Truth Magazine

By Don R. Hastings

The above title was taken from the Bradenton Herald sometime ago. Under this headline were two editorials which greatly disturbed me. Like Jeremiah, I weep over the ungodliness found in our nation. We are being saturated with philosophies which produce moral decay. What does the future hold in store for our children? It is frightening to consider.

One editorial was entitled, “Teach values, not sexuality,” by James Kilpatrick. This editorial was taken from Universal Press Syndicate. I will copy part of it.

“What has become of the old values in American life today? In a mid-November report that deserves a wider reading than it has received, a White House study group looked at traditional values and found them in sorry shape.

“Somewhere along the way, in the ‘me first’ generation of the 1960’s and 1970’s, old concepts of virtue and right conduct took a beating. The study group’s primary concern was the value of family, the core unit of father and mother, caring for their children and guiding them toward constructive adulthood. . .

“Marriage bonds once were generally regarded as just that – as bonds that could not easily be broken. Then the idea of ‘no-fault divorce’ swept through the states, and ‘not surprisingly, the divorce rate skyrocketed.’ Recent years have seen one divorce for every two marriages.

“Until recently, a stigma attached to births out of wedlock. There was nothing fashionable, nothing chic, nothing to be lightly condoned in bastardy. In the past 20 years, illegitimate births, as a percentage of all births, have increased by more than 450 percent. In this period, the rate of illegitimacy has increased among whites from 1.7 to 10 percent, among non-whites from 16.8 to 48.5 percent.

“Teenage pregnancies have contributed heavily to this appalling social problem. Welfare rolls continue to expand with the progeny of children who give birth to children. These mothers, most of them dropouts from school, are ill prepared for the responsibilities of rearing a child.

“In the view of the study group, much of the ‘value-free’ sex education offered in public schools has proved useless. The distribution of contraceptives has been counterproductive.”

I tried to convince some teachers in elementary school that, if they taught explicitly the reproductive system to their students, they would be demoralizing their students. You do not get the same emotional response from a child when teaching how the digestive system works as you do in teaching how the reproductive system works.

These teachers were handed a syllabus entitled, “Planning Stages For Sex Education In The Elementary School.” In this syllabus there is this statement, “Children become de-sensitized quickly and become very comfortable discussing the subject matter in a few days.” Does this quotation frighten you? It terrifies me! I don’t want my children to become insensitive when talking about their reproductive system. I want them to have a sense of modesty. I want them to have a sense of shame deeply rooted within them, so that, they will not think, talk, act, or dress in a shameful manner!

One of the major things wrong with America is that we have become de-sensitized. We cannot blush. Jeremiah wrote, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; In the time of their punishment they shall be cast down, says the Lord” (8:12, NKJV). There is not any sexual subject that is too sensitive for discussion on television, movies, magazines, records, etc. The more sensitive the subject matter, the more people want to talk about it. When these subjects are discussed, perversion is glorified as good and godliness is condemned as evil (Isa. 5:20). Americans are so happy that sexual topics have been brought out of the closet and discussed openly. However, this candid dialogue does not warn against sinful conduct and promote righteousness. It produces the opposite effect.

The other editorial was written by Charles Krauthammer and taken from the Washington Post Syndicate. I will copy part of what he wrote.

“The latest outrage of American life: the pill goes to school. There are now 72 ‘comprehensive health clinics’ in or near the nation’s public high schools. Very comprehensive. More than a quarter dispense and more than half prescribe birth-control devices. When the New York City Board of Education found out that two of its clinics were in the dispensing business, it ordered them to cease and desist.

“Secretary of Education William Bennett has waxed eloquent on the subject. He is surely right that birth control in the schools only legitimates sexual activity and represents an ‘abdication of moral authority.’ Clinics are not only an admission by adults that they cannot control teenage sexuality, but also tacit consent, despite the ‘just say no’ rhetoric. . .

“Time to face facts. Yes, birth-control clinics are a kind of surrender. But at Little Big Hom, surrender is the only sound strategy. Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there’s not a kid in the world who can avoid it. To shut down school birth-control clinics in order to imply the contrary is a high-minded but very costly exercise in message sending. Costly because the message from the general culture will prevail anyway, and sex without contraception means babies.

“The sex battle is lost. The front-line issue is pregnancy. Some situations are too far gone to be reversed. They can only be contained. Containment here means trying at least to prevent some of the personal agony and social pathology that invariably issue from teen-age pregnancy. . . .

“I am no more pleased than that next parent to think that in ten years’ time my child’s path to math class will be adorn ed with a tasteful display of condoms in the school’s clinic window. But by then it will be old hat.”

Has the sex battle been lost? Should we agree to tell our children that it’s fine to engage in a sexual relationship, but just don’t get pregnant? I am not throwing in the towel! Christians, who surrender, have surrendered to the devil. Lift up your voice and cry out against moral pollution. I ‘Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:14). Let us proclaim to our children and the world that sexual relationships outside the marriage relationship are wrong! “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).

Tell them abortion is wrong! Homosexuality is wrong! Fornication is wrong! Watching sexually stimulating television programs and movies is wrong I Lusting after men and women is wrong! These things, and many other things of like nature, are wrong because God said they were wrong (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Gal. 5:19-21; Matt. 5:27,28; Eph. 5:5)!

Will your voice of protest be heard or will you be silent? Your standing for the right may not change society, but it will save your soul and maybe the souls of others.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 17, pp. 515-516
September 3, 1987

By Hoyt H. Houchen

Question: Explain Luke 18:7,8. In what matters will God avenge His elect on earth?

Reply: The parable of the unrighteous judge, as set forth in Luke 18:1-8, deserves a careful study. The purpose of the parable is given by Jesus at the outset – “to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint” (v. 1). “There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man” (v. 2). He was irreverent and heartless. A widow came to him to avenge her of her adversary. This godless and hardened judge was not disposed to grant the request of this importunate widow, but finally he avenged her “lest she wear me out by her continual coming” (v. 5). He did not give her justice because it was right, but because he did not want to be bothered by her. The lesson is obvious. If this judge, who was without feeling, was willing to grant the request of the widow; how much more would the righteous and compassionate judge avenge his elect (his children) who cry to him day and night? The force of the parable is the contrast between the unrighteous judge and the righteous judge.

The widow who came to the judge wanted to be avenged of her adversary. This was her opponent, one who no doubt oppressed her. Literally, the Greek word anddikos translated “adversary,” means “an opponent in a suit at law.” She was asking to be avenged or vindicated. She was wanting judgment from mistreatment.

The “elect” are those who are children of God as a result of their obedience to the gospel (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; etc.). Our question relates to those matters of which God will avenge his elect on earth. In a more general sense than an adversary in a lawsuit, our adversaries are those who persecute us “for righteousness sake” (Matt. 5:10). The matters, therefore, on which God will avenge his elect are the wrongs done them by their enemies.

When the fifth seal was opened in the book of Revelation, John wrote: “I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9,10) John saw “souls” beneath the altar – those who had given up their lives for Christ, and they are asking for vengeance. They asked, “How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” When would they be avenged?

Some of the psalms are imprecatory in nature, and are referred to as such, because the psalmist invoked vengeance upon his enemies. In the 58th psalm, verses 10 and 11, David declares: “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked; So that men shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.” Another example of an imprecatory psalm is the 59th, verses 11-13. Here David says in regard to his enemies, “Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down, O Lord our shield. For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for cursing and lying which they speak. Consume them in wrath, consume them, so they be no more: And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob.” Petitions to God for the defeat of the wicked are thus to be found in both the Old and New Testaments.

Two things should be considered. First, vengeance belongs to God, not man. This is with respect to those who wrong us personally. Capital punishment for crime is not considered here. Paul wrote: “Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). This passage, taken from Deuteronomy 32:35, teaches that we are not to take matters in our own hands. Even when crimes are committed against the State, men are not to take the law into their own hands. In Romans 13, Paul states that civil government is “a minister of God, an avenger of wrath to him that doeth evil” (v. 4). So, the punishment of the evil doer is God’s prerogative. Second, God will avenge his elect in his own time. When the wicked apparently prosper and the evil doer seems to be succeeding it is not easy to be patient; and, like the souls beneath the altar in Revelation 6:9, 10, we cry out: “How long . . . dost thou not judge and avenge. . . ?”

God said that He would avenge his elect “speedily” (Lk. 18:8). To us, and those in the Bible who asked for vengeance, it seems slow. But we need to understand that God delays his punishments because he is longsuffering and wishes to save as many as possible (2 Pet. 3:9). Also, we must remember that what seems long to us in time is short to God. It is “speedy” to him because he does not count time as man does. “But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” We can be assured that God will avenge his “elect” when he is ready. And, when it is the proper time he will move quickly.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 17, p. 517
September 3, 1987

By Frank Jamerson

Do you enjoy family reunions, or just endure them? Do you enjoy visits from your relatives? Your answer to these questions tells your attitude toward your family. Many ignore family reunions and spend little time with relatives because they have little in common with them.

One of the beautiful descriptions God has given to his people is the figure of “family.” God is the Father and obedient believers are children. W.E. Vine comments on Patria (family, or tribe), “in Eph. 3:15, R.V., ‘every family,’ for A.V., ‘the whole family,’ the reference being to all those who are spiritually related to God the Father, he being the Author of their spiritual relationship.” Every child of God shares the same Father and should share responsibilities with other children in the family.

How do you feel about your spiritual family? Do you enjoy being with them, or do you just endure it? Do you share the same mind with them? How do you feel about a brother, or sister, “dropping by” for a visit? Do you visit your family?

I realize that there are times when a person may be inconvenienced by someone “dropping by” for a visit, but I am afraid that hospitality has gotten “out of date” with many brethren. Yes, I know that “times have changed,” and people have telephones, etc., but the three angels that visited Abram did not notify him ahead of time that they were coming (Gen. 18), and the two angels that visited Lot did not write a week early (Gen. 19)! The New Testament still says, “Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2). It also says that we are to be “given to hospitality” (Rom. 12:13).

Some of my brethren have become so “stiff” that they insist on being called ahead of time, and then it is never convenient for them for you to come tonight! (I know a man who called ten families one week and every one of them had excuses why it would not be a good night for them to have “company.” He used his visitation time listening to excuses over the telephone!) This attitude indicates a self-centeredness that is contrary to the attitude that a Christian should have. If someone calls and asks about visiting you tonight, and you say “tonight would not be convenient for me,” whose convenience are you considering first? The fact that he called and asked about tonight shows that this is most convenient for him. If tomorrow night would have been better for him, he would have asked about tomorrow night! The fact is, at least in too many cases, the person had rather not be visited any night. He has little in common with the fellow member, does not know him very well and is not really interested in learning much about his family.

In addition to being obedient to God’s word (1 Pet. 4:9), hospitality has a number of practical benefits.

First, getting acquainted is associated with getting along. Have you not heard the expression: “They would have to be friends to talk to one another like that”? You can say nearly anything to a friend, but you had best be careful about what you say to a stranger. If a friend does not speak when he walks by, do you conclude that something sinister is going on in his mind? Do we “backbite” friends? Will Rogers said: “There goes a man I don’t like; I think I’ll get acquainted with him.” We usually “don’t like” those we do not know. Many church fusses are simply demonstrations of ignorance. We jump to conclusions because we do not know the facts, and we do not know the facts because we do not know the person. I might add that you can come to the meeting house with an individual for the rest of your life and never really get acquainted with him! If you want to get acquainted, get in his home, or have him in yours!

Second, it is a means of preventing apostasy. If “evil companionship corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33), what should good companionships do? In describing the early church, Luke said: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common. . . And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with singleness of heart” (Acts 2:44,46). This clearly indicates that their association was not limited to “the first day of the week.” Paul told the Corinthians to “have no company” with the fornicator among them, and “no, not to eat” with him (I Cor. 5:9-11). There are too many places where this warning is not needed todayl Brethren never “had company” nor “ate” with him before they withdrew from him! There is, therefore, no pressure put upon the man when he is disciplined. If we associated with one another like we should, many who have fallen away would have been encouraged to remain faithful and those who did fall away would feel a loss when they were no longer included in our friendly associations.

Third, it is a means of influencing those who are not Christians. People are not “converted with kindness,” but many may be lost because of a lack of it! Many churches, and even some that claim to be “of Christ,” have decided that since individuals will not practice hospitality, they will turn the church into a “hospitality house.” This is without scriptural justification, and I oppose it, but brethren it is also against Scripture for us to ignore our responsibilities toward our family, and those who are not yet children of God.

Remember that visiting, and getting acquainted, is a two-way street. You must be willing to visit, but you must also be willing to accept visitors. I do not believe that God is sending angels today, but those who obey God’s word will surely be blessed. Try it!

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 17, pp. 513, 535
September 3, 1987

By Mike Willis

The Lord gave the Great Commission to his apostles, charging them with the responsibility of taking the gospel into all the world.

Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matt. 28:18-20).

And he said unto them, Go ye into a the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believed not shall be damned (Mk. 16:15-16).

This commission charges us with the responsibility of teaching every creature of every nation the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is but one way for every man to be saved; there is not one way for a Jew to be saved, another way for an Iranian, and another for an American. The one gospel is to be taken to every creature of every nation under heaven.

How Well Are We Doing?

Having recently read some requests for support from foreign evangelists, I am concerned that churches not develop an attitude of preaching only in their backyard. There is a tendency for churches to send money only to support a preacher working with a congregation within easy driving distance in order that the elders can better judge whether or not to continue supporting him while he is doing a local work. While I am concerned about pouring money down a dry hole, I am also concerned that we not eliminate preaching on foreign soil. There are good men preaching the truth in Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Nigeria, South Africa, Japan, the Philippines, Canada, and other places. These men need and deserve our support. We need elders with enough concern for the lost in other nations that they will commit themselves to supporting gospel preachers who are willing to labor there.

Having worked with local congregations in several states, I am also concerned about how well we are taking the gospel to the home towns in which we live. Too much of our preaching is limited to the pulpit. Too few alien sinners are visiting our services. Consequently, we are baptizing very few every year. The gospel is the only power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16). Unless we can bring the sinner into contact with the gospel, we cannot teach him the way of salvation. If he will not come to the building to hear the gospel preached, we are going to have to take the gospel to him.

Home Bible studies are an effective way of taking the gospel to a person who will not come to our meetings. Most of the people whom I have baptized have resulted from a private study in their homes. All of us preachers will verify this same fact. Yet, how many Bible studies are in progress among the members of the congregation where you preach? Once you determine this figure, you may be well on the way to realizing why so few are being baptized.

What Can We Do?

1. Accept personal responsibility. I can accept my personal responsibility to take the gospel to others. Paul said that “faithful men” will “teach others” (2 Tim. 2:2). If I am going to be a faithful Christian, I must accept my obligation to teach others the gospel. Like the early Christians who were scattered abroad as a result of Jewish persecution in Jerusalem and “went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4), we who are going every where need to be preaching the word. I cannot excuse myself from this obligation saying, “That is the preacher’s job.” The preacher has his responsibility but so do I. I need to accept my responsibility to teach others.

2. Organize a Bible class. Each of us can organize a home Bible study in our neighborhood. While each of us may not be qualified to teach a Bible class, each can talk to his friends and neighbors about getting together for a Bible study. We can use our influence with our friends to encourage them to study God’s word.

3. Pray for the spread of the gospel. Each of us can pray for open doors for the gospel. We can pray for our friends who need to obey the gospel. No doubt there are Christians attending where you worship whose mates are not Christians. You can pray for these mates that they might obey the gospel.

4. You can open your home to visitors. When someone begins to visit the services, you can open your home to them in order that they might feel welcome and loved by the members of your congregation.

5. You can look for opportunities to do good to your friends and neighbors. Jesus said that our good works cause men to glorify the Father (Matt. 5:13-16). By doing good works, I open doors which enable me or someone else to teach the word.

6. You can live a life consistent with the gospel of Christ. Your life should be an example of what being a Christian means. Too many times (once is too many) the gospel is hindered by the moral character of those who profess to be Christians. You can live in such a way that the beauty of holiness is displayed in your life.

Conclusion

Sometimes we convince ourselves that nothing we do will accomplish anything. This becomes our excuse for doing nothing. I would hate to think that our reason for not reaching someone with the gospel was our unwillingness to work. I hope that we have not become so involved in the affairs of this life that we are neglecting our opportunities to teach others the gospel.

Brethren, let us renew our zeal for taking the gospel to this lost world. There are some who are still desiring to learn the word of God, although that number may be smaller than in some other periods of time. The soul we save in taking the gospel to others may be our own (read Ezek. 3:17-19).

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 17, pp. 514, 535
September 3, 1987