Truth Magazine

By Ron Halbrook

True faith in God moves and acts upon the basis of love for God. True faith in God comes by hearing his Word, not by hearing the theories and philosophies of men (Rom. 10:17; Col. 2:8). A professed faith which refuses to obey God is not genuine faith – it cannot save – it is dead (Jas. 2:17-26). Obedient faith is the genuine expression and natural result of love for the Lord. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. . . Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (Jn. 14:15; 15:14).

Christ commissioned his Apostles to preach the gospel, including baptism, so that sinners might be saved by his precious blood (Matt. 26:28; Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38). If we truly believe the gospel and love the Savior,- we must be baptized, but what is this true baptism which is taught in the Bible? Are we to be baptized in rose petals, sawdust, sand, or water? Faith which acts by love will accept what the Bible says without changing it. What is the action of true Bible baptism – immersion, sprinkling, or pouring? The following chart shows that only one action performed in one element can match the full Bible description and definition of baptism.

Bible Baptism:	Immersion?	Sprinkling?	Pouring?
Requires water (Acts 8:36)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Much water (Jn. 3:23)	Yes	No	No
Going unto the water (Acts 8:36)	Yes	No	No
Going down into the water (8:38)	Yes	No	No
Both the baptizer & the one to be baptized to go down into the water (8:38-39)	Yes	No	No
A burial (Rom. 6:4)	Yes	No	No
A resurrection (Col. 2:12)	Yes	No	No
Born of water (Jn. 3:5)	Yes	No	No
Body washed with water (Heb. 10:22)	Yes	No	No
Coming up out of water (Acts 8:39)	Yes	No	No

Do we believe and love God enough to do exactly what he commanded without changing it? God no more accepts sprinkling or pouring as the action of baptism than he accepts sawdust or sand as the element. We are ready to assist you if you never have been truly baptized for the remission of your sins.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 15, p. 463
August 6, 1987

By Irvin Himmel

It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory (Prov. 25:27).

Honey

A highly nutritious food, honey was often found in ancient times in trees, in holes in the ground, in crevices between rocks, and other places where wild bees might choose to build combs. Samson once slew a young lion, later to return and find bees and honey in the carcase. The honey in the carcase of the lion became the subject of a riddle: “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness” (Judg. 14:5-18).

Jonathan once found wild honey in a forest and his eyes brightened when he ate some of it (1 Sam. 14:25-30). Honey was among the food items brought to David and his men at Mahanaim in the days of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Sam. 17:27-29). Wild honey was a basic part of the diet of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:4).

But because honey is so rich and sweet, it cannot be eaten in large amounts. While it is recommended for food in Proverbs 24:13, there is a warning about eating too much of it in Proverbs 25:16. “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.”

Some good things can be bad if indulged in to excess. Happy is the person who avoids overdoing. Just as too much honey can be nauseous, many things can be carried to harmful extremes. Know when to stop.

Just as it is not good to eat much honey, there is no glory in one’s searching out his own glory. The Amplified Bible gives Proverbs 25:27 as follows: “It is not good to eat much honey, so for men to seek glory, their own glory, causes suffering and is not glory.”

(1) Some people fish for praise. Sometimes the real object in one’s bragging on another is to solicit a return compliment. He baits the conversational hook with praise, hoping to catch compliments for the feeding of his ego. Sometimes one belittles himself to invite contradiction. He would be furious if someone else said about him what he says about himself. He fully expects to be corrected and told how wonderful he really is!

(2) Some engage in self-centered conversation. They seem to enjoy singing their own praises. But even if one is not praising himself, the habit of talking mainly about one’s own self can become offensive to others and appear as egotism.

(3) Preachers are sometimes glory-seekers. And I do not refer now to eternal glory! The example of Paul commends itself to every gospel preacher. “Nor of men sought we glory,” said the apostle (1 Thess. 2:6). Preachers seeking the praise of men are a sorry lot. “When Christ is to be exalted, the preacher must be willing to be unnoticed” (G. Barlow).

(4) Some allow the love of human glory to keep them from believing on Jesus. The Lord said to unbelieving Jews on one occasion: “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?” (John 5:43,44) As Adam Clarke sums it up, “The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees was their pride, vanity, and self-love. They lived on each other’s praise… This is the ruin of millions. They would be religious, if religion and worldly honor were connected.”

(5) Some allow the love of praise to keep them from confessing Christ. “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42, 43). The Pharisees knew what they were doing when they made it a rule that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Messiah would be excommunicated. Some of the chief rulers believed on him, but they dared not confess him. They did not wish to be kicked out of the synagogue because they were more concerned about the praise of men than the praise of God. What a tragedy!

The person who seeks his own glory is little deserving of honor. Self-praise stinks!

Self-praise is a poor recommendation. The individual who blows his own trumpet and seeks glory for himself is obnoxious. His attitude is the opposite of the spirit of humility taught by the Master.

There is no glory in one’s seeking his own glory, that is, one is not to be praised for seeking honor from others. True honor from the Lord comes to the lowly in spirit. “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matt. 23:12).

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 15, p. 456
August 6, 1987

By Robert F. Turner

When someone’s sinful conduct rebounded upon him, my dad would sometimes say, “He is stewing in his own juice.” Dad meant he was reaping what he had sown. This is a Bible concept, in both the good and bad sense. We do not really 46get away” with anything. Our deeds and thoughts are “naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). Since we are in God’s world, where the very character of God is manifested in his creation; and since we will be eventually judged by our Creator; we should know that our well-being, now and in eternity, depends upon our living according to his rules. Three times in the first chapter of the Roman letter Paul indicates “God gave up” the pagan world to the consequences of their own conduct. He allowed them to “stew in their own juice.” There is a practical principle here for all of us: we carry in ourselves the seed of harvest, both temporal and eternal.

We are often self-deceived: thinking possessions can make us happy; our cunningness can reap the benefits of true wisdom; the snares we set for others can give us freedom. This is to proceed without reckoning with God and his principles of righteousness. Greed only heaps up treasures that “moth and rust corrupt.” The cunning are caught by others more cunning, and are usually overcome by the strength of honorable wisdom. The book of Proverbs is literally filled with such admonitions. “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city . . . ” but the destruction of the poor (by which he gain ed his wealth) eventually becomes his poverty (Prov. 10:15). “The integrity of the upright shall guide them; but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them” (11:3). If evil-doers seem to prosper (as indeed they do) remember the advice of the Psalmist: “Fret not thyself. “Evil-doers shall be cut off” (Psa. 37:7-11).

The prophet Habakkuk affords an excellent example of the principle we are discussing. Habakkuk recognized the sins of his people and cried out to God to do something about them. God revealed he was sending the Chaldeans to overrun and punish Judah for her sins. Habakkuk objected, “Holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he?” (1:13) He was told “the righteous shall live by his faith” (f.n. “in his faithfulness,” 2:4). God has not forgotten his own.

But that is not all. The wicked Chaldeans, used by God to punish Judah, were still accountable for their deeds. The wine (of greed and pride) is treacherous. The very nations they had conquered would “take up a parable . . . a taunting proverb” against them (2:5f). There follows five “woes” promising them the fruit of their own wickedness. Habakkuk learned the true meaning of faith. He waited patiently for the punishment due Judah’s wickedness, and said, “Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:16f). He was now attuned to God’s judgments.

Reaping what we sow is also applicable in far less dramatic cases. Some girls use extreme makeup and tight clothing to throw themselves at the boys. They get a cheap date, cheap popularity, and eventually a cheap husband who likely holds marriage as a “cheap” arrangement. Later the divorced mother with children to support “stews in her own juice,” and just can’t figure out why it happened. I remember talking with a divorcee who told me each of her three husbands were alcoholics. I asked, “Where do you get. your husbands?” and was told she met them where she worked – in a bar. I do not say all divorces have such obvious cause-effect relations, but the general principle remains true: we sow the seed of our own harvest. The boy who is lazy, changes jobs-often, does sloppy work, and is a “clock watcher, ” finds it hard to understand why he finally runs out of jobs. The world does not treat him fairly; or does it?

Preachers try to “win debates” with trickery, character assassination, or unfair use of papers or pulpit – and are shunned or held at arms length by many brethren. Of course they can always say those brethren can not take “sound” teaching, but I wonder if they never take a look deep inside themselves. It is equally true that those who compromise truth and repeatedly excuse ungodly conduct may finally find themselves in the “liberal” camp. How did they get there? The “seed” produced their fruit. They may not feel the “stewing” now, but ultimate consequences are inevitable.

Retribution and judgment lie woven into the nature of creation, and are an integral part of God’s revealed will. We “program” our own destinies far more than we may realize, and we should not have to wait for the unchangeable final judgment to do something about it. Instead of blaming fate or “others” for our plight, we should take a hard look at our past, the seed of our present. In our yesterdays we were mixing the ingredients of today. We are storing up our eternal future by present lifestyles and response to God. That is one reason it is so hard to truly repent, to turn about, to “kill the old man.” But God’s goodness can have a great influence if we but give it consideration (Rom. 2:4f). We still have life, and with Christ that means hope. It is up to each of us to trust him, and begin sowing the seeds of an eternal inheritance.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 15, p. 455
August 6, 1987

By Larry Ray Hafley

All that we know of Epaphras is contained in the,Scriptures which follow: “There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus” (Phile. 23). “As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit” (Col. 1:7,8). “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis” (Col. 4:12,13).

There is not much to sift through, but what is revealed speaks well of Epaphras.

(1) He was a man of prayer. In our struggles and stresses, as we strive to face the strains of life, we often neglect to pray. Epaphras saw the “order and the steadfastness of (the Colossians) faith in Christ” (for it was he who told Paul of their love in the Spirit), yet, he labored fervently in prayer on their behalf. How many churches and brethren have gone astray because we have failed to pray as we ought?

It takes time and energy to pray with purpose, to labor fervently in prayer, as Epaphras did. It is easy to run words through the mind, but efficient prayer requires effort that we are too careless or too busy to render. We must fight against the deadly arsenal of Satan with pen and tongue, in word and deed, but unless our works of faith are accompanied by prayer, we are destined to despair (cf. Eph. 6:19; 1 Tim. 2:1; Matt. 9:38; 2 Thess. 3:1).

(2) He was a man of “great zeal.” Epaphras’ zeal was for the brethren. We, too, need “great zeal” for one another. This zeal will express itself, not only in prayer, but in words of exhortation and doctrine. With greater zeal, we will “warn the unruly, comfort the feebleminded (those faint of heart), support the weak, be patient toward all men” (1 Thess. 5:14). A “great zeal” and “fervent charity” will produce faith, induce steadfastness and “purchase a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Such zeal and love will cause us to “exhort one another daily . . . lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13).

We pine and plead for unity. We wring our hands, wag our heads and wrest our hearts over divisions and strife among brethren. Much of it, though, could be avoided if we had the “great zeal” for one another that Epaphras had.

(3) He was a “servant of Christ. ” Volumes are inscribed in the terse descriptions of Epaphras as a fellow servant, fellow prisoner, a faithful minister and a servant of Christ. These words are filled with service and selfless sacrifice. Christians are not employees; preachers are not simply hired hands. If we had a proper perception of servitude perhaps our attitude would be “less of self and more of Thee.” Thankless, unnoticed devotion is rare amid a generation raised for instant praise and personal promotion. But the ringing words of our Lord must echo in the hearts of all who love His kingdom “whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came ‘ not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26-28).

Fame, ambition, jealousy and contention for applause escapes men like Epaphras. They are too dedicated and consecrated to Christ to care whether or not anyone is taking note of their efforts. The church needs more men and women like Epaphras who serve in anonymity and obscurity, without regard to recognition or reward. Ironically, those who seek “earthly wealth and honored fame” will reap eternal poverty and everlasting shame, while those who faithfully serve will receive “praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:7; Rom. 2:7).

(4) He was a man of balance. Epaphras desired that the Colossians “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. ” He was not one-sided. He did not preach grace while ignoring obedience. He did not preach scriptural worship while being silent about worldliness. He did not preach the gospel while failing (or refusing) to expose the errors of men.

Churches and brethren cannot remain sound with a preacher who is always “gentle among (them), even as a nurse who cheriseth her children. ” Sometimes one must be “bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention” (1 Thess. 2:2,7). If our studies are in one area to the neglect of another, we will not be complete and perfect. If I exercise my right arm, but not my left . . . well, you get the picture. So, if we always preach love and how to have a happy family, we will rear a generation of loving, happy families. And that is good, but they may begin to practice infant baptism and use instrumental music in worship if there is no balance. One may be doctrinally sound regarding the work of the church, but be an abusive, hateful husband and father. Again, no balance. Epaphras taught a balanced gospel – “perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

(5) He was a preacher of the gospel of grace. The Colossians learned of the true grace of God and of the hope of heaven from Epaphras (Col. 1:5-7). They were in the kingdom (Col. 1:13); hence, they had been born again. Having heard the word of truth, they had been buried with Christ in baptism (Col. 1:5,6; 2:12). One does not truly know the grace of God – he has not been saved by grace – until he has been “risen with Christ” in faith and baptism (Col. 2:12; 3:1).

Further, Epaphras taught the Colossians of “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven” (Col. 1:5-7). The “one hope” of our calling cannot be over emphasized. Preaching that fails to remind us of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus is a hopeless message. The wrath of God is to be feared, and it must be preached to be known. How much the more, brethren, should we stress glory, honor, immortality, i.e., eternal life (Rom. 2:7)? “Great is your reward in heaven” must not be neglected. Are we raising a company that has all but forgotten “to wait for his Son from heaven” (1 Thess. 1:10)? The hope of all faith should be the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He shall meet us in the air and transport us to His everlasting kingdom where we shall bask in the light of His Divine presence forevermore. “And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:17,18). Epaphras did.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 15, pp. 451-452
August 6, 1987