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Cut the Cord
■ Continued from p 1■
“ But his delight is in the law of the
LORD ; and in his law doth he meditate day and night .
“ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water , that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper .”— Ps . 1:1 – 3 .
There are people , lots of people , who are locked into the ways of the world . They reject biblical truth and give the Lord little or no place in their lives . They are denoted here as “ the ungodly .”
They may be well educated , wealthy and well known ; but they are not the right crowd for us to follow .
The word is “ walk not .” We “ walk not ” in their counsel . We “ walk not ” in their lifestyle . We “ walk not ” with them who scorn God , His Word and His ways .
In order to “ walk not ” with them , it will be necessary to “ cut the cord .”
II . Cut the Fleshly Cord !
“ Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body , that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof .
“ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God , as those that are alive from the dead ,
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and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God .
“ For sin shall not have dominion over you : for ye are not under the law , but under grace .”
“ But God be thanked , that ye were the servants of sin , but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you .”— Rom . 6:12 – 14 , 17 .
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The flesh of man has a sinful , carnal nature . It will desire the wrong things and pursue a course that is headed in the wrong direc - tion . You cannot trust your flesh to guide you . Wisdom demands that we so cultivate our new spiritual life that it will override the flesh and become dominant in our lives .
Rather than pacify the flesh and feed the flesh , we are well advised to “ cut the cord ” and walk in the ways of the Lord .
III . Cut the Identity Cord !
“ Now I beseech you , brethren , mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned ; and avoid them .”— Rom . 16:17 .
Some will leave us ( I John 2:19 ) because they are not really with us . Others , like Paul ’ s “ friend ” Demas , will forsake us . But there are some who will want to do a lot of things they should not do and still maintain their ties with the full-fledged , faithful , fundamental crowd .
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That dilemma often puts the onus ( burden ) on us . Such a neces - sity is never easy and is always stressful . It is not a pleasant thing to relinquish an identity with a mentor , an associate , a peer or a group . Nonetheless , when signif - icant issues are present , we must “ cut the cord .” Otherwise , we be - come a partner with them and a party to their compromise .
IV . Cut the Support Cord !
“ If there come any unto you , and bring not this doctrine , receive him not into your house , neither bid him God speed .”— II John 10 .
Your support is a testimony all its own . When you support a person or an organization , you are em - bracing them . Your support puts you in partnership with who they are , what they believe and what they do .
Typically , we show our support in a handful of ways .
1 . Money ! Where you put your money should be carefully evalu - ated . If a man or a ministry goes awry , you certainly should not con - tinue to help it pay the tab .
Surely we will be accountable to the Lord if we support wrong things and likewise if we support good things .
2 . Presence ! The conferences and other meetings we attend are also telling . Our presence indicates we are to some degree supportive .
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3 . Endorsements ! The people you quote , your Twitter “ likes ” and retweets , etc ., are all showing support of the person or ministry .
When things are no longer like they should be , we should “ cut the cord ” on our support .
V . Cut the Fellowship Cord !
“ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness , but rather reprove them .”— Eph . 5:11 .
This is not easy to do ; and it should not be done for silly , selfish or superficial reasons . However , it should definitely be done where the compromise of scriptural principles is at issue .
I heard one elderly preacher say , “ When necessary you should just saddle up , get on your horse and ride off into the sunset .”
VI . Cut the Immaturity Cord !
“ That we henceforth be no more children , tossed to and fro , and carried about with every wind of doctrine , by the sleight of men , and cunning craftiness , whereby they lie in wait to deceive .”— 4:14 .
“ When I was a child , I spake as a child , I understood as a child , I thought as a child : but when I became a man , I put away childish things .”— II Cor . 13:11 .
When a person is first saved , we are all understanding of his im - maturity ; but after a while there should be some evidence of
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growth . Immaturity should start to fade ; otherwise , you may hear someone say , “ It ’ s time for you to grow up .”
VII . Cut the Bad Doctrine Cord !
“ But avoid foolish questions , and genealogies , and contentions , and strivings about the law ; for they are unprofitable and vain .
“ A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject .”— Titus 3:9 , 10 .
When the Bible speaks , we should listen , learn and lay hold of its truth . If that means “ cutting the cord ” on a denomination that is doctrinally adrift , we should do so without hesitation .
Conclusions
From Dr . Lee Roberson ’ s illus - trative admonition , we can all take noteed and take action when it is needed and necessary .
Anytime it becomes prudent to “ cut the cord ” do not do so ar - rogantly or with some angry tirade . In consideration of others and the influence you have with them , be compassionate and let the love of the Lord show strong through you .
You can be firm , do what your convictions require you to do and still be the kind , caring , considerate Christian you are . ||
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Not Now , but Afterwards “ Then cometh he to Simon Peter : and Peter saith unto him , Lord , dost thou wash my feet ?
“ Jesus answered and said unto him , What I do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter .”— John 13:6 , 7 .
“ Simon Peter said unto him , Lord , whither goest thou ? Jesus answered him , Whither I go , thou canst not follow me now ; but thou shalt follow me afterwards .”— Vs . 36 .
As a little boy , among the hills
Editor ’ s Notes
■ Continued from p 2■
that I become concerned .
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If you are saved , you are in the victory circle ; but if you are constantly doubting , if you are constantly in discouragement , if you are constantly defeated , then you are not living the victory .
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I ’ ve noticed some people are not happy being happy because they are not happy unless they are unhappy !
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However dark may be the night and no matter how rough the road on which we travel , this is no time for us to relax , coast , roll over , cave in , give up , play dead or quit . The need is so great , we must stay faithful .
This and That
In December and January our family has four birthdays ( Davina ’ s , Marlon ’ s , Jonathan ’ s and mine ) and our anniversary , on top of Christmas and New Year ’ s . We have a family get-together for all of the birthdays and , of course , Christmas is always a special and delightful time .
of my native Scotland , how I hated with all my heart the words “ not now , but afterwards .” They seemed to mock me of a time that never arrived .
When I became the proud possessor of a new suit of clothes , as soon as the box was delivered at the house I would cut the string , tear off the paper and remove the lid . To Mother I would say , “ May I put the suit on now ?” and she would reply , “ Not now , but afterwards .”
When , before meals , my boyish
Most of the Sword staff save some of their vacation time to add to their Christmas holidays . But the work continues every day just the same . I didn ’ t take time off now , but Betty and I do have a plan for a week later in the winter .
From December 19 until January 7 , I did not travel , but I have done my radio broadcast each day . I also caught up on a lot of things that had piled up in my office .
I ’ m still behind on my mail , but if you will be patient I will be grateful .
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Every day I ‘ m reminded multiple times of the importance of the ministry of the Sword of the Lord . We are privileged to serve so many of you in so many different places in the world . So let me thank you for your friendship and your labors for the Lord . Let ’ s press on in faith . Let ’ s be faithful and fervent as we endeavor to be fruitful in the work .
As always , I appreciate you praying for us and standing with us .
God bless you and do stay in touch .
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JAMES MC GINLAY
appetite craved food , I would say to Mother , “ May I have a slice of bread and jam now ?” She of ne - cessity ( for we were poor ) would answer , “ Not now , but afterwards .”
How well I remember when she promised to take me someday on
February 12 ( Sunday a . m ./ p . m .)
Trinity Baptist Church 1500 Airport Road Oxford , Alabama
C . O . Grinstead , pastor 256-831-3333
February 26 ( Sunday a . m ./ p . m .)
Central Baptist Church 1714 SE 36th Avenue Ocala , Florida
Andy Bloom , pastor 352-694-2212
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a visit to a neighboring glen . Every morning as I wakened , I would say , “ Mother , do we go now ?” and she would reply “ Not now , but afterwards .”
I believe the Bible from cover to cover . Its every word , verse and page is stamped with the hallmark of Deity . No one but God is its author . Holy men of old wrote only as they were moved by the Spirit of God .
But I must confess that , while I believe the Bible , there are some truths in it “ hard to be understood .” For example , I know that my soul is saved . I am on my way to Heaven . My name is written in the Lamb ’ s Book of Life . This imperishable and eternal boon is mine because Christ upon Calvary ’ s cross died in my stead .
He finished the work of re - demption . I believed the record and , hallelujah , I am saved . But when some skeptic demands that I explain how Christ could die “ the just for the unjust ” ( I Pet . 3:18 ) to bring men to God and how His sacrificial death upon the tree could satisfy the demands of justice , I have to answer , “‘ Great is the mystery of godliness ,’ ‘ that God was in Christ , reconciling the world unto himself ’” ( I Tim . 3:16 ; II Cor . 5:19 ).
A mystery may be experienced , even though it cannot be explained . Yet , thank God , someday we shall understand . Down here we are mere children in the Kingdom , but we are on our way to a higher school ; and by virtue of the superior curriculum already prepared for us , we shall know even as we are known , “ not now , but afterwards .”
I have met a great number of people who do not enjoy the Bible because they cannot understand it completely . For example , a lady a few years ago approached me at the Winona Lake Bible Conference .
She said , “ Mr . McGinlay , if God is no respecter of persons , will you tell me why on the day when Christ comes back for His church , the dead are given the preeminence over the living ? Paul says , ‘ And the dead in Christ shall rise first ’ ( I Thess . 4:16 ). Will you please reconcile
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this fact with the statement that God deals with all His children on the grounds of equality .”
Had she been apparently ignorant or merely curious , I should have ignored her question . But she was of the hoity-toity class . As a matter of fact , she had her glasses on a pole .
In order to gain time and to give my brain a chance to work , I asked her to repeat the question . Then I repeated it , saying , “ You want to know why the dead in Christ shall rise first . Well , that is simple . They have six feet farther to come . Were God to call the dead and the living at the same time , then the living would be six feet ahead of the dead all the way up ; but instead of that , He raises the dead first . They come to the surface and , together with the living , are caught up to meet Him in the air .”
She gripped my hand , looked into my face and said , “ Mr . McGinlay , you are wonderful .”
Now , can you imagine an intel - ligent woman fooling around with that kind of stuff ? Ah , people , until you learn to accept the Word of God at its face value , understand what you can and remember that throughout the endless ages of eternity we shall still be studying God ’ s truth .
So if you are stuck for suitable interpretation of certain Scriptures , console yourself with my text , “ not now , but … afterwards .”
Some dear saints worry about the rapture . They wonder how , if we are sitting in the house of God , our glorified bodies will get through the roof . Well , when anyone asks me how we will get through the roof , I just say , “ Brother , when you see me on the other side of the roof after the rapture , I will tell you all about it ; not now , but after - wards .”
“ For now we see through a glass , darkly ; but then face to face : now I know in part ; but then shall I know even as also I am known .”— I Cor . 13:12 .
— James McGinlay
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