by Kevin Cauley

If you grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons in the 1970's, then you are familiar with the above title. Schoolhouse Rock was a popular Saturday morning "filler" between cartoon times that educated children on various school subjects: history, law, mathematics, grammar, and other subjects. One of my favorites was "Conjunction Junction." This particular educational experience discussed the ins and outs of the English conjunctions: "and," "or," and "but." These three conjunctions play a critical role in our language and they are all important, but many do not understand the importance of the word "and."

In the Greek language, the two most common words that may be translated "and" are "KAI" and "DE." Of the two words, "KAI" is the stronger conjunction. It signifies a strong logical connection, whereas "DE" is a weaker conjunction signifying more or less association and being adversative in nature. For example, in that long run of genealogy in Matthew 1:1-16 most of the "ands" in that passage are from the Greek word "DE." In that same passage, "KAI" is used, but only when speaking of additional siblings begotten to the same father. For an example, look at Matthew 1:2. "And (DE) Abraham begat Isaac; and (DE) Isaac begat Jacob; and (DE) Jacob begat Judah and (KAI) his brethren." The weak conjunction that is more or less grammatical association is represented by "DE," but the strong logical conjunction is represented by "KAI."

The logical force of the word "KAI" is to be understood as addition or supplement. A.T. Robertson says regarding the meaning of "KAI," "The idea would then be 'together with,' 'in addition to.'" (Grammar, p.1180). Thus one understands when seeing the word "KAI" that the two things conjoined are grammatically copulated. Grammatically, if they are joined together by "KAI," they are an inseparable pair. "KAI" is only listed in Robertson's grammar as a "copulative" conjunction, whereas "DE" is listed as both "copulative" and "adversative." (Grammar, p.lxi) "KAI's" business is to conjoin.

Now, the conjunction "KAI" may join nouns, verbs, phrases, clauses and sentences and when it does, we must pay attention to all parts of the conjunction. One such example may be found in Mark 16:16a. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." In English we have a simple sentence with a relative clause that describes who is saved, namely, those who believe and are baptized. In Greek however, the situation is different. The subject of the sentence is the conjunction of two aorist participles, PISTEUSAS and BAPTISQEIS. Translated into English we have: "the-one-who-believes-and-is-baptized." To this subject is amended the predicate, "shall be saved." Because these two participles are joined together with the Greek conjunction "KAI" we know that the action of the verb applies equally to the one subject, namely, "the-believing-and-baptized-one." What is that action? Such a subject "shall be saved." The subject is not just the one who believes but is not baptized. The subject is not just the one who is baptized without believing. The subject is the one who has both believed and been baptized. That subject is the only subject to which the predicate "shall be saved" applies. This must be true because of the strong connection in the Greek conjunction "KAI."

What's the function of the Greek conjunction "KAI"? It is to join strongly together different grammatical elements. When "KAI" is used, we understand those elements to be grammatically conjoined to one another in the sentence.

by Greg Tidwell

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5,6 ESV).

God speaks to us through His word, the Bible. In the pages of Scripture we find all we need to be the people God intends for us to be.

Because the Bible is true, it provides access into a relationship with God in Christ which blesses every aspect of our lives.

When we follow the teachings of Scripture, God's grace shields us -- providing a refuge from the daily struggles which come from living in a world of evil.

Beyond giving instruction for our lives, so we can know God's law, the Bible provides an assurance of God's mercy. Through Scripture we not only know what we ought to do, but we know how to find forgiveness when we fail to keep God's law.

Receiving the Bible as it is, the word of God, we must reverence what he tells us and take care not to "add to His words." As this passage tells us, when we move beyond God's truth, we become liars.

Reverence to God's word prohibits God's people from adding unauthorized additions to worship or to the work of the church. We must do God's things in God's way.

The Bible must remain at the center of our lives as God's people. Personal Bible study, family devotional times, the worship and teaching of the congregation are all important. Only through the truth of Scripture can we find the light to guide our lives into an eternity with God.

by Tim Hall

"You can't tell me that God is good! I've read all those accounts in the Bible in which he ordered entire cities to be destroyed. A good God wouldn't do something like that!" The argument sounds convincing. It is true that God occasionally ordered Israel to utterly destroy cities and nations. Israel's first king was deposed by God for not carrying out such an order.

What this argument fails to acknowledge is the longsuffering of God. Before God reached the point of declaring the death penalty, he almost always gave ample opportunity for the offenders to change.

A case in point is Canaan. When Israel crossed the Jordan River to possess the Promised Land, they were instructed to "... conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them" (Deuteronomy 7:2, NKJV). That sounds awfully harsh. But have we noticed what God said to Abraham more than four hundred years prior to this? In revealing the future of Abraham's descendants, God foretold their hard sojourn in Egyptian bondage. One reason why this was necessary was that "... the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete" (Genesis 15:16). By the time Israel began driving out the inhabitants of Canaan, they had been given many opportunities to repent. They had proved themselves incorrigible.

Israel herself was the beneficiary of God's longsuffering. After entering the Promised Land, the people soon joined themselves to the idolatry of the Canaanites. God sent enemies to oppress his people in hopes of causing them to turn away from the idols. The book of Judges chronicles thirteen episodes of rescue by deliverers sent by God. Can any human examples of longsuffering like that be found?

Still later in Israel's history, God tried time and again to turn his people from self-destructive sins. By the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the verdict had been handed down: destruction of Judah by the wicked Babylonians. But it was not a verdict God enjoyed reaching: "Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'" (Ezekiel 33:11). One can hear the throbbing of God's heart as he speaks those words.

These examples are typical of God as he is revealed in the Bible. He is not portrayed as hard, cold and eager to send sinners to their graves. He longs to forgive so the relationship can be restored. But there have to be signs of repentance.

Moses made a bold request in Exodus 33:18 when he asked, "Please, show me your glory." God accommodated that wish, but not as most would have expected. The revealing of God's glory meant declaring his true and essential nature: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth ..." If you want to see the glory of God, look at how eager he is to forgive sinners if they will respond to his initial show of grace.

Peter got the message. He urged his readers to "account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (2 Peter 3:15). Indeed, we should all rejoice that God suffers long with us. It is one of the most glorious facts of his nature that we can proclaim.

by Mike Benson

QUESTION: "The Bible says that when Lazarus died he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom (cf. Luke 16:22). What does this mean?"

ANSWER: This is an interesting Bible question; thank you for submitting it. Note:

1. A good commentary on the passage you mentioned is John 13:23. Now there was leaning (reclining--mb) on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.".

2. To appreciate Luke 16:22, we need to understand the culture and customs during Bible times. "The Roman custom of reclining at meals was common among the Jews. Such positioning placed one in the bosom of the neighboring person."/1 "In that ancient culture, people did not sit in chairs around a table as we do today. Rather, the table was low to the floor and the guests 'reclined' on pallets by the table. If one was an especially honored guest, he reclined next to the host, and so, in the idiom of that day, he was said to be 'in the bosom' of his host."/2

3. Christ is described in Scripture as being "in the bosom" of the Father (cf. John 1:18); this suggests a close relationship. Thus, when the Bible says that Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom, it simply means that upon his death he was taken to a realm of great honor. "Because Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew nation, to be honored with his intimacy was the highest bliss."/3

1/ Holman Bible Dictionary, 10. 2/ Wayne Jackson, Notes from the Margin of My Bible, Vol. 2, 31. 3/ The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 6

by Stan Mitchell

"Seated in the window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story, and was picked up dead" (Acts 20:9).

You have heard the joke. A man falls asleep during the sermon. The preacher spies him, and addresses his neighbor. "Can you reach over and wake brother so and so up?"

The punch line follows: "Preacher, you put him to sleep. You wake him up!"

I'm sorry. I never liked that joke. And I don't think it's because I lack a sense of humor. I think Jesus used humor to get his points across, and as long as it's appropriate, I think a preacher can do it effectively today, too.

Can you imagine a man attempting eye surgery with a beam in his own eye? Can you imagine a punctilious housewife straining a gnat out of her soup -- and swallowing a camel?

What I don't like about the joke is that it blames the wrong person. It's like saying that an assaulted woman was guilty because she was running at night or the victim of a robbery was guilty because he left his car window open. Perhaps he was unwise, but the thief was the one who was guilty!

And I don't really mind (much!) if someone is having a hard time staying awake on a given Sunday morning. You know what I mean -- when he dozes for a moment, then wakes up guiltily, and does his best to stay the course. Get more sleep next Saturday night, but trust me, I understand.

But what I don't understand is the person who outright "crashes" in worship, making no pretence that he despises proceedings. It's not just a rebuke to the preacher, it shows a lack of respect for God himself!

If you are a child of God, ask yourself, is this the way you should act in God's very presence? What if the Lord were to come and speak to us directly, would we pay attention? If the preacher uses God's word, is there a difference?

Parents, I ask it in all kindness, observe your child in worship. If he or she is not demonstrating proper respect for the Lord, it's your responsibility to teach them, by word and example how to do it properly. Your leadership might also be needed with regard to bedtime on Saturday nights. If need be, cancel other activities in order to do the most important thing you will do all week –- worship God!

I say this in love. If we do not show proper respect for God, worse things than falling out a window may happen to us!