Truth Magazine

By Bob F. Owen, President Of Florida College

In our society, few people question the value of formal education. Those who continue beyond high school commonly have careers in n-dnd as they enroll. Some seem to be motivated solely by monetary considerations – costs of attendance and/or prospects for good paying jobs. Financial considerations are obviously valid, but Christians should not let these be the sole or even the primary considerations in life-goals.

Having spent thirty-nine years as either a student or an employee in colleges operated by Christians, I’m sure my views reflect some biases. On the other hand, these years afford some insight and multiple examples as to the values of “Christian Education.” Admitting these biases and not devoting much space to perennial doctrinal questions about schools operated by Christians, I would like to note some values I have found through my experiences.

Most, if not all, of the special values of this type of education stem from the basic education purpose of the institution. In the Charter of Florida College, the founders stated the object is, “To establish and maintain a college wherein the arts, sciences and languages shall be taught and also to provide opportunity for young men and young women to study the Bible as the revealed will of God to man and the only sufficient rule of faith and practice, while they are educated in the liberal arts. . . . ” With this as the governing philosophy for the institution, it really matters what courses and programs are offered and who will teach them. Rules and regulations, both academic and social, are developed in light of this purpose which becomes primary in the school’s appeal for students. When these factors combine, they make a unique educational program and provide an uncommon opportunity for students.

Sometimes critics discount the value of this type of education because the lofty goals are not achieved without exception. Faculty members sometimes make shipwreck of the faith or show human frailties of anger or prejudice. Students violate regulations or demonstrate behavior that is unbecoming. “If students there cheat in class or if a student there uses drugs, I could just as well attend a state school,” some have reasoned. This overlooks a very important factor called to my attention many years ago.

My older brother did not attend college but he has keen insights and extremely good judgment. When I was leaving home to attend Freed-Hardeman he told me I would probably find students who would not live up to the ideals of the school but this would not negate the influence of the school on me. There’s a difference, he pointed out, between students doing questionable (or wrong) things without the sanction of the school than in doing them with sanction.

He was right. The fact that the school stands for those things that are wholesome and good and that it adopts rules and regulations toward this end does have a bearing on the students – even if they do not observe all these rules. The student knows that this behavior is not condoned – that his action is disapproved by this teachers and counselors.

My recognition and appreciation of this principle has grown through the years. In the school where I work (Florida College) we have had staff members and students who have not lived up to the standards we espouse. The influence of the school is damaged by such behavior, and this is regrettable. However, because the groups (administration, faculty and the students) advocate wholesome standards and because these standards are generally practiced by the group and because violations are not condoned but, when possible, are disciplined, there is a positive influence for good on the campus.

I remember my own experiences on the campus of Freed-Hardeman College in the late ’40’s. These same factors existed, and I certainly knew of violations of the standards espoused by the school. These violations did not prevent a strong and positive influence on me that came from the large group of teachers and students. I’m still indebted to these people for this help in my life.

Through the years I have seen similar experiences in the lives of hundreds of young people. I feel my own two children have benefitted in this same way. Many students and parents of many have expressed this same feeling.

Hurriedly let me say that I do not believe a person must attend Florida College to be faithful to God. Neither do I believe that all who attend this school will reap the same or even similar benefits. I am convinced, however, that the overall impact of two years in this kind of environment will be beneficial to most young people, particularly those who already have high ideals and who enjoy wholesome things. Frequently, students who have little interest in spiritual things are stimulated toward these higher values, but the greater appreciation probably rests with those who already are more spiritually minded.

What then are the values of this type of school? There are many. Academic standards are high but not extraordinary. Classes are usually small and teachers care about the work of their students. Varied extracurricular activities give opportunities for all in sports and social activities. Along with these regular college activities each student has a class in Bible each day – taught by able and qualified men who care for them as fellow creatures of God.

The greatest value, however, is the fact that respect for God and His Word is publically advocated and commonly demonstrated throughout the institution. Teachers are not cursing in the classroom or endorsing immoralities in order to seem “cool” to the younger generation. Belief in God is supported in all the courses – not just in Bible classes. Students are able to be with these same teachers on the ball field and in the local churches. They see them as practicing Christians and not just professors. Commonly, warm friendships develop with teachers and their families that continue through the years.

The rearing of children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” is a vital task. All of us recognize that it is a difficult task. We have long known that it takes more than just “taking the kids to church” or “sending them to Sunday school” to develop in them spiritual values by which they will chart their life’s course. Training and guidance must begin in the earliest days. Children need to be shown a proper respect for spiritual values in every day life. Their parents and other Christian friends must exhibit a devotion to God and an appreciation for the higher and nobler things in daily activities as well as in public worship. Parents who are truly concerned about the spiritual welfare of their children will seek positive means by which their children can be instructed and guided in the way of the Lord. Personal Bible studies, family prayers, associations with other Christians, and congregational Bible classes are some of the means for this kind of influence. Florida College supports parents by offering another avenue of similar help for young Christians. Being in an environment where most of the other students are Christians and where the Bible is taught and respected does not guarantee proper behavior by an individual: neither does it assure a life-time commitment to God, but it does provide a rich opportunity for spiritual growth.

For most students, going away to college is the first step in their break from home and parents. During these years, life-long friendships are often formed. Experience shows that high school associations are not as permanent as those from the college years, probably because the college years are the early years of real maturing. What a good time this is for young Christians to be in association with other young Christians and in an environment built upon a respect for God and His Word! These are the factors that have meant much to me personally and have prompted me to spend as much of my life as I have working with other Christians in college education. Unhesitatingly, I encourage Christian young people and their parents to seek and to benefit by these same opportunities.

Guardian of Truth XXX: 19, pp. 592-593
October 2, 1986

By Morris Hafley

We may never know the far-reaching effect what we say may have on some young lady or young man. I shall be forever indebted to James “Dudy” Walker for a lesson he gave in “chapel” while I was in Florida College, just before the wheel was invented. He told us to tell our parents, the next time we were home, that we loved them. He said, “I can’t do that, both my parents have passed from this life. You can’t go to a cemetery and walk up to a tombstone and tell them that you love them; it’s too late. Tell them now while they are with you.” He said it with all the emotion necessary. I remember trying, without success, to hold back the tears from my eyes.

I made up my mind that, the next time I saw Mom and Dad, the first words they would hear would be those words. I have not failed to tell them, even though I know I haven’t said it enough.

“Dudy,” I hope that if given the opportunity you will deliver that same message again knowing the good that it has done and that it will be worth it to some parents when their child voices those beautiful words.

So, Mr. Walker, I thank you for your influence all these years and oh, by the way, “I love you, Mom! I love you, Dad!”

By Larry Ray Hafley

(1) That tuning forks and pitch pipes are mechanical instruments of music, in the same sense that pianos and organs are, will someone please name a band, orchestra or musical group that features tuning fork and pitch pipe players?

(2) That militant, aggressive preaching does not manifest love or the spirit of Christ, what does militant, aggressive preaching against militant, aggressive preaching manifest?

(3) That “doctrine does not matter,” then the doctrine that says, “Doctrine does not matter,” does not matter. Does it?

(4) That any preaching which offends, insults, enrages or shames an audience is not preaching the truth in love, then what was Jesus doing when He offended (Matt. 15:12), enraged (Lk. 6:11), insulted (Lk. 11:45) and shamed (Lk. 13:17) some of His auditors?

(5) That Christians are in no sense under law, then in what sense is Christ our “lawgiver” (Jas. 4:12)?

(6) That being a gospel preacher is an easy living with good pay, can you name any other “easy job” with “good pay” which has as many open positions? And if the work is so simple and the salary so great, why do you not quit your hard, low-paying job and start preaching?

(7) That a man’s good reputation and high esteem establishes his teaching as unimpeachable, were the Jews justified when “the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city” took part in raising “persecution against Paul and Barnabas”? Did the apostle Peter’s life and loyalty to the Lord make him immune to Paul’s rebuke?

(8) That works or any act of obedience nullifies the grace of God in the salvation of the alien sinner, why is it that the Christian’s works of obedience do not nullify God’s grace and mercy?

(9) That papers like this one “air our dirty linen for all the world to see,” what do you do when the world wants to read 1 Corinthians, Galatians and Hebrews? And is it “dirty” or “clean” linen that you airing when you air out the complaint against airing out dirty linen?

(10) That “Alexander Campbell started the ‘Church of Christ,”‘ therefore, it is not the New Testament church, then will you also denounce the Lutheran Church (Martin Luther) and the Methodist Church (John Wesley) on the same basis? If not, why is a church started by Luther or Wesley better than one founded by Campbell?

(11) That the “Church of Christ is just another denomination,” why condemn its alleged errors (music question, baptism, etc.), while ignoring such monstrous errors as Popery, infant baptism and Sabbath keeping in the “other” denominations? Why exorcize “our demons” but not theirs?

(12) That, as some Baptists claim, the deeds of the body, the outer man, do not affect the salvation of the soul, the inner man, why did Peter say, “Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11)?

(13) That a person who falls away was never truly saved, why did Jude say, “I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not” (Jude 5)?

(14) That “residents have as much right to watch sexually explicit movies as they have to watch religious programming” (Cleveland City Council President, George L. Forbes, Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 16, 1985, p. 3-A), is it also true (a) that “residents have as much right to watch child pornography movies as they have to watch religious programming”? (b) That “residents have as much right to watch homosexually explicit movies as they have to watch religious programming”? Really, these questions are raised with fear and trembling. I fear what Mr. Forbes might say!

(15) That (again, according to President Forbes – see above) “It is not right for a certain segment of society to say, ‘We are not going to bring Playboy to a channel,”‘ is it also true (a) that “It is not right for a certain segment of society to say, ‘We are not going to bring Playgay to a channel . . . ? (b) “It is not right for a certain segment of society to say, ‘We are not going to bring Playchild (sex) to a channel”? If by chance, these would not be acceptable to Mr. Forbes, what standard would he use to deny and deprive us of the right to see these things?

Further, is it “right for a certain segment of society to say we are going to bring Playboy to a channel?”

(16) That Ronald Reagan’s efforts to repeal the right to abortion “is a continuation of the Reagan administration’s war on women” (Judy Goldsmith, President of National Organization for Women, Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 16, 1985, p. 6-A), would it be fair to characterize Ms. Goldsmith’s hard labor (pun intended) for abortion as “a continuation of her war on babies”?

(17) That salvation “by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8,9) means faith is essential to salvation, then why is it not also true, since the saved are “kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Pet. 1:5), that continuing in faith is necessary to continuing in salvation?

(18) That the Bible is full of fictions and fabrications and that infidel scholars must free us from its superstitious shackles, why do they not also feel compelled to debunk the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and “other” works of darkness? If the Bible is so transparently false and fallible and totally unreliable, why consume so much time and energy fighting it while leaving “other” religious myths and legends alone?

(19) That the present Pope’s teachings are alive and powerful, why is it not true that the doctrines of the “first Pope, the apostle Peter, are not also living and active? How can the words of a man twenty centuries from Christ be given more credence and credibility than the words of one who was a contemporary or our Lord, especially since that one was an “eye witness of His majesty”?

(20) That Jesus has not yet set up His kingdom, how can people be “born again,” since it is the new birth that allow some to enter the kingdom (Jn. 3:3,5)?

Guardian of Truth XXX: 19, pp. 582, 598
October 2, 1986

By Irvin Himmel

Hearing Ears and Seeing Eyes

The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them (Prov. 20:12).

Physically, the ear is the organ of hearing and the eye is the organ of sight. Through the sense of hearing and the sense of seeing impressions are received in the mind. To fully appreciate this proverb we need to go beyond the physical senses to the spiritual listening and looking which God requires.

The Hearing Ear

Jesus said in Mk. 4:23, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” The hearing ear is the “obedient ear” (Prov. 25:12). It is the ear that hearkens and heeds (1 Sam. 15:22).

(1) It hears God’s word. Many people who have excellent physical hearing never hearken to the voice of God. Through Isaiah, Jehovah threatened judgment against the Israelites “because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear” (Isa. 65:12). God approached His people through works, i.e. by revelation, but they declined to hearken. They turned a deaf ear to His will. They were like a child who ignores his parents when they speak.

The salvation of the soul depends on our willingness to hear. Jesus said, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me” (John 6:45). In the examples of conversion in the book of Acts, each case began with the hearing of the gospel. For instance, it is said of Lydia that she “heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul” (Acts 16:14). “. . . And many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). It is through hearing that faith is produced: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

It is not mere physical hearing of the gospel that brings a blessing. The hearing which results in submission to the Lord is that which blesses. Jesus compared the one who hears His sayings and does them to a wise man who builds his house on a rock. The hearer who does not obey is compared to a foolish man who builds his house on the sand (Matt. 7:24-27).

(2) It hears when challenges call. The Bible tells of the progress of the gospel in Antioch of Syria, and how “the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned to the Lord.” When “tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was at Jerusalem,” they sent Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:21,22). The Jerusalem brethren heard the challenge to broaden the influence of the gospel by sending a qualified teacher to a field that needed such a man. Today, our ears should listen when such challenges come.

(3) It hears the cries of the poor. “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psa. 41:1). Paul and Barnabas were admonished by James, Cephas, and John to “remember the poor” as they preached among the Gentiles (Gal. 2: 10). Paul did in fact hearken to the cries of the poor, urging help for needy saints (1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8; 9; Rom. 15:25,26). Dorcas’ ear was open to the cries of the poor. When she died all the widows gathered around weeping and showing the coats and garments which she had made (Acts 9:39).

The Seeing Eye

The eye which sees in the profitable and spiritual sense is the eye which perceives, understands, regards, and ascertains.

(1) It sees opportunities for helping others. In relation to helping the poor, it is a “bountiful eye.” “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor” (Prov. 22:9). It is the eye of compassion. When the Samaritan came to the man who had been robbed and wounded, “he saw him” and “had compassion on him” (Lk. 10:33). The priest and the Levite had seen the man, but they lacked eyes of compassion. Jesus said to the disciples, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white unto harvest” (John 4:35). All around us today there are opportunities for harvesting souls for the Lord. Too often our eyes are dim and we do not see those opportunities until it is too late.

(2) It sees Him who is invisible. The physical eye cannot see God (John 1:18), for He is spirit (John 4:24). Moses saw only a manifestation of the glory of God, described figuratively as His “back parts” (Ex. 33:17-23). But notice Hebrews 11:27 which says, speaking of Moses at an earlier period, “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Robert Milligan puts it this way: “By the eye of faith he saw the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, standing by him, ready to fulfill at the proper time all the promises that he had made to his chosen people.”

(3) It sees light through God’s word. Paul referred to the ‘eyes of your understanding being enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). It is said in Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” God provides the light to lead us out of darkness. The eye that sees is enlightened by His word.

God Made Both of Them

God is the designer of the human body and has equipped it with its component parts. When Moses complained of being slow of speech and of a slow tongue, God answered, “Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or blind? have not I the Lord” (Ex. 4:10,11).

It is God who has given us faculties for learning and doing His will. He has provided us ears for hearing and eyes for seeing. But too many people are like those to whom Jesus spoke and applied the words of Isaiah the prophet: “By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart. . . ” (Matt. 13:14,15).

Guardian of Truth XXX: 19, pp. 585, 598
October 2, 1986