The following sermons were preached by brother Billy Dickinson at Seminole, Oklahoma on the dates of September 28 thru October 2, 2011.  The sermon on Sunday morning, "David's Mighty Men," is not presented because of recording equipment failure – our apologies.

To listen to the sermons (or to download them), please scroll down this page.

May 7, 2011

Are there saved Christians in many churches?

This present study concerns the subject of "One and only one church." On May 7, 2011 Mr. Anthony Watts came to our church building to affirm, "There are saved Christians in many churches." Mr. Watts is one of the preachers at the Wallace Ave. Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Mr. Watts was contacted on February 19, 2011 and accepted the invitation to come participate in the Open Bible Study. Mr. Watts and Mr. Battey met together face to face to discuss the details of the study on March 1. Both speakers had two months to prepare for the discussion.

When May 7 arrived and the crowd gathered to hear the discussion, many were surprised and shocked by the presentation given by Mr. Watts. Each speaker had the privilege of speaking for 30 minutes, but to everyone's surprise, Mr. Watts spoke for only 15 minutes. He held up a thick notebook full of papers saying he had many things he could have said, but he would not say them. Rather, Mr. Watts told the audience that the 15 minute presentation was, "what God put on my heart to say." No one was sure exactly what that might meant. Was Mr. Watts claiming direct inspiration from God? If so, his members expressed disappointment during the question session. One member of the Baptist Church was upset because Mr. Battey was "all prepared and even had PowerPoint charts" while "Mr. Watts wasn't prepared." However, if Mr. Watts was truly saying "what God put on his heart," then the fault would lie with God. No one, not even the Baptist members would blame God for the unprepared presentation, yet that would be the conclusion if Mr. Watts was accurate in his statement, "I spoke what God put on my heart to say."

The contents of Mr. Watts' speech was as surprising as the brevity with which he spoke. Mr. Watts' assignment, which he accepted, was to prove from the scriptures that there are saved Christians in many different churches. In other words, religious division is acceptable with God. Mr. Watts was supposed to be proving from the Bible that God approves of saved Christians being in many different kinds of churches – all practicing slightly different forms of worship and service and all teaching slightly different doctrines. Yet, to everyone's surprise, Mr. Watts began his presentation with a passage on unity – reading to the audience from Ephesians 4:1-6. Many in the audience were mystified. They had come to hear where the Bible authorized division. They had come to hear where the scriptures approved of Christians being in many different kinds of churches, but instead, passages were being read about unity. Mr. Watts was defeating his own proposition. Rather than reading passages requiring unity, Mr. Watts should have been presenting passages authorizing division. It became apparent why Mr. Watts did not present scriptural authorization for division: There simply is no Bible authorization for division. It is that simple. Passage after passage read by Mr. Watts was teaching there is only "one body" and that unity should be preserved. Even though several of his fellow Baptist members were present and upset, not one presented a passage that even remotely authorized God's people to be divided into denominations. Not one passage was presented showing that God had saved Christians in many different man-made denominations.

After Mr. Watts made his presentation, Brother George Battey presented the counterview. Brother Battey is a preacher of the gospel and represented the Good Hope Road Church of Christ in this Open Bible Study. Brother Battey's assignment was to affirm, "The Lord has only one church and there are saved Christians only in the Lord's church." Brother Battey began his part of the study defining the proposition under consideration. There were fifteen major points presented to the audience:

1. The word "church" (ekklasia) means "called out from."
2. The church = people "called out of" the world and into a body of fellow believers. (1 Pet 2:9; Eph 4:25)
3. Jesus promised to build only one such called-out-body (church). (Mt 16:18; Eph 1:22-23; Eph 4:4)
4. The Lord Himself added people to this church when they believed enough to be baptized for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38, 41, 47)
5. No saved person was ever left out of that church. (Acts 2:47)
6. No unsaved person was ever added to that church. (Acts 2:47)
7. This body (church) was purchased by the blood of Christ. (Acts 20:28; Eph 5:23, 25; 1 Pet 1:18-19)
8. This body (church) was founded on the teachings of Christ. (1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:19-20; Mt 7:24-27; 1 Jn 2:3-5)
9. The apostles taught the same doctrine of Christ everywhere they went. (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 4:17)
10. A curse was placed upon anyone teaching any other doctrine. (Gal 1:8-9)
11. Since every congregation was organized by the same doctrine, every congregation identical in doctrine and practice. (Lk 8:11; Gen 1:12)
12. The members of the church were forbidden to divide the church into different denominations. (1 Cor 1:10)
13. Those causing divisions contrary to the doctrine of Christ were to be "marked and avoided." (Rom 16:17-18)
14. The one church of Christ will always exist because it is produced by a "seed" = the word of God. (Lk 8:11; Mt 24:35)
15. Any church not founded by the Lord will be "uprooted" at the end of this age. (Mt 15:13-14; Mt 13:24-30)

Brother George emphasized the fact that the word of God, which produces the church, is compared to a seed (Lk 8:11). The Lord Himself made this comparison. The remarkable thing about a seed is that it produces "according to its kind." In other words, a wheat seed will produce only wheat. If someone has corn growing in their garden, they did not plant wheat because seed reproduces "after its kind." Since the word of God is a seed and can produce only "after its kind," if the pure seed is planted in the hearts of men, only one church could possibly result. The fact there are different kinds of churches is evidence that different kinds of seeds are being planted. To prove different kinds of seeds are being planted, brother George gave the following eight illustrations:

1. Some churches teach salvation by "faith only."
2. Some churches teach salvation without baptism.
3. Some churches teach "once saved, always saved."
4. Some churches teach the "kingdom of God" will be set up soon on the earth.
5. Some churches teach women installed into leadership positions.
6. Some churches tamper with the communion (when & how often).
7. Some churches tamper with the communion (how to observe it).
8. Some churches tamper with the singing (instrumental music).

The only possible explanation for these "varieties" of churches and doctrines to exist is that different seeds are being planted. If the pure seed of the kingdom (the word of God) were being taught, these differences would not exist. Why? Because seed reproduces "after its kind" and none of the above variations exist in the NT scriptures.

After the intermission the audience reassembled for the question and answer sessions. Mr. Watts went first. For 30 minutes he "fielded questions." Everyone present could see that Mr. Watts was dodging every question being asked. Only the Lord Himself knows why Mr. Watts would not answer the questions in a straightforward manner. No one is speculating on the reason for his responses. Yet, without speculating, everyone present knew he did not answer the questions posed.

When Brother Battey fielded questions for 30 minutes, he endeavored to give a Bible passage for every answer posed to him. His answers were directly to the question posed without sidestepping.

About 110+ people were gathered from various congregations to hear both sides of this topic discussed. Mr. Watts presentation and question session were so disappointing, they were deemed unworthy for posting on this website. Brother Battey's sermon is posted for those interested in hearing his presentation. We hope the readers and listeners to the presentation will listen carefully and "search the scriptures to see if those things are true" (Acts 17:11). May the Lord bless all who would read and humble themselves before the His word.

ONE CHURCH – BOOKLET -  by George Battey (PDF Format)

ONE CHURCH – POWERPOINT CHARTS – by George Battey

One Church or Many Churches – Sermon Notes – by George Battey (MS Word Format)

(November 21, 2010)

This present study concerns the subject of "Limited Benevolence." Should the church treasury be "limited"only for saints (members of the church) or should the church treasury be "unlimited" and used for non-members as well?  This study presents the position that the treasury is limited by the Lord and intended "for saints"  only (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).  This study will demonstrate that using the treasury for non-members is not only unscriptural, it is dangerous  to the Lord's cause and counterproductive of good.  The PowerPoint charts used in the presentation of this study are also posted below.

May the Lord bless the study and presentation of His word.

Limited Benevolence – PowerPoint Slides – Color

November 13, 2010

Does Bible Silence Permit or Forbid?

This present study concerns the subject of "Bible Silence." On November 13, 2010 Mr. Jason Murray came to our church building with the assignment of affirming "Bible Silence Permits." Mr. Murray is the preacher for the Draper Park Christian Church in Oklahoma City.  The assignment was as follows:  (a) When the Bible is truly silent about a doctrine, does that silence permit the Christian to proceed in teaching and propagating that doctrine?  (b) When the Bible is truly silent about a practice, does that silence permit the Christian to proceed in participating in that practice?  Mr. Murray agreed to affirm that Bible silence grants permission.

In his presentation, Mr. Murray never actually defined what constitutes silence.  Because he never defined his proposition, the audience was bewildered.  Keeping in mind that Mr. Murray's assignment which he agreed to present was "Bible Silence Permits," he made this statement, "there is nothing about which the Bible is truly silent."  So Mr. Murray agreed to present a position which he ended up denying.  How can silence permit if there is no silence to begin with?  Although Mr. Murray spoke for 30 minutes in his sermon and answered questions for 30 more minutes more, the audience left never knowing Mr. Murray's position on these vital questions:  (a) What constitutes silence?  (b) Is the Bible silent about anything?  (c) If there is Bible silence about a doctrine, is the Christian permitted to teach a doctrine the Bible never even implied?  (d) If there is Bible silence about a practice, is the Christian permitted to participate in a practice the Bible never even implied?

Instrumental music was the one of several subjects specifically addressed by Mr. Murray.  He stated the "silence" of the Bible concerning religious use of instrumental music was only partial silence at best.  What that means no one really knows.  The word silence means the absence of all explicit and all implicit teaching.  How can the Bible be "partially silent" about anything?  It is either silent or it is not silent.  Mr. Murray later stated that when the Bible "speaks ever so softly" on an issue, it is still speaking and is not therefore truly silent.  But his assignment was not, "If the Bible speaks softly on a doctrine, the Christian is allowed to teach the doctrine."  Nor was his assignment, "If the Bible speaks 'ever so softly' on a practice, a Christian may therefore participate in that practice."  Instead, the assignment which Mr. Murray agreed to present was this, "When the Bible is silent on a doctrine or practice, that silence permits the Christian to participate in propagating the doctrine or practice."  Mr. Murray failed in proving Bible silence permits.

In spite of the weaknesses in his material, we all found Mr. Murray a most pleasant and enjoyable friend.  He was humble, and sincere, and best of all, he seemed to be open-minded.  He admitted that many of the points presented by Brother George were new to his thinking and he promised to give more consideration to passages such as Genesis 4 where Cain offered to God a sacrifice which God had been silent about (unauthorized sacrifice).  Who could ask for more than humility, sincerity, and open-mindedness?  Our prayer is that Mr. Murray will truly consider the points discussed tonight and that one day he would come to embrace the true doctrine of scripture:  Bible Silence Forbids.

After Mr. Murray made his presentation, Brother George Battey presented the counterview.  Brother Battey is a preacher of the gospel and represented the Good Hope Road Church of Christ in this Open Bible Study.  Brother Battey began his part of the study discussing Bible authority.  He read Colossians 3:17 and pointed out that everything taught or practiced must be authorized by the Lord.  In order for something to be authorized by the Lord, either the Lord Himself or one of His authorized representatives (the apostles – 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 John 4:6) must authorize the practice under consideration.  Neither Moses nor the prophets of the Old Testament may authorize instrumental music today.  All authorization must come from either the Lord Himself or one of His apostles.  Because there is no authorization for instrumental music in the New Testament, such music is forbidden by Bible silence.

Brother George defined what constitutes Bible silence.  Silence is the absence of all explicit teaching and all implicit teaching.  In other words, for instrumental music to be authorized, all Mr. Murray would have to do is point to one New Testament passage that merely implied instrumental music.  But this could not be done simply because there is no such passage.  In the question session Brother George applied this same logic to individual communion cups and other innovations (Bible classes, second-offering of the Lord's supper on Sundays, etc.).  Brother George showed there is scripture for one cup (1 Corinthians 11:25; Matthew 26:27), but there is no scripture which even implies a plurality of cups.  Hence, there is silence about a plurality of cups in communion.  Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the cup itself was symbolic of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 11:25).  Since the cup itself has spiritual significance, it becomes all the more important to utilize only one cup as the pattern reveals (Mk 14:23; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23-25).

About 110 people were gathered from various congregations to hear both sides of this topic discussed.  The question session was orderly and everyone participating conducted themselves honorably.  It was a true joy to have this public study with Mr. Murray.  The singing was most beautiful and proved to all present that instrumental music is not needed to praise the Lord.  A wise man once said, "When a piano is added to a group of bad singers, you end up with a piano and bad singing."  Those present at the Open Bible Study can truly testify to the fact that the members of the Church of Christ know how to sing and praise God with their voices alone.  The word "sing" means to "make music with the voice."  That is what Ephesians 5:19 commands that that is what members of the Church of Christ truly do – they "make music with the voice."

We hope everyone will enjoy both the speeches and the question sessions which are posted here.  May the Lord bless everyone in the study of His wonderful word.  The "churches of Christ" salute you" (Romans 16:16).

SILENCE FORBIDS – BOOKLET by George Battey

SILENCE FORBIDS – POWERPOINT CHARTS

June 12, 2010

The Sabbath Day?

This present study concerns the subject of "The Sabbath Day." On June 12, 2010 Mr. Jerry States came to our church building and spoke in defense of his belief that the seventh-day Sabbath of Exodus 20:8 is still binding upon men today.  Mr. States is the Pastor of the Seminole, Oklahoma Seventh-Day Adventist Church.  Like many others, Mr. States believes the ten commandments of the Old Testament are still in force today.  There are at least two important questions posed to Mr. States which were never answered and which others in the audience did not answer.  First, where did Jesus or any apostle ever command a Christian to "Keep the Sabbath Day holy"?  This challenge was issued early in the evening and no one tried to produce such a passage.  It simply is not present in the scriptures.  Second, Jesus taught in Mt 15:3-4 that not invoking the death penalty that came with the ten commandments was "transgressing the commandment of God."  How can the command be separated from the penalty which accompanied it (Ex 31:13-15)?  This question was never answered the entire evening.  The audience learned, not only from what was said, but also from what was not said.

When Mr. States finished, George Battey, the preacher for the Good Hope Rd. Church of Christ, spoke for an equal amount of time defending the idea that the Old Testament law was "nailed to the cross" (Col 2:14) including the weekly Sabbath (Col 2:16-17).  George read from 2 Cor 3:6-10 showing the ten commandments were explicitly called "a ministry of death" and "a ministry of condemnation."  The ten commandments "kill" according to 2 Cor 3:6.  Furthermore, the apostles were said to be ministers of the New Testament rather than the Old Testament.  In other words, the apostles preached from place to place that men should keep the laws of the New Testament, not the ten commandments.  No one present challenged this important passage of scripture.

Several present had the idea that if the ten commandments have been "nailed to the cross," then there would be no law whatsoever for anyone and "anything goes" – so to speak.  In other words, they are of the mindset that the ten commandments are the only law God ever gave and to say they have been "taken away" (Heb 8:13) is tantamount to saying there is no law of any kind left.  George pointed out that the New Testament is a law (Gal 6:2; Ja 1:25).  He pointed out that when the Old Testament law was "taken away" it was replaced with a new law – a changed law (Heb 7:12).  Whereas the Old Testament was composed of the ten commandments and other laws, the New Testament has new laws that "exceed in glory" (2 Cor 3:8-10).  Furthermore, when the New Testament is compared with the ten commandment law, the ten commandments have no glory whatsoever.  (2 Cor 3:8-10).

We are thankful to Mr. Jerry States for his willingness to participate in our "Open Bible Study."  About 80 people from various churches gathered to hear both sides of this topic discussed.  The question session was orderly and everyone participating conducted themselves honorably.  It was a true joy to have a public study with Mr. States.  He truly manifested a kind and gentle spirit.

Some have written anonymous letters to the church of Christ in Seminole suggesting that we are unchristian in our "Open Bible Studies."  They suggest that it is wrong to "fight" and "argue" over Bible topics such as the Sabbath day, baptism and continuous revelation.  These letters are from people who obviously do not know what they are writing about.  No one, to our knowledge, has ever walked away feeling like they were "trashed" or "insulted" or "abused."  In fact, everyone who has attended agrees that the studies are conducted orderly and that a good spirit prevails.  We disagree in an agreeable way.  We have come to understand each other's viewpoints better and have made friends with each other – even though we may still disagree when the study ends.

We hope everyone will enjoy both the speeches and the question sessions which are here posted for consideration.  May the Lord bless everyone in the study of His wonderful word.  The "churches of Christ" salute you" (Rom 16:16).

The Sabbath Day & First Day of the Week – Booklets (Click here to view)

May 8, 2010

Continuous Revelation?

This present study concerns the subject of "Continuous Revelation."  On May 8, 2010 Mr. Jim Choate came to our church building and spoke in defense of his belief that God continues to reveal new things to men today.  Mr. Choate is the Branch President of the Seminole, Oklahoma "Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints" (Mormons).  He believes God, through modern-day prophets, has revealed new "truths" – some of which include The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants.  Mr. Choate was asked to concentrate on scriptures from the Bible which he believed taught God would always continue to reveal things throughout the history of man's existence on earth.  This he did.  Only one time did the brethren recall Jim reading from the Book of Mormon – and then only at the end of his speech.  Though Mr. Choate disagreed with us, he was very cordial, polite and a true gentleman.

When Mr. Choate finished, George Battey, the preacher for the Good Hope Rd. Church of Christ, spoke for an equal amount of time defending the idea that revelation from God ceased with the death of the original apostles at the close of the first century.  Mr. Battey pointed out the Bible is God's final and complete revelation – that God will not reveal anything to anyone other than what is already revealed in the written scriptures.  He gave scriptural evidence that "all truth" was delivered to the apostles (Jn 16:13), that this was done "once for all time" (Jude 3) and that the Lord promised to keep His word from loss (Mt 24:35) and corruption (1 Pet 1:23-25).

Mr. Battey also pointed out the Mormon Church is not the only church believing in continuous revelation from God.  The Islam religion, the Pentecostal Church, the Catholic Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Christian Science Church, the Jehovah's Witnesses and other churches all believe the scriptures alone are not sufficient to meet man's needs.  Each of these churches believes God has revealed many things since the days of the apostles.  Likewise, many so-called "non-denominational" members believe God "leads" them to homeschool their children, "reveals" to them which person they should marry and in thousands of ways continues to lead, guide and reveal in addition to the written scriptures.  Mr. Battey denied God leads and/or guides in any fashion other than through the written scriptures alone.

We are thankful for Mr. Jim Choate for his willingness to participate in our "Open Bible Study."  About 81 people from various churches gathered to hear both sides of this topic discussed.  The question session was orderly and everyone participating conducted themselves honorably.  It was a true joy to have a public study with Mr. Choate.

We hope you will enjoy both the speeches and the question sessions.  May the Lord bless you in your study of His wonderful word.  The "churches of Christ" salute you" (Rom 16:16).

Written Notes – SERMON NOTES   (Click here to view)

Written Notes – COMMON OBJECTIONS (Click here to view)

April 10, 2010

"Once-Saved-Always-Saved?"

This present study concerns the subject of "Once a person is saved, will he always be saved or can a saved person sin to such a degree that he can lose his salvation?" On April 10, 2010 Mr. Chad Kaminski came to our church building and spoke in defense of his belief that, although a Christian can sin and even fall, they will not "finally fall" – that is, a truly saved person will not ever be eternally lost.  When he finished, George Battey, the preacher for the Good Hope Rd. Church of Christ, spoke for the same amount of time defending the idea that it is possible for a saved person to lose his salvation.  As a matter of fact, the scriptures teach that a Christian who sins and does not receive forgiveness is in a "worse state" than one who never knew the Lord to begin with (2 Pet 2:20-22).

We are thankful for Mr. Chad Kaminski, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Allen, OK, for his willingness to participate in our "Open Bible Study."  About 150 people from various churches gathered to hear both sides of this topic discussed.  The question session was orderly and everyone participating conducted themselves honorably.

We hope you will enjoy both the speeches and the question sessions.  We want to thank Mr. Chad Kaminski for his involvement in this study.

May the Lord bless you in your study of His wonderful word.  The "churches of Christ" salute you" (Rom 16:16).

"Once-Saved-Always-Saved" – Sermon (Click here to view)

Common Objections (Click here to view)

Sermons Preached on April 10, 2010 – VIDEO FORMAT

Sermons Preached on April 10, 2010

Question & Answer Session on April 10, 2010 – VIDEO FORMAT

Question & Answer Session on April 10, 2010

March 13, 2010

"Is baptism absolutely essential for salvation?"

The apostle Paul wrote the following:

1 Corinthians 1:10

10  Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

While we ought to have unity, it is also clear, and to our shame, that we do not have unity.

We at the Good Hope Rd. Church of Christ believe the only way to have the unity Jesus prayed for is to gather with those who disagree and discuss the things which divide us.  And while we may not immediately agree after these sessions, it is certain we will never have unity if we ignore each other and ignore the issues which divide us.

We are thankful for Mr. Randy Zinn, the Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dustin, OK, for his willingness to participate in our "Open Bible Study."  I have met very few men with such a friendly and kind disposition as Mr. Randy Zinn.

This present study concerns the subject of "Baptism – Is it absolutely essential for salvation?" On March 13, 2010 Mr. Zinn came to our church building and spoke in defense of his belief that, although baptism is a command of the Lord and people should be baptized, baptism is not essential for salvation.  When he finished, George Battey, the preacher for the Good Hope Rd. Church of Christ, spoke for the same amount of time defending the idea that baptism is absolutely essential for salvation.

After the two sermons were preached and after a brief intermission, the study resumed with two thirty-minute question sessions.  The floor was opened up for any man present to ask questions concerning this subject.

We hope you will enjoy both the speeches and the question session.  We want to thank Mr. Randy Zinn for his involvement in this study.

May the Lord bless you in your study of His wonderful word.  The "churches of Christ" salute you" (Rom 16:16).

Baptism Sermon – Presented by the Good Hope Rd. Church of Christ (Click here to read)

Sermons Preached on March 13, 2010 – VIDEO FORMAT

Sermons Preached on March 13, 2010

Question & Answer Session on March 13, 2010 – VIDEO FORMAT

Question & Answer Session on March 13, 2010