A. Imitation cheese, bacon bits, etc.
B. Imitation jewelry, leather, etc.
A. Boston Movement/International Churches of Christ
1. Discipleship partners (senior-junior partners)
2. Confess ALL sins to partner
3. Instill a sense of guilt that allows CONTROL
4. It is a cult-like movement in:
a. Organization
b. Procurement of members
B. Charismatic Movement
1. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
2. “Miracles”
a. “Tongues”
b. “Healings”
c. “Knowledge”
d. “Special” guidance and gifts apart from the word of God, the Bible
3. Holy Spirit was never promised to all Christians
4. Holy Spirit was only given directly TWICE in the New Testament
a. The Apostles (Acts 2)
b. Cornelius and his household (Acts 10)
5. Ability to receive the Holy Spirit could NOT be passed on past the Apostles (Acts 8:5-20)
6. Paul shows a more excellent way (1 Corinthians 12:27--13:13)
a. “Hope” (Romans 8:24-25)
b. This is NOT Jesus:
i. “Perfect” [complete, mature] comes but we still have Faith, Hope, & Love ii. “Faith” will be replaced with “sight” when Jesus returns (1 Corinthians 5:1-10)
C. Women preachers, elders, etc.
1. Let women be silent in assembly (1 Corinthians 14:34) “Let your women keep silent in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”
2. Women not to have dominion in assembly (1 Timothy 2:11-12) “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, or to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
D. Instrumental Music
1. Singing ONLY is authorized (Ephesians 5:19) “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
2. First century Jewish-Christians had used instruments in Jewish worship, but stopped in Christian worship. WHY? (Instruments were NOT authorized).
E. Children’s Church (gimmicks)
1. Practice taken STRAIGHT from denominations
2. How long until “Senior’s Church”, or “Young Couple’s Church”, or “Single’s Church”?
3. IT IS DIVISIVE!
a. Assembly = To assemble = To bring together; gather into one place, company, body, or whole.
b. “Children’s Church” does NOT assemble, it DIVIDES
F. The “Denominational” church of Christ
1. Some “members” of the church believe it to be ANOTHER DENOMINATION among many.
2. “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, it must BE a duck”
a. If we LOOK, SOUND, and ACT like a denomination, then we ARE ONE
b. BUT, the church that Jesus purchased (Acts 20:28) is NOT a division, segment, or denomination of a larger body. IT IS THE BODY (Colossians 1:18) “And he is the head of the body, the church…”
c. There is only ONE body: (Ephesians 4:4) “There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.”
3. We are NOT trying to START a NEW church (or, to get people to “join” “our” church)
4. We ARE trying to restore Jesus’ church, the church we read about in the New Testament
A. Jewelry must be APPRAISED to determine its authenticity (whether it’s genuine or not)
B. Our personal faith WILL be appraised (Not “should be” or “can be”) (John 12:48) “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”
C. We don’t have to wait for the Judgment Day to appraise our faith
1. We can use the same standard that God will use to appraise it (His word, Bible)
2. If our faith is IMITATION:
a. Throw it away!
b. Receive the GENUINE faith through God’s word (Romans 10:17) “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”H