His To Use
His To Use
Jithvi Justin Ninan
Once a potter happened to make,
A jar so puny that none would take.
It was a creation of such poor taste,
That people thought it was a waste.
So the jar on its shelf grew old,
Despised, rejected & unsold.
But though it fetched its master no gain,
He still thought it was worth the pain.
The Root of Rebellion
The Root of Rebellion, J. Vernon McGee
Now Korah…took men: and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? (Numbers 16:1-3)
The Idolatry of Rationalism
The Idolatry of Rationalism, Jeremy Swanson
“It is not sufficient for everyone to obey and to listen to the Divine message of the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City. In order to propagate that message among the heathen, nay, in order to understand it as clearly and as fully as is humanly possible, one must also consider to what extent man could discern the outlines of that City if left to himself, to the proper exercise of his own powers.”
– Leo Strauss, The City and Man
These words of prominent twentieth-century political philosopher Leo Strauss are a clear manifestation of his rationalistic spirit, of his rationalistic desiderata. But let’s make this personal: I fear that the impure, unsubmissive, hidden corners of our hearts find a certain needfulness or security in the desiderata of Leo Strauss’ rationalism. May the Holy Spirit be with us as we compare the spirit of these words of the man Leo Strauss with the Word, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the Word of God pierce to the bone and marrow; may the contact not be mere external superficiality, mere “argument.”
C. T. Mathai
He Was So Godly, People Thought He Was An Angel !!
Julie Alice Koshy
Born of Marthomite parents in the late 19th century Bro. C.T. Mathai went on to be a great warrior for the Lord’s kingdom. His ceaseless and tireless endeavor to be a witness for the Lord who gave His life for him went a long way in shaping the spiritual lives of the people in both Northern and Eastern parts of Kerala.
Is The Brethren Movement Dead — 2
By: Dr. Johnson C. Philip
[There are a number of pulpit-speakers and one-man publications in India that have been creating a feeling of bitterness and rebellion in the hearts of young believers against the Assemblies. Motivated mostly by greed, these people only stand to gain if the assemblies are spiritually weakened. Assemblies have spiritually and materially nurtured these men, but in turn they have no loyalty to the Assemblies. Here is the second in a series of articles that takes an in depth look on what these people have been doing to destroy the testimony that was established by great men in India a century ago — The Webmasters]
Church historians have repeatedly accepted that it is the Brethren Movement that made the Bible an open book. With their emphasis upon the priesthood of every believer, and the repeated emphasis that each believer-priest should exercise his spiritual gifts, this movement brought forth an era of great understanding and teaching of the Scripture.
What Is Biblical Baptism
In this article I will be presenting a close look at an ordinance of the Church — Baptism. In order to properly worship our Savior we need to be sure that we fully understand this area, and use it as it was intended to be used in the Church. I have divided our study into six areas: origin, significance, mode, efficacy, subjects and application.
A. ORIGIN OF BAPTISM: Ritual baptism is as old as the Law. The Old Testament is full of instances of ceremonial purifications, which were a type of baptism. It was considered a symbol of divine cleansing (Ezek 36:25). This type of baptism continued right into the New Testament with the baptism of John and Jewish proselyte baptism.
Christian baptism, however, was not simply a continuation of these but was a different baptism performed at the command of Christ. (Acts 19:3 ff.) The other baptisms were for the most part commanded by God as an outward act of cleansing, however, true cleansing was impossible with water. True cleansing could only come from the shed Blood of Christ on Calvary. Even John’s baptism was to cleanse the Jews to prepare them to receive the true cleansing of Jesus Christ.
The origin of Christian baptism is found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is because of and through Him that the Christian can participate in complete cleansing through salvation by faith in Christ. Jesus Himself was baptized to complete all righteousness. It is important to note that when Christ was baptized, He was already perfectly clean (never had, nor could sin). In the same way the Christian is Baptized after Salvation by Faith, to visibly illustrate the perfect cleansing that had already taken place within.
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The Coming Apostasy
Jay N. Forrest
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
From this passage we learn that there are two events that must precede the second coming of Christ. The first is the falling away or apostasy. The second is the revelation of the man of sin, this is Antichrist. What is this apostasy that is predicted to take place before the return of Christ? Apostasy is a falling away, a defection, revolt or rebellion. The Amplified Bible accurately defines it in this verse, it is “the [predicted] great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians.”
Mrs. Annaamma Thomas, Sodari Bhavan
A Raven Taught Her A Spiritual Lesson !!
Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Abraham Thomas
(Revised January 2007)
When Mrs. Annaamma Thomas was born in one of the typical Christian families close to Kumbanad, Kerala, nobody could have imagined the wonderful plans Lord had for her. Families used to be large, with a dozen children the norm among the physically healthy Christian of Kerala. Each child helped the family affairs, specially after the next one was born. It was the older children who shared most of the work within the house, including looking after the younger ones and sharing with responsibilities in the kitchen. Electricity and running water was unheard of in most places that time.
Obviously, it was impossible for any child to spare much time for studies, more so with girls. Perceptive Grandpa: The family had plenty of cattle, and every evening a large cauldron full of milk boiled for all children. At a certain age it fell to Annaamma to do this, and she would do this faithfully. Among all her siblings she was the most interested in studies, but her share of work in the large family, and her being a female child made it almost impossible for her to get more than a minimal time for studies.
Is The Brethren Movement Dead — I
Dr. Johnson C. Philip
[There are a number of pulpit-speakers and one-man publications in India that have been creating a feeling of bitterness and rebellion in the hearts of young believers against the Assemblies. Motivated mostly by greed, these people only stand to gain if the assemblies are spiritually weakned. Assemblies have spiritually and materially nurtured these men, but in turn they have no loyalty to the Assemblies. Here is a series of articles that takes an in depth look on what these people are doing to destroy the testimony that was established by great men in India a century ago — The Ed]
Almost every Christian likes and defends his church, but it seems that for some reason many Brethren believers are turning against their own fellowship. Articles like “Are The Brethren Dead”, and “Why The Brethren Are Dead”, etc. are making appearance here and there in minority or rebel one-man publications. Many believers, mostly those who do not have much idea of the Assembly Heritage in India, are quick on reading these rebellion-fostering publications to denounce the whole movement, only to lavish praises upon Pentecostals or other such non-assembly groups. Worse, the animosity against the assemblies among the assembly believers has been increasing, and if this is allowed to continue, soon we will reach the point of no-return. Thus now is the time for self-examination and restoration.
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Deliverance from Satan
How the Cross of Christ Corresponds to and Conquers Satan’s Work
By John Piper
Satan’s work is not the chief peril dealt with in the death of Christ. God’s wrath is. God is opposed to us in his righteous wrath, and he is for us in his love. Therefore, in his great love, he sends his Son to endure his own wrath against us. In this way, his righteousness is upheld and his love is expressed. His wrath and curse and condemnation of our sin are endured for us by another—a substitute, Jesus Christ. Here are some of the texts that teach this:
* “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
* “Since . . . we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9).
* “[We] were by nature children of wrath . . . . But God . . . made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:3-4).
* “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
* “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law [which is an expression of his wrath] by becoming a curse for us [so that we do not bear God’s wrath]” (Galatians 3:13).
* “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [thus, his wrathful condemnation of sin is expended on his Son’s flesh, not ours]” (Romans 8:3).
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