Truth Magazine

By William V Beasley

“You are being influenced by the writings (books) of men!” is an accusation made by unthinking Christians against their preaching brethren. This is said as if to be guilty of such was equal to complete unfaithfulness, or, at least, the first step in complete apostasy. None of us, myself included, should want to become unfaithful or to take even the first step in apostasy-but, we hasten to ask, is the possession of, study of, learning from, reading of and/or use of books written by men a sign of unfaithfulness or apostasy?

To being “influenced by the writings (books) of men” I must plead guilty. Many such have influenced me and this many times. That was the purpose, in fact, that I purchased such-to be influenced by what the books contained. I would hate to think I had wasted the hundreds of dollars so spent. Pleading guilty to being influenced by the books of men is not to say that I have gullibly accepted everything therein presented. Such is not the case and I trust never will be. Sometimes the influence has been to see how far afield man can go and thus to strengthen our determination to “let God be found true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

In much the same manner I (along with countless others) have been influenced by speaking person-to-person with other people, but, once again, it was not a hook, line and sinker acceptance of everything presented. Some of my brethren have a phobia of written commentaries and will, while making oral comments on the meaning of a passage of scripture digress enough to tell you how terrible it is to use (mention) commentaries. The primary meaning of “commentary” is “a comment.” When we explain what a passage means we have thereby authored (or plagiarized) a commentary on that passage. The type of communication (oral vs. written) used is the only difference in principle between the two types of commentaries.

Granted people, even our brethren, have misused the writings of men. When asked what a passage of scripture meant, one brother said something like ‘ “I’m not sure what that means. I don’t remember what Brother McGarvey had to say about it.” In listening to preaching, private instruction, personal conversations, reading books (commentaries, etc.) we need to receive such with all readiness of mind, and search the scriptures daily, whether these things be so (see Acts 17:11).

Truth Magazine XX: 42, p. 658
October 21, 1976

By Ron Halbrook

“The sower went forth to sow,” said Jesus in the parable, explaining, “The seed is the word of God.” In 1955 Brother Eugene Britnell began a , small mimeographed bulletin in Tuckerman, Arkansas, in an effort to sow the seed of the kingdom. The paper moved with him to the Arch Street church in Little Rock in 1961 and was put out for many years by that church. It had a wide circulation and a definite punch. With the exception of September, 1974, through September of 1975 (during which time Brother Britnell edited the Gospel Guardian), The Sower has been published without interruption for twenty years.

But in January of 1975, The Sower went forth under a new arrangement. No longer a work of Arch Street, it is owned by The Sower Publications, which consists of Brother Britnell and his son Olen (who is also business manager). It will appear monthly on a subscription basis, with a “variety in type, material, arrangement and illustrations.” Rather than specializing in any one subject, editor Britnell will deal with pressing problems of morality while teaching also “on Catholicism, denominationalism, communism, liberalism, institutionalism, and all other ‘isms.'” While seeking to propagate New Testament Christianity, The Sower promises to “teach and hope for the time when all ‘isms’ become ‘wasims.'” The paper will allow discussion of both sides on controversial issues, but will not be a bland hodge-podge of conflicting doctrines. “We shall never allow that which we consider to be doctrinal error to go unchallenged.”

There has been a proliferation of new papers in the last couple of -years. While one editor has spoken of plans to still be mailing out his paper in the year 2000, editor Willis of Truth Magazine says he feels fortunate to make it through a new year! There are problems for subscription papers appealing to the same basic reading audience, but in the case of papers teaching the gospel this should not be the case. As Benjamin Franklin said in the first number of the American Christian Review, which appeared in January of 1856, “There is not the least danger of our circulating too many publications, any more than of our sending out too many preachers. . . .” In terms of the need for teaching the truth in a world of darkness and sin, Franklin was 100 percent right! To the extent that any preacher or paper fills that need, it or he does good. Not only will Christians benefit from reading such papers, they will bless other people by having such papers sent to them. Brother Britnell in his opening editorial points out that “even the paper of the homosexuals, The Advocate, has a circulation of more than 60,000 copies, and that is far more than the total circulation of papers among conservative Christians.”

Those who wish to subscribe should send $4.00 per year in advance to The Sower, P.O. Box 5624, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205. The Sower is a 16-page monthly.

Truth Magazine XX: 42, p. 658
October 21, 1976

By Luther Blackmon

There are many excuses offered for quitting the church, but none that God will accept I am sure. Not many people are honest enough just to face up to reality and admit that they have quit. They are just femporarily absent for a few month or years (as if the Lord had given them a furlough or leave of absence) and they “are just as good Christians as ever-they just haven’t been coming.” If this were not so tragic it would be laughable. Such people have lied to themselves so long and blamed other people for their spiritual lethargy (hat they have actually come to believe these excuses (lies) themselves. But if you want to see such a person wake up to the fact that he has been lying about his unfaithfulness, just let him have a check-up and discover that he has a only a few months or weeks to live. Right away he forgets all about those time-worn, frazzled out and motheaten excuses he has been leaning on. And-most likely he will come to worship the next Sunday and make confession of unfaithfulness. He has forgotten the complaint that some member of the church didn’t treat him right or the church was not friendly or somebody criticized the way he (or she) was dressed or laughed at his accent or colloquialisms. These are not important any more. They never were really important. They just offered a smoke screen to a fellow who loved his pride and his job and his recreation and nearly everything else above the Lord. Now he can see these little hypocritical alibis for what they really are. But it may be too late. Now he can never be sure that he is coming back because he really wants to do right or because he is afraid o~’ what awaits unfaithful Christians. He knows down in his heart that if he had not discovered that he was going to die pretty soon, he would have gone on perhaps indefinitely, with his lame excuses.

There are things along the way that discourage all of us from time to time. Sometimes people can be very cruel in their remarks. I could name quite a few instances in my life as a Christian when things were said and done that hurt me deeply. But it wasn’t the Lord (hat hurt me, so why should I QUIT THE LORD because SOME MAN insulted me? Let us not kid ourselves as to why we are not attending worship. We are not deceiving the Lord, that’s certain.

Truth Magazine XX: 41, p. 653
October 14, 1976

By Guthrie Dean

Psychology and psychiatry are changing their hypothesis with reference to homosexuality. At one time it was difficult to convict a criminal because some psychiatrist was trying to either prove him sick or insane. One caught stealing was not a thief, he was bothered with kleptomania, so the doctor affirmed, One was not a drunkard, he was somewhat of an alcoholic, however. A sex maniac was not really a criminal, he was just a little sick. But now the hypothesis is changing. With reference to homosexuality, Dr. Richard Green, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California Medical School, is quoted as saying: “The current thinking of psychology and psychiatry, (is that) homosexuality is considered only a variant of sexual behavior and not a sickness.” (Arkansas Gazette, Thursday, November 15, 1973). Well, so they’ve changed again. It moved from sin, to sickness, to only a variant of sexual behavior. And already tons of books are being printed and circulated trying to prove that homosexuality is not a variant but only the normal way for a minority of the people to behave. So all of this psychology and psychiatry business proves nothing when it comes to sin. Drunkenness is sin, stealing is sin, murder is sin, and sexual immorality is sin. No label and no changing hypothesis can change that fact. Psychology makes its first mistake when it tries to treat man’s needs while leaving man’s soul out of the picture. Sin is a soul-damning practice and must be dealt with as such. And “the soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4).

Truth Magazine XX: 41, p. 653
October 14, 1976