Departments
Staff List
Staff List
MORNING STAR
A Multimedia Christian Publication

P.O. Box 7755, Nashua, NH 03060
Phone: 603-883-4624 Fax: 603-883-0466


EDITOR IN CHIEF
Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Pastor Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA

SENIOR EDITORS
Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA
Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA
Sharon Sanders - Jerusalem, Israel
Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA
Dr. Charles Wootten - Matoaca, VA

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Jody Fauss - Lindale, TX
Joseph A. Nigro - Oradell, NJ
Jeannine Robinson - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Moishe Rosen - San Francisco, CA
Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA
Pastor Dale Strand - Dublin, CA
Rick Thrasher - Santa Clara, CA
J.C. Trudel - Naples, FL


SENIOR PUBLISHER - DOS and WINDOWS Editions
Steve Paulovich - Pembroke, NH

SENIOR PUBLISHER - MACINTOSH Edition
Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH

SENIOR PUBLISHER - Hard Copy Edition
Ray Reed - Beaumont, TX

OFFICE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
Patrick Auriemma - Nashua, N.H.


DIRECTOR OF BBS DISTRIBUTION
Walter H. Bauer Jr. - Sugar Land, TX

AMERICA ONLINE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
Jerry White - Germantown, MD

COMPUSERVE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
Jorge Lopez - Lubbock, TX

GENIE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA

DELPHI & NATIONAL VIDEOTEX NETWORKS
Rev. Vince Gonzalez - Naples, FL


MORNING STAR is produced and published monthly, by a staff of
born again believers in Jesus, located across the United States
of America. Correspondence to MORNING STAR may be sent via the
U.S. Postal Service or by electronic mail to one of several
computer networks:

INTERNET: mstarmac@aol.com (Toby Trudel)
AMERICA ONLINE: MStarDOS (Steve Paulovich)
GENIE: M.Wilkinson1 (Mike Wilkinson)
COMPUSERVE: 70743,603 (Jorge Lopez)
DELPHI: VINCEGSR (Vince Gonzalez)
NATIONAL VIDEOTEX: VGONZALEZ (Vince Gonzalez)
PRODIGY: xvsn02a (Vince Gonzalez)
FIDONET: 1:106/3118 (Walter Bauer)
CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK: 8:3003/5 (Walter Bauer)
CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: 8:2013/1 (Walter Bauer)
POLICENET: 150:402/53 (Walter Bauer)


To receive a free copy of the MS DOOR program, which allows
viewers to read the magazine onscreen, contact: Alan Graff, P.O.
Box 131, Wheelersburg, OH 45694 - FIDONET: 1:2260/50
Editor's Letter
Editor's Letter
Hello and welcome everyone to our twenty-fifth issue of MORNING
STAR, a computer-based Christian magazine. Beginning with this
edition, we are now publishing MORNING STAR in a professional
hard copy. For the benefit of those reading this premiere hard
copy version, allow me to explain how the computer editions of
this magazine are created and give a bit of history as to how
this project all came about and where the Lord has taken it.

Throughout the 1980's many people with home computers began
joining "computer networks". For a monthly fee, they could
communicate with other computer users across the country. (The
computers "talk" to each other over telephone lines, using
"modems" - devices that takes computer data, change it to
electronic pulses for telephone transmission, then change it
back to computer data.)

Some of the most popular networks in the United States are
America Online, Compuserve, Delphi, GEnie and Prodigy. There
are hundreds of thousands of people on these networks. People
can send each other letters in the form of "electronic mail",
also known as "E-mail." Larger documents, even entire magazines
and books can be converted to an electronic format, "uploaded"
onto one of these networks, where it becomes available for
anyone to then "download" onto their own computer and convert it
back to readable (and printable) text.

In 1990, a number of Christian people "found" each other on the
America Online (AOL) network and began to exchange "E-mail". A
mailing list began, which was used to send out a weekly letter
that passed along prayer requests and other helpful information.
Realizing that a lot more could be done with this new
technology, the idea came up in 1991 for a Christian "electronic
magazine" that could be produced and distributed over AOL. 
Miraculously, the Lord brought together all the people necessary
to form a staff and make this happen, and the first issue of
MORNING STAR made its debut in September, 1991.

In its first few months of publication, MORNING STAR was
available on AOL in two formats, one for the Macintosh computer
and one for computers that used "DOS", which included all IBM's
and compatible machines.

It did not take long to realize that the Lord had greater plans
for this electronic magazine. A number of people on the AOL
network also made use of other networks and the magazine was
soon made available to those people too. This was done by
"downloading" the magazine from AOL, then "uploading" it onto
other networks. (The magazine stays in a "library" permanently
on these networks. People actually download a copy of it.)

Besides these large networks, there also exist all over the
world thousands of smaller electronic "Bulletin Board Systems"
(BBS) which can also store electronic magazines like MORNING
STAR. Many of these BBS are Christian ones and are full of
great information for believers.

A big breakthrough came in early 1992 when I received a phone
call from a man in Minde, Norway. He wanted to tell me how much
he enjoyed reading the magazine. I asked him where he got it
from and he told me he downloaded it from a BBS in Norway!

After I fell off my chair, I managed to asked him if he knew how
MORNING STAR had found its way onto a BBS in Norway. This
fellow had taken the time to trace the "path" that the magazine
had followed to get to him. Someone in the United States had
first uploaded it to a BBS in Canada. From there, a Canadian
BBS user uploaded it (long distance) to a Christian BBS in
England. Someone who downloaded it from the English BBS then
decided to make it available on a large public network in
Sweden. From there it made its way to Norway. The Lord surely
provided the directions on this trip!

As of this issue, MORNING STAR is available on hundreds of BBS
in 26 states and is also read in 16 countries. Besides the
original Macintosh and DOS editions, we added a "Windows"
edition - a popular and more attractive program for DOS users.

After much thought and prayer, a decision was made in the summer
of 1993 to make MORNING STAR available to people who don't have
computers or access to these networks and BBS. We are not
charging anyone for this hard copy, but we hope that those who
can afford to make a donation to help with the cost will
consider doing so. (We have no wealthy financial backers, the
expenses come out of the pockets of men and women who believe
the magazine will be a blessing to many.)

We are also making this hard copy available free to prison
chaplains and inmates across the country. PRISON FELLOWSHIP of
Washington D.C. is helping us coordinate this effort. Again,
your prayers and donations are needed for this to continue and
grow. Anyone wishing to help should send a contribution to our
hard copy publisher:

David's Mighty Men, Inc.
PO Box 5093
Beaumont, TX 77726

MORNING STAR does not have a large writing staff. We depend on
our readers to send in articles, testimonies, mission reports
and ministry profiles. Articles can be sent in on computer disk
or in printed/typed format. You can make contact by way of our
Post Office box, Fax number or E-mail address.

We hope you enjoy the variety of material we present in this
magazine. You will find MORNING STAR to be very unique in its
content as well as its methods of publication. We place a lot
of emphasis on the Jewishness of our faith. Every issue has a
"Messianic Studies" column as well as a testimony from a Jewish
believer in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus). On occasion we dedicate
our entire Features area to studies in this area. (As we are
doing with our upcoming November and February issues.)

It is our hope, as reflected in our Mission Statement, that
MORNING STAR will be a helpful resource to believers and also a
blessing to those who do not yet know our Lord.

In service to Jesus our Savior,

Toby Trudel
Editor-in-Chief
MORNING STAR
People Profile
People Profile
MORNING STAR Editor, Pastor Geoff Kragen, and Pastor Russell
Eugene Walden of Bunkie, Louisiana, conducted this interview
over the America Online computer network.


Geoff: Pastor Walden, why don't you give our readers some
background information about yourself?

Pastor Walden: I'm 33 years old, a father of four, my wife
Frankie and I have been pastoral ministry since 1981. We have
pastored two churches, one in Lake Charles, Louisiana and we are
in our 8th year in Bunkie Louisiana at Crossroads Community
Church. My grandfather was a pastor in the early pentecostal
movement that came out of the notable "Azuza Street" meetings.
My father has been in pastoral ministry for forty years and my
two brothers are also in the ministry. I was the quintessential
bad preacher's kid. I revolted against my parents and their God
while still in my early teens. I told them over and again, "I
hate your God, I hate what you stand for.." They loved me, and
put me over and again into God's hands. I entered the military
at 17 and achieved my goal of becoming a drug dealer. My biggest
thrill was 'turning people' on to LSD for the first time. By the
end of the first year of my hitch I was physically debilitated
and mildly brain damaged by the drug and alcohol abuse. 

I had a vision where God gave me a choice between an altar and a
padded cell. I processed out of the military and found that
altar at my dad's church. I knelt with tears of frustration and
admitted to God that I did not want to serve him but I realize
that if "you train up a child in the way he should go, when he
is old he will not depart from it..." Still drug addicted, I
told the Lord He would have to deliver me, I would not lean on
mere will power. I would sit in my parents back yard at 3:00
a.m. smoking grass, praying and reading my bible. over a period
of three months, the drugs interfered with His presence, and I
chose his presence. I was then delivered and over time restored
physically and mentally. I met my wife in my father's church and
after several years got involved in fulfilling his call on my
life to church leadership.


Geoff: How would you define legalism as opposed to the call to
live a holy life before the Lord?

Pastor Walden: A good contrasting definition between legalism
and biblical holiness would be a distinction between that which
is an outward appearance, and that which is an inward reality.
Legalism only addresses what you do, holiness addresses WHO YOU
ARE. Legalism changes man's actions and is fueled by the will.
Holiness is something you are, someone you BECOME in the light
of WHO JESUS is within your heart. Legalism only changes what
you do through the power of the will, motivated by some form of
intimidation. True holiness is that which is produced in your
life by virtue of who Jesus is and what he has done, not who you
are or what you have (or have not done.) Legalism gives the will
of man license to boast, true holiness can only glory in Jesus
Christ, because it is the by-product of intimacy with Him.


Geoff: Where does legitimate obedience move into the burden of
legalism?

Pastor Walden: The book of Romans contains two mentions of a
phrase that I believe are intended to 'bracket' this book that
contains the master treatise of the grace / works issue. This
phrase is "Obedience to the Faith," found in Romans. 1:5 and
Rom. 16:26. Biblical obedience demands faith as a condition of
intimate relationship with Jesus. Legalistic obedience demands
conformity to precepts or principles (biblical or not) as a
condition of fellowship in the body and as a condition of
salvation. The expression I've often heard is "we are saved by
grace, but you've got to work to keep your salvation..." 

I personally question the salvation of a hypothetical individual
whose level of piety was maintain only to escape damnation. The
piety the Father is seeking is that which flow out of a heart of
love, because you ARE saved, not so you can stay saved. Having
said that let me add that I don't consider myself a Calvinist.
But neither would I want to be a card carrying Armenian either!

Grace oriented obedience find expression in a person's
Christianity as they adhere to the person of Jesus Christ, the
Source of Grace. Legalistic obedience is precept and principle
oriented. Law based obedience involved discipline in regard to
applying precepts and principles. Grace based obedience involves
disciplined exposure to the Person of Jesus through the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The discipline factor of intimacy
is understood when you experience the heart searching and the
demand for honesty in his presence that exposes hidden motives,
and continually shapes our personalities more closely into the
personality of Jesus Christ. Legalism claims that God's
acceptance is conditioned upon your obedience. 

Legitimate obedience is maintained in this attitude: I know I am
ACCEPTED by God because of who Jesus is and what He has done
(regardless of who I am or what I have done), however because I
seek not only his acceptance but also his APPROVAL, therefore I
move toward obedience, and seek a lifestyle conformed to His
sense of Holiness. Legalism confused God's acceptance and God's
approval. 

They are two different things. God accepts you because of who
Jesus is and what he has done regardless of who you are or what
you have done. In the same way that you accept your own
children. They are you children, no matter how degraded their
performance may be. And just for being your children, certain
benefits accrue to them, not matter how naughty they may be.
(i.e. food, clothing, shelter...) Likewise there are benefits
that accrue to you as a child of God ACCEPTED in the BELOVED, no
matter how poor your performance. 

I totally accept my children, but there are times I completely
disapprove of them. Therefore in the context of my full
acceptance of them in my family, I move to address the areas of
their performance that have resulted in my disapproval. If I,
being evil know how to deal with my children, how much more your
heavenly father... The legalist hears God tell him "you are not
my little boy, my little boy would not do such and such..." The
true voice of chastening is "Son, I love and accept you, but I
totally disapprove of your performance in this area, and
therefore warn you of the consequence of continued
disobedience..." 


Geoff: How do we avoid taking grace and making it a basis for
license. People do, through ignorance take advantage of the
teaching of righteousness in Christ? (i.e. God accepts you on
the basis of who Jesus is and what he has done regardless of who
you are or what you have done.)

Pastor Walden: My thoughts on that would be to direct you
attention to the problems that sin in your life is symptomatic
of. John the Baptist said "lay the ax at the root of the tree."
Legalism only picks fruit. Sin is the fruit of deficient
relationship with Jesus. Romans 1:18-32 continually mentions God
'giving men over' to sin because 'they did not glorify him, they
did not like to retain him in their knowledge...' Therefore when
you see sin in you life, don't rush out with the sword of the
Lord and lop the fruit off. It will only fall to the ground,
germinate and produce some fresh corruption in your life. Rather
acknowledge that this certain sin is symptomatic of some
deficiency in your relationship to Him, then work on that. Run
TO HIM, not away from him. God's cry to every fallen son and
daughter is "where are you..." Like Adam, we have sown a fig
leaf of legalism, and are cowering behind a theology of
intimidation.


Geoff: In you own ministry what have you damage have you
observed arising out of legalism?

Pastor Walden: The greatest damage of legalism in Western
Christianity is inability to get prayer answered. 1 John 5:4
states "we know we have the things we desire of him because we
do what is pleasing in his sight." When your acceptance in
Father's eyes is based on your performance, you can never know
you are pleasing in his sight, never legitimately get your
prayers answered. This is why Hebrews 10:19 compels you to enter
the Holiest on the basis of the BLOOD, not your performance. The
writer goes on the say that the conscience must be sprinkled
with the blood of Jesus. 

In other words, the Christian's conscience should justified you
on the basis of the merits of Christ, not on the merit of your
performance, good or evil. The legalist seeks to balance evil
works with good works, and is therefore still eating of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. So the greatest damage has
been the destruction of faith in the hearts of God's people.
They know that God CAN, but they don't know that he WILL,
because their hearts are condemned by religious legalism. 


Geoff: How do we answer the unbeliever who says, "... then you
mean that if I become a Christian I can do whatever I want and
simply ask God to forgive me, and He will?"

Pastor Walden: My answer would be, "knock yourself out."
Because the convert in the end will do what he wants anyway. The
difference is, that if his conversion is genuine there will be
an immediate change in his desires because he has found a source
of satisfaction that quenches every desire for other things. I
have confidence that what Christ deposits in the heart of a new
born Christian will be more compelling than any addiction, habit
or activity that would quench that grace. 


Geoff: Why are so many churches typified by "rules and regs" as
proof of the Christian walk?

Pastor Walden: Rules and regulations are made by elders who
want to get to bed early. They are an easy means of measuring
our effectiveness, and gauging our authority. Regulations
simplify things. There is no need to depend on discernment or
the anointing. We can cut the elders prayer meeting short and go
home and catch "Murder she wrote..." Yet it is impossible to
regulate 1 Corinthians 13! The church has been reduced to a sad
counterpart of the Jewish Religious System in Jesus day. Paul
said that the branches grafted in could be rejected also. I
believe that we are in danger of that in the modern Christian
religious system for the same reason ancient Judaism was judged.
Jesus will never reject His people, but he will reject the
system through which his people are brought into bondage only to
service the insecurities and idiosyncrasies of a spiritual
bureaucracy describing itself according to Ephesians 4:11-12. 


Geoff: How can we be faithful in our own walks without falling
into the trap of legalism?

Pastor Walden: Avoid being dogmatic. Realize that the Truth is
first a Person, not a set of doctrines. In my experience I find
myself more comfortable with my questions than I am with
everyone else's answers. When I was searching for so many years
for answers to what I'd been told were burning questions, all I
had was HIM. He became my companion as I searched for the
perfect dogma. After awhile I started 'sluffing off' in my
search simply because I enjoyed being with Him. In time, all
those burning issues became smoldering ashes that I ignored in
my pursuit of Him. Hold everything loosely. Exercise more
diligence in fostering your intimacy with Jesus on a daily basis
than you exercise in charging windmill astride your white
stallion of your piety. 


Geoff: What is so appealing about legalism when God's grace is
so freeing?

Pastor Walden: Legalism instigates an endless cycle of sinning
and being forgiven, never arriving at any level of maturity.
Everything is reduced to shallow, outward issues, and the real
inward conflicts and corruption is ignored. There's a verse in
the Old Testament that speaks of the corruption of God's leaders
and the observation that "my people love to have it so..."
Everything is so much simpler, no challenge, no demand for true
holiness. It's so much easier to pay lip service to changing
what you do, than submitting to the Holy Spirit's work of
changing WHO YOU ARE.
Ministry Profile
Ministry Profile
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY

Serving the Church with Scriptures for Evangelism since 1809


International Bible Society was founded in 1809 in New York City
by a small group of evangelism-minded Christians. During the
early days, it was known as New York Bible Society. Its ministry
centered on distributing Bibles in hotels, hospitals and jails,
aboard ships and to immigrants.

Over the years it grew into an international ministry. In 1992
International Bible Society merged with Living Bibles
International (LBI) to further expand its worldwide Scripture
translation and distribution efforts. The enhanced ministry
retains International Bible Society's name and the Colorado
Springs headquarters; its International President is Lars B.
Dunberg, former International President of LBI. Key benefits of
the merger include a greater capacity for global outreach and
more efficient stewardship of resources.

To date the Bible Society has published God's Word in more than
540 languages on 6 continents. Scripture translation projects,
carried out by more than 800 national Christians on a part-time
basis, are currently underway in more than 120 languages. A
global network of 39 offices, staffed by 250 national
Christians, oversees this aspect of the ministry.

As part of its efforts to make Gods Word as clear as possible,
International Bible Society sponsored the translation of the New
International Version Bible. Over 100 evangelical scholars
worked more than 10 years to produce this highly accurate
version of the Bible in modern English.

In the United States, International Bible Society produces
Bibles, New Testaments and Scripture portions in various formats
and sells them at or below cost to individuals, churches and
organizations for use in evangelism and discipleship. Recipients
of these subsidized Scriptures include rescue missions, campus
ministries, prison ministries and crisis pregnancy centers. Its
New York office, New York Bible Society, continues to distribute
Scriptures in New York metropolitan areas through strategic
outreaches.

Elsewhere around the world, International Bible Society provides
Scriptures free of charge through gifts from believers in North
America. These Scriptures are distributed by dozens of
evangelical organizations, many of which are national missions.

This year, through our CIS Orphanage Project, we are providing
750,000 orphans in 5,600 state-run orphanages in five republics
in the Commonwealth of Independent States with children's Bibles
in their national languages. Through Operation Francais, we are
reaching out with a contemporary French Bible to people in the
46 French-speaking nations of the world. And between April 1,
1993 and March 31, 1994, some 80,000 secondary school children
in Nigeria will receive Bibles through our Africa Schools
Program.

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, the purpose of
International Bible Society is "to serve the Church in
evangelism and discipleship by providing God's Word so that
people around the world may come to faith and life in Jesus
Christ."

International Bible Society is an independent, non-profit
organization with membership in the Evangelical Council for
Financial Accountability (ECFA), the National Association of
Evangelicals (NAE) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission
Agencies (EFMA).

For more information write to the IBS at:
1820 Jet Stream Drive
Colorado Springs CO 80921-3696
Telephone: 719-488-9200
The Bookworm
The Bookworm
Browsing With The Bookworm

Well here it is - another month requiring book reviews. And,
because this issue deals with Grace and Legalism, I thought it
would be helpful to reprint, with minor changes, a review from
our very first issue. At the time the review was first published
this book was called TOXIC FAITH. Since then, it has undergone a
title change. But the concerns expressed haven't changed.


FAITH THAT HURTS, FAITH THAT HEALS
by Stephen Arterburn & Jack Felton 
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN

The Christian is called by Christ to go and make disciples. As
part of this process, we are often given the opportunity to work
with those who are in deep pain. The more we choose to help
those whom the Lord sends to us, the more we will run into
people who suffer from toxic faith.

The cover of the first edition of "Faith That Hurts, Faith That
Heals" describes it this way: "Well-meaning but misguided
people can turn religion into a harmful addiction, an addiction
that can be used to avoid commitments, avoid pain, avoid
reality, avoid fear, and avoid growth. This type of faith is
toxic.

When religion becomes a means to avoid or control life, it
becomes toxic. Many people are susceptible: people with low
self-esteem; people raised in shame-based families; people who
have been emotionally, physically, and sexually abused; people
with addictive personalities; and people with faulty belief
systems."

"Faith that Hurts, Faith that Heals" calls for a mature
Christianity. It makes a call for relationship with God instead
a of life committed to religiosity. Too often individuals don't
live in dependency on the Lord. They live in bondage to a
system, a cult, or their own misguided perceptions of reality.

As you live in the Body of Christ, you will find these people.
You may find them in your family, in your church or in your
community. (You may even find that you are suffering from this
problem.) "Faith That Hurts, Faith That Heals," will help you
understand the victim and maybe give you the wisdom to be of
help.

This book digs below the surface of the "pillar of the church."
It finds instead of Christ the cornerstone, a foundation of sand
and corruption, of pain and fear. The reader may not agree with
everything found here. Nevertheless, this book is still one that
every Christian concerned with advancing the Kingdom of God
should read.

By the way, some discount book services still have some copies
left of the earlier edition. When you look for this book, check
under both the current and previous titles.

Since we normally review books that are very practical in
content, we thought it might be fun to also review a fantasy
trilogy. This series was primarily written to entertain.


SONG OF ALBION Trilogy
"The Paradise War"
"The Silver Hand"
"The Endless Knot"

By Stephen Lawhead
Lion Publishing, Batavia, IL 60510

Steven Lawhead is one of the few contemporary Christian writers
who can publish well written fantasy. Even the secular market
recognizes the quality of his writing.

His first two sets of novels were Christian allegories. The
first of the two is the DRAGON KING trilogy. These books are
written for juveniles, but are entertaining for adults as well.
The second collection is a two-book series called the EMPYRION
SAGA. This can properly be called novels of Science
Fiction-Fantasy.

Lawhead's next series is the Pendragon cycle. These books focus
on Arthurian traditions and legends of lost Atlantis.

This brings us to his latest series, "The Song of Albion." These
books, while not obviously allegorical, are nevertheless written
from a Christian world view.

These books include a parallel world view as used in many other
fantasy novels. In the first book, "The Paradise War," the hero
Lewis Gilles follows Simon. The movement is from our world earth
to the ancient Celtic style "Otherworld." The problem is that
the two worlds are intricately interwoven. Simon and Lewis must
return. If they don't return, it portends disaster for both
worlds.

But, Simon is the serpent in the Paradise of Otherworld. He has
no desire to return. Instead, in this world of Kings and Bards,
he desires to gain power and to loose ancient evil. Lewis must
find him and return him to our world. But Lewis finds himself
drawn to this beautiful new world and soon forgets all that he
has left behind, including the danger of not returning.

The tale picks up in THE SILVER HAND. The high king has died,
and there is ruin throughout the land. Llew (Lewis) must defeat
Simon, now known as Siawn Hy. Unfortunately, Hy has joined
forces with a usurper and continues to spread evil throughout
the land. And the damage done by the breach and imbalance
between the two worlds continues to poison both.

It seems that all has been set to right, but conditions are not
always what they appear. Llew is now king. THE ENDLESS KNOT
tells the story of the last battle. Llew is ready to return to
our world, but the time has not yet arrived.

These are excellent works. They are readable, which is often not
the case with contemporary fantasy novels. The underlying story
is the battle between good and evil, and the sacrifice necessary
to cleanse the world from corruption and poison.

All three volumes are available in hard cover. The first two are
also available in trade paperback editions. And, at the time of
this writing, the first is available in standard paper back. If
you are a fan of fantasy, you will enjoy these books. If you
have never read this kind of literature, give it a try with the
SONG OF ALBION trilogy.

Until next time, Lord bless and good reading,

Your friend

The Bookworm
Praise and Prayer
Praise and Prayer
PRAISE AND PRAYER is our international prayer link column. Send
your praise report or prayer request to MORNING STAR for
publication in our next issue. Call on your brothers and sisters
worldwide and together we will call on God!


PRAISE REPORTS:

Ray in Ohio and Bill and Kim Collins thank everyone for standing
in prayer with their family. On January 13, 1993 Kimberly
Collins was diagnosed with brain and kidney cancer and told she
might not make it through the year. People on this prayer chain
and elsewhere began to lift up Kimberly in prayer. Today she is
doing everything a normal healthy person should be doing. Thanks
to the doctors for their help, but, the real glory goes to God! 

Chuck in Massachusetts praises the Lord for his first client in
his new consulting firm. He thanks the Lord for setting him free
from alcohol and drugs too.

Melody in Indiana thanks the Lord and everyone for their
prayers. Her husband is completely recovered from bronchitis. 

Bruce in Georgia thanks the Lord for a purchaser of a home he
had attempted to sell for over 2 years. He praises the Lord for
the opportunity to apply for a better job also.

Steven in Texas thanks the Lord that he has been set free from
homosexuality. Continue to pray for strength and guidance for
Steven.

Gene in New York thanks the Lord that twelve people committed
themselves to the Lord and got water baptized at the Christian
City Church, Greenlawn, New York.

Cyndi from Virginia thanks the Lord for a new Pastor in her
church in South Norfolk Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.
She also is thankful for the intercessory prayers for Joyce and
the mighty work the Lord is doing in Mexico City, Mexico. 

Bill in Nevada praises God for blessing him abundantly by
allowing for the loan to be approved for his new home.

Norm in Florida praises the Lord for a successful open-heart
surgery to close a hole in a 5 year old girl's heart. 

Carl in California asks for prayer for Matthew, 16 months of
age, who swallowed a pear stem which got lodged in his throat
and cut off his air supply. Consequently, he suffered brain
damage and his little body is paralyzed. The doctors had pretty
much given up and suggested institutionalizing him. His parents
brought him home and people have been praying. Since then
Matthew's brain has not only stopped shrinking it has actually
begun to grow! Please continue in prayer for Matthew and family.

Kim in Tennessee is thankful for all the prayers and that the
truth came out and her brother was cleared of any wrongdoing. 

Ann in New York praises the Lord that she had the opportunity to
pray with an unbeliever in the hospital recently.

Lucinda in Georgia thanks the Lord that two of her Home Health
patients will be retaining their services a while longer. Pray
for Robert Watson who has cancer.

Steve in California praises the Lord that over 20,000 people
made public stands for Christ at the Summer Harvest Crusades in
Southern California! 

Spencer praises the Lord that his dad from Arkansas arrived back
home safely after a mission trip to Central America.


PRAYER REQUESTS:

Pray for Dennis in Albany, New York that the Lord will lead and
guide him in the weekend evangelistic lecture series he is
planning at the Northfield Auditorium in Massachusetts in June
1994.

Solomon asks us to pray for Margaret in Alberta, Canada who has
some kind of cancer that the doctors can't do anything about.

Pray for Danny from Ft.Worth, Texas; that the Lord will have His
way in his life.

Pray for Verneita in North Dakota as she continues to recover
from a stroke.

Pray for Faith Baptist Church in Cuthbert, Georgia as they are
in need of a Pastor.

Pray for Jim's wife Carolyn, in Virginia. She has lost her job
and is seeking re-employment!

Pray for the Full Gospel Korean Church of Houston, Texas. They
are looking for a youth pastor.

Pray for Steven in Texas as he is planning to become an intern
at a full gospel camp next year. He asks prayer for protection
and wants to serve the Lord with all his heart.

Pray for Mae in Florida who is recovering from back surgery.

Gene in New York asks for prayer for his parents who don't go to
church and both smoke and drink.

Pray that David's grandmother in Wisconsin continues in her
recovery.

Pray for Paul in Florida who is waiting for a response from his
new job interview.

Mike in Oregon asks for prayer for a closer walk with the Lord
and a healing of some long seated problems in his life. Pray for
the reconcilement of his and Diana's marriage too.

Pray for Vincent in Florida who will have his left knee operated
on for the third time in the past two and a half years.
 
Remember Rev. Charles Stanley from the Atlanta Baptist Church in
Atlanta, Georgia in prayer. Pray for God's will in this family.

Remember the flood victims along the Mississippi River in prayer.

Pray for the Parrous, Manis and Kotsopolous families of
Fayetteville, North Carolina who had family members killed or
wounded in a recent shooting incident. Pray also for the alleged
gunman, Kenneth French, who was apprehended.

The Bauers in Texas have become a host family for a German
exchange student. Pray that the Lord would minister to her
through them and through the youth and others at church. Walter
Bauer asks specific prayer for wisdom with a teenager.

Pray for Stan and Becky's daughter Rachel at the Evangelical
Free Church of Satellite Beach, Florida. She is having problems
that may be related to a traumatic birth with oxygen deprivation
4 years ago. 

Bill in Nevada asks for healing of a hole in the heart of a
foster child, 2 year old Christian Russell. who has a hole in
his heart. Pray that his foster parents Jerry and Kathy will be
able to adopt him.

Pray for Mike's wife Claire in New Jersey who had some terrible
stomach pains this past week. Also pray for peace and strength
for Mike as he just resigned his job of 14 years. 

Pray for Brother Willie Larsen in Florida who is very ill with
fever of 105 and pneumonia. He needs a healing because he also
has a very bad heart.

Pray for a speedy recovery of a concussion for Ann in New York. 

Pray for a healing for Brian's mom Carol. Brian is on the AOL
network.

A brother on the AOL network asks for prayer for his wife who is
having eye surgery. Pray also for his church that is in need of
a Pastor and for the youth department to continue to grow. Pray
for a friend Helen, who is feeling a great deal of stress and it
is affecting how she deals with her co-workers. Pray for her
salvation and that she turns to Jesus for her needs.

Pray for Ron in California, that the Lord will lift him up; also
for his wife who is straying from the Lord and needs salvation.

Steve in New Hampshire asks for prayer that the Lord continues
the good work that He's undertaken on behalf of his health and
well being.

Jim in Virginia asks for prayer for his family as they move to
Lynchburg, Virginia where he will be attending Liberty Bible
Institute this fall. 

Jack in Georgia asks for prayer that he and his fellow-students
do well on the upcoming exams. Pray also for guidance for his
friend Matt, who recently broke off a relationship with his
girlfriend because he felt led by the Lord to do so. Remember
Jack's father who is working in New Jersey and feels lonely
since his family is not there with him.

Dennis in Massachusetts asks the Lord's help in his new business
venture.

Pray for Staci on the AOL network who has a very big decision to
make soon. May the Lord lead and guide her.

Pray for Danny in Iowa that the Lord will help him with his
decisions in the workplace.

Pray for Stevie on the AOL network whose husband died recently.


INTERNATIONAL REQUESTS:

Pray for a Christian brother, Hamdi, in Turkey who is in a
hospital in a coma allegedly due to prolonged torture by
government security forces. Please pray for his recovery. 
Incidences of persecution against Christians in Turkey have been
on the increase in recent months. Also keep in prayer six
families left in Hamdi's village who are fearful of further
harassment.

Pray for Juan of Peru, a fellow Evangelical Believer, who has
been falsely accused of links to the bloodthirsty terrorist
"Shining Path" communist guerillas in Peru and was forced to
sign a "confession" after being tortured.

Sri Lanka: persecution against Christians is increasing; 8
church buildings have been burned recently, and our brothers
and sisters face harassment and persecution daily.

The United States State Department confirmed independent reports
that the Islamic government of Sudan is rounding up non-Muslims
and enslaving them. Massive numbers of women and children have
recently been sold into slavery after being forcibly removed
from their homes; many have been exported to Libya and other
Muslim countries. Repeated attempts to send in human rights
monitors have been thwarted by the Sudanese government. 

Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim. - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
(Psalm 122:6a)
S.C.U.D. Warnings!
S.C.U.D. Warnings!
S piritual
 C ounterfeits
   U ndermining
    D octrine

W A R N I N G S

By Jerry Johnson


"The Three L's"

A well-known nursery rhyme:

Jack and Jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
and Jill came tumbling after.

The same poem written by someone who is licentious:

Jack and Jill went up the hill
with passions most assiduous.
They had fun, but what was done
is none of your darn business.

The same poem written by someone functioning in liberty:

Jack and Jill went up the hill
boldly and not fearful.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
next time they'll be more careful.

The same poem written by a legalist:

Jack and Jill went up the hill,
they didn't get permission.
Jack fell down and broke his crown;
nailed for not submittin'

You have probably witnessed a first in the history of the
English language! It is doubtful anyone has ever tried to use
"assiduous" and "business" as a rhyme; but, hey, "Morning Star"
is a ground-breaking kind of magazine!

This is the first time I've intentionally tried to thematically
link a SCUD Warning to the general topic for the issue. This
does create some problems.

You see, the articles for "Morning Star" are sent by modem and
mail to our editors. They then collect, correct and combine
them. Just like you, I don't see the articles until I receive my
copy of "Morning Star." So, what I will be saying about
legalism in this SCUD, you may have already read multiple times
in this issue. If it sounds familiar, please feel free to skim
or skip it. I promise I won't get upset. (That would be rather
legalistic of me, wouldn't it?)

Actually, I should issue a warning before I start. I really get
bugged about legalism. It's probably because I am from a
legalistic denomination. But, I've tended to be distinctly
off-center enough to have recurrent and consistent hassling from
those who function in the spiritual gift of legalism.

It's funny though, neither my wife or I can ever recall talking
to a legalist who would define themselves as one. They most
often feel that they are "prophets," defenders of the faith or
just very earnest believers... almost anything but legalists.

The thing is, that is exactly what the Pharisees thought they
were... earnest believers and defenders of the faith. Yet Jesus
had a somewhat different opinion which included defining them
as: a brood of vipers, hypocrites, a wicked and adulterous
generation, blind guides, blind fools, whitened tombs full of
dead men's bones and snakes. Hardly a glowing recommendation.

And as you have probably already read in this issue, legalism
and Pharisaism are basically one and the same, just a couple of
millennia apart.

So what motivates a legalist to be a legalist?

As stated above, if you ask them, they'll usually make some
statement about defending the faith or some such.

That may be their stated rationale, but I seriously doubt it is
their motivation. If they were truly defending the faith, they
would defend all of it... and that includes the stuff about
grace, mercy and that wonderful verse, Galatians 6:1: "... if
someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore
him gently (legalism loses on that point). But watch yourself or
you may also be tempted." It's that last point that really
forbids the legalist from functioning in the role of restoring a
fallen brother.

I have not yet met a legalist who would admit they could be
tempted by a sin that they are correcting someone for. I really
believe that is part of the crux of the trap of legalism.

"You consider legalism a trap?"

What would you call something whose purpose is to catch
something, stop it in its path and impede it's freedom, usually
while inflicting pain along the way? Sounds like a trap to me.

We all know what legalists do: go by the most conservative
interpretation of the book. We know that they know the rules,
keep score on how people are doing and usually will let you know
when your score's too low.

A number of columns ago I observed that the people that act most
like legalists in the business world are the people who are
scared to death of the boss. They play by the book in order to
be able to prove to the boss, or anyone else, that they have
been doing their job.

These people "do their job." But they take no risks and rarely
take any initiative, for fear they may fail and draw negative
attention on themselves. I know because I have a co-worker like
that and he would rather do nothing than try and fail.

So he often does nothing.

And I feel that is often true of legalists; they often do
nothing except point out the weaknesses in others, possibly to
make themselves feel good about all those things that they do do
so well.

"I think I ought to call the Legalists' Anti-defamation League!
You're making them sound like hypercritical, do-nothings!"

I didn't say they do nothing. They just don't do anything other
than what they feel they can absolutely succeed at. That may be
why legalists create such a hermetically sealed, rigid and tiny
world with their rules.

The fewer the freedoms, the lower the risk of failure and
mistakes.

Yet scripture makes it clear that Christ came to bring life and
life more abundantly (John 10:10), that we no longer labor under
condemnation (Romans 8:1), that knowing Him instills GREAT joy
(1 Peter 1:8), that He loves us when we are at our worst (Romans
5:8) and that He came to set us free (John 8:36).

The two sets of beliefs do seem to be at odds.

Maybe it can be viewed this way: Liberty understands man's
weakness and delights in God's grace. License delights in man's
weakness and exploits God's grace. While on the other hand,
legalism denies and condemns man's weakness while not being
confident of God's grace.

Also, it has always been easier to follow a clear set of rules
than work out your salvation with fear and trembling
(Philippians 2:12). Again, in liberty there are WAY too many
opportunities to make mistakes and fail.

But the thing that I have pondered the most...

"Ponder? Ponder?! I thought people quit doing that at the turn
of the century!"

OK, so I've thought about it; what is it about legalism that
compels legalists to go about condemning people?

I grew up with the idea that we should not do things to make
others stumble. And, in that spirit, whenever someone got upset
about something everyone would knock themselves out to not do it
anymore. This was intended to keep the brother from stumbling.

But if you really read Romans 14 where it talks about these
issues, the stumbling block is when you do something in liberty
and someone who cannot do the same thing in good conscience
follows your lead into doing something they really believe is
probably sin.

Those weren't the people we were adjusting everything for.

We were usually jumping to the fevered outcries of people (you
may use that alternative spelling: l-e-g-a-l-i-s-t-s) who simply
disagreed with what we were doing and were condemning us,
usually in the name of the Lord.

Ah yes, repression in the name of God. It's been done before and
will likely be done again.

They aren't the weaker brother! They aren't following our lead,
they're condemning it.

"But if your act incites them to condemnation and rage, isn't
that causing them to stumble?"

That's like saying creating a tall building incites people to
jump off. It doesn't incite them, but their own weakness will
take advantage of the opportunity.

"Then it's like I said, your acts still contribute to them
stumbling, so you shouldn't do it!"

Romans 9:32 makes it clear that Israel got hung up on a
"stumbling block" that was saturated with liberty. Should we
have stopped Christ because he elicited some Jews' condemnation
and rage?

Just because Adam and Eve ate the fruit and became aware of
their nakedness doesn't mean that the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil was a stumbling block. It meant that they chose to
stumble over their single, free-will choice that was an
indicator of their commitment to God.

But back to my question of a couple of inches ago: Why does
legalism compel legalists to go after others?

Maybe its because misery loves company... or maybe they just
love God so much that they can't stand seeing someone else doing
something "wrong"... or maybe they just can't stand to see
anyone having a good time... or...

I had a roommate in college that had strong legalistic
tendencies, but I didn't know how strong those tendencies were
until I made the comment that God must laugh at the foibles of
us humans.

That's when my roommate declared that God doesn't laugh.

God was someone to be feared and served, period. He was a
demanding, somber savior. He had no sense of humor.

If that was who I understood God to be I would probably be
worried about following the rules too.

But the God I know is significantly different than that.

He's omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, righteous,
loving, caring, forgiving, gracious, gentle and, to be quite
frank, very entertaining.

I KNOW FOR AN ABSOLUTE FACT that I could never do enough, well
enough to merit His attention, love and favor... yet I have His
attention, love and favor.

If I am freed from having to earn his love, I am freed to enjoy
that love... and Him. Notice, I did not say that I am afraid of
Him or fear His reprisals. I do not fear Him in the least
because I trust Him the most.

I trust Him to be guiding me if I give even the slightest
inkling of wanting to follow Him. I trust Him to hound and
convict me if and when I am moving in rebellion. I trust Him to
forgive me regardless of how bad or repetitive my sins are. I
trust Him to not consider my mere mistakes to be sins. I trust
Him to know I'll be human enough to fail. I trust Him enough to
focus on His pleasure rather than my performance.

So, (for the third time) why does legalism compel legalists to
go after others?

If your theology and beliefs are structured on error, its much
like a house of cards. All it takes is a puff and its gone. I
honestly believe, at least in the case of my roommate, that it
was way too unsettling for his legalism to have a God that
laughs. So rather than examine the idea, and risk being wrong,
he simply attacked the idea that was a threat to his
self-consistent but incomplete theology.

Maybe it is that same perceived threat to a theology too weak to
enjoy options that causes other legalists to go on the defensive
rather than the introspective.

If you're a legalist, you probably aren't even aware of it. Just
ask yourself a simple question: "Do I feel safe and accepted
with God?"

If the answer is no, you may be feeling compelled to earn His
pleasure and may be slipping into legalism.

If the answer is yes, but you are enjoying the sin you are 
supposed to be fighting, you are into license.

If the answer is yes and you just want to make God happy, you
are probably functioning in liberty.

There are three L's. Take your pick, but only one leads to joy
AND righteousness.
 

Next time: Church and the "First Date Syndrome" (and, no, it
has next to nothing to do with taking someone out for a meal and
movie).
Commentary
Commentary
COMMENTARY

RESTORATION NOT RETALIATION

Pastor Geoffrey Kragen


In this special issue of Morning Star, we focus on Grace versus
Legalism, a subject that often generates a lot of heat in the
contemporary Church.

This subject greatly concerns me for two reasons. First, I am a
Hebrew Christian. I have been taken out from under the burden of
the Law. I have no intention of being returned to it. "Therefore
no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the
law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin" 
(Romans 3:20). "For sin shall not be your master, because you
are not under law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). It is not
the law which saves, but the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, this subject concerns me is because I am a pastoral
counselor. I frequently have to help clients deal with the
results of time spent in a legalistic church environment. The
damage done by this is often very serious. "Christian" legalism
sends a wife back to a violent husband even at the risk of her
life. It is judgmental instead of loving. It punishes instead of
disciplines. It is more concerned with sentencing than
restoration. Legalism stifles the growth of the believer,
substituting rules for seeking the Lord's direction for his or
her life. 

And, because the focus is legalistic, it is more concerned with
peripheral rather than substantive issues. Legalism deals most
harshly with behaviors that aren't significant by biblical
standards. It confuses outward appearances with inward maturity.
It mistakenly implies that being at church every time the door
is open indicates a mature walk with the Lord. Thus, it judges
most harshly when someone fails to live up to the appearance of
righteousness. It often ignores the deep rebellion of the heart
not apparent on the surface.

The legalistic environment is similar to the one found in the
dysfunctional family. More energy is spent on outside
appearances than on fixing the inward rot. This is the very same
failing that Jesus identified in the lives of the religious
leaders of His day. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which
look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead
men's bones and everything unclean" (Matthew 23:27).

We can see "religiosity" in the lives of the legalists. We can
confuse this with spiritual maturity. In Matthew 23:15 Jesus
states the following: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a
single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as
much a son of hell as you are" (Matthew 23:15). Here is a group
of men who are much more dedicated than many of us. They would
go to major lengths to convert an individual to Judaism. But
then they would burden this new believer with a greater slavery
than he had ever experienced before his conversion.

In my experience, there are a couple of reasons why people are
legalistic. First, if they focus on the shortcomings of others,
they can feel superior to them. "Why, in our church the women
always wear hats and dresses, never pants." This means that they
are superior to the church down the street. And of course, by
focusing on others' "failings," they never have to recognize how
far they themselves have moved from God's standards. "Why do you
look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no
attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3).

His attitude of superiority also allows the legalist to distance
himself from the "weaker" brother. He doesn't have to get down
in the mud, helping his brother out. Instead he can stand on the
sidelines saying: "It is your fault you are down there! If you
had just followed the rules."

Apparently, the Corinthians were pretty proud of their status.
However, Paul wasn't all that impressed. "Do you not know that
the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor
adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor
thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some
of you were" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). The legalist forgets that
he is no better than the one he attacks.

Additionally, the legalist, who believes he is more spiritually
mature, forgoes his responsibility to the younger believer.
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on
disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat
everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only
vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on
him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must
not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are
you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands
or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him
stand" (Romans 14:1-4). (Also see the balance of Romans 14).

Yes, we are called to judge, but not the behaviors that Paul
calls "disputable matters." Yes, we are called to walk worthy
before the Lord, but I am responsible to the Lord for my walk.
And yes, we are not to cause a brother to stumble. But the Lord
will convict us of the need to give up our freedom because of
our love for a fellow believer.

The second problem with legalism is the focus on rules. This
allows them to avoid the difficult struggle of working through
decisions with the Lord. They can feel comfortable in their
works, not remembering that spiritual maturity is a product of
relationship with God, and not a set of rules. 

Paul warns against the problem of legalism in great detail in
many of his writings. Consider the following. "Therefore do not
let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to
a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath
day.... Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this
world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to
its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These
are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on
human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an
appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their
false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they
lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence" (Colossians
2:16, 20-23).

The great joy of the Christian life is that our sins are
forgiven. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are free. We are
free to obey God, which we must do, but out of love, not
legalism. We are free to love each other, not judging, but
instead encouraging. Our God is the God of restoration. Let us
live in a way that allows His love to follow through us, drawing
others to Him. And He will, in love, convict of that which must
change, not for salvation, but because of it.

I pray that this issue will be a real blessing to all of us,
encouraging us to praise the Lord for His loving grace. May our
burden of legalism be left at the cross. May we desire to love
others, walking with them as fellow suffers, and disciples of a
loving Father.
Gospel Message
Gospel Message
Are you a child of God? Do you have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ? Are you saved? If you have heard these
questions and you aren't sure what they mean, the following
is provided to help you be sure that you will be spending
eternity with the Lord.

¨Es usted un hijo de Dios? Tiene usted una relaci˘n personal
con Jesucristo?  ¨Es usted salvo? Si ha oĦdo estas preguntas
y no est  seguro lo que quieren decir, lo siguente est 
proveĦdo para ayudarle estar seguro que va a pasar la
eternidad con el Se¤or.


All people need a Savior because each of us has sinned.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23).

Todos necesitan un Salvador porque cada uno de nosotros
ha pecado. "Pues todos han pecado y est n lejos de la
presencia salvadora de Dios" (Romanos 3:23).


There is a price we would have to pay for sin.
"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a).

Hay un precio que debemos pagar por pecado.
"El pago que da el pecado es la muerte" (Romanos 6:23a).


And the price must be paid. "Man is destined to die once,
and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). The
judgment faced is an eternity separated from God, an
eternity in Hell. He will say to those who have not
accepted Christ's payment for sin: "Depart from me,
you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41b).

Y el precio debe ser pagado. "Y asĦ como todos han de morir
una sola vez y despu‚s vendr  el juicio" (Hebreos 9:27). El
juicio es una eternidad separado de Dios, una eternidad en
el infierno. El decire a los quien no han aceptado el pago
de Cristo por pecado: "Ap rtense de mĦ, ustedes que est n
bajo maldici˘n, v yanse al fuego eterno preparado para el
diablo y sus  ngeles." (Mateo 25:41b)


But God is loving and merciful, "For God so loved the world
that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life"  (John 3:16).

Pero Dios es amable y tiene misericordia, "Pues Dios am˘ tanto
al mundo, que dĦo a su Hijo £nico, para que todo aquel que
cree en ‚l no muera, sino que tenga vida eterna" (Juan 3:16).


He has provided a way for the penalty for sin to be paid for
each of us. "So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the
sins of many people" (Hebrews 9:28). "The gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

l ha proveĦdo el modo en que el castigo por el pecado puede
ser pagado por nosotros. "AsĦ tambi‚n Cristo ha sido ofrecido
una sola vez para quitar los pecados de muchos" (Hebreos 9:28).
"Pero el don de Dios es vida eterna en uni˘n con Cristo Jesus,
nuestro Se¤or" (Romanos 6:23).


The Apostle Paul, in what is referred to as the "Gospel" message,
explains how Christ provided payment. "For what I received I
passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he
was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"
(1 Corinthians 15:4).

El ap˘stolo Pablo explica en lo que se refiere al mensaje
"evangelio" como Cristo proveo el precio. En primer lugar les
he dado a conocer ense¤anza que yo recibĦ. Les he ense¤ado que
Cristo muri˘ por nuestos pecados, como dicen las Escrituras;
que lo sepultaron y que recusito al tercer dĦa como tambi‚n
dicen las Escrituras" (1 Corintios 15:3-4).


If you understand and accept these truths, then there is only
one requirement to receive salvation and to enjoy an eternity
with the Lord. "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,'
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

Si entiende y aceptan estas verdades, entonces solo hay un
requisito para recibir salvaci˘n y para disfrutar una eternidad
con el Se¤or. "Si tu boca reconoces a Jes£s como Se¤or, y con
tu corazon crees que Dios lo recusit˘, alcanzar s la salvaci˘n"
(Romanos 10:9).


Pray this prayer to confirm your acceptance. "Lord, I realize
that I am a sinner. I accept Christ's payment for my sin and
thank you for the gift of my salvation. I know that all my sins
are now forgiven and that one day I will come to be with you.
Thank you, Lord."

If we can be of any help, please contact us here at Morning
Star Magazine.

Ore ‚sta oraci˘n para confirmar su acepci˘n, "Se¤or, me doy
cuenta que soy pecador. Acepto el precio de Cristo que ha pagado
por mi pecado y gracias por el regalo de mi salvaci˘n. Yo s‚ que
mis pecados ya son perdonados y alg£n dĦa vendr‚ a estar contigo.
Gracias, Se¤or".

Si podemos ayudarle, por favor comunĦquese con nosotros aquĦ a 
Morning Star Magazine.

Features
The Law or God's Grace ?
The Law (Works) or God's Grace (Free Gift)?
THE LAW (Works) OR GOD'S GRACE (Free Gift)?

By J.C. Trudel
Naples, Florida


Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and
not by the works of the law: for by the works the law shall no
flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

The above scriptural statement is in itself a legal religious
opinion regarding what does and does not lead to salvation. It
is legal as it is based on rules set forth by our Savior. These
rules clearly state that by His death and the shedding of His
blood, He paid the penalty for our sins, and offers us eternal
salvation. It is a free gift that can only be received by faith
in Him and the sacrifice of Himself at Calvary.

The non-biblical opinion that one can be saved by works, or the
observing of rules and regulations, is totally opposite to God's
plan of salvation. The lack of knowledge of God's Word
unfortunately causes many to get trapped in legalism and to
follow the whims and rules of man rather than the pure teachings
of Jesus Christ.

Paul in his epistle to the Philippians 3:5,6 tells us of his
legalist days, his high standing as a Pharisee in the synagogue,
his zeal, his persecution of the christian church and his being
blameless in the law. Since the Pharisees had augmented the
Mosaic Law to 800 plus ordinances, one can really conclude that
Paul was as legalist as one can get.

Was Jesus happy with Paul's legalism? Our Lord's direct
intervention in Paul's spiritual life on the road to Damascus
bluntly tells us that He was displeased. Paul's complete
transformation into a proponent of God's grace for our salvation
is a clear indication of our Lord's plan for our salvation and
his rejection of legalism (Acts chapter 9).

Legalism has many forms and is a festering spiritual disease
that has been entrenched in the church since the beginning,
often using the clever disguise of "Traditions".

We see a feeble attempt at legalism in Mark 9:38, where John
says: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he
followeth us not; we forbade him because he followeth us not. In
verses 39 and 40 Jesus made it clear that the man was to be
allowed to do what he did in His name and that he did not have
to be part of the physical group to do that.

In Acts Chapter 15 we see the legalizers from Judea, at the
Council of Jerusalem, trying to mix grace and the works of the
law as the only way to obtain salvation. Such a notion was
soundly rejected, as it is not God's plan since He gave the law
to be our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might
be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). The law was to be the
standard to measure our actions against, to make all realize
their need for a Savior. It has been compared to a thermometer
which can indicate the temperature but can do nothing to change
the causes of the changes in temperature.

Jesus fulfilled the law by offering Himself, ONCE FOR ALL, as
the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Some
legalists claim to sacrifice Him every day in a grievous ritual
that only says that our Lord's, once for all, sacrifice at
Calvary was insufficient - that His dying words "It is finished"
were a lie.

Legalism always travels in the company of false doctrines as it
is based on the opinions of man and must keep changing, adding
and removing, in order to gain and retain control over naive and
scripturally ignorant people.

Paul rebukes legalism as well in 1 Corinthians 1:11-17 and
3:1-8. Some claimed to belong to Apollos, to Paul, to Cephas, to
Christ and were causing contentions in the Body of Christ and
had transformed their church into a carnal body of men. 

If someone asks me what church I belong to, I can only reply
that I am a born again christian who presently attends the local
First Baptist church because I feel that it is a sound Bible
preaching and living christian church. I do not belong to that
church, I belong to my Lord Jesus Christ. Soon my wife and I
intend to join. We have been in the choir for over one year and
we can love and serve God whether or not we are members. We felt
a need to check the christianity of the church over a good
period of time before joining it.

Legalism is also used as a tool in people control, through
rules, fears and a variety of other ways. One favorite way is to
make the rule that you cannot serve in any ministries of the
church unless you become a member of that church. As if
membership is the test of one's christianity! Many people do
not feel like being bound to a physical organization yet would
be willing to serve in many ways and may stay away from a church
that has such a legal requirement anyway. I believe that you
will rarely find a church where everyone attending there is a
member. An exception is the Catholic church where infant
baptism makes you a member, declares you saved and in no danger
to go to Limbo - which is nowhere in the Bible.

Another way that legalism is often used is through suggestions
such as: You should not have a TV set in the house, you should
not read papers or magazines, or, you should not use background
music cassettes to sing in church for they might have been
recorded by unbelievers, etc.. Well! who might have put the
sound system together? Perhaps the lumberjacks who cut the
timber used for the pews and the church were hard-drinking
cursing atheists! 

On and on legalists can go to gradually assume control over
people, trying to cripple their free will and dominate their
conscience. Cults are often born when people no longer think
for themselves in the light of God's word and follow the
dictates of man without searching the Scriptures to see if it
scripturally based and acceptable. (Acts 17:11)

For most of my life I was in a church infested with legalism and
rules that keep its members in fear and bondage. Their priests
can't marry, yet Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3:2, that a bishop
must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of
good behavior, hospitable and apt to teach. 

One must go to church on appointed days or you commit a mortal
sin. It used to be the rule that if you intended to receive
communion on Sunday, you were not to drink or eat anything after
12:00 AM, or you would commit a mortal sin. If you ate meat on
Friday, you committed a mortal sin. One only has to read 1
Timothy 4:1-5, Colossians 2:8, 2:14-23 and the letter to the
Galatians and see what the apostle Paul thought of obedience to
the Mosaic law when under grace.

Some still insist on following some of the rules of the Mosaic
law in teaching that certain foods should not be eaten and
hinting that you violate the law if you do. I asked one such
christian if she observed the sabbath or did she meet with other
christians on the Lord's day which is Sunday. She could not
reply as she was trapped as a proponent of the law trying to
claim to live in grace at the same time, which is not possible
as grace and the law (works) cannot co-exist. It has to be one
or the other and Paul tells us, it's grace all the way.

I am certain that Paul ate whatever was put before him, even
though he was very careful not to offend a weak brother who
might still have been under the bondage of the law (1
Corinthians 8:9, Romans 14:14,15).

There was wisdom in the Mosaic law, in circumcision, in personal
hygiene, and other things. You can wisely avoid diets that can
be harmful to your health, but never in a way that interfere
with christian liberty as has been the case with some diet
ministries. It's so strange that the name "ministry" has been
tagged to so many endeavors whose chief purpose is gain.

The law is connected with Moses and works; grace with Christ and
faith (John 1:17, Romans 10:4-10). The law blesses the good;
grace saves the bad (Exodus 19:5, Ephesians 2:1-9). The law
demands that blessings be earned; grace is a free gift
(Deuteronomy 28:1-6, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 4:4,5). The law says:
Pay all; Grace says: All is paid. The law is a work to do; grace
is a work done. The law restrains actions; grace changes the
nature. The law condemns; grace justifies. Under the law a
person is a servant working for wages; under grace he or she is
a son or daughter enjoying an inheritance.

It is clear that if someone is living in grace and has a living
faith, he or she will want to do good deeds to the glory of God.
Someday, we must all (believers) appear before the judgment seat
of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) to have our works judged,
whether they be good or bad. This is not a judgment for sins, as
the believers' sins have been atoned for at Calvary. The result
is "reward" or "loss", but he himself shall be saved (1 Cor.
3:11-15). Some legalists have used verse 15 to justify the false
doctrine of purgatory, not understanding that God is a refiner
(Isaiah 48:10, Malachi 3:2-3, Zechariah 13:9). 

Any works claimed to have been done for one's own glory or
claimed as a help in our salvation will be a loss. This must be
done to prepare the believers for the Marriage supper of the
Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9) where the Church is the Bride and Jesus
is the Bridegroom. There will be no room there for
self-righteousness, works, as the white linen (verse 8) is the
righteousness of the saints, the righteousness of God upon all
them that believe.

Legalism is not only found in the christian churches. We know of
many millions who face in a certain direction with their head in
a cushion at certain times of the day. Nebuchadnezzar also had a
legal form of worship for everyone under his influence. At
certain appointed times, all had to worship the golden image he
had made in the plain of Dura or be thrown in the fiery furnace
(Daniel 3:1-7). 

The book of Revelation, Chapter 13, tells us of an approaching
day when all will be told to worship the image of the Beast
(Antichrist) or be killed. If they are not willing to bear the
mark of the Beast they will not be allowed to buy or sell
anything. The ultimate and final legalism this will be and those
who will worship the Beast and bear his mark will be lost
forever.

We had a preview of this during the Persian Gulf War when Iraqi
soldiers tried to get Kuwaitis to worship the picture of Saddam
Hussein. Those who refused were beaten. 

I pray that you are living in God's grace and enjoying liberty
from legal bondage. If you are not free, then you must come to
Jesus who gave His life and shed His blood to make eternal life
and religious liberty yours.

With all the sincerity of your heart, you must recognize that
you are a sinner in need of God's grace, as we all come short of
the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Tell God that you deeply regret
your sins and ask Him to forgive you and He will. Tell God that
you receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and that you
trust only in what Jesus did at Calvary for your salvation. Ask
God to send you the Holy Spirit to strengthen you and guide you
in your new (born-again) life, and to create in you a hunger
for God's Word that the Truth may set you free. 

And remember to thank God for His Amazing Grace, for it is by
grace that you are saved, not by works, lest anyone should boast
(Ephesians 2:8,9).
The Holy and Profane
The Holy and Profane
THE HOLY AND PROFANE

Discerning God's Requirements from Man's Rules

By Evangelist Brian P. Jenkins
Life in Jesus Ministries
Crandall, Indiana


"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, say
unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained
upon in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her
prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the
prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and
precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst
thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned
mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy
and profane, neither have they shewed the difference between the
unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths,
and I am profaned among them." (Ezekiel 22:23-26 KJV)

The above reference dictates that we have a clear understanding
about what profanity is to the Lord. This led me to a deep study
of which I will state the sum briefly herein. The word profane
carries two meanings in Old Testament Hebrew. One means the
common, or of common use; as opposed to the holy, or that which
is set apart for a specific use. The other means that which has
not been asked, or is a misrepresentation of something or
someone.

Believers today do not know the difference between the holy and
the common (profane). They believe that many things are required
by God that are not. On the other hand they offer many things to
God that he has not asked. This misrepresents God. When people
say, "I'm doing this for the Lord." and it is destroying their
lives and families, does that not misrepresent God as someone
who cares more about his own ends than about the welfare of his
children? Are not many believers drawing near to the church to
find the same--that the church cares more about its
accomplishments than about the nurturing of God's flock? Is this
not profanity?

In Numbers 20:1-13 Moses struck a rock to bring forth water and
misrepresented God as being angry with the people. In verse
eight God simply told Moses to speak to the rock and it would
bring forth water. In verse 10 Moses called the people rebels
and struck the rock twice with his rod. Moses did not sanctify
God by setting him apart from his own personal feelings. He did
not show the people the distinction between the holy and the
common.

Many of the references to profanity in the Old Testament relate
to Israel's misrepresentation of God to the nations around them.
He almost seemed to be a God of sinfulness if you were to look
upon the actions of the Israelites. God declared that he would
do what was necessary to keep his name from being profaned
(misrepresented) among the Gentiles. God would clear himself of
their misdeeds done in his name.

Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by
the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy. (Leviticus
22:32 NIV) 

Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred
offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not
profane my holy name. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 22:2 NIV) 

As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Sovereign LORD
says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward
you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name
with your gifts and idols. (Ezekiel 20:39 NIV) 

Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we
profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one
another? (Malachi 2:10 NIV) 

Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your
God. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:12 NIV) 

Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things;
they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they
teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the
clean; ... (Ezekiel 22:26 NIV) 

You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of
barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people,... (Ezekiel
13:19 NIV) 

But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it [my name]
from being profaned... (Ezekiel 20:9 NIV) 

But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being
profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought
them out. (Ezekiel 20:14 (NIV) 

But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what
would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in
whose sight I had brought them out. (Ezekiel 20:22 NIV) 
 
And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy
name, for it was said of them, "These are the Lord's people, and
yet they had to leave his land." (Ezekiel 36:20 NIV) 

... I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the
nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel. 
(Ezekiel 39:7 NIV) 

The verses above are a clear indication that the Lord refuses to
allow himself to be profaned by our actions. If we seek him and
follow his instructions then he will show that our deeds are
wrought by his Spirit. But if we choose our own way and try to
represent it as a vision from God, then he will make it known
that the work is not of him. We are not free to do something for
the Lord. We are servants that must simply hear and obey.
Anything else is presumption, not faith. Anything else will
bring destruction, not restoration.

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban,
remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be
exalted and the exalted will be brought low. A ruin! A ruin! I
will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until he comes to
whom it rightfully belongs; to him I will give it. (Ezekiel
21:26,27 NIV)

We find the Lord's word is very direct in Leviticus Chapter 10.
It is the story about Nadab and Abihu offering strange
(unauthorized) fire before the Lord. A fire came out from God
and consumed them. Moses told Aaron not to grieve. He quoted the
Lord saying, "Among those who approach me I will show myself
holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored." He also
instructed Aaron that with the following: 

You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between
the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all
the degrees the Lord has given Moses. (Leviticus 10:10,11 NIV) 

Lastly, an admonition comes to us from the Book of Ezekiel which
states:

They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and
the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean
and the clean. (Ezekiel 44:23 NIV)

For those that wish deeper insight into the things I've said
this month, I encourage you to read the entire 44th chapter of
the Book of Ezekiel. Also I've just finished a book that I would
recommend, The Subtle Power Of Spiritual Abuse, written by David
Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen (published by Bethany House
Publishers).

The sum of all that I've written this month is: People must be
taught what is truly required of them by God and what are just
the requirements placed on them by men. There IS a difference. 

Jesus said that many were teaching the traditions of men as the
commandments of God. We must explain the difference--freeing the
people of God from serving doctrines and allowing them to serve
the Lord as the Spirit directs them. Only this will allow the
church to flow together as the Spirit orchestrates it. Profanity
is an offering to God of things or actions that he has not
instructed. Profanity is also convincing others that God has
spoken when he has not. Let us not profane the name of our God
by misrepresenting him to those that are drawing near to learn
more of him.
Sabbath or the Lord's Day?
Sabbath or the Lord's Day - Which?
A first century debate on grace and legalism...

SABBATH OR THE LORD'S DAY - WHICH?
The First Christians and the Sabbath Question

by Victor Buksbazen
excerpted from the book THE GOSPEL IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL


At first Jewish believers apparently continued for some time in
the voluntary observance of the Sabbath, not because they felt
their salvation rested upon this, but rather out of regard for
the sensibilities of their own people.

At the same time they felt the inner need to assemble themselves
on the day of our Savior's triumph, His Resurrection, and to
break bread and to remember His death and coming again. Prayers
were offered and the Word preached (Acts 20). After the early
Jewish church was scattered abroad and the majority of believers
were from among the Gentiles, the Sabbath observance soon came
into disuse.

The early church was faced with a fierce struggle. There were
two incompatible groups. One representing the Judaizing element
of the Church who believed that a Gentile in order to become a
Christian must first become a Jew and conform to all the Law of
Moses.

Opposed to these were the main fellowship of the Christian
Church, those who believed that Gentile believers were under no
such obligation to the Law.

The New Testament, especially the Acts of the Apostles, and
Paul's Epistles to the Galatians and to the Colossians, vividly
depict this struggle. The matter came to a head at the first
Christian Synod in Jerusalem (Acts 15).

The Apostle James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, presided, (not
St. Peter - the alleged first pope) and gave the following
ruling: "Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out
from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls,
saying, ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we
gave no such commandment.

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you
no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain
from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things
strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep
yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well" (Acts 15:24, 28, 29).

The imposition of the Sabbath upon the Gentile believers is
conspicuous by its absence - not a word about it.

After that First Synod in Jerusalem, Paul devoted all his energy
in defense of the Gospel of Grace against all those who would
impose the legal system of Moses as a necessity for Gentile
believers. His heart agonized when he saw the confusion and the
deadening effects of the Judaizing teachings upon the Gentile
converts. Here is a typical passage which gives us a glimpse
into Paul's heart:

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not
obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been
evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I
learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or
by the hearing of faith?... For as many as are of the works of
the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law. But that no man is justified by the law in the
sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith"
(Galatians 3:1, 2,10,11).

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature" (Galatians 6:15).

To cling to the Sabbath was for Paul to cling to the beggarly
elements - to exchange the glorious reality in Christ for the
mere shadow which the Law of Moses represents.

The main body of the Church consisting both of Jew and Gentiles
very early began to observe the first day of the week as "The
Lord's Day." There were, however, some Jews who persisted in the
observance of the Sabbath as well as of other rites of the
ceremonial law. They had no fellowship with the other Christians
who did not observe the law.

These Judaizing Hebrew believers, called Nazarenes and
Ebionites, cut off from the main flow of Christian life and
fellowship within the Church and despised also by the synagogue,
in time vanished from the horizon. They were eventually
swallowed up by Judaism or gnosticism.

The historical record of the early Christians indicates clearly
that the First Day became the Christian day of worship - the
Lord's Day.

"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to
depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight" -
Acts 20:7.

Barnabas, one of the Apostolic Fathers of the First Century
A.D., writes: "We keep the Lord's Day with joyfulness, the day
on which Jesus rose from the dead."

The "Didache of the Apostles," one of the earliest Christian
documents also of the First Century, which contained the
teachings of the Apostles, states:

"On the Lord's own day gather yourselves together and break
bread and give thanks."

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, in the year 110 A.D., says: "Those
who walked in the ancient practices attain unto newness of hope,
no longer observing sabbaths, but fashioning their lives after
the Lord's Day, on which our life also rose through Him, that we
may be found disciples of Jesus Christ, our only teacher."

Justin Martyr, in the year 135 A.D., says: "Sunday is the day on
which we all hold common assembly, because it is the first day
on which God having wrought a change in the darkness and matter
made the world, and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day
rose from the dead. And on the day called Sunday all who live in
cities or in the country gather together to one place and the
memoirs of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read
as long as time permits."

These are just a few of the historic documents of the early
Church relating to the subject.

To maintain as some do that the observance of the first day of
the week as the Lord's Day was instituted by the Popes or
Constantine the Great in the fourth century, is to betray a
basic ignorance of New Testament facts and to fly in the face of
the recorded history of the Christian Church. What happened is
that Constantine the Great, so-called, upon accepting
Christianity, enacted in 321 A.D. the first "Sunday Law," making
for the Roman Empire the Sunday observance obligatory. But that
was already the practice of Christians since the days of the
Apostles.


The Sabbath Versus Sunday Issue

The Jews of the Western world often find themselves in a
peculiar predicament. Their Gentile neighbors work on the
Sabbath and take Sunday off for worship, if believers; or
pleasure, if unbelievers.

The Jew closely integrated in the economic and social pattern of
life, is forced often to work on the Sabbath and to relax on
Sunday. If he is to worship at all he may have to do it on
Sunday. It has therefore become a practice at least among some
reformed Jews to hold "Sabbath" services on Sunday.

Conversely Jewish Christians in Israel are faced with the same
problem in reverse - observing "Sunday" on Saturday.

In the new State of Israel the believers live in a Jewish
economy. The Sabbath is the legal day of rest. Sunday is a work
day like every other day. Most believers are therefore unable to
foregather on Sunday and consequently have to worship the Lord,
attend services and pray on the Sabbath. To insist that the
Hebrew Christian should not work on Sunday would mean to
jeopardize his already precarious existence. Shall we judge him
for that?

The position of the Hebrew Christian today closely parallels
that of his believing ancestors of the early Church. We could
not do better than follow the Apostle Paul who gives us very
clear guidance in this matter.

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth
every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and
he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard
it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God
thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and
giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man
dieth to himself" (Romans 14:5-7).

The keeping of the Lord's Day dedicated to divine worship and
witness is a godly, wholesome, and altogether commendable
practice, refreshing for the body, and quickening to the spirit.
Furthermore it is based on the example and practice of the first
Christians according to Scriptural and post-Scriptural testimony.

Yet our salvation does not rest upon the observance of any
particular day, be it Saturday or Sunday. The point in all these
matters which we must bear in mind is this: our salvation rests
entirely and uncompromisingly on the finished work of Calvary.
Salvation is what the Lord has done and not what we do. We can
neither add nor subtract, only accept it in faith.

In the State of Israel the Jewish believer may wish out of
loyalty to his people to observe the Sabbath, or to practice
circumcision, or to refuse to eat pork. So long as he does not
make this a question of salvation it matters little. Said the
Apostle Paul: "Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might
gain the Jews" (1 Corinthians 9:20).


A Rest to the People of God

The Lord's Day is a day of spiritual rest. Not a day of
idleness, nor of man-enforced prohibitions, but a day when
"peace like a river" floods the soul.

This kind of Sabbath is unknown to the Jew, but it is the
blessed experience and heritage of the child of God who has
found rest and peace in the Messiah of the Jews, the Lord Jesus
Christ. "There remaineth therefore a rest (a Sabbath) to the
people of God.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from
his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to
enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief" (Hebrews 4:9-11).


The Liberty Wherewith Christ Has Made Us Free

Those of us who have been raised under the Law know the
deadening effect of the Law. 

"The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life." How pathetic
and misguided are some Christians who would induce anyone, Jew
or Gentile, who has known "the liberty wherewith Christ has made
us free" to take upon themselves again the burden of the Law.
With the Apostle Paul, we feel like saying: "O, foolish
Galatians, who hath bewitched you?"

Years ago in Poland when I was a little Jewish boy of about five
years, I remember "the Melamed," the teacher of religion, as he
led by the hand little recalcitrant boys to "Cheder," the
religious school of instruction. There the children were taught
the Hebrew alphabet and the rudiments of The Scriptures. The
Apostle Paul had a very similar picture in mind when he said,
"Wherefore the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). The word
for schoolmaster in Greek is "paidagogos," literally, "The one
who leads the boy."

The Law of Moses has led us by the hand to Christ.

Only one who has lived under the Law and has come to know the
liberating power of grace, may sing:

"Free from the law, O happy condition!
Jesus hath bled, and there is remission;
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Christ hath redeemed us once for all."
Religious Performance
Religious Performance in Light of God's Grace
RELIGIOUS PERFORMANCE IN LIGHT OF GOD'S GRACE

Pastor Russell Eugene Walden, Sr.
Bunkie, Louisiana


I learned about grace at eleven years of age, sitting on the
front porch of my grandparent's farmhouse. It was a turn of the
century structure with steep gables with an outhouse, and a
fresh water well just outside the kitchen window. farmhouse.
Grandma Birdie was my widowed grandfather's second wife. When
she met John Walden she was known as "an old maid evangelist."
Grandma travelled the byways of the Midwest during the
depression years preaching under an open air tent by night, and
teaching morning meetings using a twenty-five foot hand painted
chart of Finnias Dake's plan of the ages. 

My father and mother would drive us three boys from our hometown
of Clinton, Mo., across the Grand river bottoms to a little
hamlet called LaDue, Mo. There, three blocks down a gravel paved
main street stood my Grandparent's home. Every summer weekend we
would while away Saturday afternoon under the caress of a cool
Mid-western breeze. 

My father was a young pastor, and grandma would sit for hours
and discuss the scriptures with him, while I dozed on the floor
amid my scattered toy cars and trucks. On this particular day I
was absent-mindedly picking up on their conversation when
Grandma said something that I have never forgotten.

"Roy," she said solemnly to my father, "Prayer without the Word,
leads to fanaticism." pausing, she let her words find their
mark. Dad nodded, mumbling his affirmation. She continued, "And
the study of the Word without prayer results in legalism." 

Now I had never used those ten dollar words, "fanaticism," or
"legalism" in all my eleven years. However, the depth of
conviction with which she spoke made the tiny hairs on my neck
stand up and salute. Something profound has been said, and I
pondered its meaning. Not bold enough to interrupt their ongoing
conversation, I sorted out her wisdom in my own musings. The
word without prayer, I surmised, must have something to do with
making what God says, more important that God himself. Therefore
you have to have both, I concluded, reading of the word and
prayer to have a right walk with God. Going too far either way
would lead you off track. From that memory, and from countless
sermons and lessons on God's grace I have meditated on His Grace
and the basis of our relationship to the Father. 


A PRACTICAL DEFINITION OF GRACE 

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Romans 
5:19) 


The grace of God is that quality within Himself by which He
provides you a basis of approach to His throne. The term "God's
grace" has been defined as His "unmerited favor." Unmerited
favor implies that God's acceptance of you as a believer is on a
basis other than your performance. That basis of acceptance is
found in the context of who Jesus is and what He has done
rather than who you are or what you have done. The access He
affords you to His Person, His family, His resources, and His
kingdom, has nothing to do with your personal performance. This
is the message found along the Roman Road (Rom. 1:1 - 8:1). Paul
was continually criticized for this stand, because the gospel of
Grace when you teach it right, will always sound wrong to the
religious mind. 


GRACE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

Right-standing with the Father is s primary benefit of grace. It
is a faith based, rather than a law based provision. The
Legalist's rightstanding is law and precept oriented. The
Legalist subscribes to an outward standard of conformity, as his
approach to God. Legalism imposes upon you an ethical and moral
requirement that is held to be the basis upon which God works in
your behalf. If you fail to measure up to the standard, you are
then outside God's grace. Common expressions that are root in
legalism groups are "you are saved by grace, but you have to
work to keep it," "God only helps those who help themselves,"
etc., etc. 
 

WHAT ABOUT THE LAW?

Remember that God's dealing with the nation Israel did not begin
with the law. His first involvement with Israel came in his
relationship to Abraham. The law was not handed down till Moses,
over four hundred years later. A group that is intensely
committed to some standard of outward conformity as a basis of
approach to God's favor must see that the ground upon which the
Patriarch Abraham walked with God. This was not according to
laws and precepts, but according to principles of faith in the
context of a personal relationship with Jehovah. 


"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith." (Galatians 3:24)


Legalism legitimizes itself pointing back to the Old Testament.
In Galatians you see that the law is intended to be your school
master to bring you to Christ. The law is God's accommodation of
fallen man's assertion of his equality with His person. By
seeking to obey the law, man is faced with his own helplessness
to fulfill it in its entirety. Thereby God has trained man over
and over through the sacrifices that blood was the only remedy
for his failure. The law's perfection, brings imperfect man to
self realization, to deep understanding of his spiritual
bankruptcy outside of Christ. 


WHAT ABOUT HOLINESS? 

In God's grace, your standing in Father's family is relationship
oriented. It is based on ongoing relationship to Jesus through
the indwelling Spirit of God. The effect of that indwelling
Spirit will mortify the man of sin (the flesh or the old man)
and produce true holiness, not just the outward appearance
achieved by religious performance. 

Your access to God is not based on who you are or what you have
done rather on who Jesus is and what He has done. The traces of
legalism today are unmasked in any system, personality or
doctrine that qualifies access to God's favor by outward
conformity to an established standard rather than by inward
relationship to Jesus Christ.


INWARD YIELDENESS VS. OUTWARD OBEDIENCE

If God provides you a standing in his family on the basis of
your personal efforts, then there is no need for grace.
Salvation then becomes a reward rather than as the scriptures
teach, a free gift. 

In the New Covenant however, God does not ask only for your
obedience, but for your person. He wants you not to give Him
outward acts, but inward yieldedness. He wants more than outward
performance, He wants personal abandonment to Himself. 

Justification (the reversal of the effects of sin on your
personal relationship with God) is then imparted not to the man
who gives outward obedience, but to the man who offers himself
to God in faith irrespective of the condition of his outward
life. Then the obedience will be produced out of your
relationship with Him. 

The standing with God that a hypothetically sinless life would
obtain, is actually provided to man on the basis of his faith in
God's performance, rather than his own personal performance. Yet
it must be seen that in that faith stand before the Father is
the power to live a life free from sin. 

Under the new covenant, sin is not ignored, it simply is removed
from God's consideration as to whether or not He accepts you in
his family. Yet having that acceptance it goes without saying
that his disapproval of sin will result in Him bringing
conviction, forgiveness and repentance into your life to deliver
you from sin. 


LET US SIN THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND?

If your access to God's person and His Kingdom is on the merits
of Jesus Christ's righteousness then can you abandon all
restraint and live according to the dictates of your flesh? No,
not at all. When you approach the Father with an honest and open
heart, you will be changed. You will come to personify in
varying degrees of maturity, God's holy, righteous character. 


COME BOLDLY BY THE BLOOD


"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." 
(Hebrews 4:16) 


A vast number of Christians know nothing of the true benefits of
God's grace. Their noses are to the grindstone, milling out
their religious performance, in vain hopes of earning standing
with the Father that only the blood of Jesus affords. 

Restoration of intimacy with the Father can be yours as you once
again, or perhaps for the first time cross the bridge of blood
that is your only access to Father's fellowship and provision.
Come empty handed, come nakedly. He will clothe you in purple
and put a ring of righteousness on your finger. You will find
that His acceptance and love will overshadow you as you lay
aside every natural effort of trying to earn what His grace has
freely provided.
Grace Upon Grace [Part 1 of 2]
Grace Upon Grace [Part 1 of 2]
GRACE UPON GRACE 

By Ellen Zaretsky
From THE JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER


If you said to the average Christian, "Isn't it wonderful how
God extends his grace to people in the New Testament?" you would
probably get an immediate affirmation of, "Yes, it is!" But if
you said to the same person, "Isn't it wonderful how God extends
his grace to people in the Old Testament?" the response might be
less immediate or less positive.

Some in the non-Jewish Christian community have a negative view
of the Old Testament. Dr. Ronald Allen, professor of Hebrew
Scriptures at Western Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary,
proposes some reasons for this:

1. The Gentile Christian community has distanced itself from
Jewish culture. Because the earlier portion of Scripture is
called the Old Testament many regard it as passŽ, viewing only
the New Testament as "relevant" Scripture for today.

2. Attempts to magnify New Testament grace have led to a steady
demeaning of God's grace in the Old Testament. Some feel that in
order to show God's rich grace in Jesus they must negate the
existence of grace before Jesus came, or at least show it as
having been intermittent.

This can lead to a theory of two different Bibles, with two
almost different Gods: the vindictive Old Testament Judge who
manifests no grace; and the merciful New Testament Father who
manifests much grace. Dr. Allen describes this fallacy as
"thinking wrongly about God because we have not thought rightly
about Scripture."

God extended his grace in both Testaments. While he revealed his
grace to the fullest in the New Testament coming of Y'shua
(Hebrew for Jesus), his grace is also displayed throughout Old
Testament Scriptures.


"Hesed"

God is a God of "hesed". The Hebrew Scriptures use the noun
hesed to describe God's grace, manifested as loyal love, in his
relationship to his people Israel. No single English word can
cover all that hesed implies. Various scholars have translated
it as "kindness," "mercy," "unfailing love," "lovingkindness,"
"love," "steadfast love" and "the loyal love Yahweh had for his
people." In 176 out of the 245 times that the word hesed is
used, the New American Standard Bible translates it as
"lovingkindness."


God's Grace in the Call of Abraham

God chose Abram and called him to leave his country, his
relatives and his father's house for a new land to be given him
(Genesis 12:1). God did not choose Abram because he was
particularly good or holy, nor even because he was young and
able to sire-many children. God chose Abram merely because of
hesed. While neither the word "grace" nor "hesed " appears in
the description of God's relationship with Abram, the concept of
God's grace in choosing him is clear (cf. Romans 4:3-4).

God not only chose Abram to be his own, but also promised to
make of him a great nation in whom the entire earth would be
blessed (Genesis 12:2-3). God's grace was to be extended not
only to one nation, Israel, but to many!


God's Grace in the Exodus

Abraham's seed through Isaac and Jacob multiplied greatly
(Exodus 1:7). During a four-hundred-year period in Egypt the
family became a people and the people a nation. God had chosen
Israel, but she was not yet in her own land. The new Pharaoh saw
the Israelites as a menace, so he enslaved them (Exodus 1:9-10).
In their bondage the Israelites cried out to God because they
had a relationship with him

"And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant
with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob... and God knew their
plight." (Exodus 2:24-25)

God called Moses to deliver Israel. After the ten plagues
Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go, but as they began their
exodus Pharaoh had second thoughts and pursued them. But God
delivered his people. He parted the waters for their escape and
drowned their enemies. Certainly that physical deliverance was a
manifestation of God's magnificent grace! In Exodus 15:1-17 we
read Israel's hymn of confession as they celebrated that mighty
act of divine grace. Verse 13 is particularly important:

"Thou in thy mercy ["hesed", also translated lovingkindness]
hast led forth the people whom thou hast redeemed; thou hast
guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation."

God's deliverance of his people from Egypt made such an
impression on Israel that it became central to Jewish faith.
Many Jewish liturgies and songs recall the Exodus (cf. Psalm
76:6; Psalm 77:14; Psalm 78:12-16; Psalm 105:23-45; Psalm
135:8-9). Perhaps the best example is Psalm 136, the "Great
Hallel" song. The antiphonal response, "for his hesed (mercy)
endureth forever," occurs twenty-six times. Why did God choose
Israel, deliver her out of Egypt and extend to her his love and
mercy? It was not because Israel was impressive in size, nor
because God knew how fortunate he would be to have her as his
people, nor because Israel was so submissive and obedient. It
was not because of the people's merit at all. It was because of
God's hesed-his faithfulness and love.

"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God... above all
people... upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his
love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number
than any people: for ye were the fewest of all people. But
because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath
which he had sworn unto your fathers... Know, therefore, that
the LORD thy God... keepeth covenant and mercy [hesed... to a
thousand generations... (Deuteronomy 7:9)

And even when Israel was unfaithful in her role as God's agent
to minister to the nations, God did not rescind his hesed toward
her.


Grace in the Law 

The first five books of the Bible are commonly known as the "Law
of Moses." Most Christians do not think of the Law as a setting
for God's grace. Instead they automatically think of the
restrictions and obligations placed on Israel. 

Leviticus is often the first book that comes to mind when we
think of the Law, because there we find the dietary laws, the
sacrificial system and many other regulations. But the Law, or
Torah, is much richer and fuller in meaning.

Far from being a legalistic code or a hypothetical means of
earning one's salvation, the law was a means of maintaining
fellowship with Yahweh-not the grounds of establishing it. The
same law that demanded a standard of holy living equal to the
character of God Himself also made provision for failure under
the law by forgiveness and atonement of sin. The context of
every and any demand of the law was the atmosphere of grace: "I
am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt." (1)

"Torah" is derived from the Hebrew word "yara" meaning "to
teach." The idea is "to point out with a finger the path one
should walk." Rather than mere rules and regulations, Torah was
God's instructions to Israel for life. It included commandments
and "laws," but in its greater sense it was given to point the
way for Israel so that she might get to where she needed to be
in order to fulfill God's purpose for her. 

Seen in this light, Torah is God's gracious provision of
direction for his people. God had already established a
relationship with Israel. He had called her out and delivered
her from her oppressors. But if he had stopped there how would
his people have known how to live and how to relate to him, to
each other and to strangers? God gave the Law out of hesed, to
direct Israel in her relationship with him. God had already
established that relationship before the formalizing of the
Covenant at Sinai. We see this in the preamble to the Decalogue:

"And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God,
who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage." (Exodus 20:1-2)


"Hesed" in the Golden Calf Apostasy 

You would think that in response to God's "hesed" Israel always
would have delighted in her relationship with him, would have
lovingly responded to him and sought his instructions. Not so.
Exodus 32 describes a great apostasy even as God talked with
Moses on Mount Sinai and gave him the divinely written tablets
of stone. The Israelites were not waiting patiently for God's
instructions.

"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down... the
people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said... Up,
make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses...
we know not what is become of him... and all the people broke
off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought
them unto Aaron. And he... fashioned it with an engraving tool,
after he had made it a melted calf: and they said, These are thy
gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
(Exodus 32:1- 4)

Out of his "hesed" God had called Israel and loved her as a
husband loves a wife. And while he was preparing his loving
instructions for her, she was unfaithful. God was angry and
punished Israel. Yet he did not forsake her, because he is a God
of mercy and loyal lovingkindness. We read one of the early
declarations of God's character, his hesed, soon after the
golden calf incident:

"And the LORD passed by before him [Moses], and proclaimed, The
LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious [from Hebrew hen] long
suffering and abundant in goodness [from Hebrew rav hesed, great
loyal lovingkindness] and truth. keeping mercy [hesed] for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and who
will by no means clear the guilty..." (Exodus 34:6-7a)

God did not wash his hands of his people Israel. He judged, but
he forgave. He called his people back and loved them with
everlasting "hesed".


Grace in the Sacrificial System

Many Christians approach Leviticus and the sacrificial system
with an attitude of, "Isn't that awful! It's all law and no
grace. What a load of restrictions God put on the Jewish people!
I'm glad I don't have to do all those things to have a
relationship with God!" Actually, the sacrificial system was
grace. By it, God provided the means of dealing with sin. The
offerings were a pathway for lawbreakers, who knew God and were
already in relationship with him because of his hesed. The
offerings remind us of God's holiness and the fallenness of the
people who know him.

The sacrificial system was a means graciously provided by God
for the life of his people; not a way to gain life, but a
gracious provision for those whom God had made his own. Even
such matters as sin offerings were never seen as any kind of
meritorious works. A sin offering is the acknowledgment that one
has sinned. The animal's death is a symbolic appeal to the Lord
to accept one's confession of guilt and grant the forgiveness he
has promised. To perform such a sacrifice is an act of faith
that trusts in God's offer. (2)

God's grace is demonstrated another way in the sacrifices. Some
sacrifices were peace and communal offerings that entailed
feasts and celebrations for the community. The people made their
offerings to God, but then they got to eat the "goodies!" Here
God's grace is seen in Israel's times of joy and celebration.


Grace Upon Grace

The Hebrew Scriptures speak of a God of grace! Out of his
"hesed" (lovingkindness) he chose a people, not only for their
own sake, but also for a divine mission. Through them God would
extend his love to all peoples. To understand this better we
need to look into the New Testament.

[continued]
Grace Upon Grace [Part 2 of 2]
Grace Upon Grace [Part 2 of 2]
The New Testament "Charis"

Throughout the New Testament one word, "charis", is used for
grace. In classical Greek "charis" had three basic meanings:
(a), a charming quality that wins favor; (b), a quality of
benevolence that gives favor to inferiors; and (c), a response
of thankfulness for the favor given. (3)

The second meaning commended "charis" for New Testament use, to
indicate God's benevolence toward sinners. In later Greek,
"charis" also carried the sense of force or power. Charis came
to signify "good-will" and "kindness," often with the idea that
the favor was undeserved.

The Hebrew word "hesed" comes closest to the New Testament
concept of grace, as hesed suggests steadfast love, loyal
lovingkindness, and most often God's freely given commitment to
love. (3)

It [hesed] is the character and conduct typical of Cod within
the covenant he freely made with Israel. The kind of spontaneous
generosity with which he responds to the people of his covenant
is a harbinger of the grace that appeared bringing salvation to
all people in Christ. (3)

Yes, "hesed" in the Hebrew Scriptures foreshadows the filler
meaning of "charis" in the New Testament. God's character did
not change, and "his hesed [mercy] is everlasting..." (Psalm
100:5b).


The Apostle John as a Hebrew Thinker 

The Apostle John was a Jew. He thought and spoke as a Hebrew,
not as a Greek. John began the prologue to his Gospel with, "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God." He probably used the words "In the beginning" to
draw his readers back to Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew
Scriptures, which starts with that identical phrase. 

In talking about the "Word" John used the word Logos, which
usually meant speech or reason and would have been familiar to
Greeks. But again the Hebrew thinker would have thought back to
Genesis and other portions of Torah as "the Word" draws a
parallel with the Hebrew "davar Adonai", "the Word of the Lord."
It also draws us to the oft-repeated "Vayomer Adonai", "and God
said." 

The Word is God's Word. Psalm 33:6 states, "By the word of the
LORD were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth." Again this draws the Hebrew thinker back
to Genesis and Creation. In chapter 1, verses 4 and 5 of his
Gospel, John continued to use words with a Genesis connection:
"life," "light" and "darkness." 

In verse 14, "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," John
takes us back once again to an Old Testament image of God
tabernacling with his people. The Hebrew verb "skaina" means "to
pitch one's tent" or "to tabernacle." John parallels the
beautiful portrayal of God having a relationship with his people
Israel in their very midst, when his "glory filled the
tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34). John was a Hebrew thinker who wrote
from his own frame of reference and culture. In light of his
Jewishness, consider his words in John 1:14-17 about grace and
truth and law.

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld
his glory,... as of the only begotten of the Father), full of
grace and truth... And of his fullness have all we received, and
grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ.

John's statements are full of good news - and grace! But are we
to take verse 17 to mean that only law and no grace was given
through Moses, whereas grace and truth came for the first time
through Jesus? I believe not. 

Perhaps the use of the Greek word "nomos" for "law" is part of
the reason that some misunderstand the intent of that verse.
Nomos does mean a legal system of rules and regulations. But
John did not write from a Greek perspective. He wrote from his
Jewish background and perceptions. When John wrote "law" he
would not have been thinking "nomos", but Torah. And Torah, "the
Law," was God's instruction to guide Israel in the way of life:

Deuteronomy 30:15: I have set before thee... life (Torah);

Jeremiah 21:8: Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I set before you the
way of life (Torah);

Psalm 16:11: Thou wilt show me the path of life (Torah).

The Law (Torah) was given to Israel to bestow life. It was an
expression of God's love (hesed). John was saying that there was
grace in Torah, even in all of Old Testament history, which was
God's instruction to Israel for life! 

John did make a true statement when he said, "The Law [Torah]
was given through Moses," but there was great grace in Torah.
The Torah was given by God through Moses. It was not Moses' Law,
but God's. Moses was the mediator, not the lawgiver. If we
attack the Law as a set of impossible demands rather than the
grace of God for Israel's life, we do not merely attack Moses,
but God himself.

Yes, the second part of John 1:17 is true. Grace and truth did
come through Jesus Christ. He embodies grace and truth. He is
what grace and truth are all about! We don't want to contrast
law and grace. If we say that there is no grace in the Law, then
we must say that there is no truth in it either.

John 1:17 actually expands verse 16, "And of his fullness have
all we received, and grace for grace." Y'shua embodies God's
grace in its fullest, and those of us who have come to the
Savior have received from this fullness! It is grace upon grace.

In God's Law given through Moses there was great grace, but in
Y'shua there is greater grace! There is grace upon grace given
through the Son. It is a concept of "better over good," not
"good over bad." Old Testament grace may seem dim in comparison
to New Testament grace, because New Testament grace in Jesus is
so great. Y'shua is "the Light of the world" and all who follow
him shall have the light [instruction] of life that overshadows
all other light.

The Word was made flesh and lived among us, and we beheld his
glory, full of grace and truth. What God did before, He now does
better. The glory of God was there when he "dwelt among us" or
"tabernacled with us," but now we behold God's glory as he
dwells with us in Y'shua who is "full of grace and truth."

And best of all, everyone has free access to this grace of God,
(His hesed) whether they are Jews or Gentiles.


(1) Walter C. Kaiser, "Toward an Old Testament Theology", p. 63
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978)

(2) Ronald M. Hals, "Grace and Faith in the Old Testament", p.
66 (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1980)

(3) Geoffrey Bromiley, Ed. "The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia", Vol. Two, E-J pp. 548-553 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company 1982)
Aren't We Grateful?
Aren't We Grateful?
AREN'T WE GRATEFUL?

By Connie J. Walters
Compuserve Network


"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who
redeems your life from destruction." (Psalm 103:2-6)

"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us
according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As
far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the
Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame, He
remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103:10-14)

What sweet music to our mortal ears! Our loving father
continually extends His grace to us!

I am so vividly reminded of occasions during my childhood when
Papa pitied me following misbehavior on my part and did not
punish me according to what I deserved. I was a strong-willed
child, ever determined to have my way. He would place me on his
lap, smile, kiss me, and say "don't ever do that again. If
you do, I'll spank you." His touch, smile, kiss, and hug
assured me of his love. Wonderful man that he was, Papa, too
was a mere mortal. 

There were those times when he seemingly lost control, at my
expense, and really let me have more than my share of
punishment. 
My most painful reminder is of a very warm, humid summer day in
Oklahoma, sun beaming down mercilessly. We lived in a rural
area on what would be considered a small farm. Though no
stranger to field work, it held no choice spot in my heart. 
Papa had assigned chores to be done that day. Ed, my brother,
was to plow and I was to plant. I knew in my heart, as
instructions were given, that I would not fulfill this task. I
never was one to say "I won't do this or that," but was,
however, known to find ways to weasel out of the task at hand. 

Beans, an ever present offering at mealtime, were the item to be
planted. I had grown weary of this form of nourishment, so why
should I contribute to producing more of them? My childish
reasoning prevailed. I planted them all in one spot and quickly
went to park under my favorite shade tree. There I laughed
within myself, taking great delight in what I had done. When my
mischief was discovered, Papa went into a rage, His humanness
prevailed. 

Many of us can relate as parents. At times we discipline 
in the Spirit, and at other times our frustration leads us to
punish our children excessively, determined to straighten them
out or teach them a lesson.

Not so with the Father, He extends His grace to us, not
condoning our sin, but covering it with the blood of Jesus. He
pities us, knows we are dust, and grants us an opportunity to
come to Him, restore our fellowship and again walk in the
Spirit. He never punishes according to what we deserve. 

Aren't we grateful? Were it so. Calvary would be of no value
and death would be our fate. My spirit soars when I am reminded
that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I
John 1:9) My heart is again grateful when I am reminded that
"you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy and blameless and
irreproachable in His sight. (Col. 1:21-22). 

Us--holy, blameless and irreproachable? Thanks be to God! This
passage alone should cause us to be ever moved with compassion
toward those whose minds the god of this age has blinded. (II
Cor. 6:4a) or those who have left their first love. (Rev 2:4) 
We readily accept His grace to us, yet we often deal harshly
with the backslider or become indifferent to those who have not
yet come into the knowledge of His saving grace. Is it any
wonder that David said "I am in great distress, Please let me
fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great, but
do not let me fall into the hand of man." (II Sam. 24:14). 

David knew that "the wrath of man does not produce the
righteousness of God." (James 1:20). "For we ourselves were
also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one
another, But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior that having
been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to
the hope of eternal life." (Col 3:3-7). 

Therefore, we must extend His kindness, love and grace to all
others. Numerous times throughout the Gospels, we see that
Jesus was moved with compassion as He always responded to needs
in the lives of those He encountered. The love of Christ in us
should also move us with compassion. Just as Jesus saw the
multitude as sheep without a shepherd, so we must have
compassion and point them to the Good Shepherd. "Therefore He
is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through
Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them." 
(Hebrews 7:25).

Studies
New In Christ
New In Christ
The NEW IN CHRIST column is dedicated to the basic teachings of
Biblical Christianity. We began this column in Volume 1.1 and
have chosen to repeat some of our early articles, beginning with
this issue, as it is our premier hard copy edition and will
reach many new readers.

In this and next month's issue, NEW IN CHRIST will focus on what
it means to be "born again" into a saving relationship with
Jesus Christ. Future issues will deal with other topics. The
editorial staff at MORNING STAR encourages all readers to use
this information to witness to those who don't know Jesus and to
help new Christians grow in their walk with the Lord.


WHY DO I HAVE TO BE "BORN AGAIN"?
(Part 1 of a 2-part article)

By Toby Trudel


One of the most shocking truths a person finds as they begin to
seriously read the Bible, is that no one who sins can get into
Heaven. Not one of us! (1 Corinthians 6:9) The Bible also
states if you try to live by God's laws yet break just one of
them, you are as guilty as if you broke them all. (James 2:10) 
Now, don't think that anyone has ever gotten off the hook by
never sinning, for the Bible also says that we have all sinned.
(Romans 3:23) 

This seems to cause quite a problem for us, as the price we have
to pay for sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Not just physical death,
but spiritual death, which is separation from God forever, in a
very real place called Hell!

The Bible also informs us that there is nothing we can do on our
own to pay the penalty for sin, or to escape God's judgment. 
God laid down the law that the wage of sin is death. All
individuals have sinned and therefore face death, and God cannot
change His rules. If He did, He would be going back on His
Word, and this He will not do. (Titus 1:2) The debt of our sin
(death) still has to be paid or we cannot get into heaven. No
human, man or woman, can pay the bill for anyone else, after
all, being debtors ourselves we cannot pay off each others debts.

Our good deeds cannot pay the debt either. The Bible says such
attempts are like offering filthy rags before God. (Isaiah 64:6)

What chance do we have then? 

Fortunately, God loves us enough that He gives us one
opportunity to escape our unpleasant destiny. This is where
Jesus comes into the picture. He came to earth, born by a
miracle of God to a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-23) As
such, he did not inherit the sin nature, which is passed down
from one human generation to the next. 

Jesus lived His entire life without sinning, and so became the
only person in history qualified to die and pay the debt of our
sin. He died an agonizing death by crucifixion, then came back
to life after being buried for three days, (as He said He would
do), to prove He was God, and show that there is life after
death.

A lot of people have heard much of this teaching at some point
in their lives but never understood how it applies to them
personally. Many grew up with the rules and ceremonies of a
religion which had little or nothing to do with Jesus dying on
the cross for their sins.

Just what is the connection between what Jesus did in the first
century, and people today in 1993? Did Christ die so that
everyone automatically goes to heaven? Or is there something
specific we must do individually, in order for this payment of
debt to apply to ourselves?

Looking in the Bible, you will find that although Christ died so
we could get to heaven, Scripture does not say that everyone has
a free ride regardless of what they do with their lives. Jesus
Himself told us what the condition was that we must meet in
order to get into heaven. In fact, he was emphatic about it
being the ONLY way to get in! In the Gospel of John, chapter 3
verse 3, he made it clear, when He said, 

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God".

Many who have read the New Testament don't realize the great
significance of these words spoken by Christ. This is why Jesus
said so few people find the way to heaven. (Matthew 7:14) Here
is the answer to the single most important question in life! 
(How do I get to heaven?) 

But what did Jesus mean by the term "born again"? The answer to
this question is found in the New Testament. According to God's
Word, to be "born again", a person must;

1. Understand that he/she is a sinner who needs a Saviour
2. Repent (agree to turn from) all sin as God defines it.
3. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord of your
life.

God says if you do this, (for real, with all your heart, as you
cannot fool Him), you will end up living in heaven forever. 
(... if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord