Madisonville Church of Christ

In I Peter 1:24 and 25, the Bible says: "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever." This is a passage that proclaims the permanency of God's Word. While the world seems to be in a continual state of change, the Bible does not change (Psa. 119:89; Mat. 24:35). In spite of man's efforts to edit it, and revise it to his own liking, the Bible still says what it said, when it was first written (John 10:35; 12:48).

The problem that many people have today is that they allow thier feelings on a particular subject to change their minds about what the Bible acutally says! I have known members of the Lord's church who have changed their views on the subject of fellowship, when a relative or a close friend of theirs was faced with disciplinary action from the local church. Also, I have known brethren who changed their views on marriage, divorce and remarriage for similar reasons. Furthermore, I have known people both within and without the church who refuse to acknowledge what the Bible says about subjects like salvation and worship, simply because their feelings on the matter differ from what the Bible actually says. In a world where so many people allow themselves to be led around by their feelings, it is important for Christians to stand up and declare that God's Word says what its says, no matter how we may feel about it.

The Bible says what it says about fellowship, no matter how we may feel about it. The Bible demands that faithful Christians must have fellowship with one another (I John 1:7). We are supposed to "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another" (Rom. 12:10). There should be a closeness among Christians, which causes them to feel each other's joy and sorrow, and which demonstrates the love of Christ to the whole world (I Cor. 12:25,26; John 13:34,35). Failure to extend fellowship to faithful brethren can result in the loss of one's eternal soul (I John 4:20). On the other hand, the Bible also demands that faithful Christians must not have fellowship with brethren who have turned their backs upon God (Mat. 18:17; II The. 3:6; Rom. 16:17). Even if someone in my own family is Scripturally withdrawn from, my Bible still says: "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (Eph. 5:11)!

The Bible says what it says about marriage and divorce, no matter how we may feel about it. Jesus affirmed that everyone is entitled to at least one Scriptural marriage (Mat. 19:4-6). His general rule concerning divorce is that those who are divorced may not marry again, with only one exception: in cases when fornication is involved (Mat. 19:9). The English word, "fornication" is translated from the Greek word, porneia, which is indicative of any kind of sexual sin (including adultery, homosexuality, incest, etc.). Only when one spouse has committed fornication may the other spouse rightly put them away and marry someone else. This is the Law of Christ on this matter, and our feelings cannot change it (Mat. 19:10-12).<

Are Feelings a Safe Guide?