Truth Magazine

By Larry Ray Hafley

The Bible does not state that Noah used hammers, saws and axes in the construction of the ark. However, such instruments were authorized by the command, “Make thee an ark” (Gen. 6:14). Without the instruction to build the ark, the tools would have been without justification.

The Bible does not mention church buildings per se. However, they are scriptural because of the authority to assemble (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:18; Heb. 10:25). Without the authority to assemble, church buildings would be without divine authority.

The Bible does not refer to song books. However, they are authorized by the command to sing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). They are aids to carry out the divine direction to “sing and make melody in your heart.” Without the authority to sing, songbooks would be unscriptural.

The Bible does not talk about chalk boards or overhead projectors. However, they are approved by the authority to teach (Matt. 28:19,20). They assist in doing what New Testament churches did; namely, teach (Acts 11:22-26). Without the authority to teach, projectors and boards would be contrary to scripture.

The Bible does not say anything about collection baskets. However, they are authorized by the command to “lay by in store” (1 Cor. 16:2). Without the authority for a contribution, collection trays would be unauthorized.

The Bible does not mention plates on which to serve the bread of the Lord’s supper. However, they are authorized by the command to “take, eat” (1 Cor. 11:24). Were there no communion, the plates would not be scriptural.

The Bible does not specifically cite a baptistry, an artificial pool in which baptism is performed. However, the command to baptize authorizes a place to baptize. Without the right to baptize, a baptistry would be iniquitous, lawless (cf. Matt. 7:21-23).

The Bible does not directly mention pianos and organs. However, such mechanical instruments of music are authorized by the command to “play music.” Without the authority to play on material, mechanical instruments, pianos and organs would be unscriptural. Wait a minute! There is no New Testament authority to “play music!” Therefore, pianos and organs are not aids to do the work of God, They are unscriptural additions to the word of God.

The Bible does not list items necessary to play games bats, balls, courts, gyms, etc. However, they are justified by the command to “minister to the needs of the whole man,” to provide recreation “for our young people.” Without those duties, ping pong tables and recreation rooms would be unscriptural. Wait another minute! There is no New Testament authority for the church to promote and provide recreation and entertainment. Therefore, “family life centers” (gyms and game rooms) are not approved of God. They are unscriptural.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 8, p. 244
April 19, 1984

By Bob Dodson

As we continue the “Great-Test” Examination, when we stand before Christ in Judgment (2 Cor. 5: 10-11) this is the examination that we “must” have taken and passed by God’s mercy and grace (Tit. 3:3-8). Let us answer with our Bibles these “negative” questions that deserve our undivided attention. Again, let us remember that the “interrogator” is Jehovah, and He is “witness” to our every word and deed and thought (Prov. 15:3). Remember we must be truthful with God if we really care what our eternal destiny shall be . . .

Greatest Restraint

Are you buffeting your body daily in order to not become a cast-away (1 Cor. 9:27), and preserve it consecrated unto God (1 Cor. 6:13; 2 Cor. 7: 1)? Do you abstain from fleshly ‘lusts that “war” against your soul (1 Pet. 2:11)7 Are you daily laying aside the “old man” (Col. 3:5-9), and crucifying him with his affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24)? God mentions Christians whose eyes are full of adultery and who cannot cease from sin (2 Pet. 2:14), because they will not bridle their passions and evil desires (Jas. 1: 13-15). You can restrain yourself from every habit which “enslaves” you (2 Pet. 2:18-19), which harms your godly influence, or tears down your tabernacle of flesh (1 Thess. 5:23). The secret is allowing Christ to strengthen you to resist (Phil. 4:13; Jas. 4:4- 10). Are you saying Get behind me Satan and push, or “leave me alone” and let me adore my Savior?

Greatest Deception

Have you become a “stumbling block” unto your neighbors and friends and family (1 Cor. 8:9)? You have deceived yourself into thinking that “all is well with my soul” (Psa. 10:6-11), and many are following your pernicious pathways (2 Pet. 2:1-2) all the way to damnation (2 Pet. 2:9). Satan has blinders of prejudice (Jas. 2:9) over your eyes so that you do not “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7) as you should. Walking in darkness you are vulnerable to every venomous bite of the Serpent (Gen. 31:1-6). You may be injecting this soul-poison into your brethren or acquaintances by your “indifference” and callous attitude about “spiritual matters” (Rev. 3:4-20). By teaching false doctrine we throw a rock of stumbling that can cause our friends and loved ones serious injury or death (Matt. 7:15-20; Acts 20:29-3 1). Often times we pat ourselves on the back and say “What a good boy am I,” while we stab our brethren with serpent-like tongues (Gal. 5:15; 1 Pet. 4:15). “Be not deceived” (Gal. 6:7)! Stop trying to mock God for you are only making a “fool” out of yourself (Matt. 7:24-27). Is it truly “well” with your soul, or would an examination by the great Physician point out that “drastic” surgery is necessary to remove diseased organs of the inner man (2 Cor. 7: 1; Rom. 7:22)? Are you deceiving yourself that “all” is well?

Greatest Mistake

To reject the gospel of Christ and turn your ear away from Him who speaks from heaven is absolute folly (Heb. 12:25). Living without God is tragic, but dying without Him is worse (Phil. 1:20-21). How many do you know who heard the gospel multiplied times and were granted golden moments to respond to the sweet invitation of Christ (Matt. 11:28-30), but procrastinated? This thief not only stole their time, but their soul (2 Cor. 6:2). Felix tremblingly made this “mistake” (Acts 24:24-29). Throughout eternity he shall have time to ponder about how he “shipwrecked” his opportunities to be saved (Acts 26:28), as well as will Agrippa. Are you making this mistake? Is it one that can never be erased “if you die in your sins” (John 8:21). Truly the cries of the lost for all eternity “I was wrong for waiting and now I am sorry” will fall upon the deaf ears of God (Rev. 14: 10-11; 21:8). Are you making the mistake of thinking that you will obey the gospel tomorrow (Jas. 4:15)?

Greatest Sorrow

Have you been born again through obedience to the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16-17; John 3:5), and have become en tangled again in the affairs of this life (2 Pet. 2:20-22)? Are you feasting upon the vomit of corruption (2 Pet. 1:4) from whence Christ has redeemed you? Have you once tasted of the “heavenly gift” (Rom. 6:23) and gone back into indulgence of the filth of Satan’s world (Heb. 6:4-6)? If so, you will experience the most terrible sorrow of all in eternity, for you will reflect on the fact that you once ate from the Father’s table as an honored Son (Gal. 4:6). Haunting you relentlessly throughout endless ages of torment will be the thought that “I was on my way to the glorious city of God” (Matt. 7:13-14), but the attractions of “Broadway” lured and enticed me away. The sorrow of the “ex” child of God will be overwhelming in contrast to those who never obeyed the gospel of Christ (Rom. 2:8-9). Like a demon this thought will vex his conscious awareness while he suffers horrible torture in a merciless hell inhabited by the Devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). It is my prayer that every wayward child of God comes back to the Father of forgiveness through repentance and prayer (2 Cor. 7: 10; Acts 8:22). Unspeakable horror awaits the child of God who dies in rebellion and disobedience (Rev. 22:15; Mark 9:43-48). Are you “fallen” from God presently?

Greatest Punishment

The nightmarish torment that awaits sinners defies description (Rev. 14: 10-11) for it is the wrath of ‘Almighty God poured out without mixture (full potency). Eternal fire that can never be quenched that burns so deeply that both body and soul are able to feel the searing bite of the flames (Matt. 10:28). The sinner will not just be tormented in flames, but will hear agonizing cries (Matt. 25:30) of others helplessly being devoured eternally by God’s anger. His nostrils will be filled with the “odor” of seared beings as they grapple with demons (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:15). Are you serving Satan for the reward he offers? If so then you have proven yourself the greatest failure. Your score is 0 (nothing). You have lost everything that is worth anything (Matt. 16:24-26)! Are you seeking to be successful in God’s eyes? If so, you can escape the “greatest punishment.”

Greatest Adversary

Satan the Devil is the worst adversary of man, but most people are befriending him while he is destroying them (Eph. 2:1-3). If you have not been honest with God and yourself while taking this test, Satan has deceived you, and you have become your own worst enemy. Lying to any question only compounds your sins before God, and cements your doom. This “examination” has been submitted to accomplish what Christ desired by the mouth of Paul (2 Tim. 2:2426). If after taking this test you see that you actually oppose yourself, please repent (Matt. 21:28-32) and become your own best friend and God’s ally.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 8, pp. 239-240
April 19, 1984

By Carol R. Lumplin

There is more misunderstanding about “baptism,” than perhaps any other New Testament subject. A great deal of this is due to the disregard for what the New Testament plainly teaches. Paul wrote, “there is one baptism,” (Eph. 4:5). Since there is one baptism, it would rule out (1) John’s baptism, which ended when Christ died upon the cross (Col. 2:14); (2) Holy Spirit baptism, which is found only in Acts 2 upon the apostles and in Acts 10 upon the household of Cornelius; (3) fire baptism, which is yet to come upon those who know not God and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-9). This one baptism is the one which Jesus commissioned His apostles to perform (Matt. 28:19).

The apostles were directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit in what they could teach and bind upon people in religion (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). The Holy Spirit directed the apostles in all truth (Jn. 16:13). Since they were directed in all truth, we are confined in our understanding of “baptism, ” to what they have given to us in the New Testament.

Paul said, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:17). “In the name of the Lord Jesus” means by His authority. The Lord has spoken on the subject of “baptism.” The book has been finished; no additional word will be forth coming (cf. Heb. 9:16-17). Honest and concerned people will open “the will of the Lord,” and there determine the “all” about “baptism.”

Baptized by the authority of Jesus Christ into the name of Jesus Christ. Peter commanded the believing Jews to, “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins . . . ” (Acts 2:38). Peter was binding God’s law (Matt. 16:19) upon the Jews, with all the authority of Jesus Christ supporting him. Philip taught the same fixed authority to men and women in Samaria, who were baptized (Acts 8:12). Other accounts of the authority of Jesus Christ are expressed in (1) the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10:47-48) and in (2) the conversion of the Ephesians (Acts 19:1-5).

Baptized into the likeness of the death of Jesus Christ. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For we have been planted together in the likeness of his death . . . ” (Rom. 6:4-5).

Baptized into Jesus Christ. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Rom. 6:3).

Since, we have the authority of Jesus Christ to bind what soever the inspired apostles and writers have taught us in the New Testament, then are we not also bound by what our Lord said about baptism in His ,commission to the apostles? He said, “All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of ‘the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:18-19). The authority of Jesus Christ (in His name) instructed the apostles to baptize those taught into “the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” When a sinner is baptized “in the name of the Son,” to the exclusion of the Father and of the Holy Spirit, is he baptized according to the authority of Jesus Christ? He either is, or he is not.

I firmly believe those of us who baptize people; when baptizing, should use the language of Jesus Christ. If not, then why did the Holy Spirit direct the apostles to do this? Just some food for thought.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 8, p. 236
April 19, 1984

By Michael L. DuBose

Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land they know not? 0 earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah (Jer. 22:28-30).

The prophet Jeremiah said that none of Coniah’s descendants would ever prosper while sitting upon David’s throne in Jerusalem. Christ is a descendant of Coniah. In Matthew’s listing of the genealogy of Christ, Jechoniah, who was carried away into Babylonian captivity, and Coniah are the same man (see Mt. 1: 11, 12). Thus, according to Jeremiah’s prophecy, Christ of the seed of Coniah, could not reign upon David’s throne while upon the earth. This effectively destroys the premillennial doctrine of a literal thousand year reign of Christ on earth.

Usually, in order to try and circumvent the clear implications of these passages, premillennialists will argue that Matthew recorded Joseph’s lineage. Since Christ is not a fleshly descendant of Joseph, they contend that Jeremiah’s prophecy does not apply and they have done away with the contradiction between the word of God and their doctrine.

Luke, however, also records the genealogy of Christ, but on Mary’s side of the family. Notice a couple of names that are common to both records. In Matthew 1: 12-13 and Luke 3:27, the names Shealtiel and Zerubbabel appear. These are not four different men with the same names, but the same two men in both accounts. The families of Nathan and Solomon unite in Shealtiel. Thus, Christ is a descendant of Coniah on both sides of the family and according to Jeremiah, he could not rule upon an earthly throne.

Some see a contradiction in the fact that Shealtiel is called the son of Jechoniah in Matthew’s lineage and the son of Ned in Luke’s record. These discrepancies can be easily harmonized, however. In the listing of David’s descendants recorded in I Chronicles 3, Shealtiel is listed as the son of Jechoniah and Zerubbabel is listed as the son of Pedaiah (1 Chron. 3:16-19). It seems probable that Shealtiel was actually the grandson of Jechoniah either by his daughter and Neri, who was also a descendant of David through Nathan (see Lk. 3:27; 1 Chron. 3:5) or that Shealtiel was a great grandson of Jechoniah through Assir (1 Chron. 3:17) who died leaving a daughter but no sons. The inheritance was to pass to the daughter of a man who died having no sons (Num. 27:1-8), but the daughter was required to marry one who was of the same tribe as her father so that the inheritance would not be moved from tribe to tribe (Num. 36:8-12). In either case, Shealtiel would be the legitimate heir to the throne, but he never reigned because of the captivity.

If Shealtiel died, leaving no descendants, then his brother was obligated by the law to raise up seed to his name (Deut. 25:510). Thus, Pedaiah (the brother of Shealtiel and grandson of Jechoniah, 1 Chron. 3:18), took his brother’s widow and raised up Zerubbabel as seed to Shealtiel. Zerubbabel, then, would become the heir.

Whether one accept the above reasoning or not, Christ is still proven to be the descendant of Coniah by the Scriptures. He, therefore, can not reign on David’s throne while upon earth.

Nathan’s prophecy to David also shows that the Messiah would be a descendant of David through Solomon, thus through Coniah. In 2 Samuel 7:12-16, Nathan told David that his son would be allowed to build a house for the Lord and that this son would reign upon the throne of David his father forever. Solomon is the son under consideration in Nathan’s prophecy. He ascended to his father’s throne and he was allowed to build a house for God (1 Kings 5:5). But Solomon is not now reigning on David’s throne. Obviously, that part of the prophecy which speaks of David’s son reigning forever has reference to Christ. He was to reign upon David’s throne forever. But remember, we have established from Jeremiah’s prophecy, that Christ, who is a descendant of Coniah, can not rule on David’s throne while upon earth. Christ reign must be spiritual or heavenly, then.

This is exactly what Peter said in his sermon on the day of Pentecost. He told the audience gathered in Jerusalem, “Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ . . .” (Acts 2:30-31). The sitting on David’s throne was a reference to the resurrection of Christ and His ascension into heaven to sit at God’s right hand to rule over His church (Acts 2:32-36).

The premillennial doctrine of the thousand year earthly reign of Christ clearly contradicts these Bible passages and in these verses, there is a problem which the premillennialist can not answer.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 8, p. 243
April 19, 1984