In lessons dealing with godly children, the focus is generally on parents and what they must do (Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4). The focus is seldom, if ever, on what children must do. Children often hear preachers preach to their parents, but not to them. The word “godly” means showing proper respect and reverence, so being a godly child means to show respect toward the Lord and His wishes for life. To be a godly child, what would God have them to be?

Children need to honor and obey their parents. Paul declared, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Eph. 6:1-3; cf. Col. 3:20). Please note the two major responsibilities found within these verses – obedience and honor. To be a godly child, these responsibilities must be met. Children are to obey and submit in such a way as to bring joy and not grief to their parents (Prov. 10:1; 15:20; 19:26; Heb. 13:17).

Children need to honor God. To fail to recognize God’s appointed authority within the home is to disregard, disobey, and disrespect God. The only exception to this rule would be if parents told a child to do something contrary to God’s word. In this case, the child should respectfully and lovingly plead with their parents to change their stance. However, these situations are the exception. It should be noted that children would still have the responsibility to obey their parents in all other things. One wrong requirement on the part of a parent would not nullify the whole parent/child dynamic.

Children need to grow spiritually. Timothy had the advantage of a pious mother and grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5), and he was learning about God from the time he was a baby (3:15). Love of God and His people is not a matter only for adults; by the time one has reached adulthood, the most deeply held convictions have already been established. Youth need to learn about and follow God while they are…youth!

Children have the opportunity to motivate their families. No doubt, we have all known little children who led their parents to church services. Without the constant clamoring of these children to go to Bible class, their parents wouldn’t have gone. Little children also often lead their parents in saying prayers and in reading Bible stories. Sometimes in the chaos of getting everyone fed and in bed, Bible stories are not read and prayers are not said. Children can encourage their parents by reminding them when these things are not done. When asked to go get a book to read before bed, children can pick a Bible story book. They need to have their own, appropriate expectations for spiritual activities.

Children have the opportunity to influence others. When His disciples were arguing about who was the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus took a child, set him in the midst of them, and declared, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:1-3). Jesus used a little child to lead His disciples. He used a little child to show them the spirit that they needed to have in order to be saved. Just one chapter later, He would again use a child to lead them (Matt. 19:13-15; cf. Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17). In like manner, the Apostle Paul spoke of the example that young people can be to those who are older. To Timothy, he wrote, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity: Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine…Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:12-15).

Be a godly child. Make sure you learn about God and spiritual matters. Remember to obey God, parents, and figures of authority. Remember that you can make a difference in the lives of others.

Taken from 2009 Annual Southwest Lectures: Honoring Christ – Calling For Godly Homes.

-submitted by Jerry Sturgill

The church at Corinth had a significant segment who were beginning to deny the resurrection from the dead.  In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul addressed this issue with them in detail.  Being one of the foundational truths of Christianity, it was absolutely vital for them to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and their own bodily resurrection from the dead in the future when Christ returns.  Heaven awaits those who are saved, who will be resurrected with spiritual bodies to enjoy endless bliss with the Lord.  Paul concludes this chapter with this exhortation, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”  The enjoyment of their reward in their resurrected state was an incentive for them to abound in their work for the Lord.  One may work in vain in many endeavors on earth.  A farmer’s crop can be ruined, an investor’s savings can be lost or stolen, but the work we do for the Lord is guaranteed to be rewarded if we stay faithful (1 Peter 1:4). Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Often when we are considering certain verses in the Scriptures, we fail to recognize the context that helps round out our understanding of a particular verse.  This failure is even more common when a verse is located next to a chapter division.  Chapter and verse divisions, handy as they may be in finding a particular portion of the Scriptures, were not part of the original documents but were added centuries after the Bible was completed (Langton gave us the chapters in 1200s and Stephanus gave the verse divisions in the 1500s).

The verses following 1 Corinthians 15:58 show a labor in the Lord that is not in vain – helping the poor (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).  The particular need at the time Paul wrote the letter was a famine that afflicted the people of Judea.  The churches of Christ were committed to sending relief to these people by the hands of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 11:27-30).  The principle we learn is that we should be giving when we are gathered together, motivated by love for the Lord and others.  Second Corinthians shows the continuation of this process and the good it did for all that were involved.  Jew-Gentile relations in the church were healed because so many Gentiles were willing to help the Jews of Judea.  While the church makes providing for the poor in the family of God the first priority, all men, even those outside the church, are benefited by God’s people doing good works (Galatians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 9:13).

Instead of being focused on accumulating as much wealth for ourselves as possible, we should help the poor who are in true need (Galatians 2:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).  If we do not help them, we are not of the truth, and have no good eternal reward to anticipate (1 John 3:17-18; cf. Luke 16:19-31).  Thus, in view of the resurrection, where we will experience riches that are incorruptible, we should abound in doing the work of the Lord, including giving to the poor.

-Mark Day

In describing the growth of the first-century church of Christ in the city of Jerusalem, Luke writes, “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women” (Acts 5:14).  This is not the first account of individuals being “added” to the Lord’s church in the book of Acts.  Acts 2:47 notes, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”  To be “added to the Lord” (Acts 5:14) and to be “added to the church” (Acts 2:47) are the equivalent expressions.  After all, the church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18).  When one is baptized, one is united with the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-8); one is baptized into the one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).  To be part of the church is to be part of the saved body of people (Acts 2:47) who have all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).  To be outside of the church is to be outside of that sphere of blessings, not forgiven of sins, not united with the Lord’s atoning death, not a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27).

When Acts 5:14 says that “believers” were “added to the Lord,” it indicates that one must believe first before being added to the Lord, i.e. to His church.  James 2:17 emphatically shows that faith without works is dead.  A living faith is needed for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15).  A living faith moves one to repent, confess, and be baptized.  John 1:11-12 says of Jesus, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”  Faith gives one the right to become a child of God, but the moment one accepts the truth of the Gospel, believing it, is not the moment one is added to the Lord, i.e. added to His church.

Several on Pentecost day following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus heard Peter’s sermon, and believed.  They were pricked in their hearts because they recognized Jesus was the Christ, whom they were guilty of crucifying (Acts 2:36-37).  It was not at this moment of believing these facts that they were saved, i.e. added to the Lord’s church.  They asked what they should do and Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 8:37-38).  Some three thousand gladly received the word and were baptized; at the point of baptism they were “added” (Acts 2:41).  It was not at the point of believing the facts, not even at the point of gladly receiving the word, but at the point of baptism, where all that culminated into a commitment of obedience, that they were saved, added to the Lord, added to His church.

Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).  Faith makes one a proper candidate to be added to the Lord, but until it manifests itself in obedience to the Gospel, salvation has not been secured (2 Thessalonians 1:8). If one believes in Christ, but because of social pressures will not confess that faith before others, one is not saved (John 12:42).  If a man will not be baptized, then he rejects the counsel of God against himself as the Pharisees and lawyers did when they rejected John’s baptism (Luke 7:29-30).  The saved are a group of baptized believers (Acts 2:47; 5:14).  One must be a true believer in order to be baptized, but one is not added to the Lord until one is a baptized believer.

-Mark Day

The New Testament reveals to us the nature of Jesus Christ; the first four books in particular give details of His earthly life spanning a third of a century.  What one finds within these documents is a personality that has brought about the greatest change for good in the history of the world.  Even today, 2,000 years removed from when He lived among us, Jesus’ words and deeds impress people to believe in Him as the Son of God and inspire them to mold their lives after His example.

The adage, “actions speak louder than words,” is a truth that can often be seen in the deeds of Jesus of Nazareth.  Unlike the sanctimonious Pharisees, Jesus was “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Luke 7:34).  He was not a friend who participated with them in sinning, but was a true friend who loved them, formed relationships with them, and told them, “go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).  He spoke with a Samaritan woman at the well, asking her for a drink (John 4:7).  He had no container to hold his own water (John 4:11); He was willing to put his mouth to the bucket the Samaritan woman was carrying.  What first-century Jewish writer would have concocted such a story?  Certainly none.  The character of Jesus shines above the prejudices of His day.  Jesus healed the lepers by touching them (Matthew 8:3).  When the band of officers came with weapons to take Jesus by force, He even healed the ear of Malchus after Peter cut it off (Luke 22:51; John 18:10).  Throughout His short life, “he went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).

One can learn much about a man from what he says about himself, what his friends say, and even what his enemies say.  Jesus asked, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46).  He called on others to repent, but was not in need of repentance Himself (Matthew 3:14-15; 4:17).  He said He always did the things that please the Father (John 8:29).  Which of us could truly say the same?  His teachings are without equal, as the officers admitted, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).  Jesus’ friends said that He was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); the Father corroborated this truth by audibly declaring it from heaven (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).  The religious leaders, Jesus’ enemies, did not hesitate to cast reproaches on Him.  They implied that His birth was from fornication (John 8:41).  They said He was a Samaritan and had a devil (John 8:48).  Each confrontation Jesus had with His enemies did not elicit any evil from Him, but manifested His supreme virtues of love and truth; contrariwise, His enemies embarrassed themselves because they showed how manipulative and hypocritical they were (Matthew 22).

The only logical basis for this unparalleled character named Jesus evinced in the Gospel accounts is that He was God in the flesh who actually lived, doing these great deeds and saying these great statements.  No other conclusion squares with the facts.  Man could not create such a character. He surpasses the perfection of any figment of our imaginations, and yet was clearly rooted in the world dealing with real people in places which actually existed.  “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42).  Will you examine the character of the Christ portrayed in the New Testament?  If you will honestly consider Him, you will come away with the same conclusion the centurion did when he said, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

–Mark Day

When God called Moses in Exodus 3 to appear before Pharaoh in order to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, Moses had fears and excuses for not going.  With each excuse Moses gave, God provided the adequate reasons and resources for Moses to be successful and to make his excuses null and void.

One fear Moses had was that neither the Egyptians nor the Israelites would believe that the Lord had appeared to him (Ex. 4:1).  Instead of depending on the mere words of Moses, God provided miracles to back up his claims that God had indeed commissioned him.  The miracles of his rod turning into a serpent, leprosy instantaneously appearing and disappearing on his flesh, and water turning into blood were God’s attestations that Moses was His messenger (Ex.  4:2-9).

The miracles recorded in the Bible indicate God’s confirmation of those who were speaking for Him.  Jesus claimed to be sent from God and had works that bore witness to the veracity of the claim (Jn. 5:36).  Certainly the miracles of Jesus were deeds no other man had ever worked (Jn.15:24); moreover, the works were to produce belief in Him (Jn. 14:11).  A sampling of those works are recorded in the New Testament in order to produce belief even today (Jn. 20:30-31).

The apostles and prophets who were to continue the message of God in the first century before the New Testament was completed were also provided with evidence from God that their message was from Him (Mk. 16:18-20; Heb. 2:3-4).  Not all Jesus wished to reveal to us was spoken during His earthly ministry; even His disciples who spent every day with Him had much more to learn (Jn. 16:12).  Jesus promised the apostles the Holy Spirit would come to remind them of what He had taught and teach them all things, guiding them into all truth (Jn. 14:26; 16:13). Thus, the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were exercised in the first-century church (1 Cor. 12:3-11). They served this confirmatory function while God’s message was delivered in parts: a portion through an apostle here and another portion to a prophet there (1 Cor. 13:9; cf. Eph. 3:5; 2 Cor. 12:12). When the completed message was preserved in written form, the miraculous gifts vanished away, having served their purpose (1 Cor. 13:8-10; Eph. 4:8-15).

Miracles were not for the purpose of making money; Simon the Sorcerer was severely rebuked for greedily devising such a plan (Acts 8:18-24).  Neither Jesus nor His apostles turned the true miracles from God into a two-hour-long television special to excite emotions and make money.  Jesus refused to perform shallow spectacles (Mt. 4:5-7).  The miracles were worked to engender faith in the truths of Christianity.  Those who did not believe when they had seen the miraculous evidence were scolded for their hard hearts (Mt. 11:20).

Today many claim God has sent them, is guiding them, and speaking through them beyond the message of the Bible.  The Muslims claim Muhammad was the last and greatest prophet of God.  The Roman Catholic Church claims the Magisterium is guided by the Holy Spirit.  The Mormons have their Prophet and Council of the Twelve.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses look to the Watchtower organization for their guidance.  A Pentecostal preacher gets up in front of an audience and tells them God told him something.  Who are we to believe?  Do any of these groups have the miraculous credentials from God equivalent to what we see in the Bible?  Belief in their claims rests on a matter of demonstration, not argumentation.  God has backed up the Bible, His true word, with miracles.  Nothing of that nature is happening today.

-Mark Day