Truth Magazine

By Steve Wolfgang

Footnote “Tithes,” Christian Baptist, I (February, 1824), 144.

Alexander Campbell, who mercilessly exposed the hypocrisy of the churches of his day, published this widely circulated story: “A certain woman found by the wayside a lamb perishing with cold and hunger. She had pity upon the lamb, and took it unto her house and nursed it and brought it again unto life. And it came to pass, that the lamb grew up and was a goodly ewe, and had a large fleece. And the poor woman sheared the ewe, when, lo! the priest came unto the woman and said, ‘The first fruits of everything belongs unto the Lord – and I must have the wool.’ The woman said, ‘It is hard,’ the priest said, ‘It is written’ and so he took the wool. And it came to pass, that soon after the ewe yeaned and brought forth a lamb, when, lo! the chief priest came again unto the woman and said, ‘The firstling of every flock belongeth unto the Lord – I must have the lamb.’ The woman said, ‘It is hard,’ the priest said, ‘It is written’ – and he took the lamb. And when it came to pass that the woman found that she could make no profit from the ewe, she killed and dressed it; when, lo! the chief priest came again unto her, and took a leg, a loin, and a shoulder, for a burnt offering. And it came to pass that the poor woman was exceeding wroth because of the robbery; and she said unto the chief priest, ‘Curse on the ewe. Oh! that I had never meddled therewith! And the chief priest straightway said unto her, ‘Whatsoever is cursed belongeth unto the Lord’ – so he took the remainder of the mutton, which he and the Levites ate for their supper. “

This story, as much as Campbell’s early writing, stung the pompous religious leaders of his day, as Jesus’ teaching infuriated the hypocritical leaders of the Jewish religion. Such teaching strikes at the core perversion of institutional religion. Churches become human institutions manipulated for the benefit of man. The force that sustains most popular religion today is not love of God but man’s craving for position and money.

Every servant of the kingdom is worthy of his hire, but one must never let his service be dependent on human reward (Matt. 6:18). Christians must discern between the honest servant and the greedy religious official who uses religion for financial gain and personal pride (2 Cor. 11: 19-20).

I fear the man who dresses in $250 suits and alligator shoes, while traveling the world in haste and importance soliciting funds to support himself and his projects.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 20, p. 614
October 20, 1988

By John A. Smith

In the May 1988 issue of Focus on the Family, Seattle juvenile detective Myrle Carrier listed seven things that troubled teens want to tell their parents. Detective Carner, a 20 year veteran of the Seattle police department, has spent the last eight years investigating juvenile crime and listening to troubled teens tell their stories. He asked these young people: “If your parents were seated with us, right now, what would you like to tell them?” The answers are deserving, I believe, of our consideration and a biblical examination.

1. Keep Cool

“The number one thing kids in trouble with the law want their folks to know was how to keep their cool. In other words, Mom and Dad, don’t lose your temper in a crunch. Don’t blow your top when things go wrong. Kids need the reassurance that comes from controlled responses.”

Solomon asserted this as a good general rule of life: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. . . . A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention” (Prov. 15: 1, 18).

Our children deserve to see the example of people whose lives have been transformed and molded by Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:1-2), thus possessing the essential qualities of meekness and gentleness. When trouble arises our children can see these qualities put to the test and come to better appreciate them and us. Parents who react in rage, losing their temper, show themselves to be just as troubled as their teens. Why would a teenager listen and heed counsel from someone like this?

During troubled times, teens need parents who will remain calm to help them still the turbulent waters.

2. Please Show Us Who’s Boss

“Most young people I talked with want their parents to be strict . . . they want parents who are consistent and fair in dishing out discipline. Kids need the security of specific boundaries, and they need to know there are consequences for going over the line.”

Parents who do not discipline their children and provide family leadership demonstrate a failure to love. Solomon asserted that: “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Prov. 13:24). That discipline must begin while they are young and continue through the teen years. In Proverbs 19:18 Solomon said, “Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction.”

In addition to the wisdom which Solomon received from God, he had the benefit of his fore-fathers’ experience reinforcing these truths. The godly prophet Eli did not restrain his sons and those two undisciplined young men became the downfall of his house. Samuel’s untaught sons were not much better (1 Sam. 8:1-3). David had set a miserable example as a father. A failure to discipline his sons resulted in one becoming a rapist, another led a rebellion against his father, and when Solomon ascended to the throne another tried to revolt against him.

Solomon was sadly well acquainted with the trouble a parents brings upon his children and himself when discipline is not properly exercised. Most of us are acquainted with those who are setting themselves up for a life of misery and their children for failure by not restraining them and setting boundaries. Solomon warned parents in Proverbs 29:15: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”

The Hebrew writer rightly affirmed that “no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11). It is not always easy to accept or provide discipline. But, a failure to discipline is far more bitter, troublesome, shameful, and heart-breaking.

Parents, we need to listen to God and our children and provide them with loving, consistent, fair discipline.

3. Don’t Blow Your Class

“If you’re 40, don’t try to act 16. Your kids don’t want you to act like them. What they really want is for you to be a parent, some one they can look up to.”

Parents, we need to give our children something for which they can strive. We need to be examples of mature steadfast sons of God. Can we say, as Paul did to the Philippians, “join in following my example” (Phil. 3:17) to our children? If we dress like and act like children we certainly cannot!

Our children need and deserve parents. Let us determine to fulfill the role which we have chosen for ourselves!

4. Please, Light A Candle

“Many troubled kids I speak with . . . are looking for a genuine spiritual dimension in their lives. They are saying, ‘Please tell us that God is not dead, sleeping, or on vacation. We need to believe in something bigger and stronger than ourselves.”

Those parents who have the spiritual interest and foresight to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4) will provide the needed “candle.” A part of our “candling” will involve sparking the spiritual curiosity of our children that they might develop into candles to light the world (Matt. 5:16). Our children need to be nurtured – that is fed a steady diet of good nourishing spiritual food (not just a “junk food” diet of spiritual fluff).

God very specifically and carefully called upon the fathers of Israel (fathers sit up and take notice, the spiritual training of our children is not the exclusive realm of mothers!) to provide their children with a knowledge of him and his ways. In Deuteronomy 6:7-9 God says: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” God simply calls upon fathers to use the everyday affairs of life to teach their children important spiritual lessons.

Parents, we need to teach our children that God exists and that he made them, regardless of what textbooks might say. Our children need to know that fife is sacred and that they are important to God. They need to know of his Son who loved them enough to die to redeem them from sin. They need to know of his church and the important function which they can have in it.

Are we providing our children with a spiritual foundation upon which they can build their life?

5 . Scare Us

“Get tough, Mom and Dad. If you catch your kids lying, cheating, stealing, swearing, or boozing, then discipline them. Let them know why what they did was wrong. And when they need punishment, dish it out. But also let them know that you love them, even when they let you down.”

We’ve already discussed the need for discipline, but Carner here reminds us that the discipline must be tempered and administered with love. When our children disappoint us the most, we need to love them the most. Brother Wilbur Jacobs once told me that he disciplined his children when they deserved it and loved them when they didn’t. I believe brother Wilbur spoke great words of wisdom.

When our children misbehave, we have an opportunity to teach them by example an important quality of God. He loved us and extended his hand of mercy while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). His love did not lead him to overlook our sin or easily dismiss it. But it did lead him t9 provide a way of escape from sin (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 22:16).

Parents need to be tough and loving. The two are not mutually exclusive, but great compliments of one another.

6. Call Our Bluff

“Did you know that kids don’t really want everything they ask for? They want parents who won’t be intimidated when they threaten to drop out of school, or to run away from home.”

As parents we need to pray for wisdom. The wise parents will know just how far to go in calling their child’s bluff. A mother of three boys told me the story of one of her sons threatening to run away from home. She asked him the reasons and then decided to join him! Needless to say he stayed at home and never used that threat again.

Parents need to remember who is the boss and not be intimidated by their children.

7. Be Honest With Us

“Finally, kids want to be told the truth. It doesn’t do any good to try to fool your kids. They know you better than you know yourself. They know when you’re telling it like it is, and when you’re not. All kids want their folks to be real.”

Honesty is an important quality in any relationship, but it is especially needful in parenting. It has been a basic expectation of man from long ages past included in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:16) and also in the law of Christ (Col. 3:9).

Parents need the trust and respect of their children if they are to lead them. Trust once broken by dishonest parents may become unrepairable. We need to be up front, honest, and sincere with our children.

Dishonest parents will raise dishonest children. Hypocritical parents will raise another generation of hypocrites. As a general rule children become what their parents mold them to be. What types of mold have we presented?

Conclusion

Carner reports that every ten minutes in this country:

10 kids attempt suicide

105 kids quit school

618 high school seniors smoke marijuana

20 girls between the ages of 15-19 become pregnant

8 out of the 20 will have an abortion

Our nation is filled with troubled children. If you are the parent of a troubled teen, you need to listen to them, love them, and work with them to find help. If your children are still young, then you still have the opportunity to lay for them a foundation of happiness and productivity. You need to take advantage of it.

Carner concludes his article by saying, “Not every parent has to deal with delinquent children, but every parent has ears to hear them. Now that these youngsters have spoken, are you willing to listen?” Let me add – once you hear will you respond?

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 20, pp. 609, 630-631
October 20, 1988

By Aude McKee

Introduction:

1. Thus far in our studies we have gone into Germany and England.

A. Last week we traced the development of the Church of England.

1. Observed that it was produced more by political and social expediencies than by religious conviction.

2. We took note of the fact that the Episcopal Church is more closely allied to Roman Catholicism than any other Protestant body.

B. This week we turn our attention to Switzerland and Scotland.

II. In this study, we shall see varying degrees of respect for Bible authority being manifested.

Discussion:

I. The Work of Zwingli (1482-1531).

A. Born in German speaking Switzerland, village of Wildhaus.

1. Received a good education.

2. In 1506 appointed a parish priest at Glarus.

3. In 1518 appointed chief pastor in the Great Minister Church in Zurich.

B. By this time Zwingli had developed the idea that the Bible was sufficient for doctrinal guidance.

1. In January, 1519, he began a homiletical exposition of the New Testament in his sermons.

2. Preaching from the Scriptures was an unheard of innovation in his day.

3. Zwingli’s teaching was responsible for the Reformed Churches.

C. Difference in Luther and Zwingli.

1. Luther used the Bible as a corrective, retaining those rites and ceremonies of the Catholic Church which were not positively anti-scriptural.

2. Zwingli used the Bible as a code of laws, rejecting everything not expressly enjoined in Scripture. His teaching included:

a. Salvation by faith alone.

b. Denial of the sacrificial quality of the mass and saintly intercession.

c. Recognition of Christ as sole head of the church.

d. Right of the clergy to marry.

e. Abolishing images, relics and organs from places of worship.

f. The observance of the Lord’s Supper as a symbolic or memorial supper.

II. Work of John Calvin (1509-1564).

A. Early life.

1. Born in Nayon, France, 25 miles NE of Paris. His father was an attorney.

2. He first began the study of law but after two years, he changed to a study of religion.

3. He was a devout student of the Bible and was influenced by the writings of Luther.

4. He became a leader among Paris Protestants but because of opposition from the king, was forced to flee to Geneva, Switzerland.

B. Calvin soon rose to power in Geneva.

1. He became a virtual dictator.

2. He endeavored to build Geneva into an ideal city through a system of “Christian Government.”

3. A Theological Seminary was established in Geneva and from that institution young men went all over Europe preaching the doctrines of Calvin.

C. To people today, Calvin is best known for his “five tenets.”

1. Hereditary Total Depravity.

2. Predestination.

3. Limited Atonement.

4. Irresistibility of Grace.

5. Perseverance of the saints.

D. Calvin lives in history as a controversial figure.

1. A contemporary once spoke of him: “Some think on Calvin heaven’s own mantle fell, While others deemed him an instrument of hell.”

2. Today, about the same attitudes are held toward what is known as “Calvinism.” Some look on it as a blessing to man and some view it as one of the curses of religion.

E. Out of John Calvin’s work, the Presbyterian Church was established. A date is hard to give, but perhaps 1540 would be as good as any.

III. The Work of John Knox.

A. Much of his early life is obscure.

1. Born in Haddington, Scotland.

2. Ordained into the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church.

3. Later embraced reformation principles and became one of the Royal Chaplains under Edward VI.

4. After “Bloody Mary” came to power, he fled to Germany and then to Geneva.

5. He became an ardent disciple of Calvin.

B. In 1559, Knox returned to Scotland.

1. He carried Calvin’s doctrines with him.

2. Established the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

IV. Some Facts About the Presbyterian Church.

A. There are nine divisions of Presbyterians in the United States. There are three major bodies.

1. Largest is United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

2. Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (Southern).

3. Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

B. Government.

1. The Presbyterian Church receives its name from its form of government. Each congregation has its own elders (presbuteros in Greek).

2. Authority, however, is in the Presbytery.

a. A certain number of churches belong to the Presbytery.

b. Each church has elders appointed to the board (Presbytery).

3. The highest judiciary of the church is the Annual General Assembly, made up of clerical and lay delegates elected by the Presbyteries.

C. Doctrines.

1. Predestination (Quote from Westminster Confession of Faith, pp. 25-26): “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others fore-ordained to everlasting death. These angels and men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed; and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished.” (See Acts 10:34-35; Rom. 2:11; Rev. 22:17; Matt. 11:28-30; John 3:16-17.)

2. Only the “elect” are saved (Ibid., pp. 27-29). “Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only. ” (See I John 2:2; Heb. 2:9; Tit. 2:11-12.)

3. Hereditary Total Depravity (Ibid., pp. 41-43,72). “Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his glory. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.” (See Matt. 18:3; 19:14; Ezek. 18:20.) “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.”

4. Direct operation of the Holy Spirit (Ibid., p. 45; 76). “Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein he freely offered unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto life, his Holy Spirit to make them willing and able to believe.” “This effectual call is of God’s free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.” (A study of the New Testament will reveal that not a single person converted was enabled, to obey by a direct operation of the Holy Spirit! The Spirit convicts and converts the sinner by means of the Word – Lk. 8:11; 1 Pet. 1:22-25; Jas. 1:21; Eph. 6:17. Note: that a person can resist the Spirit – Acts 7:51; 13:46; Lk. 8:11-15.)

5. Elect people can be saved without obedience (Ibid., p. 77). “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word. ” (See Heb. 5:8-9; Matt. 7:21-27; 1 Pet. 4:17; 2 Thess. 1:7-9.) It is interesting to further note that they believe that the non-elect cannot be saved even though they are called by the ministry of the word” (Ibid., p. 77). “Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come to Christ, and therefore cannot be saved.”

6. Perseverence of the saints (Ibid., pp. 102-103). “They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace: but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.” (See 2 Pet. 2:20-22; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 6:4-6.)

7. Refer to the Lord’s Day as the “Christian Sabbath” (Ibid., pp. 130-131). “God hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath.”

a. First day of the week at no time in the N.T. is referred to as “the Christian Sabbath”!

b. No teaching anywhere that the Sabbath of the Old Testament was “changed into the first day of the week.”

c. The law that bound the Sabbath (Saturday) has been nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14-17).

d. Christians must worship on the first day of the week (I Cor. 16:1-2; Heb. 10:25; Acts 20:7).

8. Baptism (Ibid., pp. 157-159). “Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary; but baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person. Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized. Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this ordinance, yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it as that no person can be regenerated or saved without it, or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated.” (See Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:3-4.) Thus they affirm three false doctrines: (1) that there are three baptisms, immersion, pouring, and sprinkling (Eph. 4:4); (2) that infants can be baptized; (3) that baptism is not necessary to salvation.

Conclusion

1. Our study of church history ought to generate within us a greater appreciation for the church Jesus built.

2. These facts stand out in contrast with what we have seen develop:

a. Jesus built the church; bought it with his blood (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28).

b. Membership in the church of Christ is brought about by being saved (Acts 2:37-47).

c. The organization, worship, and work of the church are all simple, and simply set forth in the pattern – the New Testament.

d. Every member of the church is bound only by the Word of God (I Cor. 4:6; 1 Pet. 4:11). Thus, the creeds of men have no power over Christians!

3. Why don’t you obey Christ today?

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 20, pp. 616-618
October 20, 1988

By Mark Mayberry

We speak of a “short-tempered” person, but unfortunately the English language does not have a corresponding term to describe a “long-tempered” person. However, in the New Testament Greek, one who is patient is literally “long tempered.” Patience is essential to our full development as Christians. It is characteristic of one who is filled with the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). How are we to demonstrate this quality?

Toward People

First of all, it is an attitude expressed toward people. Paul said, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another with love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). We should be patient with others even though they may be unreasonable at times. We bear with them in their faults and shortcomings. Patience produces an attitude of self-restraint which does not quickly retaliate for wrongs that are suffered. “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression” (Prov. 19:11). One whose temper is set on a hair-trigger destroys peace, but the patient man will smooth over problems. From time to time, problems will inevitably arise among brethren, but patience provides us with forbearance to endure such difficulties. It cements the bond of fellowship.

Toward Events

It is an attitude expressed toward events. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptation; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (Jas. 1:24). Life inevitably has its difficulties and trials. Patience enables us to stand up under pressure, and remain steadfast regardless of fife’s circumstances. At times our situation may seem dark and hopeless, but patience doesn’t admit defeat or throw up its hands in despair. It doesn’t become discouraged or bitter. It helps us react properly to the challenges of life.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). Someone has called patience “the staying power of life.” It gives us the tenacity to see things through to the end. The wise man said, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Eccl. 7:8). Christians must strive to develop this virtue in their lives.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 20, p. 612
October 20, 1988