Truth Magazine

By Jimmy Tuten

Someone has said, “We have become keepers of the aquarium instead of fishers of men.” Most brethren seem content to “keep house” or to “hold our own.” We know that evangelism (the Greek term euangelizo means to proclaim glad tidings, euangelion is the good news we proclaim, euangelistes is the messenger who delivers good news and evangelism is the act of teaching men the gospel and bringing them to Christ) is the most pressing need of the church of the eighties. In particular, what is commonly referred to as “personal evangelism” is almost a thing of the past. Each day of delay in taking the gospel to the world, beginning at home, is to make the task of world evangelism bigger. The population of the nations of the world is mushrooming. If we neglect evangelism (personal evangelism is an important part of the over-all task), and omit it, all else is of little consequence. If we are unquestionably sound in doctrine but save no souls, what does it matter? If we erect notable edifices for assemblies and have outstanding lectureships and special classes, but fail to evangelize, it is all in vain. No matter how scriptural our worship is and the amount of edification derived from it; though our sermons are beautiful, scriptural and true, if we are not personally involved in the collective (1 Tim. 3:15) and individual (Rom. 1: 14) obligation of bearing the good news of salvation by winning souls to Christ, we fail. Most of the growth most congregations experience at the present comes from those who transfer from other congregations. Should we grow by gathering members from sister congregations and those who move in from afar, but not reach out in the name of the Lord to our neighbors who stand condemned in the judgment? No other accomplishment, however noble, will compensate for failure in this crucial area. If we have a name that we five, and a sparkling reputation, but do not seek the lost, we are sinners.

When zeal for the lost is omitted, serious consequences befall the church. The function of evangelism is vital and essential to the survival of the church. The decline or stagnation of God’s people in an exploding world population means a drastic reduction of our influence. In view of God’s judgments throughout the Old Testament always coming when there was not enough salt left to preserve, will we hasten the judgment day by reducing our influence? How can a diminishing church salt society with Christian morals and ethical standards? Evil men will wax worse and worse (2 Tim. 3:13). Too, a lessening interest in personal work is the root cause of most of our present problems. If we would get busy in saving the lost and think less of our reputations, we will not have time to scrutinize in a rupturing manner those who are working at evangelism, whether preachers, journalistic editors, or whosoever. The bottom line is that when a congregation ceases to be committed to saving the lost, she will ultimately cease to be faithful in other areas and will reach a state where she has nothing worth propagating. We are talking about the very pulse and heartbeat of the church. Where it stops, we are dead!

Why then do brethren not do personal work?

They Do Not Know

It is axiomatic that we cannot teach what we do not know. Far too many today cannot relate to others in an understandable way the simple plan of salvation with scriptural references. Just as God’s people of old were destroyed because of a lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6), the brotherhood is on the brink, of chaos. If we ourselves do not fully grasp from a biblical standpoint who we are and what we are, how can we teach the uniqueness of the Lord’s precious body (Eph. 5)? It is no wonder that the church is becoming denominational and some have already gone throughout the community apologizing for sounding sectarian in preaching one church. We cannot continue in what we do not know (1 Tim. 4:16). How can we be a people of the Book when we do not know the Book? Brethren, it is time to get serious about your study of God’s Word. If all you know to do is to load the filmstrip (some can’t do this without tearing it) and plug in the electricity, you are not ready to teach a “home study” or anything else! Ignorance is not bliss and I weep for spiritual Israel, the church.

They Do Not Care

To be a Christian is to be a caring person (Rom. 12:15). Some do not know enough Bible to care about teaching it. Too many are not convinced that people who have never obeyed the gospel and/or not serving Jehovah faithfully in the church are lost. So many are lacking a deep-seated conviction pertaining to basic Bible doctrine. No wonder brethren are now saying, “There are sincere, knowledgeable, and devout Christians scattered among the different denominations” (Rubel Shelly). If we do not really believe that people in the world are lost, why should we care for them? There are more than four billion people in this world and more than 99% of the ones of a responsible age and mind are lost in sin! Less than 1/100th of 1% of the world’s population have embraced the real truth of the gospel. Brethren, don’t you care enough to try to change the situation by working in your circle of influence? God cares enough not to want anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9). Shouldn’t you? Jehovah’s sacrifice of His Son was the expression of a desire that all men “be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Don’t you care about the countless individuals out there in the world who worship in vain and teach for doctrines the commandments of men (Matt. 15:9)? And what about our own brethren who are going beyond the doctrine of Christ (2 Jn. 9)? We would not be what we are if someone had not cared for us. Who cares? How tragic! He who lives to himself and dies to himself, to himself and none beside, lives as though Christ never lived, as though He never died.

They Will Not Work

There are brethren who know the truth and care a little that millions are going to hell-they just don’t care enough to go to work on the matter! Some will not work because there are too many sluggards in the body of Christ. I know a preacher who has a booklet entitled: “How To Sell Without Working.” It was compiled from the combined experience of 25,000 salesmen over a period of twenty years. There are eight pages in the booklet, and all of them are blank! There is no way to save, souls without working at it. I think of “always abounding in the work of the Lord” ( Cor. 15:58), and I shudder. Brethren, if we know and if we care, let us work at the privilege of saving souls!

They Will Not Persist

There have been times when brethren knew the truth, cared enough for lost souls to go out and work at converting them to Christ. But, they didn’t work long enough! They gave up too soon. What if Peter had given up on the day of Pentecost before exhorting “with many other words” saying, “save yourselves” (Acts 2:40). Would the number who gladly received the Word have been about 3,000? What a golden virtue persistence is. The difference between persistence and stubbornness is that one is a strong will and the other is a strong won’t. Galatians 6:9 says that we should not be weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap, if we faint not. The anchor man on a mile relay team was told by his coach: “Son, if we are going to win this race, you are going to have to start running as fast as you dan and gradually run faster.” There is a difference between persistence and aggravation, perseverance and obnoxiousness, continuance and irritation. We need to learn these differences and not despair just because someone says, “Don’t push me!”

We should not give up simply because someone may appear unreachable. I learned this in South Carolina during my first preaching experience. There was a fine veterinarian who was a Catholic. I had dined with him on several occasions, and on each, I was trying to muster courage to ask him to let me study with him. I was persistent in associating with him until I finally blurted out to him, “I want to study with you!” I almost had a cardiovascular attack when in a split second he said, “I’ve been wondering when you were going to get around to that.” He then picked up his Bible and we studied together, even though the study had to continue on the way to and at a farmyard while he engaged in surgery. Yes, we baptized him. About eight years later there was a sweet, elderly gentleman who attended once at the insistence of his wife whom I had recently baptized. He bragged, in a good-natured way, that he had not been to church anywhere in forty years, and “there ain’t no preacher got to me yet.”‘ I was determined. I studied with him weeks without end. But I couldn’t baptize him. So I cooled it for a few weeks. One evening, I put the fishing waders that I had been using for Everglade fishing in the trunk of my Ford and went to his house with the determination that I would baptize him that night. I did I Since then I have baptized a dozen or more “faithful attenders” that other preachers had given up on. We need to be persistent in the Lord’s great cause.

Conclusion

What it all boils down to is that one cannot take “Go” out of the great commission (Matt. 28). We are like modern day salesmen whose only sales come from those who come to us. Too many time people have to come to us and express their desire to study instead of our going to them to express our desire to study with them. The last words of our Master were get up and go! Read it for yourselves (Matt. 28; Mk. 16). It will serve as a good reminder.

We had better get busy, for the first soul we may save may be our own!

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 11, pp. 332-333
June 6, 1985

By O.C. Birdwell and Mike Willis

On Sunday,. May 12 1985, brother Roy E. Cogdill attended both assemblies of the Fry Road congregation in Houston, Texas. During the afternoon, his four children called and visited with him by telephone. As he left the evening service, brother James Yates, a close personal friend and elder in the Fry Road church, helped him into the car. His last words to brother Yates were, “I love you.” He returned to his home and suffered a heart attack about 11:30 p.m. He died shortly thereafter.

Roy Edward Cogdill was born 24 April 1907 in Hobart Oklahoma. He died on 13 May 1985, being 78 years Q 21 days in age. He is survived by his wife Venita; four children-Martha Nell Davis, Pamela Ann Northcutt, John Mark and Phillip Roy Cogdill; two sisters — Ida Terral and Ethel Randolph; eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

His funeral was conducted Wednesday, IS May 1985, in the building of the Fry Road congregation in Houston, Texas. After a group sang “Others,” the obituary was read by Harold Fite, the local evangelist. This was followed by the singing of “Walk Beside Me,” an old favorite of brother Cogdill. His mother frequently sang it when brother Cogdill was growing up.

Brother Clinton Hamilton, from Florida, made several personal remarks about brother Cogdill’s fife. He met brother Cogdill while attending Freed-Hirdeman College when brother Cogdill, who was then about 35 years old, spoke on campus. They had remained close friends for 43 years Brother Hamilton related that he had asked his wife Margaret what brother Cogdill’s most outstanding character trait was. She emphasized that he was a cuing person who was tender in his emotions toward people. Brother Hamilton commented that though many have seen him as a man who would not compromise the word of truth, most were unaware of how tender brother Cogdill was.

Brother Hamilton also commented on brother Cogdill’s sermon delivery. His legal background enabled him to logically analyze the Scriptures and deal with the overall problem under discussion. His sermons contained spiritual meat and had power. He recalled especially his sermon on “The Trial of Jesus.”

Brother Cogdill’s sacrificial living was also mentioned., He sacrificed a successful law practice to be a gospel preacher. He gave of his personal possessions for the cause of Christ. He and his family made many sacrifices of time and personal comforts in order that the gospel might be preached. Trying to constrain his emotions, brother Hamilton closed by saying, “It was good that he was here.”

Brother Glenn Tomblin lead the congregation in singing “There Is A God.” Then, brother James Yates paid his final respects to brother Cogdill. He emphasized that brother Cogdill was such a good preacher because of his strong conscience, determination, natural ability, his mastery of the English language, and his faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He commented that brother Cogdill loved and served the brethren, being willing to involve himself in any battle in which brethren had problems which needed to be solved.

He compared brother Cogdill to a lion where the truth of God’s word was at stake and then to a teddy bear when dealing with people. He emphasized that brother Cogdill had presented his life for the service of God. “He was not without his faults. He was a man whose faults were overlooked by those who loved him and exaggerated by those who did not,” brother Yates said. Speaking of their close personal friendship, brother Yates’ voice began to break. He was visibly touched by the loss of a close friend.

The congregation was lead in prayer and in the singing.. of “Precious Memories.” Then brother James W. Adams delivered a lesson based on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. He concentrated on the three figures of speech used in verses 6-8 to describe brother Cogdill:

1. He Fought A Good Fight. The comparison of the Christian to a soldier in battle emphasized the militancy of the gospel. He described brother Cogdill as a soldier ready to do battle for truth and added that neither he nor brother Cogdill made any apologies for being a soldier ready to do battle for truth.

2. He Finished His Course. This emphasized perseverance in serving the Lord. Brother Cogdill was a man who had perseverance of character. If he believed he was right and thought something should be done, he would not quit until it was done.

3. He Kept The Faith. This emphasizes that the gospel is something which has been entrusted to us and we are responsible for passing down to the next generation. Brother Cogdill had no room for one who was not faithful in keeping the faith; he wanted nothing to do with one who had a spirit of compromising the faith which had been entrusted to him by God. He felt that he should be a “keeper of orthodoxy” or “keeper of the faith,” and he was “set for the defense.”

Brother Adams pointed the family to the hope of the gospel-the hope of the resurrection of the body and the glorious entrance into the eternal kingdom where one can forever dwell in the presence of God. He reminded us, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23).

After brother Adams concluded his remarks, brother Yates thanked those who came to the funeral, on behalf of the family, for their many kindnesses. As the people viewed the body of brother Cogdill for the last time, the group of singers comforted those in attendance by singing “Sun Of My Soul,” “Blest Be The Tie,” and several other familiar hymns.

Following the Houston service, brother Cogdill’s body was taken to Hobart, Oklahoma, the place of his birth, for interment on Thursday, 16 May 1985. Along with the family, brethren Fite, Yates, and Adams made the trip to Oklahoma for the service.

The Guardian of Truth is making arrangements for a special issue in loving memory and honor of brother Cogdill whose influence for good can be accurately measured only by God. Many of us have benefitted from his books The New Testament Church and Walking By Faith. We owe a debt to brother Cogdill, and many other preachers like him, who have passed down to us the gospel of Christ without addition or deletion. Because of this, we intend a future issue to be in his memory as soon as preparations can be completed.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 11, pp. 328-329
June 6, 1985

By Ronny Milliner

Being baptized into Christ gives us the privilege of being remember that God holds us accountable for how we use the children of God (Gal. 3:26-27). This relationship also them or do not use them. “Moreover it is required in means that I have a relation to all others who are the children of God. Paul suggests some of the responsibilities that we have to our brethren in Romans 12:3-16.

Objective Thinking

Paul first advises us, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (12:3).

Pride has been the fall of many a man (Prov. 16:18). There is no room for pride in the kingdom of servants (Mt. 20:2-28). “Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (I Pet. 5:5b).

Talent-User

We are all children in the same family. But the apostle uses another figure to describe us. We are all members of the same body.

“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness”(12:4-8).

How wonderful it is for our bodies to be able to function as they do! Each member of the body has its duty to fulfill, and when each is working properly the physical body is indeed a t But the same should be true of the spiritual body. It is composed of different members with different talents or abilities. Maybe I can’t lead singing, but I can act in some other role. Maybe you can’t publicly teach, but do have a gift of showing mercy. Should we be, jealous of each other’s talents? Certainly not! Instead, let each use his own talents to the best of his ability and then watch as the body grows and functions.

Having been entrusted with certain talents or gifts we must stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). Let us not forget the lessons from the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30).

Honest Love

“Let love be without hypocrisy” is Paul’s next admonition (12:9a). How disappointing is a pretended love. True love will be “from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). Jesus is the example of true love. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn. 3:18).

Evil-Hater

A Christian is to be both a lover and a hater. We must, “Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (12:9b). David was an evil hater, and he learned what to hate from a meditation on the word of God (Psa. 119:104). Jesus is an evil-hater (Rev. 2:6,15). While hating evil, we must “super glue” ourselves to what is good. Of course, this action will involve us in determining what is good and what is evil. For this reason Paul wrote, “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:21-22).

Regarding Others

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (12:10). Brotherly love is the Christian’s badge of discipleship (Jn. 13:35). Love manifests itself in kindness. It will also manifest itself in “giving preference to one another.” We should “esteem others better than” ourselves, and look out not just for our interests, “but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4).

Compelling Worker

In our activities we-should not be “lagging in diligence,” but “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). God will not accept half-hearted, ho-hum, service. He demands, like Bobby Knight, 110%. We can be sluggish, slothful, and backward. Or, we can be full of haste, earnestness, and zeal. How do you serve the Lord? “It is good to be zealous in a good thing always” (Gal. 4:18a).

Happy In Hope

Paul says we should be “rejoicing in hope” (12:12a). He stated the reason why we can rejoice in hope in chapter five and verse two. We have hope because of God’s gracious plan to redeem us from our sins. We have met the conditions to receive this blessing as well as all the spiritual blessings in Jesus. And that “hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5: 1).

Resister Of Tribulation

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). Knowing this fact, we must be “patient in tribulation” (12:12b). We will be tried. The early Christians “endured a great struggle with sufferings,” “were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations,” and “accepted the plundering of” their goods (Heb. 10:32-34). And yet these ones were told, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10:35-36).

Intent On Prayer

Another responsibility the Christian has is to be “continuing steadfastly in prayer” (12:12c). Colossians 4:2 also exhorts, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” Certainly we should pray for “all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). Such a continuous intercession surely shows our interest in our family members.

Sharing With The Needy

“Distributing to the needs of the saints” is also a duty we have toward other Christians (12:13a). One is impressed with the benevolent spirit of the early church in caring for its needy (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35). The word “distributing” contains the idea of fellowship or sharing. If a brother has some particular need, then I also have that need — we share it together.

Trained In Hospitality

The child of God must be “given to hospitality” (12:13b). Such does not mean that we just have our friends into our homes, but it literally means “love of strangers.” I must practice this hospitality “without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9). One who opens his home to his fellow-brethren will often find himself blessed (cf. Heb. 13:2).

Injury-Forgiving

There will be times when a Christian is abused in some fashion, and it may be from one who is supposed to be a child of God. In that case, we are to “bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (12:14). We are to pray for, love, and do good to those who are our enemies (Lk. 6:27-3 1). The apostle Paul is an example of such character as he wrote, “being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure it; being defamed, we entreat” (1 Cor. 4:12-13).

Aware of Another’s Feelings

Romans 12:15 reads, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” There is no room in God’s family for jealously over the success of others. And, there is no room in God’s family for a spirit of coldness or being unconcerned over the sorrow of others. Since we are one body, “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26).

Non-Divisive

One can almost say that Jesus’ dying request was for the oneness of His followers (Jn. 17:20-21). Therefore, we should “be of the same mind toward one another” (12:16a). While this unity certainly would include doctrinal unity, it also involves being “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). It includes “having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Phil. 2:2).

Submissive

Finally, Paul writes, “Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion” (12:16b). When it comes to God’s family, we are all one. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Conceit is ruled out (Prov. 3:7).

Conclusion

As we look over this list of duties, let us strive to put each of these traits in our fives as well as helping to develop them in the lives of others. Let these be “all in the family.”

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 11, pp. 330-331
June 6, 1985

By Ernest A. Finley

“They went out from us but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us” (1 Jn. 2:19).

Four years ago, approximately, brother Darwin Chandler conducted a gospel meeting for the Texas City church of Christ for which I was the regular evangelist. (I have known brother Chandler many years and will hereafter refer to him as Darwin.) It was a good meeting. His lessons were true to the word of God. Our association was pleasant. But in the few years since that time, a radical, change has taken place in Darwin and those who have followed him, and that not for the better.

Darwin’s preaching, writing, and conversation began to ring more and more with the words, “Pharisaism” and “legalism.” His teaching on “fellowship” and “justification” became increasingly committed to error. The problem became so intense that it became necessary for him to be released as evangelist for the House Street church in Alvin, Texas. Darwin had deluded himself into thinking that when he left the work at House Street that the whole church, with the exception of the elders, would follow him. But only a few followed him. That was in October of 1983. He made an abortive attempt to begin a church in Friendswood, but because of a division in sentiment related to church-socials and facilities for such in the church building which they had planned to build, the group was fragmented and the effort came to naught.

Next, we see Darwin and his immediate family identified with the Johnson Street church of Christ (institutional) in Alvin. Soon thereafter, he was selected to be one of their regular preachers.

On March 25, 1984, Darwin delivered a sermon at Johnson Street explaining the reason for his presence there, entitled, “How Did I Get Here?”

In the course of his presentation, he goes back to 1982 and a return trip from a meeting in Odessa in which he had led singing. He states that on the way home he “. . . prayed all day long.” Among other things that he told the Lord in his prayer was “. . . I cannot go back to that Phariseeistic, that legalistic type religion the Bible says will damn my soul.”

Special Wisdom Through The Indwelling Spirit

He further said, “Father, I believe you have given the Holy Spirit to dwell in your people for the sake of helping them

to understand the Scriptures, through whom you give them wisdom if they ask, and I don’t know how you do it, I don’t care. All I want is this wisdom. Will you help me through the Holy Spirit?”

No Distinction Between The Church And The Individual

After pointing out that “. . . the church is nothing more or less than the sum total of all those who have been immersed into Christ,” he speaks of what he alleges to be “the false distinction we have made for years between collective work and individual work; or individual work and local work…. The Bible doesn’t make any such distinction as that.”

Orphan Homes Legitimate

On the basis of the above observations, he adds, “And so, that makes orphan homes supported by the church legitimate because they can be supported by individual Christians.”

Fellowship Mesh

“Also, there is the legitimacy of cooperative efforts. And that makes fellowship meals together legitimate. . . . I’ll ten you something else, if we want to do it as a part of a worship service (emphasis mind, EAF), we can do it. ” He adds, “. . , read 1 Corinthians 11 and realize that what they were doing was having a worship service and either in close proximity to it or as a part of it, they were eating a fellowship meal . . . .”

No Pattern For Church Finances

Darwin adds, “The simple fact is, God did not tell us what to do with the money we collected in the church treasury. You don’t think that’s right? Well, consider the fact that in the first place in the New Testament you cannot read of a church treasury as such. Doesn’t mean it’s wrong. But try to read that if you like. Go on a hunting trip through the New Testament. It’s scriptural, good, logical.” He goes further, “. . . God doesn’t much care about how we get the money (emphasis mine, EAF). He just wanted us to get enough to do His will. Get it how you want to, get it where you want to, and accomplish His Will with it. And along with the fact that God did not tell us what to do with the money (emphasis mine, EAF) we collect, we can use it as our spiritual leaders direct.”

No Restrictions On Method

Going on, Darwin says, “Not only that, but God did not restrict the method of doing our work, so we have an option. If we want to do it all by ourselves, we can do that. If we want to cooperate with another church, we can do that because God hasn’t said how.” He says, “They’ve found a pattern somewhere. Yes, I preached the pattern. Before God I couldn’t tell you what it is now. ” He adds, “. . . they took those opinions and made them matters of faith and divided the body of Christ.” Darwin said much more than we are able to reproduce in this article. But this gives reasonably good coverage to what he taught or where he stood a year ago.

You might think, “Well, it looks like our brother Darwin Chandler is gone to ‘liberalism,’ judging by what he says.” But the end is not yet in sight on the basis of what we have pointed out to you in this article to this point.

It took the Johnson Street church (institutional) about six or eight months to recognize Darwin’s commitment to error. But before they could give him a release, he “saw the hand-writing on the wall” and resigned. After his resignation at Johnson Street, they “marked” him as a false teacher, “totally apostate from truth.”

Reports came to us of Darwin’s worshipping with various churches in the area: The Alvin Gleaner Church Pentecostal (where we “witnessed”), then Quail Valley in Houston, of recent fame for its non-identification as the church of Christ any longer, and then Darwin’s latest association was extensively publicized by mail-out and newspaper advertisement, informing the people of Alvin and surrounding area, that Darwin was to speak at the Living Stones Church (strongly charismatic) and tell the latest story of “the new change” in his life. The advertisement informed us that “Darwin” had “found the fountain of Christian youth … the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.”

The sermon by Darwin, dealt with in the balance of this article, was delivered March 24, 1985 at the Living Stones church, almost one year to the day since his sermon at the Johnson Street church telling folks, “How Did I Get Here?”

The substance of Darwin’s sermon at Living Stones was “Why I had to leave the church of Christ.”

One of the first things that became abundantly clear was that Darwin had become totally dissatisfied with the simplicity of the Lord’s prescribed worship. He began to discuss the services of the church of Christ. In his assessment they were “dry and dead.” No longer could he be lifted up by the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs of the saints. No longer could the humble prayers of the righteous draw him nearer to God. He observed, “There’s got to be more.” He evaluated his spiritual condition of the past 30 years, my soul (was) just as bone dry and dead as the day I came to Jesus.”

The Church Of Christ The Farthest Way

Charging the church of Christ, with whom he had fellowship for 32 years, with believing that “. . . we are the only ones who know how to worship scripturally. . . ” he adds, “Praise God, I think we were the worst ones about it, the ones furthest away from the truth of anybody I have come in contact.”

The Church Of Christ Is A Sect

Speaking further of “Why I changed,” he adds, “I didn’t have a choice.” He cites Galatians 5:20, alluding to the term ,’sects ‘or ‘!factions.” Then, “I preached for nearly twenty years against sectarianism and never knew what it was. I’m devastated to think that I was a member of a sectarian body those twenty years.” He gave the definition of a “sect” as, “Formation of a body of religious people around a specialized doctrine.” He then charged that the church of Christ bases its teaching on four or five cardinal doctrines. “But you gather those four or five things and put those together in a focalized doctrinal system and build a movement around them and you’ve got a sect. The church of Christ is a sect.” But this is not the first time the church of Christ has been called a “sect.” Paul says “the Way” was called a sect in his day (Acts 24:14). It was not so then. It is not so now! One observation in passing, you do not suppose the Pentecostals of which the Living Stones church seems to be a part, have focalized on one area of doctrine primarily, do you? Could the Living Stones church be a part of a sect? Quoting further from his sermons: “Why did I have to leave? Because I was a sectarian. The Bible says you can’t be a sectarian and go to heaven.”

Mechanical Instruments, Dancing And Shouting

Darwin alludes to “. . . all that wild, strange stuff that went on a while ago, jumping up and down, hand-clapping . . .” which preceded his sermons, insisting that while he was a member of the church of Christ there were things of that nature authorized in the Bible which he could not observe. He then goes back under the Old Covenant to justify practices that he has of late espoused. Among other things, Psalms 41:1 is cited to authorize the clapping of the hands and shouting. Psalms 98:4 is utilized to show that we are to “shout joyfully.” Psalms 149:3 is presented to justify dancing in worship: “praise his name with dancing.” Psalms 150 is introduced to support the use of various mechanical instruments in worship, as well as dancing. As he speaks of “dancing,” he exults, “I love it!” He admits to having had some difficulty in getting his feet to cooperate in getting his dancing going. He says that he privately prayed to God to “pull the nails out of my shoes,” so he could loosen up and dance. He says that he had to “put the Lord on hold” while he and his wife laughed at this particular petition. Then he adds, “the nails are out, praise God.” So he is dancing in worship now. Choir robes are authorized, he tells us, referring to 2 Chronicles 5:12-14-they wore “fine linen.” He says, “I’m gonna tell you something. If you ever want to be a part of a worship service where God comes down and fills the house with glory, you’re gonna have to do it the way He wants it done. He wanted it done with a hundred and twenty trumpets, cymbals, and whatever that thing is tambourines. . . .” These are words coming from one who decries legalism.

Darwin, discussing mechanical instruments, refers to 2 Chronicles 29:25 to answer the “straw man” that says that “David invented them but God never approved.” He then observes that “the commandment was from the Lord through His prophet.” Adding, You’d better wait a long time before you cast another stone at something that God invented.” In effect, he says we “make fun” of a commandment of the Lord, warning, “You take your life into your own hands, folks.”

New Testament Authority Claimed

Then he turns to the New Testament in a vain attempt to justify mechanical instruments in worship. Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, and James 5:13 are introduced. He tells his audience that Vine, Arndt and Gingrich, and Thayer or any Greek scholar all tell us that the Greek word psalmos means “to sing to the accompaniment of a musical instrument. ” He then refers to the expression “making melody’ I and affirmed that psallo, the root word from which the expression was translated means, “to play on a musical: instrument. ” His observation, “That’s what the word means, and if I intend to obey it, I’ve got to do it.” I ask you, “Is that ‘legalism’ or not?” (Note: Both Thayer and Vine make a distinction between the earlier use of the word psallo and the New Testament use or meaning of it. Thayer: “in the New Testament to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song, etc.” Vine: [defining “melody,” discussing psallo] says, “denotes, in the N.T., to sing a hymn, sing praise; in Eph. 5:19, make melody.”)

Solos And Methodist Fellowship

He seeks to defend solos in worship by appealing to 1 Corinthians 14:26 where gifts of the Spirit were exercised in the revelation of a “psalm.” He then asks, “Is it all right for me to sing a solo as I did just a while ago, and as this brother (emphasis mine, EAF) did from the Methodist (emphasis mine, EAF) church?”

Error On Justification

Darwin says, after reading Several passages from Galatians which show that the basis of our justification is not “law” but “grace through faith,” I denied that principle. I denied the most basic, fundamental truth that the whole .New Testament teaches, that salvation is by grace through faith. I denied it all my life.” He falsely asserts that he was fired at House Street for preaching the truth on this issue. “. . . they fired me for preaching the book of Galatians and for daring to make one or two applications-I hardly even got into the matter of making applications, it was just the principle they couldn’t stand. I I Strangely, Darwin then quotes Galatians 5: 1; asserting that he does not intend to be “subject to a yoke of slavery,” no doubt referring to his concept of “legalism.” This statement came from a man who, only moments before, was floundering around back under the Mosaic Covenant, trying to justify his present practices of dancing and singing with mechanical instruments. He is entangled in a “yoke of slavery.”

Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Again, he says, “Paul said in 2 Corinthians, ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.’ That’s why there is no liberty where I’ve been. because they effectively deny the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Every single one of those churches do they shut the Holy Spirit out, they don’t want Him in Again, “I lived for twenty years in a charnal house” (note: a “charnal house” is a house for the storing of dead bodies, EAF).

Quoting John the Baptist regarding the coming of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in Mark 1:8, Darwin says that this was a promise for the general populace who came to be baptized of John, “Jesus is going to come and baptize every one of you (emphasis mine, EAF) in the Holy Spirit.”

Referring to Acts 2, Darwin suggests, on the basis of verse 17, a part of Joel’s prophecy, that since the Spirit was to be for “all mankind,” that means it was for “everybody!” He refers to the statement, “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” and adds, “‘prophecy’-inspired preaching-that’s where you get women preachers” (emphasis mine, EAF). Then, after quoting Acts 2:38, where the gift of the Holy Spirit is promised, Darwin says, “And in that context he’s talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Almost casually, he adds, “And, yes, I speak in tongues.” He fails, to perceive that they have long since passed (1 Cor. 13:8-12).

His invitation at the end of his sermon was the traditionally denominational appeal to raise your hand and trust in the Lord. Among other things that he said were these words, “If you want Jesus more than anything, would you just raise your hand right there where you are sitting?” The last words that I could hear on my tape of his sermon were, “Raise your hand.” How different from the words of Peter on Pentecost (Acts 2:36,38). How different from the words of Ananias to Saul of Tarsus (Acts 22:16).

Conclusion

In summary, how far has Darwin Chandler drifted? What are some of the evidences of his defection? What are his views?

(1) He defends a church-sponsored “fellowship-meal,” even included in the worship.

(2) That God grants wisdom through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which makes an understanding of the Word possible.

(3) That church support of human institutions and the “sponsoring church” method of cooperation are scriptural.

(4) That there is no biblical distinction between local congregations and individual action.

(5) That you cannot find a church treasury in the New Testament, but it does not matter how the money is raised and there are no scriptural limits on its expenditure.

(6) That the church of Christ is a sect.

(7) In regard to worship, he charges the church of Christ with being the furthest from the truth of any group he knows.

(8) He defends mechanical instruments of music, dancing, clapping, shouting, etc., in worship, going back under the Law.

(9) He is ready for fellowship with anybody in -any religious system who professes to believe that Jesus is Lord, including those who practice sprinkling.

(10) He “rings” of the new unity movement concept: “Unity in diversity.”

(11) He is convinced that the name that you wear does not matter.

(12) He advocates choirs, solos, robes and the use of women preachers.

(13) He claims to have received the Holy Spirit baptism and the power to speak in tongues. He believes in present day miracles.

(14) He asserts that identification of the one body is not dependent upon baptism for the remission of sins as a criterion.

(15) He extends the common denominational invitation to raise your hand and trust in the Lord.

It saddens our hearts that another has gone out from us. It grieves us also that a few are following him. We pray that

his efforts to lead others away from the faith may be further frustrated.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 11, pp. 326-327, 342-343
June 6, 1985