Truth Magazine

By Robert Jackson

I became a member of the Methodist Church at Charlotte, Tennessee, at the age of twelve. This was the result of being brought up in a Methodist family. I had been taught that one should believe in Christ and then join the church of his choice, and his choice as a rule would be the one of his parents. On June 5th, 1948, 1 obeyed the gospel of Christ, thus leaving the Methodist Church. Since that time I have often been asked, “Why did you leave the Methodist Church?” I will try to answer this question as briefly as possible in this article.

I Did Not Leave Because

First, I will state some of the reasons why I did not leave the Methodist Church:

A. I was not made to leave. There was no pressure from within the Methodist Church for me to leave.

B. I did not leave because of the people in the Methodist Church. There are some of the finest moral living people in the Methodist Church that you would ever want to know.

C. I did not leave the Methodist Church because it was not a popular church. The majority of people were Methodists in my home town.

After my discharge from the Navy in 1946, 1 had again made my home in Charlotte, Tennessee. In 1947, Grover Stevens moved to Charlotte. I was attending many of the services of the Church of Christ where he was preaching, and became very angry at some of the remarks made by brother Stevens. During this same time, brother Leonard Tyler conducted several meetings in this area which I attended and at which I was made angry. I became so mad at some of their remarks that I began to study my Bible to try to justify myself as a Methodist and at the same time to find error in their teaching, which I would have been happy to expose.

Finally, I saw that I was fighting a losing battle and I either had to obey the gospel or stay with the Methodist Church. I must say that it was a very difficult battle, knowing that I would be leaving that which I had been taught from childhood up, knowing that my personal friends would turn their backs upon me, and knowing the heartache that it would cause my mother to see her only child leave the family religion. I made up my mind to put God first and obey his will.

The results of my leaving the Methodist Church were due to the fact that error was exposed and truth was taught in a plain manner of speech and yet with love. I am deeply grateful to such preachers.

A. Name. The first impression that was made on my mind was that the Methodist Church was wrong in name. Such a name could not be found in the Bible. I was called a Methodist, but yet no one in the Bible was ever called such. I was taught that they were called Christians (1 Pet. 4:16; Acts 11:26). 1 immediately saw that I could not scripturally justify the use of the name Methodist.

B. Wesley, the founder, not Christ. It was made clear that John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist Church and not Jesus Christ. If I wanted to be a member of the church that Jesus built, then I could not be a Methodist. Such preaching stirred up my spirit to the extent that I became dissatisfied with being a member of the church that John Wesley built.

C. Faith only salvation. I had always believed that one was saved by faith only. This is exactly what the Methodist Church teaches above salvation. However, when I was told to read James 2:24, 1 was made to see in words that none could misunderstand that “faith only” was wrong. I began to read more and found out that Jesus required faith and baptism (Mk. 16:16).

D. Choice of baptism. I had always been taught in the Methodist Church that there were three ways to be baptized – (1) Sprinkling, (2) Pouring, (3) Immersion. I was led to believe by Methodist preaching that it was up to the individual to select his own choice. To become a member, I selected sprinkling. The preaching that I heard exposed this error. I was told to read Colossians 2:12 and then Ephesians 4:5. Even with a mind as weak as mine, I could see that according to God’s teaching there was but one baptism; but by Methodist teaching, there were three. I believed God.

E. Instrumental music. We had the instrument of music in the services of the Methodist Church, and were led to believe that it was only an aid in the worship. It was plainly proven to me that such was not an aid but an addition to the word of God. I then was reminded of John 4:24, that one must worship God in truth. I was told that my worship would be in vain if done by the doctrines of men (Matt. 15:9).

F. How to raise money. In the Methodist Church, we would have ice cream suppers, rummage sales, etc. to raise money for the church. The preaching that I heard by brother Stevens and others brought to my attention 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. This was God’s plan of having the church members raise its money; and the pie suppers, etc., were the ways of men.

These were a few of the things that caused me to see the way of my error. Of course, since that time I have studied and found out many other errors within the Methodist Church. I have never regretted my leaving the Methodist Church. I wish all would see their errors.

Thank God for Christ, his gospel and his church!

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 545, 568
September 17, 1987

By Webb Harris, Jr.

Whenever I find myself facing situations within the church of our Lord that are less than ideal, I find myself wishing that the 20th century church had the maturity of the 1st century church. Oh, for her zeal, her love, her demeanor! And after I dream for a while, my mind returns from its fantasies to the firm world of reality; to the truth that the church of Paul’s day indeed had its Philadelphia’s and Smyrna’s, but also its Laodicea’s and Corinth’s.

There is much to be learned from the blessed record of faithful service on the part of early saints like Peter and Paul and those who comprised congregations like that in Philippi. Inspired exhortations to perfect love and obedience motivate and move us, as well. On the other hand, there is a wealth of wisdom to be gleaned from the mistakes and failures of the first Christians, also. The Bible does not present our spiritual ancestors as without imperfection. Rather, many of their shortcomings and problems are spelled out for all time in the pages of the New Testament.

Problem People

They are not novelties, by any means, these men and women who threaten to destroy the peace, unity and growth that so many have worked so hard to affect. As has been stated, I find myself, when confronted with people who seem to want to sow discord among brethren, wishing that I lived in Century One when such people did not exist. Do not be deceived: they were there, too.

There is a fellow referred to in 2 John whose name was Diotrephes. This man had the same character flaw possessed by some today (only he lived nearly 2,000 years ago), namely: an ungodly lust for preeminence. He longed “to be first” among the brethren (NASB). Not “first” in service, mind you. Rather, “first” as in most important; in charge; king of the mountain. He would usurp Christ’s place as head if he could. He would own the congregation as his own private toy.

So badly did Diotrephes desire the preeminence that he would go to any length to get it. Read 2 John 9, 10. He rejected the authority of the apostles; he slandered such men with wicked words; he turned his back on faithful brethren; he forced others to do the same; he actually put people out of the church! The man was a renegade, a rebel and an enemy.

It is an ugly thought, I know, but the spirit of Diotrephes exists today. I would rather not think about it. I would rather not be exposed to it. Who would? The problem is this: to close our eyes to the unpleasantness of the usurper is to invite him to wreak havoc among the saints. Preachers, elders and faithful brethren in every church need to re-pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ and his authority and kingship, and stand stalwart against any who would steal his throne and scourge his saints with a whip of arrogance.

Remember Absalom

Diotrephes has a plan. It flies in the face of our naivete, but anyone who wants the preeminence that badly, has thought about how to get it. And the plan hasn’t changed from its earliest forms. It was during the days of Israel’s budding glory, long before the Word became flesh and dwelt bodily among men, that King David’s son Absalom longed for the preeminence in the kingdom. Absalom was the son of David through a Geshurite wife, Maacah. She must have been a beautiful woman, for the two children which she bore to David were very pleasant to look upon. The girl Tamar was lovely; the boy Absalom was the most handsome young man in all the realm (2 Sam. 14:25). Much of Absalom’s vanity rested in his perfection of form. His wondrous head of hair was his apparent pride and joy. However, in spite of his good looks, Absalom was not destined to own the throne. That position would belong to Solomon.

It is impossible to say for certain at what point our “Prince Charming” formulated his 3-point plan for stealing the kingdom. Perhaps it was placed on hold when he was forced to go into hiding for three years, away from the presence of his father. When his sister Tamar was raped by one of their half-brothers, Absalom rashly took vengeance through bloodshed. Afterward, he would flee and not see his father again for some five years! At that time, David received his runaway son with a kiss. The events are recorded in 2 Samuel 13 and 14. It is chapter 15 which now demands our attention.

The 3-Point Plan

Absalom’s 3-point plan for stealing the kingdom is made crystal-clear in 2 Samuel 15:1-6. Please read this brief passage. The same plan is being used by godless pretenders today to steal preeminence from our Savior!

A. Slander The Leadership. It was the custom in Israel for citizens of the kingdom to come to the gates for royal arbitration. They came expect fair judgment and resolutions for their problems. We are told in verse 2 that Absalom would rise early in the morning and stand beside the way to the gates so as to accost plaintiffs on their way to the judgment seat. What would he say to these people? He would hear their plight and respond with these sweet words: “See, your claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” You’ve got a perfect case, he would say. You deserve justice, he would croon. You’re getting the short end of the stick, he’d offer: “It’s too bad the king won’t hear your case!” His insinuation was that the king was sleeping on the job.

Was the leadership sleeping on the job? Frankly, I don’t know. It may have been that the court didn’t get started until noon. Or maybe the King had been extra-busy the last few weeks. Or maybe he was lax in his judgments. The point is that, whatever the circumstances, Absalom would have served the plight of the citizenry and the leadership by counseling with his father instead of stirring up the ire of the people, instead of going out of his way to put the leadership in a bad light.

When someone goes about the local church griping about the elders, to everyone except the elders, it often is not the elders we need to keep an eye on. Brother, do you feel like the elders are sleeping on the job? You’ll do a favor to all concerned by going first to them with your thoughts, always in a spirit of humility. It certainly is not your intention to slander them, is it? It was so with Absalom; it was just the first part of the plan.

B. Toot your own horn. After he pointed out what a horrid job the leadership was doing, Absalom would campaign for their position by “tooting his own horn.” He said in verse 4, “Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land; then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me, and I would give him justice.” How real! And how ironic. This boastful one who sought to run the affairs of the kingdom, could not even effectively run his own. Up until that time he had been living as a fugitive for a period of three years. Later on, when he actually would gain control of the kingdom for a short time, his first great accomplishment would be to shame the nation by his having sex with his father’s concubines on the palace roof-top. “If I were judge, I would be something else!” Oh, Absalom, you’re something else, all right.

Did you ever notice that so often those who would tell everyone else how to run their affairs, have the messiest affairs of all? How that those who complain loudest about the preacher, but never preach? How that those who pick apart the Bibleclass teacher, but are never willing to teach?

Friends, we qualify for the big jobs, by excelling in the little jobs (1 Tim. 3:4,5; 1 Sam. 17:32-36). Instead of slandering our leaders, we ought to be an encouragement to them. Instead of tooting our horns about how great we’d be in that position, we need to be excelling in the position we’re in.

C. Use People. The final note. In verse 5 we are informed that whenever a citizen came near to bow before Absalom, he would interrupt by reaching out and taking hold of the man and kissing him. Appreciate this fact: Absalom had no real affection for the person. He knew no true sympathy. He knew no real concern for the fellow’s welfare. But he kissed him anyway! Why? Because it got him up the ladder. Because it would win the hearts of a shallow people. Like a politician who kisses babies and afterward purges his mouth with Listerine, Absalom hugged and kissed the citizenry . . . and used them right and left. There are people in the church who will lick the bubble-gum off the bottom of your sneakers, just to win you to their usurper’s cause. We better believe it.

2 Samuel 15:6 says, “And in this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel. . . So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.” He actually ran his father right out of the kingdom.

Conclusion

I am sure that when Paul warned the Ephesian elders of savage wolves and pointed out that these would arise from their own number, he did not receive a standing ovation. It was an unpleasant proclamation, to say the least. But it was timely and true.

Sometimes such words are necessary. Brethren, the church is too precious for us to stand idly and watch it afflicted by a handful of self-indulgent, disgruntled, megalomaniacs . Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 550-55

By Irven Lee

It is amazing how many hours some parents of young children give to the world promoted by some denominational church that is tied in with the social gospel movement. There are the gatherings on Sunday and midweek, and in addition to them there is choir practice one night, all those arts and crafts for VBS, and then on Saturday night several dozen children of various ages will be by to eat one part of that continuing meal which will be supplemented at several other homes before it is over at bedtime, and those children who play in the church league must be coached, and who will take those classes to Opryland or Six Flags?

Parents may become so involved in such “church work” that they will not have time for Bible study at home or to bring their children up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Children need their parents for more things than just to play with them. The family life building or the fellowship hall may interfere much with those duties the Lord assigned. Food, fun, and frolic may take the place of that which edifies.

Some of these denominations may have some zealous members who spend much time visiting in homes to recruit new members. They make special effort to get these people to say they believe in Jesus and then join the church and attend the class parties. These new converts are not taught much before or after they are baptized. Emotionalism, fun, and much socializing may cover the whole plan. All this actually gets people satisfied outside of Christ. It makes them happy with themselves without their obeying the gospel or learning the right way of the Lord.

Repentance, honesty, acceptable worship, modesty, and complete obedience are not the same as emotionalism, excitement, and parties. The Lord loved the church and gave himself up for it. He will not accept a social club as a substitute for it. Zeal without knowledge is not enough to please God (Rom. 10:1-3).

As the social gospel becomes more exciting and more widely accepted there is less and less emphasis on clean speech and moral purity. The social drink which leads to addiction and the social dance, mixed bathing, and vulgar speech, which lead to fornication and divorce, are tolerated. Such churches do much for the “singles.” They plan retreats for them and trips to ski resorts and other vacation spots. America’s moral standards have been lowered as the fellowship hall has become more important. Each one who dies is “preached into heaven” regardless of how he behaved in life.

“One church is as good as another” has become the creed that forms the basis for unity among the denominations. Their preachers can work together in their ministerial associations. Young men who go to the seminaries are taught to believe nothing in particular. The Bible becomes “a book” rather than “the book,” and all are taught to believe that each person has a right to his own opinions, as if Christ has no authority. The one thing that all are expected to combat is the idea that the Bible gives us all things that pertain to live and godliness and that Christ has all authority in his church.

Churches which can join together in their Billy Graham type of religious campaigns, and their give-away programs at Christmas, and in their sunrise services on Easter morning may not search the Scriptures daily for the will of the Lord. Whatever they like must be acceptable to God, and whatever others like must be just as good. Will there ever be another great awakening and movement back to the Bible?

Evolution takes the place of creation in the minds of most of those who are trained in seminaries. The miracles are questioned, hell is denied, and heaven just becomes a beautiful word to use in funeral services. Separation into two groups at a final judgment is ignored. These educated infidels may preach, but they are working for what they regard as rights, better housing, government give-away programs, etc., for a better here and now rather than “pie in the sky by and by.”

There is much talk of rights of the sex perverts – gay rights, etc. – as alternate life styles that should be recognized by all. There are pressures to permit two men to marry, adopt children, and be active in church work. Sodom was destroyed by the Lord for such sins, but there may be American cities with as many sodomites as Sodom had. What is wrong today? Is there such a thing as sin? The humanists, who are very powerful in many religious movements, deny that there is any such thing as sin.

“For to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace … .. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” These statements from Romans 8 are true as are all the teachings of God. His will is for our good always. (Read Deut. 6:24; Mark 10:28-30; 1 Tim. 4:8.)

There may be few in the narrow way that leads unto life, but they all should contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). The gospel is still God’s power unto salvation. The word is sharp and active. There have been periods of ungodliness and unbelief before followed by zealous returns to righteousness. The cry of the day is for workers who are not ashamed of the gospel and the righteousness it reveals.

Denominationalism is certainly not a picture of a kingdom with law and order. It is confusion without a recognized authority. It is as sheep without a shepherd, or is it goats without a goatsherd? The Lord will not accept fun and frolic as a substitute for worship, nor will he accept zeal in the family life building as a substitute for presenting one’s body as a living sacrifice to God. We should all emphasize the duty to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. There is a time to laugh but not as a church “work.”

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 547-548
September 17, 1987

By Edward O. Bragwell, Jr.

As we look out into the world that we live in, we see many things that are not right. We are distraught over the wicked behavior that we observe around us day to day (cf. 2 Pet. 2:8). Because of this, it is easy for us to desperately seek some way to change the conditions that we observe to make this world a better place to live in and a better place in which to bring up our children. Therefore, the question that we so many times find ourselves pondering is just how can we go about accomplishing this task? I think in answering this question, however, we need to be careful about the kind of solutions we propose.

Just how does one go about making the world a better place and solving the problems that exist among its people? What kind of steps must we take? How do we change the world?

Not Through Political Reform

Many have the idea that the world’s problems can all be solved through political reform and the proper kind of government. We are told that if we just have the right kind of government, then we won’t have anything to worry about. I see many of my brethren caught up in this kind of thinking. They get all wrapped up in all kinds of political crusades that are designed to change our society into a more “God-fearing,” “moral” society. They seem to think that if you reform the government that it will solve all of the problems of evil and immorality that we see about us.

Indeed it is sad to see the condition that our government is in. But is it really the mission and responsibility of Christians to see that our government acts in a certain way? I hear people talk of the Constitution of the United States as a “God-given document.” It is believed therefore that the reason we are in so much trouble is because the country has gotten away from the principles of that document and therefore from the God fearing nation desired by the founding fathers. Is this really true? I always thought that the constitution was written by men. When I read about these men, I find that many of them did not believe in the God I believe in and that some were as immoral and corrupt as any of the politicians today. While the constitution of the United States is a wonderful document, it is not a divine decree and certainly not inspired of God. It is funny how many Christians will get all up in arms when people do not remain true to the constitution or make attacks on it, but will sit by and say little when an attack is made on the Bible, a document that is truly “God given” (2 Tim. 3:16). Now don’t get me wrong. I am proud to be an American. I know of no other country that I would rather sojourn in than these United States. I respect the constitution. I don’t know another earthly document that I would rather be governed by. However, I will not elevate it to a position that it does not deserve.

Is it the mission of Christians to make sure the government that they live under is “moral” and to do all that they can to change it if it is corrupt? Now I may be missing something somewhere, but when I read the New Testament, I read of Christians living under one of the most corrupt governments that has ever existed on this earth. However, I don’t remember ever reading where Christians were ever instructed by the apostles or any other inspired teacher what they were to do to change that situation. I don’t ever remember reading where they were instructed to band together and petition the government for this reform or that reform. I don’t remember much said about the government that they lived under except that they were to submit to it (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). If ever there was a corrupt government that needed reform, it was the Roman government. Yet I see very little said about how the early Christians were to go about reforming it.

Now I am not saying that it is wrong to do what we can to change things through whatever means are available to us, but when we get so caught up in our political crusades that we forget what our real mission is, then something is wrong. Remember, whatever political reform we might be able to instigate is only of value in this present age. It might make this world a better place to live in now, but will not matter beyond the grave. Let’s remember where our real citizenship is (Phil. 3:20). It always bothers me to see Christians spending more time and energy trying to convince those about them of the need for supporting some amendment or candidate than trying to convince them of the need for obedience to the gospel of Christ.

Not Through Social Reform

Many also think that the way to really change things in this world is through high power social programs. Therefore, many commit themselves to various social crusades. We hear much today about African relief and world hunger programs. Many devote much time to various social agencies, inner city missions, soup kitchen programs, etc. This is not only true in the secular portion of our society, but much more so in the religious portion. The social gospel has taken root in almost every denomination in this country. Churches are believed by many to be nothing more than social relief agencies. To many that should be the primary mission of all churches. It is believed that a church is not doing what it is supposed to do if it does not minister to the “whole man.”

Now, I certainly believe that we as Christians need to be doing all that we can to help relieve the hunger and sufferings of our fellow man (Gal. 6:10; Jas. 2:14-16). But if we make that our primary goal, we have missed the boat. We must be more concerned with getting something to the people of the world that they have greater need of – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if we were able to relieve all men of their hunger and suffering and failed to teach them the gospel we would have done them no lasting good. We would have just made things better for them in this present world while they wait for destruction.

Also, as Christians there is nothing wrong with our helping all who we can on an individual basis, but we need to recognize that the general relief of all the needy of the world is not the obligation of the church and it must not assume that work. If the church wishes to do so, we must be ready to produce the authority for us to engage in such work. While such authority does not exist, many try to justify such actions by saying that since Jesus fed the hungry and healed the sick, then his church certainly can do the same. It is argued that the church ought to carry out the same mission on earth that Jesus carried out while he was on earth. But think about it. What was Jesus’ mission on earth? Was it to feed the hungry? If it was, then he failed. Many still went hungry in his day. If that was his mission then he certainly would have had the power to accomplish it and hunger would have been completely eradicated while he was ministering here on earth. The same thing goes for disease. But that was not his mission when he came to the earth. His mission was to save, men from sin (Matt. 1:21; Luke 19: 10). He did accomplish this mission by making salvation available to all men (John 3:16).

Through Spiritual Reform

So the only way that we can really change the world is by changing the spiritual status of men. We might change one’s political or moral status for the better and still not save his soul. We might change one’s social or economic status for the better and still not save his soul. What real service have you done anyone, if you do not change his spiritual status? What real service have you done for the world? What real change have you made?

As we have already said, Jesus changed the world. He made real changes by making salvation available to all men. He did not bring about political or social reforms, but he brought about a significant spiritual reform in the lives of all that accepted him. Oh, some came to him at times and tried to use him as a means of political or social reform, but he refused to be so used (John 6:15; 18:36).

The apostles and early Christians changed the world (Acts 17:6). They did so by preaching the gospel and converting sinners (Acts 8:4; Rom. 1:16). They did it by carrying out the great commission (Mark 16:15,16; Matt. 28:18-20).

We, too, can really change the world in the same way. Do we spend most of our time and energy in political programs or in taking the gospel to others? Are we more concerned with getting food and other material things to the people of the world or getting the gospel to them? If all men received and followed the gospel of Jesus Christ, there would be no problem with political oppression, social unrest, world hunger, etc. We must realize that we can’t change people from the outside in, but from the inside out. Preach the gospel to the world and let it bear its fruit. That is how to really change the world.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 554-555
September 17, 1987