Truth Magazine

By Forrest D. Moyer

A daily walk with my God is one of the basic requirements of his word. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic. 6:8) This but re-echos the charge given in Deuteronomy 10:12: “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord they God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” One of the sweetest compliments to any man is what is written of Enoch: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Gen. 5:24). Nothing greater could be said of you than this.

But is all of this just so much rhetoric? Are we just saying pious words? No, for walking with God must be a positive reality in our lives. It involves our thinking, our acting, and our speaking. But before we can think, act and speak in the proper sense of this matter, there are some basic prerequisites. We want to look behind the scenes of the daily walk with God to see how and why it is done.

Faith

Beneath all of our daily actions there must be an indomitable faith in God. Unless we totally believe that there is a God and that he is the God revealed in the Word, there will be no incentive to “walk with him.” “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Paul based his whole life on the conviction that “I believe God” (Acts 27:25). So must we. It seems evident that the reason so many do not walk with God is because of their lack of faith. Church members sometimes evince little faith in God by the way they live. Faith in God is the basic foundation for our walking with him.

Faith In His Grace

Unless we are committed to the principle of his saving grace, we cannot really walk with him. Just as a newborn baby cannot walk on its own physical power, neither can we walk spiritually on our own power. We cannot provide the means of our salvation for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23-24). There are no “works of righteousness” that I can perform that will merit for me a right-standing with my God (Tit. 3:5). But because God is “rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,” and because of the “surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus,” he saved us and “made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-7). Praise him for his amazing grace that saved a wretch like me! For me to walk with God, I must have faith in his saving grace. Too many Christians are struggling futilely with the weight of their daily sins hanging, like the dead albatross, about their necks.

You see, it is “by faith” that we have access “into this grace in which we stand” (Rom. 5:2). Knowing that we “stand” in his grace gives to us that powerful motivation to walk with him. John shows that as “we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). Without that cleansing blood constantly there, I could never walk with my God. Our lives are too much controlled by fleshly impulses and too spiritually immature for us to make it on our own. We must have his grace which provides Jesus’ blood in order to walk with him. But please observe that the blood is available upon our meeting certain conditions. We originally apply that saving blood when our faith leads us through repentance into the waters of baptism where our sins are washed away by his blood (Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3-6). As we continue to walk in the light, we will confess our sins to the Lord and that blood will continue to be applied in his cleansing us from all unrighteousness (I Jn. 1:9). The blood of his grace is not unconditionally applied to our lives.

When we have the solid conviction that there is a God of love and grace who provided his own Son so that we could be pardoned of every spiritual crime of the past and so that we can daily be forgiven of our faltering and stumbling ways, we have the renewed power to grasp his leading hand and take our every footstep under his control. Only in this way can our walk with him be a joyous one. If I live in the constant fear that “I may not have done enough to go to Heaven” or “I’m just not good enough,” my life will be miserable. I know too many church-members who have been whipped with the scourge of “perfect works” as the only way to please him. They are down-trodden by the weight of a “works” salvation. Oh, how we need to have full faith in the powerful grace of our God.

Walking In Good Works

Surely, we understand that our salvation by his grace does not mean a lack of effort or a lack of action on our part. Having shown that we are saved by grace through faith in Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul then said, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (v. 10). Notice, (1) We are “his” workmanship – not our own. (2) We are “created” in Christ Jesus for good works. (3) These “good works” have been prepared by God – not works of human invention. (4) We must “walk in them.” We do this by allowing God’s word to direct us in all our ways. When we turn loose of his word, our difficulties begin. This is why we need to live with the Word as a vital part of our daily lives. Coupled with our daily prayer, we can “walk in them” daily. No, good friend, being saved by his grace does not eliminate our walking in the way that God has ordained. Being saved by grace gives to us the motivation to walk with him in joyous anticipation of being with him eternally.

Are you walking with God? Are you enjoying your daily walk with him? If you are thinking only in terms of your human works of righteousness, you will think of praise of yourself rather than of God! Why not begin that happy walk with your God right now? What a joy it is to know that you are holding on to his unchanging hand!

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 552-553
September 17, 1987

By Mike Willis

One of the dangers of modem life is rearing children to be lazy. Living in the suburbs, there are no cows to milk, wood to chop, and gardens to hoe; dishes are done by a dishwasher, clothes are washed by a washer and dried by a drier. Consequently, many young people are reared without good work habits. They are taught to waste their time watching TV, listening to records, and going to recreational outings. Anytime some are told to do something, a howl of protest is registered.

Many who have been reared without good work habits have become adults with no ambition, willing to live on welfare. Others hold jobs but have an attitude of “the company owes me a living.” Corporate production is low and the cost of goods increases. Some national woes could be cured by good work habits.

Laziness Is A Sin

God condemns laziness as a sin (cf. Matt. 25:25). The book of Proverbs uses approximately thirty-three verses to condemn laziness. Apparently, God saw laziness as a danger facing young people.

Things Which Keep People From Working

There are many reasons people will not work. The book of Proverbs calls our attention to these:

1. Too much sleep. “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man” (Prov. 6:9-11). “As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed” (Prov. 26:14; cf. 19:15; 20:13). Some young people are allowed to sleep late in the morning, drag themselves to the TV, and lay around all day long. When night comes, they are ready to party.

2. Too much talking. The wise man called attention to the tendency of wasting one’s time talking when he wrote, “In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury” (Prov. 14:23). When some are left with a job to do, they do not get the job done because they have wasted their time talking, whether on the phone or person to person.

3. No motivation. Some have no motivation to work; they have no ambition (cf. Prov. 19:24; 26:15). Why should some be motivated? Their parents buy them any and everything they want. They have never learned to earn anything. Hence, they learn to wait for someone to hand it to them on a silver platter.

4. Procrastination. “Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow” is the motto of lazy people.

The Traits of A Lazy Person

1. He is full of excuses. “The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason” (Prov. 26:16). For every reason that you can give him to do a job, he can give you two for not doing it. He may say, “It is too cold (or hot) to work” (cf. Prov. 20:4), although everyone else is working in the same weather. He will decline working for fear of being hurt (cf. Prov. 22:13; 26:13), although the chances of him being injured are remote.

2. He wastes what he has. “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious” (Prov. 12:27). The lazy man will not even take care of what he has. His laziness will allow even what he has to deteriorate. “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down” (Prov. 24:30-31). “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster” (Prov. 18:9).

The Natural Fruits Of Laziness

1. Laziness brings poverty (Prov. 6:11; 24:33-34). “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Prov. 10:4-5). “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing” (Prov. 13:4; cf. 19:15; 20:4; 23:21).

2. Laziness puts one under tribute. “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute” (Prov.12:24). Those who work hard prosper and move into positions of authority; those who are lazy become poor and move into positions of subordination.

3. Laziness leads to unfulfilled desires. “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not” (Prov. 21:24-25). Just because a man is lazy and poor does not mean that he doesn’t want anything; it simply means that he cannot buy what he wants. Consequently, he is dissatisfied because of his unfulfilled desires. Uncle Remus said, “Lazy folks’ stummocks don’t git tired.”

The Consequences of Laziness

1. Shame. “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Prov. 10:5). Who can be proud of a lazy son?

2. Obnoxious to others. “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him” (Prov. 10:26). A man who hires an employee who is lazy will find him to be obnoxious and soon will fire him.

3. Gossip. Those who have nothing to do tend to waste their time talking about things they shouldn’t (1 Tim. 5:13).

The Virtues Of Diligence

In contrast to being lazy, the wise man instructed men to be diligent in their work. Here are some of the things said about the diligent worker:

1. His is self-disciplined. “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8). The ant works without a boss watching his every move. So does a diligent man.

2. His desires motivate him. “He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him” (Prov. 16:26). He sees something that he wants, so he works in order to obtain it.

3. He comes to prosperity (Prov. 10:4). The natural fruit of hard work is prosperity. The worker who produces is generally paid more, given more raises, and advanced in position more often than the lazy worker.

4. Has good mental health.

“Work brings its own relief;

He who most idle is

Has most of grief”

(Ironquill, Today, via Familiar Quotations, John Bartlett, editor, p. 791a).

“An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.”

Conclusion

Rather than looking at work as if it were a curse from God, we need to understand that it was a part of God’s original plan and will for man (cf. Gen. 2:15 – man was to dress and keep the garden of Eden prior to the curse which sin brought). We are privileged to have a job, to be able to earn a living, and to do something productive.

One of the methods of punishing the criminal is to put him in a prison where he has nothing to do day after day. This is punishment, not a bed of ease. To be able to work is a blessing which God has given to us. We should consider ourselves fortunate that we are not physically or mentally disabled to the point that we cannot have a job.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 546, 567
September 17, 1987

By Ronny Milliner

The Rivermont church of Christ recently decided to mail out an advertisement for our Bible correspondence course. Our aim was to encourage individuals to study their Bibles and hopefully render obedience to it. Some of the readers of this publication might be interested in some of the things we observed from this effort.

A Good Financial Deal

There were several ways we could have advertised the course, but I think we found a very good deal from a financial standpoint with the Val-Pak organization. They agreed to design, print, and mail the advertisement for four cents each. it would have been less if we had mailed out a larger number. To receive this low price we had to agree to a minimum of 10,000 mailing. Thus, our advertisement went into 10,000 homes for only $400.

Val-Pak is a national company and thus probably operates in your area. They mail a packet of coupons in one mailing for local companies, thus allowing those companies to share the cost of the postage. As one of our “heftier” members said, he always looks at those coupons to see what discount he can get at the local restaurants.

Designing The Coupon

Upon contacting the national headquarters the local representative informed us that the company had some guidelines for religious organizations. For example, we could not use the words “God,” “Jesus,” or “Christ” in the ad. This restriction ruled out our use of the name of the church in the ad. The reason they gave for this restriction was that any time they used these words they got “hate mail.” However, we felt we could live with these limits, and as you can see from the enclosed sample, it really did not take away from the ad.

We chose to add the coupon for the free cassette tape to encourage a prompt return of the coupon and to encourage further study after the course was completed.

Seeking The Lord’s Favor

Paul wrote in, Colossians 4:3, “meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains.” The church was encouraged to pray for, this effort that God would “open to us a door for the word.” I fear that we sometimes jump into things without ever seeking God’s help. How can we succeed if he is not working with us? After all, is such an effort not done except for his glory. We dare not leave the Lord out of our plans.

The Better Response

Our coverage was very broad, covering a wide make-up of people from a financial, social, and racial standpoint. I found it interesting that the responses from the poorer areas were three times greater than the mote affluent areas. Paul affirmed, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Cor. 1:26). 1 wonder sometimes if we rule out as prospects the very class of people that really are more open to the gospel. Have we given up on the inner cities? Are the only worthy prospects of the gospel white, upper-middle class Americans? Shame on us if this is our attitude.

Pessimistic Brethren

In spite of the fact that we now have people studying with us now that were not before we sent out the ads, plus the requests that are continuing to come in, we have some brethren among us with some pessimistic attitudes. One said we “wasted our money.” Another said, “It didn’t do any good.” And the attitude of yet another was that we just did it “for the preacher.” If we did it just “for the preacher” a “waste of money.”

But I would hate to tell these people who are studying the Scriptures that it was a “waste of our money.” I would hate to tell the student who wrote several good questions in addition to the course that asking and receiving an answer to those questions “didn’t do any good.” I would hate to tell the working mother who called saying how hard it was for her to study the Bible and had a concern for the spiritual development of her children that this effort was done just to please the preacher.

No wonder the church fails to grow in many areas when such attitudes are prominent. Instead of such pessimism, we should be on our knees thanking God for the responses we have and asking His use of us to bring these individuals to a knowledge of the truth.

Conclusion

Brethren, let’s sound forth the word of the Lord (1 Thess. 1:8). Let’s pray to God for guidance, blessing, and wisdom in our efforts. Let’s plant and water the seed and let God give the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 18, pp. 549, 568
September 17, 1987

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