Three Churches–Then and Now

Speaker: William Woodson
Date: May 7, 2000, Sunday Morning Worship Service - (During a Gospel Meeting May 7 Through 10, 2000, by the Northeast church of Christ, Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Main Scripture Reference(s): Acts 2, 8:5-12, 18; 1 Corinthians 1:1, 4:15
Theme: The New Testament Church (Matthew 16:18: And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.)

Introduction by Brother John Phillis, Evangelist of the Northeast church of Christ:] Well, we have come to the day that we have all been looking forward to with great anticipation—that we’ve been praying about. This is beginning of our Gospel Meeting. Brother Woodson got us off to a great start this morning with his lesson regarding the things we learn from Pentecost [Lessons From Pentecost]. And he laid the foundation this morning with four points upon which he is going to build throughout the rest of the meeting this week. It’s off to a good start, and we are really looking forward to what Brother Woodson is going to present to us at this hour regarding the “Three Churches – Then and Now.”

You know, in our brotherhood, in the churches of Christ, we are not in the practice of elevating one man above another. In God’s eyes, we are all equal. But I believe that we are all aware of the fact that there are some in our number who distinguish themselves by their scholarship, by their loyalty to the Word, by their ability to preach the Gospel, and by their tenure in preaching the Gospel. And if we were inclined to rank order individuals within the church, the man that we have with us for this Gospel Meeting would certainly be on the upper tier of those that we would put in that category.

Brother Woodson has been preaching the Gospel since 1950. He’s been involved in local works in both Mississippi and Tennessee, and he spent fourteen years as the pulpit minister of Great Granny White Pike congregation [Granny White church of Christ] in Nashville, Tennessee. He also spent twenty-two years teaching at Freed-Hardeman University, and fourteen of those years he was Head of the Bible Department. He also spent several years teaching at David Lipscomb University.

He has since retired from both teaching and full-time work, and now he spends his retirement holding meetings, speaking on lectureships and the like. He is a published author, and he continues to write for several of our brotherhood publications, including The Spiritual Sword quarterly publication that we receive here and distribute among our members.

He is married to the former Jeanne Creasy , and they have been married for some 47 years [51 years as of September 2, 2004]. They have three children and four grandchildren.

It is a great honor, and I think, a privilege for all of us to have this good man with us. And so at this time I present to you Brother William Woodson from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

[Brother Woodson:] Well, John, you did it…just about right. You did, however, leave off two words that should have been added—handsome and debonair. So…now you know. Be a long week at this, won’t it? Fifty million comedians out of work, and I’m telling jokes. [Laughter]

I’m glad to be here, glad to have a part with you in this study. We are considering the broad theme of “The New Testament Church.” In this session, I want to think with you about the topic, “Three Churches – Then and Now.”

In the book of Matthew, chapter 21, there is a very interesting account of events that took place during the last week of the public ministry of Jesus. On what we would call Sunday of that week, Jesus went into the city, and particularly into the courtyard of the temple. There he found the moneychangers and the sellers of sacrificial animals, whatever. This violated the Truth that the temple of God was to be a place of prayer. And so, Jesus turned over the tables of the moneychangers and drove the animals out.

This must have been quite an occasion. I would have liked to witness that. I would have liked to see our Lord doing this. I would have especially enjoyed watching the reaction of the people. Even now, it’s somewhat amazing. This is not the Jesus we know…or is it? This Jesus was not one to put up with the temple of God being misused. He showed it on that occasion.

On Tuesday following, He came again into the temple. Now, we need to know a bit about the ownership, or at least the proprietorship, in the changing of money and the selling of animals, whatever. The chief priests had the market cornered, and they received a percentage, or cut, of every animal that was sold in order to sacrifice. For every coin that was changed from Greek or Roman money into Jewish money, they received a certain amount. This became a very lucrative business for them. Oh, of course, it was all in the name of purity and sanctification. Yes, we know that. So, Jesus had violated not only their understanding of the law of God, but they had been hit in the pocketbook.  The most delicate nerve in the body runs from the billfold to the heart. And if you touch the billfold, you automatically are endangering the heart. Well, that happened on this occasion.

So, after a day of getting over the shock, they came to Jesus and said, “By what authority do You do these things? And who gave You the authority?” [Matthew 21:23]. They were saying, “We’re in charge here! You’re not! We didn’t give You the right! Who gave it to You?”

They underestimated Jesus. Generations have underestimated Him. He said, “I will ask you one thing, and when you answer My question, I’ll answer yours” [verse 24]. Seemed fair enough.