Truth Magazine

By Aude McKee

Introduction:

I. In the last lesson, we studied the efforts of men to “restore the ancient order.”

A. James O’Kelly in Virginia and North Carolina.

B. Elias Smith and Abner Jones in the Northeast.

C. Barton W. Stone in Kentucky.

D. Thomas and Alexander Campbell in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

II. In 1831, the mighty restoration forces of Stone and Campbell were united.

A. Previously, the two groups often met in the same town with little or no communion between them even though no basic differences separated them.

B. When people are sincerely dedicated to the proposition that the Bible alone will be the rule of faith and practice, division cannot long exist.

Discussion:

I. In The Restoration Movement, Two Different Ideas Regarding Cooperation Existed.

A. Stone in 1804, had led in the dissolving of the Springfield Presbytery and had set his course toward a complete return to apostolic Christianity. He believed that churches could not be banded together in associations, etc.

B. Campbell, on the other hand, never lost his ardor for the theory involved in Baptist Associations. When the Mahoning Baptist Association was dissolved in 1830, Campbell thought the action inconsiderate.

1. The Millennial Harbinger was published by Campbell beginning in 1830. Through its pages he had access to the brotherhood, and by this medium he kept laying before brethren his plan for “church cooperation.”

2. In 1842, he wrote: “Now if Christ’s kingdom consists of ten thousand families, or churches – particular, distinct, and independent communities how are they to act in concert, maintain unity or interests, or cooperate in any system of conservation or enlargement, unless by consultation and systematic cooperation? I affirm it to be, in my humble opinion, and from years of observation and experience impossible.”

3. Earl West, in his Search For The Ancient Order (Vol. 1, p. 159), says: “The church universal, as such, was not left with any specific work to do, but all work to be done was left up to local congregations. Hence, in New Testament times, the only organization of Christians to exist was a local church. . . . Ecclesiasticisms unknown to the church owe their origin directly or indirectly to beginning with the church universal. . . . For the brethren of a century ago to begin at this point and work toward general organizations was likewise to start on a false premise, and in these concepts the differences arose.”

4. In 1843, Campbell presented his views on church organization by presenting a hypothetical case of a group of evangelists who go to an island called Guernsey. In five years they establish congregations A, B, C, D, etc. After a while, Campbell says, these churches discover they cannot work efficiently without pooling their resources. A meeting is called at congregation A, and there the churches decided to band together and act in all matters just as one church.

5 It does not take an intelligent man to see that if the churches of one island could be banded together in order to act as one, then the churches of the world could be so banded together. Campbell, had he had it in his power, would have activated the church universal! There was one thing wrong with Campbell’s plan – he had no Scripture for it!

C. As a result of Campbell’s influence, Cooperation Meetings began to spring up all over the brotherhood. They were miniature missionary societies.

1. There was serious opposition to Campbell’s ideas and to these “Cooperation Meetings.” However, Campbell felt that he had the bulk of the brotherhood behind him, and early in 1849 he felt that the time had come to form a general organization for cooperation. He justified his position by beginning with the universal concept of the church and then saying that Christ gave no plan for the church, in this sense, to function; therefore the church is left free to devise its own plan.

2. In October, 1849, a Convention met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to consider the formation of a missionary society. Of the meeting W.K. Pendleton says: “We met, not for the purpose of enacting ecclesiastic laws, not to interfere with the true and scriptural independence of the churches, but to consult about the best ways for giving efficiency to our power, and to devise such methods of cooperation, in the great work of converting and sanctifying the world, as our combined counsels, under the guidance of Providence, might suggest and approve. There are some duties of the church which a single congregation cannot, by her unaided strength, discharge. . . . A primary object being to devise some scheme for a more effectual proclamation of the gospel in destitute places, both at home and abroad, the Convention took under consideration the organization of a Missionary Society.”

3. A. Campbell was elected the first president of the society.

D. There was opposition from many quarters to this new body, but perhaps the arguments were summed up by Tolbert Fanning, one of the founders of the Gospel Advocate. He said in that journal: “We believe and teach that the church of Christ is fully competent to most profitably employ all of our powers, physical, intellectual, and spiritual; that she is the only divinely authorized Missionary, Bible, Sunday School, Temperance and Cooperation Society on earth. It is, has been, and we suppose always will be our honest convictions, that the true and genuine service of God can be properly performed only in and through the church. Hence, we have questioned the propriety of the brethren’s efforts to work most successfully by means of state, district, and county organizations, ‘Missionary,’ ‘Publication,’ and ‘Bible Societies’ or Bible Unions, ‘Temperance Societies, Free-Mason and Odd-Fellow Societies’ to ‘visit’ the fatherless and widows in their affliction, any other human organization for accomplishing the legitimate labor of the church.”

II. A Second Disturbance Arose Among Brethren Over Instrumental Music In The Worship.

A. Moves toward its use came slowly. In 1851, a who signed his name “W” wrote to J.B. Henshall, associate editor of the Ecclesiastical Reformer.”Bro. Hensell – What say you of instrumental music in our churches?. . . I think it is high time that we awaken to the importance of this subject. We are far in the rear of Protestants on the subject of church music. I hope, therefore, that you will give your views in extenso, on this much neglected subject.”

1. Henshall replied: “In proportion as men become worldly minded, provided they have not entirely lost the fear of God, do they begin to require helps to their devotion. That they would require such helps under a dark dispensation where they were rather lead into the use of symbolic rites, than inwardly illuminated by God’s word and spirit, is not all astonishing; but to say that we need them who live in the full light of the gospel privileges, and enjoy God’s mercies and providence over us, is to say that we have no gratitude in our hearts and that we are every way unworthy of these benefits.”

2. A. Campbell wrote in opposition to the instrument. In one essay he said: “I presume, to all spiritually-minded Christians such aids would be as a cow bell in a concert.”

B. To the church in Midway, KY, goes the “distinction” of being the first church to introduce it. L.L. Pinkerton, the Midway preacher, said: “So far as is known to me. . . . I am the only preacher in Kentucky of our brotherhood who has publicly advocated the propriety of employing instrumental music in some churches, and that the church of God in Midway is the only church that has yet made a decided effort to introduce it.”

1. The singing was so bad at Midway that it would “scare even the rats from worship,” Pinkerton said.

2. The congregation then began meeting on Saturday night to improve their singing and shortly afterwards someone brought in a melodeon to be used in getting the right pitch. Before long one of the sisters accompanied the singing with her playing on the melodeon.

3. Then the group observed that the melodeon was good for the singing and so it was decided to use it on the Lord’s Day.

C. The advocates of instrumental music used two main arguments.

1. The Old Testament authorized it. (The old law was nailed to the cross [Col. 2:14) and could no more be used to justify instrumental music than dancing, keeping the sabbath, animal sacrifices, temple worship, etc.)

2. It is expedient such as meeting houses and song books. (the error here lies in the fact that for a thing to be expedient, it must first be lawful! Song books are an expedient because an assembly is commanded. There is no command, approved apostolic example or necessary inference for instrumental music; therefore the piano, melodeon, or organ cannot be an expedient. If there was authority to play in the New Testament, then the instrument would be an expedient!)

D. As time went on, the opposition deepened.

1. Moses E. Lard wrote in 1864: “What defense can be urged for the introduction into some of our congregations of instrumental music? The answer which thunders into my ear from every page of the New Testament is none. Did Christ ever appoint it? Did the apostles ever sanction it, or did any of the primitive churches ever use it? Never. In what light then must we view him who attempts to introduce it into the churches of Christ of the present day? I answer, as an insulter of the authority of Christ and as a defiant and impious innovator in the simplicity and purity of the ancient worship.”

2. Lard also wrote: “But what shall be done with such churches? Of course, nothing. If they see fit to mortify the feelings of their brethren, to forsake the example of the primitive churches, to condemn the authority of Christ by resorting to will worship, to excite dissension, and give rise to general scandal, they must do it. As a body we can do nothing. Still we have three partial remedies left us to which we should at once resort: (1) Let every preacher in our ranks resolve at once that he will never, under any circumstances or on any account, enter a meeting house belonging to our brethren in which an organ stands. We beg and entreat our preaching brethren to adopt this as an unalterable rule of conduct. This and like evils must be checked, and the very speediest way to effect it is the one here suggested. (2) Let no brother who takes a letter from one church ever unite with another using an organ. Rather let him live out of a church than go into such a den. (3) Let those brethren who oppose the introduction of an organ first remonstrate in gentle, kind and decided terms. If their remonstrance is unheeded, and the organ is brought in, then let them at once, and without even the formality of asking for a letter, abandon the church so acting; and let all such members unite elsewhere. Thus these organ-grinding churches will in the lapse of time be broken down, or wholly apostatize, and the sooner they are in fragments, the better for the cause of Christ.”

III. The Continued Progress of Liberalism and Complete Division.

A. Any time brethren depart from divine authority in order to introduce one unauthorized practice, the door is left open for the introduction of others.

1. Earl West, in Search For The Ancient Order (Vol. 2), devotes 46 pages to the increase of liberalism.

2. These things are mentioned:

a. Fraternization with denominations.

b. Denial of the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures.

c. Teaching that the pious unbaptized would be saved.

d. Sermons that did not sound a clear note. Sermons that took months of explaining as to what they meant and what they did not mean.

e. The teaching that we are guided by the spirit of the New Testament – not by the letter. If you are sincere that is all that matters.

f. Misconception of the nature of the church. The church, many came to believe, is just another sect and denominational as the rest.

g. A drift toward a centralized ecclesiasticism that would serve as the “voice of the brotherhood.”

B. The body of Christ was torn asunder.

1. The prayer of Christ (John 17:20-21) was scorned.

2. The entreaty of the Holy Spirit for unity was ignored (1 Cor. 1:10).

3. The plea of the divinely inspired apostle was trampled under foot (Eph. 4:1-6).

4. The United States government, in its census of Religious Bodies in America in 1906, recognized two separate bodies – the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) and the church of Christ. Division was complete.

a. The Christian Churches took their instruments and their missionary societies and walked a new course.

b. As they did they took the bulk of the brotherhood with them.

c. Brethren who contended for Bible authority in all matters were in the minority and most of the buildings were lost.

d. The relatively few who still stood in the “old paths,” “licked their wounds and looked to the future to start all over again.”

Conclusion:

1. May there always be men on this earth who, in kindness and with love in their hearts for the truth and the souls of men, will stand for the truth without fear.

2. May God help us to never digress from the path of truth and righteousness.

3. We urge those of you who have never come to Christ in obedience to his Word, to make this “the day of salvation.”

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 24, pp. 742-744
December 15, 1988

By F. David Moyer

There’s no place like home. ” This is most certainly true, and it becomes more meaningful when we look at the importance God has placed upon the function of the home.

The home is the place where the first and most lasting impressions are made. Those who are tasked by God to operate the home – that’s you parents – need to feel most deeply the tremendous responsibility and privilege of the influence found there. The earthly direction and eternal destiny of those who dwell there is largely shaped by the home’s atmosphere. The home is where the where the spiritual impressions are most profound, and it is impossible to calculate just how deeply those impressions will effect the lives of the children.

In a recent poll published in The Broadcaster, the determining factor of the child’s growth to maturity and remaining faithful to the Lord was not due to the size of the congregation; was not due to the number of classes or programs provided by the church; and was not due to the efficiency of the “Youth Minister.”

The research showed that where both parents were faithful and active in the congregation, 93 percent of the children remained faithful into their adult years. If only one parent was faithful, the rate dropped to 73 percent. Where parents who were “reasonably active” (attended services but little involvement otherwise), the rate dropped again to 53 percent.

Now, here’s the shocker. In cases where both parents attended only infrequently, the rate of faithfulness in children nose-dived to a mere 6 percent (stats published in Pulpit Helps, Jan. 88, p. 18). Just how important is the influence of the home?

The words of Solomon ring loudly and clearly, and need to be practiced, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). What are you, as parents, doing to train up your children?

The Bible teaches that the children are to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1-2). Sadly, however, some parents have the mistaken notion that children are the slaves and the parents are the masters. You may get compulsory obedience by beating a slave, but you will never get their honor and respect. Provoking a child to anger creates only rebellion, and that enforced obedience will last only as long as the child is within grasp of the parent. When he leaves the home, he will go a different way.

The key is, “Provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Solomon says to “train,” and Paul says to “bring” them up. That is your responsibility. Is there a correlation between “training” and “bringing” a child to the Lord? It has to do with your nurturing love, demonstrated in your devotion to the Lord. When your children see your values, they will follow you, that’s the way they know how to go . . . and when they are old, they will demonstrate the values you have modeled for them when they were little children in your home.

When is the last time you sat down with your children and read a Bible story to them? When is the last time You Prayed together? When is the last time you discussed the sermon with them, and inquired about what they learned in class? How often do you sing spiritual songs while driving in the car? How often do you use the opportunities to talk about God and his word when seeing flowers, clouds, and grasshoppers? There are so many ways you can nurture and train your child in God’s way.

Moses spoke these important words to parents, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates” (Deut. 6:6-9). It sounds like God is wanting parents to take the lion’s share of responsibility in training up the children!

No place like home? Yes, nothing else like it – the most important teaching place in the world.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 24, p. 740
December 15, 1988

By Mark Mayberry

The coming of Christ is a central theme of the Bible. The Old Testament anticipated the coming of Christ; the Gospels bear witness to the fact that he did come; and the Epistles emphasize that he is coming again. Frequently the question arises, “When will Christ return?” The Bible says “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:1). In this regard, Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36). Attempting to reveal the time of Christ’s second coming becomes an obsession with some men. Predictions have been made countless times in the last 2,000 years, but none has come to pass. You would think that folks would learn after a while, but the prognostication continues. Consider some members of “The Date Setter’s Hall of Fame.”

William Miller

William Miller (1782-1849) was one of the founders of the Seventh Day Adventist movement. On the basis of a detailed examination of the Bible, especially the books of Daniel and Revelation, Miller predicted first that March 21, 1844 and later that October 22, 1844 would be the date when Christ would return in glory and the Earth would be cleansed by fire, ushering in the millennium. When the time passed without event, many of his followers drifted away.

At this point Ellen G. White (1827-1915) entered the picture. She claimed a vision in which she saw the followers of the Adventist faith being ushered into heaven. This gave the movement a much needed boost of morale. Then she reinterpreted Miller’s predictions by saying that he was right on the date but wrong on the event. According to Mrs. White, on October 22, 1844 the Lord went into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. There he began to judge and investigate the fives of the believers. She taught that when Jesus finished this “investigative judgment,” he would return to the earth and the millennium would begin. Thus by putting a new spin on Miller’s prophecies, this young woman saved his movement and became the leader of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Charles T. Russell

Charles T. Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, was also a famous date setter. Down through the years either he or his organization has said the Lord would return in 1874, 1914, 1975, etc. They have been disappointed repeatedly. The Watchtower Society tried to save face by redefining predictions that did not come to pass. For example, after nothing happened in 1914, they said that the Lord did indeed return to earth, but in an invisible state. Nice try, but the Bible says, “behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him” (Rev. 1:7).

Herbert W. Armstrong

In 1956, Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of published a booklet called 1975 in Prophecy. He predicted that Christ would return in 1975. Furthermore, he claimed the Bible prophesied that one-third of the population of America, the British nations, and the democracies of northwest Europe would die of famine and disease by the middle of 1970s. Another third of the population would die in World War III at the hands of a German-dominated European dictatorship. The remaining third of the population would be transported like cattle as slaves to Europe and South America. Needless to say, none of this ever came to pass.

Hal Lindsey

Hal Lindsey, a graduate of the Dallas Theological Seminary, made himself a wealthy man by popularizing the doctrine of premillennialism. in a series of best selling books in the late 1970s. His most prominent book was The Late Great Planet Earth, which sold an estimated 14 million copies. His book and the subsequent movie applied various Bible prophecies to current events in an attempt to offer a blueprint for the Apocalypse. By playing very loose with the facts and with a number of fantastic leaps in reasoning, Lindsey argued that current events signaled the end of the world. The pollution problem, the world food shortage crisis, and the current Middle East conflicts all were foretold in the Bible. Mr. Lindsey was more cautious than some in setting dates for the second coming of Christ, but he dropped broad hints that 1988 would be a very interesting year (Tampa Tribune, 2-19-79, p. 31); Houston Post, 6-14-81, p. 7A). All I can say is, “Don’t hold your breath.”

Willie Day Smith

Willie Day Smith of Irving, TX announced that the Lord would rapture His saints on April 1, 1980. A Texas Tech graduate with a chemical engineering degree, Smith based his calculations on a study of Bible prophecy and what he called “Hebrew numerics.” Shortly before the target date, he said, “It’s interesting that April I is April Fools’ Day, and the Bible talks about being fools for Christ.” When the date passed without event, newsmen visiting his home found the doors locked, shades drawn and two cars in the driveway. One wag wrote that it could not be determined if the latter-day prophet had indeed been raptured, but it appeared that he was simply ignoring visitors. It is obvious that Willie Day was the one who was fooled (Houston Post, 4-2-80, Sec. 1, p. 3).

Ted Kresge

In St. Petersburg, Florida, a 41 year-old karate instructor named Ted Kresge kicked off a massive advertising campaign in 1981 declaring that the end was near. He took out full-page ads in more than 40 newspapers across the country claiming that he had “absolute proof” that all born-again Christians would be “raptured” to heaven on Saturday, June 20, 1981. This would trigger a seven-year period of tribulation, including global famine, natural disaster, economic collapse, world war, and the emergence of the Anti-Christ. Near the close of that epoch, Christ would return to Earth and defeat the evil-doers in the climactic Battle of Armageddon. Afterwards the earth would enjoy a millennium of peace and prosperity (Houston Post, 6-14-81, p. 7A). This man wasted a lot of good money on newspaper ads, didn’t he?

Bill Maupin

Bill Maupin of Tucson, Arizona, leader of the Lighthouse Gospel Tract Foundation, predicted that the rapture would occur on Sunday, June 28th, 1981. Maupin, who claims that God first began speaking to him in 1965, predicted that a seven year tribulation period would follow. The “Anti-christ” would appear in 1984 and rule the earth until the Battle of Armageddon on May 14, 1988. At this point, Maupin believed, the Lord and his followers would return to Earth to establish his kingdom, bringing about 1,000 years of peace. Some of his 40 to 50 disciples quit their jobs, sold their homes and cars, or declined to renew their apartment leases. On the appointed day, Maupin went to the desert and waited for Jesus to appear and take him to heaven. He didn’t (Houston Post, 6-29-81, p. 5A).

Edgar Whisenant

Most recently, a 56 year old former NASA Rocket Engineer named Edgar Whisenant proclaimed the Lord would return on Tuesday, September 13th, 1988. In his book, 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be In 1988, Whisenant affirmed that the saints would be raptured during the 48 hours of this Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 11-13). This date is considered important because it falls 40 years and 120 days after Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. He also forecast various other events: Israel will sign a peace treaty with an unnamed Anti-Christ on September 21, 1988. World War III will start on October 4, 1988 and the climatic Battle of Armageddon will be fought exactly 7 years later in 1995. The final battle with Satan will occur on March 17, 2999 A.D., and eternity will commence January 1, 3000 A.D.

The World Bible Society of Nashville, TN printed over 2,000,000 copies of this book. They sold many booklets, but gave away over 700,000 free copies. Reaction varied around the country. Multitudes responded with skepticism, but great excitement was generated in certain quarters of the religious community. “Rapture parties” were held where people gathered for prayer, Bible reading and discussion about the Lord’s second coming. Costly efforts were made by various individuals to inform the public of the Lord’s impending return. A retired Ohio fire-fighter named Ed Koval paid $3,700 to purchase a full page advertisement in a Toledo newspaper to inform people that the day of reckoning was at hand. A couple in Pensacola, FL paid $5,000 to put up a dozen billboards announcing the Lord’s arrival in September (Dallas Morning News, 9-3-88, 45A; The Paris News, 9-12-88 3A; Various UPI News Stories). Once again, these self-appointed harbingers have been revealed to be false prophets.

Having considered these examples, I am reminded of the words of Moses when he pointed out the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:21-22).

Conclusion

Why are people so quick to believe such predictions? Many who feel anxious and vulnerable by the precipitous state of world affairs find comfort in the premillennial faith. They believe that every crisis reported on the evening news is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. This notion gives order and meaning to the turbulence facing mankind. It gives people a sense of security.

Why are religious leaders so quick to jump on the bandwagon? Many seek to capitalize on the excitement and interest generated by such predictions. Their prime objective is evangelism. They seek converts at any cost, and the end justifies the means. Such an approach is flagrantly manipulative.

The Staunton Street Apostolic Church in Huntington, WV, ran a full-page newspaper ad announcing that Jesus would return on September 13th, 1988. After the ad ran, 165 people showed up at the church to be baptized. “We’re not trying to be alarmist, but if it does happen, it would be crazy not to prepare your heart,” said Edwin Harper, minister of the church (June Preston, UPI Wire Story, September 14, 1988).

Billie Friel, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Mount Juliet, TN, said, “This has become something of a spiritual phenomenon. . . . I think this book has caused people to go back to the Bible.” Friel said that nearly 400 people gathered at his church one Sunday afternoon for a two hour discussion of Edgar Whisenant’s predictions. “About 70 people gave testimonies of how this has changed their lives,” he said. “A deadline is a great motivator, and this deadline has people studying the Bible,” Friel said, “It shakes people up when a deadline is put on something like this” (Frances Meeker, “Christians Prepare To Meet Jesus,” The Nashville Banner, 9/88, P. A-8).

There is a down side, however, that cannot be ignored. The use of such predictions to gain converts is crass and exploitative. In the long run it creates skepticism and disbelief. Many who are unlearned will put their faith in these predictions rather than in the Bible. When such prophecies inevitably fail, the faith of many will be destroyed. They become permanently “turned off” to religion. I am remind ed of the words of Jeremiah:

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! ” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord (Jer. 23:1-2, NKIV).

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 24, pp. 752-754
December 15, 1988

By R.J. Evans

Brother John Clark once related a story about a woman who told a preacher she had a bad temper, but that it was over in a minute. “So is a shotgun blast, but it blows everything to pieces,” was the preacher’s reply. And far too many of us who are Christians are triggered by the least little incident, frequently losing our temper. When we lose our temper, we usually do and say things in anger which we later regret. “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly” (Prov. 14:17).

It has been said that “anger is like rain, which breaks itself upon that whereon it falls.” For example, anger usually culminates in bitter words, insults, the revealing of secrets or in the breaking off of relations between two parties. Of the aforementioned, insults are probably the most frequent cause of anger. Most of us had rather be injured physically than insulted. There is something about an insult that makes us want to repay with a worse insult. How many of us possess the magnanimous spirit of Abraham Lincoln when he was insulted? It is reported that when he was told that one of his cabinet members, Edwin Stanton, called him a fool, he replied, “If Stanton says I am a fool, I had better look into the matter, for he is a wise man.” No doubt that worked much better than if he would have retaliated by losing his temper, setting off a chain reaction with much more bitterness and resentment to follow. Incidently, after Lincoln was killed, it was Stanton who remarked in subdued tones of respect, “There lies the greatest leader this country has ever known.”

The Bible teaches us the importance of practicing self-control. It is listed as the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23, and among what we sometimes refer to as the “seven Christian graces” in 2 Peter 1:6. Self-control is one of the Christian’s weapons against the world. And practicing self-control involves controlling our temper. We must follow after Christ’s example – “Who, did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled~ reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Pet. 2:22-23). The person who continually loses his temper is like an undefended city or one in ruins. The wise man Solomon said, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls” (Prov. 25:28). What a sign of weakness when we constantly lose our temper! And it is certainly a poor reflection of Christ in our lives when we “fly off the handle.”

Christians must learn to be calm and serious. James said, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (Jas. 1:19). This brings to mind the motto: “Think twice before you speak. Losing your temper, blurting out angry words, and speaking your mind excites strife. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Prov. 15:1).

“Angry words! O let them never

From the tongue unbridled slip;

May the heart’s best impulse ever

Check them ere they soil the lip.”

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 24, p. 747
December 15, 1988