Truth Magazine

By Sewell Hall

David’s instruction to Joab (2 Samuel 18:5) to deal gently with an opposing military leader seems strange. This was not the way he dealt with Goliath; or with the cities of the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites (1 Samuel 27:8-9); or with the kings and generals of the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Syrians (2 Samuel 8-10). Indeed, Christians sometime find difficulty explaining some of the imprecatory Psalms of David, such as Psalm 109 in which he prays concerning an enemy that his days may be few, his wife a widow, his children fatherless beggars, and his property seized by creditors with none to extend mercy.

Why, then, the appeal for gentleness? The answer lies in the identity of the enemy. The young man was Absalom, David’s son. And when word came that Absalom had been slain, “the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, 0 my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my son, my son” (2 Samuel 18:33).

What a difference it makes when a young man is “my son!” I can understand David’s appeal for gentleness. I have a son -one of the rich blessings of God. As he encounters “perils of the city” preaching the gospel to the Spanish-speaking people of New York, I often am reminded of Solomon’s words: “A wise son maketh a glad father” (Proverbs 10:1).

Suppose that on one of those all-too-rare occasions when I hear him preach in English, I hear some teaching which I consider to be error. What would you expect of me? Can you believe that I would go to other preachers reporting his error before I spoke to him? Would you expect me to accuse him of accepting all of the false doctrines that may have been associated with his erroneous position in the past, or all of the logical consequences that I might draw from what he has said? Would I immediately conclude that “he is one of them rather than one of us, ” challenge him to a public debate or rush into print to warn the brotherhood? You would question my love for him if I did so.

Love, of course, would demand that I discuss with my son any apparent error in his teaching. I would be concerned, however, about how I approached him. I would first determine if he actually believed what he said; if not, that would end the matter. But if so, I might then point out some of the consequences of his teaching and suggest that he restudy the matter, considering any additional Scriptures I might offer. I would not press him for an immediate defense so as to avoid having him commit himself too quickly to his teaching; I would rather propose that we both study it further and discuss it at a later time.

If Paul wrote to a young preacher suggesting that he “rebuke not an older man, but exhort him as a father” (1 Timothy 5:1), is it not in order that older preachers should deal with all younger preachers and younger Christians as they would with their own sons? Some young men who start on a course of error cannot be saved regardless of approach, but it is possible for us to be so eager to “save the brotherhood” that we sacrifice some young men who could be rescued by the kind of gentle dealing practiced by Aquila and Priscilla who, hearing Apollos teach error, “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26).

Remember young John Mark. Paul may have been right in believing that the journey which he and Barnabas planned would be jeopardized by a young man who had shown some instability in the past (Acts 15:36-41). But that young man needed a friend and aren’t we glad that Barnabas was there to deal gently with him? Otherwise, we might not have that useful little book that bears his name and reveals so much about Jesus.

The fact is that gentleness is appropriate in dealing with anyone who is in error, whether young or old. “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

Let me make an appeal for all young preachers, but especially for one who goes by the name of Gardner Hall. If some godly “soldier of the cross” hears him preach something that is erroneous, I have two requests. First, take him aside and explain to him the way of God more accurately. Second, please “deal gently for my sake with the young man” – he is my son. (Reprinted from Christianity Magazine [Oct. 19871, p. 293).

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 4, p. 112
February 18, 1988

By Andy Alexander

When talking about religion people frequently use the phrase “I feel” or “I think” when attempting to justify any particular practice. Modern denominations (Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Mormon, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, etc.) are built upon what they think God will allow. No longer do these denominations consider the Bible when making decisions concerning their human churches. The practice of going beyond the Word of God is not new. In the Old Testament Moses warned the people of Israel,

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded you (Deut. 4:2).

The Israelites were not content to obey only God’s word. They continually disobeyed God’s teaching and ignored his warnings, so he caused them to go into Babylonian captivity (2 Kgs. 25:1-12; Jer. 7:29-34). These lessons recorded in the Old Testament should help us realize that God means what he says. The Israelites felt like worshiping idols was alright and it seemed good to them, but it was an abomination in the sight of God and they were punished for their sin.

Denominations “add to” and “take from” God’s written word and when questioned about the addition or subtraction they answer with the lame excuse, “God didn’t say not to.” God has informed us in his written word what he expects of us and what we can expect if we choose to disobey.

Disobedience of God’s word comes in two forms. Doing less than God has instructed us to do and adding to what he has commanded are both sins and will be dealt with on the day of Judgment. Sprinkling for baptism, worship of Mary, women preachers, wearing of religious titles, sports activities, and entertainment in the work of the church are examples of additions to God’s word. All of these substitutions to God’s word seem good and feet good to those who are participating in them, but they are condemned by God (Gal. 1:6-9; Rev. 22:18-19). Paul, before he was converted, felt good about persecuting Christians (Acts 23: 1; 1 Tim. 1:12-13). It seemed like a good thing for Uzzah to touch the Ark of God in order to keep it from falling, but God struck him dead (2 Sam. 6:6-7). The Bible contains many examples of God’s attitude toward those who disobeyed his word. It brings dishonor to God when we disobey his commands (Lev. 10:1-3).

God is honored when we worship him in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:24). The only way we can do this is to have book, chapter, and verse for everything we do in all our religious services. The name we wear is important because it tells others who we belong to. Those who wear the name Baptist are following a particular doctrine of Christ and not Christ himself, or at least that is what the name implies. Those who wear the name Pentecostal are following a particular event and not Christ and his teaching. Others such as Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, and Presbyterian are wearing names of earthly origin and no book, chapter and verse can be found for this practice.

When you purchase a new car, the car belongs to you and the title is made out in your name. Why not put your neighbor’s name on the title? You say, “Because it belongs to me, it’s mine.” And right you are. Christ purchased the church with his own blood, it belongs to him, and it will wear his name (Acts 20:28; 4:12). Why not name it the Church of Alexander? Because, I did not purchase the church. It does not belong to me. Then why call it Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.? Where is the book, chapter, and verse giving the authority for us to change the name of the church? There is book, chapter, and verse condemning such action. Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. In this passage Paul is condemning religious division, the very thing denominations promote.

The church of Christ of which I read in the Bible and of which I am a member, is not a denomination. We have no earthly headquarters, no creed book written by men, and strive to follow God’s written word in everything we do. Book, chapter, and verse will separate us from the denominations of men, but this is a necessity if we are going to be pleasing and obedient to God. You can be a member of that same Bible church today, but you will have to forsake and be separated from all forms of denominationalism in order to do so.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 4, p. 110
February 18, 1988

By Don R. Hastings

We are going to look into the hearts of two worshippers. We shall try to see them as God does. We know that God judges the thoughts and intents of our hearts (1 Sam. 16:7; Heb. 4:13; Lk. 16:15). Therefore, for our worship to be acceptable to God, our hearts must be right with him. God wants true worshipers and these are the ones who worship him “in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23,24).

Nathaniel has been a member of the Lord’s church for several years. Occasionally, he will lead in prayer or help serve the Lord’s supper. On a typical Lord’s day morning, after much admonishment by his wife to be dressed on time, he arrives at services just as the song leader has called out the number for the first song.

He sits in Bible class and has not filled out his Bible lesson. He rarely makes a comment in class. He longs to catch up on his sleep since he got to bed late last night. He closes his eyes, but is unable to sleep due to the uncomfortable bench and his wife’s poking him in the ribs. This causes the sour mood to intensify. He is hoping the Bible class teacher will stop on time.

When the worship service begins, he notes that the announcements were four minutes and 25 seconds long. He wonders why announcements even need to be made. The song leader has picked out a song with five verses and leads all five verses too slowly. He thinks the song leader is trying to show off his voice. The one, who is in charge at the Lord’s table, tells what the Lord’s painful sacrifice and resurrection means to him. Then, he reads some appropriate verses of Scripture. All of this takes five minutes. This really upsets him. Nathaniel thinks to himself, “Why does he need more than two minutes to say that the Lord’s supper is symbolic of the Lord’s death and call on brother ‘so and so’ to lead us in prayer?”

Now that long-winded preacher begins a message from God’s word. Instead of preaching a 25 minute sermon so the worship service will be over within an hour, the preacher takes forty to forty-five minutes. He thinks, “Any good preacher could ‘boil’ his sermon down.” To help make the long minutes pass a little faster, he gets up to go to the bathroom about ten minutes into the sermon. He crawls over a few people and marches up the aisle. After ten minutes, he comes back. Then, five minutes before the close of the service, he decides to go get a drink of water. So, he disturbs the worship of others again.

Nathaniel caught himself just before he said out-loud, “Oh, No!” Someone went forward to be baptized into Christ. He knows that this will add ten more minutes Finally, the closing prayer is led. The one leading the worshipers in prayer takes four minutes to thank God for the precious soul that was cleansed of sin. He prays that God’s daughter will remain faithful to him.

As Nathaniel quickly leaves the building, he tells the one leading the closing prayer, “Don’t be so wordy!” He feels a lot of resentment over the services going twenty-five minutes past the hour. He tells his wife, “I didn’t get anything out of the worship!” She reproves him for the discouraging remark made to the one who led the closing prayer. He replies, “Anyone, who will make me stand for four minutes, needs to have his feelings hurt!”

Sister Phoebe is getting “up in years.” She is happy today because today she will assemble with her brothers and sisters in the Lord to praise her Redeemer. She drives to the building with a prayer in her heart that the Lord will help her to get there safely and that her worship will be acceptable to him. With a smile on her face, she greets her brethren and visitors. She is there in plenty of time.

After the Bible class, she tells the teacher that some of the spiritual truths brought out in class are particularly helpful to her. She listens to the announcements carefully for she wants to call or send cards to those not present. She cares about the welfare of each not there. She opens her song books and makes “melody” with her heart to the Lord. Her voice is breaking with age, but her heart-strings vibrate with more vigor.

The words, by the one in charge of the Lord’s table, bring tears to her eyes. As she partakes of the emblems, she feels so deeply her love for the Lord grow stronger. She is determined to keep herself pure and bring glory to his name!

She doesn’t take her eyes off the preacher. Hearing again, about God’s great love for mankind in sending his beloved Son to die on the cross that all might be made pure by his blood, thrills her soul. Time passes so quickly that it is difficult for her to believe that the lesson is over when the preacher concludes by calling upon sinners to turn from their sins to God.

Oh, how her heart rejoices when one comes forward to confess her faith in Christ! Watching one being buried with her Lord in baptism and raised to walk after the example of Christ, brings back precious memories of her own conversion. She hugs so fervently her new sister in Christ and tells her that she wants to help her be a faithful Christian. She looks forward to showing hospitality and having her into her home.

She listens carefully to the closing prayer and quietly says, “Amen!” she takes time to find and commend the song leader, the one presiding at the Lord’s table, and particularly appreciates the beautifully expressed thoughts of the one leading the closing prayer. She tells the preacher that is seemed as though he had just gotten up to preach when he was finishing the sermon. She appreciated the fact that the sermon exalted Jehovah for it was based on his holy word.

On her way home, she is so spiritually alive that she sings for joy. She takes comfort from knowing that God cares for her and in only six hours she can assemble to worship her Creator again.

Which worshiper best describes your worship? Which worshiper offers worship pleasing to God?

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 4, pp. 108-109
February 18, 1988

By Johnie Edwards

One reason Gideon and his army were successful in defeating the Midianites was: “And they stood every man in his place round about the camp” (Judg. 7:21). If we are to be pleasing in the sight of God and if the work of the Lord is to be successful, it will be necessary for every person to find his place, get in it, stay in it and be satisfied with it. In this series, let’s take a look at some and their place.

The Place of the Preacher

If the work of the local church is to be successful, the preacher must know his place, get in it and stay in it! Sometimes the preacher gets out of place. Let’s take a look to see that the preacher is out of place when:

(1) He is a reverend. Many preachers are not satisfied just to be called by their name but want to be held up as “a reverend.” The word “reverend” is only found one time in the entire Bible and then it refers to God and not man. The Psalmist said, “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name” (Psa. 111:9). You will never read of any of he apostles of Christ ever being called reverend, they were just called Peter, James and John! No one of the apostles was any greater than the other. In a discussion of who’s the greatest, the Lord said, “But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve” (Lk. 22:26). In fact Jesus said concerning those who “love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi, But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren, and call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matt. 23:6-9). There are some preachers in the church of Christ who like to be honored a little more than the rest of us by using the word Doctor in front of their name. We all need to learn the words of Job, “Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away” (Job 32:21-22).

(2) He becomes a professional praying man. It is not the place of the preacher to be a professional praying man. Often folks think they cannot pray themselves, but have to call in a professional to do the praying. Most preachers that I know are always willing to offer a prayer for the sick and those who need attention along this line, but we must be taught that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas. 5:16).

(3) He is a social butterfly. There are some who would make nothing more of a preacher than to function at all the social events of a community. There certainly is nothing wrong with a preacher being involved in a community socially, but we must not be so demanding of his time that he does not have time to study and do the work of an evangelist.

(4) As a pastor. Unless appointed as an elder, the preacher is not a pastor. Elders are the pastors in the church. A preacher is out of place when he tries to run and oversee the church. The elders have been charged with this (Acts 20:28).

Now let’s take a look at the place of the preacher.

1. To preach the gospel. The main and foremost work of the preacher is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul charged Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). As a preacher preaches, he must preach in such a way that folks can understand the preaching. The preaching of men of God in the New Testament was plain, simple preaching. When they finished their sermons, no one ever asked them to run that by him again. They may not have always obeyed the preached word, but it was not because they did not understand it!

2. He must do other work as a Christian. The preacher has responsibilities as does every other Christian. He does not have these responsibilities because he is a preacher but because he is a Christian!

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 4, p. 109
February 19, 1988