QUE:Bulletins you can put in your local Newspaper

                          BIBLE BULLETINS

The following articles first appeared in the Kokomo Tribune 
beginning on July 4, 1987.  They are called Bible Bulletins and are 
designed to relay simple yet powerful statements of the Truth of the 
Word of God.  They are published in each Saturday's edition and 
located on the "Religious Page" of the paper.  I have included them 
on this BBS for the users to be able to see another aspect of the 
ministry of Bible Bulletin Board.  Each ad is about 4 by 5 inches 
and cost approximately $100 per week with a 3 p.m. deadline each 
Wednesday.  The purpose of the Bulletins is to "plant seed" in the 
local community of Kokomo, Indiana.  It is hoped that the bulletins 
would be read and cause some to search and find the true and perfect 
gift of life...The Precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

 __________________________________________________________________
| July 4, 1987       B I B L E   B U L L E T I N         Number 1  |
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|                                                                  |
|                       Is Jesus Christ God?                       |
|                                                                  |
|  The most important decision we have to make on this earth is    |
|  what will we do with the person of Jesus Christ.  It is a       |
|  choice each will make, for Jesus Himself said, "He who is not   |
|  with me is against me" (Luke 11:23).  To ignore Jesus is to     |
|  decide against Him.  In order to make the right choice one      |
|  must clearly understand exactly who Jesus is.                   |
|                                                                  |
|  The Apostle John wrote in the Bible that, "In the beginning     |
|  was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God   |
|  ...the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us" (John  |
|  1:1,14).  Jesus Christ is the Word and He was with God and is   |
|  God.  Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). The  |
|  Jews of Christ's day clearly heard these claims of deity, for   |
|  the Bible records that some tried to stone Jesus saying, "...   |
|  because you, a mere man, claim to be God" (John 10:33).         |
|                                                                  |
|  As a infant Jesus was identified as deity by the eastern Wise   |
|  Men as they, "bowed down and worshiped Him" (Matthew 2:11).     |
|  Thirty-three years later the Apostle Thomas beheld the          |
|  resurrected Christ and worshiped Him saying, "My Lord and My    |
|  God!" (John 20:28).  Jesus Christ is the Holy God.  We must     |
|  believe His claims of deity and yield our lives to His          |
|  control.  Jesus warned, "If you do not believe that I am the    |
|  one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins" (John      |
|  8:24).  To deny Christ's deity is to reject God; to die         |
|  without receiving His forgiveness for your sins is to be        |
|  condemned to the eternal torments of Hell.                      |
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| July 11, 1987      B I B L E   B U L L E T I N         Number 2  |
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|                                                                  |
|                     Is the Bible God's Word?                     |
|                                                                  |  
|  Jesus spoke of a day of coming judgment when He said, "Then     |
|  they [the wicked] will go away to eternal punishment, but the   |
|  righteous to eternal life" (Matthew 25:46).  Because mankind    |
|  is destined for a literal heaven or hell there must be a        |
|  Bible.  In order for God to pass judgment on us He must have    |
|  an objective standard by which to judge--the Bible is that      |
|  standard.                                                       |    
|                                                                  |     
|  The Bible is God's Holy Word, perfect and without error.  If    |
|  it were not, it would be no standard at all.  Paul testified    |
|  that, "All Scripture is God-breathed..." (2 Timothy 3:16).  It  |
|  was written by God through men who, "...spoke from God as they  |
|  were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).  The     |
|  Bible is comprehensible.  What good would a perfect standard    |
|  be if no one could understand it?  Also, the Bible is not       |
|  "open" to various interpretations or it ceases to be a          |
|  reliable standard.  Each verse of the Bible has only one        |
|  correct interpretation but may have many applications.          |
|                                                                  |
|  In Revelation 19:13 Jesus Christ is called the Word of God.     |
|  The Bible is His word to mankind.  Jesus said, "...whoever      |
|  hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life     |
|  ...the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that    |
|  very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day"       |
|  (John 5:24; 12:48).  The Bible was given to show us the way to  |
|  obtain eternal life; "...take to heart what is written in it,   |
|  because the time is near" (Revelation 1:3).                     |
|__________________________________________________________________|
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| July 18, 1987      B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 3 |
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|                                                                  |
|                            What Is Hell?                         |
|                                                                  |
|  We often hear the word "hell" being misused and the concept     |
|  of eternal punishment being treated with scorn and disbelief.   |
|  Yet, the reality of hell is clearly taught in the Bible.        |
|                                                                  |
|  Hell is the place of punishment for sinning men and angels      |
|  because of their offenses against the Holy God.  Hell was       |
|  originally created for sinful angels; "Depart from me, you      |
|  who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil    |
|  and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).  Man became eligible for hell  |
|  when he joined the fallen angels in sin (Genesis 3).            |
|                                                                  |
|  Hell is a place of fire.  Jesus said sinners would be,          |
|  "...thrown into the fire of hell...where the fire never goes    |
|  out" (Matthew 18:9; Mark 9:43).  Hell is a place of torment.    |
|  Jesus quoted a man who spoke from hell, "I am in agony in       |
|  this fire" (Luke 16:24).  Hell is also a place where sinners    |
|  will be, "...beaten with many blows" (Luke 12:47), and "be      |
|  silenced in darkness" (1 Samuel 2:9).  It is a place of         |
|  "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12), and of "shame   |
|  and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2).                        |
|                                                                  |
|  God is patient, "...not wanting anyone to perish..." (2 Peter   |
|  3:9).  Yet, the punishment for sin will be paid, by Jesus on    | 
|  the cross or by us in the eternal hell.  The choice is ours.    |
|__________________________________________________________________|
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| July 25, 1987      B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 4 |
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|                                                                  |
|                          What is Heaven?                         |
|                                                                  |
|  Jesus Christ said that there are two roads in life--a broad     |
|  one that leads to destruction (hell) and a narrow road that     |
|  leads to life (heaven) (Matthew 7:13-14). For those who travel  |
|  the narrow road, by the power of the Holy Spirit and through    |
|  faith in Christ, yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.                |
|                                                                  |
|  The Bible reveals the location of heaven as the uppermost of    |
|  three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:1-10).  The first heaven is     |
|  our atmosphere, the second is outer space, and the third is     |
|  the real place of eternal bliss where God has His throne.       |
|                                                                  |
|  In heaven, the inhabitants will be like little children, that   |
|  is, trusting, dependent, innocent and loving (Matthew 18:3).    |
|  It is a place where, "people will neither marry nor be given    |
|  in marriage" (Matthew 22:30).  In heaven,  "There will be no    |
|  more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4).    |
|  Heaven has a Holy City called Jerusalem that is 1400 miles      |
|  long, 1400 miles wide, and 1400 miles in height! (Revelation    |
|  21:10,16).  The walls are as clear as crystal and the street    |
|  is made of pure gold, like transparent glass (Rev 21:18,21).    |
|                                                                  | 
|  Heaven is free but it is not cheap.  Jesus yielded his life to  |
|  the cross to open heaven's gates.  We must yield the control    |
|  of our lives to Jesus in order to walk through those gates.     |
|__________________________________________________________________|
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| Aug 1, 1987        B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 5 |
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|                                                                  |
|                    The World's Greatest Sinner                   |
|                                                                  |
|  Are there sins that are too great for God to forgive?  The      |
|  answer is "no."  In fact, the worst sinner of "all-time" has    |
|  already been forgiven.  His name is the Apostle Paul.           |
|                                                                  |
|  Paul claimed that, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save    |
|  sinners -- of whom I am the worst" (1 Timothy 1:15).  Paul      |
|  testified of his life prior to his conversion that, "I was once |
|  a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man...I put many of |
|  the saints [Christians] in prison, and when they were put to    |
|  death, I cast my vote against them" (1 Timothy 1:13; Acts       |
|  26:10).  He was responsible for the mass murder of men and      |
|  women as he sought to destroy Christianity (Acts 8:3; 26:10).   |
|                                                                  |
|  Jesus chose to save Paul because he was the worst sinner who    |
|  would ever live in order to display him as an example of His    |
|  unlimited patience with sinful men (1 Timothy 1:16).  If Paul   |
|  was not the worst sinner then Jesus' example would be invalid.  |
|                                                                  |
|  Because the worst sinner has been saved there is hope for us    |
|  all.  No matter what our sin is, (i.e., Abortion, Murder,       |
|  Drunkenness, Homosexuality, Divorce, Slander, Lying, Stealing,  |
|  Pride, etc.), Jesus proved His willingness to save us and       |
|  cleanse us of all sins. We need only to bow before Jesus Christ |
|  and confess our sins to receive the same forgiveness Paul did.  |
|__________________________________________________________________|
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| August 8, 1987     B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 6 |
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|                                                                  |
|                      God's Total Forgiveness                     |
|                                                                  |
|  Prior to the Apostle Paul's conversion to Christianity he was a |
|  murderer of Christians; as believers, Moses committed the sin   |
|  of murder, and King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and |
|  killed her husband.  In each case God gave total forgiveness.   |
|                                                                  |
|  Webster's Dictionary says "to forgive" is to, "overlook; give   |
|  up desire to punish; to stop being angry with."  God defines    |
|  "forgiveness" when He says, "I will forgive their wickedness    |
|  and will remember their sins no more" (Hebrews 8:12).  God's    |     
|  forgiveness is one that permanently forgets that sins were      | 
|  committed.  This, in effect, treats forgiven sinners as if      | 
|  they had never committed any sins.                              | 
|                                                                  | 
|  Some churches today try to restrict redeemed sinners from       | 
|  leadership and other church ministries if they have ever        | 
|  committed any "Big Sins" in their pasts (i.e., divorce, murder, | 
|  adultery, etc).  This prejudice insults the forgiving power of  | 
|  the Blood of Jesus Christ and negates the heart of the Gospel   | 
|  message -- that God offers absolute forgiveness to sinners.     | 
|                                                                  | 
|  God forgives sin completely.  We have only to look at Paul,     |
|  Moses, and David to see examples of God's ability to forgive    |
|  and use the redeemed sinner for His glorious purpose without    |
|  any restrictions because of past sins.                          |
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| August 15, 1987    B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 7 |
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|                                                                  |
|                           What is Sin?                           |
|                                                                  |
|  The Bible says that, ". . .all have sinned and fall short of    |
|  the glory of God" and, "There is no one righteous, . . .there   |
|  is no one who does good, not even one" (Romans 3:23,10,12). It  |
|  goes on to say that, "the wages [outcome] of sin is death"      |
|  (Romans 6:23).  Because sin impacts each of us and affects our  |
|  eternal destiny we must understand what it is.                  |
|                                                                  |
|  The Bible lists at least 12 different words to define the       |
|  various aspects of sin.  Perhaps the most inclusive definition  |
|  can be found in 1 John 3:4, when it says, ". . .sin is          |
|  lawlessness."  Sin is disobeying or ignoring God's law, or      |
|  falling short of it.  Sin is living on our own terms.  We sin   |
|  when we don't respond properly to God and to His commands.      |
|                                                                  |
|  Sin calls for judgment.  God's righteousness and holiness       |
|  demand that sin be punished, its penalty paid.  If we die with  |
|  unforgiven sins we will be condemned to eternal torment; but    |
|  if we asked Jesus Christ to save us from the judgment of our    |
|  sins and forgive us, we will be received into Heaven's bliss.   |
|                                                                  |
|  God stands willing to save us from our sins if we will but      |
|  humble ourselves and ask, for, "If we confess our sins, He is   |
|  faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us    |
|  from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).                         |
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| August 22, 1987    B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 8 |
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|                                                                  |
|                     Can Salvation Be Lost?                       |
|                                                                  |
|  Can a person who has accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord commit   |
|  grievous sins and still go to heaven upon death?  In other      |
|  words, can a Christian lose his salvation?                      |
|                                                                  |
|  Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and      |
|  they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never  |
|  perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28). |
|  Satan and his demons would try to "yank" believers out of God's |
|  hand if they could for they are enemies of God and His saints.  |
|  But the evil ones can only tempt Christians to fall into        |
|  grievous sins, never can they remove us from God's grip.        |
|                                                                  |
|  Neither can Christians "jump" out of God's grasp through sin,   |
|  for the Bible says, "He who began a good work in you will carry |
|  it on to completion..." (Phil. 1:6).  God will not give up on   |
|  sinning Christians; for example, Moses sinned by murdering,     |
|  King David committed adultery and murder, and Peter publicly    |
|  denied Christ, and yet each were forgiven and held secure in    |
|  his salvation by God's love and grace.                          |
|                                                                  |
|  God says, "It is by grace you have been saved...not by works"   |
|  (Eph. 2:8-9).  Our good works could not gain us initial         |
|  salvation, nor can they maintain it.  Those who trust in Jesus  |
|  receive the secure gift of eternal life and will never perish.  |
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| August 29, 1987    B I B L E   B U L L E T I N          Number 9 |
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|                                                                  |
|                          Is Divorce Sin?                         |
|                                                                  |
|  Its commonly held that divorce always constitutes sin; but the  |
|  Bible would say, "not always."  God gives two Biblical grounds  |
|  for divorce by Christians.  The first is found in Matthew 5:32  |
|  where Jesus said, "...anyone who divorces his wife, except for  |
|  marital unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery..."       |
|  Divorce is permitted when either the man or the woman is found  |
|  to be unfaithful because of sexual sin (adultery, homosexuality,|
|  incest, prostitution, bestiality, etc.).  The "one flesh" bond  |
|  is broken between the partners and God allows a legal ending    |
|  of the dead marriage.                                           |
|                                                                  |
|  The second ground of dissolution occurs when a Christian is     |
|  married to an unbeliever who no longer wants to stay in the     |
|  marriage and leaves; "If the unbeliever leaves, let him do so.  |
|  A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances"    | 
|  (1 Corinthians 7:15).  Should the unbelieving spouse desert or  |  
|  begin divorce proceedings, the Christian partner is no longer   |
|  bound to the marriage and can be divorced without sinning.      |
|                                                                  |
|  Divorce for unfaithfulness and desertion are concessions to     |
|  sin and hardness of heart by our Gracious God as a provision    |
|  for those who are innocent of defiling the marriage.  Divorce   |
|  on any other grounds is not permissible and results in sin      |
|  and adultery, and is prohibited by God.                         |
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| Sept 5, 1987       B I B L E   B U L L E T I N         Number 10 |
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|                                                                  |
|                     Is Remarriage Permitted?                     |  
|                                                                  |  
|  Is it a sin for a divorced Christian to remarry? The answer is  |  
|  found in 1 Corinthians where God reveals His commands regarding |  
|  marriage and remarriage.                                        |  
|                                                                  |  
|  God addresses four categories of humanity; the married, the     |  
|  virgins, the widows, and the unmarried.  The married but        |  
|  separated, "must remain unmarried or else be reconciled" (1 Cor |  
|  7:11), the virgins are simply permitted to marry (1 Cor 7:28),  |  
|  and the widows and the unmarried are told, "it is better to     |  
|  marry than to burn with passion" (1 Cor 7:9). God distinguishes |  
|  between the virgins, the widows, and the unmarried. The virgins |  
|  are those who never married, the widows are those who have lost |
|  their spouses through death, and the unmarried are those who    |
|  were married but lost their spouses through causes other than   |  
|  death (i.e. divorce). Those divorced are permitted to remarry!  |  
|                                                                  |  
|  God does permit remarriage for three classes of divorced        |  
|  believers; (1) those whose divorces were on Biblical grounds,   |  
|  i.e., an unfaithful partner or an unbelieving spouse who        |  
|  departs (Mat 5:32, 1 Cor 7:15); (2) those whose divorces        |  
|  occurred prior to salvation, who are now "new creations" (2 Cor |  
|  5:17); (3) those believers whose divorces were non-Biblical     |  
|  and sinful, but have truly repented and whose original marriage |  
|  is unreconcilable.  Praise Our Loving and Forgiving God!        |  
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| Sept 12, 1987      B I B L E   B U L L E T I N         Number 11 |
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|                                                                  |
|                       Tradition! Tradition!                      | 
|                                                                  | 
|  Jesus said to the "religious leaders" of His day, "you nullify  | 
|  the word of God for the sake of your tradition" (Matt. 15:6).   | 
|  Today the traditions of men have overridden the very commands   | 
|  of God, robbing the Church of its power to influence the world  | 
|  with the Gospel message.  Consider these examples:              | 
|                                                                  | 
|  The Bible says if any one is sick, call the elders of the       | 
|  church to pray and anoint him with oil (James 5:14).  Man's     | 
|  Tradition says if any one is sick, pray for him but do not      | 
|  anoint with oil.  The Bible says celebrate the Lord's Supper    | 
|  on a regular basis, as often as believers meet together (Acts   | 
|  2:42,46;20:7).  Man's Tradition says celebrate the Lord's       | 
|  Supper once a month, or once a quarter.  The Bible says to      | 
|  discipline sinning members to keep the church pure and holy     | 
|  encouraging them to repent (Matt. 18:15-20).  Man's Tradition   | 
|  says avoid confrontation of sin as it is not loving or kind.    | 
|                                                                  | 
|  And we have other traditions like these.  God's Word to man is  | 
|  complete and does not need to be altered, "Every word of God is | 
|  flawless...Do not add to His words or He will rebuke you and    | 
|  prove you a liar" (Pvb. 30:5-6). We dare not continue to sit in | 
|  judgment on His Word, substituting traditions for obedience,    | 
|  or we will find ourselves like those ancient churchmen -- far   | 
|  from God and going through "vain" religious motions.            | 
|__________________________________________________________________|
 __________________________________________________________________
| Sept 19, 1987      B I B L E   B U L L E T I N         Number 12 |
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|                                                                  |
|                        Is Abortion Murder?                       |
|                                                                  |    
|  The caption on a poster of a month old baby girl read, "If you  |    
|  killed me today it would be murder, but if you killed me two    |    
|  months ago it would be called abortion!"  Are the 4,200         |    
|  abortions we Americans perform each day premeditated murders?   |    
|                                                                  |    
|  In Exodus 21:22-25 God declares that if men are fighting and    |    
|  hit a pregnant woman and the baby within her is killed, the men |    
|  are to be put to death for murder.  God views an unborn baby a  |    
|  person whose murder requires the death penalty.                 |    
|                                                                  |    
|  In Psalm 139:13 we find God directly creating in the womb of a  |    
|  woman,  "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in   |    
|  my mother's womb." The child is a human from conception,        |    
|  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." (Jeremiah 1:5). |    
|  In Luke 1:44 evidence that the unborn child is a being capable  |    
|  of thoughts and feelings is given when Elizabeth, who was       |    
|  pregnant with John the Baptist, spoke to Mary, pregnant with    |    
|  Jesus, saying "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my |    
|  ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy."                      |    
|                                                                  |    
|  God intended a woman's womb to be the place where a new life    |    
|  would be initiated and formed.  We have often made it the scene |    
|  of brutal slayings of helpless little humans.  We need to judge |    
|  ourselves before God requires settlement for this bloodshed.    |    
|__________________________________________________________________|
