Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

Before one will turn to Christ for salvation, he must understand his need for Christ. Until one grasps his plight, he will not appreciate the grace of God in saving mankind from his sins. This article is designed to explain who man is and what is his circumstance outside of Christ.

Man is Created in the Image of God

The Scriptures reveal that man is a being created in the image of God. Not all men share that idea of man. Some believe that man is the product of millions of years of evolution. The evolutionary model postulates that life began as a result of a big bang billions of years ago. Over billions of years of random evolution and on the basis of the survival of the fittest, humans gradually came into existence. The upward development of man continued until modern man evolved. The logical consequences of these presuppositions include such things as:

• There is no God or supernatural influence on the world.
• Man is a product of random evolution.
• Man is a more highly developed animal, but not significantly different from other animal life.
• There are no moral absolutes imposed on man by a divine being.

In contrast to this, the Bible states that man is created in the image of God. The Genesis account states that God created man out of the dust of the earth, not previously existing animal life (2:7). Then the record adds that he is made in God’s own image:  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (1:26-27). Inasmuch as God is spirit, not flesh and blood, to have the image of God, man must have an immortal spirit. This spirit survives the death of the body (see 2 Cor. 4:16; Eccl. 12:7; Matt. 10:28).

As a being created in the image of God, man is the acme of God’s creation. Just as a man longs for a fellowship with his child and the child longs for a fellowship with his parent, so does God want a fellowship, association, and communion with his children. Man’s nature is such that there is  an emptiness in man when this fellowship is lacking (see Ps. 42:1; 63:1-2; 84:2; 143:6-7; Isa. 26:8-9). One might as well deny his need for food, water, and air as to deny his need for this fellowship with God.

Man Is Separated From God By His Sin

When man came from the creative hand of God, he enjoyed perfect communion with God. The Genesis narrative leaves the impression that Adam and Eve enjoyed association with God in Eden (Gen. 3:8). When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, he gave them the commandment not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17). God provided abundantly for man’s every need in the Garden.

The Devil entered the body of a serpent and tempted Eve while she was in the Garden. He used the same              avenues of temptation to persuade her to sin as he uses with every other man: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). He approached her, creating doubt in the goodness of God. The narrative reads:

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For  God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (3:1-7).

The woman exercised her free will, choosing to disbelieve the word of God and to believe the lies of the devil, and ate of the forbidden fruit, transgressing the commandment of God and thus becoming guilty of sin (1 John 3:4).

The Lord promised Adam that in the day that he ate of the forbidden fruit he would die. The word “death” describes what happens which the spirit of man departs from the body (Jas. 2:26). The word is used in both a physical and a spiritual sense. In a spiritual sense, the word “death” is used to describe man’s state of being separated from God (Isa. 59:1-2); eternal spiritual death refers to man’s condition of being eternally separated from God in hell, described as the second death (Rev. 20:6). In the day that Adam ate of the fruit, he was alienated from God by his sin (see Gen. 3:8). God pronounced the judgment of physical death on mankind as a consequence of his sin (Gen. 3:19). The consequences of Adam’s sin that passed to all humanity was the consequence of being driven from the Garden of Eden, wherein was the Tree of Life. If a man could eat of the Tree of Life, he would live forever (Gen. 3:22-24). Because all of mankind is separated from the Tree of Life, physical death passes to all men, even on those who have not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s transgression (such as infants).

From this narrative, let us observe these relevant and pertinent observations:

1. Sin is the transgression of the word of God. Sin is not merely the violation of one’s conscience, the imposition of society’s moral values, a guilt complex, or outdated (“Victorian”) ethics imposed unconsciously on man. Rather, sin is the transgression of God’s revealed word.

2. Man sins as a result of his free will to sin. Sin cannot be explained by such things as the following: (a) Sin is inherited, as is suggested by those who claim that man sins because he inherited the depraved nature of Adam. What caused Adam to sin? (b) Sin is caused by poor economic conditions. Some think that sin would be eradicated if everyone was financially secure. But Adam was financially secure and still he sinned. (c) Sin occurs because man is uneducated. Some think that sin can be eradicated by educating the populace. But Adam and Eve sinned, even though they knew the expressed will of God. Sin occurs because man of his own free will chooses to disobey God.

What occurred in Adam occurs in every man’s life. Man chooses to sin, to disobey God. The Devil tempts us through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). Every man is drawn away by his own lust and enticed and then chooses to sin. James described this as follows:

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:13-15).

    Sin is universal. Every man who has reached the age to choose between right and wrong has transgressed the will of God. Paul said, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

3. The just punishment for sin is death. The same separation that occurred between God and Adam occurs between God and any other man who chooses to sin. Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The sins that you and I commit bring the sentence of death, separation from God, upon every man. Isaiah said, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2).

So here is man’s plight: (1) He is created in the image of God with an immortal soul that does not cease to exist at the death of his body; (2) He is guilty of sin, the transgression of the will of God; (3) The just punishment of that sin is separation from God, an alienation that occurs at the moment of sin and ultimately ends in eternal separation from God in the punishment of hell, a place of everlasting torment.

Answerable to God

In understanding man’s circumstance before God, one must also add that every man is going to stand before God in judgment for the sins he has committed. Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Again, he wrote, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). In his sermon on Mars Hill, Paul preached, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

So man’s condition is that of a condemned sinner having to answer to a just God for his sins.

Conclusion

There is nothing that man can do by himself to atone for his sins. All of the good works that a man may do will not erase one sin. Left to himself, man is doomed to eternal damnation in hell. He stands in need of a Savior, of God’s divine grace. Thanks be to God that he did not leave us without hope, but loved us enough to act to make possible human redemption and salvation.

By Lawson Winton

During the past few months, several articles have focused on the length of days in Genesis 1, and if error has been or is being taught at Florida College. Up until my retirement a few years ago, I was a member of the science faculty. Since I was named in one article and was alluded to in another, I am taking the opportunity to tell my story. My purpose is not to enter into the lengthy controversy, but rather explain the problems I encountered as a developing scientist and how I finally reconciled the Bible account of creation with the scientific evidence of the age of the earth and the length of days in creation.

When I first entered college in 1947, the best scientific evidence favored an old earth millions of years old. Most Christians were faced with two alternatives of either accepting the old age and trying to reconcile the Bible account to an old earth, or else rejecting all of the prevailing evidence and accept the literal days of creation as stated in Genesis 1. Like many other Christians of that time, I chose to believe that the days of creation were not literal, but that God somehow worked at creation over vast geological ages. Today, this or variations of it, are referred to as theistic evolution. My definition of a theistic evolutionist is one who denies the literal, consecutive, 24-hour days of creation and believes that God worked over vast geological ages of the earth. My story is given ­in the belief that there may be many Christians who are torn between what evolutionists teach in school, on TV, and in the print media of an old earth, and what the Bible teaches.

When I returned from Korea in 1952, I re-entered college, obeyed the gospel, and Janette and I were married in 1954. We moved to the University of California at Berkeley, where I earned a BS degree after five years. But, I was told that I would never be able to earn a doctorate degree in the Department of Genetics because I was a Creationist. Actually, I was a theistic evolutionist, but I believed in God and this was close enough to be blackballed. We moved to Minnesota, where I earned a MS and a Ph.D. degree since my advisor did not care what I believed. In 1964, we moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where, with the help of God, I was the first to clone a tree from callus tissue. Today, similar methods are used to clone 15-20 different commercial trees, to rid them of viral infections. I was unable to reproduce Douglas-fir from suspension cultures of single cells, so I was fired and we moved to Tampa in 1980. At Florida College, I taught zoology, botany, embryology, and anatomy on a regular basis and for a few years taught chemistry and Bible/Evolution. Janette and I were also sponsors of the Science Club CREST, where students gave reports on how Christians should act on questions such as abortion, etc.

My concept of the universe and the age of the earth began to change about the time we went to Wisconsin, with the writing of The Genesis Flood, by Whitcomb and Morris in 1961. Scientific Creationism appeared in 1974, by Morris, and in 1976, R.L. Wysong came out with his Creation-The Evolution Controversy. These three books were the first to show that scientific evidences could be used to support a young earth, and hence, the literal interpretation of the days of creation. Today, there are dozens of books, written by many scientists throughout the world in what has become Scientific Creationism.

Our whole family attended a creation meeting in Atlanta, and Janette and I went to three International Conferences on Creationism in Pittsburg. Most books on the subject are available at the FC Bookstore, and numerous bound volumes can be found in the FC Library on creation research reported from many countries.

By the time we arrived in Florida in 1980, there was no longer any question in my mind that scientific evidence supported recent creation, and therefore, the literal 24-hour days of creation were true. Whenever possible, I taught this in my classes and in special lectures to many congregations and at the Florida Lectures.

However, every time I speak of the scientific evidences, I also caution that the evidence should never replace our belief in the Genesis account in the Bible, but that any evidence only reinforces our faith.

4415 Tuna Dr., Tampa, Florida 33617

By Irvin Himmel

Jesus told about a man who had two sons. The younger son requested his portion of the goods. He apparently was tired of the restraints of living at home, desired to strike out on his own, and wanted his share of the inheritance now.

The father divided unto his sons his living. The details of the property settlement are not spelled out. The estate must have remained intact with the father in control. Possibly the younger son took his share in money, or quickly converted any property coming to him into cash.

Not many days after receiving his share, the younger son gathered his belongings together and journeyed into a far country. Free at last, free at last! No more parental supervision. No more hard work on his father’s farm. How refreshing this new freedom. How exhilarating to go wherever one chooses and to do whatever one pleases!

Carefree and disposed to live it up, he soon squandered his money in riotous, wild living. He may have met a lot of false friends who encouraged him to spend extravagantly. He cast off the principles that he had been taught at home. In time, he went broke.

An awful famine arose in that land. The young man found himself in poverty. Penniless and friendless, he looked for a job. Work was scarce. A citizen of that country took him on as a feeder of hogs. The pay was not enough to buy adequate food. He was so hungry that he desired the husks which the swine ate.

In his wretched condition, “no man gave to him.” Not one person showed pity, no one offered assistance. He had hit the bottom. He had fouled up his life. He was miserable. The future looked dismal, dreary, and depressing.

The wasteful young man who had thrown away so much looked within himself. Jesus said, “He came to himself.” He realized that the problem was not with others; he saw that the problem was one of his own making. Suicide solves nothing. Blaming others does not set one on the road to recovery. Repentance is the answer.

The youthful prodigal did some sober thinking down among the swine. He reasoned that in his father’s house, even the hired servants had an abundance of food. Perishing with hunger made no sense. He resolved to go back home, confess openly to his father, “I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.” He would admit his unworthiness to be called a son. He would plead that he be permitted to become a hired servant.

Some people in a position similar to this young man while among the swine, cast blame on God. They blasphemously charge their Maker with lack of love and care, or else they would not be in such a mess. Some curse God; others renounce him. Why should any sin-laden soul blame God for what the sinner has brought upon himself?

The young man in the parable of Luke 15 did according to his resolution. He went home. He swallowed his pride. He cast himself on the mercy of a father whom he knew to be a man of compassion. He made no excuses. He freely confessed that he had sinned against heaven and in the sight of his father. He openly stated that he was no longer worthy to be called his son.

Repentance rewards. The father forgave his wayward son. He fell on his neck and kissed him. There was restoration and rejoicing. A robe and a ring. Feasting. Merriment. What a contrast to the scene down among the swine!

The story of the prodigal son aptly illustrates Christ’s concern for the lost and the heavenly Father’s willingness to forgive. Genuine repentance is essential to rebuilding a shattered life. Accepting responsibility for one’s own misdeeds, resolving to return to God, being courageous and humble enough to confess sins, and trusting the mercy of God — these are steps toward recovery.

2820 Hunterwood Dr., S.E., Decatur, Alabama 35603-5638

By Connie W. Adams

Word has gone out far and wide that the long and eventful life of the beloved Homer Hailey came to an end on Wednesday, November 7, 2000. He was 97 years of age with his life spanning most of the twentieth century. A product of the southwest, he remained in heart and spirit a cowboy. His character was honed by early poverty, religious conflict, love of teaching and preaching and by the multitude of friends (and some enemies) he encountered over the years of his life.

For many years he was a well known and popular preacher of the gospel. After he began teaching at Abilene Christian College and later at Florida College, his summers were always spent in gospel meetings throughout the nation. Many young men sat at his feet in Bible classes and found use for what they learned all over the world. It was my personal privilege to know brother Hailey well and to have studied under him at Florida College in the early fifties. I found him to be not only a stimulating teacher but a warm and understanding counselor. He gave me good advice before we went to Norway to preach. While still his student, he gave me much help at a time of personal dilemma as to how far to proceed in the entertainment business and what effect that might have on preaching the gospel or even remaining faithful to the Lord under all the pressures and temptations which attend that kind of life. I shall ever be grateful.

His greatest work perhaps was done and shall remain in the numerous books he wrote, some of which remain classics in their field. His work on the Minor Prophets, Isaiah, Job, the Gospel of John, and the Book of Revelation are truly classics. They deserve a place in the libraries of those who seriously study the Bible.

During much of his life he entertained a view on marriage, divorce and remarriage with which many brethren, including this writer, disagreed. For many years he held this as a private conviction and stated to me in the early 50s, when I asked him about this subject, that he was not preaching on this over the country and that he knew many brethren did not agree with him. He did state that if someone should ask him his views on the matter, he would be frank to tell them. Somewhere in the mid-to-late 1980s he became more outspoken on the subject and even published a book on The Divorced and Remarried Who Would Come To God. This resulted in published opposition to his view that the alien sinner is not subject to God’s marriage law until he becomes a Christian. This writer was among those who reviewed his position. A firestorm grew out of the effort of some to explain and defend their continued fellowship with him after this evident shift in his practice from private conviction to public advocacy. From that has sprung the  controversy over Romans 14 and its use in regard to the issue of marriage, divorce and remarriage and the limits of fellowship. Along with that has come a controversy over what constitutes a false teacher. It has been hard for some to separate their love and admiration for a beloved teacher from the issues of scriptural teaching involved.

I do not believe that Homer Hailey ever intended for there to be contention over him and what he believed. Further, it is this writer’s view, for whatever it is worth, that Homer Hailey never needed anyone, however well-intentioned, to fight his battles for him. That runs counter to everything about the very makeup of this rugged individual of the old west. What these well-meaning brethren did was to make brother Hailey an issue instead of the position he took on the disputed subject. It grieves me to think that some who did not have the privilege of knowing and studying with this warm and wonderful man, will judge his whole life and teaching only in terms of this contro­versy.

The editor of this magazine has been severely criticized for running ads for some of brother Hailey’s books on the ground that it is inconsistent to publish material which opposes the position our brother took on that one subject while advertising his books on the other hand. As was pointed out earlier in this notice, his work on these other subjects was outstanding, and Bible students for years to come should have access to his work. I cannot recommend his book on divorce and remarriage. But I surely can recommend his many books which have nothing to do with that subject. Putting one’s book in your personal library for study purposes is not equal to inviting one to occupy the pulpit in a local church. It does not constitute endorsement of error on any subject.

It personally saddens me that he became the subject of so much controversy late in his life. He continued to study and write until near the end. He maintained a kind and generous spirit. My own correspondence with him was always pleasant, even when it dealt with the disputed subject. He was what he was. He said what he believed. He spent his life challenging all who knew him to study the Bible, believe it and obey it. He would have been among the first to agree that none of us should “think of men above that which is written.” For my part, I will treasure the opportunity to know and study with this good man while remaining in opposition to what he taught on divorce and remarriage with all of the fallout that has produced. Some men cast longer shadows upon the pages of religious history than others. Such was the case with Homer Hailey. We leave, as we must, the record of his long life in the hands of a righteous Father who always judges according to truth (Rom. 2:2).

P.O.Box 91346, Fern Creek, Kentucky 40291