Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

From the time that my mother taught the book of Acts to the children’s class at church, I have been impressed with the Apostle Paul. I can distinctly remember how close to tears I came when I learned that he was beheaded by Nero. Most of us have been impressed by the life and work of this godly man.

However, Paul’s life was not without his critics. Had we lived in Paul’s time, some of us might not have appreciated him so much as we appreciate him today. Wherever he preached, trouble and confusion followed close behind. Paul was right in the middle of the conflict that occurred in the church over whether or not Gentiles should be compelled to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved (Acts 15; Gal. 2). When the church at Corinth had trouble, Paul was right in the middle of it, writing letters and making visits to correct the problems there (1-2 Corinthians). A riot broke out in Ephesus because he was converting so many people to Christ that the local merchants thought their business of making images to Diana would be destroyed (Acts 19). Indeed, Paul was a controversial per-son in his day. We may honor his name today, but some among us would not welcome such a man into the pulpit of our local church.

Criticisms Against Paul

Paul established the church in Corinth and worked with it for eighteen months (Acts 18:11). When trouble came to the church while he was preaching in Ephesus, he wrote 1 Corinthians to address the problems there. Sometime during his stay in Ephesus, he made a trip to Corinth to help solve their problems (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1). After this second trip, men began working in Corinth to destroy Paul’s reputation. Second Corinthians records much of this conflict. Here are some of the criticisms that were made about Paul’s work:

1. He is fickle. This charge is implied in the statement in 2 Corinthians 1:17  “When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me here should be yea yea, and nay nay?” Because Paul changed his plans about when he would come to Corinth, those who were trying to undermine his work charged him with fickleness, attributing motives for changing his plans that were untrue. He changed his plans to “spare them” (2 Cor. 1:23) and to avoid a second visit that would be painful and full of sorrow (2 Cor. 2:1-4).

2. His bodily presence is weak. Many of us admire men with a personal charisma that draws others to them. But this was not Paul’s character. His “Charges Against Paul” continued from page 2 bodily presence was weak. His critics said he was “base” and “weak” when present (2 Cor. 10:1; 13:1).

3. He writes terrifying letters. In contrast to his bodily presence, Paul’s letters were “bold” (2 Cor. 10:1). They charged that he “terrified” them with his letters, “for his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible” (2 Cor. 10:10).

4. He is not a good speaker. Some found Paul’s pulpit preaching lacking. They said that “his speech is contemptible” (2 Cor. 10:10) and that “he is rude in speech” (2 Cor. 13:6). Apparently, Paul’s opponents were not impressed by his pulpit delivery and used that to undermine his work at Corinth.

5. He doesn’t accept support. One of the things that Paul was criticized for at Corinth was his refusal to accept sup-port from the church at Corinth. Paul was not against preachers being supported from the church treasury, for he had argued for this right in 1 Corinthians 9:1-15. While he labored in Corinth, he supported himself by tent making (see Acts 18:3) and received financial support from other churches on sporadic occasions (2 Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:15-16). Instead of appreciating Paul’s sacrificing so that the gospel might be preached among them, the Corinthians condemned Paul for not taking support from them. The exact nature of this criticism is not known. Some think that it came because itinerant philosophers were usually supported by their disciples. Others think that Paul’s refusal of support from Corinth was interpreted as an indication that Paul thought himself lesser than the Jerusalem apostles. However, it was interpreted, there can be no doubt that he was criticized for not taking their support (2 Cot 11:7-9; 12:13-15; etc.).

6 He used others to take money from the Corinthians. When his opponents could not criticize Paul for taking money, they charged that the funds raised by Titus for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem was really Paul’s craftiness in deceitfully taking the Corinthians’ money for himself (2 Cot 13:16).

7. Paul is beside himself. Some appear to have made the charge that Paul was so caught up in what he was doing that he was a “zealot” who had lost all balance  that he is “beside” himself (2 Cor. 5:13).

He was dishonored, had evil reports spoken about him, and was charged with being a deceiver (2 Cor. 6:13). Some charged that he had wronged, corrupted, and defrauded brethren (2 Cor. 7:2). They charged that he “walked ac-cording to the flesh” (2 Cor. 10:2).

Paul’s Self Defense

Paul found repugnant his having to defend himself. He said, “I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you” (2 Cor. 12:11). In his self-defense, he repeatedly described his relating his conduct as “speaking like a fool” (2 Cor. 11:16-17, 21, 23; 12:6, 11). He was embarrassed that he had to write about what he had done to demonstrate to the Corinthians that he was an apostle of the Lord Jesus and had conducted himself honorably. The Corinthians had known Paul long enough that he did not need an epistle from or to them (2 Cor. 3:1-2). Why should he have to defend himself to them? Nevertheless, he was compelled to do so because his opponents were undermining his work.

Why Were These Men Attacking Paul?

What was at stake in Corinth that Paul felt the need to address the charges against him? There was much more involved than false charges being made against an innocent man. The false charges were motivated by a rejection of the Lord’s gospel and the preaching of another gospel. Paul’s opponents at Corinth were Judaizers (see 2 Cor. 11:22). The doctrine that was at stake was that discussed in the Jerusalem conference (Acts 15; Gal. 2) and in the books of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. That issue was this: “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). The reason that these false apostles in Corinth attacked and undermined Paul’s reputation was because they rejected the gospel that he preached! Because they did not believe that a person could be saved by faith in Christ Jesus without keeping the Law of Moses, they at-tacked the man who was preaching salvation by faith in Christ. Paul charged that they preached “another Jesus,” received “another spirit,” and preached “another gospel” (2 Cor. 11:4). They were “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:20). Whatever charges these false teachers had to make to undermine his influence they were willing to make be-cause they hated the gospel message that he preached. The issue was not the moral character of Paul but which gospel would prevail!

The ministers of Jesus Christ are the objects of slanderous, personal attacks from time to time. This has been true since the days of the apostles and continues to be true to-day. Those associated with Guardian of Truth have been maliciously attacked just the same as Paul. We have been charged with showing respect of persons by covering up known sins of those associated with us, lying, keeping files on brethren for malicious purposes, writing a creed, acting like buzzards, and many other slanderous words. Those who speak such slander assure us of their unfeigned love. But, what lies behind these charges? Is it a genuine concern for the souls of men who have stumbled into sin, who are leading others to commit the same kinds of sins, and are defending those sins as righteous deeds? Not at all. Rather, the charges are being made by malicious men because they reject the gospel which is being preached. There are men who want fellowship broadened to include men who preach a different gospel. Specifically the issue is focusing at this moment in time on receiving those who are teaching a contrary doctrine on divorce and remarriage. Some who teach the truth on divorce and remarriage wish to extend the right hands of fellowship to those who teach error on the subject. The reason that they make personal attacks is because they reject the gospel that is being preached  the gospel that says that those who preach false doctrines on divorce and remarriage should not be fellowshipped (Matt. 19:9; 2 John 9-11). To undermine the gospel, they attack the messenger, just like the Judaizers attacked Paul.

What Should We Do?

We should do exactly what Paul did. Paul was resolved to continue preaching what he believed whether or not the false teachers in Corinth ever respected him. He was deter-mined that “every word should be established at the mouth of two or three witnesses” (2 Cor. 13:1). Those who were guilty of sin would not be spared (2 Cor. 13:2). Unless the Corinthians repented of their sins and changed their ways, there was going to be a great confrontation when Paul arrived.

Paul did not say, “We should allow local church autonomy to prevail. If there are churches who believe that one should be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses to be saved, let them preach that message. They probably will not be able to fellowship some whom the rest of us could fellowship. Other local churches will preach salvation by grace through faith and receive into their fellowship Gentiles who have not been circumcised and do not keep the Law of Moses. We will just have to respect local church autonomy and agree to disagree.” That ploy to extend fellowship to those who were teaching another gospel did not work in Paul’s day, so why should we allow it to work in our own time?

Conclusion

Do not be distracted by malicious slanderers who try to divert men’s attention from the gospel by attacking the messengers. Cling to the gospel message and those who faithfully preach and live it!

Guardian of Truth XLI: 3 p. 2
February 6, 1997

By John Humphries

Thanks to our Heavenly Father and your prayerful sup-port we have completed our gospel work in India for this fall. John Steward Tyler and I left on October 2 for India and returned to Louisville, Kentucky on November 15. This recent trip completed 20 years for me in doing gospel work there. I first began going to India in 1976. God willing and with your prayerful support, I will try for another 20 years!

The efforts went well in my judgment. The gospel was preached to many precious souls and Bible classes were con-ducted for many saints in different places. We had a Bible study with nearly 60 Indian preachers in Shanthi Nagar (near Hyderabad). I gave a general survey of the Bible and John S. gave a study of the miracles of Jesus. The preachers said that the studies were very helpful to them and that they will present the material to the people in the various villages where they labor in the gospel. This is what we wanted to accomplish.

After the work with the preachers in Shantlai Nagar, another smaller class for preachers was conducted in the Guntur District which is southeast of Hyderabad. Also, we separately preached in gospel meetings with various congregations. One of the largest meetings was with the

Bharath Nagar church where T. Wilfred preaches. We had overflow crowds each night. Brethren had to place benches outside the meeting house with outside lighting to accommodate the crowd. I hated to stop the meeting but our stay in India was drawing to a close. In all of the meetings we baptized 83 precious souls into Christ. The Indian preachers have told me that they were also baptizing converts during the time while John S. and I were in gospel meetings in other places; and so the total number of baptisms was about 120.

Brother William (Bill) Beasley also was in India during this time and was faithfully teaching and baptizing souls into the Lord. We met together a few times and talked over the phone a time or two. He was covering a different part of the State of Andhra Pradesh. He was also teaching preachers and holding gospel meetings in various places. We are confident that much good was done.

In the twenty years that I have been going to India, the church has dramatically grown from a mere handful of brethren to several thousand brethren all over the state. There are now far too many places for me or any other person to cover in the six weeks that we generally stay in South India. When several of us go, we usually split up into different teams. John S. and I did this on this trip. We teamed with faithful Indian gospel preachers.

We are presently (in India) printing 10,000 Telugu language Bibles. This is a tremendous task as you can well imagine and is still going on diligently as I write this report. Also, the Indian brethren are printing up many tracts in the South Indian languages. Brother Bill Beasley has written several excel-lent tracts and some of these are being printed at this time. I also have several that I have written and these are being printed in India. These tracts will do much good as the people love to read anything that they can get their hands on. It is a real blessing to be able to get material into their hands that will teach them the truth and save their souls. The only limit to the number of tracts that we print is in the funds that we have avail-able. We could use some help if any is interested and able to respond.

The most distressful occurrence during this stay in India was the horrible cyclone (hurricane) that hit Andhra Pradesh. Winds were in excess of 100 miles per hour and the rain was exceedingly heavy. It was the worst storm in a decade. Thousands lost their lives and many more lost everything that they had  which wasn’t much to begin with by our standards in the West! Many brethren were affected by the storm’s fury. Homes were destroyed. Crops were either washed away or blown away. Farm land was ruined for years to come. Lives were lost and families were disrupted. The government is reacting  slowly  to the disaster. However, Christians are not at the top of the list by any means! Hindu officials and bureaucrats look after their

Some of us have already responded to their needs. Brother T. Wilfred (faithful Indian preacher) is acting as a messenger for some of the brethren to see that the help is received by the needy brethren in coastal Andhra Pradesh. John S. was caught in some of the heavy rain as he and some of the Indian brethren fled the storm. Also, Bill Beasley was conducting Bible classes in the area. The storm blew the roof off of the place where they were having the studies. Fortunately, the brethren were not inside at the time.

I certainly regret having to report these tragedies in India. However, I feel that you brethren would want to know of these things. Remember these dear brethren in your prayers, please. They are hurting.

On the other hand, there are many positive stories that I could tell concerning my experiences in India. While there are many stories concerning individuals (Indians)who have made great sacrifices in order to be Christians, there are success stories as well of brethren who excelled at their work and received much deserved recognition. You must understand that it is a very rare occurrence in India when a Christian (non-Hindu) is highly honored by the government. I am referring to brother Vinaya Kumar, Head Master for a high school in Andhra Pradesh, who received the National Teacher of the Year award in India. This is a very prestigious honor as there are millions of teachers in India! He went to New Delhi (capital of India) and received the honors. Needless to say, this brother is an outstanding gospel preacher as well! I have known him since 1976. He and I have worked together in many gospel meetings. He is a skillful translator. He has also translated a number of our tracts into Telugu for printing.

May I mention, too, that there are several gospel preachers in India that could really use some help as far as monthly support is concerned. I can assure you that $35 a month would be a great blessing to them and would relieve them of the pressure of trying to make ends meet while they preach among the poor daily wage people in the villages. If anyone is interested, please get in touch with me.

If anyone has any questions concerning the gospel work in India, please contact me. I will do my best to answer your inquiries. Thank you for your interest and support of the India effort. God willing, I will be returning to India next fall. If you can help, please let me hear from you so that I can know how to plan my trip budget. Please put us in your budget for 1997. Thank you for any consideration.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 2 p. 10-11
January 16, 1997

By Norman E. Sewell

I love to read, but I’m not an avid newspaper reader. I learned a long time ago not to believe everything I see in the paper or on TV. But I have noticed lately a lot of fairly young people are mentioned in the obituary column. Some, of course, are quite young, in their 20s or 30s, but there seems to be a very large number in their 40s and 50s, and that’s getting too close to home. Perhaps it is just that too many people in my own age group are dying and it re-minds me of my own mortality. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5, he writes of a time when we will put off our earthly bodies and put on one suited for eternity. It becomes clear that he is not writing about death so much as he is writing about what lies beyond death. Note some of Paul’s description: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up of life” (vv. 2-4).

Death is the end of life and activity here on the earth. Solomon wrote about this: “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Eccl. 9:5-6, NKJV). The simplest way to under-stand these verses is just to recognize that death ends our existence and our activities on this earth, under the sun. Death is just a part of the process determined for us all by God  the journey through this world as we travel on toward our eternal destination.

At the end of chapter 4, once again in 2 Corinthians, he described some of the persecution that he and the other apostles endured. Paul wrote: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18). From this we are to understand that the eternal things are more important than the temporary things.

And it is clear that there is more to man than just a body. This body that we wear is mortal and thus corruptible. And at some time we will all put off this body and put on one suited for eternity. Jesus warned his disciples about the cruel things that men would do and then told them: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). There is something far worse than dying, and that is to be destroyed spiritually, to lose your own soul or yourself (Luke 9:25).

As we read a moment ago Paul had said, “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). All of us would have to admit that our outward man is growing older, definitely on its way to perishing. Can we all say that our inward man is being renewed day by day? Are we really getting better and better spiritually? The process of maturing as Christians never ends. We never get so “good” that we no longer need to be “renewed.” Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24). Even though we have put off the old man it seems as though he keeps fighting to get back into prominence in our lives. Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians and warned them: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal. 5:17). Paul says to put away that old man and to be renewed in our minds; to make ourselves more like God. Which one is winning the battle in your life? Is it the old man of sin, the man devoted to the flesh? Or is the inward man? What are you doing to strengthen the inner man and to be renewed day by day?

Paul prayed for the Colossians, “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and in-creasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power? for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (Col. 1:9-1 1). To be renewed, to be strengthened, to walk worthy of the Lord and to bear fruit we need to be “filled with the knowledge of His will.” This only comes through diligent study of God’s word, striving to rightly apply it to our lives. Then with Paul we can look forward to the time beyond death when “mortality may be swallowed up of life.”

Guardian of Truth XLI: 2 p. 19-20
January 16, 1997

By Daniel H. King Sr.

Occasionally we are asked why it is that we do not observe the Sabbath Day. Sometimes the one who inquires is a religious partisan who wishes to make a point. At other times the per-son who asks is someone who merely does not know and would like to have an answer. Regardless of their motivation for asking, it is incumbant upon us to give a valid reason for our faith and practice in this matter, as in all matters (1 Pet. 3:15). Truth has nothing to fear from open investigation.

Several considerations need to be noted by all those who wonder about our refusal to observe the Sabbath to-day. These points are simple, yet unappreciated by individuals who would obligate us to this Jewish practice in the present Christian dispensation of time.

Sabbath Keeping Was A Part Of The Law of Moses, And

Moses’ Law Has Been Done Away In Christ

The Law of Moses, and in particular the Ten Commandments, were “written and engraven on stones.” The new covenant of Christ, on the other hand, was “written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh” (2 Cor. 3:3). Furthermore, what was written on stone (the Ten Commandments), was a killing law, i.e., led to death because of human disobedience, while the new covenant of the Spirit is a life-giving ministration (2 Cor. 3:7). In that same context, Paul says that this old covenant has passed away; it has been replaced by that which possesses a greater and superior glory (2 Cor.3:11). The law of Moses has been abolished: “. . . having abolished in the 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 (Eph. 2:15). Christ, through his cross, “blotted out the bond written in ordinances” of the old law: “.. . 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” (Col. 2:14). Sabbath law, along with the rest of Moses’ law, was taken away by the cross of Jesus.

Sabbath Law Was Only Given To

Hebrews In The First Place

The theological doctrine which to-day binds sabbath-keeping upon Christians totally ignores the fact that the sabbath was instituted for the Jews and never for Gentiles. The sabbath was given to the Hebrews to help them remember their own experience in Egypt: “And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15). It was a unique sign between God and the children of Israel: “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath through-out their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exod. 31:16-17). The sabbath was never for Gentiles, nor was it ever practiced by the church!

Sabbath Law Was Revealed At

Sinai, Not At Creation

It is often alleged that the Sabbath was given at the creation for all men of all times to observe. This is not true. The Sabbath was not revealed until the Law was given by Moses to Israel at Sinai. The book of Nehemiah acknowledges this in the ninth chap-ter: “Thou tamest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gayest them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses thy servant” (Neh. 9:13-14). Moses, who revealed the Sabbath to the people at Sinai, explained its having been “hallowed” by God in his narrative about creation in Genesis 2:1-3. He does not say in Genesis that it was hallowed then, only that God rested then, and hallowed it later at Sinai. If it had been hallowed and commanded at the creation, why did none of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.) ever observe it?

Sabbath Observance Was

Forbidden To Gentile Christians

In Paul’s Galatian epistle he hammered home the fact that the law of Moses was not to be seen as binding upon the church. He warned Christians not to be entangled again in a yoke of borldage (Gal. 5:1), but to continue in the freedom from the law of Moses which Jesus had wrought upon the cross. Since circumcision was the main issue in Galatians, other facts are often ignored, such as his condemnation of observance of the Jewish holy days: “Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain” (Gal. 4:10-11). The sabbath was one of those Jewish holy days to which he makes reference here! Paul feared that, just as these Gentiles had once been servants of idolatrous gods (v. 8), they would now serve the false apostles who had invaded their number, make themselves subservient to the entire law (cf. 5:3), and ultimately sever themselves from Christ and his grace (cf. 5:4).

Christians Are Not To Be Judged By Jewish Laws

So says Paul in his letter to the Colossians. The New Testament requirements are the basis of our judgment, not those things found in the Old Testament. The Old Testament legislation was requisite for Hebrews living under that covenant; we are not to be judged by these “shadows”: “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: whichare a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s” (Col. 2:16-17).

Christians Are To Worship

On The First Day Of The Week: Sunday

This was the day of our Lord’s resurrection (John 20:1). It was the day upon which early Christians assembled to worship and commemorate the Lord’s death and resurrection (Acts 20:7). On this same day they gave of their means (1 Cor. 16:1-2), since it was the important day of Christian assembly. In the Old Testament the sabbath was a day of holy convocation and assembly (Lev. 23:3). In the New Testament Christians are never seen observing this day or meeting in such convocations, save to teach and convert Jews in their own meetings. Christians worshipped on the first day of the week, the day we call Sunday, since sabbath celebration ended for them with the Lord’s death on the cross.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 2 p. 12-13
January 16, 1997