Truth Magazine

By Connie W. Adams

Correction

In the August 1, 1996 Guardian of Truth, I had an article entitled “To My Brethren in the Philippines.” In that article I referred to some speeches made by Jerry F. Bassett in the Philippines, as indicated in his report concerning his work there.

In these speeches, he made use of an article I wrote years ago entitled “Let My Conscience Be Your Guide.” A letter from brother Bassett indicates he feels that I have misrepresented him on the following matters:

(1) He denies that he preached his convictions on the subject of marriage, divorce, and remarriage but rather reacted to speeches others had made that were critical of his position. He says that the speeches he made were designed to focus on how brethren could work together while disagreed over these and other matters.

(2) He states also that he has never applied Romans 14 to the issue of how brethren can maintain fellowship while disagreeing on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. He states that he believes Romans 14 deals with matters that are indifferent with God.

The purpose of my article was to distance myself from the position which brother Bassett holds on the marriage question which position is well known from his book and from two public debates on the subject. It was not my intention to misrepresent him in any respect.

Some Training Needed

It is evident that some brethren, preachers included, need to learn how to dismiss a congregation in prayer at the end of a service. Usually the congregation has been standing during an invitation, closing remarks, and a final song. Or it may be that there was some public response to the invitation and the service was happily lengthened for that reason. That is not the time to hold the congregation with a marathon prayer that repeats everything from former prayers in the meeting. It is no time for an oration. Webster defines the word “dismiss”: “1. to permit or cause to leave.” It does not mean to hold on or delay. Good judgment ought to have some part in this. It is often hard on older people to stand that long. It is also difficult for parents struggling with small children. There is something to be said for prayer which serves the needs of the occasion. Giving thanks for the bread or the fruit of the vine should be just that. Dismissal ought to be dismissal. Don’t brethren have training classes anymore?

Refreshing

In a recent meeting at the El Bethel congregation near Shelbyville, Tennessee where Donnie V. Rader preaches, there were two young men who told me matter-of-factly that they intend to be gospel preachers. I was told there were others there who have made the same determination. It used to be commonplace to find one or two young men in nearly every congregation who had set their sights on preaching. That has become a very rare thing. How refreshing to hear bright, young men confidently state that they have that as their goal. “Preach the word … in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).

That Rock from Mars

A small rock which has been judged by some to be a part of a meteor from Mars created a great deal of excitement in the scientific community and in the press. It is suggested that the rock contained possible traces of sub-stances that are necessary to the origin of life. One newspaper editor in Texas said this discovery had “rocked” the religious world with its belief in a divine creation. Well now, let’s suppose that rock did fall from Mars. And let’s suppose there is evidence from it that life exists on Mars, or at least did so at one time. If we grant all of that, I have a question. Where did that life come from? Did it evolve or was it created? That puts us right back where we have been for a long time. Was it “in the beginning God” or “in the beginning Nothing”?

Paul had something to say about this sort of thing: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22).

To Our Critics

If any of the writers for this paper are teaching error, please be kind enough to point that out for our good and for the good of all. Calling us a bunch of rascals will notget the job done. I cannot speak for any other writer but myself, but I can tell you that as long as God lets me live and maintain the strength necessary for the task, I intend to teach what I confidently believe to be the truth and to oppose what I confidently believe to be error regardless of who teaches it, or how unpopular such opposition might be. I have never thought of conducting a poll, or “feeling the pulse of the brethren” before doing so. If we falsely charge the motives of some brother, then please point that out. But please don’t make such a charge when it is not so. There have been numerous emotional speeches, and some articles decrying the evil treatment administered to an “aged warrior.” Some of those who parrot that don’t know any better. They have acted with confidence in those who told them so. But there are some men still repeating this lie who know better. It is one thing to challenge what a brother is teaching in a public forum whether he is young or old, and quite another to question his integrity. Those of you who are still spreading this falsehood, please take note of the fact that I and others who write for this pa-per (and a number of others who do not write for this paper) have challenged the teaching of a well respected and venerable brother on the subject of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, but we have not ever questioned his integrity. It would lessen tensions considerably if that simple distinction would be made and if those who have made such charges would have the kindness to apologize for it. While they are at it, they could also consider ceasing to indict the character and integrity of those of us who write for this publication. Then there are those who know all about it but say they have not read the paper for years. Amazing!

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 24, p. 3-4
December 19, 1996

By Mike Willis

The changing of the calendar year reminds us how swiftly we are turning “life’s daily pages.” With this issue of Guardian of Truth, we complete 40 years of publication. Our next issue will be a special issue relating to those 40 years of service. It is an issue you will not want to miss. Not only is this the end of 40 years of service, this completes twenty years that I have edited Guardian of Truth. This milestone is an occasion for personal reflection.

I Have Been Blessed to Work With Some of the

World’s Best People

My life has been enriched during the years that I have been associated with the Guardian of Truth Foundation to be associated with some of the best people in the world. I have been privileged to work personally with men whose commitment to God’s revelation has driven them to accomplish great things in the kingdom of God.

In my earliest years, I was blessed to listen to Cecil Willis, Roy E. Cogdill, Luther Blackmon, James W. Adams, and several others relate their personal observations about the division over institutionalism. My perceptions of how liberalism works was shaped, not only by their lucid writings, but also their personal observations of how men act when they begin to move away from God’s word.

My association with the Board of Directors of the Guardian of Truth Foundation has been pleasant. These men are honorable men who are committed to doing what is right. One incident that demonstrates the depth of their commitment to righteousness goes back over twenty years. We were in a board meeting at which a business man, who was also one of our board members, wanted to donate the C E I Bookstore to the Guardian of Truth Foundation. The bookstore was probably valued in excess of $100,000 at that time. That was a sizable gift for a struggling foundation to receive. At the time, the grace-unity conflict was waging. I shall never forget the discussion that occurred in that meeting. Brethren commented that, if we accepted that gift, some would think our motive in opposing the false doctrine on grace-unity was to gain control of the bookstore. We came to the conclusion that our motives would not be misjudged if we did not accept the gift. Despite this, the motives of the editor, writers, and board still were misjudged. The bookstore was given to Florida College and several years later we purchased the bookstore. This transaction demonstrates that the Board is composed of men of honor.

There have been a number of occasions when brethren with whom we did business disagreed with us about business decisions. In every one of those occasions, the Board has consistently taken the position that we would rather bend to do what was unquestionably right rather than take a brother to court or mistreat him. The board members of this foundation are honorable men and I have been blessed to serve with them.

The same can be said about the staff writers of this magazine. Although I have had a lot less personal association with them than I have had with the Board, my association with the various writers of this journal has richly blessed my life. None of these men is perfect (or claims to be), but they are men who have the humility to confess their sins and seek the Lord’s forgiveness when they stumble into sin. They are men who have the conviction to stand for what they believe. None of them is a “yes” man. For this reason, there have been occasions when one staff writer wrote in response to what another staff writer affirmed. Frankly, I respect the integrity of such men, be-cause this is a safeguard to everyone’s fallibility. Each of them is a good student of God’s word. They are used by hundreds of churches across this country in gospel meetings, in addition to doing respectable local works. Our readers are privileged to sit at their feet and learn and I am blessed to be associated with them.

I Have Been Blessed With My Wife’s Support

Only those who know my family most intimately perceive how painful to my wife Sandy were the conflicts through which we have come. I have a pretty thick skin and am generally able to let criticism roll off without getting very upset. Those times have been much harder for her than they have been for me. Despite the pain that my work has brought to her, she still has encouraged me to continue preaching and doing the work that I do in editing Guardian of Truth.

Having witnessed how many gospel preachers’ works have been undermined (whether intentionally or unintentionally) by their wife, my appreciation for her has grown through the years. She has contributed so much to my work as a gospel preacher that I don’t know how to measure it. You can understand why I consider myself richly blessed to have her as my companion.

I Have Been Blessed to Do The Work I Most Enjoy

In the years that I have been preaching, I have met a number of men who have dutifully gone to jobs they do not enjoy in order to provide a living for their families. I have learned that a man who can make a living doing a job that he enjoys is privileged. Such a man looks forward to the beginning of every day because of his own excitement about the work he is doing.

I have enjoyed the work that I do so much that there have been times when Sandy was jealous of my work, telling me that I was “married” to my work. I have relished the leisure to study God’s word and the opportunities to preach and write about what I have learned. I have been blessed to work with some very good Christians in local churches. None of my experiences in the local church has been “bad” although each of them has had problems through which we had to work.

Just Want to Say “Thank You”

The purpose of this editorial is to say “thank you” to every person who has made my work so enjoyable. I am a most richly blessed person to preach the Lord’s glorious gospel and be supported while I do that. Paul expressed his attitude, which I also have, when he wrote, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). The opportunity to preach is a “grace given.”

To every one of our readers who has supported our work by reading what we publish, I owe a debt of gratitude. Thank you for your support, words of encouragement, and for using the materials that we have labored so hard to produce (they are labors of love). So, for the last 20 years, I just want to say “thank you.”

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 24, p. 2
December 19, 1996

By Larry Ray Hafley

Did you see that the Pope has informally embraced the theory of evolution? Said John Tagliabue in the New York Times, “Nearly a century and a half after Darwin’s Origin of Species, Pope John Paul II has put the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church firmly behind the view that the human body may not have been the immediate creation of God, but is the product of a gradual process of evolution. With a formal statement sent to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences . . . the pope said that `fresh knowledge leads to recognition of the theory of evolution as more than just a hypothesis’ (Houston Chronicle, October 25, 1996, Al).

The Pope should be an expert on evolution. After all, his very office is the product of a process of evolution. By exchanging the sacred for the secular, by replacing divine truth with human traditions, by adopting idolatrous pagan myths and superstitions and attempting to weave them into the fabric of faith, the whole Catholic structure has evolved.

All of my life, I have heard the old statement, “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.” Now, according to the Pope, I may not be his uncle, but I may be his nephew! That just may be an improvement. It does not take too much to flatter some of us.

If the poor, old Pope can see an inch past his nose, he must see what is coming. If the Genesis record is not a real revelation of creation, what about the virgin birth? Surely, a God who could cause a baby to be born of a virgin could create a man from dirt and a woman from his rib. However, if that is not what happened, as the pope now seems to suggest, how are we to be assured that Jesus’ birth is an actual, factual account?

If Genesis is junked and jettisoned, is the virgin birth the next thing to be aborted? If not, how shall the Pope reassure us? Genesis is written as history, or as an account of events that literally transpired. So is the virgin birth. If the creation of Genesis is a fabrication, is the birth of Jesus a prevarication? When these questions arise, as surely they will, to what will the pope appeal? Or will he smile, doff his beanie, and declare the virgin birth null and void?

If a man could evolve from the apes, why could not a super-human type man like Jesus evolve from man? If man is a product of evolution, is Jesus? I find it hard to believe that the genius that is man came from blind chance and the beasts of the field, but I am told that it is so. Well, if it is, will I next be told that I must believe, as improbable as it seems, that Jesus did not actually come from God and a virgin’s womb, but that he is the finished product of a monkey’s mutation? Either way, the Pope’s tacit acceptance of evolutionary thinking tells me that he has been smelling too much of his incense canisters lately. They ought to be careful how they wave those smoky things around when he is near.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 24, p. 1
December 19, 1996

By Richard Boone

The Search For The Ancient Order (Vol. 1-2), Earl West, $27.95 for both.

The phrase “the search for the ancient order” means different things to different people. An avid restoration historian may recognize it as the title of several articles written in the 1820s by Alexander Campbell in The Christian Baptist. A graduate of one of “our” Bible colleges may remember it as the title of a textbook used in a restoration history course. Sadly, it may mean nothing to a younger generation of Christians (especially preachers) mesmerized by the modern lifestyle, unconvinced of the need to study and learn from history.

Brother Marc Gibson has invited me to review the first two volumes of Earl West’s The Search For The Ancient Order and it is my distinct pleasure to do so. His four-volume set is a history of the Restoration Movement in America from 1800-1950. The first two volumes survey the period from 1800-1906.1 will not focus on the names, dates, places, etc. in West’s material. I will only make general remarks on each volume. Having done that, I will proceed to some general observations and close with two thought-provoking quotations.

Volume I (1800-1865)

Brother West takes us from the earliest stages of the Restoration Movement in America to the close of the Civil War in this first volume. Of particular interest and appreciation to me was the work and struggles of those early pioneers. In my opinion, they are the real heroes. They started from scratch and worked their way out of the darkness of denominationalism. They laid the groundwork for generations to come. (Don’t forget  they didn’t have computers, CD-roms, Internet, etc. to help them!) They weren’t always right in their conclusions or consistent in their application of biblical principles, but they were looking in the right direction  the word of God.

That is what the Restoration Movement is all about. It is about going back to the revelation of God’s mind and doing his work in his way. It is about being content to”speak as the oracles of God,” and upon learning what God says, settling there in conviction and practice. West does a masterful job in portraying their mindsets, struggles, and sacrifices. Those who have not had similar struggles can-not fully appreciate what they accomplished.

We cannot forget, though, that men are not always consistent. Sometimes they even change. Of course, consistency and change are good if they are conforming to God’s word, but if they are not the results are disastrous. West documents how Alexander Campbell advocated the missionary society which represented a definite change in his earlier views on para-church organizations. Interestingly, Campbell never saw or admitted that he changed.

The basis of justification for practices changed from “What do the Scriptures say?” to “It is expedient, therefore it is scriptural.” Young preachers should pay special attention to how the missionary society was justified. When Ephraim has his idols whatever it takes to justify them is acceptable, even if it is wrong (cf. Hos. 4:17).

Between 1855-1865, noticeable differences in views to-ward scriptural authority and the church became clearly visible. While open division did not exist, it was present in mindsets. Brother West points out a few trends which re-veal a slow departure from the Scriptures. What amazed me the most, I suppose, was to learn how much man has not changed, regardless of the era in which he lives. The same trends away from the truth that were evident then are the same ones evident now.

Volume II (1865-1906)

Due to the period of time involved, West’s second volume is much more detailed in his discussion of people, events, periodicals, etc., which were important. By this time, the missionary society and instrumental music (especially the latter) were vigorously discussed. More and more evidence pointed to the reality of division. In 1865 few thought division was possible, much less probable. By 1885 division existed. By 1906 Christian churches (those favoring the missionary society and instrumental music) and churches of Christ (those opposed to these practices) were officially listed separately for the first time in the census of churches.

Again, we should take special note of brother West’s discussion of the trends of the day. He lists several points  attitudes toward the Scriptures, consistent application of scriptural principles, the differences between the universal church and the local church (key to the missionary society question and the institutional question of the 1950s), the singular nature of the New Testament church, progressive preaching, etc. Each of these was a sign that times were changing in the Restoration Movement. While the historical material is informative and interesting, West’s discussions of the trends away from biblical moorings is, in my opinion, the most challenging material in this second volume.

General Observations

What can we learn from this overview of the Restoration Movement from 1800-1906? While I could specify several individual points, I will present a few general conclusions.

The Restoration Motto is right. “Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent” was spoken by Thomas Campbell in Western Pennsylvania in 1809 and became the motto of the Restoration. That motto is right, not because Thomas Campbell or any other pioneer stated it, but because it is true to the Bible (1 Pet. 4:11; 1 Cor. 4:6; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2 John 9-11; etc.).

We need to appreciate the struggles of faithful Christians who preceded us. They sacrificed much to be just Christians, and deserve honor and commendation where they were right, not our disdain (Rom.13:7). They paved the way for much of the biblical understanding we now have and too often take for granted.4:3-4; etc.). Knowing they will come, we must focus special attention to recognize and stop them when they occur. It is much easier to heal a small wound than a cankered body.

Departures from the truth will come, and we must be vigilant to recognize them. In the first century, departures were predicted (Acts 20:29ff; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; etc.). Knowing they will come, we must focus special attention to recognize and stop them when they occur. It is much easier to heal a small wound than a cankered body.

We should study our history to emulate successes and avoid repeating mistakes. People are not always right or consistent. History allows us to foresee where we may be headed by studying where we’ve been. We can follow the right things of brethren in the past and avoid repeating their mistakes.

Closing Quotations

I now close with two quotes from West’s material. The importance of each is self-evident.

In 1830 Alexander Campbell wrote, “Often I have said, and often I have written, that truth, truth eternal and divine, is now, and long has been with me the pearl of great price. To her I will, with the blessing of God, sacrifice everything. But on no altar will I offer her a victim. If I have lost sight of her, God who searcheth the hearts knows I have not done it intentionally. With my whole heart I have sought the truth, and I know that I have found it.” In 1843 he added, “Numbers with me count nothing. Let God be true and every man a liar. Let me stand, though the heavens fall. When contending with thirty millions of Lutherans, I feel myself contending with but one man. In opposing seventy millions of Greek and Eastern professors, I am in conflict with but one leader. When one hundred millions of Baptists assail me, I feel myself in a struggle with but one mind. In all the Methodists I see but John Wesley; in all the Calvinists, John Calvin; and in all the Episcopalians, one Cranmer. Names, numbers, circumstances weigh nothing in the scales of justice, truth and holiness” (I:54).

In closing his second volume, West observes, “But there has never been a time when the church did not have problems. After the present generation is dead, there will still be others. But, whatever their nature, these are principles that will guide the church on safe ground if the church but re-members them. In light of this we can think of no words to serve as a more fitting close for this volume than those spoken by F.G. Allen a few years before his death. `While we remain true to the principles on which we started out, there is no earthly power that can impede our progress. But the day we leave these walls and go out to take counsel with the world, will mark the day of our decline. We have nothing to fear from without. Our only danger lies in the direction of indifference and compromise. While we are true to God in the maintenance of these principles, the divine blessing will be upon our work. But should they ever be surrendered, ruin will as certainly follow as that the Bible is true”‘(II:462-463). Amen, and amen!

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 23, p. 8-9
December 5, 1996