Truth Magazine

By Roland Worth, Jr.

It is difficult to get people to realize that they should choose their friends with care. It is easy for them to brush aside the admonition as a needless warning. Yet a careful consideration of the matter shows that this is the wrong reaction.

1. In choosing our friends we should remember the fate that their immoralities will earn them. In the symbolic language of the book of Revelation, “But as for the, cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8; cf. 22:14-15). In less picturesque language Paul makes the same point, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Then Paul adds the comment, “And such were some of you” (v. 11); note the past tense, which indicates that they no longer were supposed to be such. Hence, if we fall back into those sins because of our close association with the worldly we will share the same fate as the worldly, exclusion from the eternal kingdom of heaven.

2. In choosing our friends, we should remember that the outsider has little or no reason to uphold the moral .standards that we practice. Peter warned the Christians of his day that they would be criticized for their abstention from the evils popular in that day. “Let the time that is past suffice for doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. They are surprised that you do not now join them in the same wild profligacy, and they abuse you” (1 Pet. 4:3-4). Our living differently from others constitutes a continued indictment of the way they act. So it is no wonder that they can not peacefully tolerate this. They have to lash out in order to blot out any personal feelings of guilt. But why should we expose ourselves to such needless taunts by a bad choice of associates?

3. In choosing our friends, we should remember that their evils will tend to rub off on us. Paul warned the Corinthians. “Do not be deceived: `Bad company ruins good morals”‘(1 Cor. 15:33). The nation Israel made this mistake when the people refused to remove the sources of moral contamination that dwelt in their land, “They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the harlot in their doings. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred His heritage (Psa. 106:34-40). (The parallel to the danger the church faces when it allows blatant moral evil to go unchecked in its midst should be obvious.)

4. In choosing our friends, we should remember that if we partake of the same evils as they do we will be punished in the ,same way. This point has been mentioned in passing but it bears re-emphasis. We have already noted Paul’s warning (1 Cor. 6:9-10) that corrupt morals will keep a person out of heaven. The apostle’s warning to Timothy not to “be partaker of other men’s sins” (1 Tim. 5:22, KJV) is an admonition that should be heeded by all.

5. In choosing our friends, we should remember that we are under the obligation to separate ourselves from them if they are acting as a drag on our faith and morality. This is what Paul is referring to when he writes, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers… Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord… Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 6:147:1, KJV). The apostle John makes the same point when he writes of fallen “Babylon,” “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, `Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities’ ” (Rev. 18:4-5).

Conclusion

We should choose our friends with care; they will have an impact on us whether we wish to admit it or not. Many centuries ago Sallust recognized this when he wrote, “To live in friendship is to have the same desires and the same aversions.” If we do not have the same likes and dislikes when we begin our friendship, our close acquaintance will tend to cause them to come out as time passes. We should heed the warning of Charles Spurgeon, “Take care of your best friends; be careful of your companions. Choose the best you can; then follow them no further than they follow Christ.”

Truth Magazine XXII: 31, p. 498
August 10, 1978

By Gardner S. Hall, Ill

One by one, death is taking from us a generation of faithful gospel preachers. These older brethren who are leaving us for their reward are men who through the gospel have converted many of us. They are men who have fought various errors such as premillennialism, institutionalism, worldliness, and a host of other false doctrines and concepts that Satan has thrown at God’s people. We are now left to serve God without their wisdom and advice.

One such preacher is my grandfather, Gardner Sewell Hall, Sr. (At the risk of being too personal, I shall refer to him through the rest of this article as “my grandfather” or “Papaw.” It is difficult for me to be comfortable calling him Brother Hall.)

Background

Gardner S. Hall Sr. was born in northwest Georgia on May 24, 1906. He died May 16, 1978 in Athens, Alabama. His father, Flavil Hall, was widely known as a gospel preacher and songwriter. His mother died when he was young. Later, his father married Bertha Williams whom I remember as one of the sweetest, godliest women I have ever known. She made a wonderful stepmother for my grandfather and he was thoroughly devoted to her. She died recently in Awin, Alabama, her home. Papaw had one brother, Leslie, and one sister Zellner. They are still living near Trion, Georgia.

Early Meetings

As Timothy, my grandfather was taught the Holy Scriptures as a child. He began preaching soon after his obedience to the gospel. My grandmother tells me that by the time he was 17 years old he was already holding meetings in Tennessee and North Georgia.

Papaw liked to tell me about gospel meetings during his early years as a preacher. Gospel meetings in those days had no competition from television and little from other social activities. A great number of non-Christian visitors from the community could be expected each night. Papaw said that brethren then would be disappointed if at the close of the meeting there were no more than 5 baptisms. Usually there were more than 10 responses, sometimes as many as 25 or 30.

Papaw liked to tell about his experiences eating with the brethren during those early meetings. The brethren who invited him home for meals were not always as careful to be clean as Papaw would have liked for them to have been. At one home way back in a hollow, my grandfather said the hogs lived underneath the floor of the house. Of course their odor drifted upwards into the kitchen where the meal was being served. To make matters worse the meal seemed enjoyable only to the flies that buzzed joyously from dish to dish. Papaw said that he struggled to get a few bites down but begged off from eating more, saying that he would save room in his stomach for the raisin pie he saw on the counter. “Oh that’s not raisin pie,” said the hostess getting up and walking over to the counter, “that’s coconut pie.” Saying this, she waved her hand over the pie and all the “raisins” flew away.

Family

In 1924 my grandfather married “Mamaw,” Gartrelle Mitchell, a young woman who was also raised in northwest Georgia. She was a perfect mate for him, complimenting him in his work and encouraging him to serve the Lord in whatever way possible. Their faithfulness can be seen in their four children whom I feel (speaking from a prejudicial viewpoint of course) are some of the finest children produced by any home. Sewell (Gardner S. Hall, Jr., my father) is currently preaching the gospel in southeastern England. Mary Faye (Headrick) currently lives in Athens, Alabama and is the wife of faithful gospel preacher, Lynn Headrick. Lillian (Perkins) lives in Huntsville, Texas and is married to a godly man, Franklin Perkins. Bill, the youngest, preaches the gospel in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the North Terrace church.

My grandfather and grandmother have worked to preach the gospel in the following places: Rome, Ga.; Anniston, Ala.; Alabama City, Ala.; Birmingham, Ala. ~1North Birmingham church); Pensacola, Fla.; Tuscumbia, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Bessemer, Ala.; Port Arthur, Texas; Midfield, Ala.; and Athens, Ala. (Corinth church).

Hatred For Evil

In 1963, my grandfather almost died. He suffered an aneurism of the aorta and was taken to Houston for surgery by the famous surgeon, Dr. Denton Cooley. During this illness, my grandfather told his son Sewell that perhaps it would be best if the Lord allowed him to die then because he had seen so many older preachers, including some of his closest friends, begin to compromise the truth in their later years. He certainly did not want to do that. The Lord chose, however, to give him 15 more years of service on this earth. During those last 15 years instead of compromising the truth as had some of his friends, it has been said that he perhaps did his greatest work in defending it and encouraging others to do the same.

The truth is that few can imagine Gardner Hall, Sr. ever compromising the truth. In fact, perhaps his greatest attribute was his hatred for evil. My father says he can remember seeing his usually gentle father literally grit his teeth with rage upon hearing of false doctrine or other types of sin. Perhaps Papaw comprehended bether than some of the rest of us the terrible consequence of sin, separation from God.

One thing that grieved my grandfather in his last years was the tendency among some younger preachers to try to excuse error and to give encouragement to those who taught it. This attitude was unthinkable to one who loved the Lord and therefore hated evil (Ps. 97:10). Just before his death, on the daily radio program of the Corinth church my grandfather presented what some told me were some of the best lessons that they had heard on the current “fellowship” error. As a hater of evil, my grandfather could never understand those who refused to take a stand against error, whether that error be institutionalism, worldliness, or whatever. He was especially concerned that some churches in Limestone County, Alabama, his last home, seemed reluctant at times to take a solid stand for the truth against error.

Papaw was always careful to use good grammar and to pronounce his words correctly. He had a running skirmish on the radio program in Athens with a Baptist preacher whom he called (with a bit of fondness I believe) Al. Al’s Baptist church had a radio program 30 minutes after the program of the Corinth church. Al tried to appear as a suave, scholarly Baptist preacher. To try to impress the radio audience, Al would talk about what happened while he was studying for his Master’s degree or, what happened at the seminary. Al’s ignorance, however, was quite obvious when he talked about unfringed (not unfeigned) love that Peter said we ought to have in 1 Peter 1:22, or when he talked about the Greek words which he pronounced “jenosis” (gnosis) and “panyuma” (pneuma), forgetting that the p and g are silent. Papaw wanted so badly to point out these errors of pure ignorance on the part of Al but for the longest time he refrained because he said those grammatical errors had nothing to do with Al’s false doctrine. Finally, however, he could restrain himself no longer and in one of his radio sermons he pointed out that anyone who had studied for a Master’s degree at the seminary should not be so ignorant as to pronounce the g and p in gnostic and pneuma (pneumonia either), or to say that we are to love each other with “unfringed” love (whatever that is) when the word is unfeigned love. Just before Papaw’s death, he remarked that he would be ready to go if he could just convert his Baptist friend, Al.

Gentleness With The Weak

Though my grandfather hated evil, compromise, and half-hearted effort, there was never anyone more patient with those who were giving their best efforts to serve the Lord. He would spend hours in homes counseling and teaching the weak. He loved children and young people. I can remember watching his classes for youngsters at Corinth on Sunday evenings before the regular services. He could tell (and act out) the story of David and Goliath so vividly to those children that you could almost hear the thud when Goliath fell. The love Papaw gave to children was always reciprocated. They loved him. I thought of this as I watched the line of people pass by his casket at the funeral home. One little, red-headed, freckled, farm boy about 10 years old seemed especially sad as he walked past the body of my grandfather. He was weeping silently yet with much sorrow. My grandmother told me that Papaw had bought him a pitch pie and worked with him to teach him how to lead singing. I wondered how many other little freckled boys and young men he had worked with patiently to teach how to lead singing and make talks. I certainly can remember his patient advice to me as a young preacher.

Though my grandfather had perhaps fewer faults than any man I have known, he was a sinner in need of God’s grace. He accepted that grace and gave his life to telling others about it. He was humble, having no desire for prominence. He loved to be with God’s people so much that he insisted on attending services at Corinth in his emaciated condition up to only a few weeks before his death. I guess he could simply be described as a simple, humble, old-fashioned, gospel preacher who wanted more than anything to serve God.

He has finished his work now and is resting. Others of his generation are rapidly leaving us. We can never fill their shoes. We must simply work much harder to serve God as we remember their examples.

Truth Magazine XXII: 30, pp. 490-491
August 3, 1978

By Gardner S. Hall, Sr.

This is an old adage. I saw a cartoon, showing two heavy turning plows, two big mules hitched to each plow. Both teams were standing idle while one plowman held up a mouse he had killed and the other was looking on with much admiration.

This is a good illustration on the subject of first things first. Let the less important things wait for the more important things to be done first. I have seen the time when killing a few score of rats seemed of just about top priority. It was necessary to save what the plows had made.

The gospel plow has been slowed by the tendency on the part of churches to spend “gospel money” on entertainment and fancy buildings. Spending thousands for fellowship halls, camp grounds, etc., wastes money sorely needed for sowing the seed of the kingdom.

But a favorite complaint against us who insist upon close adherence to the Scriptures is that we “major in minors.” Or, we “make mountains out of molehills.” Or, we “stop the plow to kill a mouse.” “A man who preached and who sprinkled water for baptism admitted to me that the Bible teaches that baptism is a burial. But he thought we should just preach to save souls and not take up valuable time arguing about nonessentials. He thought I was stopping the plow to kill a mouse. That is what the brethren who introduced the missionary society and instrumental music said. They thought brethren who opposed them were wasting time on very insignificant issues.

Now that institutions of human origin have been built to take the place of the local church, and churches are engaged in recreation and entertainment, many make it a light matter. They do not consider them that important. I hear that some brethren are really opposed to these practices but just do not preach on them. Well, I can see no reason for neglecting preaching on them except that they do not believe they are serious enough to merit their attention and time.

In fact, there is a trend now among many, many preachers to neglect “first principles” or opposition to false doctrines. They preach sermons, with very few exceptions, that any denominational preacher would endorse. They preach on moral issues; they can become very excited when a vote on alcoholic beverages is coming up. They can preach fine, inspirational sermons. But denominational people would never see the differences in their errors and the simple New Testament plan. The preacher who gets down to the detailed errors of denominationalism is, to their way of thinking, killing mice.

“O, that is such a small insignificant thing. Stop quarreling over non-essentials and join in the fight for the weightier matters of the gospel!” This is the refuge of all religionists who can not produce Scripture for their practices, whether denominationalists or erring brethren. Even if departures from truth seem small, others will inevitably follow. We should be diligent to follow the New Testament in everything. And if we once assume an attitude that little errors are not worth bothering with, we are simply preparing ourselves to swallow big errors. (This article is slightly edited from the 29 July, 1973 Items, published by the Corinth Church of Christ, Nick Davis Road, Athens, Alabama, where Brother Hall was preaching at the time of his death. Ron Halbrook)

Truth Magazine XXII: 30, pp. 491-492
August 3, 1978

By Earl Robertson

Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). One must desire to do what God wants done for His service to be accepted by the Lord. Service to God is not by force; it is by choice! John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). If one looks at what God wants one to do, thinking it to be galling, he cannot do the will of God. When one gives even of his money, but gives it “grudgingly, or of necessity,” God refuses the service (2 Cor. 9:6, 7). The sour or reluctant mind will not be able to give so that God will accept his offering. Until the heart wills to respond to the calls of God one is wasting his time giving lip service. Initial obedience to God which saves alien sinners is by choice. Jesus says, “Whosoever will” may come (Rev. 22:17). Jesus further declares that some Jews were yet “not willing to come” that they might have life (John 5:39, 40). Many are lost in sin and on their way to hell because they do not wish to do what the Lord says that they might be saved in Christ.

After one becomes a Christian, acceptable living before God remains a choice. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1, 2). Some having been raised from baptism with Jesus keep Him enthroned in their heart (1 Pet. 3:15), while others choose to live in sin for the devil, but at the same time want all the blessings and freedoms enjoyed by the faithful. Whether sin comes alive within one or not is dependent upon one’s choice, sin always takes its toll; the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

The Lord wants a pure church (Eph. 5:26). Sin not only gets the one committing it but, if allowed to continue unchecked, it will destroy the congregation where that one is a member (1 Cor. 5:6). Christ gave Himself up in death “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:25, l6). The words in the King James “and cleanse” translates the participle katharisas, which is aorist active. Paul affirms the Ephesians were sanctified having been cleansed. He does not tell the when of the cleansing, just the fact of it though the when of their cleansing took place in their baptism. The fact of the cleansing is the point we now emphasize and seek to show must remain with the child of God. Some Christians are careless about the way they live. Their lives are “spots, wrinkles, and blemishes” (Eph. 5:27). This is the course they have chosen and, too often, there is no blush or shame when approached about their sins. In fact, most of the times there is an effort to justify what has been done, or a denial altogether. But when this is the course of life so-called Christians want to live, it becomes a most difficult task for anyone to change because sin hardens the heart (Heb. 3:12, 13).

The influence of one who is pure in heart (Matt. 5:8), and wants his whole life to help others see the Way (nom. 12:1, 2), is unmeasurable by man. The exercise of heaven’s will in the heart of-a man produces influence and power-influence in turning men to God; turning cold, indifferent churches into churches of warmth, strength, evangelism and benevolence-such is the kingdom of God (Lk. 17:20, 21). We must learn that we can be no better than we truly want to be in the kingdom of God. What do you really desire before God (Psa. 27:4; 2 Cor. 5:2) as a parent? citizen? Christian?

Truth Magazine XXII: 30, pp. 488
August 3, 1978