We preachers have just been much too hard on thieves and thievery. We have spent way too much pulpit time condemning theft when we could have been preaching on understanding, love and tolerance for thieves. We have instead insisted upon telling people that stealing is a sin and that they shouldn't behave that way.

Now, I know what the Bible says about stealing. One of the ten commandments given to the nation of Israel was “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Of course, the Law of Moses was fulfilled by Jesus and we don't live under that law any more.…

In the 1940's Elmer T. Clark observed that is "a peculiar type of mind which is convinced that God is interested in whether his worshipers sing with or without instrumental music" (Small Sects in America, p. 16). Clark's words carry a twentieth century bias. The truth is that the mind which he thought so peculiar was once dominant in "Christian" thought. The use of musical instruments in the worship of the churches is a relatively recent development. Most Protestant churches in America did not yield to the practice until the nineteenth century.

The unadorned simplicity of…

But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). 

How often have we heard these words read or sung at the beginning of a service? The silence 

enjoined by Habakkuk is not a literal silence but the silence of submission and acceptance which 

would not dare to voice any question or complaint against God.

There is, however, great value in literal silence—a value our generation may well have 

forgotten. In these days of roaring traffic, noisy factories, humming household appliances and 

megawatt stereos, an unexpected moment of silence can be…

What is the purpose of the Lord's church? Is it to eradicate poverty, disease, social injustice, illiteracy from among men? Is it to bring about a cessation of war and conflict? Is it to campaign for a temptation-free society for Christians to live in?

If the church had as one of its great goals the eradication of disease, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish that goal. Could not the same power that enabled one blind man to see have enabled all blind man to see; that enabled one lame man to walk have…

The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Therefore, all are in need of conversion. Each individual is in need of the deliverance, blessings, privilege, hope and joy that the Gospel holds out to man. Since Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32), we must conclude that there are certain things that one must know in order to be saved.

One must know that he is a sinner. Everyone who has lived…