WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
October 10, 2010
Number 06
≈
CONTRIBUTIONS YOU CAN MAKE
Some members of the church are far too modest in their
assessment of what they can do to help the Lord’s cause. Many
have convinced themselves that they cannot do anything, since
they cannot lead singing or preach, and they become quite content
to do little or nothing. However, there has never been a Christian
who had so little ability or so few resources that he or she could
make no contributions if one really wanted to. Consider some
contributions almost every Christian can make:

1. Faithful Attendance: Sitting in a church building
regularly no more makes one a faithful Christian than sitting in a
henhouse regularly makes one a hen. However, even an infidel
knows that a faithful child of God attends worship and Bible
classes regularly. The regular, public meetings of the church are its
heart-throb and life-blood. Each member who forsakes these
assemblies saps the church of some of its power (not to mention
what he robs himself of). No wonder the inspired writer commands
us not to forsake the assemblies of the church (Heb. 10:25). Every
able-bodied member can make the minimum contribution of
faithful attendance and will do so if he loves the Lord and the church.

2. Service: We are not saved by God to live lives of
celestial ease on this old earth, but to serve, to work for Christ,
according to our opportunities and abilities. The Lord’s people are
made for good works (Eph. 2:10).  We are to be “stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding”  in the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 15:58).  God has never
made anyone with so little ability that there is no place
of service for him in the church. Unless we are daily making a
positive impact for Christ and His church, for the Truth of the
Gospel, for the pure life God wants us to live daily, we are failing
Him who died for us. Our work for Jesus demonstrates the
sincerity of our worship on Sunday.

3. Money: Even in the early days of the church, when
civilization depended so very little on money and cash flow
compared to the present, it was necessary for Christians to give
their money to do the Lord’s work. The regular Lord’s day
contribution was commanded for this reason (1 Cor. 16:1–2). Not
everyone can give a large amount because not everyone has a large
amount from which to give. The Lord does not measure our giving by
quantity, but by proportion of our income. Even when we cannot attend,
we can still give so that the Lord’s work may go on uninterrupted.

4. Attitude: Men cannot send you to jail for a sordid,
snobbish, hateful, uncooperative, negative attitude, but the Lord
can send you to Hell for it. Two attitudes that cause the church
great harm are selfishness and indifference. Two attitudes that
make great contributions to the Lord’s work are unselfishness and cooperation.
—Dub McClish Denton, TX

This article is from, www.scripturecache.com. At this
hyper-link, one can find many articles, of varying lengths, by
brother Dub McClish. The reader is encouraged to visit the website
as a source of sound Biblical material.

WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
October 17 , 2010
Number 07
≈
Chronological Table of Events 721-444 BC

DISCLAIMER
The chronological table in this issue is adapted from a chart
created by Dan Cates. Brother Cates is an instructor at the
Memphis School of Preaching. As such he is in error concerning
the fellowship of Dave Miller. However, the material presented in
this chart is accurate and is presented here for your learning.

The time frame of this table (and next week’s )
encompasses the time of the Assyrian captivity to the returns of
Israel to Palestine; which is central to our study of who are Jews and Gentiles.

WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
October 24, 2010
Number 08
≈
Chronological Table of Events 721-444 BC

DISCLAIMER
The chronological table in this issue is adapted from a chart
created by Dan Cates. Brother Cates is an instructor at the
Memphis School of Preaching. As such he is in error concerning
the fellowship of Dave Miller. However, the material presented in
this chart is accurate and is presented here for your learning.
The time frame of this table (and last week’s) encompasses
the time of the Assyrian captivity to the returns of Israel to
Palestine; which is central to our study of who are Jews and Gentiles.

WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
November 07, 2010
Number 10
≈
Who are Hebrews, Israelites, Jews and Gentiles?
(Gen. 14:13; Josh 13:6; Jer. 34:9; 1 Kings 8:41-43)
Part 5

Jews (cont.)
Those of the children of Israel who were in captivity in
Babylon and later in Persia (this included those remaining from the
captivity by Assyria, 721 B.C.) were called collectively by the
term, “Jew.” The following verses are typical (emphasis mine):
1. “Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up
from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad
city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations” (Ezr. 4:12).

2. “That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain
men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped,
which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem” (Neh. 1:2).

3. “And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone;
for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore
Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the
whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai” (Est. 3:6).

4. “Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near,
and accused the Jews”  (Dan. 3:8).

Since Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel are books concerning
the captivity, all of the above verses contain terms that were employed to
designate those of the people of Israel in captivity;
whether they were of the kingdoms of Judah or Israel.

The term “Jew” was used to describe Israel as a whole
throughout the remainder of the Old Testament. But how were the
Israelites described in the New Testament as pertains to the word
“Jew”? Much the same way (emphasis mine):

1. “So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this
saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day” (Matt. 28:15).

2. “And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the
Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant” (Luke 7:3).

3. “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem” (John 2:13).

4. “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them
all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do
the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews” (Gal. 2:14).

The inspired Biblical penmen Matthew, (Mark also used the
term “Jew”), Luke, John, and Paul all used “Jew” to describe the
general populace of the children of Israel in the first century A.D.
“Jew” was used somewhat interchangeably with “Israel” or
“Israelite.” Notice how Paul uses the terms, “Hebrew,” “Israelite,”
and “Jew” in reference to himself (emphasis mine):

1. “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a
city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel,
and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the
fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day” (Acts 22:3).

2. “Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am
I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I” (2 Cor. 11:22).
Each designation has its own connotation because of its own
individual background, but all three terms were used to describe
one and the same person and one and the same people. – John

Passages to Ponder
“Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort
you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk
and to please God, so ye would abound more and more” (1 Thess. 4:1)

WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
October 31, 2010
Number 09
≈
Who are Hebrews, Israelites, Jews and Gentiles?
(Gen. 14:13; Josh 13:6; Jer. 34:9; 1 Kings 8:41-43)
Part 4

Jews (cont.)
As was mentioned in the October third bulletin, the term
“Jew” in the beginning had reference to those of the Southern
Kingdom. Those of Judah, hence the name “Jew.”

The two kingdoms became one kingdom by being
assimilated into one captivity. The change of power between the
kingdoms of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Medo-Persians
brought the remnant of God’s people under one king and in one
kingdom. Therefore, when Cyrus gave the decree, “Thus saith
Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all
the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an
house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of
all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to
Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD
God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem” (Ezr. 1:2-3);
his statement: “all His people” (who were living among the
Persians in Persian land) included both the people of Israel and
Judah who lived under Persian rule.

Further evidence of God’s reuniting of His people into one
nation is seen in verses from the pens of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
God declared by Jeremiah that He would bring Israel (the Northern
Kingdom) and Judah (the Southern Kingdom) together as one,
“And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel
to return, and will build them, as at the first” (Jer. 33:7). Notice also what
God said through Ezekiel, “And say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from
among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on
every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make
them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one
king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two
nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more
at all” (Eze. 37: 21-22). Ezekiel also wrote, “And I will multiply
men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities
shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will
multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and
bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do
better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I
am the LORD” (Eze. 36:10-11). God promised that the house of
Israel “all of it” would return and that the “old estates” again
would be inhabited. Both Judah and Israel would return to their
land and all the tribes would dwell in the land of Israel as in the
times before the captivity.

God also promised, “Behold, the days come, saith the
LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised
unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days,
and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow
up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in
the land” (Jer. 33:14-15). The promise of the coming of the Christ
would be fulfilled to both Israel and Judah as one people and in
their own land. The coming of the Christ would transpire in about
586 years from the time of the writing of Jeremiah chapter 33. That
time would be the time period of the Gospel accounts of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. If the Christ came then Judah and Israel
returned to their land! The Christ came, “For unto you is born this
day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke
2:11); therefore, Israel and Judah both returned to the land of Israel.

When would this returning begin? Notice once more the
decree of Cyrus, “Who is there among you of all his people…And
whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth…” (Ezr.
1:3-4). The time of the beginning of the return of all Israel to
Palestine was at the time of Cyrus’ decree. – John

This week’s article proves that all the tribes of Israel
returned to the land of Israel. This is also a refutation of the
premillennial doctrine of the ten “lost” tribes of Israel. Wherein
they say that only Judah returned and that Israel will return to the
land only in their so-called “literial thousand year reign of Christ
on the earth.” Their doctrine could not be more false!

This article helps us to see the transition of the name Jew:
from Judah to all Israel; especially as we look at the New
Testament use of the word “Jew” and how it is used today.