Truth Magazine

By Randy Blackaby

One of the darkest spots in the moral blackness that seems to be enveloping our nation is the pervasive dishonesty that leaves us distrustful and doubtful about almost everything and everyone.

Dishonesty, from the slight bending of truth to the bold lie, is the norm in American society today. Gone is the hand-shake agreement. Gone is a man’s word as his bond.

It comes in many forms and is called by many names. It may be infidelity, faithlessness, falsehood, deceit, trickery, duplicity, cheating, stealing, swindling, fraud, forgery, per-jury, treason, or just plain lying. It’s all the same thing and it’s all grossly immoral.

But there is little in our society to support honesty and integrity today. Situational morality is commonly taught in most of our schools and there are few examples of genuinely honest people to imitate anymore.

Much of today’s advertising is nothing short of professionally created deceit. And what is more dishonest than the men and women who throw their marriage vows out the window and commit adultery. They are liars as well as fornicators.

Our politicians have a reputation for near inability to even come close to telling the truth. Our last president boldly said, “Read my lips. No new taxes.” He then approved a major new tax increase.

Our current president had earned the nickname “Slick Willie” before he was ever elected to the highest office in the land. He promised middle class tax cuts and a variety of other changes that he immediately backpedaled on when put in office.

It would be a mistake not to mention the charlatans in religion who wave their Bibles and call for others to repent when they are themselves are philandering. Hypocrisy is yet another form of untruthfulness.

What Is the Result of All this Dishonesty?

First and foremost is the loss of trust. Whether you are buying a product, choosing a candidate, considering marriage or just wanting to find a good friend, you suffer from this nagging lack of confidence, a fear that you are going to be ripped off, lied to, cheated on, or betrayed. It is a source of considerable unhappiness.

Trust is the bond or glue that holds relationships together. When it is destroyed those relationships and the institutions built upon them are jeopardized.

Honesty is a basic building block of civilized society. But it must be taught, reinforced, prized, and honored.

Too many today throw away one of the greatest possible pleasures of life  a reputation for honesty and integrity. Many business people fail because they destroy their greatest asset  trustworthiness. Truthfulness has great value. The ancient Solomon wrote, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it” (Prov. 23:23).

Some religionists have attempted through sophistry, euphemism, and a situational ethic to water down the moral demand for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Some speak of “little white lies” in contrast with “blacker” ones. But the Bible makes no such distinctions.

Some, like the Roman procurator who sentenced Jesus to death, can’t seem to tell the difference between truth and lies. Pilate said, “What is truth?”

But in Revelation 21:8 the Scripture teaches that “all liars” will spend eternity in “the lake which burns with fire and brim-stone,” along with the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, and idolaters.

That puts liars in pretty bad company and affirms our premise that dishonesty doesn’t pay, here or hereafter.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 19, p. 5
October 3, 1996

By Dr. Norris Belcher

(Editor’s Note: The following article appeared in a paper circulated among the Baptists. The article demonstrates that other religious groups are facing some of the same problems that we are  namely, some do not want error rebuked from the pulpit.)

How many times has this happened to you? You get a letter  usually not signed  which is a scathing denunciation for the sermon preached last Sunday. You read how offensive your remarks were and how upset this per-son became over your insensitive comments.

What on earth did you say that was so offensive? Did you use suggestive slang? Or were you overly graphic in a description of some horrible event? Or did you lose your temper and say things you should not have said? What on earth could you have said that up-set the listener?

All you did was expose compromise or reveal heresy or deny false doctrine, and for that you were condemned and probably lost a family from your church!

In this world of political correctness and tiptoeing around, we are seeing more and more of this kind of thing taking place.

“Oh, I can’t believe what he said about the pope!”

“I just don’t think you ought to criticize other religions.”

Most fundamental, Bible-believing, gospel-preaching, Hellfire-and-brimstone preachers have heard this kind of comment about their “insensitivity” and “intolerance.”

In defense of all the narrow-minded bigots who unceasingly anger their congregations, let me reason with you for a moment. How many ways are there to heaven? How many “truths” are there in the world? The Bible teaches that there is only one way to Heaven. The same Bible teaches there is only one Truth.

In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus did not say he was a way, as if to say one among many, but he is the one and only way to Heaven. He is not a truth among many truths; He is the one and only Truth.

With that truth from the word of God, then when a Roman Catholic teaches that a man is saved by keeping the seven sacraments and that the church is his source of redemption, I, a man of God, have a responsibility to denounce that and preach the Truth.

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:11,”And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” The Greek word for “reprove” means “to expose.” When folks come to my church and are convinced about some false teaching, I am acting in a biblical manner if I preach the truth to them. And it grieves me when a member of my church gets upset at me for doing what the Bible says I am to do. “But who are we to judge?” they piously say. When you reprove, the word of God is doing the judging. The truth is exposing error.

Ultimately, this issue boils down to one simple question: What is your final authority? The Word of God is the final authority for faith and practice. In other words everything I believe and everything I preach has to have a scriptural foundation.

Now, with all that is going on in the religious world today, I must have something upon which to gauge whether a matter is right or wrong. I have found that the best way to see if a stick is crooked is to lay a straight stick beside it. And as I lay the straight stick of the word of God down beside one of these things that go on and which impact the understanding of my people, I have a responsibility to cry out and let them know that the other stick is crooked.

Granted, this will make some angry, but it is also going to stop some of the wrong ideas and false doctrines floating around. One of the areas where churches are misguided is the charismatic movement. Again, what is the final authority? Is it the Word of God? Or is it some revelation that Sister so-and-so claims to have received? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:8, “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” When is this going to happen? Again the Bible says it will be when that which is perfect is come (1 Cor. 13:10).God has given us only three perfect gifts. Three is the number of completion in the Bible. The three perfect gifts God has given are: first, his son, Jesus Christ; second the Holy Spirit; third, the word of God. Now when this epistle was written, the word of God was not yet complete. Much of the New Testament was yet to be written. The other two gifts had al-ready been given. The first-century church “knew in part and prophesied in part” (v. 9) because the word was not yet completely given. It was there-fore necessary for God to give them these sign gifts, like tongues, prophecy and words of knowledge. But at the end of the first century, with the penning of the book of the Revelation, the word of God was complete.

Everything we need to know about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, faith, the future, Heaven, Hell, angels, demons, life and death, is revealed in the word of God. God no longer speaks the way he did in the first century be-fore the word was finished.

So when people say God gave them a revelation and told them something, or when they say they got a “word of knowledge” that someone in the room was being healed of some disease, I lay the straight stick down beside that, and it doesn’t take long to see that the stick they are using is crooked.

Again, what is the final authority? Is it what is perceived as right by society? In other words, what is political correctness? Is it what Aunt Susie says she saw? Is it what Dr. Know-More-Than-God received in a vision? Or is the final authority the complete, holy, inspired word of God?

As a man of God who has some people who may be persuaded by this false doctrine and accept it, I have a responsibility to declare the truth and expose error. In the book of Acts, we read that the Apostle Paul, Barnabas, Silas, James, and several others were jailed, beaten, stoned, scourged, and hated. Do you know why? Because they believed that there is only one way to go to heaven. So that is the gospel they preached. No compromise, no backing down, no apologies; they preached the one truth and let the chips fly where they would! And that gospel was totally contrary to the accepted teaching of the day.

Judaism prevailed, and that was a “works” religion. The disciples made people mad because they would not bend. They preached the gospel and exposed the false doctrine.

Are we to bend simply because, our society accepts any attempt to get to Heaven? Are we not to reprove false doctrine because our nation thinks everything religious in nature is “just wonderful”? Do we drop our convictions and compromise the word of God for the sake of political correctness? I certainly hope not. I hope you take a strong stand against error and for the cause of the one true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think we ought to spend every service blasting false doctrine. But if we are to preach the whole counsel of God, we will invariably have to reprove some false doctrine.

So what is to be done when one gets a poison letter filled with anger and hurt. First, it will not help to get angry and say something in retaliation. Second, love and pray for the writer or writers. Even if they leave the church, pray for them and love them still. It has been my experience that most will eventually come back. When they get hungry, they will come back where the food is being served. Third, keep a good balance and keep teaching and preaching the one true message of God’s word.

Rest assured that if you preach the word you will be offensive to some. We never want to hurt nor offend any-one. But in this age of confusion and chaos, the truth of God’s word is going to offend. However, don’t let that stop you from preaching the word of God. Preach it in the right spirit and with clarity, with power and with a burden. God will bless it. Don’t forget that Jesus “came unto his own, and his own received him not.” But thank God, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” Not all will receive you and your message, but more will than won’t, and they will love you for teaching them the truth.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 19, p. 16-17
October 3, 1996

By Lewis Willis

Our young people at Brown Street are among the best you can find anywhere! They especially demonstrated that last week as they participated in the Summer Bible Study. They attended and learned the truth that was taught. I certainly appreciate them, and I know the congregation does also. The future is brighter because of the devotion and dedication of these young people. Because we love and respect them so much, I thought it might be timely to consider some specific instructions for young people found in the writings of Solomon. He identified some particular areas of concern, to which he called the attention of the young. Will our youth consider these matters?

Follow the instruction given by your parents. Solomon wrote these words: “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Prov. 1:8); “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (6:20); “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke” (13:1). Parents are charged by God to bring up their children in the instruction and correction outlined by the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Godly parents seek to do just that, but it is of no avail if young people ignore or reject that instruction. Wise children pay attention to that teaching, and protect them-selves from foolish mistakes.

Carefully choose your companions. Solomon gives this direction concerning the way of the wicked: “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path” (1:15). He also cautions: “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (1:10). The greatest danger that be-sets the young and innocent is that of evil companionship. The Apostle Paul said these companionships corrupt good morals (1 Cor. 15:33). The only safe course is the development of the power to say “No” to those who ask you to walk with them in their wickedness. Understand, however, that some will think you “strange” and speak evil of you (1 Pet. 4:4).

Keep yourself morally pure. Solomon speaks of “the lips of a strange woman” (5:3), in talking about sexual impurity. The same could be said for the lips of “strange men.” He said the words tempting you to fornicate with such people sound sweet and good, but the end is bitterness, regret and death. He instructed that you wait for marriage to satisfy your sexual urges, and that you keep the marriage vows sacred (5:3-20). Young people, no right thinking person wants a marriage partner who has been handled by all corners.

Don’t be lazy. Solomon said, “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (10:5). To sleep when it is time for the harvest will leave you empty, and dependent upon others. God has always required his people to work (Eph. 4:28). And, those who are too lazy to work, “neither should he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).

Stay out of foolishness. Solomon said, “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him” (17:25). He then added, “A foolish son is the calamity of his father …” (19:13). How many young people have been ruined by participation in foolishness. By “foolishness” I mean that which God regards as foolish, wasteful, and wicked. We are talking about involvement in the ways and things of the world. Such things as drinking, drugs, smok ing, dirty movies, pornography, dancing, immodest dress like mini skirts and shorts, etc., are acts of foolishness. Solomon said such will grieve your father, be bitterness to your mother and cause your life to be a calamity. It is not necessary to prove this. There are too many examples of the fatal fruits of foolishness in too many lives. Must you make their mistakes?

Protect your heart. Solomon said, “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way” (23:19). In another place he said that a person becomes what he thinks in his heart (23:7). Jesus spoke on this wise, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man …” (Matt. 15:18-20). In our computerized world we use the expression “garbage in, garbage out.” That’s what Solomon and the Lord are saying. You dwell on that which is wicked and corrupt, and you will begin to act in that way. You are wise, therefore, if you guard your heart.

Fear God. Solomon said, “My son, fear thou the Lord” (24:21). He later wrote, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13). We must not only respect God, we must fear falling into his hands of wrath. It is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the Lord (Heb. 10:31) because God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). Our duty is to fill our hearts with reverence for and terror of, God, so much so that we will keep his commandments. Remember, we will answer before God for our actions good or bad. Solomon said, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccl. 12:14).

Obey God. In the passages cited in the previous point, instruction is given to obey the commandments of the Lord. This is the course of wisdom. Solomon said, “Who so keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father” (28:7). Jesus taught men to do the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21). He asked why men would call him Lord, and not do the things he said (Luke 6:46). The Hebrew writer tells us that Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to those who will obey him (Heb. 5:8-9). It is wise to do like the Bible says.

Finally, the advantage of being young is stated: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Eccl. 12:1). The Creator is God. Young people are exhorted to remember God in the days of their youth. Why? Because one of these days you will be old, and you will die. You do not want age and death to come without a proper relationship with the Lord. Meanwhile, the things God requires of you, as outlined in this brief article, will assure your happiness both in youth and in age.

Solomon gave this promise to the young: “Hear, 0 my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many” (4:10). Paul said when we do right it will “be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Eph. 6:4). Young people, be wise and obey God!

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 19, p. 13-14
October 3, 1996

By Donnie V. Rader

When General Motors came out with the new aerodynamic style Chevy Caprice (1990) I said that I would never have one of those “ugly” things. When cellular phones started getting popular, I thought it was dumb to carry your phone with you. Not more than two years ago I sat in a restaurant and noticed a man answering his phone while he ate. My comment to Joan was, “That’s crazy!” I used to think golf was silly. In fact, when “pressed” into going last year, I reminded those I was with that President Teddy Roosevelt said this was a game for those who are “sissy.”

Just the other day I stood on the golf course talking on my cellular phone. When I finished the ninth hole, I loaded my clubs in the back of my ’92 Caprice and drove home. My point? People change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. We need to be reminded that people do change.

The Ability To Change

The fact that people can change is a wonderful thing  a reason to be thankful. Contrary to the concept that says, “That’s just my nature  I can’t help it,” we do have a choice.

Any passage that points to the free moral agency of man says that man has the ability to change (Ezek. 18; Rom. 6). Since man can change, he doesn’t have to continue as he is. He has a choice. So, we must conclude that people are like they are because that’s the way they want to be.

Those who are ungodly, weak, or unfaithful are so, not because they can’t help it, but because they choose to be. Those who are godly, strong, and faithful are so because they changed.

Change is the idea of repentance. It involves a change of mind. Jesus spoke of a son who had said he wouldn’t do what his father said, but later he repented and went (Matt. 21:28-29). The people repented at the preaching of Jonah (Matt. 12:41). The book of Jonah describes that as turning from evil (Jonah 3:10).

What a blessing! I can change my life.

Sinners Can Change

People who are in sin can change, even the worst of sinners. The apostle Paul is a classic example. He was zealous enemy of the cause of Christ. He persecuted Christians (Acts 8:1-4; 9:1-3). He described himself as the “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Later we see him as an apostle preaching and teaching the very things he fought. He changed (Acts 9:22, 26; 1 Tim. 1; Phil. 1).

Some of the very ones who had stood at Pilot’s Praetorium and cried, “Crucify him, Crucify him” repented and were baptized by the authority of the very one they put to death (Acts 2:21-41). Those who comprised the church at Corinth made giant changes. They were fornicators, prostitutes, adulterers, and even homosexuals. But, they changed (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Today, we look at the homosexual, the drunkard, the drug addict, and the thief with great disdain. We think it of little benefit to even invite them to church, much less say any-thing to them about obedience to the gospel. After all, they wouldn’t be interested. Besides, we wonder if we really want to associate with those people anyway. But, God, through his word, can change these people (Rom. 1:16).

We may shake our heads in frustration at those who are weak or unfaithful thinking that their “service” isn’t worth a plug nickel. Then, we remember cases of those who changed and serve God better than they ever have. Thank God for change!

The apostle Peter was already a disciple of the Lord when he denied he knew the Lord. Later, he acted the part of a hypocrite at Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14). However, later he is found urging God’s people to be diligent and strong (1 Pet. 1:15; 3:15; 2 Pet. 1:5-10). He changed!

The Righteous Can Change

It is likewise true that those who are righteous can change. Just because someone is faithful and diligent in his service to God doesn’t mean that he will always be.

There is the ever present danger that one can drift away and depart. The Hebrew writer warned, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Heb. 2:1).

Our hearts are saddened  even sickened  when we learn of one who was once faithful and dedicated to the Lord but who doesn’t even attend worship anymore. What’s sad is that specific cases could be compounded.

It is equally disappointing when we see those we have had confidence in getting weaker and tolerating things they would have once abhorred.

The point to be learned is that we must take heed lest it happen to us. Paul said, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). That means it could happen to any one of us!

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 19, p. 6-7
October 3, 1996