Truth Magazine

By David McClister

One of the most beautiful statements in all the Bible is found in 1 Peter 5:7 – “casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you” (ASV). The apostle here combines commandment and fact in a most assuring way for every Christian. How great it is to know that we are not faced with the unpleasant task of having to worry our lives through or become dragged down by the day-to-day problems which are seemingly capable at times of piling up much faster than we can deal with them. By the grace and love of God, we are spared from the nervousness which plagues those outside of Christ. All we need to do when the worries come is hand them over to God and let Him take care of them.

What a blessing this is! Yet all too often we neglect it and find ourselves needlessly grappling with our fears and worries. We often spend far too much time worrying about the bills, getting out of debt, the security of our jobs, our health, our safety, and a host of other things which really distract us from our main job of being the people of God first and making spiritual things our primary concern. Before we know it we are so bogged down in anxiety that we have lost sight of our spiritual concerns and have become like the rest of the world – spending all our time minding the things of this life, rather than paying attention first to the things of heaven.

For this reason, it is good to step back once in a while and evaluate just how we are living our lives. We all need, from time to time, to pull ourselves up from the details of the bills, job, etc. and make sure that heaven still is our chief desire. That is not to say that we must abandon all responsibility, but that we must ever be sure that we are not losing sight of our most important responsibility, which is obeying God. But even more than this, we need to take all of those cares and worries and deposit them squarely into the hands of God. He is far more capable of dealing with them than we are, for He is, after all, the Creator of all things. Surely a God as powerful as the one we worship can handle the problems we mortals face. Yet the facts are more encouraging still.

Did you ever wonder why it is that God wants us to let Him handle our worries? It is not because God particularly enjoys having problems heaped upon Him, even though He can deal with them easily. No, God wants to take on our problems so that we can keep our sights set on heaven without any distractions. We need to realize that God wants us to be saved. The Scriptures plainly teach, “The Lord is . . . not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9), and “. . .God our Savior. . . would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). God is on our side! He wants to see us be faithful to Him, and so He will deal with our problems so that we can concentrate upon being faithful and making it to heaven. This is a piece of what it means that “he careth for you.”

Thus we are commanded to cast our cares upon God. The apostle Paul issued the same exhortation in Phillipians 4:6: “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” This is not merely an option open to the Christian, nor is it a casual suggestion. It is a commandment of the Lord delivered by His apostles. The plain and simple fact is that God does not want us wasting our time worrying over things that have not yet happened to us. He wants us to spend our time wisely (Eph. 5:15f), concentrating on the good we may do in His service now. Let God take care of the problems of the future. As Jesus said, “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6:34). It is a matter of letting God be God, letting faith be faith, and letting today be spent in His service.

God has designed the Christian life to be one of supreme serenity and peace, and there is no good reason why any Christian’s life should be otherwise. Sure, troubles will come. They come to all men. But the great thing about our life in Christ is that we do not have to face them helplessly or alone. God has volunteered to handle our fears, cares, and anxieties for us. Now, with such fears out of the way, how much time do you suppose that leaves us for pleasing God? All of it! And what shall be the result for us? “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 7, pp. 193, 217
April 4, 1985

By Larry Ray Hafley

Among those who have lost their courage, concern and conviction for the truth (if they had any to begin with), there is no such thing as a “live issue.” To them every question is “irrelevant” or was “thrashed out” years ago. Such preachers never have their tie get out of place when they preach, and it takes them a lifetime to wear out a Bible.

Is an issue ever dead? It depends on circumstances and opinion, but it also may rest on a man’s love and loyalty to the Lord and the truth. If he is determined to wear denominational harness, he never sees many weeds; therefore, there is little use made of the plow, fashioned and forged on the anvil of God. Issues are not dead as long as they afflict the church and torment the truth. However, a “dynamic dandy” (who has frequented all the “Christian Colleges”) can come in and, with one wave of his cuff links and shrug of his shoulders, kill a whole herd of false teaching by simply announcing that, “It’s a dead issue.”

I wish it were possible to send some of these “dead issue” preachers on a week’s preaching trip with the Apostle Paul. They would either quit preaching or get their back up a little. Either result or reaction would be an improvement over their present status.

“Dead issue” preachers (perhaps I should just say dead preachers) never put their teeth into anything that ends in i-s-t or i-s-m. They talk about “Nuclear War and the Modem Church” and, “God’s Plan for the Ghetto,” but they never get around to the distinctions and differences between the New Testament church and the false systems of men. But in their defense it must be said that it is difficult to preach concerning things you do not know anything about.

We hear of lecture programs where a “good time can be had by all,” but how long has it been since you have heard a series of lessons designed to provoke all men to practice the apostle’s doctrine? Good times, back slapping and excessive slobbers of flattery should be reserved for social gatherings when it is time, as someone said, to slop the hogs.

Every age and generation is faced with issues and problems. Doubtless, some subjects are limited with regard to time and location, but the principles of truth and of error are universal and timeless. Further, what is a “dead issue” to me may be a life and death struggle to the one I am attempting to convert. Instrumental music, infant baptism, and the organization of the church these are not particular problems to me or to the church where I currently preach, but our young people and babes in Christ wrestle with these topics as they grow and seek to teach others also.

Conclusion

Paul preached the gospel “with much contention” and encouraged others to do the same “with all longsuffering and doctrine” (1 Thess. 2:2; 2 Tim. 4:2). When a preacher stumbles over a dead issue, it is probably the corpse of some truth he has slain. It is time for a fellow to do less golfing and more studying and praying when he reaches this stage of decline and decay.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 5, p. 146
March 7, 1985

By Hoyt H. Houchen

Question: (1) Does one’s presence in a worship period conducted by institutional brethren indicate endorsement of their error or fellowship therein? (2) Can one scripturally participate with such brethren in matters scriptural without lending influence to other practices? (3) If the answer to the preceding questions is “no,” then is their presence in a worship period conducted by conservative brethren interpreted to mean approval of all that we teach and practice? If not, then why should our presence with them be so construed?

Reply: (1) One’s presence in a worship period conducted by institutional brethren is not an endorsement of their error nor is it fellowship with their error. One’s presence in such a service is not to be interpreted as a sanction of their unscriptural practices any more than one’s presence in a service conducted by some denomination. Both practice things which we believe are unscriptural, but one’s presence alone does not mean endorsement or fellowship of error. Paul visited assemblies conducted by Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah (Acts 13:14). In this instance, Paul and Barnabas as visitors, first heard the reading of the law and the prophets. Did their very presence indicate their endorsement of error on the part of the Jews who conducted the service? If it be argued that Paul and Barnabas were there to teach the truth, it is agreed. But if they had not been invited to speak, would their mere presence be their consent to errors believed and taught by those who conducted the service?

(2) We can scripturally participate in a service conducted by our institutional brethren (such as during a gospel meeting), if the service is scriptural, without lending influence to their other practices which are unscriptural. We can sing scriptural songs and pray, even though the brother who leads the prayer may believe and practice some things which we do not endorse. By doing so, we are not fellowshipping their error. Paul commanded, “and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). Participation with brethren in scriptural matters is no endorsement of their error in other matters.

(3) The same is true in reverse. If institutional brethren attend a worship period conducted by us, it cannot be justifiably construed to mean that they endorse our positions in areas where they disagree. Our attendance at one of their services does not indicate endorsement of things in which they are in error any more than their attendance at one of our services would indicate that they are in agreement with all that we believe and teach. Consistency demands that the same is true in both cases. It is a two way street.

What is stated above is “a far cry” from the open fellowship position as espoused by some. They are two different things. We cannot participate in, or endorse, a service of worship which is contrary to the word of God. For example, it would be wrong to participate in a period of worship in which mechanical instruments are employed. Yet if we visit the service, provided we do not participate in the worship, our mere presence is no endorsement of what is done. For instance, we may attend a funeral service that is conducted by some denomination. Although the service is not scriptural, merely being there does not indicate approval of what is said and done. A period of scriptural worship conducted by institutional brethren is not the same thing.

Contributing money to a church whose work is unscriptural is a different matter. Doing so would abet and fellowship error. Attendance and participating in scriptural worship (say in a service during a gospel meeting that is conducted by brethren who are in error on such matters as churches contributing funds to human institutions, or the sponsoring church) is not endorsing or having fellowship with error. Or, participating in worship and Bible study with brethren whom we disagree, such as the Arlington meeting a few years ago, is not endorsing or having fellowship with all that they do. We can participate with a brother in what is right without giving sanction to his error.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 6, p. 164
March 21, 1985

By Paul K. Williams

“‘Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults” (Psa. 19:12).

David knew he could not, at least not all of them. He had contemplated the great creation of God (Psa. 16:1-6) and the wonderful word of God (Psa. 19:7-11). Both of these wonders made him realize that God was infinitely greater than he was. God could see sins in David’s life which even David himself, with earnest searching of himself and God’s law, could not see.

Every earnest child of God has experienced the humiliating shock of discovering hidden sins in his own life. Poorly considered words have hurt when we did not know it. Our haste to be about our own business or pleasure has deafened us to the need of some brother. Perhaps only when he is an adult does our child tell us how a certain characteristic of our behavior embarrassed or hurt him when he was a child.

When these things come to our attention, we are deeply ashamed and penitent. Oh that we had realized these sins at the time! We might have been able to correct some of the damage. Now we can only pray God for forgiveness.

Other sins result from spiritual immaturity. Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” This means the immature do not yet know how to discern good and evil at least not as well as the spiritually mature. And so we learn, perhaps years after our conversion, that we have been practicing in all good conscience something which is not right in the sight of God.

Many of us who lived through that searching period of the 1950s remember how we discovered that, while we were preaching that the congregation is the only unit of organization for God’s church, we were upholding church-supported orphan homes. When our earnest study of the Scriptures removed our ignorance of this sin, we repented and got our practice in line with our preaching. But we had been sinning as a result of our ignorance.

Paul wrote, “I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:4). Moses prayed, “Thou hast placed our iniquities before Thee, Our secret sins(1) in the light of Thy presence” (Psa. 90:8). And again Paul wrote, “on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (Rom. 2:16).

Our hidden faults are sins! We will be judged for them. Every deed will be judged by God. How helpless that makes us feel. How then can we ever be justified? The answer is in David’s prayer. He prayed by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Acquit me of hidden faults.” Now this was not the automatic, almost unthinking prayer we hear so often in the assembly: “Lord forgive us of all the sins we have committed since last receiving pardon.”

It was the earnest petition of one who wanted to rid himself of all sin, who wanted to discover the hidden faults so that he could turn from them. It was the cry of one who loved the word of God and searched it diligently. It was the prayer of one who wanted even the words of his mouth and the thoughts of his heart to be acceptable in God’s sight (Psa. 19:14).

Though Paul recognized that he might have committed sins of which he was unaware (1 Cor. 4:4), he was not doubtful of his salvation. In 2 Timothy 4:7-8, he asserts without qualification that the crown of life awaited him. He knew hip was acquitted of all sins, even those he might not have discovered himself. What acquitted him was not his perfect knowledge of all his sins, but his earnest state of penitence for all known and unknown sins.

When children of God love God and His word like David and Paul did, when we search the Scriptures to find our faults and strive always to live in good conscience before God and men (Acts 24:16; 2 Tim. 1:3), when we show our eagerness to turn from every sin when we learn of it (as did the Ephesian brethren in Acts 19:17-19), we can pray the prayer of David and know that God hears. He will acquit us of our hidden faults.

Endnote

1. On this verse Pulpit Commentary says: “And not only has he done this with the sins which they know of, and whereof their consciences are afraid; but he has set their secret sins also in the fight of his countenance” (p. 255).

(Editor’s Note: The article printed above was submitted to me in May 1982 by brother Williams. At the time, he and I exchanged several letters because of our difference of understanding of the prayer in Psalm 19:12. 1 understood that we both agreed not to publish the article. Brother Williams visited with me shortly before I moved from Dayton in June 1984. He and I discussed the article and I agreed to publish it with a short statement indicating that we have a different understanding of Psalm 19:12. Whether because of my move or some other reason, I forgot about this until I received a letter from him today (19 February 1985). I apologize to him for the delay in printing this. Brother Williams is a faithful gospel preacher who deserves to be heard-even when we disagree. His attitude is charitable and commendable; I hope that I can manifest the same warm spirit as he does.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 6, pp. 165, 184
March 21, 1985