Truth Magazine

By Morris W. R. Bailey

In a previous article on the above subject, it was pointed out that one of the definitions given by the dictionary to the word truth is fact. Thus the truth on any subject consists of the facts relating thereto. It was pointed out also that in spiritual realm, God’s word is truth (John 17:17). Also, since the sum of God’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160), it takes all that the Bible says on any subject to constitute that truth on that subject. We are now ready to proceed to the second part of the definition of truth, namely,

Conformity To Fact

That, of course, is self-evident. For if a fact is true, then anything that conforms to, or corresponds in all particulars to that fact will also be true. That is the principle upon which we proceed when we compare values, when we judge between right and wrong, and when we draw the line between what is true and what is false. Does the thing under consideration conform to fact?

Most of us remember our school days. There were periodic examinations on the subjects we studied. We recall how that we submitted answers to the questions asked, sincerely believing that our answers were correct. But often when those examination papers came back from the teacher, we were disappointed in that we found some of those answers marked as incorrect. What was the matter? Was that teacher just a narrow-minded bigot who thought that she was always right and that anyone who disagreed with her was wrong? No, I do not recall thinking so, regardless of whatever else I thought. We realized (too late) that our answers did not conform to the time-tested and accepted facts regarding those subjects on which we had been examined. If it was a question in mathematics such as, “What does four plus four make?” and my answer was ten, it obviously did not conform to the fact that four plus four make eight. If it was a question in history, such as, “In what year did Columbus discover America?” and my answer was the year of 1650, it obviously did not conform to the factual date of 1492. It would have been a very incompetent teacher who would have marked my answers as being correct because she believed that I was sincere when I submitted them. And it would have been even more absurd if she had marked a number of conflicting answers as being correct. Methinks that there would have been some parents demanding that a change in the teaching staff of that school.

How strange it is that in every field in the natural realm, people will insist on having the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, measuring the commodities they buy according to factual and time-tested standards. When the housewife buys a pound of hamburger, she insists on getting sixteen ounces, not twelve ounces. The motorist buys a gallon of gas, and he expects to get four quarts, not just three quarts. The seamstress buys a yard of cloth, and she expects to get thirty-six inches, not just twenty-four inches. Yet, often those same people will step out of the school room, or out of the field of business and commerce and into the field of religion and will adopt a philosophy that would not be tolerated for a moment anywhere else. But that is what they do when they glibly talk about how it does not make any difference what one believes so long as he or she is sincere.

The Principle Applied

Let us apply the principle of conformity to fact to divine truth. On that basis it is obvious that any doctrine, to be true, must conform to the truth of God’s word, just as certainly as the answer to a question in history, to be true, must conform to historical truth. A few examples are in order, here.

Preaching The Truth

The Bible lays great emphasis on preaching the truth. Paul preached the truth at the risk of making enemies (Gal. 4:16). He exhorted Christians to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Moreover, the Bible warns against teachers of error and calls them false prophets (Matt. 7:1; 2 Cor. 11:13; 2 Peter 2:1).

But with the multiplicity of preachers, with differing and sometimes conflicting doctrines, with voices crying Lo, here, and Lo, there, many good people are naturally confused when they do seek for the truth and, consequently, the question may be asked from time to time, “Who among all these is preaching the truth?” The answer lies in the matter of conformity. Whose preaching conforms to the truth as taught in the Bible?

The apostle John gives us an example in 1 John 4:1-3 of the test that reveals whether or not a man is preaching the truth. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the llesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God; and this is the spirit of the anti-Christ.”

It is obvious from the foregoing scripture that John did not subscribe to the idea that it does not make any difference what one believes. For there, he cautioned his readers against believing every spirit (preacher) and warned against some whom he called false prophets.

Sometimes today when you question a man’s teaching, branding it as false and speak of him as a false teacher, some one will say, “O, you are judging, and the Bible condemns that.” Now, I know that there is a judging, in the sense of condemning, that is forbidden (Matt. 7:1); certainly, no Christian should be guilty of such. And I am sure that the apostle John was not guilty of such when he called those men false prophets, which they were. But there is a manner of judging which Jesus called, “righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Such judgment consists of measuring against some standard, and reaching a conclusion based on conformity or, as the case may be, lack of conformity. One does not, therefore, unjustly judge the purveyor of false doctrine when he calls him a false teacher, any more than he unjustly judges the man who steals, when he calls him a thief.

It will be noted that in verse one, John exhorts his hearers to “prove the spirits, whether they are of God.” To prove, or test a thing requires that we measure it against some accepted standard. To prove whether or not a man is preaching the truth requires that his preaching be measured against the truth. Hear John in verse two: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God.” How, John? “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” And how are we able to detect the false teacher? Verse three tells us! “And every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God.”

So it is all a very simple matter. For it is the theme of revelation and, therefore, truth that Jesus came in the flesh. His birth in Bethlehem has been recorded by Matthew and Luke. John tells us, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1;14). But it is obvious that there were some in the days of John who denied that Jesus had come in the flesh. Since their teaching did not conform to the truth, it was obviously false, and John therefore called the progenitors of such teaching false prophets.

On the same basis and from the same standpoint we can judge every doctrine that is preached by men today. When men preach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, they are in harmony with the truth taught in God’s word (Matt. 16:16, 17; Rom. 1:4). But when men preach, as some do, that Jesus was nothing more than a perfect man, their teaching lacks conformity with truth and is therefore false. When men preach that Christ is reigning in His kingdom at God’s right hand today and that His reign will end at the second coming, as taught by the apostles (Acts 2:29-36; 1 Cor. 15:22-26), they preach the truth. But when men preach that Christ will set up His kingdom and occupy a throne here on earth at his second coming, there is an obvious lack of conformity to the truth of the gospel: such teaching is, therefore, false and those who preach it are false teachers.

Believing The Truth

Just as the Bible lays great emphasis on the preaching of the truth, so also it teaches the importance of believing the truth (2 Thess. 2:13) and the danger of believing a lie (2 Thess. 2:11, 12). But because of the multiplicity of conflicting doctrines in the world today, many are confused as to what the truth is, and some have doubts as to whether they believe the truth. (This is a good sign, especially, if it leads them into a search for the truth.)

Such confusion and such doubts can all be resolved by submitting one’s belief to the test of conformity. Does what he believes conform to what the scriptures teach? Let me submit here a simple true or false quiz. I shall first state some assumed item of belief, and then in brackets I will give what the Bible (truth) teaches, and let the readers judge as to whether or not this belief conforms to the truth of God’s word.

1. I believe that the universe was formed by the process of evolution (Gen. 1:1; Ex. 20:11; Heb. 11:3).

2. I believe that man .was created on a level far above that of the beast, having been given the power of choice, and from that standpoint the master of his own destiny (Gen. 1:27; Josh. 24:15; Deut. 11:26-28; 2 Cor. 5:10).

3.I believe that all men inherit the guilt of Adam’s sin, and that children are, therefore, born totally depraved. (Ezek. 18:1-3, 20; Matt. 18:3; 1 John 3:4).

4.I believe that the alien sinner is saved at the point of faith, without any act or acts of obedience (James 2:20, 24; Mark 16;16; Acts 2:38; 22:16)

5. I believe that once a person is saved, his eternal salvation is secured and he cannot be lost. (John 15:5, 6; 1 Cor. 10:6-12; 9:26-27; Heb. 4:1; 6:4-6).

6. I believe that there will be a judgment at the coming of Christ, when we will be judged according to the things done in this life, and when the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked punished. (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 25:31-46).

This list could be extended much farther; but I trust that by now the reader will have grasped the point, namely, that only as our faith conforms to the truth of God’s word, can it be said that we believe the truth. That which does not conform to God’s word, regardless of how sincerely believed, is belief of a lie, and will condemn the one that holds to it. (2 Thess. 2:11, 12).

Truth Magazine XXII: 48, pp. 775-776
December 7, 1978

By Mike Grushon

King Asa of Judah was generally a good king. Throughout his life, he had done much to return Judah to faithfulness to God. Yet there stands in the Biblical record of his life’s achievements one monumental mistake. In 2 Chronicles 16:1-10, we can read of this incident in his life. Basically, Asa’s mistake was that he used the silver and gold of King Benhadad’s assistance against Baasha the king of Israel. Hanani the seer communicated the Lord’s displeasure with Asa’s actions, saying, “Because you have relied on the king of Syria and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand” (2 Chr. 16:7-8). Asa had trusted in the strength of military alliance rather than in the strength of his Lord.

Hanani pointed out to Asa a principle that everyone of us needs to take to heart. He said, “For the eyes of the Lord trove to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (2 Chr. 16:9). Asa’s failing had been that he was not totally dedicated to the Lord. When he was confronted with a crisis, his thought turned to help from other men rather than from His God. If Asa would have relied upon God and given himself completely to God, he would have avoided the problems that beset him the rest of his life. Asa’s failing was that his heart did not totally belong to God.

It seems to me that this incident in the life of Asa and the admonition it prompted from God’s prophet should be of profit to each one of us. The principle laid down by Hanani still holds true. The Lord still strongly supports those who have completely given their heart to Him. How many of the predicaments that we often find ourselves in are caused by our shortsighted reliance upon human solutions? How many of us only think of God when we have gotten in over our heads in some difficulty? It is no secret that Christians have business problems, family problems, bills, tragedies and sickness just like all other human beings. But the real tragedy is when Christians approach these problems no differently than those of the world. Asa approached his problem like most kings would, he sought a favorable alliance but the temple treasury to buy that was not acceptable because he was not just any king, he was God’s king, over God’s people. Christians should not approach their problems like everyone else because we are different, we are God’s people.

We need to have a heart that is completely God’s. That means that: (1) Our lives are given to putting God first. And, (2) That we rely upon God for strength in our times of need. We place our confidence in His ability to provide our needs. A heart that is completely God’s does not involve sinless perfection or perfect performance. We only have to look at the life of another king of God’s people, David, to see that. David had the type of heart that God wanted but he was not sinless. However even when David sinned, he relied upon the Lord as the only solution to the problem of his sin. That is the meaning of being completely God’s. Asa was a good king but he failed when he did not completely rely upon God. Let us see the difference between David’s heart and Asa’s heart and develop one like David’s.

Truth Magazine XXII: 48, p. 774
December 7, 1978

By William Y. Beasley

The book of 1 John was written that people living in the first century or in the twentieth century may know concerning eternal life. If in this series of studies you come to know that you have eternal life, keep the faith. If you learn or know you do not have eternal life, turn in obedience (“doeth righteousness”-1 John 2:29) and be saved.

Children of God (1 John 3:1-2)

The greatness of God’s love toward us is beyond full comprehension (John 3:16; 1 John 3:16). Perhaps we can get a glimpse of that love when we consider the exalted state to which we have been elevated: “. . . that we should be called children of God; and we are” (3:1). As children of God, we are to be an enigma to our neighbors (3:1, 13). This idea is presented not only by John (John 1:10; 16:3; 17:25) but also by Peter (1 Pet. 2:9; 4:3-4) and Paul (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 6:9). I once read, I remember not where, that “the names of God’s greatest saints are not engraved on tablets of the world’s temple of fame.” This is true, but, beloved, God knows His own. We are children of God, but our glory is not yet complete. We shall be with Christ (John 17:24) and “be like him” (3:2).

“Purifieth Himself” (1 John 3:3-5)

The hope to “be like him” (3:2) causes each of us to `purifieth himself” (3:3). The word “purifieth” refers not to baptism (except it be as an initial step), but to the continual action (present tense) of obedience. “If this were perfectionalism,” R. C. H. Lenski says, “an aorist would be required: `did purify himself’ ” (Interpretation of Peter, John, Jude, pp. 453-454). The thought seems to be that when one stops purifying himself it indicates that he has lost the hope. The one who is purifying himself is the one who “doeth righteousness” (1 John 2:29; Psa. 119:172).

“Sin is lawlessness” (3:4) or a transgression of the law. Not necessarily the doing of that which is forbidden, but living where and doing that which law does not authorize (2 John 9). All sin is outside the protection of law. One commentator translated this (3:4): “Everyone who worketh sin . . .” and then explained its continual action by saying, “. . . he who worketh sin as one worketh a trade or occupation” (James Macknight, Macknight on the Epistles Vol. VI, p. 67). Christ came to “take away sin” (3:5) which is to “destroy the works of the devil” (3:8; see also John 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24; Tit. 2:14). Jesus Christ in the flesh was sinless (1 Pet. 2:22) and in His spiritual body, the church, “Sin has no place” (3:5, TCNT).

“Sinneth Not” (I John 3:6-9)

The many expressions in this section, like “purifieth” (3:5) are present tense and denote continual action. This is not teaching that there is a state of total sanctification where it is impossible for a child of God to sin. Nor is it teaching that one sin shows that a person was not begotten of God-if it were the reverse (3:7) would of necessity also be true. It does teach that the one begotten of God cannot continue to live in sin-to do so is to be one who “hath not seen him, neither knoweth him” (3:6). The righteous individual is “he that doeth righteousness” (3:7; Psa. 119172). John tells us that the one begotten of God cannot continue in sin “because his seed abideth in him” (3:9). What does this mean? Whose seed? It is speaking not of the seed of man, but of the seed of God (see 1 Pet. 1:23; Psa. 119:11). Notice some other translations of this: (1) “. . . because the very nature of God dwells within him . . .” (TCNT), (2) “. . . for God’s nature abides in him” (RSV), (3) “A divine germ remains in him . . .” (Weymouth) and (4) “. . . because the God-given lifeprinciple continues to live in him. . .” (Williams).

The Divine Test (I John 3:10-12)

The one who does not continue in righteousness is not of God and neither is the one who “loveth not his brother” (3:10; John 13:34). God must have known that love of brethren was going to be a problem; He mentions it so often to warn us. Why do the unrighteous hate the righteous? Because they, like Cain, see themselves as they really are. Instead of changing their lives they try to destroy the contrast, the righteous.

Conclusion

“These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that Ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13). Do you know you have eternal life? Are you an enigma to your friends and neighbors, a peculiar person zealous of good works (Tit. 2:14)? Are you continually purifying self, continually doing righteousness? Are you walking under protection of law, doing only that which the law of Christ authorizes? Does the nature of God dwell in you to keep you from continuing in sin? Do you continually love your brothers and sisters in the Lord? By these you can know-yea or nay!

Truth Magazine XXII: 48, p. 770
December 7, 1978

By Ron Halbrook

For The Truth’s Sake, all men need to learn the sinfulness of drunkenness. Though Noah was a great man of faith, he stumbled on one occasion by this sin. A proper sense of restraint, caution, and modesty is weakened or destroyed by drunkenness–Noah laid naked, a thing he would not otherwise have done. His son Ham was led to gaze sinfully upon his father’s naked body and so was cursed (Gen. 9:18-27). In a drunken condition, Lot commited incest with his two daughters (Gen. 19:30-38). Husbands and wives, children and parents abuse one another while drunk. Marital promises are broken and purity violated by those in a drunken state’ divorces result, homes are destroyed, and children are deprived of family blessings.

“Who bath woe? who bath sorrow? who bath contentions? who bath babbling? who bath wounds without cause? who bath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine. . . At last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder” (Proverbs 23:29-35). The writer went on to explain some of the consequences of drunkenness: fornication and adultery, vile speech, lack of caution in the presence of danger, brawling and fighting, and addiction.

Drunkenness has been a common sin throughout man’s history. God’s people were warned against it in the first century A.D. when the New Testament was written. Aged, godly women who expected to set a good example were to be “not given to much wine” (Tit. 2:3), nor were mature men who desired to be special servants in the church (1 Tim. 3:8). The Lard directed that each local church be overseen by men of age, experience, and maturity; these overseers were variously known as elders, bishops, pastors, or presbyters (Acts 20:28; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-2; Tit. 1:5,7). In no case could these leaders be “given to wine” or drunkards (See 1 Tim. 3:3; Tit. 1:7).

Drunkenness is sinful. Like any sin not repented of, it will bar us from heaven and condemn us to hell. Those who die guilty of such things “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). The debauchery called “excess of wine” in 1 Pet. 4:3 rendered Alexander the Great senseless and killed him in the youth. of manhood. The world will “think it strange that ye run not with them” to the excesses of such sin, so that they will speak “evil of you.” Not only will they be judged for this evil speaking, but for their drunkenness as well (1 Pet. 4:1-5).

No matter what sin we are guilty of, we are all invited into the Lord’s family on the same terms: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Christians who sin must repent, pray God’s forgiveness, and turn away from their error (Acts 8:22-24; 1 John 1:6-9).

Truth Magazine XXII: 47, p. 763
November 30, 1978