Truth Magazine

By Aude McKee

For some time I have been considering the motivations of Paul’s life. Probably no person suffered more for the cause of Christ, than did he, and few, if any, have surpassed him in devotion and commitment. What made him different from so many of us today? What did he have that lots of us lack?

The word “motivate” means “to stimulate to action; provide with an incentive or motive; impel, incite.” The word “motivation” is defined as “an incentive, inducement or motive, especially for an act.” The same act may be motivated differently in different people. One man buys a new automobile because his old one is worn out. His motive is need. A second man feels he can save money by getting rid of the old car before it begins to cost him for repairs, so his motivation is economics. A third man sees a shiny new model in his neighbor’s driveway, and he trades out of pride. Two men might outwardly be equally committed to the Lord, but because of entirely different reasons. The first views the church as an institution in which he takes pride. He wants it to grow, surpass others in the area, etc., because it is “his church.” The other man is equally faithful and works just as hard, but all he does comes from a heart filled with love for the Lord and the salvation of souls. The first man may see his zeal cool, his attendance slacken, and his work retarded if things don’t go to suit him. If his favorite preacher moves or problems arise, his motivation may be gone. But the second man is stable and unwavering. His faithfulness is not tied to any man, or program. Externals don’t affect his relationship to the Lord or the fact that he lives in a world of dying, lost people.

Some Things Which Did Not Motivate Paul

Now let us notice three things of a negative nature about Paul’s motivations. First, he never did anything out of spite or ill will. In Philippians 1, we learn that some were preaching Christ in order to add affliction to Paul’s bonds (vv. 12-18). Certainly Paul did not defend the motive of those wicked men, but he rejoiced that Christ was being preached. Second, he never obeyed the Lord simply because it was convenient. Paul was a wealthy, well-educated and prominent member of the Pharisee sect, but from the day he met the Lord on the road to Damascus until the day he died in a Roman prison, he was continually faced with doing the inconvenient. When he learned the truth from the lips of Ananias, “he arose and was baptized.” But that meant turning his back on his cronies with whom he had labored to destroy the Lord’s church, and as soon as the news got out, he probably could count his friends on the fingers of one hand. The religion that he and his ancestors had held dear was put behind him because he began preaching that the law was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14), that Jesus is the Son of God (1 Cor. 1:2), and that He not only died on the cross but He was raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:14). And third, Paul was not motivated by the new and the novel. He wasn’t on fire one day and dead as a mackerel the next. That old joke about the cat, that had been injected with gasoline, running around the room for a few minutes and then flopping over on his back, describes a lot of Christians. “What happened to the cat?” you are supposed to ask, and the answer is “He ran out of gas!” Paul’s life could be described as a lot more of the same. Day after day of hard work, very little of this world’s goods, persecution, hardship, and the danger of death were his lot in life. But in the face of all this, he could write, “Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Motivated By Gratitude

What did motivate Paul? For one thing, he was motivated by gratitude. On one occasion he wrote, “For I am the least of the apostles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am. . . ” (1 Cor. 15:9- 10). He never forgot what he had been and what he was able to become because of God’s mercy and grace. I think that sometimes many of us feel we were pretty good before we obeyed the gospel – sort of like Simon in Luke 7:36-48 – and our gratitude simmers on low heat. If we could get a glimpse of the horrors of hell that we would have suffered had it not been for God’s forgiveness, we might be capable of a deeper sense of gratitude. How thankful we need to be every day of our lives!

Motivated By Trust In Jesus

Another thing that motivated Paul was hisfaith and trust in the Lord. In 2 Timothy 1: 12, he said, “. . . I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” To the Galatians he made an unusual statement: “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). There is probably nothing that will rob a person of his zeal any quicker and more effectively than doubts. How could a person serve the Lord faithfully and make sacrifices gladly, if he is not sure that the one he serves is for real? When John the Baptist was in prison, he was afflicted with this problem of doubt, but Jesus laid it to rest. He told the two disciples John had sent, to go and tell John again what they were hearing and seeing. “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them” (Matt. 11:2-5). 1 doubt Paul ever doubted for a moment, but if we suffer from the problem, the answer lies in more investigation of the evidences of our Lord’s divinity (Rom. 10:17).

Motivated By Desire To Save The Lost

A third thing that motivated Paul was his deep desire to see lostpeople saved. In 2 Timothy 2:10, he told this young man he loved so dearly, one of the secrets behind the sacrifices he made. “I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Again, regarding his Jewish brethren (in the flesh), he said, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved” (Rom. 10:1). One chapter back, he made an amazing statement when he said he would be willing to be lost himself if his Jewish kinsmen could be saved! If we could arrive to the point of spiritual development where we see our neighbor as a person on his way to hell, instead of a good fellow who is a little mixed up in his religion, it would revolutionize our conduct, I have read that Henry Ward Beecher would occasionally say, as he preached before an audience of thousands, “I preach as a dying man to dying men and women.” May God help us to increase our concern for the souls of dying men and women.

Motivated By The Unseen

Paul was also motivated by his ability to see the unseen. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” How could he keep on keeping on under such circumstances? “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal” (vv. 16-18). Paul could see his eternal spirit as clearly as others of us can see our hands or feet. He could experience the second coming of Christ as though it had already happened, and heaven and hell were as real to Paul as Corinth or Antioch. When we are spasmodic in our attendance, neglectful of our responsibilities, and hesitant to make sacrifices, it could be that our spiritual eyesight is at fault. We need, like Paul, to keep our eyes on the unseen instead of putting so much emphasis on this world.

Conclusion

I have been around for a considerable number of years, and back in my boyhood days a lot of people got their water from a well with a “pitcher pump” device to draw the water. As I recall, those things had to be primed every time you used them. They weren’t on “go” when the need existed. But other people more fortunate had a spring close by and the water ran all the time. Paul was not a fellow who had to be “primed.” He did not need to be pumped to get him started. He was more like a spring with internal motivation that “forced” him to worship, to preach the gospel, to break out in prayer and song even in the midst of trying circumstances.

I grew up in a country congregation in western Indiana. The lighting system in the building was unique. In the rear of the building was a tank of gasoline with an air pump attached. Pipes ran from this tank to one or two drop lights with mantles like our gasoline lanterns today. But the system was not designed to run for an hour, and so about half-way through services, Woodford Neal would go to the rear, pump for a few minutes, and then the dim lights would be bright again. When we find ourselves in need of “pumping up,” the fault is not in the Lord but in us. We are surrounded every hour of every day by the goodness of God. “Every good and perfect gift cometh down from above. . . ” (James 1:17). In Christ Jesus we have access to all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3). Gratitude ought to be ever-present in our hearts. Too, we are surrounded every day by lost people and “into our hands the gospel has been given.” Under such circumstances our work of preaching and teaching ought never to slacken. It is true that God’s word adequately supplies us with evidences that will cause us to grow in faith and trust. As we act on our faith day by day, our trust will deepen as the Lord’s promises are fulfilled in our own lives. Finally, we are caused to be more consistent in our service to our Lord as we learn to keep our eyes on things that transcend this earth and this life.

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, pp. 483-485
August 21, 1986

By William C. Sexton

Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer: and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency (1 Cor. 7:3-5).

All of us who are “tuned in” to what is happening are aware of the fact that many marriages are breaking up; even God’s people are not immune; yea, how many preachers have been caught up in such! Infidelity is a basic factor.

The June 1986 issue of Reader’s Digest (pp. 169-176) has an article which I would suggest that each person read. The article is “Why Affairs Happen.” It points to the high rate of married people who will be involved in an affair – more men than women, but over one-half of each will be so involved. Then some information that has been received from people so involved is presented, as to how, or under what circumstances such did occur. We would be wise to look seriously to some of the causes “why” such does occur, recognizing that each of us can be deceived by Satan, our opponent.

Three factors are pointed to as contributing to unfaithfulness, or infidelity of a married person: (1) Loneliness; (2) Monotony; (3) Failure to Communicate. Each of us can readily see, I believe, that these can indeed contribute to infidelity, and we should seek to prevent such from happening – to us or to our mate.

Paul’s Recognition

1. He points to the “power” of a mate over the other’s body. The sexual drive is a powerful force that each healthy, normal person has to deal with. Such is God-given! Recognition of this fact is the responsibility of each child of God. Satan, the adversary of man, too, is mindful of this rightful need and will seek to move us to act outside the God-approved way to meet this need, moving us to sin. A-lone-ness can indeed place one in a precarious position.

2. “Defraud” is not to be practiced; the NKJV says, “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time. . . . ” There is to be mutual consent, and the time is to be short – and such is to be practiced with a specific purpose, so that each may be participating in a high-level-activity: prayer and fasting. There is a basic need for sexual satisfaction. When such is not experienced, the evil one will step in and “tempt” one to seek that satisfaction in an unlawful affair.

3. Communication is a very basic activity essential to continued growth in the marriage relationship. I always tell people in pre-marriage-discussions: Learn to communicate early in the marriage. Learn how to express your likes and dislikes early, while you can do so without making the other angry, while he/she will be interested in pleasing. If you wait too long, till difficulties arise, then you will be unable to discuss them; communication is to be an ongoing activity, growth in the skills, in confidence that you can express intelligently what you feel, like, want, etc. Beloved, keep talking and listening! Express your lack of satisfaction; try to find what the mate needs! Try to satisfy the other in the relationship, and be satisfied only when he/she is satisfied! Otherwise, Satan may tempt you and/or your mate to have an affair with one other than you. Pain will result for you, the mate, and others, too, in many ways.

Preventive Measures

In order to manifest wisdom, understanding of human nature, and show concern, certain activities need to be practiced — to the end that neither mate might be tempted to be unfaithful to the marriage vows.

1. Priorities must be clearly made: Serving God, relative to my mate, should be taken care of before I proceed to carrying out my other duties. Realistically, if I allow other things to keep me from doing my duty and my mate becomes involved with another, nothing that I achieve is going to compensate for the pain and hurt to both of us. God points to several things which will be taken care of in time. If we fail to give adequate attention to our mate, we are failing to be wise, showing either a lack of understanding and/or proper care and concern.

2. Adjustments must be made, as we grow older, wiser, and more mature – changes will occur, perhaps unconsciously, but the situation will change, too, demanding adjustments from us. Perhaps preachers, as much as any other, may become so involved away from home to the extent that they’ll not take care of their home-work. One preacher wrote me recently that he will not hold a meeting unless he can be with his family at night. I commend this man! Many are not so concerned with their wife and children, or they don’t see the danger of being away for an extended period of time.

Preachers perhaps are inclined to be so involved with “church-work” that they do not take time to do their “home-work,” even when they are at home. I have trouble in this area, as my wife has to remind me occasionally. Women can become so involved with their “schedule” that there is little time to take care of the personal love affairs with their husband. Formality, habits of living, can get in the way of marriage-acts.

3. Recognize temptations and run from them (1 Cor. 6:18-20). Help the mate avoid tempting situations, developing a conscious awareness of the “power” factor in one’s sexuality; hear the clear voice of God saying: Do not allow Satan to destroy you for your “lack of self-control.”

4. Have a realistic goal in your human relations: husband and wife! We can’t realistically expect to “experience” the cloud nine-feeling at every act in the marriage. If we have such expectations, then we’ll grow weary, and begin looking for such potential experiences with another. Satan will help us experiment and/or search for such.

Certainly we do not know all the factors that cause one who has been faithful in marriage to turn to infidelity. No doubt there are many and varied reasons, and no one person can make a marriage work. Yet, I would find it exceedingly hard to say that my mate was totally to blame should such occur. I would wonder if I did not contribute to her infidelity — especially, after we had been married for several years.

I am mindful and hope you are, dear reader, that God has said, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commiteth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” (Matt. 19:9). 1 don’t think that is too hard to understand; it may be very hard, however, to accept. I am also aware, and I hope that you are, too, that the Scriptures say: “And unto the married I command, yet not 1, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife” (1 Cor. 7:10-11).

It is possible for a wife/husband to forgive the mate for infidelity and the marriage be saved. However, there is no restoring the relationship and state of mind and joy that was there “before” the affair! It will be somewhat less.

Beloved, with so much misery being witnessed due to infidelity, let each of us take the measures to keep infidelity from occurring in our lives.

Guardian of Truth XXX: 16, pp. 481, 504
August 21, 1986

By Daniel T. Owens

King Belshazzar knew of his father’s attitude and action toward God (5:20-22). Yet he did not humble his own heart and lifted himself against the Lord of heaven (vv. 22,23). He abused the Lord’s vessels and worshiped them instead of glorifying the living God (v. 23).

Therefore, the hand sent from God wrote the inscription on the wall “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin ” (vv. 5,24). They were interpreted by Daniel as follows: “Numbered, weighed, divided.” Belshazzars’s kingdom (Babylon), as well as his own days, were numbered and coming to an end. He had been weighed and found wanting, deficient. His kingdom was to be divided, or separated, being given to the Medes and Persians (v. 31; Jer. 51:11,12).

In chapter 5 of Daniel there seems to be some lessons for us today. The handwriting is not “on the wall” but in the Book -The Word of God. We are numbered. We are continually being weighed (judged). We are and will be divided (separate -separated).

We Are Numbered

“The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Tim. 2:19; John 10: 14; 1 Cor. 8:3). We are and will be numbered according to our stand – our faithfulness or our faithlessness. If we are obedient Christians, we are numbered with God’s elect: with Noah, a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5) who walked with God (Gen. 6:9); with Abraham, the friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jas. 2:23); with Moses, who refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter but rather chose to be with God’s people no matter what the consequences (Heb. 11;24, 25). We’ll be with David, although he too, like so many of us, did wrong and committed sin. Yet he repented and became a man after God’s own heart (Acts 7:46; 13:22). We’ll be with the great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12:1 and the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1-5. We are numbered with John, the immerser, Stephen, James, Peter, Paul, and the rest who “did not love their life even to death” (Rev. 12:11; Acts 21:13).

Just as those who are faithfully obedient are numbered with the righteous of all ages, so then also are the disobedient, unfaithful, digressive, and such numbered with the unrighteous. They are numbered with the iniquity of Cain – his unfit offering and his murderous guilt (Gen. 4:3,4,8); with Esau who sold his birthright (Gen. 25:31) in a time of physical temptation (Heb. 12:16,17); with Saul who forfeited his rule by acting foolishly against the commandments of God (1 Sam. 13:11-14; 15:11,26,35). They are numbered with Belshazzar who worshiped the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone (Dan. 5:23) and with the likes of Judas who sold his Lord (Matt. 26:14-16,47-49). Many are still selling the Lord today. They are counted with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), Demetrius the silversmith (Acts 19:24-29), Ananias the high Priest, Tertullus, and the governor Felix (Acts 24:1,2,25) and King Agrippa (Acts 26:28). They are with Hymenaeus, and Alexander (1 Tim. 1:20), Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17), Demas (2 Tim. 4:10), Diotrephes (3 John 9,10), the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:6,15), Jezebel (Rev. 2:20), the lukewarm of Laodicea (Rev. 3:16) and the others who “know not God” and “those who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:8).

Those who are numbered with the righteous will inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). Those counted with the unrighteous shall inherit the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). “And if anyone’s name was not found written (numbered, recorded, counted, dto) in the Book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15).

We Are Weighed

We are constantly being weighed (judged). We are weighed by our actions (1 Sam. 2:3). We shall have to give an account of ourselves (Rom. 14:12) and answer for the deeds we have done, whether good or bad (Matt. 16:27; 2 Cor. 5: 10; Rom. 2:6; Rev. 12,13). We must be consistent in our words and deeds and expectations of others. We dare not fall into the temptation of hypocrisy, for we too are judged of others, as well as by God (Matt. 7:2; Mk. 4:24; Lk. 6:38; Rom. 2:1-3).

We are judged by our words (Matt. 12:36,37). Is everything you say Holy Spirit oriented, that is to say, “as the utterances of God” (1 Pet. 4:11; 1 Thess. 2:3-4; Acts 4:13-20; Eph. 6:19,20)? Can your fellow workers tell that you are a Christian by the language you use? Would you be proud to have your children repeat everything you say? Think on these things.

We shall be judged by our thoughts (Rom 2:15,16). Are you thinking like those of this world-of hatred, violence, vengeance, murder, immorality, etc., or are we letting our minds dwell on things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8)?

We are weighed by our works (1 Pet. 1:17). How are you doing in the Lord’s vineyard? Those who abide in Christ bear much fruit (John 15:5,8). And it does not necessarily mean the numbers of conversions. There is something to be said about keeping the saved saved. Do you take hold of every possible opportunity to labor in the Lord’s vineyard, or are you one who shies or shirks away from responsibilities and “passes the buck”?

We shall be judged by the Word of God (John 12:48) which today is readily available to all. There is no excuse for lawlessness. We need to judge ourselves righteously and make sure we pass the test (2 Cor. 13:5). We need to constantly make corrections in our lives to keep it pure from sin. There is no automatic cleansing from/of sin. Repentance, after the knowledge of sin, is a must if we are to escape the fires of hell (Heb. 10:26,27).

Judgment begins first with the household of God (I Pet. 4:17). “So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty” (Jas. 2:12).

We Are Divided

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). To my way of thinking, there are at least two considerations in this matter. One is a division between the Christian and the alien sinner. The other is the division between the faithful Christian and the Christian that just barely gets by.

The first separation is easy to see. One is a faithful child of God. The other has no relationship with God other than being a part of His creation. In the second instance, it may be harder to see the difference, except in practice. The faithful Christian labors and lives for the Lord. You can tell him by the fruit he bears. On the other hand, the Christian that barely gets by is hard to distinguish from the alien sinner. In fact, there may be very little separation at all. He does little work, if any, and is tolerant of the same. His attendance is sporadic as well as is his stand for the truth. In short, there is very little separation or division from the world. There is more of a conformation than a transformation.

Nevertheless, be reassured, there is a division between the saints and the sinners. Some are more visible than others. Some have taken heed to 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. They have come out and separated themselves from the world. They are indeed a peculiar people (Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9). Their dedicated separation from the sins of this world insure them a separation from the fires of hell. They are divided now and will be divided then (Matt. 25:34,41). “He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.” ” Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on . . . that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them” (Rev. 3:5; 14:13).

Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. How do you stand.

Guardian of Truth XXX: 16, pp. 492-493
August 21, 1986

By Jr. Bronger

After the preacher for the Christian Church left my office, I thought, who is this guy? Is he for real? That was my first impression of Nelson Greene.

Here was a man 42 years old, telling me he could no longer accept the unscriptural innovations of that denomination. However, that was not all there was to Nelson Greene. He reached his conclusions through years of independent Bible study.

Nelson was a Catholic priest, a priest who was willing to question and eventually leave the Catholic Church, after which he gave only token observance to any religion. During that time he studied with the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nelson spent some time with a United Methodist Church, but left when they approved into membership an avowed homosexual.

With that move Nelson decided to reject religion. He discarded his Bible and Catholic prayer book. Soon he realized that this was not the course that would bring him the contentment he sought.

Nelson found what he thought was the end of his search for the truth of God in Elizabeth City, NC (see statement to Goodlettsville Christian Church on opposite page). He, however, became entangled with the Christian Church.

When he moved to Nashville, he thought he was truly thrust into the midst of an abundance of God’s people. “All I could see were Christian Churches/Churches of Christ,” Nelson told me. “I felt,” he said, “they were all the same.” Soon the elders of the Christian Church where he preached told him that the Churches of Christ in Nashville were denominational and to avoid them, especially the “Antis.”

After awhile this honest heart could remain silent no longer (see statement to Lakeview Church of Christ on opposite page). He attended some assemblies of some institutional Churches of Christ. This gave him some determination to find out more about the church of Christ.

He drove to David Lipscomb College and requested more information about the churches of Christ. These people, upon learning Nelson was a preacher for the Christian Church, had Alan Cloyd to contact him. Cloyd heads the “Restoration Leadership Ministry.” This is a “ministry” supported by many institutional Churches to convert denominational preachers.

Cloyd was interested in Nelson renouncing the Christian Church for the Church of Christ which seems to me to be rank hypocrisy, as Cloyd is working with Christian Church preachers to promote unity between the Christian Churches and institutional Churches of Christ (One Body, Spring ’86, p. 34).

Nelson expressed to Cloyd and others that he could not see renouncing the bus ministry, fellowship halls, social gospel and various institutions of the Christian church to embrace the bus ministry, fellowship halls, social gospel and various institutions of the Churches of Christ. Nelson told these brethren the only thing he was renouncing was “the instrument and my support.”

Here was a man wanting to leave liberalism, with no place to go. How frustrating!

Within four weeks after my first encounter with Nelson, he was standing, by faith, with God’s people. During this time I spent many hours with Nelson in study, prayer and periods of encouragement. After a study in the Lakeview building on authority, Nelson remarked, “I can’t believe it; I spent four years in college and never heard of generic and specific authority.” I am not surprised.

Today Nelson is working with Joel Plunkett and the Broadmoor church of Christ in Nashville, for the summer. He has at least two classes each week with Aude McKee and Bob Bunting.

Having taken his stand with Christ and His church, Nelson desires to devote his life to preaching the gospel. He and his good wife, Sue, who has also taken her stand for truth (with a lot less fanfare than Nelson) can do a lot of good for the cause of Christ.

I no longer view Nelson as I did after my first meeting. Because I now see in him someone who was hungering and thirsting after righteousness and was filled (Matt. 5:6).

Reproduced on the opposite page are (1) his statement of resignation from the Christian Church and (2) his statement when he identified with the Lakeview congregation.

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, p. 462
August 7, 1986