Truth Magazine

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

By W. Frank Walton

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him

should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16, NKJV).

The beauty and heart of the gospel is expressed by few words in this “golden text of the Bible.” It captures the reality of God’s concern for the plight of the human condition, man’s greatest need, the divine solution to his dilemma, and his ultimate destiny.

1. “For God” – The Greatest Being. The eternal, infinite nature of God transcends time and the human ind. As far back as our minds can travel, He had already existed forever – “In the beginning, God. . . ” Who is He? “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). The self-existent One inhabits eternity; His mere existence is self-fulfilling and purposeful by contemplation of His own infinite, perfect being. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, holy, righteous, majestic and His ways past finding out.

The vast expanse of a marvelously designed universe declares the signature of the Almighty (Psa. 19:1). “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?” (Job 26:14, NASB) There’s no analogy to completely reveal God, for He is unique and incomparable (Isa. 40:12-28). The secret things belong to Him, but He has revealed Himself in Scripture for us to know Him. Thoughts of Him are so vast that we’re lost in their immensity and drown in their infinity.

2. “So Loved” – The Greatest Measure. Of all the absolute attributes of God, His holiness, majesty, justice, and might, they are but rays of glory shining from His eternal essence – “for God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8). He perfectly defines love. Love must have an object, and the three eternal Persons in the Godhead shared this love from all eternity. It is a rational act of will springing from the inherent nature of Deity, not from the worthiness of the object so loved. Love, then, is as boundless as the sea. It governs and explains the ultimate aim of God’s actions.

God’s motivation toward people is love. Man was created as an object of God’s infinite love, to share in it and to freely choose to love Him in return.

3. “The World” – The Greatest Need. Man was the crowning act of creation. Made in God’s spiritual likeness, his forever living spirit could have fellowship with the Creator. Man was made by God’s will for His glory, manifesting His greatness (Rev. 4:11; Isa. 43:7). God set eternity in man’s heart (Eccl. 3:11). That’s why even the irreligious in great trauma cry out, “O my God!” Only God can satisfy man’s deeper yearnings. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). For man to work right, God must be the beginning point of life’s calculations.

Yet the world is teeming with a race of lost rebels who have turned their backs on God. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23; cf. 3:10-18). The wonder of the gospel is that God loved unlovely, ungodly sinners. The ugly world is rotting with sin, which is spiritual insanity and the cancer of the soul. Being lost means man has lost his well-being and purpose of existing; he’s in the wrong place. Being separated from God, righteous condemnation and spiritual death results. Satan enslaves man with gnawing lusts, fleeting pleasure and a futile, sorrowful existence. Man’s desperate plight is a source of great concern and grief to God. “I was crushed by their adulterous hearts which have departed from Me. . . ” (Ezek. 6:9; cf. Rom. 10:21). Yet God still loves all without distinction or exception.

4. “That He Gave” – The Greatest Act. “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” He won’t passively watch His offspring rush toward destruction. Before the foundation of the world, God had a plan of action to win back erring humanity if it should go awry (Eph. 1:4-5; 1 Pet. 1:20). God didn’t see man as the enemy but more like the victim of the enemy. His soul was worth salvaging from the ravages of sin.

Significantly, it’s not just that He so loved, but that He so loved that He gave or acted to reverse the tragic ruin of mankind. His plan and purpose can never be frustrated or stopped (Isa. 55:11).

5. “His Only Begotten Son” – The Greatest Gift. “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (1 Jn. 4:9). No sacrifice was too great to appeal to mankind of His unfathomable love. To solve man’s greatest problem, God gave the priceless gift of His Son, the dearest and best He had, to win back erring man.

Such costly love meant Jesus left the privileged glory of heaven’s exaltation. In self-abasing humility, He entered this world as a tiny infant, wrapped in strips of rags and laid upon a feed trough (Lk. 2:7). The world didn’t have room for a pregnant woman, so she had to give birth to the Savior of the world in a barn!

He grew up out of obscurity to become the focal point of human redemption. As “the Way and the Truth and the Life” (Jn. 14:6), He alone answers life’s greatest questions and shows us the way to the greatest quality of life known to man. By His agonizing death we see His personal love for each individual, both great and small (Rom. 5:8). When my life was endangered by damnation, He took my place, died at the right time, and paid the awful debt of sin I owed. We can look to the awesome cross as the irrevocable demonstration of God’s unfailing love. Only Jesus’ sacrifice could reconcile us to God.

6. “That Whoever Believes on Him” – The Greatest Commitment. All must decide, “What then shall I do with Jesus?” (Mt. 27:22) Hear His ultimatum: “For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (Jn. 8:24). We’re either for Him or against Him; there’s no middle ground, neutrality, compromise or suspended judgments (Mt. 12:30). We must accept the resurrected and reigning Christ for all that He is and trust Him as absolute Lord of our lives. He purchased me with His blood when I was the Devil’s slave. Since I’m His property, I can’t do as I please but as He directs in every facet of life by His authoritative rule (Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Rom. 6:8-23).

Sadly, John 3:16 has been used to teach salvation by “faith only.” But notice this verse doesn’t specifically mention repentance, without which Jesus said I would perish (Lk. 13:3). Salvation never comes at the point of faith alone (Jas. 2:24). At the point of faith in Jesus, I’m not a child of God but only have the right to become one (Jn. 1:12). Significantly, “believes” (Gr. pisteuon) is a verb in the present tense. This shows continuous or linear action or a process presently taking place. Here are other examples of the present tense: he lives, breathes, sees, sleeps, thinks, walks, etc. So, we could substitute “walks by faith” or “lives by faith” for “believes” in John 3:16 and we’ll have the concept conveyed by the present tense.

Biblically, we can’t separate true faith and obedience (Rom. 1:5; Jn. 3:36, ASV). “Believes” stands for the total response of man to the conditions of grace. Baptism is a constituent element of saving faith (Col. 2:12), which is an act of faith to be washed in Christ’s blood (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5). Are you responding to Christ by “the obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:26)?

7. “Should Not Perish” – The Greatest Deliverance. “Perish” doesn’t mean annihilation, but it’s losing all that makes life worthwhile. It’s the final destiny of many of eternal ruin and utter failure, forever separated from God who is life and joy (Mt. 25:46). For us to appreciate the deliverance of God, we must know the full extent of the wrath of God.

This unfortunate fate is called the second death, which is likened to being thrown into a lake burning with fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10,14). Its fire is unquenchable and the worm undying, which illustratively refers to the worms outside of Jerusalem in the valley of Hinnom’s garbage dump that continuously fed upon decaying refuse and carcasses (Mk. 9:48). Hell’s torment is prepared for the Devil and his angels. It’s not a place prepared for man, because heaven is prepared for him. But hell is the just sentence of God’s judicial wrath. It’s eternal punishment because there’s nothing man can do in all eternity to atone for his sins. In hell, there’s unending wailing and gnashing of teeth, with no rest, no comfort and no end. How tragic because it doesn’t have to be! God wants all to know the truth and be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).

8. “But have Everlasting Life” – The Greatest Hope. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. It’s the bargain of eternity. We possess eternal life now as a guarantee of a future promise, because we seek and hope for it (Rom. 2:7; Tit. 1:2). More than endless existence, we’ll share in the very life of the Eternal One forever by a new quality and dimension of spiritual life.

This life can be a fully rich one (Jn. 10:10), but the one to come will be infinitely better. Let’s think more of heaven and less of earth, for heaven is our home. No amount of suffering, pain or disappointment can tarnish its surpassing glory (Rom. 8:18). Have you really claimed the rich truth of the golden text of John 3:16?

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, pp. 459-460
August 7, 1986

By Lewis Willis

I saw an advertisement from TV Guide that an upcoming article will have as its subject, the influence of television on America’s children. I have not read the article so I have no idea what will be said. However, I frequently think of the influence television has on our children and I become alarmed because of it. I wonder sometimes if parents are as alert to the influence and danger of TV as they ought to be. If your home is typical, your children spend many hours each week in front of the set. What are they seeing there? How will it affect their thinking now and in the future? Will they be able to distinguish between right and wrong? Will they elect to believe the message of television, or the message that you’re presenting to them from the Bible? What is television’s influence on your child?

1. Money is one of the prominent messages of TV. It seems to matter very little how you get it – just get it! The glamorous life of those with money is extolled. The financial condition of all others is portrayed as undesirable. The message to our children is “get money.”

2. Sex is the beginning, middle and the end of everything on most programs our children watch. Almost every product advertised is presented with a sexual overtone. The beautiful, handsome, healthy, successful and popular use the product being advertised. The implication is you are a “nerd” if you don’t use the product. Additionally, fornication, adultery and homosexuality are not only depicted, but they are presented as an acceptable lifestyle. Those who would frown upon these forms of sin are out-of-step with reality.

3. Violence is the only way to get anything worthwhile done if you follow the thinking and action of television’s heroes and heroines. It would be virtually impossible for a youngster to watch a night of television without seeing murder, war, rape, car crashes and a brutal fist fight. And, these things are shown as commonplace.

4. Drugs, alcohol, smoking and profanity are standard fare on most programs. Our young men and women learn all kinds of wonderful things from television. If you’re going to be “in,” young people of the country are lead to believe that these things must be a part of their lives. When a three or four year old spouts off some of this filth, his parents find it “cute.” But when he or she spouts it at age 15, those same parents are “alarmed.” We’d better start thinking!

5. Religion is ridiculed on a consistent basis. True, the telecasts of religious organizations “invite” such ridicule. However, the role of TV’s producers seems to be to portray all religion in as ridiculous a light as possible. Almost every time a person is shown who has religious convictions, that person is represented as one so out of step with the times, or so fanatical that no one in his right mind would consider his lifestyle desirable. And, in TV plots, every preacher is shown as a “fool.” This is what your child is lead to believe.

6. Marriage, as God ordained it, is portrayed as “silly.” No one who is “with it” believes in one man one wife. Marriage is shown as that brief time of deception and fighting between divorces. Series stars change marriage partners more often than you change your dinner menu. The home is shown as a battleground, between husband and wife, or, parents and children. Until The Cosby Show, one would watch a lot of TV before seeing family life presented decently.

I clipped the following illustration on what TV is doing to our children:

I remember as a kid hearing gospel preachers warn of the destructive influence of movies and television. TV, in those days, was a novelty. So much of what they had to say was spoken about movies. Anyway, they talked about how movies would ultimately corrupt whole generations of people. And, the movies they talked about are the “golden oldies” which are such an exception in today’s TV fare. Those movies molded the thinking of people and prepared them to accept the filth and garbage presented today. If those old preachers could speak, they might be disposed to say, “I told you so.” I also remember how those preachers were laughed at and ridiculed when they preached those sermons about the evils of movies. It would be interesting to know what some of those “laughing” parents think today when they scan the columns of TV Guide, looking for decent programs to watch. Since I am seeking to say the same thing those old timers used to say, go ahead and laugh at this point – then, think again about the message of this article.

There is an awful lot about television which I do not understand. The entire process of telecasting something which I can receive in my home miles away is beyond me. One think I know, the “off” button is the greatest invention on a TV set. It needs to be used often!

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, p. 461
August 7, 1986

Greetings in the name of Jesus,

I would like, through this letter, to tell you why I can no longer serve as the Evangelist for the Goodlettsville Christian Church. I am leaving with no animosity toward anyone. I leave with love and care for each soul at the Goodlettsville Christian Church. The door of friendship stands open. We will not close that door to anyone.

(1) I cannot accept the instruments as a part of the worship service (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Matt. 26:30; Mk. 14:26; Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:15; Heb. 2:12 and James 5:13).

(2) I cannot accept the “newspaper collection drive” and “aluminum can collection drive” as part of supporting the cause of Christ (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8,9; Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15).

(3) I cannot accept the “candy sales” of the youth for their projects as part of supporting the cause of Christ (1 Cor. 16:1-2; Matt. 21:12-13; Mk. 11:15; 2 Cor. 8,9).

(4) I cannot accept as a part of the cause of Christ an entertainment project, such as the youth hour and talent show, which takes away from the preaching and teaching of the Gospel for youth project discussions and play/talent show rehearsals, etc. The main point of the Lord’s Church is the edification of the members through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Christ. Entertainment does not meet that which is taught through the authority of God’s Word (1 Cor. 14:40; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 11:34).

(5) I cannot accept the ever widening authoritative role of the women at the Goodlettsville Christian Church (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:11-12).

(6) I cannot accept the use of the general funds to provide the finances for a bus used to bring in children enticed with treats and entertainment. If carnal attractions are used to bring in people, then only carnal people will be brought in (Rom. 1:16; Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 14:17).

(7) I cannot accept “special day” observances on the Lord’s Day in the Lord’s House (Heb. 10:25; Rev. 1:10; Acts 20:7; Gal. 4:10-11). The Lord’s Day is a day of worship, not fun, food and frolic. What we do within the areas of worship has been laid down for us within Scripture.

(8) I cannot accept “sponsoring institutions” and “institutions” financed from the general fund. The church has authority only to spend its monies on (a) preaching the Gospel to the lost, (b) teaching and edifying itself, and (c) limited benevolent work (Eph. 4:12).

(9) I firmly believe in 1 Timothy 3:7 and Titus 1:5-9 for the qualifications of Elders. These are the qualifications of an Elder and each qualification stands by itself. Each now serving Elder must continue to meet such qualifications.

(10) I firmly believe in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 for the qualifications of Deacons. These are the qualifications of a Deacon and each qualification stands by itself. Each now serving Deacon must continue to meet such qualifications.

(11) I firmly believe that the Lord’s supper is an integral part of the worship service at the assembly of believers. It is not to be taken outside that realm by those who absent themselves from the worship service and then choose to partake at a more convenient time for themselves (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:17-20).

(12) I firmly believe that the Elders of a local congregation are the overseers of the congregation. They are not to be out-voted by Deacons nor are they to be answerable to Deacons. Deacons are answerable to Elders. There is no authority for voting on anything in the Lord’s church. Elders are responsible to right anything wrong within the Lord’s church as soon as possible within the time frame as set by the Lord, not the time frame as set by man. The Church is a monarchy, not a democracy (Matt. 16:18-19; Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:14).

My friends, because of the twelve reasons listed, I can no longer worship with or minister to the Goodlettsville Christian Church. Such worship would be a violation of my personal religious convictions.

Sincerely,

Nelson J. Greene, Jr.

Gospel Preacher

Nelson Greene’s Letter To Lakeview Church of Christ

Hendersonville, TN

In January of 1975, after viewing the “Jule Miller Film Strip Series” and extensively studying the biblical word “baptism” at the library of Roanoke Bible College, I was truly convinced that I was a sinner and needed a Savior. I heard, I believed, I repented, I confessed and immersed into His Body for the remission of my sins. I was baptized into Christ at the Elizabeth City (NC) church of Christ (group using instruments). Three days later, I entered Roanoke Bible College. My wife Sue had the privilege of being baptized many years before in Nashville, Ohio. This, I thought, ended years of search for the truth of God. This search really began as an altar boy through my years of being a Catholic priest to my move to Goodlettsville to serve as Evangelist for the Goodlettsville Christian Church.

I continued to study God’s Word and became convinced that the Christian Church had many years before lost its First Love. In my search of Scriptures I investigated that institutional church of Christ and was still convinced that they were not the New Testament Church. It was not until I saw the sign at the Lakeview church of Christ (No Kitchens . . .) that caused me to wonder if indeed there was in actual existence the Lord’s church in practice and worship. I decided to investigate this group of people. On Monday, April 21st, after I decided that I could no longer stay and accept the human inventions that characterized the Christian Church, I stopped and talked with Jr. Bronger for the first time; and I was impressed with his answers to my questions (book, chapter and verse). I attended two gospel meetings at his invitation. On Tuesday, I had a lengthy discussion with Jr. and David Lanius at the Bronger’s. After the discussion and upon arriving home I told my wife Sue that “we’ve got to talk,” at which time my wife revealed that she had been expecting me to take a stand against these unscriptural innovations. To my pleasant surprise she stated that she too felt they were wrong.

I informed the Elders of the Goodlettsville Christian Church on April 27th of my decision; and announced to the entire congregation on May 4th my decision. Today we’re telling you that we renounce the human innovations of the Christian Church and everything that is not upheld by the Word of God: (1) instruments, (2) the social gospel, (3) humanism, (4) support of human institutions, (5) modern ecumenical movement between the Christian Church, Disciple of Christ and the institutional churches of Christ, (6) and anything else that is not found in God’s Word, book, chapter and verse.

Today, after so many years of searching, I firmly believe that my/our search is over for the Lord’s Church. We want you to know that we want to be identified with the Lakeview church of Christ and serve under the leadership of the Elders. We ask that you accept us as brother and sister in Christ as we accept you.

Nelson Joseph Greene, Jr.

Karen Sue Greene

P.O. Box 161

Goodlettsville, TN 37071-0161

May 11th, 1986

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, pp. 463-464
August 7, 1986