Truth Magazine

By Morris Hafley

What if someone secretly took a video tape of the children in high school while they were in their classes? What would you expect to see? Of course, your child would be the perfect example of what a student should be. He would be sitting up straight and tall, have his book open to the proper page and would be busily engaged in taking notes as the teacher lectured and gave information concerning the coming exam. On the other hand, you would expect to see those not-so-perfect students. Those would be the slouchers, sleepers, whisperers, note passers, and the habitual bathroom users. Wouldn’t you like to ask this latter group the question. “Are you ready for the test? “

Now what if someone secretly took a video of the congregation where you worship, on Sunday morning? What would we find? Would it be a “revolting development”? Of course, you would be the perfect listener Bible open, sitting up straight and tall, etc. However, there would be others who got themselves nice and “comfy” in their little comer of the pew. Why some even dare to sleep and it is fairly easy to tell who they are when they begin to look like the headless horseman as their head falls into their lap. Then they have the nerve to act like the soldiers at Jesus’ tomb and act as though they know all that went on while they worshiped (?) God. How long will it be before we hear of the “lazi-boy pew”?

Next we have the “entertainer” who feels he has to make faces at and play with the babies in his area, even those a few rows in front of them. The preacher is to continue to preach while these faces are being made. Sometimes that becomes very interesting.

God tells us in Romans 15:4 that the Old Testament was written for our learning and I think if we study it just a little bit that we will see that this kind of worship will not be accepted by God and that when the final day comes we will not be “ready for the test.”

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, p. 453
August 7, 1986

By Webb Harris, Jr.

The apostle Paul spent about three years in the magnificent city of Ephesus, preaching and teaching the word of God to any and all who would hear. The Bible says that as a result of Paul’s labors, “so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). In Acts 20 a speech is recorded which Paul addressed to the elders of the church in Ephesus. Therein he informs them that he would never see any of them again. Persecutions awaited him in Jerusalem, where he was hurriedly traveling. He warned them of false teachers, “grievous wolves” that would not “spare the flock.” He commended them to the word of God’s grace. And he spoke to them these words concerning his past work in their city: “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26,27).

It is not impossible that Paul remembered the word which God spoke to the ancient prophet Ezekiel: “. . Hear the word at my mouth, and give them (Israel) warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die,” and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at thine hand” (Ezek. 3:17,18). Ezekiel understood that it was his duty to speak the word and warnings of God to the people.

To refuse to do so would be to cause them to remain ignorant of God’s will and Ezekiel would be responsible for their condemnation.

Do you understand the word of Paul in Acts 20:26,27? He had declared all the counsel of God to the Ephesians. Thus, if they would not submit to God’s will, it would not be Paul’s fault. He had done the duty of a preacher. He had proclaimed the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Some Things Most Preachers Won’t Tell You

Today in the 20th century we are bombarded on every side with preachers and spokesmen representing an almost endless number of religious bodies. It must be admitted that many of these preachers are, indeed, telling us some of God’s word. They are diligent to tell us of God’s love, Jesus’ deity, and the need for righteousness. But are they, like Paul, telling us all of God’s word? Are they preaching the whole New Testament of Jesus Christ, or just the portions that suit them?

Following are seven things that the Bible tells you, that most preachers won’t tell you.

1. Most preachers won’t tell you what Jesus taught about religious titles. Since many preachers wear titles like “Reverend,” “Father,” “Rabbi,” “Pastor … .. Friar, ” etc., they hesitate to share what Jesus said in Matthew 23. As Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, He noted that they loved to be called “Rabbi” in public. Such elevated them as special men, in some way more righteous and pious than others. The Savior said, “But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your master, even Christ. And all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your master, even Christ” (Matt. 23:8-10). It is also important to note that the psalmist said of God, “Holy and reverend is His name” (Psa. 111:9). When men want to be heralded as “reverend,” they are treading on blasphemous ground.

Spend some time looking at how the apostle Paul refers to himself in his epistles. Never does he assume a religious title, or for that matter, even a “Doctor of Divinity.” What was good enough for Paul, Peter and James, ought to be good enough for men today.

2. Most preachers won’t tellyou what the Bible says about the organization of the church. The organization of most denominations is very complex. Generally, the structure begins wth the President of a national board. His headquarters is responsible for overseeing groups of representatives or delegates from different regions. And this continues to branch itself downward into the various congregations.

What most preachers won’t tell you, is that this type of super-structure is found nowhere in the Scriptures. The book of Acts tells us that the disciples went everywhere preaching the word. We focus on the apostle Paul and his co-traveler Barnabas: “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23). Every congregation had its own elders. Peter said to elders, “feed the flock of God which is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2). These leaders were not answerable to some district board, but to the Lord and His word! The Bible teaches that the headquarters of the church is not in Washington or Timbuktu, but in heaven. For Christ is its head (Eph. 1:22).

3. Most preachers won’t tell you what the Bible says about women preachers. Every year, more and more women are laying claim to those aforementioned titles: “Reverend,” “Pastor,” etc. Not only are these women disregarding Christ’s teaching about such designations, but they are rebelling against what God says about the role of women in Christ’s church.

In 1 Timothy 2:11,12 it is written, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurpauthority over the man, but to be in silence.” Many preachers will tell you that Paul’s reasoning was based upon that day’s custom and social practice. Such an argument sounds acceptable until we allow Paul to tell us, himself, why he teaches as he does. Hear him: “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Tim. 2:13,14).

Though the Bible speaks plainly, most preachers bow to social pressure and refuse to tell us what God says.

4. Most preachers won’t tell you what the Bible says about music in worship. Did you know that the first Christians sang praises to God without the use of mechanical instruments like organs, pianos and guitars? The Bible instructs, “speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart, to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19). Did you know that mechanical instruments of music were not introduced into worship until the early 7th century?

While we are not subject to the teachings of mere men, it is extremely interesting to note that John Calvin, Adam Clarke, John Wesley, Martin Luther and Charles Spurgeon were all publicly out-spoken against the use of instruments in worship.

It is often argued that since David used a harp to praise God, then it is scriptural for Christians to use pianos and drums today. But we will do well to remember that we are not governed by the Mosaic law that governed Old Testament Jews, like David. We live under the New Testament of Jesus Christ! And nowhere does the New Testament tell us that Christians are authorized to use violins and fiddles in their worship. “. . . teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

5. Most preachers won’t tell you what God says about financing the church’s work. Since most preachers engage in car washes, bake-sales, cake-walks and carnivals to raise funds for their churches, they won’t tell you what the Bible says about “fund raising.” There are two instances in the New Testament of funds being raised so that the church could function. In Acts 5:32-37 we see the saints in Jerusalem selling what they had, and putting the funds into a “treasury.” It is impressive that they would sell what they owned, before they would beg from the unconverted community. The instructions of 1 Corinthians 16 are not much different. “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay him in store, as God hath prospered him” (1 Cor. 16:2).

Men can devise hundreds of schemes to raise money for the church. The only problem is that God has designed only one: Christians giving on Sunday, in proportion to the blessings of the previous week.

6. Most preachers won’t tell you what the Bible teaches about “salvation by faith alone. ” This doctrine has its roots in Martin Luther’s rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church’s selling of indulgences. He recognized that salvation was not to be had through buying one’s way to heaven, or even through impressing God with works of merit. Salvation is offered through Jesus Christ.

If preachers would be content to tell us that salvation is by faith, they would be speaking in harmony with the Bible. However, most feel a need to insist that man is saved by faith only. But hear the Bible: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only” (James 2:24). Be impressed that the only time the phrase, “faith only,” is found in the Bible, we are being told that we are not justified by “faith only.” Indeed, faith that does not motivate one to work, is not saving faith. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). If modern preachers desire to speak “as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11), they need to eliminate talk of “salvation by faith alone” from their lips.

7. Most preachers won’t tell you what the Bible says about baptism. No topic has been subject to more perversion than the topic of baptism. Proponents of the un-biblical doctrine of “salvation by faith alone,” having decided that salvation is imparted to men at the exact instant of belief in Christ, have come to teach that baptism is non-essential to salvation. Quite to the contrary, Peter instructed men and women, whose hearts had been pricked by the wonderful story of Jesus, to “repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Modern preachers may say what they will; the apostle Peter made baptism a necessary step in one’s quest for forgiveness. Jesus instructed His apostles to “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15,16). Most preachers will tell you that “he that believes is saved and ought to be baptized if he so desires”; we ought rather to stand upon what Jesus says.

It is significant, too, that baptism is administered to one who believes on Jesus Christ; not to infants incapable of possessing such convictions. “And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God… (Acts 8:36,37). People who are truly interested in what the Bible says concerning baptism must read Romans 6:3-5, Galatians 3:26-27 and 1 Peter 3:18-22. If a man’s teaching does not conform to what the Bible plainly states, that man is a false teacher.

Conclusion

Paul wrote to Timothy, “take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:16). Preachers, of all men, have an obligation to stand firm upon what God has revealed in His word. It is a shame when they refuse to speak only where the Bible speaks. The situation which rinds a man declining to tell others what the Bible says, is a poor situation. The grave danger inherent, is that people will assume that their preacher speaks “the whole counsel of God” while he is whittling the word down to nothing but meaningless trivialities.

Indeed, many preachers offer us college degrees, soothing speech and firm handshakes. But few give us the pure, uncompromised word of God. “Howbeit, in vain do they worship me,” said Jesus, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).

Contact the church of Christ in your area. The truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, pp. 449, 469-470
August 7, 1986

By Kenneth E. Thomas

It occurs to me that we mortals have things somewhat in reverse usually. For example: We spend the greater part of our lives, and some all of their earthly sojourn, preparing to live rather than to die. Yet Solomon said, “. . the living know they shall die” (Eccl. 9:5).

Now you just stop and think about it for a while! When a child is born into a family what are the things people first begin to consider about that child’s future? Will the child be healthy? Wonder what kind of life he or she will have? Will they be successful and make lots of money? Wonder if we can afford to send him to college? Suppose he is destined to be president of the USA?

In contrast to that consider a conversation like the following between a couple who have become parents of a newborn, “Dear, I wonder if we can so live before our offspring so as to instill in them the principles of the religion of Christ so that he will choose to become a Christian when old enough? I wonder if this my son will ever be interested in becoming a preacher of the glorious gospel of Christ? Perhaps an elder or a deacon in a local congregation of Christ! I wonder if this our daughter will become the wife of a faithful Christian, maybe even marry a preacher or an elder or a deacon? Well anyway, I just pray she will be a faithful and fruitful member of the body of Christ” (Jn. 15:16).

The former conversation is quite common place. I’m sorry to say that the latter is the exception to the rule. In fact many times parents (especially mothers) try to deter their offspring from aspiring to be gospel preachers, elders, deacons or the wives of such. Do you know some of the reasons they give? If considering the male of the sexes, “Don’t you know that if you become a preacher of the gospel that you will be placing yourself at the mercy of the whims of your brethren? That any time you ‘step on the wrong member’s toes,’ you may set off a campaign against you causing you to have to leave, thereby uprooting your family and moving to another place where you can be supported in your work for the Lord?”

In speaking to her daughter about such matters she is likely to say something like the following: “Dear if you marry a preacher or an elder or a deacon don’t you know you will have no time that you can call your own? You will find yourself sitting in a cold or hot classroom or maybe at home alone as your husband sees to some problem in the life of some member of the body, and that you and your family’s needs and wants will always come last after everyone else’s? There is no putting down roots and you will never have financial security! Don’t you know that it would be much better to marry a successful businessman or anyone but a preacher, an elder or a deacon in the Lord’s church? “

What does all of this reveal? Simply that we are worldly minded to a large degree. It shows that things having to do with the here and now are often of more importance to us than things related to the hereafter. It isn’t any wonder that our children grow up with the same attitudes (Jas. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15-17; Rom. 12:1-2).

Test Yourself!

Which upsets you most, your child failing to get his lesson for Bible class and knowing God’s will or that child failing in his secular school work? I’m afraid honesty shows that we are more upset with the latter than we are with the former.

Which means more to you: Your child being popular among his peers in school or seeing your child take a stand for Christ and refusing to go along with the crowd in popular, yet sinful, practices?

A beautiful true story was related a few years ago about a young lady who was a Christian who stood by her religious convictions. Marilyn Thomas had steadfastly refused to attend school dances. Time came to crown the football homecoming queen and knowing she would not attend the dance, still Marilyn was chosen queen. This true story relates how the whole student body and the parents as well gave Marilyn a standing ovation when she was announced as winner!

If one’s life in general is consistent with the principles involved as to why Marilyn would not dance, respect rather than ridicule is usually the result even from those who may think one’s religious position ridiculous. If Marilyn was given to wearing immodest clothing, had a filthy mouth, was known to live a loose life otherwise, none would have considered her for a homecoming queen and her not attending dances would not have impressed anyone. Her refusal, however, was totally consistent with her general lifestyle and she was honored here and will be in the hereafter provided she continues to serve the Lord faithfully (Rev. 22:14).

To Enjoy Life: Prepare For Death

The great apostle Paul tells us how to enjoy the life that now is and also have promise of that which is to come saying, in 1 Timothy 4:8, “Bodily exercise profits little (good in this life, ket), but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

The inspired apostle Peter likewise indicates how that serving Christ is what brings a “good life.” “For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against them who do evil” (1 Pet. 3:10-12).

To be willing to die for Christ as was the apostle Paul and I’m sure a large number of others is commendable (Acts 21:13). To be willing to live for Him is even greater! Paul, of course, was willing and committed to do either or both (Phil. 1:20-30). He said in verse 21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He stated in the third chapter of this same book that he had suffered the loss of all things and counted them but dung” (Phil. 3:7-14).

This is what is under consideration in Colossians 3:1-4, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. . . . ” The same is true of Paul’s statements in Romans 6:1,8-13, “. . . Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?. . . . And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Some Who Don’t Prepare

We have some accounts on record for our learning of some folks who didn’t take the time or sufficient interest in their own souls to prepare to die (the good farmer of Luke 12:13-21 for example). All we know of this man is that he seems to have placed all of the emphasis on preparing for this life and its needs, to the neglect of the next life. He was called a “fool” and informed of his death that night and the fact that all of those material possessions would in essence now belong to someone else. How sad! Although as men would view this man he was successful, we know that he was a total failure (Eccl. 12:13-14).

The rich man of Luke 16:19-31 is another sad example. He had “fared sumptuously every day.” He died and found himself in Hades in torment while his poor beggar friend Lazarus was comforted in Abraham’s bosom. Roles were now reversed as it were. It was not the amount of goods possessed which accounted for the spiritual condition of these two men. One had planned for his spiritual needs and the other had not!

Governor Felix (Acts 24:24-25) even trembled as “righteousness, temperance and judgment to come” were discussed but wanted to wait for a more convenient season to respond to heaven’s message. So far as we know he never found that “convenient season.” Agrippa was “almost persuaded” to be a Christian but almost will not avail, almost is but to fail (Heb. 5:8-9; Matt. 7:21-28).

There is also record of those who did accept God’s grace on His terms and “saved themselves from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:22-38,40,41,47). But by comparison to those who rejected God’s grace they were few in number. I see no reason to think it will be any different in our lifetime, but we are to work hard at giving all the opportunity to know Christ’s will, then it is up to them what they do; we are “pure from their blood” (Acts 20:26). We plant the seed, others will water it, and God gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, pp. 451-452
August 7, 1986

By Hoyt H. Houchen

Question: Please explain Hebrews 6:6.

Reply: Having rebuked his readers for not advancing spiritually (Heb. 5:12-14), the. author of Hebrews exhorts them to press on to maturity (6:1-3). They are now to leave this foundation (rudiments or elementary principles) by building upon it. A failure to do so would mean a falling away, or going backwards. Remember that the purpose of the Hebrews epistle was to prevent apostasy. This is why the letter is filled with warnings and exhortations. So, verses 1-3 of chapter six serve as the context of the warning given in verses 4-6.

The warning issued by the writer of Hebrews (w. 4-6) to prevent his readers from the fatal mistake of falling away is most significant. “For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (ASV). Herein are described those who had experienced these spiritual blessings; but if they fell away, it is impossible to renew them to repentance. It is to be noted that the impossibility is upon the part of those who attempt to renew the ones who fell away. The impossibility to renew them to repentance is made clear: “seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” As long as they continue to do this, no one can renew them to repentance. No appeal can be made to them about the spiritual blessings to be enjoyed in Christ; they had already experienced them. In their present condition they will not repent; therefore, no one can renew them. All that remains for such hardened apostates is “a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:27).

Guardian of Truth XXX: 15, p. 453
August 7, 1986