Monthly Archives: September 2025

SALVATION

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS — BOB PRICHARD

The story is told of two softball-loving brothers who made a pact that if one made it to heaven before the other, he would call back to report if there was softball in heaven. According to the story, one brother died, and true to their pact, he called his brother, and said, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that they have softball in heaven, but the bad news is that you are pitching next Tuesday.” Of course this is just a story, and going to heaven would certainly not be bad news, but life is filled with good and bad news.

SOME BAD NEWS

The worst news of all time is that Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:4-6).

Disobeying God didn’t make them wise. It cost them dearly. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). The tragedy is that we follow in their footsteps. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

SOME GOOD NEWS

Despite our problem of sin, the situation is not hopeless. Paul, as an ambassador for Christ said, “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Peter announced to the multitude on Pentecost, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:36-38). The response was great. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). That is good news!

MORE BAD NEWS

Despite God’s intricate plans for His church, man has disrupted and divided the church of the New Testament. God has given direction of what the church should be in the Bible. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Later in His prayer, Jesus prayed for modern man: “Neither pray I for these alone [the Apostles], but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21).

Sadly, in a nation that has experienced religious freedom, men have used that freedom to deviate from God’s plans and make man-made rules for the church. Paul warned Timothy, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Even in our life-time, we have experiences religious bodies doing these very things.

SOME MORE GOOD NEWS

But our religious world does not have to continue being divided and in defiance of the wishes of the Savior. The Bible is our guidebook, and as long as we stay with the Bible, we can have unity. When we adhere to creeds, handbooks, catechisms and books of discipline, we will necessarily have division. We look back to the example of King Josiah who came to the throne of Judah at 8 years old, and then at 16 began to restore what had been lost. When a copy of the law, which had been lost in the neglected temple was found, Josiah “made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:31).

We can do the same thing. In the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). If we will plant the pure seed of the gospel, we can expect to reap the pure harvest of the gospel, the one church of the New Testament. If we will do what they did in New Testament days, we will be members of the same church. Peter commanded those whose hearts were pricked by the gospel, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

The great news is that you can do the same today. If we can assist you in obeying the gospel of Christ, please contact us.

CHRISTIAN LIVING, TIMOTHY, SECOND

“AS A GOOD SOLDIER” — BOB PRICHARD

What is it like to be deployed to the field to fight to defend our country? USAA Magazine suggested the following to see what it is like:

1. Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for five or six hours before drinking.

2. Replace your garage door with a curtain.

3. Sleep on a cot in the garage.

4. Two hours after you’ve fallen asleep, have someone rip open the curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and mumble, “Sorry, wrong cot.”

5. Spread gravel throughout your house and yard.

6. Don’t watch TV except for movies in the middle of the night. Have your family vote on which movie to watch and then show a different one.

7. When you take a shower, wear flip-flops and keep the lights off.

8. Sandbag the floor of your car to protect from mine blasts and fragmentation.

9. Have the paperboy give you a haircut.

10. Set your alarm clock to go off at random times during the night.

And of course, they daily risk their lives.

Paul told Timothy, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:3-4). Timothy was in the Lord’s army. You and I are also in the Lord’s army.

Why is it that we seem so unwilling to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”? Are we too soft to serve? Are we willing to go and do what the Lord requires of us? Or could it be that we are too entangled in the affairs of this life?

How long has it been since you really sacrificed (time, money, energy, resources) for the Lord? Does the Lord consider you a “good soldier”?

CHRISTIAN LIVING, CHURCH, Worship

“HOLY GROUND” — BOB PRICHARD

Harry Truman personally persuaded Adlai Stevenson to run for the Democratic Party nomination in 1952. He invited Stevenson to spend the night in the Lincoln Room at the White House. Stevenson walked around the room that night, gazing at the things in it. In awe of his surroundings, Stevenson couldn’t bring himself to sleep on the bed, and chose to sleep on the sofa instead. It wasn’t until later that he learned that the bed was not in the room in Lincoln’s time, but the sofa was.

If Adlai Stevenson could be in awe in the Lincoln Room, think how Moses must have felt when he turned aside to look at the burning bush. “And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:4–6).

All of this makes me wonder why so many take opportunities for worship so lightly. When Christians gather for worship, they are in the very presence of God, The Lord said, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19–20). Do you realize that when we gather together, the Lord is there with us?

You have an appointment with the Lord this Sunday. What is more important than that? See you on the Lord’s Day.

BIBLE QUESTIONS, CHRISTIAN LIVING

DO “NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES” PROVE LIFE AFTER DEATH? — BOB PRICHARD

No. “Near Death Experiences,” or “NDE” are commonly understood to be confirmation of life after death, because those who have had these experiences generally express a common feeling of goodness, moving toward a light, seeing the Lord, or some similar experience. These are not evidence to prove life after death, however, due to their very nature. They are “near death,” not “after death,” and they are simply “experiences.” They are completely subjective, what people feel has happened, and have no real objective validity. Although some who have gone through these experiences may have been pronounced dead by some medical criterion [stopped breathing, no heartbeat, etc.], they were not in fact dead in the Biblical sense. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The daughter of Jairus (Mark 5), the widow’s son (Luke 7), and Lazarus (John 11) were raised from the dead, but no one is raising the dead today.

The main danger of pinning beliefs on NDE is that they provide no objective basis for understanding life after death. Frequently the experiences are embellished with more and more details as they are explained, and while those who have had the NDE often say what they have experienced is “indescribable,” they none the less describe the indescribable. The Bible, on the other hand, provides an objective basis for believing in life after death. The life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are described in detail in the Bible by credible witnesses. These witnesses give real evidence that what Jesus promised is true. He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3). Perhaps the most complete picture of life after death is given in Revelation 21-22, John’s vision of heaven for the redeemed, and eternal condemnation for the wicked.

Paul spoke of a man, perhaps himself, who was “caught up to the third heaven” and “caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:2-3). While this may have actually been a NDE, Paul indicates “it is not lawful for a man to utter” what he saw and heard. Lazarus was not just “near death,” but actually dead for four days (John 11:39). What did Lazarus see on “the other side”? The scriptures are absolutely silent about what he may have seen or heard. Perhaps God did not intend for us to know more.

Many different explanations have been suggested for the frequently positive feelings of those who believe they have had a NDE. A medical condition called “cerebral anoxia,” caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain when near death, could cause a person to have an altered state of consciousness. Medication administered near death, or the natural release of endorphins by the body could also produce hallucinations later interpreted as NDE. Other explanations could also be given which have no relationship to life after death.

One danger of relying on a positive feeling from a NDE is that while heaven is promised to the faithful, the Bible also warns that hell awaits the wicked. Though the righteous need have no fear of death, “the last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26), “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed … taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Some may be lulled into a false sense of security, or even contemplate suicide as an easy way out. Unfortunately, not all are prepared for death. Now is the time to prepare!