Truth Magazine

By J. Wiley Adams

We are glad to see this expression coming back into play. It is long overdue. We need once again to “speak as the oracles” and punctuate our teaching with a “thus saith the Lord” (1 Pet. 4:11). We need to revive the scriptural slogan that “we speak where the Bible speaks and we are silent where the Bible is silent.” Let us again decide to “do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names” (Deut. 29:29).

We need to once again have the spirit of the apostle Paul when he was on the Damascus road. As he was confronted with the living Christ he said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6) It is the Lord’s will that we should seek to carry out and not our own.

Today we fear that many conservative brethren have started to drift with the tide of human tradition and opinion. Jesus declared, “In vain do they worship me teaching for doctrine the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). The affluency of our times and the intellectualism of our day has made not a few of us proud, arrogant, and much less than humble. Such have entered the highway of digression just as many have traveled it before and are on the road to becoming a denomination without doubt. Indeed, history tends to re-peat itself.

In today’s high tech society we have made the simple gospel of Christ so complex and complicated that it is no wonder we are not converting the lost. We now must stop and try to recover those who were saved but have drifted away.

The course of history (Bible history) will confirm that God’s people have always flourished when his will is done without fear or favor. It seems also to be the case that when we have less of this world’s goods to encumber us that we rise to our greatest heights in God’s service. Maybe we need to pray for God to strip us down to where we can move more freely in his service.

History will also reveal that when brethren become so high and mighty they differ little from the church at Laodicea. Let us not become lukewarm as did they. God was not pleased with them. We need the militant spirit that pervaded the early church as they went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:4).

Once again let us hear more and more of the old Jerusalem ring in the sermons of gospel preachers. We need to renew our desire to save souls above all else and be willing to sacrifice to bring it to pass. Back to the Bible, brethren! The gospel of Christ is still God’s power to save.

Guardian of Truth XXXVIII: 7, p. 1
April 7, 1994

By Mike Willis

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).

In our last issue, we emphasized that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven. In this issue, we want to proceed to notice that God’s wrath is revealed against ungodliness.

God’s Wrath Is Revealed Against Ungodliness

The word “ungodliness” is translated from asebeia. That word is defined by Thayer as “want of reverence towards God, impiety, ungodliness” (79). The text in Romans shows how this “ungodliness” was displayed in the following verses:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things (Rom. 1:18-23).

The ungodliness of the Gentile world was shown in the following ways:

1. They refused to have God in their knowledge. The Gentile world consciously turned its back on God. They refused to glorify God as God (1:21). They did not develop a spirit of thanksgiving (1:21). Consequently, Paul said that they “refused to have God in their knowledge” (1:28).

2. The things of God were known to them. Ungodliness cannot be attributed to men’s ignorance. There is sufficient evidence available from the things that are made to see the existence, omnipotence, and deity of God. The power and divinity of God have been known from (since the beginning) of creation (1:20). The psalmist declared, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (19:1). From “natural theology” one can know that there is an omnipotent God.

The ungodliness of the Gentiles is seen in their absolute refusal to have God in their knowledge. The concept of God is consciously and knowingly rejected because of the moral obligations that logically follow when man admits the existence of a Creator God.

God’s Judgment Against Ungodliness

The text also explains to us God’s judgment against man’s ungodliness: (1) Men become vain in their reasonings (1:21); (2) Men’s senseless hearts are darkened (1:21); and (3) In their self-deceived arrogance, they become fools (1:22). Having rejected the reasonable worship of the one true God, men turn to worship a “lie” (idolatry, 1:22-23,25).

The foolish pagan worship to which man turned as he rejected God was a part of God’s judgment against man’s ungodliness.

The United States As An Example

What is occurring presently in our nation is an example of the Lord’s judgment against ungodliness. The United States has walked in the steps delineated in Romans 1. A conscious decision was made several years ago by the leaders (civil and judicial) of our nation to depart from the standard of righteousness imposed by the Bible. This conscious rejection of God has been manifested in many ways, including the following:

a. Prayer cannot be offered in the public schools.

b. The Ten Commandments cannot be posted in the school’s classrooms.

c. The moral standard of the Scriptures in such matters as divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, gambling, and such like things is rejected.

Our social engineers have worked over our nation to re-construct it according to their superior knowledge. As a result, we have 25% of white children and 65% of black children born out of wedlock every year. The divorce rate in America has reduced to about 20-25% the number of children who are being reared by their natural mother and father. One-parent families are commonplace and the social pathologies that this is producing are scaring even the social engineers. Children are growing up without respect for their parents and some have no moral standard of right and wrong. All of this is made possible by the Federal Government. In a former time, when two people conceived a child out of wedlock they usually married and settled down to the business of being good parents. Now the mother can apply for Aid for Dependent Children and tell the father of her child to leave. She then cohabits with another man, conceives another child, has her Aid for Dependent Children check to increase, and tells this man to go on his way. In this manner our social engineers have provided the means for fatherless homes to become commonplace. We not only pay the price in increased taxes, we also pay the price in the bills for violent crime, drive-by shootings, gang rape and murder, robberies, burglaries, assaults, etc.

Alarmed by the problems, our social engineers are suggesting that we need to spend more money to provide for day care centers for the poor and those who need daycare so they can work. The cry is constantly made for more handouts, spending billions on rehabilitation of hardened criminals, and other such social programs.

Our “wise” social engineers put band aids on this cancer. Every band aid is siphoned out of the pockets of tax payers and costs billions of dollars. Consider some of the wise counseling we have received. Children cannot be taught “just say no” to pre-marital sex; instead, the Planned Parenthood clinics are given easy access to make sure that our children have and know how to use condoms.

Parents are told that “spanking” is a form of child-abuse. Children are brought up with no respect for the authority of parents, teachers, or government.

Conclusion

These painful consequences which are occurring in our society are the results of the conscious choice to reject God and his word as our standard for righteousness. These consequences are one expression of the revelation of the wrath of God against ungodliness.

We do not need another government program to fix things in our country. We need a revival! We need men and women who will enthrone Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives and submit to his divine guidance over them. If enough Americans will do this, many of our national problems would be solved.

Since that is not likely to happen, we can only expect to see God’s judgment against our ungodliness increase. Sad days lie ahead for our country unless we repent of refusing to have God in our knowledge.

Guardian of Truth XXXVIII: 7, p. 2
April 7, 1994

By Irvin Himmel

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit (Prov. 26:4,5).

Here are twin statements that seem to go in opposite directions. They need to be studied together.

The Fool

Frequently in the book of Proverbs, the Hebrew word kesil, translated “fool,” appears. It applies to one who is dull and stupid, “but it must always be remembered that the book has in mind a man’s chosen outlook, rather than his mental equipment” (Kidner). He is “not necessarily one who is mentally weak or simple but one who is wilfully disobedient to the voice of divine wisdom” (Cundall). The word describes one who is “obstinate in that on which he has set his heart, not to be moved by reason or counsel” (Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies).

The verses which we are now considering refer to a fool in the sense of one whose stupidity reflects his attitude, not his mental capacity. A person may have a high IQ and still be a fool. The world is full of people who are fools by choice.

A Contradiction?

“Answer not a fool according to his folly . . . answer a fool according to his folly . . .” That sounds like a contradiction. Ancient rabbis explained the passage by applying verse four to temporal matters and ve rse five to spiritual concerns.

The phrase “according to his folly” is “equivalent to recognizing the foolish supposition and the foolish object of his question, and thereupon considering it” (“Delitzsch).

There are times and places in which a fool should not be answered according to his folly. In other circumstances it may be wise to answer the fool according to his folly. These two verses “are practical sayings which apply to life as we find it, and life is often apparently inconsistent .. . The fact is, each verse has a different purpose” (Kufeldt).

Answer Not A Fool

Generally, it is without profit to argue with a fool at his own level. Some arguments and positions are too ridiculous to honor with a reply. The defender of truth should not imitate the slanderer or scoffer in his methods of disputation. To fall in with his mode of reasoning is to allow one fool to make another. “Folly is contagious, and we are all in some danger of catching it” (Pulpit Commentary).

It is not necessary to understand a subject in order to argue about it. Silence is often the most effective reply to a fool’s contentions. A mud-slinger wants others to sling mud with him. But remember that he who throws mud loses ground!

Before becoming embroiled in controversy with some-one, make sure you are not lowering yourself into a fool’s arena. The reason for the warning is, “lest thou also be like unto him.”

Answer a Fool

If a fool is never answered, no matter what the circumstances, he will suppose that his questions and arguments are answerless. “There is a time when it is pointless to reason with a fool but there are also occasions when to remain silent would suggest to him that his own position is unassailable” (Cundall).

Occasionally, a fool may have to be met on his own grounds. The answer which exposes his folly may stop his mouth. Sometimes his inflated ego can be punctured.

There is a story about a preacher who was discussing various questions written out and submitted by people in his audience. He unfolded a piece of paper and read the question aloud: “When did Job’s turkey die?” The audience roared with laughter. In a matter-of-fact manner the preacher replied, “From the looks of the scratching on this paper, he hasn’t died yet.” There was another roar of laughter. The fool was answered according to his folly, “lest he be wise in his own conceit,” then everyone was ready to move on to serious questions.

Paul, replying to false teachers who foolishly boasted of their attainments in an effort to downgrade the apostles, showed them that he could beat them at their own game. “Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly,” he wrote (2 Cor. 11:1). Writing about things of which he could boast, he was careful to remind his readers, “I speak as a fool” (2 Cor. 11:21,23). Paul did not relish this kind of approach. Circumstances called for the false teachers to be answered. The apostle answered them according to their folly.

We need wisdom to know how to answer perverse and obstinate men. In some cases, to answer a fool according to his folly is unwise; in other cases, we may need to answer him according to his folly. “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Col. 4:6).

Guardian of Truth XXXVIII: 6, p. 23
March 17, 1994

By Jeff S. Smith

With little warning but great fanfare, U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders swept into Austin, Texas on January 21, 1994 to preside over the Grand Opening of yet another Planned Parenthood franchise. The Austin American Statesman printed a color photograph of Mrs. Elders sermonizing from the pulpit of a Methodist church in full regalia as if she were born to be there.

Joycelyn Elders has made many memorable comments in her tumultuous tenure as America’s leading health care voice. Several have made godly people cringe and tremble for the future. But her comments in Austin were perhaps the most offensive to God-fearing Americans. “It is time for ministers to stop moralizing from the pulpit and get out here and help me save the children,” she instructed the receptive throng.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with helping to save children as Mrs. Elders claims to be interested in doing. The problem is her plea for ministers of Jesus Christ to stop doing what Christ and his apostles have instructed them to do (Titus 1:3). Another problem is that Elders restricts her compassion for children to those who have escaped the womb. Children who are still developing toward birth are deemed unworthy of her love and offer of salvation.

Webster’s dictionary defines “moralize” as “to give a moral quality or direction to; to improve the morals of;  verb, to make moral reflections.” Joycelyn Elders apparently has looked out over the landscape of America and decided the problem is that we just have too much morality. How dare this woman enter any pulpit and endeavor to tell preachers that they are hurting America and specifically our children by trying to guide them to God. How could anyone possibly contend that our problems descend from too much morality? Drug abuse, gun violence, teen pregnancy, divorce  too much morality and preaching caused these problems? This is the same myopic vision that banished prayer, God and the Ten Commandments from our schools in the 1960s. Things sure have improved since then, eh, Mrs. Elders?

The dirty little secret, Joycelyn Elders doesn’t want us to know is that she is simply tired of preachers getting up on Sunday and standing for the moral standards of the Bible which she so vehemently opposes in her work. Her command reflects an obvious agenda to silence the godly opposition to her destructive and immoral direction for this nation. “Preach the word,” Paul told young Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2. God’s word is moral (2 Pet. 1:3) and so we must disappoint Madam Surgeon General.

Elders indicated a restriction on her tremendous love for children later as protesters had gathered to show disapproval of her pro-abortion stance. The protesters expressed curiosity that one so dedicated to “saving the children” also enjoys seeing thousands of them butchered each year in their mothers’ wombs. Mrs. Elders ordered the protesters to “get over their love affair with the fetus!” She naturally made this statement on friendly ground  Planned Parent-hood is actually a euphemism for the Center for the Distribution of Condoms and Abortion Advice. Mrs. Elders hopes that soon “every child is a planned and wanted child.” This is a good example of the seemingly harmless and sanitized phrasing of the anti-life crowd. Her agenda in plain English: any child that is accidentally conceived, even by married parents, should be killed. We would trust that, unlike the tax hike, this policy would not be retroactive, or else many of us would have to answer to Mrs. Elders. God knows and loves the soon-to-be-born (Ps. 139). He gives them senses  eyes and ears  at early developmental stages. He gives them vital organs  a heart and lungs  long before they are actually born. They feel pain and suffer greatly when their mother opts to murder them. I dare say that God loves the children even more than Joycelyn Elders purports to (Ps. 127:3). Why not let them live? No, abortion is never an easy decision. But it is never a good one, either.

Our Surgeon General is now the leading force behind expanding sex education to include children from kindergarten age on up. She intends to make condoms free and accessible to all the children whom she loves so much. As head of the Arkansas Department of Health prior to the 1992 election, Mrs. Elders showed her love for schoolchildren by ordering a shipment of defective condoms be delivered to a school even though she knew they were damaged. I suppose she reasoned that defective condoms were better than no condoms at all. After all, she loves the children. Elders has expanded her role in the schools by demanding that health textbooks that once taught about hygiene now include graphic references to homosexuality so that her dear children may be free to choose that disgusting path (Rom. 1:26-27) if it appeals to them.

Her recent bombshell about legalizing drugs to reduce the crime rate certainly is in her children’s best interest, now isn’t it? I suppose she was just considering the welfare of her own son who was arrested for drug possession that same week, though. Mrs. Elders is somehow blind to the destruction wrought by addictive substances. The children she claims to love are experimenting with drugs at earlier ages than ever before and are consequently suffering more incarcerations and more homicides than previous generations who were exposed to the lethal teaching of “Just say no.” “Generation X,” as many pundits call the children, is in for a bumpy ride if Joycelyn Elders gets her way with it.

Guardian of Truth XXXVIII: 6, p. 5
March 17, 1994