Truth Magazine

By Don Willis

While sitting in two different air-ports as I returned from a gospel meeting, I purchased a local newspaper. Reading the religioun page of The Indianapolis Star (April 27, 1996, C-8), a shocking realization overcame me at what had entered the open door of digression!

“Light of the World church sets celebration of prayer Tuesday. Heaven on Earth Conference 1996.” The article identifies this as the Eighth Annual Heaven on Earth Conference. “Highlights of the conference, sponsored by Light of the World Christian Church (Disciples of Christ, my emphasis, DW) include some well known recording artists,” and the “. . . Indianapolis area churches participating in the choir performance are: Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, Oasis of Hope Baptist Church, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Mount Paran Baptist Church, and Christ Missionary Baptist Church. Daily worship services will be led by evangelists Bishop Charles Edward Blake, pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles; Bishop Paul S. Morton, senior pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Baptist Church in New Orleans, and Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor of Temple of Faith Ministries in Charleston, W.Virginia. On May 2, the Rev. T Garrott Benjamin Jr., senior pastor at Light of the World, will be consecrated as a bishop. . . . Although Benjamin’s de-nomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is not run by appointed or elected bishops, congregations can choose to honor their pastors with the title. Because of the election, Benjamin also becomes bishop of the Christian Evangelical Covenant Fellowship, a national ecumenical group of congregations and ministries Benjamin founded this year.”

There are numerous manifest departures from the word of God with fellowship of denominational error. Some seem to think the only difference between truth and the Christian church is the mechanical instrument. One is confident the Christian Church could join in fellowship with us, as they do with the Church of God in Christ de-nomination, and the Baptist Church denomination.

That is not the real issue! Can we have fellowship with their efforts? Are we to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3)?Are we to give an answer for the reason of the hope that we have (1 Pet. 3:15)? Are we to speak as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11)? Are we to think of men above that which is written (1 Cor. 4:6)? Are we to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2)? If we must stand with the word of God, we must stand against departure there from!

Later that afternoon, I was stuck in the Houston Intercontinental Airport. (I was too cheap to purchase another paper, but there just happened to be an opened paper left on the seat next to mine, and the top sheet was the religioun page.) The Houston Chronicle (April 27, 1996, 3-E), had an article entitled: “She’s 95, still serving as church elder.” Emma Parker, of Abilene, Texas, is a member of the Abilene First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). “. . . Her pastor, Rev. Jim Zug (reports) `the greatest gift that one can give to another is the gift of oneself. Emma does that on a daily basis, and brings honor and dignity to the position of elder. Women elders? And is she the husband of one wife?

Open the door to additional and/or other doctrines than the Bible, and one will reap the whirlwind. Such is an at-tack on the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ and his revealed will! Once the door is opened, a block is placed; and every form of spiritual digression is permitted to enter.

Preachers are to stand opposed to error. Jesus opposed the Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul stood against the religions in Athens, Elymas the sorcerer in Pathos, Demetrius and the silversmiths in Ephesus, and even a brother in Christ (Peter) when he was to be blamed. One cannot afford to have fellowship with error; for when this happens, we cease to have fellowship with God (2 John 9-11).

Elders are charged in Titus 1:9, “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers (my emphasis, DW).”

All Christians must “expound the word of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26; 8:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:2).

Brethren, we may think that error will not enter, once the door is opened. In just 150 years of error, look at what has happened within the Disciples of Christ. I started preaching in 1950, and just look at the changes that have already taken place in the church. Who could have imagined that some preachers from Christ’s church would apostatize so far as to teach evolution, deny inspiration, support centralization, follow the denominational craze toward serving the social needs of mankind, rather than the spiritual needs as Christ ordained?

Where are we going? Where will we end? Jesus Christ is head over all things to the church! Let each abide under his authority!

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 15, p. 1
August 1, 1996

By Norman Midgette

The answer to this question is simple, yet most religious people miss some part of it. Some say you are saved without doing anything. Others say it is all up to God’s predestination. If you are predestined to be saved, so be it. If you are predestined to be lost, too bad. Still others miss the truth with only a partial answer because all they say you must do is just believe it. Here is what the Bible says.

Believe It

Just as Jesus said, “Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24), he just as clearly taught we must respond to the gospel with the same faith. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). The gospel is identified in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 as the life, death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of Christ following his crucifixion. We must believe the truth of all these aspects of the life of Christ to be a believer of the gospel.

Obey It

Whether you want to believe there is anything to obey or not, here is what the Bible says. When Jesus returns he will return with his angels and flaming fire, “… rendering vengeance on them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:8). The only thing any of us can obey is a command. Therefore, there have to be commands in the gospel and there are. Look at one example. On the day of Pentecost, when the first gospel sermon was preached and the church was established, Peter gave a command to those who heard him. The people said, “What shall we do?” Peter replied, “Re-pent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The same is true today to all who would be saved by the gospel. The gospel will not save you unless you obey it.

Live It

Remember this passage? “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27). What is the purpose of believing and obeying the gospel if you are not going to live by it? A way of life is presented in the gospel you will find no place else. You cannot rely on your feelings to know how to please God. Neither can you rely on the opinions of great men, past or present. The only way we can know how to live with God is to accept his word. Every day, live it. Everywhere, live it. All your life, live it. Just as you cannot be saved without believing and obeying the gospel, neither can we be saved without living it.

The gospel has power. The gospel gives life. What a wonderful blessing it is to have it handed to us by the grace of God and the love of concerned friends. Pass it on.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 14, p. 15
July 18, 1996

By W.L. Blanton

1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 have been pointed out to the membership and myself recently to mean that women cannot speak once they enter into the church building, nor can they teach children or other women, nor answer any questions when taught by a man, but to be in silence.

Such teaching is not new, but this teaching does under-mine the strength of the church. The writing of apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 points out that the public preaching in the church was done by the men, and not by the women; however, this does not mean the women have no place in the Lord’s work. These verses do not suggest a silent and non-teaching role for women. She is to teach other women and children (Titus 2:3-5; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15). She has labored with men in the spread of the gospel (Phil. 4:3). Women have been involved in privately teaching men (Acts 18:26). So women can teach but without taking the lead over the man (1 Tim. 2:12). God has deemed that the man should take the lead in the public worship while the woman is to be in silence and support, uphold, and lead in the teaching of her own sex and children. She (the woman) can also ask and answer questions while being taught by a man (John 4:7-30). If the woman is to truly be in silence, then she cannot sing (Eph. 5:19). To teach that women cannot speak once entering the building is plain nonsense.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 15, p. 4
August 1, 1996

By Tom M. Roberts

In ancient Oriental kingdoms, messengers who brought a monarch bad news often suffered the penalty of death. Woe to the messenger who had to tell the king that his army had suffered defeat at the hands of the enemy, that a beloved family member had died, that affairs of state were in turmoil. Absolute monarchs answered to no one for their actions and messengers could, and sometimes were, dispatched on the spot for being the bearer of bad tidings. Of course, killing the messenger did not change the message, but it gave the king an outlet for his fury.

Such events are not unknown in biblical accounts. Upon hearing that Saul and Jonathan were dead, David slew the messenger who brought the news. Of course, the extenuating circumstance on this occasion was that the messenger was an Amelakite who lied, claiming to have slain Saul at Saul’s request. It infuriated David that a pagan had dared to deal so with King Saul, saying, “How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” (2 Sam. 1:14). The messenger paid with his life.

King Herod likewise cut off the head of John the Baptizer since John had boldly opposed the sinful marriage of Herod to Herodias, Philip’s wife. John stated: “It is not lawful for thee to have her” (Matt. 14:4). Though Herodias and her daughter were implicated in the plot to kill John, the ultimate power was Herod’s and he slew the messenger of God who condemned his sin. Again, killing John did not change the truth that he declared, but he was effectively silenced because of the message he delivered; the messenger paid with his life.

We Don’t Kill Messengers Today

Of course, we live in “kinder and gentler” days and messengers are not slain today when they deliver bad news. But messengers are not immune to ill treatment when a communication carries unfavorable tidings. There are more subtle, albeit effective, ways to vent one’s displeasure. These “civilized” methods of dispatching unwelcome messengers are even found among members of the church who do not like the truth of God. Gospel preachers have some-times been on the receiving end of this “kinder and gentler” method of dealing with the messenger: fire the preacher, cut off his support, throw him out of the preacher’s house, haul him over the coals in a business meeting. Paul was no stranger to ill-treatment by brethren, raising the question, “Have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16). He stated that he had been in “perils often,” even among “false brethren” (2 Cor. 11:26). Paul under-stood the danger of being the bearer of bad news.

Institutional History Continues the Pattern

The wrath of the guilty against the messenger who ex-poses his guilt is still a viable force to be reckoned with in our time. No, those who preach the truth aren’t beheaded, thrust through with spears or stoned to death in the public square. But let us not be so naive as to believe that the anger of the evil-doer cannot find its outlet against the messenger in the twentieth (or twenty-first) century. During the institutional controversy of the 50s, the “yellow flag of quarantine” was an effective tool against many of God’s messengers. Meetings were canceled, whisper campaigns were conducted, reputations were ruined by name-calling (some charged as “orphan haters,” “church splitters,” and such). Many who did not study the issues were influenced against truth by those who assassinated characters as readily as Herodias demanded the head of John. All of this was done “in the spirit of Jesus” of course!

Messages and Messengers Today

That Face Opposition

Every generation faces its own issues, its own controversies, its own forces of iniquity. In one generation it is called Gnosticism, in another institutionalism, in another unity-in-diversity. However the titles are changed, the battle remains the same. The battle is truth versus error, law versus iniquity, right versus wrong. The actors on the stage change with each succeeding generation, but the plot remains the same. And one constant that is still with us is, “Kill the messenger.” Diotrephes threw some out of the church that received John’s letters (3 John 9-10). John was exiled (Rev. 1:9). We don’t have the custom of beheading people in our times and no one has been stoned to death like Stephen in centuries (Acts 7:58). But don’t think mod-em iniquity hasn’t developed effective means of dealing with those who preach the truth when it is “out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).

The overwhelming iniquity of our age is that of compromise, of unity-in-diversity, by which the unforgivable sin is to have conviction and stand opposed to error. It is a little recognized fact that unity-in-diversity, earlier taught by Carl Ketcherside and Leroy Garrett, and considered so radical at the time, has come of age and is quite acceptable among “sound” brethren today. Some brethren mistakenly believed that Carl Ketcherside was isolated, ridiculed, and put to flight before he died. Nothing could be further from the truth! The New Hermeneutic Movement today is Carl’s unity-in-diversity gone up-town. A doctrine that was once scorned by many as illiterate has become the darling of the sophisticates as they use their Master’s and Doctorates from “brotherhood colleges” to encourage fellowship with denominations.

But compromise is not restricted to the ultra-liberals. New ammunition has been found “among us” by those who are turning a misuse of Romans 14 into a breeding ground for-unity-in diversity. Used at the first to embrace those who would accept the “alien who would come to God” in unlawful marriages, Romans 14 is quickly being expanded to allow sinful beliefs and doctrines of every sort. Compromise with sin is the order of the day and woe to the messenger who has the conviction to speak out. Kill the messenger? Of course not. But please don’t think that just as effective methods are not available to silence those who would “preach the word.”

It is possible for the voice of gospel preachers to be stilled just as effectively (and politely) as in the days of the institutional apostasy. The “good of boy” system is still effective by which whispers and innuendoes ruin the reputation of faithful preachers. Brethren are quarantined today by inclusive, unpublished lists which, at the same time, exclude unwanted preachers. Those who raise the voice of opposition are ignored as they appeal to brethren for Bible studies. Careful and studious articles are condemned as “rash,” “shoot from the hip,” “knee-jerk” attacks by the very ones who refuse to meet and study issues. It is considered bad taste at the best and sinful at the worst to call names and identify those who advocate compromise. Tape recorders are outlawed from study sessions where compromise is taught lest some “troubler of Israel” get an insight to the material presented. Some are obliquely labeled as factional because their stand for truth is too open, too plain, too uncompromising.

The tongue can be as effective as a sword in such controversies. Faithful messengers of the word have had their characters assailed as “brotherhood watchdogs,” “meddlers in other men’s matters,” and “guardians of truth” so many times that even the innocent and naive are led to believe the lie. Such barbed comments are smilingly pronounced against brethren while they decry the mean spirit of the “name callers” and “busybodies.” Even while those who teach error are militant in their spread of compromise, they berate those who oppose them as “too militant.” Those who travel across continents to teach error attack those who write in papers such as this one as desiring to direct.

Kill the messenger in the church today? Oh, we are much too polite for that. But this approach is just as deadly, lethal to a fault, and has the advantage of shedding no blood. And, sad to say, it is effective. Those who are guilty can stand in shocked dismay and claim innocence while they continue to spread error and refuse to study. They are the ones with the sweet spirit, who rise above controversy, who refuse to sully their hands in debate. Meanwhile error continues its destructive march and compromise eats away at the heart of conviction.

The Message Is Not Changed by

Killing the Messenger

Stephen told those who were to stone him to death: “Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do al-ways resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it” (Acts 7:51-53). These words will face his murderers at the judgment.

Herod must still hear the haunting echo of John saying, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

The splash of the water could not wash away the guilt of Pilate even as he consented to the death of Jesus. Pilate is gone but the gospel remains.

And so will it be in our generation. If by character assassination, ignoring the truth, condemning as factional, or in some other way, the message of faithful men is silenced, it doesn’t change the truth of the gospel. Unity-in-diversity is still compromise no matter if every voice of opposition is stilled. It remains comforting to know, even as Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt 24:35). You may kill the messenger, but you can’t stop the message.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 20, p. 21-23
October 17, 1996