Truth Magazine

By Aude McKee

Introduction:

I. For several weeks we have studied the Protestant Reformation.

A. When viewed from its stated purpose – to reform Romanism – it was a failure.

1. Catholicism was too deeply entrenched to be reformed.

2. After 450 years (from the days of Luther), Catholicism remains basically the same.

B. However, the reformers accomplished good along with the evil.

1. Evil came in the establishment of religious organizations unknown to the New Testament.

2. Good came from the increased emphasis placed on Bible authority. The Roman Catholic Church was given a blow from which she has never recovered.

II. The close of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries were marked by an intense spiritual fervor and a great revival of interest in religion. This was true both in America and in Europe.

A. Good men were beginning to ask questions and to ponder the seriousness of religious division.

B. A desire began to arise in many areas to “restore the ancient order of things.”

III. The Restoration Movement was launched upon four basic principles.

A. The acknowledgment of the New Testament Scriptures as the only authoritative rule of faith and practice. A positive attempt to obey the “pattern whereunto we have been delivered”; to accept only those things in religion which are specifically prescribed in the New Testament by command, apostolic example or necessary inference.

B. Renunciation of all human creeds and the acceptance of the precepts and examples of Jesus as the only creed binding upon Christians. Human creeds are by their very nature divisive; only the Scriptures furnish a rational basis for unity.

C. The restoration of the apostolic or New Testament concept of the church in the minds of men. Worshiping and patterning our lives after the divine pattern.

D. The union of all Christians upon the basis of the Bible.

IV. In this lesson we will notice the work of some of the men whose names are outstanding in the restoration period.

Discussion:

I. James O’Kelly (17_-1826).

A. O’Kelly was a Methodist preacher – worked in Virginia and North Carolina.

1. On many occasions O’Kelly found himself at odds with Francis Asbury, the Bishop.

a. Asbury laid the rule of “pay, pray and obey” upon his laymen.

b. O’Kelly wanted Methodist preachers to have the right to appeal to the Conference if they did not like their appointment.

2. The Conference upheld Asbury and so O’Kelly, Rice Haggard and three other preachers withdrew from the Conference. This was in 1792.

a. They formed a body known as the “Republican Methodist Church” (1793).

b. In 1794 they held a meeting at Old Lebanon in Surry County, VA, at which they endeavored to devise a plan of church government. Finally Haggard stood up with a Bible in his hand and said, “Brethren, this is a sufficient rule of faith and practice. By it we are told that the disciples were called Christians, and I move that henceforth and forever the followers of Christ be known as Christians simply.”

3. Following Haggard’s suggestion, a man by the name of Haferty stood up and moved that they take the Bible itself as their only creed. From these two motions the O’Kelly movement devised what became known as the “Five Cardinal Principles of the Christian Church.”

a. The Lord Jesus, as the only head of the church.

b. The name Christian to the exclusion of all party and sectarian names.

c. The Holy Bible, or the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only creed, and a sufficient rule of faith and practice.

d. Christian character, or vital piety, the only test of church fellowship and membership.

e. The right of private judgment and the liberty of conscience, the privilege and duty of all.

B. Weaknesses can be seen in these “Principles” but that these people were on their way back to the ancient order is evident. The significance of O’Kelly and his work lies mainly in the direction he was looking.

II. Elias Smith (Born in 1769 at Lyme, Conn.)

A. Smith was a serious minded young man and in 1789 he became greatly concerned over the subject of baptism. He was then baptized into the Baptist Church.

1. Shortly thereafter, Smith began to preach for the Baptist Church. However, he had some misgivings about certain doctrines held by the Baptists.

2. This motivated an intense investigation of Bible teaching. He then wrote: “When in my 24th year, I believed there would be a people bearing a name different from all the denominations then in this country; but what they would be called, I then could not tell. In the spring of 1802, having rejected the doctrine of Calvin and universalism, to search the scriptures to fmd the truth, I found the name which the followers of Christ ought to wear; which was Christians (Acts 11:26). My mind being fixed upon this as the right name, to the exclusion of all the popular names in the world, in the month of May, at a man’s house in Epping, N.H., by the name of Lawrence, where I held a meeting and spoke upon the text, Acts 11:26, I ventured for the first time, softly to tell the people that the name, Christian was enough for the followers of Christ without addition of the words, Baptist, Methodist, etc.”

B. In October, 1802, the friends of Smith rented a hall in Portsmouth, NH and began holding meetings here every Sunday.

1. On December 26, the hall burned down; they began then to meet in a school house.

2. They started with five members; by March they had grown to ten.

3. Smith writes: “When our number was some short of twenty, we agreed to consider ourselves a church of Christ, owning him as our only Master, Lord, and lawgiver, and we agreed to consider ourselves Christians, without the addition of any unscriptural name.”

C. One of the amazing things about then activities was that the men involved had no contact with or knowledge of the others. O’Kelly was unknown to Smith.

1. In 1803, Smith was visited by a medical doctor and Baptist preacher by the name of Abner Jones. Smith admitted that Jones’ thinking had gone beyond his own in the matter of a return to New Testament authority.

2. In 1801, in Lyndon, Vermont, Jones had broken with the Baptists. He and others rejected human names and contended for the absolute authority of the New Testament.

3. After 1803, Smith and Jones joined forces in establishing churches free of denominational affiliation.

III. Barton W. Stone (1772-1844).

A. Stone was born at Port Tobacco Creek, MD. His father died when he was three and the family moved to North Carolina.

1. When 18, he went to the famous school of David Caldwell near Greensboro in order to be admitted to the bar.

2. While there, he heard James McGready, a popular Presbyterian preacher, and a year or so later he joined the Presbyterian Church and began to preach.

3. Stone later moved to Cane Ridge, KY and was ordained.

a. But even then, Stone had serious doubts about the scripturalness of the Confession of Faith – the creed of the Presbyterian Church.

b. When asked at his ordination if he received the Confession of Faith, he replied, “I do, as far as I see it consistent with the Word of God.”

B. As Stone preached, he made his appeal directly to the Word of God. He soon began urging the universality of the gospel and faith as the condition of salvation.

1. In 1801, plans were made for a great revival at Cane Ridge.

2. On Thursday and Friday before the third Lord’s Day in August, the roads around Cane Ridge were crowded with wagons bringing people to the meeting.

3. It has been estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 attended.

4. At this time, conversion had become almost a convulsion. The converts usually engaged in one of five “exercises.”

a. Falling exercise. The subject would cry out in a piercing scream and then fall flat on the ground and lay for several minutes as though dead.

b. Jerking exercise. Various parts of the body would jerk violently to one side and then the other.

c. Dancing exercise. This began with the jerks and then passed on to dancing. They usually danced until they fell exhausted to the ground. d. Barking exercise. The person’s body jerked suddenly and violently causing a big grunt

e. Laughing and singing exercise.

5. As a result of the revival trouble developed with the Presbyterian Synod. C. Stone and four others then withdrew from the Synod and formed a Presbytery of their own called the Springfield Presbytery.

1. They drew up a document known as the “Apology of the Springfield Presbytery.” In this they expressed their total abandonment of all authoritative creeds except the Bible.

2. Stone called his congregation together and informed them that he could no longer preach for them. He stated that he would continue to preach among them but not as a Presbyterian.

D. Within one year they began to see that they were wrong in forming another Presbytery.

1. On June 28, 1804, they issued the “Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery.”

2. This document contains less than 800 words but it is one of the most important to come out of the Restoration Movement.

3. This “Last Will and Testament” has 12 paragraphs. We quote five:

a. “We will, that this body die, be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large; for there is but one Body, and one Spirit, even as we are called in one hope of our calling.”

b. “We will, that our name of distinction, with its Reverend title, be forgotten, that there be but one Lord over God’s heritage, and His name one.

c. “We will, that our power of making laws for the government of the church and executing them by delegated authority, forever cease; that the people may have free course to the Bible, and adopt the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. “

d . “We will, that the people henceforth take the Bible as the only sure guide to heaven; and as many as are offended with other books, which stand in competition with it, may cast them in to the fire if they choose; for it is better to enter into life having one book, then having many to be cast into hell.”

e. “We will, that all our sister bodies read their Bibles carefully, that they may see their fate there determined, and prepare for death before it is too late. “

E. Stone and his group were looking toward New Testament Christianity but they were not allowed to make their journey in peace.

1. Evil reports were circulated about them.

2. Nick-names were attached to them. For years they were referred to as “New Lights,” a name widely used at that time to designate any off-brand religious sect.

3. Stone also gave considerable attention to the subject of baptism and came to the conclusion that immersion was essential to salvation. For this conviction scorn was heaped upon him. On one occasion he wrote: “The floods of earth and hell are let loose against us, but me in particular. I am seriously threatened with imprisonment, and stripes I expect to receive for the testimony of Jesus. Kentucky is turning upside down.” Again he said: “God knows I am not fond of controversy. A sense of duty has impelled me to advance it. In the simplicity of truth is all my delight. To cultivate the benevolent affections of the gospel

shall employ my future life.”

IV. Thomas Campbell (1763-1854).

A. Thomas Campbell was a preacher in the Seceder branch of the Presbyterian Church.

1. He was in poor health and came to America for relief.

2. He arrived in Philadelphia in the spring of 1807. He presented himself to the Synod and was assigned to the Chartires Presbytery in western Pennsylvania.

3. He soon found himself preaching things contrary to Presbyterian doctrine.

4. The Synod had several meetings to consider Campbell’s heresy and finally on September 13, 1808, he was suspended from his ministerial office.

B. Campbell continued topreach in homes of friends, school houses, in the open, etc. In one of these meetings he closed his sermon with these words. “Where the Bible speaks, we speak, and where the Bible is silent, we are silent.”

1. When he sat down, there was silence. Then Andrew Munro spoke: “Mr. Campbell, if we adopt that as a basis, then there is an end to infant baptism.” Campbell replied: “If infant baptism be not found in the Scriptures, we can have nothing to do with it.”

2. In 1809, this band of believers formed themselves into the I ‘Christian Association of Washington.” Campbell then wrote the “Declaration and Address” in which he set forth the famous slogan, “In faith, unity; in opinion, liberty; in all things, charity.”

V. Alexander Campbell (1788-1866).

A. Alexander was born in Northern Ireland and was 20 years old when hisfather sentfor thefamily to come to America. They first tried to make the trip in 1808 but the ship was wrecked. They finally arrived in N. Y. in 1809.

1. Upon being reunited with his father, and having read the Declaration and Address, Alexander resolved to devote his life to studying the word and proclaiming it.

2. In 1810, the Brush Run meetinghouse was built and here he preached his first sermon.

B. Soon the subject of baptism began to trouble Campbell. He made an intense study of it and concluded that infants were not subjects of baptism, that the action was immersion, and that the confession the Eunuch made must precede it rather than the Baptist practice of telling an experience.

1. Campbell found a Baptist preacher, Matthias Luce, who was willing to baptize him.

2- When the day came, June 12, 1812, six others also asked to be baptized.

3. Soon practically the entire Brush Run church had followed suit.

C. Being baptized made the Brush Run church both friends and enemies – enemies among the Presbyterians and friends among the Baptists.

1. They were invited to join the Redstone Association of Baptist Churches. After much consideration they agreed to accept the invitation provided they be “allowed to teach and preach whatever they learned from the Holy Scriptures.”

2. At first Campbell was held in high esteem by the Baptists and he defended their cause (immersion) against two Presbyterians in debate – John Walker and W.L. McCalla. In the Walker debate, Campbell introduced the idea that baptism is for the remission of sins and in the McCalla debate he pressed this truth in order to show that infants cannot be baptized since they have no sin. Shortly thereafter he declared that “baptism was never designed for, nor commanded to be administered to, a member of the church.” This brought him into conflict with the Baptists.

3. The wedge between Campbell and the Baptists was also driven by his famous “Sermon on the Law.”

a. Campbell was tried for heresy by the Redstone Association. He was acquitted but wearied with strife the Brush Run Church withdrew and joined the Mahoning Baptist Association in 1823.

b. By 1830, those who made up the Mahoning Association agreed on its unscripturalness and so they met and dissolved it.

c. When the break between Campbell and the Baptists came, Campbell said: “We have always sought peace, but not peace at war with truth. We are under no necessity to crouch, to beg for favor, friendship or protection. Our progress is is onward, upward and resistless. With the fear of God before our eyes, with the example of the renowned worthies of all ages to stimulate our exertions, with love to God and man working in our bosoms, and immortality in prospect, we have nothing to fear, and nothing to lose that is worth possession.”

d. Campbell was charged with starting another denomination. He wrote: “But a restoration of the ancient order of things is all that is contemplated by the wise disciples of the Lord, as it is agreed that this is all that is wanting to the perfection, happiness, and glory of the Christian community. To contribute to this is our most ardent desire – our daily inquiry and pursuit. Now in attempting this, it must be observed that it belongs to every individual and to every congregation of individuals to discard from their faith and their practice every thing that is not found written in the New Testament of the Lord and Savior, and to believe and practice whatever is there enjoined. This done, and everything is done which ought to be done.”

VI. Growth and Uniting of Forces.

A. We have dwelt with the problems and opposition that the restorers faced, but the other side of the picture is bright.

1. The truths that were being taught were readily grasped by the average person. People were anxious to discard the creeds of men, ready to abandon the churches of men, and be Christians and Christians only.

2. People began to embrace New Testament Christianity by the thousands. Entire groups of denominational people were baptized for the remission of sins. One preacher reported 550 baptized in six months; another baptized 338 in six weeks; another assisted 222 to obey the gospel in 100 days, Walter Scott baptized 1,000 people in one year.

3. The N. Y. Baptist Register of 1830 said that “one half of the Baptist Churches in Ohio had embraced this sentiment.” One Baptist preacher wrote to Campbell and said that he had traveled 2500 miles and had only found four Baptist preachers who had not been “corrupted.”

B. There were two mighty groups of people who pled for a return to the ancient order of things in the same part of the country.

1. Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell met for the first time in 1824. They discussed their differences and found them to be minor. They held each other in high esteem.

2. In 1831, both groups met in Georgetown, KY for one week. Raccoon John Smith, at this meeting, delivered one of the greatest speeches of his fife. “God has but one people on the earth. He has given to them but one Book, and therein exhorts and commands them to be one family. A union such as we plead for – a union of God’s people on that one Book – must then, be practicable. Every Christian desires to stand in the whole will of God. The prayer of the Savior, and the whole tenor of his teaching, clearly show that, it is God’s will that his children should be united. To the Christian, then such a union must be desirable. Therefore the only union practicable or desirable must be based on the word of God as the only rule of faith and practice. . . . For several years past I have stood pledged to meet the religious world, or any part of it, on the ancient gospel and order of things as presented in the Book. This is the foundation on which Christians once stood, and on it they can, and ought, to stand again. From this I can not depart to meet any man in the wide world. While, for the sake of peace and Christian union, I have long since waived the public maintenance of any speculation I may hold, yet not one gospel fact, commandment, or promise, will I surrender for the world. Let us then, brethren, be no longer Campbellites, or Stoneites, or New Lights, or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights, but let us all come to the Bible, and the Bible alone, as the only Book in the world that can give us all the light we need.”

Conclusion:

1. All of this was done by a group of men determined to sow nothing but the pure seed of the kingdom.

2. When pure seed is sown it is bound to reproduce after its own kind.

3. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11). When this seed was planted in the hearts of honest men and women in the New Testament period, it produced Christians. By the preaching of the word, churches of Christ were established in every major city of the Roman Empire.

4. And so, by the preaching of the gospel, the church of the Lord was restored to the world.

5. May we realize that the hope of the world in this 20th century, is the same gospel. God help us to believe it, obey it, and then preach it to every creature under heaven.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 23, pp. 718-719, 724-725
December 1, 1988

By Mike Willis

The short book of Jonah tells the story of the prophet Jonah who refused to obey the commandment of Jehovah to call Nineveh to repentance. The zealous Jewish patriot did not want Nineveh to repent; instead he desired to see the city destroyed by the hand of God because of her wickedness since the Assyrians were the primary threat to the nation of Israel. Consequently, when God told Jonah to prophesy against Nineveh, he fled to Tarshish.

The Lord sent a storm threatening the lives of those on the ship with Jonah. They threw their cargo overboard but still were not safe. In desperation, they cast lots to see for what reason God sent the storm. The lot fell to Jonah. He confessed his sin, telling the sailors that he had “fled from the presence of the Lord” (1:10). The valiant sailors desperately tried to navigate their ship to land. When this failed, the sailors followed Jonah’s advice and threw him overboard. The Lord then sent a great calm.

The Lord prepared a huge fish which swallowed Jonah. For three days and nights, he was in the fish’s belly. There he repented and prayed to the Lord. The fish vomited Jonah out on dry ground. The Lord gave his charge to Jonah a second time: “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee ” (3:2). This time, Jonah went and preached to Nineveh.

The city heard the message of Jonah. The sign of the Lord in saving Jonah from death in the fish’s belly served to convince the Ninevites of the truthfulness of his message. They repented of their sins and God did not destroy the city (cf. the Lord’s conduct toward nations in Jer. 18:7-10).

Jonah was unhappy. He wanted the Ninevites destroyed. The pouting prophet went to a hill nearby Nineveh and sat to watch the Lord destroy the city. As he sat in the hot sun, the Lord sent a gourd to shade him. The next day the Lord smote the gourd that it withered and died. Jonah was angry that his shade, the gourd, had died. God asked him why he could show sorrow for the loss of a gourd but would expect God to allow 120,000 children who could not distinguish their right hand from their left hand to perish.

On this note, the book closes, leaving us to ponder the lessons taught therein. I would like to suggest several lessons from the book of Jonah.

Man Cannot Escape God’s Presence

Jonah tried to escape his responsibility before God by running from his presence. He left his hometown, but he could not leave God’s presence. God’s all-seeing eye followed Jonah as he boarded the ship and fled to Tarshish. Like Jonah, many men today are trying to escape their responsibilities to God. They will be no more successful than was the prophet. God will still hold men accountable to him, regardless of how far they may run from his presence.

God Controls Nature

The book of Jonah emphasizes God’s control over nature as well. The Lord sent the storm to the sea (1:4). When the men threw Jonah overboard, the Lord sent the calm (1: 15). To save Jonah from death, the Lord prepared and sent a great fish to swallow the prophet (1:17). The Lord later commanded the fish to vomit the prophet out on dry ground (2:10). The book of Jonah emphasizes that “God in heaven, hath made the sea and the dry land.”

The Meaning Of Repentance

The book of Jonah vividly demonstrates the meaning of repentance. The Lord told Jonah, “Arise, go to Nineveh” (1:2). In his rebellion against God, Jonah fled to Tarshish; he should have gone northeastward but he fled northwestward. When Jonah repented, the Lord again commanded, “Arise, go to Nineveh” (3:2). Penitent Jonah went to Nineveh. The change in the will of the prophet produced a change in conduct.

The conduct of the Gentile Ninevites also demonstrates the meaning of repentance. When Jonah preached in the city of Nineveh saying, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (3:4), the people of Nineveh “believed in God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them” (3:5). What a contrast between this Gentile city which repented when one prophet preached to them and the Israelites, God’s chosen people, who refused to repent when prophet after prophet was sent to them! Their contrition before God, outwardly displayed by their wearing of sackcloth, demonstrated their sorrow for sin and resolution to turn from it. Hence, the book of Jonah demonstrates the meaning of repentance in these two examples.

God Loves All Men

Another important lesson taught in the book of Jonah is God’s love for Gentiles. The overly zealous, patriotic prophet did not want to see the Gentile enemy of Israel delivered from God’s judgment. He desired to see the heathens blasted from the face of the earth by the judgment of God. Therefore, he ran from his mission to call them to repentance.

In contrast to Jonah, God loved the Ninevites and was just as concerned for their welfare as he was for the Israelites. He saw that there were 120,000 innocent infants and young children who would die should judgment fall on the city of Nineveh. He loved them and cared for them. Consequently, he sent the prophet to warn them of God’s judgment and call them to repentance.

The Sin of Begrudging God’s Mercy

The incident of the gourd occurred to convert Jonah from his sin of begrudging God’s mercy toward the Gentiles. Contrast Jonah’s human pity on the gourd with God’s pity on the Ninevites.

Jonah’s Human Pity	God’s Divine Pity
1. Pity on a gourd.	1. Pity on Ninevah.
2. Short-lived gourd.	2. Eternal souls
3. Cost Jonah nothing.	3. God made & sustained city
4. One plant	4. Many people

Jonah felt sorrow at seeing a gourd die but desired and would have rejoiced to see the thousands in Nineveh perish.

Jonah’s begrudging that God would forgive the Gentiles may very well be an Old Testament answer to the Jews who begrudged the gospel going to the Gentiles, to demonstrate that the nature of God had always been the same in his love for all of mankind. Through the apostle Paul, God revealed his desire for Gentiles to be grafted into the covenant, despite Jewish opposition thereto (Rom. 9).

Jonah and Jesus

The Lord Jesus confirmed the historicity of this book by using Jonah’s three days and nights in the belly of the fish as a type of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:38-41).

He also used the incident of the miraculous sign of Jonah to the people of Nineveh as a type of the miraculous sign he would give to the world to confirm his message. Compare the sign of Jonah and the sign of Jesus.

Jonah	Jesus
1. Life given to save sailors	1. Life given to save sinners
2. Cast to certain death	2. Died
3. Buried in fish’s belly	3. Buried
4. “Raised” to life	4. Raised from dead
5. Incident a sign to confirm his message	5. Incident a sign to confirm his gospel
6. Mission to save the Gentiles	6. Mission to save the Jews and Gentiles

When one studies these parallels, he can readily see that Jonah was a type of the Christ. The God who sent his Son to die on Calvary prefigured his death by the events recorded in Jonah.

Conclusion

These lessons learned from the book of Jonah need to be taught to children of every generation. The surface lessons are easily grasped and the content of the book is deep enough to challenge every Christian’s mind. As a type of the Messiah, Jonah and the record of his prophecy cause us to glorify the God of all creation.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 24, pp. 738, 751
December 15, 1988

By R.L. Whiteside

By an “alien” I mean one who has not obeyed the gospel, and is therefore not in the kingdom of Christ. Is such a one a sinner in the sight of God? Do not dismiss this as an idle or foolish question; for it has to do with the very basis, or reason, for the scheme of human redemption. When Jesus came into the world, Gentiles were “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise” (Eph. 2:12). Were the Gentiles sinners at that time? If not, neither are they sinners now. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance; does that call now come to Gentiles and Jews? Are you wondering why I am saying these things? It is because of a theory held by some brethren, and also by the followers of Russell and Scofield.

Years ago a good brother, in answering a question in a gospel paper, said that it did not make any difference how many times aliens married and divorced; for they are not in covenant relationship with the Lord and therefore disobeyed no law of God. If that be so, how can they be regarded as sinners? And more, in God’s sight are aliens married? If I mistake not, Mormons say Gentiles, or aliens, are not married. The theory is that aliens are under no law of God. How then do they become sinners? One brother said they become sinners when they hear the gospel and disobey it. If that be so, then the gospel makes more sinners than it prevents, for the greater number who hear the gospel disobey it. Besides, if people become sinners only when they hear and disobey the gospel, then the one who obeys the gospel as soon as he hears it is never an alien sinner, for he does not become a sinner by disobeying it. Cornelius and those with him, and also the jailer, obeyed as soon as they learned what to do. They did not have the least inclination to disobey. If the theory is correct, they were not sinners at all. From what, then, were Cornelius and the jailer saved?

One preacher in a sermon which I heard, said, “When a man becomes a Christian, he obligates himself to do right.” Look at that statement closely and see what is implied in it. If the statement is true, then a man who is not a Christian is under no obligation to do right – no obligation even to believe! A man does no wrong when he is under no obligation. Hence, if the statement is true, an alien is not a sinner. Well, the Lord will not damn a man who is not a sinner. Why then should any one obligate himself to do right by becoming a Christian?

Several years ago I had a debate with a follower of Pastor Russell. One proposition I affirmed was that baptism is for the remission of sins to Jew and Gentile alike. My opponent believed that baptism was for the remission of sins to the Jews, but not to Gentiles. If you do not yet see the grounds for his contention, you will see later. But in his contention he was more consistent than the brethren I have mentioned: for according to their theory, how can an alien, a Gentile, have any sins to be remitted?

In Scofield’s foreword to the book of Acts we have this:

“Acts is in two chief parts: In the first section (1:1-9:43) Peter is the prominent personage, Jerusalem is the center, and the ministry is to Jews. Already in covenant relationship with Jehovah, they had sinned in rejecting Jesus as the Christ. The preaching, therefore was directed to that point, and repentance (i. e. a change of mind) was demanded. . . .

“In the second division (10:1-23:3 1) Paul is prominent, a new center is established at Antioch and the ministry is chiefly to Gentiles who, as strangers from the covenants of promise (Eph. 2:12) had but to ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’ to be saved.”

Here you have the theory stated plainly. The Jews had sinned in rejecting Christ, for they were in covenant relations with the Lord, and therefore needed to repent: but the Gentiles had not been in covenant relations with the Lord, but were “strangers from the covenants of promise” and therefore they did not need to repent, but only to believe to be saved. But if the Gentiles were not sinners, from what were they saved by believing? But no matter who advocates this foolish theory, it is so crooked that it is bound to twist itself around over itself at some point. No non-Christian today, whether Jew or Gentile, has ever been in covenant relations with the Lord. If the theory is true, no man now needs to repent, neither can he be baptized for the remission of sins.

It is true that the Gentiles were not under the covenant given at Sinai, but they were sinners. Jesus said to Pilate, “He that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin.” Pilate, though not so sinful as the Jewish council, was himself a sinner, and yet he was not a Jew; he was an alien, an alien sinner. Paul was sent to the Gentiles “to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:16-18). The Gentiles were in the power of Satan and needed remission of sins. Could they receive remission of sins without repentance?

Read the list of sins charged against Gentiles (see Rom. 1:18-32). Both Jews and Gentiles were all under sin (Rom. 3:9). Paul charges that the Gentiles in time past were disobedient to God (Rom. 11:30). He also says, “We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:15). There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile – “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:22). Jews are not now in covenant with God any more than Gentiles are. If people cannot sin unless they are in covenant with the Lord, then there are no sinners outside the church! A man would have to become a Christian before he could sin. Get such an idea in the mind of an alien, and what have you? When he hears the command to believe, he can consistently say, “Why should I do what God says? I am not under his jurisdiction.” Or, if a man obligates himself to do right when he becomes a Christian, he is under no obligation to do anything that is right so long as he is not a Christian. Get an alien imbued with such ideas, what then? On what grounds can you who hold such theories appeal to any one to become a Christian? So far as I see you have no grounds for such appeal. I know of no theory more absurd and vicious.

But one may ask, “What about 1 John 3:4?” The Common Version reads: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” More accurately the American Standard version reads: “Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” To be lawless is to live without law without being governed by law. Can a man without revealed law sin? Paul says, “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law” (Rom. 2:12). Paul was here referring to Gentiles. They did not have a revealed law nor were they in covenant with the Lord, yet they sinned John further defines sin: “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17). In the long list of sins Paul charges against the Gentiles is the sin of “being filled with all unrighteousness” (Rom. 2:29). It is plain therefore that any rational being who fails to do right sins, whether he is in covenant relation with the Lord or not. Some things are right, and some things are wrong within themselves. The moral law applies to a intelligent human beings, and cannot be disregarded without guilt, nor can a foolish theory make it of no effect.

But why go on? More than enough has been said to convince any thinking person; and if a man will shut his eyes to truth no amount of reasoning will make him think (reprint from Bible Banner, March 1946, pp. 8-9).

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 23, pp. 707-708
December 1, 1988

By Mark Mayberry

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, were Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory (Col. 3:14).

The gospel is a spiritual message, which is founded on the resurrection of the Lord. It deals with man’s problem of sin, and provides forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ. The ultimate design of the gospel is to save men from everlasting destruction, and provide for eternal life with God in heaven. The emphasis in the gospel is on things spiritual and eternal (Col. 3:1-4).

In the last several generations, however, many leading theologians began to outgrow their belief in such spiritual concepts. They came to question the reality of sin, and denied the vicarious atonement. They rejected the Bible’s teaching on miracles, the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection, and ridiculed the whole idea of heaven and hell. Like the ancient Greeks, they considered the preaching of the cross foolishness.

Following this loss of faith, a shift of emphasis occurred. Since the spiritual aspect of Christianity was rejected, they began to redirect the church in What they considered more relevant pursuits. They taught. that the church should be a brave and fearless champion of social and economic ideals. They sought to create a better social order in the “here and now.” The emphasis in, religion turned to education, kindergartens and day care, family counseling, fellowship centers, athletics, etc. Today on the modern religious scene, the average church is little more than a social club or a community recreational center. The fact. that the New Testament church was totally different from this does not concern most religious people in the least.

It is even more unfortunate that we have even witnessed a similar change of emphasis in the Lord’s church. Many congregations which had long adhered to the New Testament order have now adopted the methods and concepts of denominationalism. Consider the following examples:

1. Brethren have dreamed up a variety of ministries such as “Gymnastics to the Glory of God,” “The Martial Arts Gospel Ministry,” “Clown Ministries,” “Goliath’s for God,” etc. Isn’t it amazing how people seek to reduce the, church to the level of a carnival?

2. Brethren use incentive programs, such as the Bus ministry, to get people to attend. There is nothing wrong with offering someone a ride to church, but consider all that goes, on: In order to increase the number of riders, brethren offer free hamburgers, lollipops and ice cream, $5 hidden under a seat, trips to the skating rink after the services, etc. The appeal is carnal.

3. Special facilities have been built to provide kindergartens and day care centers, kitchens, student, centers, fellowship halls, etc. The Family Life and Education Center built by the Church of Christ in Madison,. Tennessee is typical of the direction many of our liberal brethren have taken in recent years. When the center first opened, a half-page ad in the Nashville Banner (11/18/78) announced “Madison Takes a Giant Step Forward!” Special speakers from Abilene, Pepperdine, Freed Hardeman, and David Lipscomb were on hand to help Ira North commemorate the occasion. The facility was complete with a. Gymnasium, Exercise Room, Sunset Room, Reception Room, Fellowship Room, etc. planned activities included Walking/Jogging, Bowling, Volleyball, Ping Pong, Tennis, Golf, Fuss Ball, Ladies Slimnastics, Basketball, Officiating Clinics for Referees of Church Sporting Events, Classes on First Aid, CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), and Arts and Crafts, such as macrame and ceramics, etc. we should stop and ask, “Was this really a giant step forward?”

4. The following bulletin represents the view which liberal brethren have of the church. The Church of Christ which meets at 402 W. Danieldale in Duncanville, TX publishes a bulletin called “The Exhorter. ” The November, 1987 edition has a decided social emphasis. It lists I the menu for the next several Wednesday Night Church suppers. Servings included Apricot Baked Chicken, Italian Spaghetti, Beef Tips & Homemade noodles, etc. Congratulations were extended to the local football team for clinching a spot in the play-offs. Announcements were made concerning an upcoming Church Golf Tournament, a Craft Sale, a Winter Ski trip, a High School Retreat, etc. The only Scripture quoted in the bulletin was Romans 8:31, which says, “if God be for us, who can be against us?” This strikes me as ironic. Is this the kind of religion that God really desires? Is he “for us” when we engage in such practices?

The Scriptural Appeal

Is this the direction that religion should be headed? Is all this a step forward? Going forward is good if it is along the path of faith, but those churches that preach a “social gospel” have actually taken a giant step away from the Scriptures (Jer. 6:16). It’s sad to realize just how far down the road to denominationalism many “Churches of Christ” have already gone.

Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye *in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein (Jer. 6.-16).

The Church today is no longer “Christ-centered.” It has allowed itself to be seduced into meeting the world’s needs of recreation and entertainment. Instead of focusing on the ultimate need, that is, the salvation of man’s soul, the church is rushing headlong to become just another denomination. From such a secular standpoint, we no longer view God as one who possesses awesome majesty and power. Instead he becomes merely an “assistant” who helps us with what we want.

Men are drawn to God by being taught the truth (Jn. 6:44-45). Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (Jn.8:32). Salvation can only be found when the gospel is preached in its purity and simplicity (Rom. 1:16-17). It is a fact that if you draw men with something else, you will draw them to something else. Offering any kind of appeal or incentive other than the gospel itself is wrong. One who does this is guilty of teaching another gospel.

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me (Jn. 6:44).

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith tofaith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:16-17).

Let’s realize that food and fun will not genuinely draw souls (Jn 6:26). It fills the church with untaught and uncoverted people whose main interest is not on spiritual things (Jn. 6:63). The early church offered the world nothing but the gospel, and their message called for a life of sacrifice and obedience. When that message fell into good and honest hearts, it bore fruit. The same seed will bear fruit today. However, a perverted gospel, offering materialistic incentives, cannot save the world. Someone once said that “If you try to draw people with tea, ice cream, and chicken . . . they will be as weak as the tea, as cold as the ice cream and as dead as the chicken.” Are we going to trust in the Gospel or in Gimmicks?

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled (Jn. 6:26).

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (Jn. 6:63).

The Need For Authority

For years, members of the church have argued for the need to give “Book, Chapter, and Verse” for everything we teach or practice. The watchword of the Restoration Movement was, “We speak where the Bible speaks, and we are silent where the Bible is silent.” For many this principle no longer exists. Where is the authority to take church resources (time, money, facilities, personnel, etc.) to provide for these kinds of recreational and secular activities?

We must have authority for all that we do in religion (Matt. 28:18; Col. 3:17). The authorized work of the church is evangelism, edification and benevolence. There is absolutely no scriptural authority for the church to engage in social, secular, and recreational activities. God gave the church to provide for our spiritual fellowship with him. God instituted’the home, and ordained it for social, secular, and recreational purposes. To add these functions to the work of the church is to follow the commandments of men, and such is condemned by our Lord (Matt. 7:21-23; 15:9; 1 Cor. 11:22,34; 2 Jn. 9).

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18).

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (Col. 3:17).

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. 7:21-23).

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matt. 15:9).

What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. . . And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come (1 Cor. 11:22,34).

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he that hath both the Father and the Son (2 Jn. 9).

Over 30 years ago in the Gospel Advocate, B.C. Goodpasture wrote, “It is not the mission of the church to furnish amusement for the world or even for its members. Innocent amusement in proper proportion has its place in the life of all normal persons, but it is not the business of the church to furnish it . . . The church was not established to feature athletics. Rather it emphasizes the principle that ‘bodily exercise is profitable for little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of life which now is, and of that which is to come’ (1 Tim. 4:8). For the church to turn aside from its divine work to furnish amusement and recreation is to pervert its mission. It is to degrade its mission. Amusement and recreation should stem from the home rather than the church. The church, like Nehemiah, has a great work to do and should not come down on the plains of Ono to amuse and entertain. As the church turns its attention to amusement and recreation, it will be shorn of its power as Samson was when his hair was cut. Only when the church becomes worldly, as it pillows its head in the lap of Delilah, will it turn from its wonted course to relatively unimportant matters” (1951 Gospel Advocate Annual Lesson Commentary).

Conclusion

Consider the supreme price that was paid for the church (Eph. 5:25-27). If you and I are saved eternally it will be because we constituted a faithful part of the church, of which Christ is the Savior (Eph. 1:3-5; 5:23). Furthermore, the church has the exalted privilege and precious responsibility of being the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will (Eph. 1:3-5).

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body (Eph. 5:23).

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3: 15).

In view of the greatness of the church and the gospel which it must uphold and support, how can we dare depreciate it by implying that it is incapable of accomplishing the purpose for which it was intended? The gospel is cheapened and the function of the church thwarted by those who preach and practice a social gospel. Such promoters specialize in gimmickry because they have evidently lost faith in the power of the gospel. In the time of Samuel, Israel grew restless because they had no king like the nations around them. This desire brought many problems for Israel, and will do likewise for the church today.

The church will grow if we follow God’s pattern! By fulfilling our responsibilities, we will grow personally and others will be brought to the Lord. Let’s not turn from our God-given mission to dissipate our energies and resources in a vain attempt to be like the denominations around us.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 23, pp. 720-722
December 1, 1988