Truth Magazine

By Johnie Edwards

There are some things that just go along with salvation. The Hebrew writer said, “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak” (Heb. 6:9). Let’s take a look at some things that accompany salvation.

The Gospel of Christ

In writing the Ephesians, Paul said, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). The gospel and salvation cannot be separated, for you can not have one without the other! This is the reason it is written, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). It is by the gospel that we are saved as Paul wrote the Corinthians, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). If you expect to see folks enjoy salvation, you will have to see that they are taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that they may obey it.

Greatness

Salvation is the greatest thing that has been offered mankind! If we were to gain the whole world and lose our soul, we would be cheated (Matt. 16:26). No wonder it is recorded: “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation . . .” (Heb. 2:3). Salvation is great because it is one of the things that extends beyond the confines of this world. When the Lord comes the second time, He will bring eternal salvation for the faithful (Heb. 9:28). Greatness accompanies salvation.

Faith And Obedience

Obedience accompanies salvation. It always has and always will! The Holy Spirit said as He spoke of Christ: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb. 5:8-9). Faith put to work in obedience makes for a condition where one can enjoy salvation from past sins and, as Peter said, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:9). If you believe that you can have salvation from your sins and expect to go to the heaven when you die apart from faith and obedience, perish the thought!

The Longsuffering of God

Many times God suffers long just to allow one to be saved. God does not wish that any die in his sins (Ezek. 33:11). Christ “is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Again Peter said, “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation . . .” (2 Pet. 3:15). God may be waiting to send His Son the second time to allow you an opportunity to be saved! Would you please take advantage of the longsuffering of God?

Christ And The Church

Christ and the church accompanies salvation. It is recorded, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Yet, many have been led to believe that there is nothing in a name, and that one name is just as good as another. There is authority in a name! The saved are in the church for that is where the Lord puts the saved (Acts 2:47). Paul told the Ephesians that “Christ is the savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23) and the body is the church (Col. 1:18). “Salvation is in Christ (2 Tim. 2: 10). Are you in Christ and the church?

Faithful-Sacrificial Living

No responsible person can be saved without faithful living! The Lord said, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Without holiness “no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Paul admonished the Romans “that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable. unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12: 1). You need to mark it down, in whatever book you mark things down in, that faithful-sacrificial living accompanies salvation.

We all need to learn the principle, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matt. 19:9).

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 11, p. 325
June 7, 1984

By John W. Hedge

Unbalanced preaching and teaching of God’s holy word, the gospel of Christ, is, in the ears of those full informed therein, comparable to the unbalanced tires on one’s automobile. Such preaching and teaching consists of “wresting the scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:15-16), of “perverting the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-8), and of failing to “handle aright the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Unbalanced preaching reduces the Bible to a book of glaring contradictions and unworthy of acceptation by anyone.

In the beginning of the Lord’s church on earth there was no unbalanced preaching. Those who engaged in the noble work of preaching the only gospel designed to save the lost were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26; Matt. 10:19-20; Gal. 3:1-2). It was through the agency of those inspired preachers and writers of the gospel of Christ that the New Testament in its entirety has been given to all 4. mankind and for all time (Jude 3-4). Taking this as our sole “rule book” we find the following obligations made binding on all who would preach or teach God’s word in a way which would please Him.

First, they must “speak as the (written) oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). Second, they must “speak the things which become sound doctrine” (Mt. 2:1). Third, they must “rightly divide (or handle aright) the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). By following these simple rules, there can be no unbalanced preaching and teaching of the gospel of Christ. All the unbalanced preaching, all the different “winds of doctrine,” as heard today have resulted from the different preachers who have ignored God’s simple rules governing them in their work. The unity, peace, and great progress attained by the early Christians is to be attributed to the fact that they “continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine” which was well balanced (Acts 2:42). Although there were twelve different apostles, each one being guided by the same Holy Spirit taught or preached the same things. This spells out clearly the unity of their preaching and resulted in the unity of all who believed it, and a continuation of such unity on the part of all who continued in it. Repeated warnings were given that some would “depart from the faith” by “giving heed to the doctrines of demons” and by following their own “pernicious ways” (1 Tim. 4:1-3). These predictions began to be fulfilled even in the days of the apostle Paul and have been on the increase through the centuries, and with more yet to come (2 Tim. 3:13).

Since the days of Martin Luther and John Calvin, the doctrine that “salvation is solely by faith” and “wholly by the grace of God” has been taught. Great emphasis has been placed upon the idea that man cannot save himself, which is true in the sense that he cannot devise and use a plan of his own making but untrue when it is applied to man in accepting God’s plan and abiding in it. Even some preachers who claim to “speak as the (written) oracles of God” have been heard to catch up the old refrain, “Man cannot save himself,” one “cannot be saved by good works” without any qualifications whatsoever. It is leaving such remarks in mid-air that constitutes unsound preaching. Perhaps when these remarks are made without due qualification by some of our careless preachers, it would be good for one to be present who believes that man can do nothing by which to save himself to shout aloud a hearty “amen.” Maybe this would cause the careless preachers not to leave such remarks in mid-air.

One of “our preachers” informs by letter that he now is emphasizing God’s grace more than emphasizing man’s works. This spells out clearly unsound preaching. I wonder if he would take time off to preach a series of sermons based on James 2, along with Philippians 2:11-12 and Revelation 22:12. Well balanced preaching requires that one not only preach “salvation by grace” but by doing “the works of God,” that is, the “works” which He has authorized us to do in His will. In all of our teaching and preaching we need to use “sound speech that cannot be condemned.” “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Prov. 25:11).

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 10, p. 303
May 17, 1984

By Bill McMilleon

In opening this article I suppose it would be advantageous to define what I mean by the term “personality.” Webster defines the word thusly, “the quality or state of being a person.” That definition will suffice for our study with the single proviso that we are studying a divine “personality.”

The purpose of this article is to show that the God the Christian deals with is not some abstract impersonal force but a God which has all the characteristics that constitute a personality. Some may consider this article as ridiculously unnecessary. After all, what Christian would deny the fact that God is personal (i.e. has an individual personality)? Ostensibly no Christian would assert such, but I believe that in a practical sense many do.

To demonstrate what I am referring to let me give a example. A lady once confided in me that when she thought of Jesus she associated Him with all the love, mercy and tenderness of a personal loving Savior. In contrast, she identified God (i.e. the Father) with judgment, severity and a certain aloofness. In short, she felt that she could really know Jesus but there was a certain abstractness when it came to understanding the Father. This kind of thinking makes a dichotomy between Jesus and God that does not exist.

In John 14:8 Philip requested of Jesus, “Lord show us the Father. ” Evidently even Philip had a mistaken concept concerning the Father and the Son. Jesus’ answer silences for all time those who would divorce the personalities and intentions of God and Jesus. Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father, how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (Jn. 14:9). In Hebrews 1:3, speaking of Christ, the inspired writer says, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person . . . . ” Certainly we can see from this verse that whatever personal characteristics we attribute to one we must attribute to the other.

The attitude that associates Jesus with only those personality traits of mercy, love and tenderness and attributes to God such traits as severity, judgment and aloofness must be relinquished. A false view of God will hinder our having the proper relationship with Him. The truth is that Jesus is identified in the scriptures as one who is severe when confronting sin (see Jn. 2:13-16; Matt. 26:15; Matt. 18:6,7). All judgment has been given to the Son (Jn. 5:22). God’s stated purpose for doing this is that “all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father” (v. 23).

Further, it is the love of God (i.e. the Father) that gave Jesus for the redemption of the world (Jn. 3:16). His personal interest in our every problem is explicitly and undeniably declared in such passages as Philippians 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:6, 7. It is He that supplies our needs (Phil. 4:19). God is the one who will confirm, establish and perfect us (1 Pet. 5:10). Indeed, the Scriptures declare that He gives us “all things” relative to our spiritual welfare (Rom. 8:32).

What I have said in this article is not intended to detract from the truth that God does all of these things through Christ (Eph. 1:3). The very fact that it is through Christ reveals to us, in the best possible way, that Christ and the Father are “one” (Jn. 10:30).

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 10, p. 302
May 17, 1984

By Michael L. Dubose

Paul said, “And now abildeth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). We understand that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) and we emphasize its importance in His plan. We remember the occasion of the lawyer asking Jesus which is the greatest commandment. Jesus answered that we are to love God above all else and that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. He said that the whole law hangs on these two commandments (cf. Mk. 12:28-31). Thus, we continually teach about love as the central force in our obedience to God. However, we don’t deal with hope quite as often. As a result, many Christians fail to take advantage of the great power of hope.

On two other occasions Paul mentions the three together. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3, he wrote, “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again in 5:8 Paul said, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.” It is significant to note that Paul said our helmet, the thing which protects our most vital part, the head, is the hope of salvation. Hope provides us with great protection against the temptations and snares of the devil. It is our “patience of hope” that motivates us to continue working in the Lord’s vineyard.

We can understand the great motivating power of hope by considering everyday occurrences. In fact, life, without hope, would be impossible to bear. We have all seen or heard of someone injured in an accident which results in paralysis to the limbs of the body. Over the days and weeks after the injury, the individual works, moving the paralyzed muscles with great difficulty and often in great pain. But the hope of one day walking again motivates the person to continue, to endure the hours of therapy and the suffering.

It is no wonder that Paul repeatedly connected hope with faith and love. As Christians, hope is necessary to our spiritual well being. It is hope that motivates us to endure in spite of temptation, persecution, and indifference. It is our hope of heaven that helps us to patiently labor despite all of life’s setbacks. The Hebrew writer said, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. . . ” (Heb. 6:19). Our hope is Christ. He is the anchor that holds us secure in life’s troubled waters.

We need to understand that there is a vast difference between hope and wishful thinking. Hope is desire plus expectation. Often we desire something but have no real expectation of receiving it; that is not hope. It is wishful thinking. Sometimes we fully expect to receive something, but have no desire to receive it. That is hardly hope. But, when we truly desire something and have a reasonable expectation of receiving it, then we joyously hope for it.

Without Christ, we would have no hope of heaven. All men sin and separate themselves from God (Rom. 3:23). All are lost and unworthy of heaven (Rom. 6:23). But God sent His Son to die that through Him we might have the hope of everlasting life. Paul told the Colossians that it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Christ is the anchor of the soul in stormy seas. We desire to live in heaven and because Christ died on the cross we can fully expect to enjoy eternal life, if we keep His commandments (Heb. 5:8,9).

While hope is a powerful weapon in our arsenal for quenching the fiery darts of Satan, we must understand the basis of hope. There is only one hope (Eph. 4:4). Only those who obey the truth have that hope. John wrote, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 Jn. 3:3). We purify ourselves, as John explained, by keeping God’s commandments, by doing righteousness. He said, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 Jn. 1:3-5). And again, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (1 Jn. 3:7).

Peter taught, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth . . .” (1 Pet. 1:22). Those who have the one hope of which Paul spoke have obeyed the gospel of Christ and are continuing to do righteousness by continuing in His word. These are the ones who have been made free from sin (Jn. 8:32). Others may hope to live in heaven while rejecting the truth, but they have confused hope with wishful thinking. The desire may be there, but they have no right to expect to live in heaven. By refusing to obey God’s word, the basis of hope is gone.

Paul wrote of those outside of Christ as those “which have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Truly, the most horrifying statement in the Bible is Paul’s description of man without Christ. “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). The hopelessness of those who reject God’s word is mirrored in the account of the rich man in Luke 16:19-31. He rejected God’s pleading while he was alive, his opportunity to obey God had passed and only eternal agony stretched before.

Peter said, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1: 13). The idea here is that the child of God must set his heart firmly on Christ. We must recognize that only by doing His will can we hope to live eternally. This earth is not our permanent home; we are on a journey to heaven. Hope enables us to patiently endure, to overcome temptation that we might one day enjoy the mansions prepared for us in heaven.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 10, p. 301
May 17, 1984