Truth Magazine

By Dan Rogers, III

In Ephesians 5:17 Christians are admonished: “Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” This divine advice should be heeded by all for an understanding of the Scriptures is essential in the life of every child of God. As Jesus so states, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). If one is to attain the eternal reward of heaven, then he must do God’s will. However, one can not do God’s will if he does not know and understand it. Thus, we see the importance of understanding the Scriptures.

As one seeks to properly understand the Scriptures, the basic principles of biblical interpretation cannot be ignored. If they are, one will not come to a correct understanding of God’s word. There are a number of important principles of biblical interpretation that must not be ignored. Of these, we especially want to consider two in particular.

First, in order to understand the teaching of the Scriptures concerning any subject, all Scriptures that deal with that subject must be taken into consideration. When one fails to do this, the result is error. To illustrate this principle, let us consider the subject of salvation. In general, the religious world teaches that salvation is by faith only. Such a conclusion is reached because of passages such as John 3:16, Acts 16:31, and Eph. 2:8, which emphasize faith. Admittedly, if this were all that the Scriptures taught concerning salvation, then the conclusion that salvation is by faith only would be valid. However, this is not all that the Scriptures have to say in regard to salvation. Other passages, such as Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, and Rom. 10:9-10, to mention only a few, indicate that in addition to faith, the acts of repentance, confession, and baptism are also essential to salvation.

Unfortunately, the religious world chooses to ignore these passages, considering only those passages that deal with faith. As a result, due to their failure to consider all of the Scriptures dealing with salvation, they are engulfed in soul-condemning error. Indeed, as can be seen from this, if one is to understand the teaching of the Scriptures concerning any given subject, then all Scriptures that deal with that subject must be taken into consideration.

Then notice a second principle. Anytime passages of Scripture are seemingly .contradictory, we have an indication that something is terribly wrong with our exegesis. Either the Scriptures are in fact contradictory, or else one’s understanding and interpretation of those Scriptures is erroneous. For some, the choice as to which is the correct alternative may be difficult. However, if one believes all of God’s word to be truth (John 17:17; Psa. 119:160), and if he believes that every Scripture is indeed inspired of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17), the choice is anything but difficult. The problem lies, not with the Scriptures, but with that one’s interpretation and understanding of the Scriptures.

As an illustration of this, let us once again consider those who advocate the doctrine of faith only. Indeed, the passage of Eph. 2:8 states: “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” It is one thing to accept the passage as Paul stated it, but it is quite another thing to interpret the passage to mean salvation by faith only. To interpret Eph. 2:8 as teaching salvation by faith only is to contradict what other passages of Scripture teach. For example, consider Mark 16:16. The passage states: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved . . . .” If, as according to the interpretation of many, salvation is by faith only, Mark 16:16 contradicts Eph. 2:8. On the one hand, if salvation is by faith only, it is not by faith and baptism. On the other hand, if salvation is by faith and baptism, it is not by faith only. Which is it? Both passages are in the New Testament.

Obviously, as already stated, in that the Scriptures are inspired of God, they are not contradictory. In any instance where the Scriptures are seemingly contradictory, the problem is that, rather than the Scriptures being contradictory, one’s interpretation and understanding of the Scriptures is erroneous. As such, when the Scriptures are properly interpreted and understood, there will be no seeming contradiction.

As Paul stated in 2 Tim. 2:15, “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” Many, including liberal brethren, are not properly handling God’s word and do not have a proper understanding of it because they do not follow the above basic principles. If they only would, much denominational error and much liberal error among brethren could be quickly removed from the lips of men. “Wherefore, be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is!”

Truth Magazine XXI: 46, p. 722
November 24, 1977

By Bill Calame

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why did God create man?” If not, may I suggest that it is a question worthy of your attention. Not only is this question worthy of your consideration, but it is imperative that you understand the why of your human existence. Without this understanding, you will wander aimlessly through life. But where shall we go to obtain the answer? Are we to rely on mere philosophical speculation for an answer or has God revealed the answer? My friend, God has revealed it in His Word!

In Paul’s epistle to the church at Ephesus, he deals extensively with several aspects of God’s eternal purpose. He begins by addressing himself to man’s purpose on earth. Actually it is not man’s purpose on earth but God’s purpose for him. Give attention to the words from the inspired apostle’s pen.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing In the heavenly places in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him 1n love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us In the Beloved” (Eph. 1:3-6).

Notice where Paul begins. He begins with Grid for man has no purpose in life apart from God. He is worthy of our blessing because He has blessed us. He has blessed mankind with all material blessings. Far greater are the .spiritual blessings which His children have in Christ. Think of the many things that we are benefactors of Him because of our relationship to God in Christ. They serve to protect, comfort, strengthen, and sustain us. Despite our unworthiness, God clothes His children with endless blessings. The greatest is that He chose us to be His. We are His children and He is our Father. There is no greater achievement among men than to be called a child of God. But how did He choose us? Did he randomly pick us out from among the mass of mankind? This is the usual meaning of “choose” but it is not so used here. God did not choose from the mass of mankind which individuals would be saved and which would be lost. Rather He chose what characteristics those that He would call His would have. We could say that He decided “what kind” but left it up to each individual as to “who” would be saved. Praise God! I can of my own choice become a child of God.

But what are the characteristics that God determined His people would have? He determined that we should be “holy and without blemish before him in love.” God’s people are to be a special people to Him. Their lives are to be characterized by purity and holiness. “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: who in time past were no people, but now are the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9, 10). In this manner they are to stand before Jehovah. But how will the child of God achieve this standard of life? Paul explains that it can only be done by those who are motivated by love. No man has ever achieved holiness by merely trying to keep God’s law apart from love as the motivation force behind his obedience. J. W. McGarvey once said, “Law without love is machinery without a motor.” Paul wrote, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). If a man is going to stand holy before God, it will be because of his love for God and not out of obligation to. the law. This is what God chose before the foundation of the world. He chose a people who would be holy and without blemish before Him in love. This He foreordained according to His good pleasure that we might be His sons through Jesus Christ.

We have seen what God purposed to do. Why did He do it? Why did God create man? The answer is simple. God desired that out of all the human race, there would be those who in response to His love and mercy, would voluntarily of their own accord serve Him out of love. Their lives would be a sacrifice for worship unto Jehovah who through His glorious grace redeemed them in the Beloved.

This is the reason of our human existence. We are not here merely to enjoy life and grab all the gusto we can. God put us here that we might serve him. May we realize this great purpose and give our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Rom. 12:1-2).

Truth Magazine XXI: 45, pp. 717-718
November 17, 1977

By John McCort

Recently I had an opportunity to worship with a group of Christians who employed some rather unorthodox methods of worship. During one of the Bible classes we all held hands during a prayer and all of the males engaged in what was called a chain prayer. The Bible class was not called a Bible class but a “sharing period,” where we all gathered in close together to make the conversations more intimate. This group often dims the lights during prayer, special songs, and the Lord’s Supper. To say the least the experience was rather unique.

After the worship period, I had some ambivalent feelings about the whole session. I could not figure out whether I was bothered by the worship period because the methods of worship were unfamiliar to me or whether they were worshiping unscripturally. Both my wife and I felt very hollow after the worship period. Something was missing that we could not quite put our finger on. We both finally concluded that nothing unscriptural had been practiced but that there was something strangely contrived about the whole session.

I keep wondering why those brethren have felt the need to radically depart from normal channels of worship. What spirituality can dimming the lights add to the worship of the Christian? What can holding hands during a prayer add to the fellowship and communion we all have in Christ Jesus? What can an informal Bible study period and worship assembly add to the worship of the Christian? Dimming the lights and other external stimuli are nothing more than a shallow, external attempt to infuse emotion, excitement, and intimacy into worship. Spirituality in worship should not depend on the externals. If we must have these externals to worship properly, then something is radically wrong with my spirituality to begin with. Some of these brethren feel like they are tuned in on a special spiritual wave-length because they have these special effects in worship: They look upon traditional channels of worship as being stale, structured, and basically dull. When we begin to have that attitude we need to do some basic realigning in our thinking.

I am not condemning these people nor am I trying to judge their motives. I am not saying that their worship was unscriptural. I am just saying that there was smoke and where there is smoke there is fire. Along with their unorthodox methods of worship, I heard some familiar Ketchersidian catch phrases such as, “We need to emphasize Jesus the man rather than the plan.” Most of them were contemptuous of the battles that have been fought over the grace-fellowship issue the last few years. Most of them dressed very casually. There seemed to be such a casual attitude toward the worship that it, almost bordered on irreverence. I believe in a relaxed atmosphere in our worship but I also believe in reverence and dignity.

We need to be tolerant of unorthodox methods of worship as long as they are scriptural. We cannot condemn a things just because we have not ever done it that way before. But neither should we introduce unorthodox modes of worship just for the sake of being different or to give the illusion of being an independent thinker.

Truth Magazine XXI: 45, pp. 716-717
November 17, 1977

By Lewis Willis

(Author’s Note: When this series was started, I lived in Amarillo, Texas. I have moved to Irving, Texas, where 1 am now working with the North Irving Church. This note is included because I am “changing my source material” for the most part. Some articles will still appear from newspaper articles I have clipped from the Amarillo Daily News. And, I also have a friend up there who is sending me articles. However, most material referred to in the future will be from the Dallas Morning News. As various articles have appeared, I have received related news items from brethren across the country. I appreciate this very much and some of this material adds force to what I already have. A Request: If you send a clipping to me, please include the name of the paper from whence it came and the date when it appeared. Thanks for the kind things you have had to say about this series.)

A Skunk in the Collection Plate

To most he is known as “Reverend.” To others, he is affectionately called “Doctor.” He, in the past, has been friend, advisor and confidant to Presidents. He is known and read by people from all parts of the earth. Multitudes gather to hear him speak no matter where he might be. However, to the Better Business Bureau BBB), he is an enigma. They know precious little about him. And, if he has his way, they will not learn anything more about him. I speak not of the Chairman of the Board of Exxon Corporation or Ace Vacuum Cleaner Company. In the very nature of the case these financial enterprises must be responsive to the BBB. But, this world-renowned personality has informed the BBB that his “Board refuses to cooperate.” He is none other than the great (?) Billy Graham!

You see, the good “Reverend” has concealed a fund which he has concealed from public view in the best way he could. Yes, he has mentioned it on an occasion or two and he has told the IRS about it. But, he has failed to supply pertinent information in which contributors to his evangelistic organization are interested. So, requests have been made of the BBB for more information-just as one is able to do with a vacuum cleaner company. The Dallas Morning News reported on September 28, 1977 that the BBB had made 20 specific requests for information (two of them by registered mail), all of which have been ignored. The “justification” for his refusal to respond is that his is a non-profit, religious organization which is not responsible to a non-legal entity such as the BBB. Say there, “Rev.,” it looks like you might be hiding something. And, such he is!

A front-page article in the Dallas Morning News on June 27, 1977, written by reporter Helen Parmley, reports that this little fund only amounts to $23 million dollars! I think if I had duped a gullible public into giving me $23 million dollars I would probably prefer to keep quiet about it too. If he put this money in multi-year certificates, he would only make a mere $1.6 million per year interest, or approximately that amount. A reporter for a Minneapolis paper asked why he had not responded to the inquiries from the Council of BBB’s. His answer was he did not want to “waste the donor’s” money by replying. So, he doles out a few large sums from the fund occasionally, tells the IRS about it, and expects the American people to swallow this corrupt mess. I would suspect that he has a few more problems in front of him because of this $23 million he has accumulated from his well-known ministry.

Many will think that he pays for his campaign efforts from this fund. What they do not know about his campaigns would shock them. When he goes into an area, his organization goes before him and persuades churches in those areas to pay the bill. I have never been to one of his rallies and could not say if contributions were taken at them. So, I called a Baptist preacher located just up the street from me. He confirmed that they do take up collections at these rallies. These are used to pay the costs of the campaign, the funds are audited with reports being sent to contributing churches, and any excess “may be given to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Committee,” according to this local Baptist preacher. This is intriguing. I have never seen a collection being taken during any of these televised campaigns. But, I would like to see the size of the barrels used in gathering in this money from the thousands of emotionally-charged people who are present. Or, maybe the size of the trucks used to take it to the bank!

The Baptist preacher with whom I spoke knows “Billy” personally. He explained that Billy is a philanthropist, divesting himself of material things by giving them as gifts to his friends. Well, so did Elvis and he still had a fortune at his death. Somehow I suspect that Billy will end up that way too. If I had $23 million stashed away somewhere, I think I could give a friend an occasional car or set of golf clubs as Billy did, and for which he was praised by his local preaching buddy!

One has to suspect that Mr. Graham has some legal problems facing him. But, he is not alone in this. His fellow, nationally-known evangelist, Oral Roberts, has some legal problems of his own now. Perhaps Roberts and Graham will quietly establish a multi-million dollar, publicly funded foundation to handle the costs of their legal difficulties. Get this if you can fathom it! During the week of September 25, 1977, a Metroplex TV station reported that a suit had been filed against Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, charging discrimination against the handicapped in their admissions policy. For Roberts, this must be a very embarrassing thing. He is the fellow who has made a fortune by traversing this nation claiming to heal the sick and handicapped. He has milked millions from poor people who are racked with disease. His coffers were so enriched that he could build that great university. Forgive me for asking but, why did he not just heal

those handicapped students and let them go to school, instead of rejecting them?? He did not and could not, and today, he will have to go to court to answer the discrimination suit.

It just might be that the American people will one day see through the guise of these fellows and recognize them for what they really are. They are not bountiful reapers as a result of having sown bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6). Instead, “they with feigned words make merchandise” of their hearers (2 Pet. 2:3). “For filthy lucre’s sake” (Tit. 1:11), they have deceived many unwitting souls. Maybe they shall now be exposed as such.

The next time someone starts extolling the greatness of Billy Graham or Oral Roberts, just ask them about a $23 million dollar fund and a discrimination suit. Maybe your friend does not know about them. The Baptist preacher with whom I talked went to great lengths to explain that Billy did not try to answer all the scandalous charges raised against him. “He just loves and prays for” those who charge him. Financially, he can afford to do a lot of loving and praying, as the probate of his estate will one day show. Spiritually, he would be well-advised to spend some time repenting and being converted (Acts 3:19). Of course, many will say that this is written out of jealousy. No, it is written to remind those who read this not to believe every fellow who comes along and gets a great name for himself (1 Jno. 4:1). Instead of finding a “pig in a poke” you just might find a skunk in the collection plate!

Truth Magazine XXI: 45, pp. 713-714
November 17, 1977