Truth Magazine

By Cecil Willis

This is now the third lesson that we have devoted to a study of the relation of the Law and the Gospel. Already, the Law has been defined as the Law of Moses, the Ten Commandment. Law, and the Gospel refers to the system of salvation in Christ. This is one of the most misunderstood teachings of the New Testament.

Last week we pointed out from the teaching of Jeremiah the prophet that the Law of Moses was only intended to be temporary. We studied his statement in Jer. 31:31-34 which shows that the Law of Moses was to be replaced by another law, namely the Law of Christ. Paul quoted this prophecy as having been fulfilled in Heb. 8:7-13. Then we concluded our study by reviewing the teaching of the apostle Paul in Ephesians, showing that the barrier, which Paul declared to be the Law of Commandments, was done away so that now Jew and Gentile may become one new man in Christ through the one body (Eph. 2:14-18). The Scriptures abound in statements showing that the Law of Moses has been done away. We would like to remind you that these passages apply not only to those that try to bind the keeping of the Sabbath day upon us, but they are equally as applicable to any of us that fail to find justification for our doctrine or practice in the New Testament, and therefore revert back to an abrogated law for their authority.

Colossians 2:13-15

The passage we shall study this week is another statement from the pen of the apostle Paul. This time, we are studying the letter written to the Colossian brethren. One of the problems confronting this church was that of intermixing Judaism and Christianity. Hence, Paul made the following statement unto them: “And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses; having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (2:1315).

Notice that in this passage, Paul said that the bond written in ordinances that was against us hath been taken out of the way, and nailed to the cross of Christ. Of what was Paul speaking when he referred to the ordinances that were against us? He was speaking of the Law of Moses, or the old covenant. As this same apostle addressed the brethren at Galatia, he taught precisely how the Law of Moses was against us. A lot of the people of Galatia, as are many people today, were trying to put themselves back under the Law of Moses. Paul taught them the impossibility of this by telling them that to go back under the Law of Moses, they would have to give up Christ. But he also declared to them that the Law was but a curse to them. He said, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). Having been redeemed from the curse of the Law, are we so foolish as to want to go back under it? We should praise God for the fact that no longer are we living under the Old Testament Law, but that we are now permitted to live under the Law of Christ.

We have seen that the Law was a curse to us, but why was it a curse? Fortunately, Paul went into detail to tell us why the law was a curse to man. In Gal. 3:10, he said, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.” The Law was a curse to man because the very moment one failed to observe a single commandment of the Law, he was condemned. In discussing this very problem, Paul, to the Roman brethren, said, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). He said that all, both Jew and Gentile, had failed to live up to the rigid requirements of the Old Testament Law. In the passage in Gal. 3:10, he said that “cursed is everyone who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.” So the Law shut them up under sin, as Paul said to the Galatian brethren in Gal. 3:22. It could only condemn them.

So when Paul comes to speak of the Law of Moses to the Colossian church, he called it the “bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us.” This is but another way of saying that the Law was a curse to us. It condemned them. While we are on this particular phase of the Old Testament Law, it is important that we study another statement of Paul, showing why the Law was a curse to them. Already we have seen how he taught that no one lived up to the requirements of the Law. All were guilty of some infraction of the Law. But under the Law, there was no provision made for the forgiveness of sins. In Heb. l0:lff Paul said, “For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh.” He was saying they cannot be forgiven under the Law. Why? “But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.” So when one violated the Law of Moses he was condemned, the blood of animals not being able to take away his sin, and thus he was under a curse.

Now with these truths in our minds, let us turn again to the passage with which we began. Paul said, “And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses; having blotted out the bond written in ordinances, that was against us, which was contrary to us, and hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:13, 14). Already, having established that he was referring to the Law of Moses, what did Paul say about,’ it? He said it was blotted out. It was nailed to the cross. None of us have difficulty understanding what Paul was teaching in the Colossian epistle concerning the Law of Moses. We have correlated a number of other passages from Paul’s writings to show that in this passage, as in the others to which we have referred, Paul was declaring that the Law of Moses was done away in the death of Christ.

With this thought fresh in our minds, let us merely cite the passage we discussed last week. It is very similar, both in words and meaning, to the passage we are studying this week from Colossians. He said, “But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Eph. 2:13-16).

After Paul had made it clear that the Law was done away, he then exhorted the Colossians that they beware of those that would bind portions of Judaism upon them: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day, or a new moon, or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.” Even though these brethren had been taught that the Law of Moses was nailed to the cross of Christ, yet there were some that were bent on binding upon others the precepts of the Law. So Paul exhorted these brethren that they not permit any to come in and bind on them portions of a law that had been taken out of the way. They were not to be condemned (this is the meaning of the word “judge” in this passage) for failing to keep the Law of Moses, whether this failure consisted of the eating of meat, failing to keep a feast day, or whether it referred to one’s trying to make it obligatory upon all that they keep the Sabbath day.

Many people today who meet on the First Day of the week refer to Sunday as the Sabbath day, but this is to misuse the word “Sabbath.” The “Sabbath” refers to Saturday, the seventh day. Yet there are one or more religious denominations that maintain that we should keep the Sabbath day now. At the present, I can think of some two or three denominations that meet on the seventh day, the Sabbath day, rather than on the First Day of the week. Did you ever hear a Sabbitarian comment on Paul’s exhortation to the Colossian brethren in which he told them not to let men condemn them for not keeping the Sabbath day, for the Old Covenant was but a shadow of the good things to come?

They conveniently overlook this and many other similar passages of Holy Writ because they do not happen to coincide with their previously chosen religious theories.

Conclusion

Paul taught us that the Law was nailed to the cross of Christ, and therefore it is wrong for one to try to continue to bind it upon the citizens of God’s Kingdom. For an illustration, let us consider this historical incident: At one time in the history of this land, we were subjects of the English nation. But today this land of ours is an independent and free country. It is no longer bound by the laws of the government of England. Suppose a man were to come along today who feels that we should not adhere to the laws of this land, but that we should continue to live under the laws of the government of England, inasmuch as we were one time under them. Or suppose, that he were to try to get everyone to live under both the law of England and the constitution of the United States. This would be both impossible and absurd.

Yet this land abounds in people, who, because man was once under the Law of Moses, think that we should continue to live according to the dictates of that Law, even though Christ died to give us the New Covenant. But there are myriads more who feel that inasmuch as man was once under the Law of Moses, and now lives under the Law of Christ it would be perfectly legitimate for us to choose that portion of either of these laws that best fits our religious needs as established by man. The majority of the religious denominations go back to the Old Testament for the authority for at least one part of their worship. You name the denomination, and I believe that it will be a simple matter to show what portion of their worship is taken from the Old Testament law. Remember that it was this Old Law that was nailed to our Savior’s cross. We should daily thank God that we no longer live under the curse of the Law, but may participate in the blessings of Christ.

Truth Magazine, XX:5, p. 3-5
January 29, 1976

By Bruce Edwards, Jr.

One cannot help but be a little bemused by the outcry in various papers against “scholarship.” It is quite fashionable now to assail that terrible “ivory tower preacher, elder or editor” who will not come down to earth to “us common folk” and “just preach the gospel.” Granted, there may be some who will fit that ignominious category and justly deserve our taunting and badgering- but just what constitutes this “pseudo-scholarship” that we must be on guard against? Who will step forward with the infallible criteria by which we can all judge “true” scholarship and “false” scholarship? Is it a matter of vocabulary? Does it involve subject matter? Or is quantity of footnotes the ominous sign of defection from “proper scholarship?” Before we set out to ostracize every innocent “preacher-boy” who may inadvertently use an occasional “exegesis” or “apocalyptic” or “ignominious” or every older preaching brother who gets a new set of commentaries on the Greek text and has the audacity to use them – let us at least make an attempt at identifying the enemy.

I would suggest that it is somewhat naive to begin suddenly dispensing with scholarly studies in the word of God. Every man, woman or child who picks up his or her Bible in an attempt to learn the will of the Lord is a scholar. There is no dedicated preacher, elder or editor who is not a scholar. And yet we find good men prefacing their articles almost apologetically, “Now, I am no scholar . . . ” Preposterous! It is a dangerous disposition to be voicing abroad that “scholarship” is suspect and not to be trusted. This is the height of folly and, ultimately, the exaltation of ignorance. Of course not every individual who attempts to understand the word of God and then write down his conclusions for the world to examine is going to be correct, trustworthy and full of wisdom. But that has always been in the case and not a phenomenon peculiar to this time and place. Perhaps some of the criticism is more reflective of a low view of reader intelligence and perception than a high view of the truth of the gospel.

What, I think, must be understood is that not everyone in the body of Christ is going to have the same tastes and needs. We all have different backgrounds, educational experience and levels of spiritual maturity. When we begin to speak in behalf of “the rest of the brethren” we ought to take these things into account. Regardless of what publication one picks up he will encounter at least three kinds of articles: 1) those “above his head;” 2) those “right at his level;” 3) those somewhat “below his level.” No writer can write on three or even two of these levels at once and I would dare say that one’s efforts are probably going to be on all three of these levels to differing audiences. The point is this: there is no sure way to gauge what the optimum level may be for everybody. The best we can do, I suspect, is simply to write . . . and let our efforts find their audience – if any. And ultimately it is the editor who must resolve this tricky question of what is fit for publication and what is not.

We do not need less scholarship . . . we need more. And it is the responsibility of every child of God to be a diligent student of the word. No, we do not need a return to the “scholasticism” of the middle ages that obscures the will of God, but before we give “scholarship” a bad name let us seriously and rationally consider the direction of our thinking. Promoting a convenient superficiality in lieu of good, honest scholarship is to provide fertile soil for the seeds of false doctrine. There is meat and milk in the word. We cannot afford to dispense with either.

Truth Magazine, XX:5, p. 2
January 29, 1976

By Bruce Edward, Jr.

One cannot help but be a little bemused by the outcry in various papers against “scholarship.” It is quite fashionable now to assail that terrible “ivory tower preacher, elder or editor” who will not come down to earth to “us common folk” and “just preach the gospel.” Granted, there may be some who will fit that ignominious category and justly deserve_ our tauting and badgering- but just what constitutes this “pseudoscholarship” that we must be on guard against? Who will step forward with the infallible criteria by which we can all judge “true” scholarship and “false” scholarship? Is it a matter of vocabulary? Does it involve subject matter? Or is quantity of footnotes the ominous sign of defection from “proper scholarship?” Before we set out to ostracize every innocent “preacher-boy” who may inadvertently use an occasional “exegesis” or “apocalyptic” or “ignominious” or every older preaching brother who gets a new set of commentaries on the greek text and has the audacity to use them- let us at least make an attempt at identifying the enemy.

I would suggest that it is somewhat naive to begin suddenly dispensing with scholarly studies in the word of God. Every man, woman or child who picks up his or her Bible in an attempt to learn the will of the Lord is a scholar. There is no dedicated preacher, elder or editor who is not a scholar. And yet we find good men prefacing their articles almost apologetically, “Now, I am no scholar . . . ” Preposterous! It is a dangerous disposition to be voicing abroad that “scholarship” is suspect and not to be trusted. This is the height of folly and, ultimately, the exaltation of ignorance. Of course not every individual who attempts to understand the word of God and then write down his conclusions for the world to examine is going to be correct, trustworthy and full of wisdom. But that has always been in the case and not a phenomenon peculiar to this time and place. Perhaps some of the criticism is more reflective of a low view of reader intelligence and perception than a high view of the truth of the gospel.

What, I think, must be understood is that not everyone in the body of Christ is going to have the same tastes and needs. We all have different backgrounds, educational experience and levels of spiritual maturity. When we begin to speak in behalf of “the rest of the brethern” we ought to take these things into account. Regardless of what publication one picks up he will encounter at least three kinds of articles: 1) those “above his head;” 2) those “right at his level;” 3) those somewhat “below his level.” No writer can write on three or even two of these levels at once and I would dare say that one’s efforts are probably going to be on all three of these levels to differing audiences. The point is this: there is no sure way to gauge what the optimum level may be for everybody. The best we can do, I suspect, is simply to write . . . and let our efforts find their audience – if any. And ultimately it is the editor who must resolve this tricky question of what is fit for publication and what is not.

We do not need less scholarship . . . we need more. And it is the responsibility of every child of God to be a diligent student of the word. No, we do not need a return to the “scholasticism” of the middle ages that obscures the will of God, but before we give “scholarship” a bad name let us seriously and rationally consider the direction of our thinking. Promoting a convenient superficiality in lieu of good, honest scholarship is to. provide fertile soil for the seeds of false doctrine. There is meat and milk in the word. We cannot afford to dispense with either.

Try Teaching with Tracts

from Truth Magazine Bookstore Box 403, Marion, Indiana 46952

Special Series of Studies announced for Miami, Florida

“What Is The Church of Christ” 7:45 p.m. Saturday

“Lessons from Restoration

History” 10:00 a.m. Sunday

“The Spirit of Restoration” 11:00 a.m. Sunday

“Standing for the Truth” 3:00 p.m. Sunday

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED

“Lessons From the Past” will be the general theme of a series of special studies to be presented by the Southwest Church of Christ, 1450 S.W. 24th Avenue, in Miami, Florida, February 13, 14, and 15, 1976 with Ed Harrell to be the speaker and evangelist.

Topics to be discussed and time of meetings are as follows:

“The Concept of Restoration” 7:45 p.m. Friday

Edible Commentary

By E. M. Zerr. The only commentaries on the whole Bible by a member of a church of Christ. Six volumes on entire Bible, $32.50. Each volume $5.95.

(66)

By Ron Halbrook

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

The gospel points out the goal God has appointed, or the “one hope.” Hearing and believing in the reality of this goal or “hope,” we burn inwardly with a desire to obtain it. We are moved in life by this “hope” within us. Which hope does Paul refer to: (1) the “hope” which is offered and appointed as our goal through the gospel, or (2) the burning “hope” within us which inspires our daily living? The question is worth raising that we may see the hope which burns within us (subjective hope) is based upon the goal which God has appointed for us (objective hope). Little will be gained by arguing over precisely which one Paul meant. If he means the hope burning within the subject or person, he immediately implies the real object or goal which the person desires to reach.

No Hope Without Christ

In Eph. 2:12, Paul refers to the Gentiles before the coming of Christ and the Gospel Age. They were “without Christ . . . having no hope.” This does not mean they did not entertain various hopes, for they did. But instead of letting God appoint the true object of hope, “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful … changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man … changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator” (Rom. 1:21-25). “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections” and did not commit “the oracles of God” into their wicked hands (Rom. 1:26; 3:1-2). The Gentiles, as a whole, did not look to God and so He did not give them His word (“oracles”) which pointed to Christ as the hope of the world.

Thus for many generations the Gentiles “walked according to the course of this world, . . . were by nature (i.e., by nature of the way they walked) the children of wrath,” and “their foolish heart was darkened” (Eph. 2:2-3; Rom. 1:21). Living in this darkness, they had no idea what a wonderful hope God was preparing in Christ; it was all a hidden mystery to them. Even the Jews did not realize that God planned to offer hope in Christ to the wicked Gentiles. This had “been hid from ages and from generations,” but now God has fully revealed “what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles.”

And what is “this mystery” which is now uncovered, no longer hidden, no more a mystery? “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 2:26-27; see also Eph. 3:4-6). What a wonderful blessing! But those who refuse Christ still have no hope (Jn. 12:48; 2 Thess. 1:7-9).

Called In One Hope

“Even as ye are called in one hope of your calling,” Paul said. We have been called. Our calling – “the divine call,” “the invitation to enter the kingdom of God” – offered and pointed us to but one hope. When we obeyed the gospel, we made that one hope-and it alone-our hope. The Christian must “know what is the hope of his calling,” (Eph. 1:18)-“the hope to which God calls’.’ him. The calling, the divine invitation brings this hope to the Christian. We are called with a` holy calling, we are offered a glorious hope, and we make that hope our own. (Quotations from Greek-English Lexicon by Arndt and Gingrich, p. 436).

How does God call us-strange voices in the night, physical sensations like chill bumps, emotional feelings, sudden ‘ideas which pop into our mind, unexplainable impulses, better-felt-than-told experiences? None of these! The Ephesians had been called (Eph. 1:18; 4:1; 4:4). How did they learn the will of God and learn to trust in Christ as the basis of hope? Paul says that they trusted in Christ “After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Eph. 1:13). How do we obtain “salvation,” “sanctification of the Spirit,” and “belief of the truth?” “Whereunto He called you by our gospel” (2 Thess. 2:13-14).

God’s call is in the preaching of the gospel. Our answer is in obeying the truth (1 Pet. 1:22).

The Reality of This Hope

The Christian’s hope is not merely empty wishing. It is not what scorners call a silly “pie in the sky”-like a child’s dream, wishing for all the toys in the world.

Vincent, in some of his comments, emphasized “not . . . the thing hoped for, but the sentiment or principle of hope which God’s calling inspires” (Word Studies). When the Ethiopian official heard God call him through the preaching of Christ, he obeyed the gospel. When he came “up out of the water” of baptism, “he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8). Hope was burning within him.

Is this wonderful hope within us blind and empty, a gushing sentimentalism? Is the gospel of Christ a fable and the goal we seek in him without reality or basis in fact? The truth is that eyewitnesses saw Christ after he rose from the dead! Therefore, “we have not followed cunningly devised fables” (2 Pet. 1:16). “Though the way we journey may seem often drear, WE SHALL SEE THE KING SOMEDAY,” as the song says. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2).

God is. The Bible is the word of God. Christ is the Son of God. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.

Lenski emphasized the reality of that for which the Ephesians hoped, “The Ephesians are personally involved, yet this basis of unity (hope) stands even apart from them” (Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles). Thus the hope within us has a true basis outside of us. God offers a real hope. Seeing the (objective) hope God offers, the Christian lives by (subjective) hope. THE TWO ARE INSEPARABLY BOUND TOGETHER. Our hope is not mere wishing; it involves adopting for OUR GOAL that which God offers AS A REAL GOAL.

Effect of Hope

After affirming that “we shall see” Christ and “be like him,” John states the effect of this hope. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 Jn. 3:2-3). Hope inspires us to live a godly course of life. The gospel call is a divine call, its hope is true. Just as John said, Paul says we should “walk worthy of the vocation (calling) wherewith ye are called” (Eph. 4:1-2). The worthy walk includes lowliness, meekness, patience, and love.

The effect Paul most emphasized in Eph. 4 is unity. Sharing one hope draws us together like seamen in a storm-tossed ship . . . facing the same dangers, sharing the same ship, seeking the same shore. This binds us together in holy unity. “How can Christians contend in an angry manner with each other, when the hope of dwelling in the same heaven swells their bosoms and animates their hearts?” (Barnes’ Notes)

But What Is This Hope?

What is this hope we have in Christ, to which we are called, which is a hope of reality, which has wonderful effects on our living? We do not hope for the Son of God to be born, to die, and to be raised; that already happened (1 Cor. 15). We do not hope for new revelations of the gospel; God revealed it in its entirety (Jude 3). We do not hope for remission of sins; we already have it by obeying the truth (Acts 2:38; 1 Jn. 1:7). “Hope that is seen is not hope” (Rom. 8:24).

We are “joint-heirs with Christ;” we shall receive the inheritance: “if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” We await “the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope” (Rom. 8:17-25). Christ shall “come to be glorified in his saints …. when He shall appear, we shall be like Him” (2 Thess. 1:10; 1 Jn. 3:2). We are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13). At the end, Christ will destroy death, deliver up “the kingdom to God,” AND “SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD” (1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4:15-18).

Followers of R. H. Boll, Hal Lindsey, Ellen G. White, the Armstrongs, the (so-called) Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others tell us we are living before the time of Christ’s kingdom among men on earth (MILLENIUM). They claim Christ must come back to earth before that the establishment of that kingdom. They do not realize it is already here and Christians are already in it (Col. 1:13). When Christians accept the premillennial hope, they have accepted another, false hope. They get so engrossed in these theories that they are not content to dwell with those who keep the “one hope.” Beware lest ye be led away and fall (2 Pet. 3).

Truth Magazine, XX:4, p. 13-14
January 22, 1976