Our studies continue these months with a look at the ideals which the Brethren have emphasized down through the years. One of the ideals is temperance (2 Peter 1:6). Temperance means two things. It means moderation in such needful things as eating and sleeping and working and recreation. We are to be moderate in...
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A “steward” was an administrator of the affairs (the household and property) of a person of means. Tlie steward’s duties usually included such responsibilities as the oversight of week, household finances, children of the family, flocks and herds, and the tilling of the fields. The most common New Testament word is “okonomos” meaning “ruler...
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The “New Testament Practices” page continues a brief examination of the ideals which Brethren have historically upheld. We now look at the ideal of purity. The word “pure” means “undefiled and free from self interest” (James 3:17). In a broader sense, it speaks of “freedom from anything that is tainted” (Philippians. 4:8). Purity begins...
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In our day many attempts are made to obliterate the lines of distinction between the sexes. Women cut their hair and sometimes dress like men, and longhaired men are becoming a common sight. The Bible teaches that there should be a distinction between the sexes, and that it is degrading for a man to...
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The topics studied on this page during the past year centered around a discussion of each of the ordinances of the Bible. In the next five consecutive issues of the Witness, there will be a brief analysis of the New Testament ideals which the Brethren have taught through the years. We will look this...
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The New Testament calls us to a simple life free from the high speed at which modern life moves and from the complicated way in which many people live (Matthew 6:24-26; 31-34; 1 Thessalonians. 4:9-12). Our forefathers came from communities where worldliness and luxury were the common practice of society. It would require multiplied...
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An “oath” is a solemn declaration (based on an appeal to God or to some revered object) that one will speak the truth (or keep a promise). The Bible speaks about the oath in a number of places. James 5:12 is a kind of summary statement: “But above all things, my brethren, swear not,...
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See Examining Loopholes for the Remarriage of Divorced Persons Divorce is not approved in the Scriptures, and therefore the possibility of divorce and remarriage as an option should not even enter the minds of Christian couples who face difficulty in marriage. We are always on shaky ground if we begin to seek ways to...
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In the church at Corinth there were those who had disagreements among themselves, and instead of settling their differences peaceably, they hailed each other before the city courts. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:7, “Now, therefore, there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why...
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Human life is sacred. One of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13). God is the author of life. He formed man’s body out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and “man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). And because God has...
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