Truth Magazine

By Lewis Willis

Like many of you, the house I live in has a garbage disposal unit in it. You just throw your scraps in that thing and they are quickly ground up, sent down the drain and the unit is ready for another “mouth full.” It never says, “I’m full – I don’t want any more.” Which, incidentally, reminds me of the preachers you see on television these days. They want their audiences to send money. When the audiences respond, they then want them to send more money. And more, and more, and more, ad infinitum. They never say, “I’m full – I don’t want any more.” Satisfying the insatiable appetites of these greedy religious profiteers is something akin to filling the Grand Canyon with popcorn.

Not long ago I wrote about Jim and Tammy Bakker’s $375,000 Florida condominium which his PTL Club purchased for him. The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (5/29/83), printed a long front-page article about some more of his extravagance in the acquisition of property. This spiritual disposal unit never has enough. “In January 1981, Bakker asked real estate brokers to find a new home for himself and his wife, Tammy. ” The Observer reported on a “duplex and three properties in Tega Cay that Bakker wanted for his personal use and the security of his family, sources said.” The house he decided he wanted is “among the largest homes in the most expensive area of Tega Cay overlooking Lake Wylie.” The owner offered to sell it to PTL for the minimal sum of $425,000 and Bakker’s PTL representative agreed to the price. However, there is some confusion about what he actually paid for the house. The way the sale was handled has prompted the Internal Revenue Service to look into his affairs.

You see, it appears they were going to state the price at $425,000 but actually pay $340,000. Regarding the difference, “PTL offered (the seller) a letter acknowledging an $85,000 contribution to the ministry. ” Atlanta based IRS spokesman Les Whitmer, commenting on any transaction of this nature, responded, “What we would have here is a sham transaction.” George Davis, a North Carolina Department of Revenue Assistant Director, told the Observer if what they report was so, “I think you’re bordering on individual fraud.”

The article continues, “After the Bakker’s moved in, PTL began buying nearby houses to help secure the area.” They purchased one house for $119,000 and another, Bakker personally tried to buy for $120,000. However, the owner refused to sell to him. PTL purchased a duplex for only $90,000. It would seem to me that the Bakker’s have a lot of property for their “personal use” and that he is doing a good job providing for “the security of his family” for many years to come.

Since January 1981, the Bakker’s, through Heritage Village Church and Missionary Fellowship Incorporated, have purchased a condominium, a new residence, a neighbor’s house and a duplex in the neighborhood for the minimal sum of $1,009,000! This boy is about to become a big preacher! He’s getting right up there with Rex Humbard. Humbard has accumulated $1.4 million worth of property recently and Bakker is hot on his heels, accumulating over one million dollars worth of “personal security.” Jim and Tammy and Rex and Maude Amee are doing rather nicely for themselves, thank you.

On a PTL broadcast (6/13/83) Bakker referred to the Observer article quoted herein. Let me tell you, he doesn’t think very highly of the Charlotte Observer! The paper has exposed so many of his schemes that his operation was investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and then by the U.S. Justice Department. Bakker said on his program that if the Observer was to be believed, he was now going to be investigated by the IRS. His speech was designed to elicit from his live audience, as well as his television audience, sympathy for himself as a “poor, persecuted, but humble, preacher of the gospel of Christ.” It appeared he had his audience ready to “take up arms” for him as he told them how the church was being persecuted by the government and how “God’s people are afraid of their government.” It would have been a courageous IRS agent who walked into that meeting. I felt so sorry for Bakker that I decided to write this article to arouse your sympathies for PTL’s destitute president. Why, according to PTL’s financial statement, the ministry only had 1982 receipts of $53 million. I’ve been trying to sell a house down in the, Dallas area for almost three years. I wonder if PTL would like to buy it? Jim and Tammy could stay there while they take their kids to Six Flags or the Wax Museum. I’ll guarantee you it can be bought for no more than $1,009,0001 1 doubt that the guy even has any Texas property. The Bakker’s need to diversify and not “put all their eggs in one basket.” Every well-heeled Evangelist needs property in Texas!

It is important that people not be deceived by these fellows with their pathetic appeals for funds. I was just thinkin’, from the reports in newspapers across the country, the television evangelists’ appeals to I ‘help us save our ministry – send money,” realistically translates into “buy me another house – send more money!”

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 19, p. 585
October 6, 1983

By David Pratte

Since “Buster” Dobbs is now co-owner of the Firm Foundation, the recent Dobbs-Smelser debate in Ft. Wayne has taken on greater significance than we originally anticipated. The propositions were uniquely worded statements on the issues of sponsoring churches and church-supported benevolent institution.

We are convinced that Dobbs’ arguments will be a problem for many of the brethren he associates with who seek to avoid extreme liberalism. He consistently affirmed, for example, that all local congregations could scripturally send all their money to the elders of one church, and that one eldership could then oversee all the money in evangelism (which he defined to include edifying the members). Likewise in benevolence, all congregations could send all their funds to one board of directors to oversee all the churches’ benevolent work. The only thing he said would prevent this would be the judgment of the elders – but no scriptural limits would be violated. The end result, of course, would be that the local elders in the sending churches oversee nothing but the collecting of funds!

Another interesting development was the way Dobbs continually twisted the meaning of words like “money,” 66 contribute,” and “home” in order to justify his practice. In all these matters, Dale Smelser did an excellent job of defending the truth and exposing error.

Dale used a number of new charts, and his manner of approaching the argumentation was unique. This, plus the uniqueness of the wording of the propositions, make this debate especially useful. Copies of all Dale’s charts are available, including many valuable charts on arguments that are commonly discussed on these issues but which were not used in this debate because the arguments were never introduced. Also available are tape recordings of the debate. Anyone interested in charts or tapes should contact: David Pratte, 7021 Omaha Ct., Ft. Wayne, Indiana 46804.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 19, p. 584
October 6, 1983

By Hoyt Houchen

Question: What is meant by the statement in Matthew 11: 19, “But wisdom is justified of her children “?

Reply: The wording of the statement in the question is from the King James Version. The American Standard Version reads: “And wisdom is justified by her works.”

The context of the verse is seen in the preceding statements (w. 18, 19). “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!” That generation was not pleased with John nor Jesus. They refused to accept either. They were like “children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn” (vv. 16, 17). Compared to children, they were dissatisfied with each other and the games they were playing. It was like some wanting to play one game, and others another game. The point is: nothing could please them. Interestingly, this is the only place in the Bible where games of children are described. John the Baptist lived a rugged life, eating simple food (locusts and wild honey) and wearing simple clothing (a raiment of

camel’s hair and a leather girdle about his loins, Matt. 3:4). They accused him of having a demon. Jesus, in contrast, came eating and drinking – living as others in this respect, and they accused Him of being “a gluttonous man and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” So, they were not satisfied with Him either. Of course, they falsely accused Jesus. He was neither gluttonous (given to excessive love of food) nor was He a winebibber (given to much wine). And, while Jesus was “a friend of publicans and sinners,” He was a friend to everyone. However, this does not mean that He condoned or encouraged sin. He loved sinners but hated sin. The generation to whom Jesus addressed His words could not be pleased. They rejected both John and Jesus, refusing to submit to the message of God being taught through them. This is the setting for the statement: “But wisdom is justified of her children” (KJV).

Wisdom is best seen in the fruit that she bears. A tree is known by its fruit. True wisdom was rejected by the people in general, but it was justified (shown to be right) in the works and effects of both John and Jesus. In Luke’s account we have the words: “And wisdom is justified of all her children” (Lk. 7:35). In contrast to those who reject God, children of wisdom are those who accept God’s words. They justify God by appreciating His teaching, His wisdom, and submitting to it. This is illustrated in Luke 7:29: “And all the people when they heard, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.” It should be easy to see, then, that “children” who justify true wisdom, the wisdom of God, are those ho accept God’s teaching, regarding it to be right.

Men today who are teaching God’s word may differ in disposition, style, eating habits, modes of dress etc.; but wisdom is justified (regarded to be right) by those who respond in faithful obedience to it.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 19, p. 582
October 6, 1983

By Jimmy Tuten

Our nation is founded upon a declaration that gives each person the right to pursue happiness. Ibis desire of our founding fathers was motivated by the knowledge that Jehovah desires man’s greatest good. God wants man to be happy. The entire Bible is permeated with the word “blessed” which means “happy.” Quite contrary to the thinking of some, you do find happiness by searching for it. But one must search for it in the right places, i.e., “seek ye first the kingdom of God. . . ” (Matt. 6:33). We are all guaranteed the pursuit of happiness, but we have to catch up with it ourselves. Then when we discover what true happiness really is we must take it with us into every relationship of life: our marriage, our jobs and everyday discipleship. It is a by-product of achievement. This is what the beatitudes of Matthew 5 are all about; the giving of wholehearted effort to the most worthy cause of our Lord. Happiness is within us and it does not get there by itself. So we are as happy as we make up our minds to be and it is in the heart, not your circumstances. “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth” (Rom. 14:22). Where you are and what you are determines happiness. No one will be truly happy until that person is a Christian with a sense of accomplishment and concern for others.

“Happiness” Defined

From a form of the Hebrew ‘a-shar, I ‘to declare happy” and the Greek makarios, “happy,” happiness is defined as “a state of well-being characterized by relative permanence, by dominantly agreeable emotion ranging in value from mere contentment to deep and intense joy in living, and by a natural desire for its continuation” (Webster). It differs therefore from mere pleasure, which may come about simply through chance contact and stimulation. The happiness described in the Psalms and Proverbs, and particularly those spoken by Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, are often called “blessedness” (beatitudes). “Happiness,” though, is a more exact rendering of the Bible terms used, for both Hebrew and Greek have distinct words for “blessing” (Hebrew, ‘barakh, “to bless;” Greek, eulogeo, “to speak well of, to bless”). Furthermore, “blessed carries the idea of the action of blessing, while “happy” brings to mind the state or condition that results from the blessing of God. One will find that many of the modern versions render ‘a-shar’ and makarios as “happy,” “happiness.” The KJV renders the Greek “happy” in Acts 26:2 and Romans 14:22. While men maintain that happiness is the greatest attainable good, only the Bible gives the solution to what constitutes happiness.

Happiness Sought In I’he Wrong Places

(1) Happiness is not found in wealth. Though many think so, happiness is not in what you have. If it could be bought, few of us could pay the price. In fact, we would be unhappy because of the price. Yet the sin of affluence is alarmingly increasing. “It is the preoccupation with possession, more than anything else that prevents men from living freely and nobly” (Bertrand Russell). Many of us grew up under the ethic: be thrifty, hardworking, and frugal, and then to accept fortune or riches as “grace.” The sad part is that this developed into a “pile-up-wealth syndrome” that has developed into a belief of imperativeness and consumption. We see this greed, but where is the treatment? Most of us have come to associate happiness with possession. While this accumulating and storing away can be attributed to habits of an earlier age when thrift and saving determined survival (the depression), the psychological conflict between alternative options will only frustrate. I thought I would be happy with cable television, but I am not that pleased because of the incompatibleness involved. There was no problem determining what to watch on the three available stations prior to this, but now I can’t decide which channel to turn tot I do not have much time to watch TV as it is. The very fact that you can’t get all the journals you would like to get, nor the new books that seem to engulf us, further illustrates my point. The overload of possessions, things, gadgets, opportunities and money requires us to make innumerable choices and our once “simple life” has been turned into frustration that gnaws at us with guilt feelings. Happiness is not found in possessions!

Solomon had great wealth (Eccl. 2:4-10). Did he find happiness in all this? No indeed! He said, “then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of Spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11). It was our Lord who said, “for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Lk. 12:15).

It would do us all good to remember the fable of King Midas, the ancient Greek story of a worshiper of gold, and the-richest man of his time. It is said that he loved gold so much that he spent hours counting his treasure and was thrilled as his fingers ran through the yellow coins. This love of gold obsessed his whole mind and he prayed that everything that he might touch would turn to gold. In time his wish was granted and he ran into the garden. With glee he touched the lovely blossoms and one by one they turned to cold, lifeless gold. Then his little girl, the darling of his heart, came in and not thinking, he took her in his arms and she became a golden lifeless statue. How well does this describe man who sees everything he touches turning to material things. When we speak of our children we speak of their material success, seldom of their spiritual prosperity! This curse of the touch of gold will never make us happy. True happiness comes not from having much to live on, but much to live for. Sir Thomas Vaux was right when he said:

Our wealth leaves us at death, Our kinsmen at the grave;

But virtues of the mind unto the heavens with us we have:

Wherefore, for Virtue’s sake, I can well be content.

The sweetest time in all my life to deem in thinking spent.

(2) Happiness is not found in pleasure nor popularity. Solomon tells us of the folly of confusing “pleasure” with “happiness” (Eccl. 2:1-3). It is vanity and vexation (v. 11). Haman learned to his sorrow the folly of seeking happiness in popularity (Esther 5:9-13; 7:8-10). Look at the daily reports. Who is he that kills himself? Who is taking the over-dose of sleeping pills? Who is he that turns to alcoholism? Many times it is the person that has everything the world can offer. Sometimes this person has beauty, glamour, wealth, and popularity; yet does not desire to live! How sad. The simple fact is, “happiness is much more dependent on the mental attitude than on the external resources” (Win. Lyon Phelps).

The Basis For Happiness

The Bible and experience teaches that the basis for happiness is: (1) Something to do. (2) Something to love. (3) Something to look forward to. It is living together with God, doing His will, walking in the light and joy of His love. Happiness is having something to live for. Read carefully Psalms 1:1-6 and you will see a happy man described, i.e., one who has joy of which neither crosses nor losses can deprive him. David is showing the secret of joyfulness. Without seeking it for its own sake, happiness comes from following the Law of God and finding happiness therein. God has annexed happiness to a life of loyalty to him. You say, “this is too commonplace, too simplified!” This may be true. But the very fact that multitudes have not given attention to this simplified, divine means of finding happiness is why so many are miserable in life. Psalms I shows that negatively speaking the happy man does not enter into the path of the wicked, nor go into the way of evil men. Positively speaking, it is the keeping of the Law of God before one’s eyes and in one’s heart. It may be that in the avoidance of evil men one may not have companions for a while, but he will not be lonely. His constant companions are godliness, purity, and reverence. Meditating in the Law of the Lord day and night gives one ample material for thought. The result is rich nutriment for character: the study of that which reveals the mind of God makes one like a fruitful tree. One may line his book shelves with modern day versions of happiness, but the Bible retains its supremacy as the book to regulate life. Those who regulate their lives by it are intrinsically happy because of what they are. The happy life is planted, not dropped into its place by mere chance. It is planted by God’s own hand as we follow His directions (1 Cor. 12:18). “Of his own will begat he us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (Jas. 1: 18). As such the happy man draws life and freshness from an unfailing source (“by the waters”). We are “rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith . . . ” (Col. 2:7). An avalanche of hardship may break the trunk, but one’s fife will not be uprooted.

The Key To Happiness

(1) The happy person gives wholehearted effort to some undertaking. Loafing or drifting never leads to happiness. To be happy one needs a cause to motivate him, to get the adrenalin flowing and to have direction in life. Life is rescued from emptiness and given direction that it might have positiveness.

(2) The happy person has a goal in life. Goals help us overcome obstacles, win victories and gain the crown of life (2 Tim. 4:7-8). Jesus showed the need to strive with purpose when He said, “but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

(3) The happy person consents to the frustrations of life. . . For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11). It is the person who has nothing beyond themselves to search for that is unhappy when disappointments and hardships arise. Like Job we should say, “the Lord has given … and taken away” (Job 9:12; 1:21). Many of us can testify to the fact that the loss of a loved one is life’s most difficult experience (be it by divorce or death). When this experience comes, what do you do? One can sit around mourning in self-sympathy and self-pity, or one can get up and get going by meeting the disappointments with courage and resolution. The world is filled with people whose lives reached their highest heights as they became active in the midst of a great sorrow.

(4) The happy person keeps the wonder of appreciation before him. So many are unhappy because they have lost the sense. of amazement: the wonderment of creation (Rom. 1), of man himself (Psa. 8), and of the simple things of life. There is more beauty around us than one can take in during a life-time. How long has it been since you marveled at the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset? When did you last sit down to look (I mean really look) at the beauty of the rose petal, the loveliness of the daffodil or the radiance of the purple dahlia? There is beauty in the salty foam whipping up in the surf on the beach and the deformed pelican who comes to the boat for a handout while you are fishing. God gave us the beauty of nature and intends that man enjoy it. As Keats once said, “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.” The happy person takes time to stroll through the woods, to get up and watch the ever-changing sunrise, and to enjoy the simple things of life. It is better to appreciate something you have than to have something you do not appreciate. Carve your name on the marvel of God’s beauties. You will be a happier person.

Conclusion

There is an old legend about Aaron, a fisherman, who lived on the banks of a river. Walking home with his eyes half-closed one evening after a hard days’ toil, he dreamed about what he would do when he became rich. Suddenly, he saw a bedraggled leather pouch half-buried in the sand. He picked up the pouch and found it empty except for a number of small gritty stones. Absent-mindedly, he began throwing the pebbles into the water, one by one. Each time he threw a pebble he would say something like, “when I am rich, I’ll have a large house.” He kept throwing the pebbles into the water and finally said, “when I am rich, I will be happy!” This went on until there was only one stone left. Aaron stood still, deep in thought, and held the one remaining stone in his hand. A ray of light caught it and made it sparkle. He suddenly realized that he was holding a valuable gem. He also knew now that he had been throwing away the real riches in his hand while he idly dreamed of unreal riches in the future. And he stood deep in thought.

My friend, you hold in your hands the power to be happy in life. You must be alert, ready to take full advantage of each situation which beckons you to keep its potential treasures, be they monetary or otherwise. Alas! So many of us are like Aaron. We dream of happiness for the future while right now we toss away the riches of God’s grace of joyfulness. The world owes you nothing except the opportunity to be a success at whatever you do. Seize the opportunity! Walk in the precepts of the Lord and obey the gospel now (2 Thess. 1:7-9; Mk. 16:16). You want happiness? Then be what God wants you to be and do what He wants you to do. “Rejoice evermore” (I Thess. 5:16). “One thing have I desired of the Lord that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and enquire in his temple” (Psa. 27:4). “And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation” (Psa. 35:9). Happy is the man who renounces everything that puts a strain on his conscience.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 19, pp. 579-581
October 6, 1983