Truth Magazine

By Connie W. Adams

Meeting Schedule  1997

Several have asked that I publish my meeting schedule. It is always good to meet some of our readers in these places.

March 2-7  S. Bumby Ave., Orlando, Florida

March 16-21  West Columbia, Texas

April 6-11  Providence, Brodhead, Kentucky

April 20-25  Greencastle, Indiana

May 4-9  Lilbourne, Georgia

May 18-23  Cahaba Heights, Birmingham, Alabama

June 8-13  Uhrichsville, Ohio

June 15-20  West Mason, Ohio

July 6-11  Ridgefield, Washington

July 13-18  Canby, Oregon

August 3-8  Fayetteville, Tennessee

August 17-22  Altamonte Springs, Florida

September 7-12  Columbia, Missouri

September 21-26  Eastside, Scottsboro, Alabama

October 5-10  College Park, Richardson, Texas

October 12-17  Bossier City, Louisiana

November 2-7  Lake Wales, Florida

November 16-21  West End, Richmond, Virginia

Charitable Deeds to Be Seen of Men

Jesus warned against doing good deeds “to be seen of men.” He said “Take heed that you do not your charitable deeds before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet be-fore you as the hypocrites go in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matt. 6:1-2). There is no question that life offers many opportunities to come to the aid of brethren in need as well as neighbors in the world or even chance acquaintances. The reaction of a faithful child of God should be spontaneous in doing what he is able to help. This grows out of our humanity but especially humanity refined by the influences of the gospel. The motive should be obvious. It is the right thing to do. Any such action motivated by a desire for praise from the world (or the brethren) is misplaced. The one in need may still be benefitted but the giver has forfeited any right to expect God to honor what was done. He did it for praise of men, he received praise of men. So much for the reward.

Answering Before Hearing

“He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18:13). Yet, how often is this done. Parents sometimes provoke their children to anger because they do not listen. Before you say yes or no, hear them out. In labor disputes, each side needs to hear what the other has to say. In the church there will always be differences to arise. Sometimes elders are called on to arbitrate. It is good idea to get all the facts before making a judgment. Rumor and fact are often worlds apart. We are all often given to more prejudice than we want to admit. If a brother in whom we have confidence says something adverse about another brother, it is easy to rush to judgment without hearing the whole story. Politicians are not the only ones given to prejudice.

The Pain of Alienation

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps. 133:1). On the other hand, how dismal it is for brethren who once stood shoulder to shoulder in solid phalanx against the armies of the Devil, to begin to “eye” one another, stand apart and aloof, and to see that deteriorate to the point of division and even hostility. I have been preaching long enough to remember the time before open division over institutionalism and related issues. It was a wonderful time when we enjoyed a friend-ship and camaraderie that was special. I often reflect wistfully on those days. Through the years since that tragic division I have often thought of those who once were so close to me and whose encouragement meant so much. As years have passed, other questions of great import have arisen and friends of long standing have first stood apart and then loaded and aimed their spiritual weapons at each other.

Even now, there are two mind-sets among brethren which become more obvious with each passing day. Unless these can be brought together, we will see families alienated, meetings canceled, influences suffer, and great anguish of spirit will descend upon us. It is a time for all to turn away from the witty and clever writings and preaching of popular denominational leaders and get our heads and hearts solidly back into the word of God. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). But keep one thing in mind: unity in error will land us all in the lake of fire.

The Value of Truth

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Nothing else is as good as truth. If something is close to it, then isn’t that nice! It still is not truth and cannot do for us any of the things which truth can do. If truth makes us free, then does something which is close to the truth make us close to being free? If so, then we are not free at all. Our Lord’s statement implies that truth is discoverable. It is knowable. It is not mired down in some nebulous gray matter. No sir! There is a difference between truth and error, and you can know what it is. If you cannot, then you are not free. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes unto the Father except through me” (John 14:6). “Buy the truth and sell it not” (Prov. 23:23).

Truth can be determined by the word of God. Error cannot. Faith rests upon truth. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). One of the harmful side effects of what some are teaching about Romans 14 and fellowship is that truth is made to appear fuzzy. It is a short step from that to the cynicism of Pilate who asked “What is truth?”

From what does truth free us? It frees us from the bond-age of sin. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom. 6:2). It frees us from the guilt of sin. “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). It frees us from the fear of the grave. “0 Death, where is thy sting? 0 Hades, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55). I don’t think I want to trade that away for anything else. What about you?

Guardian of Truth XLI: 6 p. 3-4
March 20, 1997

By Steve Ellis

Wednesday, January 22, 1997, was the 24th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s most shameful and most despicable decision: the legalizing of infanticide in America. While millions of Americans mourned and voiced their opposition to the continuing wanton slaughter of some four thousand babies every day in this nation, others saw this anniversary as an occasion to affirm their support for this barbarity. For example, both the vice-president and the first lady appeared at a meeting of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (a pro-abortion organization) to praise and to encourage those who support this monstrous wickedness.

As expected, the vice-president harshly criticized those who have committed various acts of violence against baby-killing doctors and other abortion clinic personnel. While it is certainly appropriate for our leaders to condemn acts of violence against adults who choose to be involved in the murder of babies, they also should be condemning the vastly more numerous and far more horrible acts of violence being perpetrated against the babies! There is nothing that more forcefully demonstrates the undeniable hypocrisy and inconsistency of the pro-abortion position than for some-one of this persuasion to attempt to denounce violence and sound credible while so doing!

Is it not a despicable act of murderous violence to use a loop-shaped knife to slice a baby’s body to pieces? Is it not a despicable act of murderous violence to kill an innocent baby with forceps or salt poison or surgical scissors? All of these methods are routinely employed to murder over four thousand babies each day in our country. Why are the lives of these babies of so little value compared to the lives of other citizens?

Our society’s stubborn determination to be blind and inconsistent relative to ensuring the safety of children has also been well illustrated by the tremendous amount of attention given in recent months to the issue of the potential threat of air bags to small children riding in the front seats of automobiles. One recent news report stated that, while air bags save some 500 lives per year, by 1998 they could kill one child per week. This is without question a serious matter and worthy of attention, and people need to know about the potential danger and should be given the prerogative to legally disable the passenger-side air bag on their cars if they so choose. But in light of all the professed concern for the potential, accidental air bag-related deaths of up to 52 children per year by 1998, the dire lack of concern for the intentional brutal murder of over 4,000 children per day right now is made even more conspicuous!

It is not realistic to expect the major news networks or the vice-president or the first lady or any other part of the system of evil controlled by Satan to acknowledge these colossal ironies and inconsistencies. However, all of us who truly do value all human life and who truly do abhor all acts of violence and who truly are concerned for the safety of all of America’s children will continue to try to correct our nation’s warped sense of values. Those of us who truly respect God and his will for our lives should constantly pray that he will help our beloved country to recognize and to repent of the enormous evil and inconsistency of abortion, that she might soon cease this self-destruction.

Reprinted with permission from the Knight Arnold News, Knight Arnold Church of Christ.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 6 p. 5
March 20, 1997

By Steve Wallace

In Revelation 12:10 Satan is referred to as “the accuser of our brethren.” The word “accuse” is defined, “(1) to charge with, or declare to have committed a crime, (2) to find at fault; to blame . . .” (Webster 14). Sometimes a person is justly accused. However, that is not what is spoken of here.

Do we have any examples of Satan accusing “our brethren before God” (Rev. 12:10)? Yes, we find such in Job 1:6-11; 2:1-6. Job was a good man! God himself testified to this fact. However, it did not matter to Satan. He accused Job anyway. Here we see a true picture of Satan as “the accuser of our brethren.” Satan also tempts mankind. Hence, people can become “accusers of our brethren” and share in the devil’s work.

We see people carrying out the work of the devil in both testaments. Job’s brethren falsely accused him (4:7-9). The Pharisees falsely accused Jesus (Matt. 12:22-24). Among the sins characteristic of the “last days” is that some will be “false accusers” (2 Tim. 3:3). If people can become false accusers, then brethren can become false accusers. The danger that brethren might partake in the devil’s work evidences the need for this study.

Anyone Can Accuse Anyone of Anything!

The Bible teaches that the above point is true. Job said to his accusers in the long ago, “I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you and shake mine head at you” (16:4). Likewise the Pharisees’ accusation against our Lord shows that anyone is able to dredge up any kind of charge against another (Matt. 12:24).

Today our media has dredged up countless “witnesses” of questionable character and quoted them to the hurt of some public figure. A headline I have before me now reads, “_________accuses ____________ of dishonesty.” I have deleted the names as they are unimportant. Experience with our news media tells us that we could place almost anyone’s name into the blanks, so rampant is the practice of trumping up charges against others. The danger is that, in such an environment as we presently live, brethren might adopt such tactics. In fact, they have.

Let us note some false accusations that have been leveled among brethren. When brethren opposed church contributions to orphans’ homes and “sponsoring churches” in the 1950s and 60s they were accused of being “orphan haters” and “anti-missionary.” More recently, when faithful brethren have taught against fellowshipping those in adulterous marriages or those who teach false doctrine on marriage, divorce, and remarriage, some have accused them of not believing in local church autonomy. (What about when we teach against what Baptists believe about inherited sin? Are we infringing on the autonomy of Baptist Churches?) In the last few years, when some brethren’s teaching on fellowshipping error or influence towards that end was called into question, they accused those who differed with them of having an “inferior motive,” of being “extremists who have their own cause to promote,” and other similarly reckless charges and have therewith stifled Bible study. (Let us all take note that the Bible teaches that only God and the person in question know what motivates that person [1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Cor. 2:11].) Accusations have been based on what part of the country a person is from. Some on the West Coast have prejudicially used the label “southern preacher,” and the term “West Coast preacher” has at times been too broadly used in light of the faithful men doing the Lord’s work in that area of the country. If a brother writes an article that uses Bible teaching to expose sinful practices or erroneous teachings of a brother or brethren in other places, whether in a paper or in the bulletin of the church where he preaches, he is accused of “trying to control the brotherhood” or “trying to make a name for himself.”

A major cause of problems among brethren today is unproven accusations and brethren feeling free to make them. Brethren are doing the work of the devil! What happens when brethren so conduct themselves?

The Effects of Unproven Accusations

1. Such accusations hurt people. Even a child is up-set when accused of something of which he is not guilty. Job’s friends hurt him with their words (Job 16:1-2). Job felt the inward pain that comes to one who is falsely accused as have many brethren today who have faced such accusations.

2. Such accusations hurt people’s reputations. It is evident that Paul’s reputation suffered in the eyes of some of his brethren in the church at Corinth because of false accusations made by his enemies there (2 Cor. 10:2, 10). They apparently even turned Paul’s refusal of support from the church there into an accusation (cf. 2 Cor. 11:7-9; 12:13). This reminds me of a story from modern day America where a public figure was accused of a crime or impropriety and “tried” in the media. He was eventually found not guilty and, upon pronouncement of the verdict, asked the judge, “Now where do I go to get my reputation back?” When we consider what it takes to build a reputation, it is sad to note how a person can be hurt by the false charges of irresponsible people.

3. Such accusations can result in physical harm. Our Lord’s treatment at the hands of the Jewish authorities shows the truthfulness of the above point. He was accused again and again (Matt. 12:24; 26:59-61; Luke 23:3, 10) and though he was found innocent (Luke 23:14), they killed him anyhow! The false charges against Jews of being untermensch (subhuman) and plotting against non-Jewish people made by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s resulted in the mass killing of millions of them in the 1940s. In our day, who will deny that the rash of black church building fires in our country is not at least partially fueled by the racist accusations made by hateful people? While all hope that accusations made by brethren today would not lead to the bodily harm of those accused, we must admit the possibility in light of the above facts.

4. Such accusations can poison the atmosphere among brethren. We need only look at Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians to see that this point is valid. Because of the charges made against Paul by his enemies at Corinth, he was not able to continue with his work of building up the church there. Rather, a large part of his second letter to the Corinthians was taken up with explanations of his conduct and answers to enemies (cf. 1:12-2:4; 4:2; 7:2; 12:19; chs. 10-12). Brethren can come to believe the worst about their brethren simply by hearing and believing false accusations. Brethren can be motivated by the desire to accuse others (Mark 3:2; John 8:6). False accusations can lead to the severing of relationships among brethren.

Conclusion

Such results as we have listed above ought to cause all to think soberly before blasting off with some wild charge against a brother or believing an accusation made by an-other. Call the brother in question or write him, seek to build bridges, not to destroy them. Remember, anyone can make false accusations about anyone else. God’s people should seek what is true and not be led by idle charges. They should treat others as they would like to be treated (Matt. 7:12) and judge others by their fruits, and not by accusations they have heard (Matt. 7:20; Gal. 2:14). The devil is “the accuser of our brethren.” It is bad enough that he is involved in such activity. God’s people should want no part of the devil’s work.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 6 p. 20-21
March 20, 1997

 

By Larry Ray Hafley

Under the headline, “Assisted suicide is all about care for the dying,” the following argument for the clinical dispensing of death was made:

“A merciful gentle death when continued life is intolerable is a kindness we routinely extend to pets, point out those who argue for making assisted suicide legal. Do not human beings deserve the same compassion?” (Joan Beck, Houston Chronicle, January 12, 1997, p. 3C).

First, the cases are not parallel. Some men do reach out and ask others to kill them. However, when my parents had to put the dearest dog in the world to death, old “Sam” was not requesting their aid. “Sam” was not seeking to kill him-self. Further, when whales “beach” themselves and apparently seek their own demise, do scientists rush out to “assist” their “suicide” attempt? No, rather, they do every-thing in their power to keep the unfortunate beasts alive. According to the Kevorkian mentality, the scientists ought to run to the beaches and help the whales untie the knot that binds their spirit to the string of life. But do they do that? No. Therefore, the cases are not parallel.

Second, “we routinely” spay and neuter animals to control their reproduction. Do immoral women who “routinely” bear children and increase government welfare rolls “deserve the same compassion”? If not, do the fathers? Farm animals are “routinely” castrated, but even when sex of-fenders ask to be castrated they are not shown “the same compassion.” Liberal engineers of social justice go “hog wild” when someone suggests that an animalistic, sexual predator should be castrated (“natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed”  2 Pet. 2:12). Since “we routinely” castrate certain animals, should these also not be castrated? If not, then down goes the argument which equates putting a horse with a broken leg to “sleep” with the issue of “assisted suicide.”

Third, “we routinely” declaw cats and other animals which destroy property with their claws. Since some human beings use certain of their body’s parts to maim and murder, should “we routinely” show them “the same compassion” and cut off their offending members?

Fourth, “we routinely” make animals our slaves. We feed and shelter them and compel them to serve us. If the fact that “we routinely” put animals out of their misery justifies assisted suicide, does the use we have made of donkeys, oxen, and horses justify human slavery?

Conclusion

When men do not recognize their special creation in the image of God, and when they equate themselves with the beasts of the fields and forests, we may expect them to act and analyze accordingly. Some scientists believe that the more common threads we find between ourselves and the animal world, the better we will understand one another. Such “findings” have been used to justify everything from homosexuality to man’s “natural tendency” to seek multiple sex partners. “We” contracted it from “them.” In other words, “monkey see, monkey do,” is that it? Yes, to them that is it. Sadly, for them, however, that is not all. Judgment awaits (Jude 15)!

Guardian of Truth XLI: 5 p. 22
March 6, 1997