along this line without any hard feelings.

-Mark Day

As we have been studying the life of Paul in the book of Acts, I hope you have noticed one of the reoccurring themes; the Gentiles were receptive of the Gospel message. After Cornelius and his household were baptized into Christ (Acts 10:34-48), Gentile people became a focus of Paul’s missionary journeys. Paul traveled to idolatrous cities; such as Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus who were Gentile dominant locations (Acts 17:16-23; 18:1-17; 19:1-10). At Athens Paul delivered a powerful message to a Greek audience. Two individuals, whose names were clearly Greek, believed and obeyed Christ (Acts 17:34). At Corinth, the Jews refused the message, but the Gentiles were eager to put on Christ (Acts 18:4-8). In the city of Ephesus, everyone heard about Paul’s miracles and both Jews and Greeks believed (Acts 19:11-18). The Gentiles showed their complete repentance of paganism and magic by bringing these books and burning them (Acts 19:19-20). Why were the Gentiles more receptive to the Gospel compared to the Jews, who knew God and His word?

The Gentiles worshiped their idols because they feared the repercussions if they did not. In Greek mythology, the gods were portrayed as cruel towards mankind; the slightest mistake or offense could result in harsh punishments. This is precisely why the Athenians made an altar to the unknown deity; just in case they overlooked one (Acts 17:22-23). The Canaanite people believed their idols would not answer their prayers unless extreme measures like blood-letting or children being sacrificed were taken (1 Kgs. 18:28; (Deut. 12:29-32). When Gentiles heard that God came in the flesh and died for their sins, they must have been perplexed because in their minds gods did not die for man; that was just foolishness to them (1 Cor. 1:22-24)! To learn that the Son of God willingly died for sinners and the unjust would have been incomprehensible (Rom. 5:6-11). In Isaiah, God prophesied that kings and nations would be startled, or amazed, when they heard the report of Christ bearing their sins (Is. 52:13-53:12). The salvation God provides, the righteous living He demands, and the self-sacrificial love that Christ extended to all people was something they could never obtain outside of Jesus (Titus 2:11-14).

Another factor for the Gentiles eagerly obeying the Gospel was the special relationship available to them through God’s Son (Eph. 3:1-7). Throughout the Roman empire, a person’s ethnicity and citizenship status had a lot of weight on how they were treated by others (Acts 16:35-38). Non-Romans were viewed as beneath the privileged few and not important. Though God had a special relationship with Israel in the Old Testament, that does not mean He abandoned the Gentiles. Melchizedek was a Gentile king and priest to God, Ruth was a Moabite who followed the Lord, and Jonah preached to Gentiles in Nineveh. All of these examples show that God cared for the Gentiles, but there were differences (Ex. 19:5-6). The coming of Christ and His death extended the special relationship with God to all mankind (Gal. 3:26-29). Whether a person was the lowliest slave or the wealthiest master, all were God’s children (Eph. 6:5-9).

God provided the sacrifice that was necessary to forgive the entire world’s sins, (1 Jn. 2:1-2), but each induvial must decide if they will accept God’s salvation (Rev. 3:20-22). God’s sacrificial love and desire to have a special relationship with all has not changed, nor will it ever. The blood was shed and the price paid in full when Jesus died on the cross; the only thing missing is your humility and obedience to God’s plan of salvation.

-Brandon Foresha