Truth Magazine

By M. Thaxter Dickey

Undoubtedly it’s not been long since you heard a sermon on prayer, read an article on prayer, or determined to improve your prayer habits. And that’s good because if there is a secret ingredient of success as a disciple of Christ, prayer is it. So how are you doing? How well do you understand the purpose, operation and practice of prayer? Here’s a quiz that may help you check up on your understanding of prayer.

What is Prayer?

Some define prayer as talking to God, and it is indeed a precious privilege to know that His ears are open to the prayers of the righteous (1 Pet. 3:13). Prayer is not a solitary pursuit. No one really prays who has no sense of God’s presence. We have time for conversation with our friends. Can we not find time at God’s invitation to converse with Him?

Others have defined prayer as a wish turned to heaven. It is not just wishful thinking or daydreaming but a concentrated effort to put one’s problems into the hands of Him who can do all things. Thus, Paul speaks of striving in prayer (Rom. 15:30; Col. 4:12). Righteous prayer which avails much is fervent and not a casual thing. It requires effort.

In a similar vein, Paul portrays prayer as a crucial tactic in the spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:18). It is the battleground upon which we conquer our spirit and subject it to God. Some complain that prayer is difficult and wish that it came easily to them and even suppose that it does come easily to others. But this is not the biblical picture. We pray only with great effort, for Satan strives to prevent us.

What is the Purpose of Prayer?

It is not to get for us that which we wish. Prayer is not an Aladdin’s lamp which we rub to get free wishes. God is not a gift machine which we manipulate to our own whims through prayer. This is the difference between magic and religion. Magic endeavors to bring the supernatural under the control of man, whereas religion is man’s effort to make himself pleasing to God. Prayer is thus conversation with God through which we conform our wills to His standards of holiness and come to agree with His plans for our lives.

Prayer is not for the purpose of debating with God, though Moses did apparently change God’s mind with his prayer for Israel (Ex. 32:9-14), and though prayer is effective, accomplishing much (Jas. 5:16), prayer is not out arguing or out thinking God. Who could be so presumptuous? The primary purpose of prayer is not to change God’s will, but to bring our will in line with His.

Prayer is not to be a sermon to either God or man. We may well follow the example of Bible prayers and rehearse that which God has accomplished and promised. But the purpose of prayer is communication of our spirit with God not the noble purpose of converting souls or teaching men. Effective public prayers are distinguished from those which leave us disinterested by this. They are spoken to God and not to an audience of men and thus lead us to think of God and not ourselves.

How Serious Is It If We Do Not Pray?

Prayerlessness is sin. Samuel recognized this at the time the Israelites offended him by asking for a king in his place. But he continued to pray for them rather than commit the sin of prayerlessness (1 Sam. 12:23). Prayer is a privilege, but it is also an obligation, and failure to pray is sin. We should so name it in our lives that we might be the more determined to pray.

Paul commands us to be vigilant in all manner of prayers (Eph. 6:17,18; 1 Tim. 2: 1). Failure to do so leaves us vulnerable to the onslaught of Satan. No sermon should ever be preached, or lesson taught, or trip begun, or task undertaken, or day begun without prayer. To do so is to foolishly risk temptation and spiritual, if not even earthly, failure.

What Hinders Our Prayers and Causes Prayerlessness?

The primary hindrance to prayer is sin. As Adam ran from God in the garden because of consciousness of sin, so we today avoid God in prayer when we are burdened with unrepented sins. If we love a sin more than we love God, He will not hear us (Psa. 66:18). When you have trouble praying, take spiritual inventory, and it’s likely you’ll find some sin lurking in the recesses of your soul. Root it out and your prayers will again flow to God.

1 John 3:22 teaches the positive lesson that God hears those who obey Him. By implication it teaches that He does not hear those who disobey Him. In the case of Cornelius God responded to the prayers of a righteous man who was not in a covenant relationship with Him. But His only answer was to refer him to a preacher that he might hear the gospel and have an opportunity to respond to it. I doubt that a man who is out of covenant relationship with God can effectively pray for recovery from illness or intercede on behalf of another.

James 1:5-8 reminds us that those who ask doubting will not receiving anything of the Lord. One who doubts will not pray as he should. He will not persist in prayer. Nor will God hear prayers offered in doubt. The infamous prayer of the agnostic perfectly illustrates the foolish ineffectiveness of the prayer offered in doubt. “God, if there be a God, save my soul, if I have a soul, from hell, if there be a hell.”

Another hindrance to our prayers is faulty personal relationships. Jesus taught that our sins are forgiven as we forgive others. This is the one lesson from the model prayer that He singled out for explanation after the prayer (Matt. 6:14,15). Many who would never drink or steal or murder will hinder their prayers by bearing a grudge against another. It’s a good bargain that God offers to us. If we forgive others their small offenses against us, He will forgive the great offenses we’ve committed against Him. Can you afford to reject so generous an offer?

Not just a lack of forgiveness, but any faulty personal relationship will hinder our prayers. Especially is this so of those with whom we are most intimate. Neither man nor woman can pray effectively if his heart is wrong against his spouse (1 Pet. 3:7), parents or children.

Another serious threat to prayer, as indeed it is to our entire relationship to God, is pride. Those who do not see their need will not ask. Further, God abhors the proud (Prov. 6:17) while His eyes are upon the humble. This is easy for us to understand. We enjoy helping those who ask us gently but resist those who are arrogant toward us. The temptation to pride is subtle. Some have even been known to grow proud of their humility. It is a difficult lesson for us to learn of our dependence and weakness and to ask as children that God deliver us. But we must become as children to enter the kingdom (Matt. 18:3).

When, How, and How Much Should We Pray?

Jesus tells us that we ought always to pray and never to grow weary in it (Lk. 18:2-8). Paul, a man of like passions to ourselves, taught the same lesson (1 Thess. 5:17). They did not mean that we were to give up daily life and become monks for the Lord’s sake, devoting ourselves in this way to prayer. Rather, they mean. that we should never lose the habit of prayer, that we should be ready always, at the blink of an eye as it were, to speak to God of that which is on our hearts. This requires living every day with a keen awareness of the presence of God.

There are times that are especially advantageous for prayer. It is a good idea to begin the day with prayer. This Jesus did (Mk. 1:35). A few moments at day’s beginning can set the tone for the entire day. And were there not many plans you had for this day that needed the Lord’s blessings? Likewise evening is a time for prayer. Were there not this day things which you need to speak to your Heavenly Father about before you sleep? Dare you sleep this evening before you’ve made yourself right with the eternal God who sees all things?

We ought to pray before important decisions as Jesus did all night before selecting the Twelve (Lk. 6:12,13). Our lives are filled with decisions, and the sad truth is that almost all of them must be made on the basis of inadequate information. Always after we’ve decided and set things in motion, we see more clearly the correct choice-and often it’s not the one we made. Can we, then, afford to neglect so great help as God offers?

We need to pray in times of temptation. If we prayed and thought of God during times of temptation we’d not fall prey to sin. Sin loses its power the moment we see God and His glorious holiness. The old adage about pausing and counting to ten in times of anger was good advice, for the delay before taking action allows more reasonable thoughts to prevail. Of even greater value than counting to ten is prayer. Jesus taught His disciples to pray that they might be kept from temptation. Do you fear temptation as you should? What is it that you pray will not come to you: poverty, old age, illness, ridicule, death? Above all these we should fear, and pray that we are kept from sin.

For What Can We Rightly Pray?

Remember, prayer is not just presenting God with a list of our desires and waiting for Him to fill our order. But we are encouraged to pray for specific blessings.

We are to pray for others. Paul commands us to pray for rulers (1 Tim. 2:1). This command indicates that God is active in the affairs of nations today. The best national defense is not missiles or ships but prayers. Likewise solutions to domestic problems are to be found, not in political rhetoric, but in prayer and a return to God-given values.

We are commanded to pray for our enemies (Matt. 5:43, 44). This is the unique characteristic of the Christian. He loves his enemy and prays for him. Jesus showed us the way by dying for us on the cross while we were yet sinful, unlovely and unlovable. But He died not just for you and me but for all men who will come to Him. Dare we hate and despitefully use someone whom Jesus loved so?

We should pray for the salvation of men as did Paul (Rom. 10:1). Our relationships with those outside the body of Christ would be far different if we spent hours in prayer over their soul’s salvation. We’d soon seek out opportunities to evangelize.

We can rightly pray for the spiritual growth of others (Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:9; 1 Thess. 1:11). I know I could benefit from more prayers on my behalf by spiritual men and women. Couldn’t you? Let us do for one another what we can. And this striving together in prayers will be of more benefit than all the “Hello’s” and “How are you’s” we’ve ever said, though we shouldn’t leave these unsaid.

We should pray more specifically than we do for the physical ailments of others. Those leading public prayers should make it a point to learn the names of those in need of prayers and make specific mention of them. And we can pray directly for their recovery. And in our prayers we need not limit God to working through the hands of doctors.

We are of course entitled by our relationship with God to pray for ourselves. But what manner of things may we ask for ourselves? We should pray for forgiveness, of course (Matt. 6:12). We should pray for wisdom-not just in matters of Bible study but in the practical wisdom needed to live rightly in this present world (Jas. 1:5). We can pray for our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). This means we pray for necessities not for a superabundance. Don’t be deceived by the present trend which distorts the gospel to promise wealth in return for serving God. Jesus didn’t make such promises even when multitudes thought He might. Instead He promised difficulties and heart break for those who would become His disciples (Lk. 14). We may pray for protection from bodily harm or poverty or other disasters. However, I think we should exercise great care in praying to God for material possessions. We cannot ask for these things out of selfishness and expect to receive them (Jas. 4:3). It is wrong to pray to God for a grand new home thinking only of its pleasure to you. It would, however, be right to pray for a new car if the one you presently drive is unsafe and unreliable in taking you about the Lord’s business. In short, we may pray for anything which relates to participation in and enjoyment of eternal redemption by ourselves or any other man.

What Are the Benefits of Prayer?

God, of course, answers prayer. Thus we may escape temptation through prayer or regain our health or be preserved on the highway through prayer. But there are other benefits to prayer, too. I don’t intend to reduce prayer to a psychological exercise as some have done, but we ought to recognize all of its benefits.

We are drawn closer to God through prayer. Someone has said that prayer is like pulling on an anchor stuck to the bottom (Heb. 6:12). You feel as if you’re pulling it in, but all the while you’re pulling yourself to it. Thus in prayer you may well be putting your needs before God, but fervent honest prayer will all the while bring you closer to Him.

Prayer can give us a feeling of forgiveness. Of course feelings can be wrong and the only way to know for certain you are forgiven is to comply with God’s conditions for forgiveness. Nonetheless feeling forgiven is important and prayer makes that possible. We need to feel renewed that we might with enthusiasm be about our Father’s business (Heb. 9:14). Our souls are often like a new car. We are so careful when it’s new to avoid any scratches or even dust. But after it’s a year old we no longer are so fussy about where we drive it or how it looks. Thus, if we had no way to scrub up our souls and make them new again the motive for doing good would be diminished. But we can be made new and pure again each day through prayer and thus maintain our incentive for acting soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

Prayer puts things in perspective. Some things we thought were so very important lose significance when we take them to God in prayer. The secret to accomplishing any great thing is not to lose sight of the big picture. We can get so caught up in the details of a task that they overwhelm us. Living faithfully to God is a great task and we often get so caught up in the grubby details of life that we lose sight of the big picture of God’s scheme of redemption. We forget, in our anxiety over bills and home repairs and children’s school, that we are bound for heaven. Prayer sets these things in their right place again.

How well do you understand the purpose and practice of prayer? Are you praying as you ought or are you missing out on the blessings of prayer? Let us today renew ourselves in prayer to God the Father who is the source of our strength and our blessings. Adoring and thanking Him, let us place our burdens and petitions and our lives in His competent, loving hand.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 20, pp. 624-626
October 17, 1985

By Bill Hall

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).

If there were ever a people whose hearts should be overflowing with thanksgiving it is the people of God in 1985. Have there ever been people so richly blessed?

We have our God, whose “eyes are over the righteous and whose ears are open to their prayers.” We have our Lord, who died for us, through whom we have forgiveness, salvation, and access to God’s throne. We have truth, revealed by the Holy Spirit through the inspired apostles and prophets of the first century. We have our Bibles, the complete truth in written form, written not on cumbersome, handwritten scrolls, but in clearly printed, compact books which even the poorest can afford. We enjoy the benefits that have come from great characters of recent generations, whose faithfulness has contributed heavily to our understanding of truth. We are a part of God’s family, made up of all the saints of all ages, with whom we sit in the heavenly places in Christ. We have brothers and sisters in Christ of the present age, who, though yet in the imperfect state, will come to our aid at any hour of the day or night, and without whose encouragement we would hardly be able to maintain our faith and service to God. We have material blessings, in varying degrees of abundance to be sure, but in sufficient abundance to supply the needs of all. We have hope, that which “anchors the soul,” hope of happiness beyond imagination for eternity. Never should a grumbling word pass through the lips of people so blessed.

But all are not grateful. There is a tendency among us to take our blessings for granted. Have we not seen within the same audience some visibly weeping at the story of the cross while others were sleeping throughout? Do we not see some treasuring the word of God, reading it and “hiding it in their hearts,” while others are virtually ignoring it? Do we not see some who find so much joy in their salvation that they are excitedly telling others of the Christ, hoping that they, too, will find that same joy, while others are assuming that their friends will be as bored with it all as they are? Do we not know people who can trace their “Christian heritage” back to the third, fourth, or fifth generation, but who are themselves lukewarm, indifferent, and ungrateful? Blessed beyond comprehension, but ungrateful! In fact, the sad truth is: the more we receive, the less thankful many of us tend to be!

It is not mere words that the Lord desires. We can say “Thank you” an hundred times a day without being truly grateful. The Lord wants us to count our blessings, to realize how truly rich we are, and, with our knees bowed in His presence and our hearts filled with gratitude for all He has done, to say, “Thank you, God”; then to go out to conduct ourselves as people who are genuinely thankful.

But, even then, our noblest of praise and thanksgiving will fall far short of what His goodness and mercy deserve. But one day we shall see our God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the fullest sense we shall comprehend His matchless grace, and then, and only then, shall we thank Him as we ought. But, till then, we must continue to offer our imperfect expressions of thanksgiving and strive for greater appreciation for what we have in Christ. Have you said, “Thank you, God,” today?

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 20, p. 616
October 17, 1985

By Irven Lee

“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is a part of a conversation the Christ had with His apostles just before He ascended to the heavenly throne. You and I are not about to receive miraculous power to bind on earth that which is bound in heaven. Neither are we witnesses of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension that others might establish their faith on our direct knowledge of these great events. We could, in our feeble way, profit by considering the Master’s order of evangelizing: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth.

The beginning place for the preaching the full gospel was Jerusalem (Lk. 24:47). This was a matter of prophecy (Isa. 2:1-3; Mic. 4:1,2). From this beginning place the gospel was to spread to every creature in all the world (Mk. 16:15). Jerusalem was in the province of Judea, and Samaria was an adjacent province. Saints from Jerusalem might be expected soon to preach the word in Judea and Samaria. Later Paul preached at Ephesus, and the word spread to the Roman province of Asia around Ephesus (Acts 19: 10; Col. 1:7; 4:12). Planting the truth at Thessalonica. led to the sounding out of the word in Macedonia and Achaia and to regions beyond (1 Thess. 1:8).

It would be wonderful if each church today could see that the territory surrounding it (its Judea and Samaria) could hear the word. Philippi helped in the preaching of the word at Thessalonica and Corinth (Phil. 4:15,16; 2 Cor. 11:8). Is this not the Lord’s will-for every place? The seed of the kingdom is planted in one place that the resulting church might plant the church in the area around it and beyond. Even in the field of nature a seed that falls on the ground is designed to produce a plant that will provide seed for the area around it. That is the way the ground is covered. That is the way the gospel should cover the earth in every generation.

It is scriptural and important to send men to distant places with the gospel, but at the same time we should be able to evangelize the home county and adjacent counties. The Lord’s pattern for the early church included Judea and Samaria as well as the uttermost part of the earth. Is the church where you meet neglecting its responsibility in this regard?

It is easy to see that starting a new church within a neighboring community may be less difficult than it would be to send some one into a distant area to start from the “ground up.” A few might go to the new work in “Judea” or “Samaria”and the home church still carry on somewhat as before. In fact, the challenge of seeing the will of the Lord carried out can strengthen the church that encourages this special effort. The few that left may soon be replaced by new faces at the church which is made more zealous by the worthy activity.

We are not suggesting starting “missions” under the control of the “mother church.” We are suggesting starting independent churches through the preaching of the pure gospel in another community. The Bible says nothing about little churches being under the control of the older church. There is an abundance of Scripture that encourages the preaching of the word in other communities. When the truth is faithfully preached this leads to the obedience of some. When they are saved they become members of the church, and they will need to continue “steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:36-47). Churches spread over an area as the gospel is faithfully preached publicly and privately.

The new work may develop new skills in leadership and more zeal for some. It is a challenge to find song leaders, teachers, and preachers for another church. The need will be there, and the need encourages a pleasant response. Each servant is to turn his five talents into ten, or his two talents into four. It is a shame for one to bury his talent. In reaching out in the work new abilities are discovered and developed. Good preachers and other good workers are born in such efforts.

Sometimes a new work gathers in trouble makers who seek to dominate the work. Factious people are to be marked, avoided, and rejected (Rom. 16:17, 18; Tit. 3:10, 11). The older church may have strengthened itself to handle such problems while the few at the new place find it hard to deal with such at first. Satan evidently likes to attack where the defenses against him have not been put in place. Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing while you continue to search eagerly for worthy laborers.

Do not despise the day of small things. Patience is needed in planting and watering where time and past effort have not already established a strong church. Rome was not built in a day, we are told. Many of the strong churches today began small and grew slowly. Those who first struggled had much to do with the good work that is being done today. Do not be ashamed or afraid to start small and persevere.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 20, p. 617
October 17, 1985

By Jimmy Tuten

The inspired writer of the book of James tells us that our religion can be vain (Jas. 1:26). When religion becomes vain it is a faith that has lost its real value, its substance, and importance. It is empty, void and worthless. It has become a religion that is a sham, a pretension where one’s faith is not demonstrated with evidences of true faithfulness (Jas. 2:19-24, religion and faith are used in this context as that which is subjective, i.e., one’s piety or holiness).

But when is religion vain? The answer to this is so very important to the true believer who wants to practice pure religion. It would be a terrible thing to learn in the end of this world that our religion was vain and worthless. By some it is feared even now, in the eighties, that most professing believers lead lives that are mere pretensions. The love of display, the love of the spectacular is growing among professed members of the body of Christ. There is a prevalent attitude that opposes all preaching except totally positive preaching. In fact, some are asking, “Is there a place for the negative in our preaching and teaching?” The Bible teaches that it is important that we preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). This involves both the negative and the positive. Timothy was commanded to “reprove, rebuke, exhort,” but some today would have him only exhorting (2 Tim. 4:1-2). Surely we must emphasize what is right, but we have to condemn that which is wrong, too. Is it possible to stand for truth and not stand against sin at the same time? Certainly not! Sound doctrine is indispensable to pure religion. But it should be understood that just as a perverted doctrine corrupts, so does a neglected gospel. The “I don’t intend that anyone say no to my planned path of worthy living and fleshly indulgences” philosophy is the very thing that has led churches to be anxious no longer to be distinguished from the denominations. The result is that the trend is to even lift the preacher above the gospel by demanding pulpit pleasers who preach a sugar-coated, honey-dripping, lovey-dovey kind of preaching. Real, sound gospel preaching is on the decline (1 Cor. 1:18-31). There is an increase of vain religion. Brethren, we simply cannot let our pride of intellectual attainment in the field of modern scholarship keep us from preaching the simple gospel that must of necessity “romp on toes” wherever there is a perverted and neglected gospel (Gal. 1:6-9). We are to speak the truth in love, but this involves reproving and rebuking, sometimes.

History will bear out the fact that the “new face” of the Lord’s church today came about because of a gradual abandonment of basic, doctrinal teaching in favor of more socially relevant themes. This was followed by a loss of conviction that denominational people are lost and the ultimate disregarding of scriptural differences. We need to understand that truth is not negotiable whether it be in a unity meeting like the Joplin, Missouri meeting (Aug. 7-9, 1984), or anywhere else. Do you wonder why there is a dying evangelistic spirit among us? This is it! Denominationalism is wrong no matter which way one cuts it.

We can exhort our young preachers to attain a greater degree of education under the guise that the day of “cornfield” preachers has come to an end, but we will reap the fruit of a corrupted church. You can put emphasis on the need to communicate to the young and aggressive minds as if they needed something different from the rest of us, but you will end up with a “the old style, plain book-chapter-and-verse” preaching must go the way of the flat-top and crew-cut hair styles philosophy. There will be more “sharing a text” in our pulpits rather than taking a text. In short, the Jerusalem gospel will be replaced with current religious thought. It is not possible to preach Christ and honor Him while at the same time avoiding the preaching of His doctrine and gospel (2 Jn. 9; Rom. 1:16-17). The most practical way to turn people’s attention to the Lord is to turn their attention to His Word. We must overcome the temptation to make a show of religion. The child of God must continually ask himself the question: “Does the kind of preaching I involve myself in make my religion real and genuine?” Or after all, “Is my religion vain?” It is important then that we give attention to the question, when is our religion vain?

Our Religion Is Vain When We Do Not Bridle Our Tongues

James 1:26 says, “If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue . . . this man’s religion is vain.” We deceive ourselves if we claim to be religious and at the same time do not bridle our tongues. As a youngster I had a high-spirited house that Dad had bought for us to ride. We had to put what we called “a cutting bit” in her mouth that was attached to her bridle. Only in this way could we hold her in check and control the horse. There was no other way to make her obey us. To bridle the tongue, therefore, means to hold the tongue in check, to control it that it may always obey judgment.

The tongue can be a most evil member. The apostle says, “and the tongue is a fire, the world of iniquity. . . ” (Jas. 3:6). The tongue is set on fire of hell and defiles the whole body. The old Hindu proverb is true: “conquer your passions and you conquer the whole world.” When I think of the description of the tongue as a restless evil full of deadly poison, I think how unruly it is when let loose (Jas. 3:7-8). It is sad to see evidences in the body of Christ today of the tongue divising “every wickedness, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully” (Psa. 52:2). Much of the trouble that plagues the family, the community and the church is often devised and stirred up by an unholy tongue. Most of our vexations come largely from the lack of control of the tongue. It is no wonder that the wise writer said, “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. . . ” (Prov. 2:23). Furthermore, time can scarcely heal the cruelly inflicted wounds of a talebearer’s tongue. As I write I think of the bleeding hearts and souls wounded almost to death by the cruel tongue of the slanderer. How sad! Surely our religion is vain if we control not our tongues while claiming to practice pure religion. To say that what we are hearing throughout the brotherhood is a mixed bag is an understatement. Bane and blessing earmark our era, and sorting the good from the bad is seldom easy. The facetious “you can’t trust them Christians” of the past has all but become a reality of the present. Let us not deceive ourselves. Rest assured that He who has a sharp tongue soon cuts his own throat. Let us, as someone has aptly said, “be sure your brain is engaged before putting your mouth in gear.” Eternity demands it! Your religion could be vain.

Our Religion Is Vain When We Do Not Practice What We Profess

Religion is vain when we do not practice what we learn from God’s Word (Jas. 1:25). Our brethren in Christ profess much in reference to religion. We claim to advocate the truth, the whole truth, as revealed by Jesus (1 Cor. 2:6-12). But our “we speak where the Bible speaks” profession has become a pretension. The institutional churches have made a sham of the plea with their denominational practices which have caused them to lose their distinctiveness. In other areas, we, the conservatives, make loud boasts with little practice sometimes in comparison to what we profess. The fact that some of us profess great faith in Christ and the allsufficiency of His Word, yet become discouraged, allow zeal to slacken and do little beyond “keeping house,” is obvious. Such religion is vain, empty and worthless. This no longer involves isolated cases scattered throughout the brotherhood. The vainness has become rather widespread.

Charles Colson, writing in Moody Monthly (Sept., 1985) under the heading, “Stabbing the Conscience of a Sleeping Church, ” has effectively pointed out that the refusal to believe Cathleen Webb’s recent recanter of her testimony as a 16-year-old (Cathleen Crowell, then) that convicted Gary Dotson of rape in 1977 was due to the judge’s not believing her when she said she is now telling the truth (that Dotson did not rape her) because of her conversion to Christ. Understanding that the denominational concept of conversion must be taken into consideration, we note that Colson concluded two things about the implications of her so-called repentance: (1) “For those who have not experienced the One who transforms lives, what happened to Cathleen Webb is inexplicable.” (2) “Cathleen Webb’s (she is now married, jt) actions seem incomprehensible because the world so seldom sees genuine repentance in action” (p. 14). The latter point is what Colson sees as a stab at the church (denominationalism). But, is it not a stab at the Lord’s Church too? Are we generally showing any better sincerity of practice of religion than Christendom as a whole? Have we picked up on how the public generally views the court case involving the Collinsville elders (Church of Christ)? You guessed it: “It’s just a.display of hypocrisy on the part of the Church of Christ elders.” In this area, this writer and others whom I have talked to are seeing more and more vain religion in our ranks. Only when we answer the question rightly: shall we practice before the world what we profess? will we restore New Testament, primitive Christianity.

So in addition to our general failure to act on our so-called belief that we are the New Testament church and that the gospel is the power to save, many are seeing more and more Pharisaical attitudes when it comes to prejudices toward each other. Prejudice is sinful (Matt. 7: 1; 13:15). We cannot show partiality toward certain brethren and expect to go to heaven (Rom. 12:9-10; Jas. 2:1). We cannot believe every evil report that is spread without investigation (“Doth our law judge any man, before it hears him, and know what he doeth?” [Jn. 7:51]). With so much gossip in circulation about this preacher or that preacher, this brother or that brother, along with the refusal of the gossipers to even talk to those whom they condemn, some are asking, “How can they claim to be Christians, let alone preachers?” I too, wonder! “For they say and do not” (Matt. 23:2-3). In some quarters our practice is a shame and disgrace, and some of our most respected brethren (?) live in such a way that they should never get out of the pulpit once they get in it, and never get in it when they get out. Such displays make religion vain.

Our Religion Is Vain When It Does Not Make Us Better

Just this past week in two of the home studies that I am conducting with weak and newly converted members, I have had occasion to stress the need for evidence of growth in the faith. Wherever there is growth there will be evidences of such progress. For example, in 2 Peter 1:5-8 one finds such expressions as “giving all diligence,” “if these things be in you, and abound,” and “neither be barren nor unfruitful.” Concerning this very thought the apostle Paul admonished Timothy: “meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:15). More literally Paul is saying, “think hard about all this, and put it into practice, and everyone will be able to see how you are advancing” (The Jerusalem Bible). So, as a Christian my religion should show advancement and not retardation. If my religion does not make me better in every way in every respect, what does it amount to, as it respects me? Am I benefitted at all when I am not a better man? Would my profession not be empty, vain, worthless and fruitless? How often the Christian gives way to his or her evil passions and desires, and religion becomes vain!

In my vocation as a Christian, if I am not made more wise, just and live more in harmony with the Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12), has not my practice become vain? Brethren, and preachers in particular, by reason of growth, should have more of that wisdom which “is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruit, without variance, without hypocrisy” (Jas. 3:17). Christians should not harbor resentments, be filled with sinful prejudices and engage in hurtful and damaging talk. The most sinful among us do not need their sins (?) paraded before the brotherhood. What is needed is some concern for the soul of the brother or sister and an effort to restore such a one (Gal. 6:1-2). How many have been driven into complete abandonment of the faith by vain religionists among us who seem to have little or no milk of human kindness and mercy in them? Can we not learn that it is usually those who are not important who most often make the mistake of thinking that they are? Too many are ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth.

My religion should make me a better citizen who promotes and maintains civic righteousness in every community. it should make one a better wife or husband, son or daughter, better employer and employee, and if it does not, religion is vain. Yes, if my profession and practice as a child of God does not make me better in every way and happier in this life and in the life to come, it is undoubtedly a vain religion.

Conclusion

We who claim to be Christians only and are pleading earnestly the restoration of apostolic Christianity wherein there has been departure, are absolutely right in theory and profession. But, what about our practice? Are we living the Christ-like life? Are we any better than those who are still in the bondage of modern denominationalism? If it is not vain, we will not only say, we will do! Listen once again to what our Lord said: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).

Engraved on an old slab in the Cathedral of Lubeck, Germany are the following words:

Ye call me Master but obey me not,

Ye call me Light but see me not,

Ye call me Way but walk me not,

Ye call me Life but desire me not,

Ye call me Fair but love me not,

Ye call me Rich but ask me not,

Ye call me Eternal but seek me not,

Ye call me noble but serve me not,

Ye call me mighty but honor me not,

If I condemn you, blame Me not.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 20, pp. 619-622
October 17, 1985