Truth Magazine

By Richie Thetford

David was referred to as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) yet he committed sin. Many today don’t even give God the chance to work in their life because they claim to “not be good enough.” In reality, nobody is “good enough” for God but God loves man, his created work, and wants all to do his will. David was not perfect and we are not perfect. Yet, why was David referred to as “a man after God’s own heart?” I believe that if we can understand why David could sin, yet still be pleasing to God, then it will help each one of us to better be able to overcome our trespasses knowing that we have hope as David did.

David, Bathsheba, and Uriah

In 2 Samuel 11 we can read about the story of how David sinned in the eyes of the Lord. While the army of Israel was away fighting, David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of his house. It was here that he saw a beautiful woman bathing. He then inquired about this woman and was informed that she was the wife of Uriah. Knowing that she was married to another man, he still sent for her and committed adultery. She then became pregnant and in order to hide his sin he had Uriah, a very loyal servant, set up to be killed in battle. Now he was also an accessory to murder! After Uriah was killed, David took Bathsheba to be his wife. David had committed the sin of adultery with his loyal servant’s wife, Bathsheba. It says in verse 27 “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” David may have thought that he hid his sin from man, but he certainly did not hide it from the Lord! We are sometimes just as foolish as David was, thinking that we can hide our sins. God knows all and sees all!

Nathan’s Parable

Nathan was sent to David (2 Sam. 12) and told David a parable. Nathan said: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him” (2 Sam. 12:1-4). When David heard this, his “anger was greatly aroused against the man.” Then David said to Nathan “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity” (2 Sam. 12:5-6). 

Let’s hold this thought for just a moment. David had just committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, had him killed, and then Nathan comes and tells this parable to David and he is ready and willing to put to death that man that took the poor man’s lamb! Have we learned anything here? The preacher gets up and preaches a sermon about the importance of being faithful in our attendance. He quotes from the book of God “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb. 10:25). The man or woman in the audience is shaking their head in agreement as if to say “that’s right preacher, we should never forsake the assembly and those who do certainly will not go to heaven.” Then that night they are not in the assembly. On Wednesday night, they are not in the assembly. What happened? These people are no different than David. Nathan’s parable was directed directly at David, yet he thought he was talking about someone else. The preacher’s sermon was directed directly at the man or woman that is forsaking the assembly, yet they thought he was talking about someone else.

Thou Art The Man!

Nathan stuns David into reality by saying, “Thou art the man!” Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon” (2 Sam. 12:9). David was shocked into reality but what did he do? Did he quit? Did he say, “I just knew I could not be perfect,” and just give up? NO! David showed why he was a man after God’s own heart as we too can be. He said: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). From that moment on he dedicated his life fully to the Lord. His sins were “put away” but he paid the consequences for his sins (2 Sam.12:16ff). Let us not assume that when God speaks to us from his Word that he’s talking to someone else. Be honest and ask yourself, “Am I the man?” If the answer is “Yes,” then admit that you have sinned, repent, and serve God diligently thereafter!

8014 County Line Rd., Sellersburg, Indiana  47172 RThetford@juno.com

By Valerio Marchi

“Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you” (Heb. 13:24). After about 2000 years, it is a great joy for us to be able to quote this passage as a living word! In spite of and through all our troubles, difficulties and weaknesses, God gives us the privilege to keep on a plan and a labor that began in New Testament times.

I’m 40 and work as an evangelist with the Church of Christ at Udine (North-East of Italy, very close to the Austrian and Slovenian borders). About 100,000 people live in this town and 200,000 in the surrounding area. My wife’s name is Patrizia; we got married in 1986 and we have a daughter, born in 1995, whose name is Arianna Vera. I’ve been preaching since 1985, spending all these years at Udine; but, of course, also preaching from time to time in other places, both in Italy and abroad, according to the opportunities.

Beginning of the Work at Udine

Speaking of the Lord’s work at Udine in particular, I hope to be able to give also a limited but panoramic view of our country, in spite of the fact that every congregation and place has its own story and characteristic. 

First of all, I must say that after War War II the Gospel was first preached in Italy by some American missionaries, whose sacrifices and zeal we appreciate a lot, but who also used some methods that were not scriptural (for example, institutions as an orphan home, a Bible school, a Biblical Studies Center, a Publishing House Company — all supported by sponsoring churches in the U.S.A.; “gift packages” coming from the States with clothing, food and so forth — you may imagine the sad situation of our country in those very hard times! etc.).

According to historical sources, the work at Udine began several years later, but was a fruit of this kind of attitude anyway. Moreover, we can say that, generally speaking, the second wave of American “missionaries” preaching in Italy was less concerned with scriptural authority than the first one (brother Gianni Berdini, who preaches at Trieste, not far from here, wrote about this in details in an article published by “Guardian of Truth” No. 24, 1986, Institutionalism Within The Lord’s Church In Italy).

In the 1970s, the congregation at Udine, like many others around Italy, had no firm foundation and no spiritual responsibility or sound knowledge of the Gospel. A member of the former congregation here, converted from liberalism, is still a part of this church and can bear witness about that. At the beginning of the 1980s, the church split as a consequence of the good teaching of a “conservative” Italian preacher, Stefano Corazza, who had moved in Udine to preach. (Stefano is currently preaching in the Rome area.) The very small group who decided to break off institutionalism and liberalism opened a new “era” of the Lord’s work at Udine, as had already happened in other Italian cities in the years before. Year by year, several were converted, including myself (February 1984). 

Present Situation of Udine Church

As an average, Udine Church has a Sunday attendance of 40/45 at present (only six in 1982: so, little by little, we are growing also in number, like it happens in other congregations who are trying to practice apostolic doctrine). Besides the Sunday worship, we meet on Thursdays (other Italian congregations meet on Wednesdays) for a Bible class and on other days from time to time. This is our address: Chiesa di Cristo, Via Trento 77, 33100 Udine (Italy; we also have a Church Internet site: http://www.xnet.it/Vangelo. A young brother (35 years old), whose name is Andrea Miola, is very capable in teaching the Bible and does it once a week (in order to or communicate with us, also for further information, you may use, besides mine, brother Andrea’s e-mail: amiola@iol.it).

I can say that there are several sound, young and talented brethren who are growing in knowledge and zeal within the Italian churches and who give us a reason to hope for the future of the Good News in this country.

Methods in Preaching

Of course, I can speak for Udine Church; but I know that, more or less, the means are the same also in other conservative churches.

First of all, of course, personal evangelism, speaking to our relatives, friends, colleagues and so forth.

• Stalls in the center of towns in order to talk face to face to the people and to deliver them our written material.
• Printing of tracts, booklets, church bulletins, magazines.
• Gospel meetings and special services, inviting people by advertisements in local newspapers, invitation cards, pamphlets, posters affixed to the walls of towns and villages.
• Radio broadcastings, both on national and local radio stations.
• Proposal of a Bible correspondence course.
• Delivering of fliers directly on cars parked in town, or in the mail-boxes, or by mail; also telephone calls, asking the people whether they are interested in a deeper talk about the Bible (all these activities are lawful in Italy).

I can’t say that one method is better then another. We get good results as well as a lot of failures (as it is normal, preaching the gospel) through each of them. We know that the most important thing is to preach the truth as much as we can. At due times God will give the results and the increase, because his Word is always powerful (Rom. 1:16). I must say that I see a good zeal for preaching every time I visit a sound congregation.

Resistance We Encounter

First of all, we must consider the fact that (notwithstanding an increasing immigration of foreigner people) about the 95% of Italians are Roman Catholics, whether or not they practice their religion. It is not easy to forget so many centuries of history and tradition, of course (often, it is not easy even for NT Christians!). Moreover, Italian Catholicism goes together with a deep ignorance of the Bible, prejudice, and very often practical atheism.

Even more than this, religion is above all a social matter; most of the people do not want to change their minds just because this could affect in some way their daily life. We are not facing open persecutions, but the “subtle” power of the Catholic Church and common mentality are maybe stronger and more effective! Catholicism is everywhere in Italy: for example, the Catholic hierarchy holds (directly or indirectly) banks (I guess it’s enough to say that two of the main banks here are named “Holy Spirit Bank” and “Bank of Saint Paul”); in public schools, religion is taught, but the only religion that has this privilege is the Roman Catholic (children are “educated” in Catholicism at school since they are three years old!).

Besides these aspects, we also live — maybe in a smaller proportion — in the same situation of “religious” confusion that you may find in other countries: Jehovah Witnesses, Pentecostals, Adventists, Mormons, Muslims, Oriental sects, etc. It is very hard to preach the pure gospel in this situation, as well as it is in other countries and times (Rom. 10:16). Moreover, while after World War II there was not only a physical famine, but also a spiritual one, at present materialism is ruling and people are more and more carnal, superficial, and immoral (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

Facing Liberalism

I guess we are living the same experience as other places: the “liberals” are more numerous then the “conservative” brethren. I know of eleven churches who have taken an open stand against institutionalism and liberalism (but, of course, this is my personal information), and it happens (not very often, but happens) that a liberal Church changes her view and takes a stand against institutions,  social gospel, etc.; I can cite the good examples of the churches of Christ in Siracusa (Sicily Island) and Pisa (where brother Arrigo Corazza preaches) during these last years.

Personally I am always ready to get in touch with all the liberals willing to debate with me, because I know by experience that sooner or later some of them will be able to revise and correct their position. For example, this happened in the past to some Christians in Udine. Of course, it is harder and harder to get good results because, passing the time, the more liberal groups are prone to human thinking and denominationalism. A few years ago the main exponent of the institutional-thinking in Italy wrote in a magazine that, in order to justify institutions sponsored by churches, Christian can believe and follow what some so-called “church fathers” (Catholic writers between 4th-5th century) wrote and did during their lives.

Conclusion

As everywhere, more workers are needed; but I know this really is a world-wide problem (Matt. 9:37). Whoever would like to come and preach here, must be willing to stay for many years, learning the Italian language and having a lot of patience and zeal.

We are able to produce enough and (I believe) good written material (fliers, tracts, magazines, commentaries), both written by Italians and translated from American (Bible studies written by American brethren). 

In general, Italian brethren are committed to the Lord. According to my view, one of the main problems is the fact that congregations, after many years (even 30-40 years), can’t appoint elders and deacons according to the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. In some cases, I think that there is also a problem of personal maturity and responsibility. A very few members work seriously in their life and family for getting to the point of having all the biblical qualifications; probably, the same congregations tend to be used to this situation and don’t do all they can in order to reach the biblical target. I don’t want to judge anyone, but the situation I’m describing is a fact, starting from the church at Udine.

As I’ve already pointed, after two decades from the end of World War II (years in which many people were “hungry” for spiritual food and ready to look for the truth), the situation changed: confusion, ecumenism, materialism, indifference, and other hindrances are giving a very good “support” to the “State religion” and Satan (Rev. 13).

Of course, Christians coming from other countries are always welcome here in order to encourage one another, teaching, and learning from each other many good things according to the gospel and the reciprocal experience in the Kingdom.

Closing this article, I want to thank all the American brethren who have supported — spiritually and economically — the Lord’s work in Italy. Their constant interest in the Kingdom in this country is highly appreciated (Phil. 4:18) and I hope that we will be able to do the same for brethren in other countries sooner or later.

By Evan Casey

As I looked back over the past 15 months my family and I have lived in Hungary and worked with the Christians here, it occurred to me that a lot has happened in just over a year. This is a very exciting time for the work in Hungary, with positive steps being taken and, Lord willing, more to come. I am over here with my wife, the former Lydia Humphries, and our two-year-old daughter, Rachel Olivia. Since my monthly reports furnish a pretty good overview of progress made and challenges faced, I thought I would begin each section of this article with an excerpt from a report, as a way of introducing the topic.

This is my first report from Hungary. We have already been here nearly one month and, as promised, I will keep everyone updated about our progress here. There are two churches in Hungary, which are one hour apart by train, for whom Janos (a member of the Budapest church who preaches sometimes) and myself will have to preach (October 1999).

The congregation in Budapest is the larger of the two Hungarian groups, with 20 members. There are presently no elders, nor does it seem as though that will be a possibility in the near future. The second congregation is in the small city of Székesfehérvár, located to the northwest of Budapest. This congregation was started when a member of the Budapest church, Klara Vathi, caused her sister, Margit, to become interested in the gospel. In turn, Margit led her daughter, Krisztina, to the truth. Concerning the salvation of those who are lost, these two women illustrate the point that is just as true in Hungary as it is everywhere else in the world: The work of an individual Christian in talking to those in the world is much more effective than we may realize. In our experience here, the Christians who reach out to their friends and family bring more souls to Christ than ten years’ worth of correspondence courses and like efforts, although those are certainly important, also. A relatively new convert to Christianity, Julia Hiller, lives in a nearby village and sometimes is able to join Margit and Krisztina for worship service on Sunday.  You’ll find more about Julia below.
Janos Duszka is a mature Christian in his 60s who, by the time of this writing, has taken on much of the preaching responsibilities for the Budapest church. His lessons have gotten progressively more complex and reflect much study on his part in the past year. The Hungarian Christians are very blessed to have such a dedicated and humble worker among them. 
 
To summarize our work here, we are presently studying the Bible with many in this country, either through personal studies or the Bible correspondence course which is doing well. Since we have begun advertising the course, the list of active students has increased from one to roughly 84. We have several on-going, individual studies taking place each week, with both Christians and non-Christians. One interesting thing that has come to light since the correspondence course has gotten into full swing again is the fact that many Hungarians are what we would call “deep thinkers.” Often when our students send in their lessons to be graded, they will include a page or two of questions that they would like to have answered. These questions sometimes reflect the wide range of religious influences that individual has had in his life: “What is illness?”, or “Please tell me about the book of Revelation,” or “Did Jesus ever go to India?” are a representative few questions that come to mind. I answer each question as thoroughly as time will allow, and a translator will then put the answer into Hungarian, and we’ll send it on out to the student with the next lesson. Sometimes this leads to a personal study as I’ll explain later in this article.

After much time was invested with research and going to look at possible meeting places, the Budapest church has found a new place for worship and Bible study. After the church had the chance to look at the flat and decided that this is the place that we wanted, we laid down the deposit for the church’s new meeting place this past week. This flat is exactly what we had been looking for . . . (December 2000).

On Wednesday evening, December 27, the church in Budapest met in its new home for the first time. For the past year, the church here has been working on purchasing a new meeting place. It can be a challenge for small groups outside the United States, in a country where the church is not legally recognized by the government, to attain stability in terms of a meeting place. Rising rent costs, problems with testy neighbors who are suspicious of the Christians, and paranoid landlords worried about renting to an “illegal” religious group can create difficulties for congregations with no permanent “home.” In the case of the Budapest church, we are too large to meet in the typical small apartment’s living room, and as most church members are part of a non-Christian family, we cannot meet regularly in someone’s home. The time was right for the Budapest church to try to secure a permanent meeting place, and with Hungary’s imminent entrance in the European Union, time was also short. The price of real estate jumped up 50% during the year 1999, so we had to try to move quickly. The church put its resources together with help from individual Christians in other parts of the world who desired to help, and with the Lord’s help, it was accomplished. 

As you can imagine, attaining our own, permanent meeting place has been a shot in the arm for the congregation, giving us a sense of stability and security that, Lord willing, will last for many years to come. The members of the congregation are excited and interested in being involved in a variety of ways with fixing up the flat so that it will be a functional meeting place for the church. We are able to bring together in one place study materials and church equipment that had been scattered in different members’ homes, due to lack of storage space. Now there is centrally located place in the city for personal Bible studies, a place to hold gospel meetings when visiting preachers come, and for the womens’ class to meet, without the church being burdened with extra rent costs. We are indeed very thankful to God for this new development for the church in Budapest.

There is a woman who lives near Fehérvár with whom I have been studying on a regular basis through correspondence. Julia Hiller has now indicated her desire to be baptized. Janos, and the translator, and I are going to meet with her on June 13. Julia lives in the countryside and she has no phone (June 2000).

Evangelists working overseas are usually very excited by the possibility of enlarging the area of their work, and it is no different here in Hungary. In this case, Julia Hiller, a recent convert who lives in the village of Kincsesbánya is proving to be an enthusiastic participant in the spreading of the gospel. She often studies with her friends, can gather a small group in her home to study the Bible, and is always eager for someone to come and lead the study. Meeting requests like Julia’s are probably the area of greatest need right now in Hungary. Because I live in Budapest and have a full workload here, my biggest problem is getting to these towns to teach those who have indicated an interest in personal study. Most preachers who have labored alone in an area can perhaps identify with the frustration of not being able to be two or more places at once and get more accomplished. I believe that there are areas of Hungary that are about to explode with converts because of the great interest that has already been shown there. 

József Nagy, another correspondence student, lives in a village called Böhönye, located about four hours by bus from Budapest. Like Julia, József is an enthusiastic Bible student with many questions, and he requested a personal Bible study. So, Janos (the Hungarian preacher), David Bunting (a preacher who formerly lived and worked in Hungary and was visiting for a couple of weeks), and I made the trip to the village. The study went well and Janos and I hope to return for additional study with József soon. 

After having studied the Bible for about six months, Edit Serfözö was baptized on October 13. There is a photograph of the baptism on my Web site at http://www. Evan.Casey.net. She continues her weekly studies with me here at our home (November 2000).

American preachers working overseas these days may be making more and more use of the Internet, from the improved ability to keep in touch with those back home through e-mail to Web pages they can build that focus on the work of the church where they are. My Web site has been a work-in-progress since our arrival here, and it has been a thrill to be able to share up-to-the-minute details about new developments with stateside Christians interested enough to look up the site after reading a report. Technology allows us to quickly share, as well, uploaded pictures of the Hungarian Christians and special moments, such as the baptism mentioned above, that help Christians in the U.S. better understand what is happening concerning the church in Hungary.

In conclusion, cultural differences certainly prove challenging at times, and we miss home, family, and friends, but it is a great privilege and pleasure to be working here in Hungary. Although there is a great need for workers here, particularly in Székesfehérvár, where there is a small congregation and interested Bible students who have not yet been converted living close by, at this time there are no preachers with a firm interest in locating here for an extended period of time. 

EvanBCasey@aol.com

By Steve Wallace

In many countries, a sign of an important state event is the presence of the elite guard. If we find that the doctor treating us is among the “elite” in his field it gives us great comfort. It is an honor for a student to be considered among the elite in his field of study. However, the word “elite” also has negative connotations. This is seen in the form of the word we consider herein.

“Elitism” is defined by Webster: “consciousness of being or belonging to an elite” (404). “Elitist” is not found in either of the Webster dictionaries in this writer’s possession. Roget’s Thesaurus (II) defines it, “Characteristic of or resembling a snob” (adj.) and “One who despises people or things he regards as inferior, esp. because of social or intellectual pretension” (315). As we reflect on these definitions we can see that elitism would be a problem to most people. We consider herein some problems it can cause God’s people.

1. It can lead one to trust in himself. Certainly the Pharisees were elitists among the Jews. In his parable in Luke 18:9-14, Jesus chose a Pharisee as an example of one who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous” (Luke 18:9). Today, one can be tempted to this by thinking about how long he has been preaching, how many crises he has come through, how many meetings he holds, etc. When one starts trusting in himself he is cutting himself off from God and falling into a state about which all preachers have tried to warn denominationalists (Prov. 16:25; Jer. 10:23).

2. It can cause one to look down on others. In the above mentioned parable Jesus says the Pharisee therein “despised others” (v. 9). The Pharisee in the parable looked down on “the rest of men” as “extortioners, unjust, adulterers” and especially on the just publican (Luke 18:11). This can lead to other symptoms of elitism.

3. It can lead one to make harsh judgments of others. We see this in the Pharisees (John 7:49; Luke 18:11). If a group of men stand together for the truth of the Gospel elitism could lead one to call them a party. When it comes to handling given situations, the elitist can sit back and judge others as being “too harsh,” “too soft,” or generally not being able to conduct themselves on the high plain he has constructed in his own mind. Elitism can lead one to fail to allow for differences of opinion, personality, and ways of handling various matters. It can lead to a person rendering judgments while exempting himself from his own chosen standard of judgment (Matt. 23:2-4).  Other manifestations of elitism can follow after this. 

4. It can cause one to believe the best about unworthy men and the worst about worthy men. Again, the Pharisees provide an example of this, upholding their own and looking down others (John 7:48-49; Luke 18:11). In the current discussion on unity with error, men who are clearly leading others to commit adultery are being lauded while those who would warn of such men are being falsely accused and demonized. 

5. It can cause one to think his own way is always best. The Pharisees exemplify this (John 7:48-49). They even reproved our Lord! (Matt. 12:2; 15:1). It is a sign of wisdom to hearken to counsel and of foolishness to despise instruction (Prov. 12:15; 15:22; 1:7). The elitist has no time for those whom he views as being “beneath” him, which can tend to another manifestation of elitism.

6. It can lead to stifling discussion. When the Pharisees heard views at variance with their own, they blew them off (John 7:45-52). It can be impossible to discuss differences with one who looks down on others, makes harsh judgments of them and/or is convinced his own way is above theirs. Those who offer discussion are simply not worth the elitist’s time. (Brethren today who are refusing discussion of their views on the current issues need to hear this.) Thus, the elitist fails to learn from others and hears only from those with whom he agrees. This has consequences.

7. It can affect one’s doctrinal position. The Pharisees made “void the word of God by [their] tradition” (Mark 7:12), appealing not to the word of God but to opinions of learned men among them (Matt. 15:2; 19:3; John 7:48). Today, elitism can lead brethren to appeal to what “the church has always done” or the convictions of some well known brother in place of clear teaching from the word of God. Some are doing this.

8. It can cause one to fail to do what he knows is right (John 12:42-43). Who cannot but fear similar occurrences among God’s people today? Some brethren protest their “soundness” on a given issue (like MDR) — and then justify one whom they believe to be teaching error (e.g., by saying they are not false teachers). We will let them and the Lord decide if they are elitists. 

Conclusion
Elitism can be fostered by any number of things. It may come when brethren see themselves as members of an elite group (Isa. 65:5) or think of themselves “more highly than they ought to think” (Rom. 12:3). It may arise when we use others as a standard for measuring ourselves, rather than using Christ (2 Cor. 10:12) or ascend too far too fast (1 Tim. 3:6). However, all of us can see that it does not come from God and his word. Hence, we should not be surprised at the fruits of elitism. 

2103 Rexford Rd., Montgomery, AL 36116