Truth Magazine

By Sherry Burgess

Besides a red Lamborghini, there were two things I dreamed of having — an old fashioned ball dress and a date with Nando. Then, in my senior year of high school, I got them both!

Let’s start with Nando. Nando is an Italian Catholic whom I had really liked for over two years. He is so good-looking that I had never thought he would ask me for a date. Unfortunately Nando is not a Christian, so I had never really worried about not dating him. One night though, a month before school was to close, Nando asked me to go out to dinner with him. Words cannot express how surprised I was!

Now, let me describe my dream dress. I had visions of layers upon layers of pink taffeta and puffy sleeves, the kind of dress that belongs on the veranda of a southern mansion. One night, my parents returned from their yearly visit to the relatives in Alabama, and guess what they brought back! You guessed it! A real, down-home, southern, ball dress. Could anything be any better? Then it happened! The devil always seems to worm his way in when everything is going so great.

Here is what happened. I felt I was in a dream the night Nando took me out. Then he asked me to go to our senior graduation prom. Until that moment, I had already decided that I would not go to the prom, no matter what. Now here I was, not only with an invitation from the best looking guy in our class, but also with the most gorgeous dress to wear. Now came the hard part. My mind began to ask, “What is really wrong with the prom anyway? There is no command that says you cannot go to the prom.” How easy it would be if there was one! But the Lord wants Christians to do their own searching and follow Him in faith and obedience. That takes study. So, one night I sat down to see what God would have me to do, and to make a list of the pros and cons of the situation. Here were my arguments for going to the prom.

1. I will have the best dress there.

2. I will be with the best looking, most popular boy.

3. I will never again see all of the friends I have known for four years.

4. I will sit at the table and talk. I will not dance.

5. Everyone at school already knows my stand for the Lord, and they have told me they don’t want me to dance, so it will not affect my influence with them.

6. Some of the other Christians are going.

7. If going is not wrong, why should I miss the last night with my friends and probably lose Nando?

8. Everyone is going.

So far, it looked pretty good! Now it was time to make a list of arguments for not going to the prom!

1. “Come out from among them and be ye separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). “No man can serve two masters. . .”(Matt. 6:24). I can rule out this argument, because I won’t dance. This will still make me separate from the others. Yet, what is hard to admit to myself is that the devil will win a small battle by getting me there. He will work at getting me to dance once I am there.

2. Christians are to set an example that is different from the world. I know that to be a Christian, I am to let my light shine (Matt. 5:13). No matter how much I think I can do something in secret, someone will always find out.

3. If I am wrong and I go, I will not only lose my soul, but the devil will win one from God who “gave His only begotten Son” to die for me (Jn. 3:16).

4. My mother is trying to understand how I feel and has given me the pros and cons of going or not going. I am thankful for her understanding. She guides me and yet does not order me. I must think this one out myself, for the choice and responsibility are mine, even though I know which choice Mom wants me to make. Do I want to disappoint her?

5. I had never been to one single dance in my entire life. Will I relax my standards for the final dance when I have made it this far for so long?

6. For the first time I will have something in my life that I will be ashamed to tell my Grandma. Why will I feel that?

7. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matt. 25:13). If the Lord comes again that night, will I want to be found at the prom?

8. If it really is wrong but I do go, after deciding it is all right, I will hear these words at the Judgment Day, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

There you have it — these were my arguments. In all honesty, I must say that two weeks before the prom I had decided to go. The devil had helped me rationalize all of my concerns. I felt ashamed that I was going, but I was caught up in the excitement at school.

Then one Sunday morning, brother Bill Hall spoke on 1 Corinthians 3:12-17. I could see the teaching that some Christians are wood, hay, or stubble, and do not endure the fires of temptation. Some Christians, however, are gold or silver, and as the fire gets hotter, the impurities in the gold and silver burn away, making them stronger. Well, that hit me. What was I, hay or gold? I began to realize that a faith of gold is still there ages after the wood and hay have disappeared.

With a week and one-half to go, everyone at school was buzzing with excitement. Then, one night, I suddenly thought of an argument I just could not rationalize away – my sister! You see, I have a little sister who is twelve years old. She is a Christian and is really trying hard. Although the whole school might not mind if I went to the prom, and although no one else might find out, there would be one special person who would know for sure that I went – my younger sister. I imagined Melissa thinking as she entered high school, “If Sherry went to the prom, then why can’t I go to this dance too?” Suddenly, it wasn’t concern only about my own soul, but was also the possibility of causing my little sister to stumble by my actions and being finally lost. “But whoso shall offend some of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6).

It was then that the full impact of what I had first decided finally hit me. Now I was not going to go to the prom, even if Sylvester Stallone himself should ask me to go! It hurt me to tears to realize that now I had to explain it to Nando. I tried to tell him that my influence would be hurt, and that when one dances, he can cause others to lust. He did not agree with me, but he did agree to come to our gospel meeting with brother Paul Sheehan. That night, brother Sheehan talked about some of the problems facing teenagers, and among them were the dangers of dancing. He pointed out that the only way a guy could not lust after a girl when he was dancing with her was if she was the ugliest girl in the world, or if the guy was not normal. That really got to Nando and it backed up what I had said about lust.

Brother Sheehan also spoke about our influence and how it is affected by where we go. After the lesson, Nando said he was glad I was not going and that he now understood why I had made the decision. However, that did not ease the pain any the next day when he told me that he had asked another girl to go with him. When he asked me if I was hurt, I told him that I was, but that I understood how important the prom was to him. Understanding didn’t make it any easier when I cried myself to sleep that night.

The big day finally came. Everyone at school was so excited! I listened as girls described their dresses and told how they could decorate the hall. The boys discussed with whom they would ride and where to buy the cheapest corsage! They all made their final attempt to beg me to go and I tried to “plain again why I was not going.

My family decided to go on a camping trip that night, and I remember sitting by the campfire, staring into the flames and feeling so sad and alone. I wondered what my friends were doing and what fun they were having. I also thought of my beautiful pink dress, packed away in the closet at home. It was then that I finally felt, for the first time, the true separation of being a Christian, because this was something I had really wanted to do. All the other times, it wasn’t hard to make the right decision because I had never wanted to join in. This time it was hard. I felt joy, however, when I remembered that “all that will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). What was my small persecution compared with all of those which Paul had suffered?

In my prayer that night, I thanked the Lord for giving me the strength to say “no” to the hardest temptation I have faced in all my life. With the Lord to guide me, I came out of this one as gold.

But, there is another happy ending as well! The day after the prom, ten of my friends asked me to go with them to a very fancy restaurant — one where Queen Elizabeth had eaten. They said if she had eaten there, then I could wear my dress there! Needless to say, I wore it and had the greatest night ever. Nando was not there. He has been dating the other girl since the prom. Still, I wasn’t sad. I finally got to wear my dress, and one out of two is not bad. Jesus always has a reward for those who do His will, although I realize it may not even be in this life.

To all of you who are facing the same decision I faced, I know exactly how you feel. Just search the Scriptures for guidance and turn to God for the answers. I will never forget the real happiness and thanksgiving I felt after choosing not to go. Though I can still remember the loneliness of that night, I can say with all assurance that if I had it to do again, I wouldn’t change a thing, except maybe taking so long to decide what is right. I’m sure all of my friends had plenty of fun that night, but now that fun is gone. The Lord will be there when everything else has long since passed away.

The prom – to go or not to go? It is a hard decision. It might seem to be all right. If you choose wrong you will have “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Heb. 11:25) and the devil for eternity.

I didn’t mention it in the beginning, but there is one thing I want more than a dress, a boy, or a red Lamborghini and that is a home in heaven, because nothing can come close to taking its place. “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)

One night was hard

God held my hand,

He gave me courage

To take a stand.

It doesn’t hurt me anymore

I’m stronger than I was before.

One night was hard

I made a stand,

And now there’s left

The Promised Land.

(Editor’s Note: I enjoyed reading this article. It encouraged me while preparing it for publication. The Guardian of Truth Foundation thinks highly enough of this article that we are publishing it in tract form to encourage other teenagers to act as did sister Burgess in resisting the temptation of the prom. You may want to order copies of this tract now in order to help your young people who face the decision of whether or not to attend the prom this year.

I would like to receive similar articles from others of our readers. These can be published under the heading of “Victories Of Faith.” Perhaps you know of someone who has gone through a similar battle [not necessarily the temptation to attend a dance] to that of sister Sherry Burgess. Take the time to tell his story and share it with the rest of us. We are inspired from contemporary examples of faithfulness even as we are inspired from the examples of Joseph, Daniel, Paul, and others. I look forward to receiving and publishing such articles from our readers.)

Guardian of Truth XXX: 4, pp. 97, 120
February 20, 1986

By Hoyt H. Houchen

Question: Does the Bible teach that social meals are apart of congregational fellowship?

Reply: Meals, recreation and entertainment provided by the local church in the name of “fellowship” are a common practice in liberal churches. Before me is a bulletin in which the statement appears: “At least once per quarter we want to have a congregational fellowship, consisting of sandwiches, salads, snacks, etc. – ‘finger food.’ The first will be after the evening services.”

First, a word about the church building is in order. Eating in the church building is not wrong per se. The building itself is not sacred, but rather the place where the church meets. God’s people compose the church (Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1: 18; 1 Pet. 2:5). So, whether it is right or wrong to eat in the church building is not the issue. The issue is: do the Scriptures authorize the church (a congregation) to provide social functions – meals, recreation and entertainment?

Individual members of the church are authorized to perform and participate in activities which the church is not authorized to do. The failure to make this distinction is responsible for many congregations engaging in unscriptural practices. The individual sustains relationships in various realms. As a member of the church, the family of God, he sustains a spiritual relationship to that body (Eph. 2:19,20; 3:21; 4:1-16; 1 Pet. 2:5). He, at the same time, sustains a relationship to the community. This is a social relationship which justifies his participation in community projects that are right, and supporting them financially. He can contribute to worthwhile endeavors (cancer research, cerebral palsy funds, school activities, etc.). The church, on the other hand, is not authorized by the Scriptures to promote or engage in such activities. The individual sustains an economic relationship. This involves the operation of a private business, a school or being employed in order to provide a living for himself and his family or the home (1 Pet. 3:1-7; Eph. 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21). And, the individual sustains a relationship to civil government (Rom 13:1-8; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). Obviously, there are individual obligations which are not the enterprises of the church. The church is spiritual; thus, its work is spiritual. Its primary work is to preach the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1 Tim. 3:14,15). It is not the business of the church to provide social functions for its members.

The word “fellowship” as it is used in the New Testament, is greatly misunderstood; and this misunderstanding is also responsible for many churches of Christ building “fellowship” halls and providing “fellowship” meals. The word “fellowship” in the New Testament is translated from three Greek nouns (koinonia, metoche, and koinonos) and two Greek verbs (koinoneo and sunkoinoneo). They convey the meaning of “communion, sharing in common, joint participation, contribution, partnership, to partake with others.” The conclusion is reached by some, that since “fellowship” is joint participation, it follows that the church is providing “fellowship” when it sponsors social activities which involve eating, recreation and entertainment. What many fail to see is that fellowship is joint-participation, but not all joint participation is fellowship. Jesus ate with the publicans and sinners (Mk. 2:16), but He did not fellowship them. Paul wrote: “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11). But, if all joint participation is fellowship, then Christians are not allowed to engage in sports activities with sinners; they cannot play games with sinners nor can they eat with them. To do so would be to fellowship them, if this contention is correct that all joint participation is fellowship.

The “fellowship” that Christians have is being in relationship with Christ. It is a spiritual relationship – a spiritual “fellowship” (Acts 2:42; 1 Jn. 1:7); it is not obtained by eating and drinking “fellowship” meals. Nowhere do the Scriptures authorize the church to provide that kind of fellowship. If the church can provide such joint participation as meals in the name of “fellowship,” then why cannot the church provide other activities of “fellowship,” such as fishing parties, skating parties, games and anything else that involves joint participation? If not, why not? The pathetic fact is that there are churches doing those very things. If the church can provide “fellowship” meals, it can provide these other things. There is no stopping place there are “no holds barred.” Bible fellowship involves a spiritual tie (2 Cor. 6:14). This means that Christians cannot be yoked with sinners in a spiritual or religious sense. For this reason gospel preachers are not to be members of ministerial alliances and Christians are not to be members of religious lodges and other religious bodies than the Lord’s church. Joint participation in them would be fellowship with them.

The work of the church is threefold: it is to preach the gospel, edify the saints and provide such necessities as food and shelter for those needy saints for whom it is responsible. The Scriptures do not authorize the church to engage in any other work. “Fellowship” halls do not fall into this work; they are for the purpose of eating and drinking; therefore churches are not authorized by the word of God to provide them. “Fellowship” meals to be provided by the church are the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-34) and spiritual food – the word of God (see Jn. 6). They are not social meals.

If Bible fellowship consists in eating and drinking, would it not be just as wrong for a member of the church to miss a “fellowship” dinner as it would be to miss the services on Sunday night or Wednesday night? Many think of “fellowship” when they smell the food cooking and the coffee brewing in the church kitchen. And, if fellowship is made possible by eating and drinking, then brethren separated by great distance of miles could not be in fellowship with their brethren, if fellowship is social meals. In the spiritual realm of fellowship, however, all Christians who are “walking in the light” are in fellowship with God and each other, regardless of where they are (1 Jn. 1:7). It is sad that so many brethren miss the whole point of fellowship.

Other considerations could be given to this matter. The question is not where a “fellowship” meal is eaten. Church sponsored meals are without scriptural authority whether they are eaten in a church building, a school house or out under a tree.

The Bible does not teach that social meals are a part of congregational fellowship. They involve the individual, not

the church.

Guardian of Truth XXX: 3, pp. 69-70
February 6, 1986

By Irven Lee

The training of children is a heaven assigned responsibility for parents (Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4). If young people misbehave at any time there are some who make comments about schools, the church, the scouts, etc., and about their failure to train the children. These influential institutions do often fail to exert the proper influence, but the shame of failure falls back into the lap of parents because children are given to them as a gift from God. They are carefully to train them to “keep the way of the Lord” and “to do justice” (Gen. 18:19; Psa. 127:3-5). There is special emphasis on teaching that will prepare the young to be servants of the Lord. The kingdom of God and His righteousness are of utmost importance.

In America today people who deny the deity of Christ and even the existence of God are having a shocking influence on children through television, textbooks, public schools in many places, and through any other avenues that are available to them. These “Humanists” have been able to direct Congress, the courts, and many departments of government. Much of our own tax money is used to finance abortion and to give instruction that tends to destroy respect for righteousness and parental authority. Too many of us have been asleep to this encroachment on the home and family as God planned them.

Some good people are waking up to the terrible dangers that surround us. In desperation some of these parents, in some states, are deciding to take their children out of public schools to train them at home. In certain states this can be done legally, but this is no simple solution to the problem. Will these children be properly trained at home? Industry is looking for chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineers. Families, of course, are not generally capable of giving these special skills in math and science. Computer skills are very important to American business and government, and training for this is also difficult. What do parents mean when they speak of training their children at home? Do they plan a very inferior education in a safer environment? Do parents have some plan that will include special skills in teaching math, science, speech, writing, music, and mechanics?

It is much easier, of course, to teach little people to read and to handle their level of number work, but is this done with dedication and skill in the home? It is my impression that some parents go on with their regular work and social life while they constantly say: “We must get down to more teaching soon.” Training that is worthwhile cannot be done in short sessions at rare intervals. Schools have hours of teaching for five days per week for nine months or more per year.

It is certainly true that many things are taught in certain public schools that should not be taught. It is also true that a great cry is going up from business and industry that public schools are failing far short in developing capable and reliable employees, even though they keep the children so many hours per week for so many years. Humanists are trying hard to teach “sexual freedom” and actual freedom from restraint and responsibility. This is enough to fill Christians with fear when they think of turning their children over to a public school for training.

We do have room to be thankful for Christians who teach in the public schools, and even for non-Christians who have regard for character and decent behavior. There are few who are in the narrow way that leads to life in comparison with the many who go the broad way that leads to destruction. In the earlier days in America, character training was considered to be a vital aspect of the teaching in every school. Even the textbooks in reading taught moral lessons, and teachers were expected to set the right examples in their own conduct and conversation.

If more parents will shout their demands for teaching reliability, integrity, honesty, purity, and sobriety there will be a return to more regard for these needs of young people. The atheistic humanists are having much more influence than their numbers would indicate they should. Christians have been too quiet. They could find many allies in this from the “moral majority” and other units of society that are against the ungodliness of the humanists. We could be wholesome leaven for the nation. It is righteousness that exalts a nation (Prov. 14:34). Even from the point of view of patriotism we owe it to our nation to be as light and salt.

Back in the decade of the sixties an aggressive Russian leader boasted that Russia would take America without firing a shot. He, no doubt, knew more about the activities of the Humanists than the average American did. Secular humanists and communists have very much in common. Both deny the existence of God and, therefore, deny the hopes and the wonderful words of life given through the Bible. Professing themselves to be wise they become fools (Rom. 1:22). They are without hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12).

So many who claim to have faith must not have much faith. We can observe their lack of Bible knowledge and their lack of zeal for righteousness. Some who are waking up to some very unholy influences in many schools are not awake to their own failure as parents to teach the sacred writings to their children. Is it possible that some who are thinking of taking their children out of school for home training are not even skilled teachers of the Bible?

Guardian of Truth XXX: 3, p. 74
February 6, 1986

By Tommy L. McClure

Introduction

“My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou an my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words” (Prov. 7:1-5).

“My words,” “my commandments” and “my law” of this text are God’s words, commands and law declared by Solomon. Example: Speaking of the gospel, Paul used the terms “my gospel” (Rom. 2:16) and “my doctrine” (2 Tim. 3:10) in the sense of declaration, not in the sense of origination, for God revealed it unto him (1 Cor. 2:9, 10), and he preached what he had received by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11, 12). The same is true of Solomon he declared what God originated and revealed!

Some Wrong Attitudes Toward The Word Of God!. The Bible Is Outdated According To Some! After hearing Bible passages they don’t want to accept, some say, “But that was two thousand years ago!” While modes of travel, communication and greeting change (see Acts 8:27, 28; 1 Cor. 16:3; Rom. 16:16), essential things do not change! (1) God’s moral requirements are the same today as they have always been – acts of immorality have always been wrong! Cain sinned by killing Abel (Gen. 4:8-10; 1 Jn. 3:12) long before the law of Moses which forbade murder (Ex. 20:13) was given. (2) Man -‘s spiritual needs are the same as they were when Paul listed the sins which, if committed but not forgiven, will bar the guilty from the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Gal. 5:19-21). Relative to such matters, God does not change (Mal. 3:6) and Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). (3) Principles of truth do not change. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach unto any people” (Prov. 14:34) is as true today as it was the day Solomon wrote it. “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles” (Prov. 21:23) may not be “sweet” but “how true it is!” “An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgressions” (Prov. 29:22) is as true now as in Solomon’s time, and many of us have often witnessed demonstrations of the truthfulness of the statement. The Bible, dear reader, is not an outdated book; those who so affirm demonstrate either their ignorance of it, or their dishonesty regarding it! On either count, they are not worthy to be believed or followed!

2. The Bible Is Unreliable, Some Say! “You can prove anything by the Bible,” they aver. This attitude stems from a misuse of the Bible -corrupting the word of God (2 Cor. 2:17), handling it deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2), and wresting the Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:15, 16)! This is done by lifting passages out of their setting, applying passages to the wrong persons, making unwarranted connections between Bible statements, and isolating one passage from all other passages dealing with the same subject! By the same methods, I could “prove (?) anything” by any book or man! Let’s deal honestly and fairly with the Bible.

3. The Bible Is Powerless, Some Tell Us! “It is merely a dead letter,” they say. Those who say this are either ignorant of or willfully ignore all evidence to the contrary. This includes: (1) Plain Bible statements (Rom. 1: 16; Heb. 4:12; Jas. 1:21); (2) Influence of the Bible on: (a) Law (Deut. 25:13-16; cf. Dept. of Weights & Measures); (b) Music (“The Lord’s My Shepherd” from Psa. 23; “The New Song” from Rev. 14:3); (c) Literature (“Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Regained” by Milton; “Thanatopis” by Bryant); (d) Art (“The Last Supper” by Philippe de Champaign); (e) Common expressions (“doubting Thomas” from Jn. 20:24-28; “salt of the earth” from Matt. 5:13; “your sins will find you out” from Num. 32:23; “last but not least” from Matt. 20:1-16); and (3) Well-known and established facts, viz., (a) That human life is valued highest in countries where the Bible is best known (see Gen. 9:6); and (b) Bible teachers have often rendered uncivilized parts of the world safe for others. When all these facts (many others could be presented) are before one, he cannot honestly term the Bible “powerless” and “merely a dead letter! ” The Psalmist was right: “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psa. 119:50, Emphasis mine, TLM).

Specific Statements Of The Text Which Show How We Should Regard The Word Of God

1. We Should Regard It As That Which We Are Most Careful Of. “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee” (v. 1). The word, like a precious treasure, is to be kept – to be laid up!

Under the term “kept” numerous implications of a negative nature can be listed. Since the word is to be kept, (1) It is not to be lost by carelessness as God’s people did in Old Testament times (2 Chron. 34:14-21). They had allowed God’s word to be lost in God’s house! (That’s not the only time such has happened, either!) Many are careless about God’s word now – they (a) don’t study the Bible, but use it for a filing cabinet or coffee table ornament; (b) don’t hear it preached and taught regularly, but just on “special” days, as Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving; (c) sleep during sermons and classes, but are wide awake through a fifteen-inning ball game; and (d) many think it is merely a “general guide” which is very flexible and contains “no pattern” for life, work or worship. Rest assured that every act of carelessness puts more distance between us and our treasure (God’s word)! (2) It is not to be bartered for the inferior or worthless (Prov. 23:23)! Many such sales have been made – truth has been sold for trifles, such as monetary gain, earthly friendships, peace with family, prestige, and doubts of atheists and skeptics! Every such sale shows despite for God’s word (the treasure) (cf. Gen. 25:34). (3) The word is not to be left behind as unimportant! When moving, some leave behind what they don’t want or consider unimportant, and others have to dispose of their junk. God’s word is not to be treated as junk! Imagine being exiled to a lonely island with the ultimatum: “Leave behind either your Bible or T. V. for the rest of your life!” Friend, which would you leave? Which would you take? The truthful answer to that question may indicate the destiny to which you are headed – heaven or hell! It certainly indicates your present attitude toward the word of God, that treasure to be kept!

Just as God’s words are to be kept as a treasure, they are to be laid up for preservation or safe keeping! “Lay up” often carries this idea in the Scriptures. Moses instructed Aaron to take a pot of manna and “Jay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations” (Ex. 16:33). Jesus taught to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” rather than on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves steal (Matt. 6:19-21). This part of the verse is rendered: “And treasure up my commandments with thee” (Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on The 0. T, Proverbs, in loco. cit., Eerdmans Pub. Co.). David expressed the thought, saying, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psa. 119:11).

“Lay up. . . with thee” demands personal attachment to the word (see Deut. 11:8). It is not like laying a lost hubcap on a post or hanging a lost horseshoe on a fence so the person who lost it, or anyone who needs and wants it, can find it. We are to lay the word up in our hearts, in our souls, to the point that it becomes apart of us!

The word is not to be laid aside as though in our way; nor laid back as though something else is more important; not laid down as though burdensome (see 1 Jn. 5:3). It is to be laid up in our hearts as a valued treasure – to be studied, loved, practiced, taught and defended!

Our treasure in heaven depends on how we treasure God’s word while here. God’s wrath is pronounced against those who set at naught His counsel and reproofs (Prov. 1:24-32)! “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded” (Prov. 13:13). The other side of the coin is: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14). Friend, do you treasure God’s word, or despise it? Will you be rewarded at the last day, or punished?

2. God’s Word Is To Be Regarded As That Upon Which Life Depends. “Keep my commandments, and live. . . ” (v. 2a). The reverse is clearly implied – “keep not my commandments, and die!” “Keep” is used in the sense of observing, adhering to, obeying.

Spiritual life now and eternal life beyond is impossible without the word! (1) Explaining the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “The seed is the word of God” (Lk. 8:11). Life would soon cease in any life-realm –vegetable, animal or spiritual without seed. (2) God’s word is spiritual food (1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:12-14). Life cannot continue in any of the above mentioned realms without food! The word of God is able to build up the spiritual system of every person who rightly receives it (see 1 Thess. 2:13) and allows it to dwell in him richly (Col. 3:16), for Paul commended (entrusted or committed) the elders of Ephesus to God and the word of His grace for that very purpose (Acts 20:32). (3) Everlasting life is conditioned on hearing the word (Jn. 5:24). (4) Jesus taught that keeping the word is the way to avoid spiritual death (Jn. 8:51). (5) The word is even called “the word of life” (Phil. 2:14-16). Since children of God are begotten by the word (1 Pet. 1:23), and since spiritual life is sustained by the word (1 Pet. 2:2), and since the words of God are spirit and life (Jn. 6:63), no better term than “word of life” can be employed to describe it!

“I cannot live without it” is often used by exaggeration to refer to things people really like or have become addicted to. Some say they “cannot live without” their cigarettes, coffee, whiskey or dope. Not so! An exaggeration! If all such poison were taken away from them, and they were given only fresh air , pure water, wholesome food and moderate exercise, they would live better and longer! But “I cannot live without it” is no exaggeration when applied to the word of Goal Friend, if you are trying to live spiritually and hoping to live eternally without the word of God, you are headed for a sad and eternal disappointment!

3. We Are To Regard God’s Word As That Which Is Particularly Precious And To Be Carefully Guarded. “Keep… my law as the apple of thine eye” (v. 2b).

Of “apple” of the eye Delitzsch says, “The little man of the eye… named from the miniature portrait of him who looks into it being reflected from it” (Keil & Delitzsch, in loco. cit., Eerdmans Pub. Co.). The pupil of the eye is evidently meant. It is a proverbial expression for anything particularly precious and to be guarded with scrupulous care. The Psalmist prayed, “Keep me as the apple of thine eye” (Psa. 17:8). Of the Lord’s regard for Zion, Zechariah said, “. . he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zech. 2:7, 8). It is used in the text to set forth the high regard we are to have for the word of God.

The preciousness of the word is often affirmed by Bible writers. Job esteemed it more than his necessary food (Job 23:12). David considered the word more desirable than “much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psa. 19: 10). The entire 119th Psalm is devoted to his high regard for God’s word!

Without the word we would have no knowledge of things which are truly precious – (1) The death of the Wnts in God’s sight (Psa. 116:15); (2) The cornerstone of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 28:16) fulfilled in Jesus Christ (I Pet. 2:4-8); (3) The blood of Christ by which man is redeemed (1 Pet. 1:18, 19); (4) The precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1) which we cannot have apart from the word of God (Rom. 10: 17); and (5) The precious promises made to the faithful in God’s word (2 Pet. 1:3, 4).

We should guard the word as carefully as we guard our literal eye. Paul said, “O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee . . . ” (1 Tim. 6:20, ASV). Again, “. . . I am set for the defense of the gospel” (Phil. 1:17). Jude taught “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3).

We should also follow God’s word as the head and other members of the body follow the eye. Have you ever carefully noticed the actions of a good outfielder going for a fly ball? His eye is on the ball as soon as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, follows it all the way to home plate, watches it as it comes off the bat and begins its ascent over the infield. But, what of the head and other members of his body? They are all moving in the direction the eye is looking — following the lead of the eye; and, just at the right time the feet, ankles and legs give a mighty heave, springing the player high into the air; the torso and arm stretch, the glove-hand shoots up, and the ball pops in the glove – caught! – just before going over the fence for a home run, and the batter gets a “big loud `out’!” Why? Because every member of that outfielder’s body was following the lead of the eye! If we follow the word of God that closely, we will put the devil “out” – out of our thinking, out of our lives, out of our homes, out of the churches, and, ultimately, “out of business” completely! Friend, which will you do? Follow God’s word so as to “put the devil out”? Or refuse to follow it and thereby allow him a “grand-slam homer”?

4. God’s Word Is To Be Regarded As That Which We Delight In And Would Ever Be Mindful Of. “Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart” (v. 3).

Solomon likens the word to a ring or ring-like article worn on the finger, the purpose of which is two-fold: (1) To be an ornament. Jewish women were evidently fond of ornaments Usa. 3:18-23), and the same is true of many women (and some men) now. Yet, God’s word practiced is the most beautiful ornament of all. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Prov. 25:11). This is doubly true of God’s wordfaithfully lived! Christ’s life on earth is the most beautiful and lasting ornament of all time because of His perfect obedience to the Father’s will (Jn. 8:29; 1 Pet. 2:22)! The life of Saul of Tarsus, converted from the Jew’s religion to Jesus Christ, was a rich ornament, beautiful to behold! Numerous “ornamental” passages which beautify the lives of all who practice them, can readily be cited (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:17; Eph. 4:28, 29; 1 Pet. 3:14). (2) Rings and ring-like objects are worn as reminders. Engagement and wedding rings remind the girl that she “is taken ” and other boys to “leave her be! ” People are prone to forget spiritual matters and need to be reminded. God’s people in Old Testament times forgot Him (Jer. 3:21), His works (Psa. 106:13), and His law (Hosea 4:6); the Hebrews forgot His exhortation (Heb. 12:5). You may say, “Not me! I’ll never forget Him! ” Don’t be over-confident! Peter said he would never deny Jesus, but did so the same night (Matt. 26:34, 35, 69-75). Like a ring, the word must be kept with and before us; this is one of the many reasons for daily Bible reading and study and regular attendance at all services!

The word is likened unto what is written upon it tablet (v. 3b, ASV). Three things should be noted about this statement: (1) its meaning – to impress the word of God indelibly on the heart, so as to give it a permanent abode therein; (2) its purpose – that the word be not forgotten but continue as the mainspring of our actions; (3) its implication – the heart is to be impressionable to the word of God.

Some hearts have been so dominated by Satan that they are about as impressionable to the word of God as plate glass to a ball-point pen! They resemble the wayside hearer in the Lord’s parable of the sower (Lk. 8:5-15). Sin, not the word of God, is written in the hearts of many! Jeremiah said, “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the tablet of their heart. . . ” (Jer. 17: 1). What is written on your heart, friend? Sin or the word? If sin, replace it with the word (Col. 3:16) so as to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). Is the word delight some to us as a ring? Or do we think of it as a troublesome bandage? What effort do we make to remember it?

5. To Us The Word Of God Should Be That With Which We Are Intimately Acquainted And Conversant. “Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman” (v. 4).

“Wisdom” and “understanding” are here personified and stand for the word of God. This is not difficult to see when we understand that God’s word is the divine depository of wisdom and understanding. Consider: (1) Wisdom and understanding consist in keeping the word (Deut. 4:5, 6); (2) David’s wisdom and understanding were attributed to the word (Psa. 119:98, 99); (3) God’s mouth (His word) is the source of knowledge, understanding or wisdom (Prov. 2:1-6; cf. 4:5); (4) Preaching Christ (the gospel, word) is preaching the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:23, 24; cf. 2:6, 7)1 (5) By teaching (God’s word), Jesus demonstrated His wisdom (Matt. 13:54); (6) The wisdom of God is even represented as speaking (Lk. 11:49); and (7) The word is able to make one wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15).

Regarding the word as our “sister” and “kinswoman” suggests: (1) Affection for it. In Bible times, it was common for brothers to show great affection toward their sister, Examples: Laban toward Rebekah (Gen. 24:55-60); Aaron and Moses toward Miriam (Num. 12:10-13); the sons of Jacob toward Dinah (Gen. 34); the brothers of the sister who was to be married in Solomon’s Song (8:8, 9). The same is usually true now; brothers will fight for their sister if the need arises! A similar love for the word of God must be exercised (cf. Psa. 119:97, 127, 128, 167; but 2 Thess. 2:10)! (2) Delight in it. It is common for brothers to delight in their sister by rejoicing with her in the honors she attains and the accomplishments she makes. Just so, we must delight in the word of God (Psa. 1:1, 2; 119:16; 40:8). But some resemble the Jews of Jeremiah’s day — “. . behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it” (Jer. 6:10). (3) Familiarity with it. It is easy for brothers to recognize their sister in a crowd after a long absence. We should be so familiar with the word that we can distinguish it from false doctrine. The word is likened to wheat, false doctrine to chaff, (Jer. 23:28). Can you distinguish between wheat and chaff on marriage and divorce, the work of the church, the operation of the Spirit? Many, lacking knowledge and discernment, have placed their approval on things which are inferior and wrong, not on “things that are excellent” (Phil. 1:9, 10). (4) Protection of it. Just as brothers will protect their sister, and fight to defend her, we must defend the word of God (Phil. 1:17; Jude 3; cf. 2 Tim. 3: 8, 9). (5) Purity toward it. Incestuous brother-sister relationships were severely condemned by the law (Lev. 20:17); and violations of this law constitute some of the blackest pages of Jewish history (2 Sam. 13; Ezek. 22:10-15). The act is viewed with great disgust today among moral, right-thinking people1 Similar purity toward the word of God must be maintained (Jer. 23:26; 2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2; Gal. 1:7-9). Friend, how do you regard the word of God — as a “sister,” a “kinswoman”? Or, as a stranger?

6. The Word Of God Is To Be That Which We Make Use Of For Our Defense And Armor Against Sin. “That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words” (v. 5). “They” refers to “wisdom” and “understanding” (v. 4) which are personified and stand for the word of God. The “strange woman” is the adulterous or “whorish woman” (6:23-26; 7:5-27). The word of God (in the heart with the right attitude toward it) is the best defense against this and all sin. This is true for the following reasons:

(1) The word confirms man’s dread of sinning! Men commonly dread the consequences of sinning. Usually, criminals are “on edge” just before the crime; they cover up as much as possible by working in darkness, lying and murder (Jn. 3:20; Gen. 4:9; 2 Sam. 11:14-17); and they flee the country to avoid prosecution. The Bible confirms the sinner’s dread by stating: “be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23); “sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:32); “the way of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13:15); “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:15)!

(2) God’s word strengthens our resolutions against sin! It is common for sinners to make resolutions toward better lives – the embezzler resolves to “pay it all back”; the drunkard, sick and vomiting, says “never again,” and the unfaithful member is “going to get started.” The Bible, if properly used, will strengthen all such resolutions, by: (a) Examples of godly men such as Joseph (Gen. 39); Job (Job 2:9, 10; 13:15); Jesus (Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22); who does not admire them and wish he were like them? (b) By promises given to the faithful (Psa. 15; Matt. 5:8; Rev. 2: 10); and (c) By threats made against the wicked (Matt. 13:49, 50; cf. 1 Pet. 4:18).

(3) God’s word discovers the fallacies of sin! Sin is deceitful (Heb. 3:13). Like the mirage on the desert, it entices with pleasures and satisfaction which always elude those who pursue them. The Bible discovers sin’s fallacies by showing: (a) What sin has done for man in the past (Adam and Eve, Saul, Israelites, et al.); (b) That sin is the way of bondage in this life (2 Pet. 2:14); and (c) The eternal misery sin will bring in hell (Rev. 21:8).

(4) God’s word sets forth the answers for the charms of sin! The devil is careful to make sin attractive and charming. This is true of: (a) Fornication — prostitutes make themselves attractive and appealing; (b) Drink — liquor and beer advertisements are pleasant to look at because of the beautiful scenery in the background; and (c) False doctrine — it is so plausibly presented by such eloquent speakers that many give them whole-hearted acceptance without a second thought. But, the Bible gives answers to these charms by describing: (a) The fair woman without discretion (Prov. 11:22); (b) The drunk (Prov. 23:29-35); and (c) False teachers and the broad way (Rom. 16:17, 18; Matt. 7:13, 14).

Conclusion

These five short verses from Solomon’s wisdom contain a mine of spiritual wealth. Following the instruction will lead

to spiritual success and eternal life; disregarding it will bring spiritual failure and eternal woe! The choice is yours, dear reader! And, so is the destiny!

Guardian of Truth XXX: 3, pp. 72-73, 84-85
February 6, 1986