Missives

Berean Bible Church (BBC) has had a wonderful year establishing itself as a functional church and enjoying sweet fellowship since July 2020. With the guidance and financial support of Mission Bible Church, we have set up some of our primary needs. A foundational step was to register the church with the state of West Virginia. This allowed us to initialize our church bank account. We designed a church logo and jumpstarted BereanBibleChurchWV.com not long afterwards. This took considerable time and effort. By God’s grace, we learned to work with each other administratively. Vidal posts and edits the sermon videos to YouTube.  We stream each sermon live to Facebook on a weekly basis.

We expanded our online outreach to spread of the gospel. Our YouTube channel has garnered a total of 551 views since this past December. It can be found by searching for “Berean Bible Church Martinsburg WV.” The most viewed sermon on the channel is titled "The Incarnation of Grace." The most liked sermon is titled "The Eternal God." Lord willing and in due time the audience will continue to grow. It is encouraging to receive positive feedback from viewers that are blessed by the Word. We are excited to expand into the Sermon Audio platform later this year. We praise God for His faithfulness!

We have implemented some ideas from Mission Bible Church which have made our fellowship enjoyable. At the end of the church service, Vidal or Charles facilitate a time of reflection on the message. This provides an opportunity for the children to get involved. While raised hands sometimes result in silence when called on, it also leads to thoughtful questions or articulating biblical truths they have grasped. Even the youngest ones are engaged and ask many questions. They are growing in their knowledge of the Scriptures, and it is a blessing to behold.  Another pleasure is our time of fellowship following the service as we break bread and continue our discussions of God's Word. Although the current pandemic has made it challenging for some to visit our home church, the Lord allowed us to host about 20 visitors who have benefited from the preaching and lively fellowship.

BBC has had about 20 visitors in 2021. A few are seen above.

The Jackson and Moreta households of Berean Bible Church.

It was a happy day when the heavy load of drywall sheets arrived in the driveway. Truck tires bulging, over 105 sheets of drywall began making their way inside the skeleton-like stick structure on the backs of two large “drywall hanger” guys. Hooray! In two days, I began to see the rooms take shape that heretofore were only a vision on paper and revealed to my guests by waving an arm over the designated places. Soon I got a better sense of the actual dimensions. Airy space narrowed and closed. It began to look like a place in which I could comfortably dwell.

Several framing errors surfaced as the rooms took shape.  The worst involved two doorways. I planned for at least 36” of floor space to accommodate a wheelchair should the need arise in the future. After drywall was hung, the width of the door to the master bedroom was wide enough for the door but too short for the trim. My favorite framing guy Augustine somehow managed to squeeze a 36” door in the space. The other problem involved a pocket door entrance to the master bath where the receiving end wasn’t at straight right angles. While the door closed properly and touched the floor, it had an inch-and-a-half gap at the top. That required some trim board, resulting in the loss of an inch at that entryway.  I worked around that bare stud addition for over a month and never thought to check every critical element!  Inches matter in some areas.  Oh well, live and learn, chalk it up to the school of hard knocks. I can live with this. God’s sun still rises.

Spiritually speaking, my wife and I have discovered “framing errors” at some churches. No, I’m not talking about doorways that don’t square right. I’m referring to theological doctrines, the very fundamental basics of the gospel undergirding any church’s teaching, approach to worship, type of music, view of ministry, evangelism, counseling (a big business these days), and fellowship. For instance, greater respect to the wisdom of man over the Bible produces knowledgeable sermons and promotes the books of men. A minister who holds to a universal atonement will likely preach sermons emphasizing man’s will, or a Unitarian “God saved everybody” type of message. This yields evangelism nearly void of Scripture or no evangelism at all, because they appeal to man’s will and not the miraculous regenerating power of thus saith the LORD (i.e., Rom 10:17). It certainly won’t harmonize with what God’s Word says.

Speaking of the Bible … some “conservative” denominations insist you can’t hold the preacher to one translation of the Bible. They claim he is free to use any popular counterfeit the congregation likes:  the gender-neutral NRSV, or the popular ESV, NIV, NLT, NASB, etc. — all of which come from the corrupt and ever-changing critical text. Some ministers who are solid on the doctrines of grace allow for speaking in tongues, such as the Sovereign Grace (SG) movement in the northeast. This encourages vocal women in the church who press into leadership positions contrary to Scripture (1Tim 3:2, Tit 1:6).

These errors, as bad as they are, sometimes reveal even deeper problems.  One highly popular SG minister, Joshua Harris, eventually left the faith entirely, only to reappear in a Facebook video declaring there’s no problem embracing homosexuals into Christianity. This former preacher’s church is just two miles away from my house.

Do you know which doctrines are highly important? God lists six principles of the doctrine of Christ which are foundational:  repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  These and other key doctrines, such as those captured in the confessions of faith we utilize, matter because the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. They departed because they didn’t square right with the Bible; they weren’t orthodox.  Before you become enamored with nice people in any congregation and join, look carefully behind the veneer, and ask penetrating questions to determine what leadership believes.  As a free resource, you can ask these 75 questions listed on HoldingFast.net (search for “church officer”).  If they don’t answer, they are likely hiding something.  A faithful shepherd is ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in them, because they have a good conscience.

Having built my first house, I thought I knew about construction, but I missed many details since our modular home was factory-built in Virginia, then trucked to its current location. There’s a reason for straight walls, firm floors, and steady ceiling fans: it’s called framing and blocking.  Like a skeleton, framing defines the basic shape of the house and gives an overall rigidity to the structure. Blocking was new to me.

Many of you know wall stud centers are placed 16-inches apart. Every drywall or siding contractor knows where to find the stud. Once those outer layers are attached, however, finding a stud in a convenient location to hang, say, a roll of toilet paper or shower grab bar, requires a separate “blocking” piece of lumber installed between the studs (see picture).  Although that grab bar is installed on an acrylic shower stall, behind it lay some hidden strength.  Now there’s a spiritual lesson!

Christians over the centuries have born incredible burdens and trials, yet all know it was God the Holy Spirit who strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.  When trials come, He says my strength is made perfect in weakness. Be not dismayed; for I am thy God:I will strengthen thee. Paul claimed that the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me. May we all look past our vanity and trust the keeping of our souls to Jesus, our hidden strength.

I must confess I am a workaholic. It is practically impossible for me to have workmen pounding away on the job site, and Kluth not being right there in the midst doing something constructive. In fact, I'd be up at least two hours before their arrival, laying out electric cords for their tools, ensuring walk ramps were safely laid out over the mud, and placing traffic rugs down in the house over the shortcut to the bathroom. At day's end, I would sweep up, take out a lot of garbage, and see if I could find all my tools. (Sometimes they would wind up in the back of somebody's truck.)

My general contractor's (GC) business rhythm was typical for construction. He'd show up with a small crew of 2 to 3 guys, figure out what needed to be done that day, review it with me then explain to them in Spanish. The GC would stick around for a while and work with them, but invariably he needed to take off to Home Depot for some material.

As long as the GC was around, all the men were quite busy. Those were the most productive hours seen. My role at that point was mostly supportive: find another power cord, move some lumber out of the way, hand them a tool as needed, etc. When the GC left, their habits changed. It was interesting to observe the various responses to his departure.

Some kept working with the same focus and energy. One fellow, Augustine (the new framer), was a true workhorse. He was smart, speedy, carried exactly the tools he needed and nothing more, and was rather particular. If a piece of lumber was cracked on both ends, he cut those off and used the good middle piece. If two men were struggling to carry a heavy load, he would drop what he was doing and go help. Even if he came on a Saturday to pick up his paycheck from the GC, and someone else was working, he would pick up a shovel and move some dirt. You could wish for more like him on the job.

His associates, however, were not so. Some would lean on the shovel and watch the others work. Some would work for a while, wait till I was out of sight, then make a video call with family in El Salvador. Lunch breaks came early and lasted long under the shade tree. Worse yet, when an unforeseen issue arose, I would attempt to direct them like the GC, but to little effect. They would push back with a confused look, mumble something about why they wanted to do it their way, then abandon that and go work on something else. These glitches would go unresolved sometimes for weeks. Sadly, I was the one who would fix it later on.

I was frustrated. Didn't they understand I was the owner? Don't they realize the owner has more weight and say over what happens than the GC?  Why is it these people aren't totally on board with my project? Why can't they be more like Augustine, who really seems to get it?

The spiritual parallels flooded my mind. We are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. We're not doing the work of missions alone! Didn't Jesus say go into all the world the same time He said, Lo I am with you always?  You know He is present, right?  So then, what kind of laborer are we in His mission field?  Maybe He sees our "good and holy" behavior while the under-shepherd is around, but when the pastor's car leaves the parking lot, do I return to my own thing? I actually began to sense Jesus on my very job site!

Once again, there's nothing new under the sun. The Bible describes slothful workers both in the pew and the pulpit. Paul exhorts us to be not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord. In Colossians, he said Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. To connect to my story, God through the Apostle says He is looking for more Augustines!  Regarding lazy ministers, God through Isaiah says his watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.  Imagine what a wreck my building project would be if my GC weren't around. Sadly, some churches are a spiritual wreck because they have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

Is it any wonder the Lord Jesus said, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into his harvest.  Maybe He really means it; after all, He is the owner.

One would think hired professionals and experienced contractors using architectural plans pointing to well-known building codes would not overlook certain fundamentals of construction. (I had not yet come to expect the steady stream of oddities of this building project.) While ambling around in my crawlspace one morning, I was quite surprised to find rising sunlight shining between my top plate and a floor joist (below).

That light indicated one side of the house was actually not resting on the foundation. Not. One. Foot. I can't fathom what thought flickered in the mind of the framer's head on a hot July day, but a floating floor beam underneath a load-bearing wall just doesn't strike me as a solid idea. The foundation was painfully dug out, laboriously formed, expensively poured, and fitted with 10 inch by half inch anchor rods to attach the house to the foundation. What other purpose might my foundation serve?

Since I had previously fired that framer for other reasons, and was only now beginning to discover his mistakes, getting him back to fix the job wasn't an option. The new framer wasn't anxious to fix someone else's failures, so yours truly went about crafting hardwood pressure-treated shims to ensure a good connection. Copious amounts of liquid nails kept it in place and would block pathways for small critters. It was savable, but painfully so.

Once again, the spiritual ramifications flooded my mind. It seems these days there are churches detached from their Foundation. Oh, they have a beautiful structure. They are full of "good and godly men." They have choirs, comfy chairs, and color coordinated sanctuaries. There's a social program for every demographic group, and lots of golf-shirted leadership with modern lingo. What could be wrong?  Plenty!

Do they preach from a real Bible or a counterfeit? Do they believe God's Word is inerrant, preserved and inspired, or that it has historical and scientific errors?  When trouble comes, do they turn to tradition or confessions?  Do they firmly stand on what God says and not budge?

Just like my detached foundation wasn't observable from above, but from a dark place below, so you too may discover a church is detached from the Bible when you are in a dark spot. You trust the foundation of God's word will support you. You're looking for biblical answers. They can't give any during your time of distress because they themselves are detached. They're just floating in the air. They are not far from the kingdom of God, but they certainly aren't attached to it.

Jesus described men who build on two different foundations. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock ... and every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.

Stay attached to Christ: for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. May MBC never become detached from our Foundation, for it alone can bear our load through all storms.

One of the greatest concerns about my building project is that it has a crawlspace, not a full basement. A decision made near the end of the planning process ditched the idea of a basement, because the county would not allow elevator-only access; they also required a separate stair entrance which took out too much floor space on the main level. With critical infrastructure (such as plumbing) traversing under the flooring, invariably such will need service someday, and that means you must dig out adequate space underneath for future repairs. This subfloor area is called a crawlspace, and it can create the perfect mold factory. Thus, I was highly motivated to keep that 30-inch-deep pit as dry as possible until the entire structure went under roof.

Apparently, God had other plans. The first rain produced a mud spa against my house, prompting a call to the plumber to procure a sump pump. He couldn't install it in 2 feet of water, so it needed draining. I had partially exposed an existing 4-inch pipe used by my downspouts for carrying away rainwater, if only I could pump it over the foundation wall and into that pipe. The lake rested against my foundation and would eventually sink down to my basement and interior, whose protective barrier was compromised due to construction. Time was of the essence.

Purchasing a submersible pump was easy. I needed a short length of hose that fit the pump and went the distance to the drainpipe. I didn't want to cut any of my existing garden hoses, as they were all expensive 50-to-75-foot sections, and I only needed something for a brief time.  Frantically searching my garage, I came across an old piece of garden hose from years ago, kept in case I needed to tie supports to landscaping stakes for new trees. The hose was less than 8 feet long. One end was cut. The fitting was loose and wouldn't hold high pressure without dripping. I didn't care. It was perfect! The cut end fit into the exposed drain perfectly, and the old fitting matched the top of the pump. In less than 45 minutes, my broken hose coupled with a new pump completely drained the swamp.  My spa was gone. Sunshine returned. Birds began to sing. Chocolate covered M&M's began to fall from the sky. (OK, I made up that last part.)

This past August in Maryland was a particularly wet one, producing more rain than normal. I used that broken hose several more times, all of them at critical stages. The remnants of hurricane Ida made a beeline to the top of the Kluth house where it dumped 3 inches of rain in four hours. Every time, the plumber's sump pump failed (because a worker unplugged it, or the submerged bucket didn't catch water, etc.), while my little broken hose helped pump out another victory.

I was struck by the usefulness of this broken hose, left in a dark corner of my garage with no purpose for many years. In a crucial hour, in spite of its flaws, it found an extraordinarily useful purpose in the hands of its owner.  It frankly reminded me of my own spiritual journey. Have you ever felt inferior because of inadequacies in your life, and the Lord didn't seem interested in changing your lot?  Have you sensed God isn't using you, though you know you're in the house of the Lord? Perhaps all these things are a grand design to test faith and to glorify His name when, despite your weaknesses and shortcomings, God would use you in a mighty way at a critical time.

Consider Gladys Aylward, a legendary missionary to China. She was short of stature, single, and had large feet. The mission board did not want her to go to China, because she didn't meet their requirements. On her own, she ventured into a godless section of Yang Chen. The Chinese came to accept Gladys, as she was only slightly taller than them and visually posed no threat.  Turns out the Mandarin (i.e., president) was attempting to abolish the traditional practice of foot-binding. He wanted to encourage other Chinese women to accept their feet as they were, so the Chinese ruler appointed Gladys as the region's "Official Foot Inspector." Her large feet allowed her to travel long distances; being a woman allowed her to enter women's quarters to do her job.  For that and other reasons, she had access to a portion of the mission field others could not go. A broken hose used by God.

Paul wrote, There was given to me a thorn in the flesh ... For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Cor. 12:7b,8-9a,10)

When it comes to laying a foundation, there's a world of difference between someone who can lay cinder block, and someone who knows how to design and construct a foundation.  You just don't put bricks on the ground and move ahead. Many factors besides leveling the ground must come into view:  the type of ground on which you're building, the amount of compressive load it can carry (my clay handles 2,000 PSF, in case you're wondering), seasonal and environmental factors (expected snow load, rainfall during hurricanes, etc.), eventual building height, and type of building material -- all affect the design of the foundation.

Furthermore, if the interior of the foundation sits in unconditioned space (meaning, no heating or air-conditioning in the basement), then you need ventilation, since ground water can seep up underneath the foundation and create a mold factory.  The ventilation openings need to be near the corners, and of sufficient cumulative square footage to carry out humidity using seasonal winds based on your region. In short, one needs to consider the top, bottom, and both sides of the foundation before you purchase one bag of cement!  I learned all this on-site and in near-real time since the guy I hired only excelled at laying block. (At one particularly stressful point, I was trying to decide where the crawl space opening should be while he was quickly laying block to finish by 4 pm.)

In the part of Texas where I grew up, people regularly water their foundations. Yes, that's right, they take the water hose and irrigate the foundational footprint, to keep the house from cracking. Apparently, the soil shifts with humidity, even with a rebar-reinforced concrete foundation.

The bottom line is that the foundation, once in place, effectively decides what the rest of the structure will look like in terms of shape, height, breath, width, and longevity. It determines if the building will be plumb and level. It determines what storms you can survive.  If that isn't a fantastic picture of the atonement of Jesus Christ, I don't know what it is.

All of my expended sweat, mud, and fears help serve to deepen my appreciation for the glorious foundation we have in Jesus Christ Himself. You and I frankly have no clue how powerful the forces of the devil are, nor how error can creep into the multi-generational life of a living breathing structure known as the church of God. Who can calculate the stresses the church collectively faces over the millennia? Who can truly lay a spiritual plumbline that points always in the Godward direction? Who knows how large a structure will be built, and in what order, and in what dimensions? In Revelation, God's church is depicted in the form of New Jerusalem.  Listen to the specifications: the wall of the city had twelve foundations ° the city lieth foursquare ° the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal (Rev. 21:14-16) That is stupendously impressive, considering that He made a perfectly cubic city out of imperfect people.  I, on the other hand, used blocks of the same consistent size, and rebar of the same thickness. That's almost cheating.  Truly, other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. It will surely stand the test of all time.

As many of you know, I have been building an addition on the backside of my house for my widowed mother, who eventually will move in this fall. Throughout the time of construction, beginning in the early stages of design and planning with the architect, I have repeatedly been struck by the numerous parallels of a concrete and wood construction to that of constructing the church of Jesus Christ. While it's fresh on my mind, I thought to share some of these with you.

The first and most obvious parallel is that before any actual work begins, a plan must be made. The architect I hired also had a building crew, but he didn't lock my plan into his team, so I chose him for this flexibility. It was always interesting to watch, for as I adjusted the floor plan, those changes would ripple throughout the multiple pages of the schematic drawings. For instance, a 1-foot room increase might necessitate thicker lumber in the floor joists (support beams), which in turn called for a foundation footer. 

We had challenges in terms of where to build, because the only place allowed by the county lay within two narrow strips hugging the northeast side of my house, as dictated by my boundary setback zones. Unfortunately, that was exactly where all utilities came into the house, so those intended-to-be permanent fixtures might need to move. This would be a costly proposition. The architect, however, knew how to work around these to achieve the same goal.

Likewise, in salvation, God Almighty has planned from eternity past all that is necessary for entire future generations of Christians to properly be built together into a dwelling place suitable for the Godhead Himself.  It can never be said that with the addition of one Christian, or a whole nation of Christians (as in the case of Jonah preaching at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh), the entire structure could not bear their presence, nor find a meaningful function for them. There are no bolt-on Christians!  All were planned for, and all were accounted for, in God's house.

Think about it for a moment. I planned to use material harvested or pre-formed into standard shapes suitable for modern construction. Their properties were known, and I could count on them bearing those properties, such as load strength per linear foot, without conducting onsite testing. However, God uses raw materials from generations of broken people. He personally manages to form each of us into a fit vessel, pillar, or stone in His house! Furthermore, He clears out all obstacles, at whatever cost, to ensure His people are neatly fitted together.  All too often, I would lay awake at night, wondering and worrying about the next stage of the project; as it weighed heavily on my mind, I considered that my God also is fully consumed with building His living church.  It is His abiding concern, night and day.

Do not think that your God takes lightly your redemption, sanctification, growth, knowledge, and love of the brethren as we are joined together for His glorious purposes. It is His one and only current major undertaking. The verses below reveal His eternal plans.

(Ps 33:11) The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.

(Prov. 20:18a) Every purpose is established by counsel:

(Jer 51:12b) ° the LORD hath both devised and done that which He spake °

(Eph 1:5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will

(Eph 1:11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:

(Eph 3:10a-11) To the intent that now [it] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

(Acts 17:24a) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth ° (26) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation

(Rom 9:21) Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Our sermon passage, known by the scholarly term pericope adulterae (PA), is one of two large sections of Scripture under attack by the Devil's minions, such as Dr. James White and Dr. Bart Ehrman. (The other section is the last 12 verses of Mark 16.) You know the rant: "It's not found in the oldest most reliable manuscripts", by which they mean an absence from the twin golden calves of Alexandrinus and Sinaiticus.  Never mind that their witness agreeth not, nor that either are the oldest.

There is ample internal and external support for the passage to absolutely be the God-breathed Word of the Lord.  Internally, the context begins in John 7:2 with Jesus' expected arrival at the feast of Tabernacles. In the middle of the feast, He begins publicly teaching (7:14), which causes a stir among the people (7:31), catching the Pharisees' attention who send officers to take Jesus (7:32). Many accepted Him as the Messiah, preventing any man from laying hands on Jesus (7:44).  When the officers return, the chief priests and Pharisees complain about their failure to bring him (7:45). The chapter ends with everyone going to their own house.  If the PA were not inserted, the next section would begin at John 8:12 with Jesus telling the Pharisees, I am the light of the world – leaving one to wonder: (a) when did Jesus get an audience with the Pharisees? (b) when did we transition from a private to a public scene?  It makes zero sense.

There are several good resources which nicely summarize the external evidence for the PA; what follows is a summary of ecclesia.org's defense [1].  (Although a bit cryptic, it is a citation of manuscripts containing the PA, as well as reliable church fathers who cited the passage.)  "The [PA verses are] found in over 900 manuscripts. ° Fuller  cites [Dean John] Burgon as stating that of 73 copies of John's Gospel in the British Museum, 61 contain John 7:53-8:11 as found in this passage. Burgon indicates that this proportioning would be typical for any collection of manuscript copies of John. He also cites a further 60 copies, from three distinct lines of ancestry, which agree with this passage."

"Jerome (385 AD), included it in the Vulgate after surveying older Greek copies, stating it was found 'in many copies both Greek and Latin', before 415 AD. The Ethiopic (5th century), Palestinian Syriac (5th Century), Georgian (5/6th century), some copies of the Armenian (4/5th century), Slavonic, Arabic and Persian versions Ambrose (374 AD), Augustine (396), Chrysologus (433), Faustus (400), Gelasius (492), Pacian (370), Rufinus (400), Sedulius (434), Victorius (457), Vigilius (484) and others [contain it]. The Lectionary practice of the Eastern Church, from the 2nd century, include the PA."

"Burgon states that the dislocation of John 7:53-8:11 is attributable to four cursives, 13, 69, 124, 346, all evidently from one ancient and corrupt copy. Ruckman cites [the following] in favor of the passage: the Didache (3rd century document of Apostolic Teachings), Apostolic Constitutions (4th century) and Eusebius (324 AD) citing Papias (150 AD) as recognizing the passage. The Montanists (2nd century) were also aware of the passage. Ruckman also cites besides D, uncials M, S and Gamma from the 5th, 8th and 9th centuries in favor of this passage."

Eminent textual scholar, Edward F. Hills, provides this interesting anecdote: "Although the Greek Fathers were silent about the pericope de adultera, the Church was not silent. This is shown by the fact that John 8:3-11 was chosen as the lesson to be read publicly each year on St. Pelagia's day, October 8. Burgon points out the significance of this historical circumstance. 'The great Eastern Church speaks out on this subject in a voice of thunder. In all her Patriarchates, as far back as the written records of her practice reach, —and they reach back to the time of those very Fathers whose silence was felt to be embarrassing,—the Eastern Church has selected nine out of these twelve verses to be the special lesson for October 8." [2] 

There is ample support for the PA. Who else but Jesus could drive away her accusers and say, neither do I condemn thee? This wasn't the first nor the last time our Savior shocked the world by whom He saved.

This fall will mark the 40th anniversary of my arrival at the University of Texas (UT), Austin, as a freshman on campus. Since I had skipped third grade, I was entering college as a young 17-year-old in a spiritually precipitous position. My youth minister told me that if a young man was zealous for the Lord for a season but later fell away and died, that God would weigh the good against the bad and let him into heaven. I felt my two years of taking notes while listening to sermons at Irving Bible Church should be sufficient. I was ready for something new.

My attendance at UT was practically ordained because dad was a UT grad in 1959.  He was impressed by the remaining Christian tenor of the campus (R.L. Dabney was the chair of "Mental and Moral Philosophy" department in 1884, and John 8:32 is inscribed at the very base of its iconic tower, below), the integrity of the professors, and the depth of thought given to the various subjects. He often spoke favorably of his Cost Accounting course.  He had no idea how much things had changed since his graduation.

My co-ed, on-campus dorm had over 10,000 residents and two zip codes. It was larger than some students' hometown! My first roommate, Ray, was a young Baptist zealot who, after the first several weeks, requested a different room(mate) because he couldn't put up with all my partying and drinking. Good for him. He tried to invite me to the Baptist student union meetings, but I never went. Like the proverbial prodigal son, I wasted my substance with riotous living, and it wasn't until I was a year into my first job that Vince came to himself (Lk 15:17a), or rather, God Almighty came to my soul.

I recount all this because it is heavy upon my heart for our college students, to warn them of the dangers that exist on university campuses. "But Brother Vince, I am going to a Christian campus."  Good! But I have spoken with plenty who attended Christian campuses to know that the same swine-like elements which abounded at UT, are also found at Christian schools, if in less measure. The safeguard is not the sign over the institution, but the Savior over the inner man.

So in this edition, young Christian, I'll give you a few extra layers in your spiritual shield to quench the fiery darts of the wicked.

Vince's advice for survival on campus –

(1) Carefully choose your friends the first 30 days. All the evils I fell into were introduced to me by a friend of a friend.

(2) Don't neglect your Bible reading time. My Bible sat in the bottom of a box in the closet, unpacked from my move out of my parents' house. (Six years later I dug it out when God saved me!)

(3) It really is OK to say "No, that's not for me," to those who tempt you to go the wrong way. The desire to fit in and be accepted is nearly universal at your age group. But the 'big men on campus' are those who know what they want and stick to it. They build a great reputation, and attract, dare I say, the best people who are likewise interested.

There is another danger on Christian campuses of which I cannot speak directly, but I know to be present. You will hear and be tempted to accept views that radically differ from your parents and your church. For sure, your use of a King James Bible will be attacked, and some warped idea of creation blended with elements of evolution will tantalizingly be presented as more plausible.  If you don't have a ready answer, do some digging.  You will find that your upbringing is well founded.  The Bible stands every test we give it!

If you're feeling stumped, avail yourself of the resources listed at HoldingFast.net/Others-Like-Us.  I have found these men to have solid, intellectually satisfying answers to many common questions.