QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (100)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   This is a very special Q&A Lesson.

1.    This the one hundredth Q&A lesson I have done at OceanSide.

2.    100 divided by 12 equals:  over 8 years we have been answered your questions on the first Sunday of each month.

3.    We have been averaging about 3 questions per lesson.  Therefore, we have answered about 300 questions during that period of time.

 

B.   There are questions that are “trick” questions.  Oftentimes, these questions do not have an answer (Ex., the movie, “My Cousin Vinny,” the trick question asked by the lawyer to Vinny’s girlfriend, Lisa). 

 

C.   The questions that you ask for these lessons are not trick questions. 

1.    They are honest questions.

2.    Too, they deserve honest Bible answers.

 

D.   In this lesson, we will examine three questions.

 

I.             QUESTION #1:  I John 3:10, Practicing Righteousness

 

A.   Stated:  What does it mean to practice righteousness?

 

B.   I John 3:10

 

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:  whosever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

 

1.    John reveals a test that makes manifest or brings to light those who are and those who are not children of God.

2.    “…whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God…”

3.    The opposite is also true.  “He that doeth righteousness is of God.”

 

C.   There are two other verses in this epistle that mention righteousness.

1.    1 John 2:29

 

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

 

2.    1 John 3:7

 

Little children, let no man deceive you:  he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

 

D.   There are many lessons that we could glean from these verses, but the questioner asks about one thing specifically.  What does it mean to do, or, to practice righteousness?

1.    A key verse is found in Psalm 119:172.

 

My tongue shall speak of thy word:  for all thy commandments are righteousness.

 

2.    The simple answer is this:  “We practice righteousness by obeying the commands of God found in His Word.”

3.    NOTE:  God is a righteous God.

a.    In 1 John 3:7, John tells us:  “…he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”

b.    Righteousness is part of the nature of God.

c.    When God issues forth a command it is always “right.”

1)    If He commands us to do something, it is right.

2)    If He commands us not to do something, it is right.

3)    Thus, when we obey God’s righteous commandments, we are made right or righteous just as He is righteous.

 

E.   This ought to cause us to yearn to keep the commands of God. 

1.    They are not evil.

2.    They are not intended to keep us from having fun.

3.    They are not designed to condemn us.

4.    They are for the purpose of making us righteous just as God is righteous.

 

II.           QUESTION #2:  1 John 5:7-8

 

A.   Stated:  Please explain in detail 1 John 5:7-8.

 

B.   Stated:

1.    1 John 5:7-8

 

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:  and these three are one.  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one.

 

2.    Answer:

a.    There are aspects of these two verses that some believe are not found in the original autographs.  NOTE:  Everyone who rejects these verses will affirm what is taught in these two verses is taught elsewhere in the Scriptures.

b.    Verse 7 proclaims the unique nature of the Godhead.

1)    There are three divine personalities: 

a)    The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.

b)    Two passages:

-      1 Peter 1:2

 

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:  Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied.

 

-      The baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3:16-17)

 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:  and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

2)    These three are one.

a)    They are one in nature.

b)    They are one in essence.

c)    They are one in absolute unity.

d)    They are one in purpose.

3)    All three of these beings are spiritual beings who reside in heaven who have played a vital role in the salvation of mankind.

c.    There are three things that are on the earth that are witnesses of salvation as well:  the spirit, the water, and the blood.

1)    The word “spirit” is not capitalized, but the context will bear out that this is the Holy Spirit (See 1 John 1:6b).

 

…And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

 

a)    The Holy Spirit revealed the truth found in the gospel (John 16:13).

b)    It is He who gave the account of Jesus death wherein He shed His blood for the redemption of man.

c)    It is He who reveals how man comes in contact with that blood by being baptized in water for the remission of sins (Rom. 6:3-4; Acts 8:36; 22:16).

2)    The blood of Christ is essential to the remission of sins (Heb. 9:22).

 

…and without shedding of blood is no remission.

 

3)    The water of baptism involves the burial of the old man of sin.  The soul contacts the precious blood of Christ and is cleansed of iniquity.  The convert arises as a new creature who walks in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4).

 

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

III.         QUESTION #3:  Chimala Mission

 

A.   Stated:  What mission work will OceanSide be supporting during the month of July?

 

B.   Answer:

1.    We will be supporting the Chimala Mission located in Tanzania, Africa.

2.    This will be the third year that we have supported this work.

3.    The Location:

 

           

 

4.    Basic Facts:

a.    Population:  59.73 million people

b.    The people:  120 different indigenous people

c.    Language:  Swahili and English

d.    Religion:  Muslim (1/3), Christian (1/3), Traditional (1/3)

e.    Primary business:  agriculture

f.     Two major problems:

1)    Poverty

2)    Corruption

5.    A brief history:

a.    Eldred Echols was the first to attempt to enter the country as a missionary in 1948.  He was denied permission to enter.

b.    Churches in the United States purchased two farms in Tanzania that enabled American to enter the country.

c.    When the country received its independence from Britain in 1961, the government informed the churches of Christ that some type of benevolent or social service had to be rendered to the country.

d.    This is what began the medical facility in Chamala.

1)    Andrew and Claudene Connally founded the hospital.

2)    The Park Row church of Christ in Arlington, TX oversaw the work.

3)    490 acres were purchased.

4)    A hospital was built for 50 patients, and there was an out-patient clinic.

6.    Oversight and missionaries

a.    The Delraida church of Christ in Montgomery, AL.

 

 

b.    Hal Ferguson is the stateside coordinator.

 

 

 

c.    Hal’s son, Nathan, and his family are missionaries in Tanzania at this time.

 

 

7.    Five major aspects of the work

a.    The preacher training school

 

 

b.    The hospital

 

 

c.    The two schools

 

 

d.    The farm

 

 

e.    The outreach to the churches in the country

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   A mission work like the Chimala Mission is the end result of the practice of the Christian religion.

1.    The gospel being preached.

2.    Souls being saved and churches being established.

3.    Preachers being trained to preach the gospel

4.    Good works:  hospitals and schools

 

B.   These are the results of the grace brought to mankind through the Godhead:  The Father, the Word and the Spirit.

 

C.   All who have ever been saved, heard the word, were buried in the waters of baptism and contacted the blood of Jesus to be cleansed of their sins.

 

D.   The faithful manifest their righteous state by a steadfast commitment to God’s commnds.