By
Shelby G. Floyd
About 65 A.D., the apostle Peter warned the Christians in his day to be aware of false teachers coming into their congregations: “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). Since this is the case, how do we go about identifying these false teachers? We are not left in the dark for there are certain obvious signs of their devious ways. Continue reading “EXPOSING FALSE TEACHERS”
By
Shelby G. Floyd
All of God’s people should live our life in such a way, that when we come to the end, we can look back without regret. This means that we must dedicated to the Lord, study his word and rely upon divine wisdom to make the right choices. Life goes by fast and how many times do we hear someone say, “If I had my life to live over again I would have done such and such.” John Greenleaf Whittier wrote,
For all sad words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are these,
‘It might have been’.
“It might have been” represents those who have neglected the great salvation offered by Christ.
In the book of Hebrews the people are warned not to neglect what is important:
Hebrews 2:1-3
Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.
NKJV
If we will heed what is said and not neglect our duty, then we can look back without regret and not think about what “might have been.”
No doubt Esau was filled with remorse and regret after he realized he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Esau was a profane person and was filled with regret, “For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he carefully sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:17). No doubt he looked back and wondered again and again, “what might have been.”
Every one of us has a sphere of influence for Christ and the church. We have opportunities to do good for those out of Christ and for those especially who are in the household of God (Galatians 6:10). Let each one of us zealously work to bring our friends and acquaintances into Christ.
Copyright © 2015 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved
Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Credit: Google Images
Note: I proclaimed this sermon thirty nine (39) years ago when I was thirty nine (39) years old. And today I affirm these bedrock truths as strongly as then! Wake up America before it is too late!
In view of the transformation of the American culture, it is proper to ask, “Will God always bless America?” Continue reading “WILL GOD ALWAYS BLESS AMERICA?”
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Credit: Google Images
One proven method of growing the church is by being a friend to man. Solomon taught in the book of Ecclesiastes that positive action brings about positive results: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
Jesus Christ was a friend to the individual as well as to a large group of people. When Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria, he was kind to her and became a friend to her and this resulted in her having faith in the Son of God (John 4). Like Christ, we can take a lead in being a friend:
Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.
—Albert Camus
When a stranger visits the congregation, be kind to that person and become a friend to that person. People are not only interested in a congregation being friendly, but they are also interested in developing personal friendships. Many people desire to be an intimate part of a community of believers in Christ who follow God’s Word. To be a friend means that we must get involved in the everyday joys and sorrows of people just like us. A friend wants to be known and appreciated as well as to know and appreciate you:
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat
Nor hurl the cynic’s ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
—Sam Walter Foss
It is said that 7% of the people who do not even go to any church plan to attend some church, and 33% of those who do not attend any church are at least open to attending some church. And that means the church can be the Heartland congregation, if we will be a friend to man. The apostle John declared: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11).
One way we can do this is when we have a social gathering with our friends, we can also invite one outsider to be with us and share the joy that we have in Christ (Philippians 4:4).
Copyright © 2015 Shelby Floyd All Rights Reserved
Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142
shelby@thefloyds.net
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Philippians 4:7, 9
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus….Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
NKJV
To the faithful child of God “the God of peace” gives “the peace of God” that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, 9). In this setting Paul gives the requirements to keep and maintain this peace: (1) Stand firm in the Lord (Philippians 4:1); (2) Be in agreement with your brother and sister in the Lord (Philippians 4:2); (3) Be a peacemaker by helping to promote peace (Philippians 4:3); (4) Have a rejoicing spirit on all occasions and under all circumstances (Philippians 4:4); and, (5) Let your gentleness be evident to all (Philippians 4:5).
There has been and still is, much harshness in the relationships that Christian people sustain with each other and all men. Jesus said that by our love for each other, all people would know that we are his disciples. Jesus set the example of a reasonable, gentle, moderate, patient, fair and gracious spirit in his dealings with all people. These are just some of the synonyms of the word used in Philippians 4:5.
Paul taught Timothy that an elder should be patient and moderate (1 Timothy 3:3). To Titus he commanded that God’s people should be gentle to all men (Titus 3:17). If we are practicing the wisdom from above, we will be of a gentle disposition. Friends, brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1). Let your gentleness be evident to all!
Copyright © 2015 Shelby Floyd All Rights Reserved
Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142
By
Shelby G. Floyd
John 7:24
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
NKJV
In John, chapter five, we have the record of Christ going up to Jerusalem, and healing a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. Jesus was condemned by the scribes and Pharisees because he made the man whole on the Sabbath day. Eighteen months later, when Jesus returned back to Jerusalem, these same people sought to kill him on the pretext that he had violated the Law of Moses by heal¬ing a man on the Sabbath day. When Jesus appeared in the temple during the feast of the tabernacles, he said to his critics,
“Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”… “Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” (John 7: 19, 22-24 NIV).
There is a common human tendency to condemn in other people that which we allow in ourselves and our friends. The Jews had condemned Christ in that which they allowed themselves to do. This was plainly inconsistent and unrighteous. The apostle Paul once said, “Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (Romans 14: 22 NIV).
In condemning Christ for healing a man on the Sabbath day the Jews had condemned themselves. Moses had given them the law, and yet none of them kept the law. Why then should they go about to kill Christ for allegedly not keeping the law? A good rule works both ways. If Christ should be put to death for allegedly breaking the law, then also they should be put to death, for they had not kept the law. But the old adage which says, “They measure our corn by their bushel,” certainly applied to them. As an example therefore of their unrighteous judgment and inconsistency, Jesus applied to his critics an Argumentum ad Hominem—an argument to the man, his interest and prejudices.
Moses had given unto them the law of circumcision which stated that a male child should be circumcised on the eighth day. Sometimes the eighth day would fall on the Sabbath day, and they would circumcise a man on the Sabbath day. They did not condemn themselves as a violator of the law for circumcising a man on the Sabbath day. Therefore, if they could circumcise a man on the Sabbath day and not be guilty of breaking the law, why could not Christ then heal a man on the Sabbath day, who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, and not be guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath? But on the other hand if Christ was to be condemned as a law violator for healing a man on the Sabbath day, then they must condemn themselves as being law violators for circumcising a man on the Sabbath day. If not, why not?
If Christ were a law violator, they were much more so, for it was more of a secular work to circumcise a man than it was for Christ to heal a man on the Sabbath day by simply speaking the word. They had allowed a privilege for themselves which they would not allow for Christ, and therefore, they were unrighteous in their judgment which they had pronounced upon Christ for the good work which he had performed. From this Jesus draws the following conclusion, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” (John 7: 24 KJV.) Their judgment of Christ had been based on the outward appearance. Their judgment of Christ was not righteous. Continue reading “Do Not Judge…But Judge”
Today, most young people between the ages of 18 and 25 are thinking about getting married and having a family. It is very important for the happiness and success of a young man or young woman to make the right decision in choosing their partner for life. Perhaps it would be good to observe a few principles by which God’s people made that choice in the Old Testament.
As you probably remember, the patriarch Isaac and his wife Rebecca, had twin boys—Jacob and Esau. The New Testament declares that Esau was a profane man who sold his birthright for one morsel of food (Hebrews 12:16-17). This simply means that his character was godless. We see this demonstrated in the choice that he made when he selected his wife.
It seems during this period of time that men and women were quite a bit older when they selected their marriage partners than today. The book of Genesis declares: “When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah” (Genesis 26: 34-35). Esau demonstrated that he lacked spiritual values in his choice of Hittite women who had Canaanite and worldly values embedded in their culture. When young people select a wife or husband, they are marrying into their families as well as their own. Continue reading “Choose Your Wife (Husband) for Life”
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Credit: Google Images
A joyful congregation is made up of joyful people who have joyful homes. Most people want to have a happy home. To have a happy home is no accident. It involves work, planning and cooperation. Above all else, a happy home is a home that respects and abides by God’s instructions for each member of the family:
Ephesians 6:1-4
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—”that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
NIV
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Our lesson is entitled, Drink—Drank—Drunk! I have partially conjugated that verb. “Did you drink that beer?” “Who drank that wine?” “They have drunk strong drink from the Herculean cup like Alexander the Great of old.” Drink, drank, and drunk.
The Bible teaches that we all live and then we die. If there is no afterlife, the apostle Paul said, “then let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). If all we have is this life, then according to the people who live that lifestyle, that is the best thing to do—eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die! But the evidence is overwhelming that there is an afterlife. As the Bible writer says, “it is appointed once for man to die and after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
And we all have people in our families that have been overtaken by alcohol. My own grandfather abandoned my dad, my grandmother and the whole family because of alcohol. He was gone to California for 20 years and no one knew where he was. He returned back to Indiana when I was a young man, but I did not know him. He was like a stranger to me. Because of alcohol, my grandfather deprived his immediate family and his grandchildren of any family relationship. That is what happens when people give themselves over to strong drink.
Every day on the news we hear of someone who has been killed, maimed or destroyed for life because of alcohol and drunken driving. How should convicted drunken drivers be treated today in America? In 1986 the newsgroup in Chicago put out some interesting facts as to how drunk drivers are treated in other countries: Continue reading “Drink–Drank–Drunk”
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Scripture says that the things that happened during the Old Testament economy were examples for God’s people today. “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6). Then the author gave an example of conduct that displeased God and which he punished severely: “And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel” (1 Corinthians 10:10). This is a reference to the grumbling of the Israelites against Moses and Aaron. On this occasion 14,700 people died from the plague (Numbers 16:41, 49).
In the New Testament, we have the same warning given concerning the sin of complaining:
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing” (Philippians 2:14-16).
We have many examples of people murmuring, complaining and grumbling during the life of Christ and the apostles. Some complained because a lady showed her love for Christ in an extravagant way. “Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly.” (Mark 14:3-9). Others complained because they felt like they were unfairly treated. (Matthew 20:1-12). Still there were some who grumbled that Jesus did not associate with the right people, even though he came to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:27-32).
Complaining becomes a habit and is discouraging to those who are trying to serve the Lord. Let each of us be a positive influence for Christ by being an encourager of others. “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.” Let us shine like stars!
Copyright © 2015 Shelby Floyd All Rights Reserved
Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142
