Joe


	Dear Joe, First my apologies for not getting a reply to you sooner. We are dealing with quite a few questions on our website and are laboring to stay current with our answers so I hope the delay has not inconvenienced you in any way. Your discouragement is understandable, and perhaps is a natural response to what otherwise might be referred to as an unfortunate turn of events for you in your life. I am not involved directly with the armed services, but I am very familiar with the dilemma it puts brothers or sisters in Christ in, when they involve themselves in the military, and especially when it comes to one who finds out that they must commit to it [Armed Services] as master of ones life. The truth is the military will be master or the Lord will be master. The two never mix, and as far as I can tell never will. Some in the churches of Christ today do support and even promote their members to involve themselves in the armed services and when they do that, they do so without biblical authority from the Lord. I refer you to the following article on our website that teaches from the Bible very straightforwardly, about the position of CO and why that Christians should be CO's in view of their commitment to Jesus Christ: READ ARTICLE I'm not saying everything that you are experiencing right now is the result of your stay in the military, but it is possible that your military experience did not help, but rather hindered your spiritual development and perhaps set you back into a lifestyle that is not conducive to true Christianity. What you describe in regard to the problem of discouragement seems to be a problem regarding the violation of your conscience. Joe, everyone in the world may lie to you about everything under the Sun, but generally speaking your personal conscience will not or never will lie to you. If you know from the Bible what is right and wrong, and you do that which is wrong, your fleshly man might try to attempt to say that all is OK, but then your spirit which contains your conscience will NOT pull any punches and will say that its not OK, and thus you will naturally incur a very real conflict. A conflict that most generally will produce discouragement and moral trauma until the conscience finds a true redemptive resolution to the problem. What is tragic is, that many people do this for so long that finally their conscience gives up and becomes calloused or desensitized to the wrong doing and begins to accept the wrong doing as acceptable. The Bible teaches that our conscience should not only be protected, but it should established correctly upon the premise of the Scriptures which has been given to us by the Holy Spirit. In other words, we walk in the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit directs us through the Inspired Words of the New Testament. Notice these scriptures that better explain this point than I ever could: 2Timothy 3:16-17 the Bible says -- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. In Galatians 5: 16-25 Paul says this, NCV -- 16 So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. 17 Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please. 18 But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law. 19 The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, 20 worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, 21 feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God's kingdom. 22 But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. Notice that the Law spoken of here refers to the Law of Moses, which was a Law that distinctively affected the fleshly side of man and was directed upon the Jews. Realizing that man is primarily made of spirit and flesh, these two naturally having a war going on between them, the flesh often wins the battle and what happens when it does, the fleshly side would partake of sinful activities, but if the spirit side wins, it does so by the help of God through the understanding and application of the produce of the Holy Spirit which are the Inspired Words of the Scriptures and thus our spirit, which contains intellect, a conscience and our eternal being, it is then able to direct our fleshly side and dominate what it will or will not do. Joe, some people today blame God for living an evil life, because they say they can't help themselves and God just made them that way. NOT SO! When God gives us his powerful incorruptible, indestructible Word(IPeter 1: 22-25), that is able to empower us with knowledge and wisdom to overcome the wiles of the devil and save our souls(James 1: 21; Romans 1: 16-17), God can never be blamed for such, but rather one is lead away from his own lusts and enticed. James 1:12-15 -- Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 1Co 10:12-13 -- Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. As you can see in these verses, God is never to blame for our life of evil living, but rather God actually helps us to overcome temptation, and truly all of us deal with temptation from time to time as children of God. Yet, the Bible teaches also that to receive temptation is not a wrong attribute on our part, for the devil is held accountable for that, its only when we succumb to that temptation in which we are tempted when it becomes something that God holds us accountable for. In regard to your situation Joe, I am not close enough to your situation to know all of what may be holding you back from actually doing the will of God. It could be that you haven't made your mind up yet to do what the Bible really says that you should do. It could be that you have fears of doing different, because of social pressures of those you know. It could be you have an addiction that you feel you cannot bring to a halt. It could be that you really haven't found the right congregation to attend that will really help you through this spiritual struggle. I want to tell you something very openly, and honestly and that is this.......just because a group identifies themselves as The Church of Christ, certainly does not mean that they really are true representatives of the church that you can read about in the Bible. For example congregations that have added or taken things away in their worship services that you can't read about in the Bible are NOT representatives of the body of Christ. Congregations who support members of the church participating in the military, are not representing the Scriptures on that subject. There are just a number of things that could be mentioned here, but the point is, you as one who realizes the eternal penalty of disobedience must also have the urgency and the prominent need to find right congregation that is faithful to the Word and get your life straightened out by the power of God and quit relying upon outside influences for guiding you in determining what you should or should not do. Don't read this letter and think what I as a preacher might personally say, would really matter about your eternal soul, because it doesn't just because I say it.....but what matters is what the Bible really says, and whether or not you and I are really doing what it teaches by the power of the Holy Spirit in directing our human spirit. In Romans 7:22-25 -- Paul says, -- For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God. In Romans 8:1-2 the Bible says -- There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:31-39 -- What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Joe, in all honesty, if you want to live like you should be living, there is nothing in this world that can stop you from doing just exactly as God would have you to live. That is if you want it bad enough and realize what Jesus did for you that you can have eternal life and have it more abundantly. Quite frankly, to know what Jesus did to make this plan of Salvation so accessible, so available for us all, and what he has done so that we can powerfully and successfully live in this life without sin dominating our every move and then have folks make lame excuses about NOT being able to live righteously as they should......It really should make those who make such excuses humbly bow at the cross and weep with shame. This life is really not about us, Joe, its about our Lord and what He did for our Salvation and our every word, thought or deed should exhibit that fact and bring honor to his name....Col 3: 17. {This section deleted as it contained private contact information for Joe to contact some faithful brethren in his local area} In closing, I want to also give you something here that may be of help to you in seeing that its never and option to lose hope about having a new life and doing the right thing and finding the right church to help you in establishing a new life in Christ. The following links are articles from a story that took place in Columbia MO. These brethren I personally know, and the articles are about a man who regained his life after being a known drug offender in the state of Arizona. Read them and see that the power of God's Word is real and can change your heart when nothing else in this world can. http://www.showmenews.com/2004/dec/20041219feat002.asp http://www.showmenews.com/2005/feb/20050217feat001.asp http://www.showmenews.com/2005/Mar/20050308Feat002.asp Great to hear from you Joe, and I hope that this answer will stir you to a clear recognition that our God is the Greatest, and He longs and has the desire for us all to come to him in repentance before its everlastingly too late(II Peter 3: 9)!! Keep in touch, and I look forward to hearing from you again in the future! Best Personal Regards, Wyn R. Baker Preacher of the Gospel.........www.thegospefortoday.com