Truth Magazine

By C. W. Scott

The Old and New Testaments of the Bible both teach that the only hope of men and women for salvation from sin and wickedness is through and in Christ Jesus, the Savior. The lost must look to Christ for redemption from sin because it is His blood that constitutes the purchase price for their forgiveness. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, unto the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Reconciliation of the sinner to God along with his or her pardon are made possible for all men through the suffering and death of Christ but these constitute but a few of the many blessings to be obtained and enjoyed by the believing, obedient and trusting followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

We sing the fine old hymn, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” Truly, how fine it would be if all of us would take the time to do just this every once in awhile. The writer doubts that we could really name every blessing materially and spiritually ours to enjoy. However, it would be most stimulating for one to deliberately reflect upon the blessings that individual Christians enjoy of “the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

The apostle Paul opens his letter to the saints and Christians in Ephesus with the reminder that it was God that had blessed them and that all spiritual blessings were in Christ. It is possible that some of them did not know this! And there are, certainly, many people today (good and sincere people too) that have not learned that spiritual blessings are to be enjoyed or had only in Christ. The voice from heaven instructed the apostle John to write, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord” (Rev. 14:13). In order for men to die in the Lord they must first live in the Lord. And before they can live in the Lord they must first get into Jesus Christ. Men and women desirous of enjoyment of all spiritual blessings in Christ should be equally concerned about the conditions and terms that will place them in Christ where these blessings may be obtained. The New Testament clearly outlines the course every seeker after spiritual blessings must take.

Some of the Ephesian Christians had been worshipers of Diana prior to their conversion to Christ: They had given “Diana of the Ephesians,” as she was named, credit for the blessings of life that had been theirs to enjoy. The apostle Paul wanted them to know that they were now “In Christ” as his disciples and true followers and all their blessings were theirs in the new relationship with Christ. There were none to be enjoyed out of Christ.

Paul’s personal gratitude is expressed in the words of Ephesians 1:3,4, “Blessed be the God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” There was a time when Paul recognized God as His Father in Heaven but in the period of His life when he was known as Saul of Tarsus, he did not believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the Savior and Redeemer promised by the prophets. Saul believed that the Jesus that was nailed to the cross was an impostor and those that followed him were deceived and they themselves were worthy of death. Saul, whose name was changed to Paul after his conversion to Christ, declared some time later that his initial role was that of “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious.” Paul further states that he obtained mercy, because he did it ignorantly and in unbelief. 1 Tim. 1:14-16 reveals, “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

The apostle Paul was grateful unto Jesus Christ for his redeemed position because it was Jesus who died and shed His precious blood and making his pardon and salvation possible. Paul was also thankful to God the Father for his granting all the good things that he was enjoying. He could affirm knowingly as did James, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17).

Paul and the Ephesians both were greatly blessed of God. Material and spiritual blessings had been given them in abundance no one can question. But they were no more blessed than all obedient followers of Christ today. Men may appropriate the benefits of the Saviour’s death unto themselves upon the same terms and conditions that were accepted and acted upon by those of the First Century. Those in Christ in 1976 are still being blessed by “All spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Those out of Him and who have not through faith and obedience to the Lord’s commandments cannot and do not share in the blessings enjoyed by those who have accepted the way and wisdom of Jesus Christ.

Does some one inquire, “How may we get into Christ where these blessings may be obtained?” The answer is the same that the Apostle Peter gave to the inquiring Pentecostians who had been directed to believe in Christ, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). About 3,000 persons on that day believed and obeyed as instructed and were baptized into Christ. In Christ, having put on Christ, one must then obediently remain in Christ, living after His example, worshipping and serving God according to the directions set forth in the Savior’s last will and testament.

Truth Magazine XXI: 15, p. 226
April 14, 1977

By Philip S. North

When the sin of adultery is committed, what is the first thing that begins to develop in our minds (Christian or non-Christian)? I personally find in my own experiences that too many people in this day and age have tendency to point the finger of shame at the woman per se. Such is no more right than to teach and preach that God is dead or that the Bible is a fraud. Many high moraled individuals, Christians or simply “good people,” will agree that the act of premarital sex is wrong, sinful, looked down upon by any person who honors God’s commandments, and therefore should not be loosely classified in the category of, “Well, they do love each other.” Thus, these types of people will agree that sex outside the bonds of marriage is adultery, as we read in no uncertain terms in Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honorable in all. and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” That is fine, my good reader. I will go with you all the way to your grave and my grave both because that is what the inspired word of God instructs. However, can one be right in pointing the sin of adultery at the woman (or girl) only? Just what does God’s word have to say about such judging of adultery?

So often, the man develops the outlandish thought that after he has “gotton what he wanted,” he can then proceed to straighten up, smile, and in a feeling of accomplishment (?), walk away from the woman as though nothing really happened at all. Friend, if that is your conviction, then you are as wrong as can be. First of all, God is not in any way, shape, form, or fashion, a respecter of persons (Prov. 24:23; Jn. 7:24; Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; 1 Pet. 1:17; Jas. 2:1) In no way whatsoever is God like such. We can thereby sensibly conclude that God judges all people alike, by His same law, be a person male OR female. If a man commits murder, he stands in the eyes of God condemned just as much as when a woman does likewise. The same thing holds true of theft, drunkenness, profanity, etc. God judges both of the sexes alike who are of an accountable mind to be responsible for their actions. However, look what else the Bible has to say on this matter.

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul gives mention to a multitude of sins, and the very first sin that is condemned is adultery. “So what?” you may say. Well, loon what Paul said in 1 Cor. 6:15: “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he (he, my friend-not she-PN) which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, with he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but, he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” It is many times argued the difference between fornication and adultery. Whichever way that you as the reader wish it to be, it is still (fornication and adultery) the act of sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage, whether an individual is single and engaging in such, or whether the individual is “going out” on his or her marriage spouse. The above verses did not sound one iota to this writer that Paul was condemning the woman only! 1 Cor. 10:8, we see where Paul again says, “Neither let us (us-plural; more than one-PN) commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” Paul was referring here to the Israelites in Numbers 25. They committed adultery with the daughters of Moab, and just such many met instant death. Was it just the daughters of Moab that died? Hardly, friend. It was the men who were condemned, as well as the women.

I also wonder how many people have recalled the old, trite saying which says, “It takes two to tango?” Have you ever thought it that way? It is just as true as your own mother and father. It takes two to sin. TWO!! Yes. I am remembering homosexuals, but I speak specifically here of man and woman. So often, I hear (and I am sure, not alone) people come out with one-sided remarks such as the following: “Look at that immoral girl; she has a man in her apartment. She does not deserve to breathe. That prostitute! She will surely have hex part in the lake of fire.” Yes, dear reader, she will; but so will all the men that commit the act of premarital sex with her. They are not immune to the punishment of the Lord either.

What am I “driving at?” I am not excusing the girl from the act of sexual intercourse outside of the bed of marriage, but I am not excusing the man either. The same expecially goes for God. He will punish both! The next time we take the prejudiced, snobbish idea that a woman is immoral when she engages in adultery, just remember that it takes the man to make the filthy act complete, and that he stands just as guilty and just as condemned in the eyes of God (Rom. 3:10,23). “It takes two to tango” is the old saying, and certainly applies to the act of pre-marital sex. Let us take care lest we become chauvinistic of immoral women, with reference to sexual intercourse outside marriage. Let us keep the record straight!

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 221-222
April 7, 1977

By Larry Ray Hafley

With the above title, a Missionary Baptist preacher, Wayne Camp, wrote the article below:

“In West Monroe, La. it was Sunday morning. A large congregation had gathered for worship. During the invitation a sincere penitent lady went forward and made the confession: `I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ Her baptism was scheduled for that evening.

“That afternoon her life was snuffed out in an auto accident. The preacher of the church declared that she had gone to hell! Yes even though she had repented of her sins that availed her nothing, she had gone to hell! Yes! Even though she had confessed Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners, she had gone to hell.

“Many members of the congregation were horrified. They suddenly did not agree with the doctrine of baptismal regeneration they had stoutly defended before. Many left. The plan of salvation propounded from their pulpit was not good enough to die by. IS YOURS?

“Consider the Bible plan of salvation. `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved’ (Acts 16:30,31).

`Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God’ (1 In. 5:1). Christ gives eternal life the moment one repents of his sins and receives Him as Savior. Would you now trust Him for salvation that will be good to die by even if you die in the next few moments? `He that believeth on the Son hath (note the present tense) everlasting life’ (Jn. 3:36)” (Wayne Camp, Washington. Ill. Courier).

Delayed Baptism

This article shows the need to baptize one immediately. There is not a single case of delayed baptism in the New Testament. “Then they that gladly received his word (the word to repent and be baptized `for the remission of sins’) were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And he took them the same hour of the night (midnight-Acts 16:25), and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his straightway” (Acts 16:33). The lady mentioned by Mr. Camp should not have tarried. “And now why tarriest thou? arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

Baptismal Regeneration

The Bible does not teach baptismal regeneration. One obtains forgiveness of sins, newness of life, and is regenerated when he obeys from the heart the form of doctrine delivered in the New Testament (Rom. 6:3,4,16,17; Titus 3:5). These blessings are not received prior to baptism “into Jesus Christ” (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). Baptists believe that salvation and regeneration are received at the very moment one believes Jesus is the Son of God. Is that the doctrine of “faith regeneration”?

A Parallel Predicament

“In Washington, Illinois, it was Sunday morning. A large Baptist Church had gathered for worship. During the invitation a sincere, penitent lady went forward and was coming to the front where she planned to pray and receive Jesus into her heart as her personal Savior, but on her way down the aisle, she dropped dead of a massive heart attack. The preacher of the church declared she had gone to hell! Yes, even though she had repented of her sins, that availed her nothing, she had gone to hell! Yes! Even though she had gone to pray for the Spirit to implant faith in her heart that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of sinners, she had gone to hell.

Many members of the Baptist Church were horrified. They suddenly did not agree with the doctrine of faith regeneration they had stoutly defended before. Many left. The plan of salvation propounded from their pulpit was not good enough to die by. Is yours?”

One cannot help but wonder about those “chief rulers” who “believed on” Jesus in John 12:42,43. They would not confess Him, but they believed on Him. Suppose one of them was killed in a chariot accident that afternoon. Imagine how horrified the disciples would have been if the Lord had said they had gone to hell. Even though they heard Him, even though they believed on Him, they had died and gone to hell? Yes, their doctrine of “confession regeneration” was good enough to preach in the synagogues, but it was not good enough to die by.

The Real Question

The question of salvation is settled by the Word of God, not by emotional experiences or suppositional situations. One who dies without faith in Christ is damned (Jn. 8:24). One who dies without being baptized, dies outside the promise of the Word of God. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk. 16:16).

Men are lost because they are in sin. They are not lost because they do not believe. They are not lost because they will not repent. They are not lost because they will not confess Christ. They are not lost because they have not been baptized. They are lost because they are in sin. What is the remedy of sin? The blood of Christ was shed “for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Christ’s death reconciles us to God (Col. 1:21-23). We reach the benefits of the death and blood of Christ when we are “baptized into Jesus Christ,” “baptized into his death” (Rom. 6:3,4). Car wrecks and dying soldiers in foxholes will not change the Word of God. It is not a matter of the sadness of a situation. It is a matter of what the Bible teaches.

Can one be saved apart from the blood of Christ? “No,” say even the Baptists. Now, will one who dies without complying with the terms of pardon set forth in the New Testament be saved by the blood of Christ? One who dies without faith in Christ is lost, even according to Baptist doctrine. It is not that they are cruel tyrants who want to pronounce judgment on one’s salvation. It is a question of what the Bible teaches with respect to who shall be saved. They concede that the person who fails to believe and “receive Christ as his personal Savior” is lost. The same is true with respect to baptism. Baptism in water is one of the conditions of salvation set forth in the New Testament (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16). Baptism puts one “into Jesus Christ” and “into his death” (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). Will one be saved who does not obey the Lord and meet the requirements of the Gospel? An emotional story will not alter or abrogate the Word of God, whether one speaks of faith, repentance, confession, or baptism.

Consider the Bible Plan of Salvation

Mr. Camp’s conclusion does not cite a passage that mentions the necessity of confessing Christ as Lord. He says repentance is essential, but he does not cite a passage to that effect. He says one should “receive” and “trust” Jesus as Savior, but he does not say how this is done. So, consider the Bible plan of salvation in contrast to the Baptist plan. All are sinners. Christ died that we might be saved. His blood brings redemption by grace through faith (Rom. 3:23; 5:6-8; Eph. 1:7; 2:8,9). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9). “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 220-221
April 7, 1977

By Lewis Willis

Gary Gilmore and The Bleeding Hearts

Gary Mark Gilmore is dead! By order of the 4th District Court in the State of Utah, he was executed by a firing squad on January 17, 1977, and was pronounced dead at 8:06 a.m. Thus ended another life in an overgrowing company of violent men. The action of the Utah government was a landmark, in that it reversed a non-execution practice dating back to 1967 when the Colorado gas chamber was used to execute a criminal. The U.S. Supreme Court had declared a moratorium of almost 10 years, trying to determine the constitutionality of capital punishment. The question was: “Is capital punishment cruel and unusual punishment?” A decision of only a few months ago stated that it was not. Dates of execution were being set in those states where the death penalty for certain crimes was a law. Appeals were and are pending before almost every magistrate on behalf of those who are condemned to die.

Gilmore created a sensational news item when he asked that no more appeals be filed on his behalf. He had been sentenced to death and he had accepted the decision of the courts. When his mother and the American Civil Liberties Union filed appeals over his protest, he sought to take his own life and very nearly succeeded. But the courts would not reverse their decision. So, on that Monday morning in January, Gilmore was executed.

A Lifetime Of Crime

The State of Utah ended a violent life. Half of his 36 years had been spent in prison for crimes he had done. At age 14, he broke some school windows and was put in jail. In the years to come he would be convicted of crimes including vagrancy, auto theft and grand larceny. ABC News said he was guilty of rape and many cases of robbery. On the night of July 20, 1976, having had a fight with his girlfriend, he went to the City Center Motel in Provo, Utah, robbed the clerk, 26-year-old Bennie Bushnell, ordered him to lie on the floor, placed a pistol against his head and pulled the trigger twice. For this crime he was executed. Prior to his execution he had also admitted that the night before he had murdered Max David Jensen, 24, an Orem service station attendant, while committing a robbery. In two days Gilmore brutally murdered two young men in their mid-twenties, and each victim left a young widow and child.

Outside the prison, there were prayers that he not be executed. An all night vigil was kept in spite of the cold Utah weather. Inside the prison, Gilmore seemed to feel no compulsions of conscience for the evil he had done. There was no evident consideration of what was before him as he entered eternity. Throughout the night he tried to calm his relatives and lawyers who visited him. He danced with his cousin and gave pointers on boxing to those who were there. He refused the traditional final meal, took a nap, and prepared for the next day. After 11th hour appeals failed, he was taken to the place of execution, heard the decree and was asked if he had anything to say. After a few moments, his caustic reply was, “Let’s do it.” The five man squad fired, striking his heart, and the murderer died.

The American Conscience?

Now, what shall we make of Gary Mark Gilmore? Will the American people immortalize him in ballads extolling his bravery? Will he be thought of as a martyr in an unjust cause? Will he become] a national hero? Or, will he be recorded in history as a hardened criminal who paid the supreme price for his crimes? What is the American conscience? Is the American conscience that of those who kept that all-night vigil, many of them religious leaders from various parts of the country? Is it represented by the lawyers for the ACLU? Are the bleeding hearts of this nation’s “do-gooders” representative of the thinking and conviction of the American people?

Where have all these pious, religious leaders (?) been during the past decade as hundreds have been brutally slain at the hands of lawless men? When have they led a public outcry against the criminal who perpetrates such horrible deeds? Whose voice is raised in behalf of those murdered, their parents, their husbands or wives, and their orphaned children? Who lobbies for their rights? Who cries out against the inhumane treatment viciously imposed on them by the greedy, godless criminal who prefers to rob and kill instead of work like other decent people? The voices of these civil libertarians have been silent for the most part. No television camera for the national news broadcasts buzzes for the victims of the crime-just for the criminal. So, this nation’s religious leaders fall on their knees in the ice and snow to pray that the murderer might live. For what? So that he can kill again?

What are the rights of a murderer? About two weeks ago, a couple entered an Amarillo Pizza Hut. They put the employees in a large, walk-in cooler, forced the woman-manager into a back room where she was killed. But, she was not killed in the same manner as Gary Gilmore. They crammed her head into a commercial dough-mixing machine used to mix the heavy dough of which pizza crust is made, and absolutely mangled her head! Her husband was discouraged from viewing her body after she was killed. Now, what are the rights of those who would do such a thing?

A Divine Law

God’s law legislates that they have no rights! By their crimes they have forfeited the rights of citizens in a civilized society. In every age, God has declared the same punishment for such a crime. In the Patriarchal Age, He said, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood. by man shall his blood be shed . . .” (Gen. 9:6). In the Mosiac Age, He said. “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death” (Exod. 21:12). Some seem to think, however, that with the Age of the Gospel now ushered in, this law of God has changed. But the fact is, it has not.

Today we are taught of God, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). Many have concluded that this means that God shall execute wrath upon the criminal in the Judgment. Such is only partially true. The murderer shall be punished in Hell (Rev. 21:8). But, God has made provision for his punishment in this life as well. That provision is civil government. “The powers that be are ordained of God,” and this civil power “beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Rom. 13:1,4). The wrath of God is meted out to the murderer through civil government as the instrument of God. The State of Utah was just such an instrument in Gilmore’s case. Gilmore got what God and the State said he should have gotten. He was no martyr! He was a common criminal who was executed in keeping with the severity of his crime. I have no tears to shed for him except those which would be shed for any man who defies the law of God unto his own ruin. It should be our prayer that God’s will might be executed by government in the many other cases pending before the courts. When the death-rows of this nation have been emptied, and when justice is speedily executed, then shall sanity be restored to our society. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11).

Conclusion

Our society is so corrupt that one is fearful for his life when he hears an unexplained noise in the night. For almost ten years the lawless element in our social system could do almost anything without fear of any life-endangering consequence. They seem to have thought that if they were caught they would go to jail for awhile, the State would pay all their expenses, they would be put on parole and be back on the streets again. If, however, the criminal knows that he will be quickly executed if caught, he has to think twice before taking an innocent life. Let the preachers go into the ice and snow to pray that God’s will might be executed, instead of praying that it not be done!

God’s way has always worked to man’s good before. It will be so again if we have the courage to implement it in American society. “And when civil government fails to carry out the penalty, this supreme penalty, . . . after a while the blood of those that were murdered is going to be washed out in the blood of the citizens of the society that tolerated the failure. I believe this to be a divine principle” (Homer Hailey, God And Capital Punishment, p. 15).

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 218-219
April 7, 1977