Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project to make the world’s books discoverable online.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subjectto copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain booksare our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that’s often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book’s long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google’s system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google “watermark” you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can’t offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book’s appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world’s books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books.google.com/
STUDY INSTRUCTIONS For purposes of study, and to make downloading faster, the book has been divided into 5 sections instead of thenine indicated in the table of contents on the next page. However, the original nine chapters are retained in the text.You will download and open each section individually and proceed through the lessons in it. You will stop wherever indicated in the book, generally at the end of each chapter as indicated in the table of contents or at other points where red boxes indicate the end of a lesson, and click the button labeled "Click Button"to return to the course main page to take the relevant Lesson test. After taking the test you will close it as instructed which will put you back on the course main page. You maybegin the next lesson, and the attendant 1 week required attendance for that lesson, the day after you pass the test forthe preceeding section of study. Make sure you download a and keep it up-to-date with the pertinent information for thiscourse. You will need that information for your Finish Sign In form and to keep you on track with your testingand to have a place to keep a convenient record of your testing scores and dates that you took them so you can besure you are meeting the minimum attendance requirement per lesson. Dr. VanBuskirk
STUDY NOTES: Note 1: In bro. Hiscox day it may have been the custom, in most cases, to not preach a sermon during the funeral but forthe minister to not do so would be a serious dereliction of duty. During this solemn and soul-searching occasion is the perfect time to preach a relevant sermon. Those attending arefaced with the reality of their own mortality. Thus, to bring a sermon to help prepare them for their own step over intoeternity and to give them the gospel so as to give them a choice of Heaven or Hell would seem supremely appropriate.However, do not make it a long and onerous sermon and especially not a hurtful one. Never speak of the deceased in any way to even remotely suggest they have gone to Hell. No matter how wicked they may have lived their lives. But on the other hand you don't want to try to preach them into Heaven either when you suspect they may not ever have been a believer. If you are familiar with their life you may know how evil they may have been; but, their fate has already been sealed and they have faced their maker the instant after shaking off their mortal coil so why grieve the family. Remember, the funeral is for the benefit of the family not the deceased. He or she is already past succour if theyhave gone to hell and if they be in Heaven then the joy they are experiencing would most likely leave them prettymuch uncaring about the few good things you may say about them. However, those of the living gathered at the funeralare acutely aware of what you are saying. Therefore, do not beat them for the sins of the dead. It is best not to evenmention much about the dead one unless you have good reason to believe they were saved. And even at that youshould not belabour that point either. Don't make them seem like some sort of unbelievably high saint or, even worse,some sort of demi-god. Keep such comments concerning their Christianity reasonable and short. The sermon should not be long and should always include the salvation message and a brief invitation should be included. Some ministers have the entire group say a salvation prayer out loud so as to not embarrass anyone present.This has much advantage and should be seriously considered. Alternatively you can just lead those present in a silent prayer for salvation; i.e., one you say out loud in short segments but they do not have to repeat it out loud. Also, brother Hiscox suggested having the funeral during a regular Sunday service. This is not the best time forseveral reasons. That is unless the deceased is a member of the congregation. In which case having the funeralduring a regular service would be acceptable; but probably not during the Sunday morning hour except on rareoccasions. Reasons for not having the funeral during the morning service, other than in the case just mentioned, wouldinclude such things as the undesirable, and generally unwelcome, imposition upon the congregation of forcing them tosit through a funeral for someone they don't even know. Also, the Sunday morning service is supposed to be for theworship of God, the edification of the saints and/or presenting Christ to the lost, not the eulogizing or remembrance ofsomeone who is deceased. Also the presence of the grieving family would not allow the preacher his normalfreedom to preach the Word for fear of injuring the family and prejudicing them against both the Word of God and thepreacher. Either of those would preclude the possibility of the preacher visiting them at a later time to present themwith the Gospel of Christ. It is our custom today to invite the lost to our regular Sunday services and should the Lordlead the preacher to preach on hell as the final destination of the lost or to preach on certain sins that are deserving ofhell that may have been practice by the deceased, of which the family is most likely aware, it would most likely causeirreparable damage to the grieving family and preclude the possiblity of them being saved at a later time. There may beexceptions but having the funeral of a stranger during a regular service, as suggested by brother Hiscox, is not the bestpractice. As he said, it is best when the funeral can be held at the church, but it is best if it is not during a regularlyscheduled service. Note 2: Bro. Hiscox also refers to Sunday as the "Sabbath," which was common in his day and is common today. However, this is incorrect usage of the word. The Sabbath is Saturday and is for, and has always been for, the Jew only.Christians meet on Sunday which is the Lord's Day and not the Sabbath. Some refer to Sunday as the Christian Sabbathwhich diferentiates it from the Jewish Sabbath and this is acceptible when they do so with the meaning that it is theChristian day of rest and worship. But to simply call it the Sabbath causes confusion and misunderstanding becausemany Christians, and non-Christians, today mistakenly believe that the original Sabbath was moved to Sunday which,of course, is simply not true. Dr. VanBuskirk
Homework: You need to start making an outline for a mock funeral that you will perform later. Use the standardoutline format from the Public Speaking course that was a prerequisite for attending this course.
In the outline you need to include notes to yourself telling you where to walk in relation to the casket as it is broughtinto the Church (if the casket is not already placed there before the funeral begins) and the name of the deceased and anoutline for a brief funeral sermon and other things that will be part of the funeral service.
Today it is quite common that the Funeral Home makes most of the preparations and has the casket already in placeand will also take it out to move it to the graveyard. They also explain to the pall-bearers their part in taking thecasket out of the hearse and carrying it to the gravesite. However, you will still preceed the casket to the grave as theycarry it from the hearse to the grave.
You need an outline so you are prepared for the time you may have to handle the entire funeral on your own. A suggested outline would be:(This is only a suggestion. Feel free to make your own but make sure you include all of the necessary parts.)
I. Talk to the family and the funeral director before the funeral. A. Find out the name of the deceased and the proper pronunciation of their name and the names of those in the family. (If you do not already know the names because of prior acquaintance.) B. Find out if there is a pre-arranged order to the funeral service. 1. Find out who will read the eulogy. 2. Find out if there will be special music and who will play or sing it and when that will take place. 3. Find out if there will be comments spoken about the deceased from family and/or friends. II. Precede the casket into the Church. (If bringing it in is to be part of the funeral service.)III. The reading of the eulogy, the special music, comments about the deceased, and other matters on the schedule.IV. The funeral sermon. (Suggested Scriptures for the sermon can be found throughout the textbook and there are many others.) Write a separate & properly outlined sermon that is appropriate and includes a brief gospel message. VI. Preceed the casket to the hearse. (If taking it to the hearse is to be part of the regular funeral service.) VII. Preceed the casket as it is taken from the hearse to the grave.VIII. If there is anyone who is to say a few words at the grave, see that they have the opportunity to do so.VIII. Read the graveside scriptures. There are many that could be used here. Some suggestions are: Ps 23 (for anyone); I Cor 15:50-55 (For a Christian); II Tim 4:6-8 (for a good, faithful, Christian worker for the Lord) There are many other Scriptures that could be used at the graveside or as the funeral sermon itself. These are justa few of the more common ones that lend themselves easily to the occasion. Begin making this outline for the funeral service and an outline for a funeral sermon now. Later you will berequired to perform a mock funeral. Without the outline for a funeral service and the performance of a mock funeralyou cannot pass this course. You may want to ask your pastor if he has time to assist you in the order of a funeral service, the writing of theoutline, and the performance of a mock funeral. However, this is not a requirement, only a suggestion.Alternatively you can outline and perform a real funeral if afforded the opportunity.
Start the outline before you take the test for this section. You will be asked in this test if you have started it or not.You don't have to have it finished yet but you do have to start working on it. Dr. T.E. VanBuskirk
Note 1: Registration of marriages. Many Christians today, at least in the United States, prefer not to have governmental intrusion into their marriage.When permission is sought from the government by obtaining a license from them they enter into a three-waycontract with the government. The parties being married can sever the contract between them but their contract withthe government is indissoluble. That is why the state can tell the two how they will divide the assets of the marriagein the event of a divorce. Included in those assets are any children that come to be in the marriage. On religious grounds many Christians do not believe that the government has any place in attempting to control theGod-ordained institution of marriage. God has ordained the bounds and rules of marriage and civil governments have no place interfering in the union of two people before God in that marriage. Many Christians today are joining before God in a Covenant Marriage, which asks no sanction from the State nordoes it invite the State to be an integral, and controlling, partner in their marriage union before God. They are marryingin the biblical tradition of one man and one woman who become one before God; not one man and one woman and thegovernment who become one before God. Many states in the US recognize Covenant Marriages but ask the parties so joined to register their Covenant withthe State. Again, this is an intrusion of the government into their union before God and is unacceptable on the same biblical grounds explained earlier. Marriage is a covenant that is entered into before God and needs no sanction from anyone, nor should the parties seek sanction from anyone, other than the God who instituted marriage in the first place. Registration of the Covenant with the State is no different than seeking a Marriage License from them for permissionto marry. Both are intrusions by the State into a Covenant made by the man and the womanbefore God and both are to be resisted on religious grounds. Any attempt by the the State to insist upon a mandatory Marriage License or mandatory registration of a Covenant Marriage is an intrusion into the religious beliefs and practices of the man and woman and an attempt to control the consciences and actions of the two joined in marriage who believe that only the approval of God is necessary for them to be joined as husband and wife. In addition it is an intrusion into the formsand requirements for that union that only God has the right to dictate for the union that He instituted. Therefore, such intrusion by the State should be resisted on biblical grounds by both the two parties being joined andby the minister performing the ceremony. If the man and woman do decide to obtain a marriage license then the minister is free to honour their wishes andperform the ceremony. After all, it is their marriage not his. However, it would be prudent for the minister to advisethem in the biblical precepts addressed concerning Covenant Marriage as compared to a State controlled marriage andthe consequences and ramification of both. In some places Covenant Marriages are illegal and the minister might face criminal charges for performing one. Thus he must form his convictions before hand and stick to them, regardless of possible criminal charges should he be askedto perform one or else decide he simply will not perform weddings without the sanction of the State.(See the Addendum for samples of a Covenant Marriage document and a Covenant Marriage certificate.) Note 2: Alcohol consumption at the ceremony.
Each minister must make up his own mind concerning performing marriage ceremonies where alcohol is to beconsumed. He must follow the dictates of his conscience in this matter. His convictions need to be formed beforehandand then adhered to unwaiveringly. However, when forming those convictions, one must consider the fact that God prohibits alcohol consumption(Hab 2:15-17) and declares there is a curse upon those that give it to their neighbor to make them drunken. So whywould a minister ask God to bless a gathering that is breaking His prohibition against drunkenness- one that is demandingHis curse upon those being married instead of His blessing? Can God both curse and bless at the same time? Man may beillogical enough to ask God to contradict Himself but God is not obligated to be illogical enough to actually do so. (cont.)
God also gives an explanation in His Word of the sin and sickness that follows those who drink. (Prov 23:29-35)So why would a minister ask God to bless a gathering that promotes the sickness and sin that He plainly teaches overtakesthose who drink? Would God want a man and a woman to join in a union that began in alcohol and debauchery? WouldHe bless such a union? If the root is rotten then so is the vine. And if the vine of the marriage be rooted in the rottennessof drunkenness then the vine of the marriage can only be one of rotten drunkenness. Therefore, it would seem bothprudent and biblical for the minister to stipulate beforehand that he will only perform the marriage ceremony at thewedding if there is no alcohol allowed. He must form his conviction beforehand and not let any thought of fee or possible persuasion by friends or family orany thought of possibly gaining members for his church from the group at the wedding, nor any other persuasion or temptation, sway him against that conviction. If he makes up his mind and forms his conviction biblically and does not allow himself to be swayed for any reason, then the parties to be married will be able to decide ahead of time whether they want him to perform the ceremony or not according to his requirement of no alcohol at the weddingceremony. And with the prevalence of drunkenness found in society today, and the socially acceptable custom ofserving alcohol at weddings, he should state this requirement at the very outset. They are the ones that sought out aman of God to perform a religious ceremony. Therefore, they should understand and respect the religious convictionsof that man of God when he explains his biblical convictions to them. And lastly, they should remember that they asked him to perform the ceremony. He did not ask them. Therefore,they should bow to his requirement which, as I said, he states at the very outset of the negotiations. If they cannotagree to this requirement then they are free to seek out someone else to perform the ceremony and no hardship isplaced on them because the stipulation was presented at the very outset of their planning for a minister to performthe wedding. This gives them ample opportunity to seek elsewhere for a minister with less biblical conviction inthe matter to perform the ceremony. Note 3: Rehearsal and the fee. (This note concerns the next page in the textbook.) A rehearsal of the ceremony will do much to alleviate problems. Often it is the night before the actual wedding andsometimes it is several days in advance of it. Many times the minister is paid for the rehearsal as well as the weddingceremony itself. This, of course is up to those who are planning the wedding. Should they ask the minister what he charges for the wedding and/or the rehearsal he should have a set amount inmind equal at least to the expenses he will incur getting to and from the rehearsal and the wedding. To add an amountto compensate for his time and effort is also acceptable as long as it is not excessive. Generally I wait to see if they ask.If they do, then I tell them the amount that I had predetermined ahead of time for a wedding or for a wedding andrehearsal. However, if they do not ask then I simply accept whatever amount they proffer. This is generally quietly andprivately given to the minister either before or after the wedding. If no fee is forthcoming then the minister shouldgraciously accept that fact and not feel put upon. It used to be customary for the best man to give something to the minister but this custom is not much followed today. It is not customary for the minister to accept a fee for performing weddings for members of the Church that he pastors. They already supply his livelihood through the Church and performing weddings for members is one of the few blessingsin the work of the ministry. Should they offer to give him something the pastor should politely refuse; but if they insistthen he should graciously accept their kind blessing of the man of God. For those who are not members of his Church it is quite acceptable to stipulate and accept a fee. 1Tim 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
Editor’s Note: Denominationalism
In the next section brother Hiscox makes many references to the “denomination.” These havebeen left in the text but the reader must realize that those Churches that consider themselves part ofa “denomination” are generally those that also consider themselves Protestants and espouse theheresy of the earthly Universal Church.
The reader should consider that Protestant Churches are those that came out of the hereticalCatholic, usually Roman Catholic, Church. Many of them have brought the errors of Catholicismwith them when they left the mother Church. Included among those errors are the ideas of theearthly, visible, Universal Church. Along with that error is the idea of a hierarchy wielding Ecclesiastical control over the individual Churches. This is manifested in its early stages asdenominationalism. And denominationalism invariably leads to hierarchicalism along the very linesof their Catholic mother. Since the Bible teaches local Church only with no higher authority thanthe local Church with Christ alone as its head, then denominationalism, given its invariableevolution into hierarchicalism, is unbiblical. Both are unbiblical and are only constructs of man. Even though many denominations started as simple cooperative efforts between independentChurches to maximize their ability to spread the gospel and further the Kingdom of God, and themen who started them did so, many times, with the best of motives, still the frailties of men doomedthem to failure. Their metamorphosis into hierarchicalism has always overtaken the best intentionsof those who first formed the denomination. Also, the infusion of other men with less biblicalcharacter than those who first framed and organized the denomination has always caused inexorabledeterioration of the cooperative denomination into a controlling one.
Therefore, to be biblical a Church must be independent of other churches concerning the authorityof one over another and must remain answerable only to Christ. The unbroken lineage of theIndependent Baptist Churches back to the original Church started by Christ is an example thatcomes to mind of Churches who have cooperated with one another, voluntarily, down through thecenturies without surrendering their autonomy on the altar of denominationalism.
When the student reads brother Hiscox’ book and takes note of his bent towarddenominationalism, please overlook that trend and remember that in his, brother Hiscox’ day, thedenomination was in its early and fairly innocent stage and practiced willing cooperation among thechurches that composed it. Because of the inexorable progression of the degeneration that befallsall denominations, the denomination that was espoused by brother Hiscox has changed fromcooperation to control. What was once true of his denomination is not true today. However, I haveleft his words unchanged and the student should overlook the unbiblical term and espousement ofdenominationalism because it was rooted in brother Hiscox’ time when his denomination was stillin the innocent stage.
