A River Is Always Purest At Its Source
John King
We who live in the Ohio Valley know all too well of pollution in our beloved river. Although cleaner than before, fish are still contaminated, and many species are considered inedible. Yet, for years I drank water that eventually found its way to our area. If you were to go upstream to the Allegheny River, to the Clarion, and to what was called Cherry Run, you would come to the very spring that was our domestic water source. Pure, crystal-clear water: unpolluted and always cool.
The concept that a river is always purest at its source holds true for Christianity, also. If you were to backtrack modern day denominational Christianity, you would eventually come to the pure New Testament Church; pure, unpolluted-by-man Christianity.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised to build “His Church.” “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
It is to this church that the saved are added. Acts 2:47 states, “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
It is this church that we figuratively wear. Galatians 3:27 states, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
It is this church that is promised salvation, as stated in Mark 16:16: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
It is this original, unpolluted church that we strive to be and follow.
It saddens my heart to know of individuals and congregations who once drank of the water of pure New Testament Christianity only to return to the polluted water of error.
In John 4:10 Jesus metaphorically told the Samaritan woman that he could give her “living water.” That living water is the New Testament and the pure gospel message it contains.
Why settle for polluted or imitation Christianity when you can have the real thing? -RR 1 Box 67, Berea, WV 26327.