Tag Archives: Books

Studies in Ephesians

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As we promised last week, We are now giving you — FREE of charge — another volume in R.C. Bell’s “Studies in the Scriptures” series.

Today’s addition to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary is “Studies in Ephesians,” which was originally published by Firm Foundation nearly 60 years ago.  This book contains twenty “essays” on the book of Ephesians, designed to be used in a Bible class setting or for personal study.

For those who would like R.C. Bell’s complete “Studies in the Scriptures” series in one convenient volume, it is available in print from Cobb Publishing at Amazon.com.

Also included in this volume is the autobiography of R.C. Bell, which, if you are a long-time reader of The Cobb Six, you may have seen here.

We hope you enjoy and are edified by this completely reformatted book!  To read online, or to download for future use, simply click the link below!

Studies in Ephesians (R.C. Bell)

-Bradley S. Cobb

The New Birth, or How and When is One Born Again?

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Perry Cotham was a great gospel preacher who passed away back in 2013.  He wrote several tracts during his lifetime, and this is one of his best.  He wrote clearly, biblically, and convincingly.

Today’s addition to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary is called “The New Birth, or How and When is One Born Again?”  It is a discussion of the most important question for any and every person on earth: “What must I do to be saved?”

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Chapters

  1. The New Birth
    1. The Man Nicodemus
    2. The Kingdom of God
    3. Born of Water and the Spirit
    4. A New Life Begins
  2. The Voice of Scholars
  3. Parallel Scriptures
    1. Statements of Jesus Regarding Entrance into the Kingdom
    2. The New Birth Explained by the Great Commission
    3. Comparison of the Language of Jesus and Paul Regarding Entrance into the Kingdom
  4. The New Birth Demonstrated
    1. The Three Thousand on Pentecost
    2. The Samaritans
    3. The Eunuch
    4. Saul of Tarsus
    5. Conclusion
  5. General summary and Conclusion

To read this completely reformatted and corrected work, just click the link below.  You’ll be benefited by it!

The New Birth (Perry Cotham)

-Bradley S. Cobb

Pre-order Brother McGarvey now!

One of the most influential men in the Lord’s church in the last 200 years is, without a doubt, John William (J.W.) McGarvey.  He is well-known for his strong, conservative commentaries, his numerous articles on Biblical Criticism, and for being a prolific trainer of preachers in the late-1800s and early-1900s.

There is only one full-length biography written about this influential man of God, and it is about to be back in print for the first time in over fifty years!

BrotherMcGarvey(Front)

Brother McGarvey, written by W.C. Morro, will give you glimpses at “President McGarvey” from many different perspectives–from friends and “enemies” alike.  You will read excerpts from his own writings and journals, and see letters from those who knew him best.

PRE-ORDER INFORMATION:

Brother McGarvey will be officially released on August 12th.  This 244-page book will cost $13.99.  However, if you pre-order before August 1st, you will receive FREE SHIPPING, and receive the book on (or maybe even before) its official release date.  Pre-orders after August 1st will still receive free shipping, but there’s no guarantee that it will be there prior to the official release date.

*In order to receive the FREE SHIPPING, enter the coupon code: BroMcG at checkout!

A Very Early History of the Restoration Movement

The year was 1844.  A man named I. Daniel Rupp had the idea to compile an authoritative encyclopedia of the various religious bodies in the United States.  So he appealed to members of each group to submit a history of their rise and progress, with specific mention of any doctrines that made them different from the others.

Robert Richardson, who would later go on to write the two-volume Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, was selected to submit this early history.

RichardsonDisciples

You have to remember that at this time, both Thomas and Alexander Campbell ere still alive.  Barton W. Stone was still alive (he would die later that year).  The missionary societies had not yet reared their ugly head; and none of the churches had introduced instrumental music.

So Richardson’s entry pictures the Disciples at a time when they were still united on the Bible, on biblical principles, on biblical worship, and on the biblical plan of salvation.

As always, we’ve tried to remove any typos, correct the spelling, and reformat this book for the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary so that you can enjoy it as much as possible.  On this offering, we’ve also taken the two footnotes and inserted them into the text in parentheses (they were short footnotes).

Just click the link below!

Disciples of Christ (Robert Richardson, 1844)

-Bradley S. Cobb

A Debate on Infant Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Continuing our theme of new additions to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary this week, we’re proud to offer you this:

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Where does the Bible authorize–or even mention–infant baptism?

It doesn’t.

This debate, held in 1937, is between G.K. Wallace (Christian) and E.E. Stauffer (Lutheran).  Wallace attacks the false doctrine of infant baptism from several different angles, and leaves Stauffer with nothing to say except for “let’s move on to the Lord’s Supper.”

Wallace then exposes the false idea that the Lord’s Supper literally turns into the physical skin and blood of Jesus.  Stauffer is unable to counter his arguments and calls the debate to a close.

Back in 2014, we took this debate and gave it the full Cobb Publishing treatment, correcting all the mistakes we could find, and refurbished the whole thing to give you the best possible reading experience.  We still have it available in print (just $5.99), but we’re also making it available as an eBook for free in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary!

To read it online, or download for later enjoyment, just click the link below!

Wallace-Stauffer Debate on the Lord’s Supper and Infant Baptism

-Bradley S. Cobb

The Man Behind “The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery”

Most Restoration Movement enthusiasts and experts rank the “Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery” as perhaps the most important document in the effort to restore New Testament Christianity (or at least the second-most important).  The man who was behind this document is rarely mentioned, though.  His name is Richard McNemar.

Today’s addition to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary (yes, I know this is Monday, but we’re feeling generous, and I’m behind on my apostles notes) is the rest of the story.

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We first published this book back in 2014, and if you want it in print, we’ll be happy to sell you a copy (just $5.99), but now you can read it for FREE on your computer or electronic device.

I’m sure you want to know something about it, so here’s a bit of information:

From the Preface:

Richard McNemar is an enigma to many students of the Restoration Movement. He shows up as a co-worker with Barton W. Stone, and his name is on one of the most historically significant documents of the Restoration. Yet he is not much more than a footnote in the history books. This primarily stems from his conversion to Shakerism in 1805. However, for those students who want to know more about him, and want to know what happened to him after the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery, this book is for you.

This is a sad tale of a preacher who had great potential, but who was caught up in false doctrines.

The author of the book (J.P. MacLean) was a historian of the Shakers (publishing several Shaker-related books), and a Universalist minister from Ohio. Since much of McNemar’s work as a Shaker was in Ohio, it caught MacLean’s attention and influenced him to put together this work, originally published in 1905.

This work on the life of Richard McNemar has undergone several editorial changes in spelling, punctuation, and formatting.  Additionally, several footnotes have been added to explain various words and phrases that aren’t familiar to most readers.   There is also a new section added to the end of the book which gives a very brief overview of the history and beliefs of the Shakers.

We do trust, however, that you will find this work, A Sketch of the Life and Labors of Richard McNemar to be interesting, and that it will help you know “the rest of the story.”

Contents:

Preface.
Chapter One: Early Life.
Chapter Two: Charges of Heresy.
Chapter Three: The Kentucky Revival
Chapter Four: Conversion and New Order
Chapter Five: An Account of Labors and Suffering.
Chapter Six: Travels and Special Missions.
Chapter Seven: Literary and Other Industries.
Chapter Eight: Persecution, Expulsion, Triumph, and Death
Bibliography.
Appendix: A Brief Overview of the Shakers

Published by Cobb Publishing, 2014.

To read this book or download it for your PDF collection, just click the link below!

Richard McNemar

-Bradley S. Cobb

 

Sermons for the People (free eBook)

As a special treat, we are doubling up this week with new additions to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary!

SermonsForThePeople

Today’s inclusion is a collection of sermons by a man named William Henry Book, and was originally published in 1918.  While you might not have heard of him before, you’ll probably enjoy the fourteen lessons contained in this book.  They are easy to understand, but cover some important topics.

Contents

  1. “In The Beginning God”—Gen. 1:1.
  2. The Bible God’s Word.
  3. Jesus Christ The Son Of God.
  4. Spiritual Worship.
  5. Christ’s Prayers.
  6. Lord, Teach Us To Pray.
  7. Prayer a Necessity.
  8. Prayers Answered.
  9. That Tongue of Mine.
  10. The Home.
  11. Now And Hereafter
  12. What We Are—What We Shall Be.
  13. Where are Our Dead?.
  14. Heavenly Recognition

To download this free eBook, or to read it online, just click the link below!  And as always, we’ve completely reformatted it and corrected any typos we found along the way.  Enjoy!

Sermons for the People (William Henry Book)

-Bradley S. Cobb

The Model Church

Sometimes, when people realize that I’ve made a lot of old brotherhood books available again (electronically and in print), they send me requests.  “Do you have this book?”  “Can you make this book available?”  And I think it’s great!  One of the ones that I get the most requests for is today’s addition to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary:

The Model Church by G.C. Brewer.

Here’s why: It is a good, succinct description of elders (and their qualifications), deacons (and their qualifications), and reverential worship in the church.

Having said that, brother Brewer did take the position in the book that female deacons were probably acceptable–so while there’s a lot in the book we agree with, there’s also that part that we don’t (we wrote an article that dealt somewhat with this here).  As always, compare everything with the word of God.

Here’s the chapters, to help give you an idea:

 

  1. What Constitutes A Congregation
  2. The Qualifications of an Elder
  3. The Duties of the Elders
  4. The Relation of the Overseen to the Overseer
  5. How Elders Are Made
  6. How Elders Are Unmade
  7. The Diaconate
  8. Dealing with the Disorderly
  9. Figuring on the Finances
  10. Church Music
  11. A Model Church
  12. Prayer-Meeting Topics

Because of the continual requests for this book, we are making it available in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary, but also in print for those who want to use it in their Bible classes or personal study.

To purchase the print edition, click here.

To read this book online, or save it for later enjoyment, simply click the link below!

The Model Church (G.C. Brewer)

-Bradley S. Cobb

A Brief Biography of Jesus’ Brother (Part One)

[As we promised, we are presenting you with a gift.  As we continue to write sections for our upcoming book, “Who Were The Apostles?” we will be posting them here, so you can read them before the book is released!]

James the Non-Believer

James was the son of Joseph and Mary.*[1]  Jesus was her firstborn, but James was the next-oldest among the brothers.*[2]  It’s not difficult to imagine that James might have been jealous of Jesus while they were growing up together.  Jesus would have been the perfect child, always obedient, never getting in trouble.  That’s a difficult act for His brothers to follow.

James first appears in the gospel records as someone who was outside, waiting to talk with his brother, Jesus (Matthew 12:46).  At that point in the narrative, we don’t know his name yet (or the names of his other brothers), but we do see something that might give us some insight on later events.  James and his brothers (and their mother) were waiting outside to talk to Jesus—to talk to their own brother—and Jesus’ response was to say that His true family was His disciples (Matthew 12:47-50).  Depending on what kind of people James and his brothers were, they could have taken this as an incredible insult.

The tension between James and Jesus shows up shortly before the Feast of Tabernacles.  James and his brothers mocked Jesus, telling Him that He needed to go to Jerusalem and do mighty works (even though the Jews there wanted to kill Him).  They basically accused Him of being a liar, saying that if He really was able to do these mighty works, He wouldn’t be in hiding.  But the reason they said these things is because they didn’t believe in Him—they didn’t believe He was really the Messiah.*[3]  Is it any surprise, then, that Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house”?*[4]

James the Believer

If not for a single mention of it by Paul, we would never know for certain how James went from being a scoffing non-believer to one of the foremost disciples of Jesus Christ.  Jesus had been taken away by a mob of soldiers and given mock trial after mock trial, and was finally sentenced to die by Pontius Pilate.  After being beaten, He was raised up on a cross, and hung there in agony until He finally died.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there at the cross, watching her Son.  But there is nothing said about whether James was there or not.

But some time within the next forty days, Jesus—now resurrected—found James and spoke with him.*[5]  James must have been in shock, seeing his dead brother standing right in front of him very much alive.  He would have seen the nail-prints and the whole in his side where the spear had pierced it.  And he would have felt a mixture of amazement, joy, and sorrow.  Amazement at seeing someone raised from the dead; joy at knowing his brother was alive again; and sorrow for ever doubting Him in the first place.

There is an ancient work called “the Gospel of the Hebrews”*[6] which records an interesting tradition about James:

And when the Lord had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, he went to James and appeared to him.  For James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he had drunk the cup of the Lord until he should see Him risen from among them that sleep.  And shortly thereafter the Lord said “Bring a table and bread!”  He took the bread, blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to James the Just and said to him, “My brother, eat thy bread, for the Son of man is risen from among them that sleep.”*[7]

We’re not given the details of what happened next, but it certainly included a meeting between James and his younger brothers, telling them “We were wrong: Jesus is the Messiah.  He has returned.”  Then the brothers all went to Jerusalem and met with the disciples prior to the Day of Pentecost.*[8]

Somewhere between three to ten years later,*[9] the now-converted James got to meet someone else who had been an unbeliever, a mocker of Jesus Christ, but who had since been converted by a post-resurrection appearance of the Lord: Saul of Tarsus.  What an interesting conversation that must have been!  James, Peter, and Paul (and probably Barnabas as well) met together in Jerusalem, and no doubt the three men shared their stories of opposition to Christ (James through mocking and unbelief, Peter through his denial, and Saul through his persecution of Christianity), and of their full conversion by means of seeing the resurrected Christ.  It was almost certainly during this 15-day visit of Saul in Jerusalem that James told him about seeing his brother and his Lord raised from the dead.

[1] *The Catholic Church goes out of their way to try to deny this.  They hold to a false belief in the “perpetual virginity” of Mary, which is proven false by Matthew 1:25.  They attempt to say that James, Joses, Judas, an Simon, as well as their sisters, were all children of Joseph from a prior marriage—yet there is nothing in Scripture that would point to the existence of such a marriage.  Matthew 13:55-56 calls these four men his “brothers,” and the same thing is said of them elsewhere.

[2] *Matthew 13:55-56 lists James first among his brethren, indicating that he was the oldest of the four.  It should also be noted that Jesus didn’t appear to all four of his brothers after His resurrection, but only to James (1 Corinthians 15:7), who in turn went and told his other brothers.  This also points to James being the oldest after Jesus.

[3] *This is all told in John 7:1-5.

[4] *Matthew 13:57.

[5] *This specific meeting is not given in detail, but it is one of the events appealed to by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:4-7.  Apparently, this event was well-known among the early Christians, for Paul simply states it as evidence, as if his readers had already heard of it at some point.

[6] *The date of this writing is usually placed at the beginning of the second century, though some believe it should be dated around AD 50-60.

[7] *Quoted by Jerome in De viris Inlustribus 2.

[8] *The brothers of Jesus were mentioned in Acts 1:14.

[9] *Galatians 1:18-19 states that Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, where he saw James and Peter (but no other apostles), took place “after three years.”  The general consensus is that this means three years after Paul’s conversion to Christ.  However, there is no real consensus on exactly when that event took place.  Some place Saul’s conversion within a year of Christ’s resurrection, while others place it seven years later.  So, depending on which view one takes, this meeting between James and Saul of Tarsus was somewhere between three and ten years after the Day of Pentecost, or stated another way, between AD 33 and 40.

Who was Judas Barsabbas?

[We’re sorry that we’ve not been getting posts up as regular as you might like, but we hope that the quality of the content is worth the delay]

Today, we continue our special ongoing gift of a book we’re working on, tentatively titled “Who Were the Apostles?”  And this one is yet another of the “Non-apostle Apostles,” men who were not of the 12 chosen by Jesus, but were still called “apostles” in the Scripture.

Judas Barsabbas

 

When the apostles and elders in Jerusalem needed two men to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, they chose one man whose name is familiar to Bible students (Silas), and another one whose name is usually forgotten.  Judas Barsabbas*[1] was a prominent member of the church of Christ in Jerusalem.*[2]  The first thing the Bible says about him is found in Acts 15:22:

Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; specifically Judas, surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren.

Judas, or Judah, was a common Jewish name.  His surname, Barsabbas, is given to distinguish him from the four other Judas’s that appear in the book of Acts.*[3]  It is also possible that this man is the brother of the man who was not selected to replace Judas, Joseph Barsabbas (Acts 1:23).*[4]

Going by the text of Acts 15, it appears the church was excited to have Judas as their representative in taking the letter to Antioch.  The fact that this letter was about accepting the Gentiles into the church as Gentiles (and not as proselyte Jews) also shows us something about his character: he was not judgmental against the Gentiles like many of the Jews were.  He was happy to accept them as his brethren in Christ.  It is in Acts 15:27 that we see Judas Barsabbas was an apostle of the church in Jerusalem.*[5]

His mission, as given by the apostles and elders, was twofold: (1) to deliver the letter to the Gentile Christians in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, and (2) to verbally vouch for the truthfulness of the letter (Acts 15:27).[6]*  This, Judas accomplished, and the brethren in Antioch “let [him] go in peace…to the apostles” (Acts 15:33).*[7]  Most likely, Judas returned to Jerusalem and gave a report to the apostles and elders there about how the letter was received.*[8]  This report probably included that Silas decided to stay behind in Antioch for a while.*[9]

Judas Barsabbas was a Christian, baptized in order to have his sins forgiven, but he was also a preacher and an encourager.  Luke records for us that he “exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them” (Acts 15:32).*[10]  He is also a man upon whom the apostles laid their hands—he is called a “prophet,” which means he had the miraculous ability to speak messages given to him by the Holy Spirit.*[11]

Judas Barabbas was an apostle of the church in Jerusalem, the twelve apostles, and the elders there (Acts 15:23, 27).  He finished his mission and disappears from the biblical record.  There are untold thousands of Christians about whom little-to-nothing is known.  But, like Judas, there were certainly many who served the Lord in loving their brethren, and whose desire was to encourage each other in order to make sure that they would all be in heaven someday.  What a joyous thought!

-Bradley Cobb

[1] *The King James Version spells the name “Barsabas,” but the Greek has a double b in the final syllable, thus the correct spelling is “Barsabbas.”

[2] *The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia suggests that Judas Barsabbas (along with Silas) may have been an elder of the church in Jerusalem.

[3] *Judas, one of the twelve apostles (Acts 1:13), Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:16-19), Judas of Galilee who apparently claimed to be the Messiah (Acts 5:37), and Judas in whose house Saul of Tarsus was staying in Damascus (Acts 9:10-11).

[4] *This identification seems unlikely, since Luke specifically says Joseph’s surname was “Justus,” and that he was just “called Barsabbas.”  It seems that for Joseph, “Barsabbas” was more of a nickname, like “Barnabas” (Acts 4:36).

[5] *The Greek word translated “sent” is the verb form of “apostle.”

[6] *Judas and Silas were sent because “by the mouth of two or three witnesses” everything was to be established (Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1).

[7] *The same thing is spoke of about Silas, but Silas decided to stay in Antioch instead of returning to Jerusalem.

[8] *The text does not explicitly state that Judas returned home, but it seems to be implied, since Luke records only that Silas decided to stay in Antioch.  Some Greek manuscripts add the words “and Judas alone proceeded,” but that phrase does not appear in any notable English translations.  In other manuscripts, the entire verse is missing, and many English translations omit it completely or include it in brackets.

[9] *Acts 15:34.

[10] *The word translated “exhort” can mean “to encourage,” and is frequently translated “comfort” in the New Testament.

[11] *The only way that miraculous abilities were passed on to other Christians was by the laying on of the hands of an apostle.  This truth can be seen clearly in Acts 8:12-18 and 19:6; it is also referenced in Romans 1:11 and 2 Corinthians 12:12.