Truth Magazine

By Earl Robertson

It is often times alleged that our “customs and traditions divide us, and not the word of God” and that “means and methods” are the basis of our divided state. One preacher recently said on the radio that our personal “opinions and priorities make us intolerant: that we won’t have anything to do with anyone who disagrees with us.” There might be some local churches experiencing such, but such is not a brotherhood problem. The liberals have forced the division and now assert that it is nothing more than “opinions, means and methods” that causes it. We challenge them to tell us by name what these customs, traditions, opinions, means and methods are that have divided the churches of Christ. The ecumenical spirit assumed by some dialoguers has caused a fever in these men which renders them unable to know the difference between faith and opinion, methods and organization, sing and play.

This reminds me of what Larry Miles recently wrote in Word and Work, a premillennial journal of Louisville, concerning why R.H. Boll was not allowed to remain front page editor of the Advocate. Boll was teaching premillennialism. It is a false system. He wrote, “Rather than allow him the freedom to interpret the scriptures as the Lord has revealed to him, these brethren sought to make it a test of fellowship . . Today there is virtually no fellowship between the Anillennial and the pre-millennial brethren. The pre-mil brethren have always sought fellowship and have offered fellowship. We must not be willing to make opinions tests of fellowship” (April 1980, pg. 112). If premillennial views are no more than opinions, why do they hold and press them to the dividing of the body of Christ? If human institutionalism (church support of such) is nothing more than human opinion, why do these brethren press their opinions to the dividing of the church? They are the ones who have split the body of the Lord!

John wrote, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3; cf. Acts 4:20). This is the only basis for fellowship. Read what the apostles declared! They wrote what they saw and heard. They had fellowship with God on that basis, and so can we.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 48, p. 777
December 4, 1980

By Norman E. Fultz

In a recent Bible class as we were considering Acts 14:23 regarding elders in the early church, someone called attention to the fact that the passage also mentions prayer -and fasting and questioned why we do not fast today? Members of the class were assigned to see what they could find out about fasting with the results to be discussed the next week. Since this is a topic not frequently discussed, perhaps it will be of interest to readers of this journal.

The term “fasting” simply means to abstain from food or drink for a period of time longer than the normal time between meals. It may be for a relatively short interval (Judges 20:26) or for several days (Esther 4:15-16). It may be either a deliberate action on the part of the abstainee (Acts 13:2) or necessitated by a lack of food, therefore the result of the immediate circumstances (1 Cor. 4:11; 2 Cor. 6:5; Matt. 15:32). It may be either total abstinence or “abstaining from customary and choice foods” (Thayer on Matt. 11:18). The occasions prompting deliberate fasts were several, as we shall see a bit later. A fast might be either individual (2 Sam. 12:16) or a group affair (2 Chr. 20:3).

Origin Of Fasting

An interesting comment appears in Crudent’s Concordance: “Fasting has, in all ages, and among all nations, been much in use in times of mourning, sorrow, and afflictions . . . . There is no example of fasting, properly so called, to be seen before Moses; yet it is presumable that the patriarchs fasted, since we see that there were very great mournings among them, such as that of Abraham for Sarah, Gen. 23:2; and that of Jacob for his son Joseph, Gen. 37:34.”

The first instance of fasting enjoined on Israel was that of the day of atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month. It is called “afflicting the soul” (Lev. 16:29-30; 23:27-28; Isa. 58:3, 5). It was to be as strictly observed on that day as was the cessation from any work (Lev. 27:29-32). By the time of Jeremiah, it was referred to as “the fasting day” (Jer. 36:6) and later simply as “the fast” (Acts 27:9). Moses commanded no other fasts, though the practice of fasting became more widespread with the passing of time.

Expansion Of The Practice

Since no other fasts were enjoined by the law, we may only wonder how the practice became more widespread. Perhaps since the day of atonement was one of such solemnity and “affliction of the soul,” the practice easily became associated with other occasions of affliction, sorrow and mourning whether of an individual or of the Hebrew nation. It seems to have developed as a response on the part of those facing hardship, in deep penitence, seeking to avert national calamity, or deeply imploring God about other matters. We shall consider some illustrations of these.

Facing hardship. When Israel fled before the face of the few men of Ai, “Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads” (Josh. 7:6). Being upon his face before the Lord “until the eventide” is thought by some to infer that they fasted for at least part of the day in question. David fasted days while his child by Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, was ill (2 Sam. 12:15-23).

Deep penitence. Ezra fasted for some period of time when grieved for the great transgression of Israel in taking of foreign wives (Ezra 10:6). See also Neh. 9:1-2.

When Israel put away Baalim and Ashtoroth at the insistence of Samuel, they “fasted on that day and said there, We have sinned against the Lord” (1 Sam. 7:6). And in the days of Joel, through him, God pled “turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning . . .” (Joel 2:12).

In their civil conflict with Benjamin, after a heavy loss in battle and not knowing whether to further engage the effort, “the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even. . .” (Judg. 20:26). And Saul of Tarsus, during his days of penitence, “neither did eat nor drink” for three days (Acts 9:9).

To avert a national calamity. When Judah was under attack by Moab, King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for the nation (2 Chr. 20:3-4). Much later, when Mordecai asked Esther to intercede for the Jews before the king of Persia, she countered by suggesting a three day fast by him and the Jews in Shushan the palace while she and her maidens also fasted before her going in unto the king uninvited to seek favor for the Jews (Esther 4:15-17). And to prevent the overthrow of Nineveh threatened by Jonah, “the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth . . . .” (Jon. 3:5). In his effort to call the nation to repentance and prevent the devastation of which he was warning, Joel called upon the people to “Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly” (Joel 1:14; 2:12, 15).

When deeply imploring God. Hannah, when she was imploring God for a son, “wept, and did not eat” (1 Sam. 1:7-18). Ezra, preparing to lead a group of captives from Babylon to Judea, “gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava” and “proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance . . . . So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us” (Ezra 8:15, 21, 23). And of Anna the prophetess it is said that she worshiped God with “fastings and with supplications” night and day (Lk. 2:37).

It is to be noted from all the above that though only one fast was actually commanded by Moses, the many instances of fasting apparently met with God’s approval. However, in the days of her apostasy, the Israelite nation was rebuked for hypocritical fasting (Isa. 58:3-4). They were externally “afflicting the soul,” but “in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours,” and “ye fast to make your voice heard on high,” Isaiah charged.

Jesus and Fasting

In reality, Jesus had very little to say about fasting. In Matt. 6:16-18, He warned against hypocritical fasting as Isaiah had done. In saying that it should not be done to be seen of men, He indicated that fasting was a private matter between the person and the Father. Once when questioned about why John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted often but His own disciples did not fast, Jesus stated that a time would come in which they might well fast, “when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them.” He thus shows that fasting is associated with deep sorrow or remorse. But here again he did not suggest that fasting would become a regular ceremonial type of thing. The inference is that it is a private matter. Furthermore, in the parable of the old and new garments and wineskins, He shows that fasting (probably as a prescribed act or ritual such as that of the Pharisees) is a part of the old observances and not of the new which He enjoins (Matt. 9:14-17; Mk. 2:18-22; Lk. 5:33-39).

On one occasion when the disciples were unable to cast out a demon and asked why, Jesus replied, “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21; Mk. 9:29). However, this is a disputed text. The American Standard leaves the whole verse out in Matthew’s account, relegating it to a footnote and explains, “Many authorities, some ancient, insert verse 21.” In Mark 9:29, the passage says, “This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer.” And again the footnote adds, “Many ancient authorities add and fasting.”

As Mr. Cruden said, “It does not appear by our Savior’s own practice, or any command that He gave to His disciples, that He instituted any particular fasts, or enjoined any to be kept out of pure devotion.”

It is true that Jesus Himself in the wilderness “fasted forty days and nights”, but He did not enjoin such on His follower

Early Christians Fasted

Not all fasting was devotional. Fasting, simply “not eating” was sometimes the result of the circumstances, there simply being no food. This was the case when Jesus fed the five thousand and again when He fed the four thousand (Matt. 15:32-38; Mk. 8:1-9; 6:33-44). It was likely also the case in some, if not all, of Paul’s fasting (1 Cor. 4:11; 2 Cor. 6:5; Phil. 4:12), with the exception of the time between his seeing the light on the road to Damascus and the coming in unto him of Ananias when “he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink” (Acts 9:9) and when elders were appointed in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch and Pisidia (Acts 14:23). Whether he was among those who fasted on the fateful ship bound for Rome is a bit difficult to ascertain (Acts 27:21, 33).

The instances of fasting on the part of the early Christians was apparently devotional. However, there are only two undisputed instances of such fasting, to my knowledge. Of some at Antioch of Syria, whether the disciples generally or the “prophets and teachers” specifically, it is said “they fasted” (Acts 13:2, 3). And again as noted above, when elders were appointed on Paul’s first preaching tour it is said they “prayed with fasting” (Acts 14:23).

Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 7:5 to husbands and wives regarding the conjugal rights of marriage not being withheld “except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer” most assuredly indicates something of a devotional air. But “fasting is not found in some of the older manuscripts in this passage; therefore, not in the ASV and other translations. In fact, of the many versions I checked, only the King James and the Phillips paraphrase had “fasting.” A footnote in The New Testament From 26 Translations said, “`Fasting’ is now recognized as not adequately supported by original manuscripts.”

The reference to Cornelius “fasting until this hour” (Acts 10:30) runs into the same difficulty, it being found in the King James, but not even in Phillips. The same footnote is affixed in the N. T. in 26 Translations as that on 1 Cor. 7:5.

After summarizing the references to fasting in the New Testament, Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary says, “There are, therefore, in the New Testament only four indisputable references to voluntary fasting for religious purposes, two by our Lord in the Gospels, and two in the Acts of the apostles. Jesus does not disapprove of the practice, but says nothing to commend it. The apostolic church practiced it, but perhaps only . as a carry-over from Judaism, since most of the early disciples were Jews.”

Why don’t we fast? In view of what we have seen in this study, we conclude that while there is nothing inherently wrong in the practice and that while one may fast if he so desires, let it be a private matter. There is no basis upon which fasting as a devotional ceremony may be imposed on a congregation.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 48, pp. 775-776
December 4, 1980

By Ron Halbrook

Because of his onslaughts against the Modernism which denied the supernatural inspiration of Scripture, JAW. McGarvey (1829-1911) was often accused of lacking fervent love. He was scorned by those who felt his blows as being a harsh controversialist, a bigot, and a legalist. His column appearing weekly in the Christian Standard under the caption “Biblical Criticism” (1893-1911) was especially despised by some brethren. McGarvey had publicly opposed R.C. Cave of the Central Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri, when he preached a modernistic sermon in late 1889; Cave eventually lost his pulpit and became a wandering star. He wrote “An Open Letter to Professor McGarvey” in 1980 complaining of his “heresy-hunting” as “immoral” and “impolitic” because “the spirit of Christ . . . is better than doctrinal soundness” (published in “Biblical Criticism” column, Christian Standard, 28 Nov. 1908, pp. 2038-39). Noting that some preachers did not allow the Standard in their home because of its controversial nature; McGarvey observed,

These preachers are too holy to be healthy. There are not many saloon-keepers who permit their children to read a’ prohibition paper. There are not many skeptics or half skeptics who love the Christian Standard – not many liquor-dealers, or horsemen la reference to gambling, RH], or bigoted sectarians . . . . Well, every man according to his own taste, until the Lord will come to take this own and to let the devil take his (“Too holy to be Healthy”‘ in “Biblical Criticism” column, C.S., 5 December 1908, p. 2087).

A brother named Jasper S. Hughes considered McGarvey’s work demagogy and wrote a sweet-spirited letter objecting to his “spiteful bigoted flings . . . you are an ass of the most pronounced kind and a coward of the meanest variety” (McGarvey Letters in Bosworth Memorial Library, Lexington [Kentucky] Theological Seminary).

The weak of heart and faith have often viewed controversy in a bad light, overlooking the example of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. The weak easily forget that fervor in controversy is part of a fervent love for Christ and exemplifies the love of Christ for truth. McGarvey’s book of Sermons contains many devotional thoughts of fervent love as-does his articleon “The-Prints of the Nails,” which appeared in J.A. Lord (ed.), On the Lord’s Day: A Manual for the Regular Observance of the New Testament Ordinances (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Co., 1904), Vol. 1, pp. 41-43. The full article follows.

The Prints of the Nails J. W. McGarvey

TEXT. – “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my his brow. finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

There is a very beautiful and touching hymn the chorus of which terminates with the words, “I shall know Him by the prints of the nails in his hands.” The author seems to have conceived that when she enters heaven she will see before her a great host of glorified beings, among whom she may not readily distinguish her Savior. The thought seemingly arose from John’s declaration that “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” But she imagined that he bears in heaven, as he did when he appeared to doubting Thomas, the prints of the nails in his hands. The concepting, whether true to the reality or not, is a very touching one; for it supposes our exalted Redeemer to continue through all eternity wearing the mark of the keenest pain which He endured in the work of our redemption.

We are apt, in considering the crucifixion, to be shocked most severely at the thrusting of the Roman spear into the Savior’s heart, and the stream of mingled blood and water which gushed forth. But that cruel deed gave Him no pain. His life was already extinct. We shudder, too, at the driving of the iron spikes through His hands and His feet; and no living person can adequately conceive the torture inflicted when the tender nerves of these extremities were thus lacerated. But this pain, though excruciating beyond all expression, endured only for a few awful moments.

It was when the cross was erected and put in its place that His most extreme and enduring torture began. His whole weight was suspended on the two spikes which had been driven through His hands; and this continued for six dreadful hours. Well, then, does the hymn-writer select the prints of the nails in His hands as the badge of His supremest physical agony. If that badge shall be kept visible before us in heaven, how deep and constant will be the glow of gratitude in our hearts, and how constant and full the stream of praise that will flow from our lips!

I was present on a memorial occasion when the song referred to above was sung with a full heart by our sweetest singer of hymns at the bedside of a woman who had been bedridden for nearly eight years with inflammatory rheumatism, but who was wonderfully cheerful and thankful amid all her sufferings. While hearing the song, the tears rolled down her cheeks in streams; and at the conclusion, as soon as she could command her voice, she said: “We cut up, and make a great-to-do about our afflictions in this world; but what are all of our afflictions? They are only a bubble on the water to what our Savior passed through. What a pity it is that we shall have to know Him by the prints of the nails in his hands! But, thank God, he’ll not have on that crown of thorns. He will have a crown with stars in it.”

Yes, the prints of the nails in his hands will not be the only badge by which we shall know our Redeemer, no matter how many or how glorious the other great beings who shall make the heavens blaze with glory. We shall know him also by the starry crown upon his brow.

“The head that once was crowned with thorns,

Is crowned with glory now;

A royal diadem adorns the mighty victor’s brow.

He’s King of kings! Oh, hallelujah!

He’s Lord of lords! Oh, praise his name!

The Lamb of God, who brought salvation,

Endured the cross with all its shame. “

When we meet to remind one another of His dying love, and to show forth His death by the emblematic loaf and cup, let us never forget that, though we may be few and feeble, we are joining with a countless host to glorify Him whose name is above every name and whose suffering endured for us is the chief glory of heaven. We are not alone. We are but adding our feeble hearts and voices to the noblest and sweetest anthem ever sung in heaven. We are honoring Him who has made the solemn pledge, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

When Thomas saw the prints of the nails in the Lord’s hands and feet, though the sight dispelled His doubts, and led him to exclaim, “My Lord, and my Gods” he did not realize as we do now the significance of those wounds. It required the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit, which came upon him and his fellow apostles later, to enable them to realize the meaning of the words spoken at the last Supper, “This is my blood of the covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” He only knew that the Lord had died and risen again, and had thus proved himself to be divine. He knew not as yet that He was to ascend to the highest heavens, and that the highest seat in heaven was to be His. He did not know as yet that his own eternal salvation, his own final and everlasting reunion with his Lord and Master, had been made possible by the blood which flowed from those wounds. He was yet, therefore, to enter into a joy on earth of which he had never dreamed – the joy of loving and serving Him by whose death he had been redeemed, the joy of dying for Him at last.

All of this joy is ours, and it comes afresh into our lives with every returning day in which we meet around this table. If we have been deprived of this heavenly privilege in some days of the past, let us pray God that we shall never be again; and let us resolve that so far as in us lies we never shall be. The people who partake not of this heavenly feast except at long intervals, know not what they are losing out of life. While admitting that the disciples of the apostolic age, who are guided by inspiration, met every Lord’s Day to break the loaf, they have been persuaded by specious reasonings to fear the effect of thus obeying the Lord. While we pity them, we shall not reproach them, but we shall set them an example, and hope for the good time to come when all lovers of the Lord, the world over, will unite in this happy service. For this we have many reasons to hope; and if the final coming of the Lord shall occur on the Lord’s Day, and the living saints shall be caught up from the Lord’s table to meet Him in the air, how enviable their last hour on earth will be!

Truth Magazine XXIV: 48, pp. 773-774
December 4, 1980

By Mike Willis

The Christian’s hope is an anchor to the soul (Heb. 6:11); it is the Christian’s helmet in his defense against Satan (1 Thess. 5:8). The Christian’s hope for everlasting life is based on the firm foundation of the immutable promise of God (Tit. 1:2). The hope of everlasting life is a motive to cause us to purify our present lives (1 Jn. 3:2-3). Our is a “lively hope” (1 Pet. 1:3) for an inheritance “which is incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Pet. 1:4-5).

Yet, Paul warned of some who would move us away from the hope of the gospel (Col. 1:23). Though not specifically prophesied by Paul, there are several contemporaries theologies which result in moving us away from the one hope (Eph. 4:4) of the Christian to some other hope.

Hopes Offered By False Religions

1. The Hope of Modernism. Modernism denies the inspiration of the Scriptures, the miracles of the Bible, the eternal nature of man, the judgment, and heaven and hell. The man who walks by faith in hope of eternal life is mocked by modernists as one who believes in a “pie in the sky in, the sweet by and by.” Commenting upon the manner in which modernism or liberalism destroys the hope of the Christian, J. Gresham Machen wrote as follows:

Very different is the “program” of the modern liberal Church. In that program, heaven has little place, and this world is really all in all. The rejection of the Christian hope is not always definite or conscious; sometimes the liberal preacher tries to maintain a belief in the immortality of the soul. But the real basis of the belief in immortality has been given up by the rejection of the New Testament account of the resurrection of Christ. And, practically, the liberal preacher has very little to say about the other world. This world is really the centre of all his thoughts; religion itself, and even God, are made merely a means for the betterment of conditions upon this earth (Christianity And Liberalism, pp. 148-149).

Modernism consequently has the hope of improving social conditions on this earth; it is not interested in a religion which preaches everlasting life in the world to come.

The program of work which is engaged in by Modernism reflects this program of work. They are interested in improving housing, providing proper education, eliminating poverty, and abolishing child labor. Many programs of social work have been initiated and supported by modernists who have rejected the one hope of the gospel in hope of making this life a “heaven on earth.”

Modernism was coupled with the belief in the inherent goodness of man. Tied to evolution, this doctrine assumed that man was constantly getting better and that this world was going to continue to be improved. World Wars I and II pretty well shattered the dreams of modernism as theologians were forced to grapple with man’s inhumanity to his fellow man.

The comment which Paul made regarding those at Corinth who had denied the possibility of the bodily resurrection certainly seems appropriate to apply to modernists: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19). Modernism confines the hope of the gospel to matters pertaining to this life. Consequently, modernism destroys the “one hope” of the gospel.

2. Judaism and Premillennialism. Both first century Judaism and twentieth century premillennialism have changed the hope of the gospel. A careful assessment of modern dispensationalist preachers will reveal that they are looking for the establishment and rise to power of Israel as a nation. The establishment of Israel as a nation is supposed to have occurred in 1947. Her rise to power is supposed to be in the process of being fulfilled at this time.

The old kingdom of Israel as existed in the days of David and Solomon becomes the hope of modern Israel and the premillennialist. The modern premillennialist believes that Jesus will come back to this earth, established an earthly kingdom, and reign over this kingdom for a thousand dears. Hence, the hope of the premillennialist is the establishment of the earthly kingdom of Israel and the one thousand year reign on this earth of the Messiah.

This is certainly not that for which the Apostle Paul hoped. He was not anticipating Christ to come to this earth to establish His kingdom; instead, he looked forward to the time when Christ would deliver us His kingdom to God (1 Cor. 15:24). Premillennialism, therefore, perverts the one hope of Christianity.

3. Atheism and agnosticism. Atheism and agnosticism destroy the belief in “one hope.” They replace faith with infidelity. The result is a philosophy which is properly described as being without hope. Atheism has nothing beyond this life to look forward to; agnosticism states that there is no way of knowing whether or not there is something beyond this life to look forward to. At any rate, both systems of belief destroy the “one hope” which the Christian has through Christ.

Atheism leaves man without a hope. To demonstrate that this is so, please consider some of these despairing statements of some atheists:

David Home: “Where am I, or what? From what causes do I derive my existence, and to what condition shall I return? . . . I am confounded with all these quotations, and begin to fancy myself in the most deplorable condition imaginable, environed with the deepest darkness, and utterly deprived of the use of every member and faculty (Treatise of Human Nature, Book I, pp. 44, 47).

Ingersoll: “Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud, and the only answer is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead there comes no word” (Cited by McClure, Mistakes of Ingersoll and His Answers, II, p. 147).

Woosley Teller, President of American Association For The Advancement of Atheism: “It is only by forgetting his place in stellar space that man can find the urge to continue his interest in things here below, for all his labors on earth are destined to be wiped out in the crash of things” (The Atheism of Astronomy, p. 63).

Atheism gives man no reason for living and no reason for striving to do what is right. It promises him nothing but the grave. Agnosticism has nothing to offer; it affirms that one cannot know that there is anything beyond the grave. Hence, infidelity leaves man in despair – without God and without hope in this world. It is a departure from the “one hope” of the gospel.

The Christian’s Hope

The hope of the Christian is tied to the second coming of Jesus Christ. We understand that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and will return again to receive us unto Himself that where He is there we may be also (Jn. 14:1-3). Hence, we await the second coming of our Savior (1 Thess. 1:9-10; 1 Cor. 1:7; Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 9:28).

At the second coming, the saints of God will receive the blessed reward of everlasting life, eternal communion with God. Heaven is our everlasting home of our everlasting soul. There we will receive eternal life (Tit. 1:2; Mark 10:30). Our everlasting home of the soul is described as communion with God (Rev. 21:3). There “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4). Our faithful loved ones will have been raised from the dead with us (1 Thess. 4:13-18) and those who are alive at His coming will have been transformed. There with thousands of others, we shall lift our voices in praise to God who created the world and to the Son who gave His life that we might be redeemed.

Frankly, this hope stabilizes my life in Christ – it is the anchor of my soul (Heb. 6:18). There are times when conditions are such in life that a person would choose to commit suicide if there were no resurrection and no judgment to face. When the number of pleasurable experiences are significantly less than the number of painful experiences, the infidel has no reason for continuing to live. The Christian has hope – the hope of everlasting life – to sustain him through the dark clouds of life. When Paul and Silas had been beaten and placed in the jail at Philippi, their spirits did not despair; instead they sang praises to God (Acts 16:25). When Paul faced a certain death at the hands of Nero, he looked beyond the agonies of death to his crown of life and wrote, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). The hope of everlasting life sustained him as he walked through the valley of the shadow of death.

Be Not Moved Away From The Hope Of The Gospel

Paul warned the brethren at Colosse, “. . be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven” (Col. 1:23). Inasmuch as the hope of the gospel is under attack, we need to be reminded to maintain our hope. Let us not be diverted to begin to hope for the conversion of the entire world to Christ, for we have no divinely revealed reason for expecting that to occur. Let us not be diverted to hope for the total improvement of social conditions to the point that poverty, ignorance, and crime are totally eliminated, for that is not the hope of the gospel. Let us not be diverted to watching the newspapers in anticipation of the political improvement of the state of Israel, for that is not the hope of the gospel.

Rather, let us be firmly fixed in the one hope of the gospel – everlasting life to be given to us in the world to come. Let us anxiously await the second coming of our Lord. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

Truth Magazine XXIV: 48, pp. 771-773
December 4, 1980